Procedure of a Sindhi Diwali Pooja

Happy Diwali Friends!!!

How many times have you done the Diwali Pooja and didn't know what was the next step until Mum or Granny told you? And what about the meaning of all the things we do? Well, this year it's your turn to surprise your elders by knowing what to do exactly and why do we do what we do... The ICC Kids Camp Team have done a nice document of the Procedure of a Sindhi Diwali Pooja :) This way you can help at home on this lovely festival of lights!!! Do you do the Diwali prayers this way? Or you change things? Don't feel shy and let us kno in the comments!!!

Firstly, you have to keep your house clean and draw a Rangoli at your doorstep to welcome Goddess Laxmi.

Before starting the Pooja it's important to have all thing ready... Here is a list of things you will need:

1. Silver and Gold coins
2. Ten Suparis
3. Uncooked Rice
4. Five paan or mango leaves
5. A coconut
6. Water in the 'lota'
7. Kumkum for applying tilak
8. Diyas; you can use the ones we made a couple of weeks ago!!
   
9. Gulaal (holi color)
10. Mithaai (Indian sweets)
11. Camphor
12. Agarbattis (incense sticks)
13. Dry fruits (almonds, cashews)
14. Thaali
15. Rose or other flower petals
16. Red string
17. New note-book

18. Panchamrita
19. A piece of red cloth for putting the pooja items
20. Ghee for the diyas
21. Rose water
22. Water
23. Icons of Lord Ganesha, Goddess Saraswati, Goddess Laxmi and Narayan

Got everything? Ok, then now we can start the Pooja :D

• On a new piece of cloth, make mounds of rice and place suparis on top. The suparis stand for the planets.
• Either keep another supari for Ganesh, or a Ganesh icon.
• Fill the lota with water, adorn paan leaves around the lota. Place a coconut on top of the lota.
• Tie a red string around the lota. On the lota draw with kumkum four lines representing the Vedas. A Swastika moving clockwise with 4 tikas.
• Light the agarbattis and the diyas.
• Take some water on your left hand and sprinkle water on to yourself after washing and purifying your hands.
• Place a flower petal on your palm with some rice.
• Chant the Gayatri Mantra 3 times (optional).
• Now first visualize Lord Ganesh. Welcome Him to your pooja. Chant Om Ganeshaya Namah
• Pray to Shivji the same way. Chant: Om Namah Shivaya
• Sprinkle water on the lota, apply kumkum, shower rice and flowers, offer mithaai, and dry fruit and accord the same treatment that you would to an esteemed guest. Follow the same procedure with the 9 planets. Sprinkle water towards the North, South, East and West.
• Bathe the icons first in panchamrita and then in rose water.
• Apply kumkum, shower flowers, offer mithai and dry fruit to the different icons of gods.
• Draw a Swastika, apply kumkum, shower rice and flowers, offer mithaai and dry fruit to the Laxmi Patro and note-book.
• In the milk bowl, add water, gulaal, flower petals and mithaai. Then put the silver and gold coins in. It is said if you make the coins jingle, it would attract Laxmi Maa to come to you. Visualize MahaLaxmi and say: Om Shreem MahaLakshmaye Namah. In some families, it is tradition to tap a coin to your teeth and to your eyes. Tapping the coin to one’s teeth is that though we pray for wealth, we acknowledge that we will not take our material wealth with us; and tapping them to one’s eyes symbolizes one’s request of intellectual stimulus.
• Now you are ready for the Mahalaxmi Aarti. Make a mound of rice and place camphor in a thali or an aarti container. After the aarti is over, rotate the lighted aarti container before all gods and the whole house. Place your hands over the lighted camphor and then over yourselves. At the end of the post, you have a video and the words for the Aarti :)
  
• Do the above with faith and devotion and don't worry too much if you do not do it very correctly. Say 'Haraye Namaha' 3 times. That takes care of all the mistakes that you may have committed knowingly or unknowingly during the ritual. What is most important is your faith and love.

After the Aarti, the ‘Palau’ is traditionally recited, followed by the ‘Bhog’. Now, what exactly is the Palau? Why do we do it? What are we doing when we do Bhog? Keep reading ;)

The Palau ceremony is said after songs of worship or the aati. We end our prayer with a request to the Lord to fill up the ‘jholee’ or the palau which they hold in their hand in a symbolic attempt to fill it with the goodies that they prayed for and which they expect to drop from Heaven at the end of their ritual. This is done by holding the lower part of the shirt stretched out to beg from the Lord the good and welfare of all. One should also pray for the well being of others before one asks anything for oneself.

The Bhog ceremony is the offering of the ‘prasad’ or the sweets and food to the deities for blessing. Some people recite a specific mantra during this ritual while some others say a few personal words of appreciation. Either way, it is one’s personal way of making offerings and securing blessings for what they are about to consume. The items offered are gathered in small amounts on a plate or a ‘thaali’ – then placed in front of the altar. Once offered, the items are returned to the pots or serving trays from which they were taken – an action that symbolically spreads the blessings of the food into everything that is prepared / served.

And as promised, here is the Aarti...

MAHALAXMI AARTI



Om Jai Laxmi Mata, Maiya Jai Laxmi Mata,
Tumko nis din sevat, Maiya ji ko nis din sevat
Hari Vishnu Data
Om Jai Laxmi Mata (Repeat above verse)

Uma Ramaa Brahmaani, Tum hi Jag Mata,Maiya Tum hi Jag Mata,
Surya Chandra Ma dhyaavat, Surya Chandra Ma dhyaavat
Naarad Rishi gaata.
Om Jai Laxmi Mata.

Durga Roop Niranjani, Sukh Sampati Data, Maiya Sukh Sampati Data
Jo koyee tumko dhyaavat, Jo koyee tumko dhyaavat
Ridhi Sidhi dhan paataa
Om Jai Laxmi Mata.

Tum Pataalani Nivasini, Tum hi Shubh Data, Maiya tum hi Shubh Data
Karma Prabhaav Prakaashini, Karma Prabhaav Prakaashini
Bhuv Niddhi ke praata
Om Jai Laxmi Mata

Jis ghar tum rehti teh, sab sath goon aataa, Maiya sab sath goon aataa,
Saab sambhav hojata jataa, Saab sambhav hojata jataa
Man naheen ghabraataa.
Om Jai Laxmi Mata

Tum Bin Yaghya na hote, vaastra na ho paata, Maiya vaastra na ho paata,
Khana paan ka vaibhav, Khana paan ka vaibhav
Sab tumse aata
Om Jai Laxmi Mata

Shubh Goon Mandir sunder, shero da di jaata, Maiya shero da di jaata
Ratna chaturdashi tum bin, Ratna chaturdashi tum bin
Koi nahi paata
Om Jai Laxmi Mata.

Maha Laxmiji ki Aarti, jo koi nar gaata, Maiya jo koi nar gaata,
Pur aananda samata, Pur aananda samata,
Paap utar jaata
Om Jai Laxmi Mata.

Om Jai Laxmi Mata, Maiya Jai Laxmi Mata,
Tumko nis din sevat, maiya ji ko nis din sevat
Hari Vishnu Data
Om Jai Laxmi Mata (Repeat above verse)