Dear Chitra Madam The steps looks very simple and I am also able to clearly understand I should go abt performing a simple puja.........now you also need to explain what r the extra steps I need to do for different pujas like laksmi puja etc...............
niraya punyam cherthukkarel Dear Mrs Chithra, If I was happy to see yr recipes, now I have no words to express my joy and thanks at seeing yr slokams and pooja format. The latter, I have been looking for years, even engaged a Bruhaspathi at home to teach me- but did not work out. Pls do give us the 16 step format also. One doubt- in sankalpam where do we state the purpose or desire- fulfilment of which is requested? Looking forward to more and continued guidance thanking you best regards Vidya
Dear Chitra, That puja format was so simple and easy to follow. I could associate it since i do Satyanarayana puja at home with the help of a cassette wich is self explanatory. I did not understand many things since i have never taken an initiative to do all this. In india there is always a periyava and we would blindly follow. But i never knew the nuances. But having started to this pooja here alone with only my daugther i needed to be more sure of things. But your clear explanation is going to be of great help.... Thanks for all the time you seem to be taking to put these down...i am sure many of us will benefit. Just a couple of queries from a novice.....Do you follow this routine evryday.....or only on special pooja days? Since there will be no time for elaborate chanting of slokam(it is going to take some time to do manapadam ,), is there a simpler slokam to chant when we just burn a agrabathi or so. I am talking of this situation from here, since we don't light a deepam for fear of the carpets or woodwork catching fire! And this is frustrating for me, i just go and switch on my electrified lamps ..and everything feels so artificial, that i don't get the proper feeling . Vilakku etha kooda mudiyale Chitra! Thanks for everything.... have a great day!
Thankyou, Vidya ! Dear Vidya, Though younger than me in age, you are always encouraging me which makes me apply myself more & more, to whatever I pursue ! The sankalpam has to be said following " mamopaaththa samastha.... ". May be we can dicuss some general sankalpams later ? Today I am drafting the 16 step to be posted, following this, since I will beoff line tomorrow. Love & rgards, Chithra.
Hi Sudha Dear Sudha, I can understand what you say abt not being able to light the lamp or agarbatti. I have lived in one wooden house after other with carpets and electric wires all around. My mother advised me to light a small vilakku and place it on a small stand inside a bell jar containing water. I use a small silver lamp where the wick can be put in the middle. So, the open flame is contained and even it the whole thing topples, the water will put it off. We checked with a priest and he said that there is no sastric rules saying that we shld not light the lamp like this. He added that 'Swami Prrethipaaduvaar, shramapattu vilakku ethinaal'. In Bombay, also I had similar probs. There were strong sea side winds and the vilakku would go off. So I used to keep it inside a glass case. You will easily find such glass lanterns in Europe, since they are used in ships, even houses. Where they put the small round candle, you can put the vilakku. Cheers Vidya
Good that you liked this format, Sudha ! Dear Sudha, This format may look tough now, learning it by heart by repeating it everyday is quite simple. I usually take a printout, laminate it & read from it everyday. That way, it is easy to learn by heart. When I wrote it, I knew your problem of not being able to light a lamp with oil, etc. When you light the agarbathi, imagine, it is the lamp. Sudha, my Guru always says, Manasika pujai is perhaps more powerful ! Or you keep the printout, repeat all the steps ( doing the actions in mind) - it serves the purpose quite well. I am happy, you are encouraging me like Vidya ! Love & regards, Chithra.
our journey to spirituality Dear Chitra, I just feel so thrilled to see the detailed explanation of performing a puja. I never knew the meaning of so many shlokams or steps involved and its really enlightening to see such an elaborate mail on puja. is this format for a simple, daily puja OR is it for special days like , tuesday, Friday. pls reply. now I heard that for puja, we need to use copper or silver vessels only, is this true? pls reply.
Hello AGR ! dear AGR, I missed your mail, sorry about the same. I will finish the main format & then we shall discuss separate pujas individually. I hope you all understand that I have limitations ! I seek Lords's blessings to help me do my best. Love & regards, Chithra.
Meena, thanks for joining us ! Dear Meena, I will first finish the second part of the format, which I am documenting now & get back to explaining to you, whatever I know. Generally iron & steel are avoided. Brass, copper & ofcourse silver are acceptable. Love & regards, Chithra.
wonderful!! Dear Mrs.Chithra, That is a wonderful thing to start. We will be enlightened more and shall deepen our practices accordingly. Please go ahead. We can all emulate and absorb these in to our daily pooja. I have a set of things i do everyday but u have given me more to learn. Thanks. Please post more in this direction. One thing that i have always failed to understand is this. The shuklambaradharam shloka is always addressed to vigneshwara when the whole shloka carries meaning as addressed to lord vishnu. Even when we begin vishnu sahsranama we start with this. Is this some sort of confusion as the word vighna is present in the shloka or is it written in the scriptures that it is intendedd to lord ganesha. You may know this better. So wanted to clarify my long standing doubt. one more thing is about the vessels. For offering milk i have silver galss and for fruits i have silver plate. But as i use milk powder usually, i have a separate steel vessel for pooja in which i boil water and make milk for naivedyam. Is that ok? or should i have a copper vessel for that purpose? Sudha i read ur concern for lighting deepa. Even i live in a carpeted house and it was one of my worries too. I have two small silver lamps like the ones we use for aarathi and one small lakshmi lamp and have a separate counter high up for pooja so that it is not in my daughter's reach. I think u can go for small lamps without fear. the satisfaction is always there. All in all we are moving through life in all its senses with our dear chithra!! Great going!
