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II Diwali /
Deepavali : Laxmi / Lakshmi : Puja / Pooja II

Diwali 2008 - October 28th
Laxmi Puja, or the
worship of the goddess of
prosperity and wealth,
is the main event on Diwali in North and West India.
It is believed that Goddess Laxmi visit
everyone during Diwali and brings peace and prosperity to all.
It is s extremely important to keep the house spotlessly clean and
pure on Diwali. Goddess Lakshmi likes cleanliness, and she will
visit the cleanest house first. This is also the reason why the
broom is worshipped on this day with offerings of
haldi and
kumkum (turmeric and
vermilion). Lamps are lit in the evening to welcome the goddess.
They are believed to light up Her path.
Step by Step
Diwali Pujan / Laxmi Puja / Lakshmi Pooja:
In Diwali pujan or Laxmi pooja
mainly Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi in her three forms are
worshipped. Lord Ganesha
-is worshipped at the beginning of every auspicious act as
Vighnaharta; Goddess Lakshmi - is worshipped in her three
forms - Mahalakshmi (the goddess of wealth and money),
Mahasaraswati (the goddess of books and learning), and
Mahakali; Kuber (the treasurer of the gods) is also
worshipped.
- On a raised platform spread
a new cloth.
- Place a handful of grains in
the centre and, on this, place a
kalash, lotta
(pitcher). Fill three-fourth of the
kalash with water
and place a betel nut, a flower, a coin, and some rice
grains in it. Arrange five kinds of leaves or mango leaves
in the kalash .
- Place a small dish on the
kalash and fill it
with rice grains. Draw a lotus with turmeric powder (
haldi ) over the
rice grains and place the idol of goddess Lakshmi over it,
along with coins.
- In front of the
kalash , on the
right (South-West direction), place the idol of Ganesha.
Also place ink and books related to your business or
occupation on the platform.
- Light a deepak (lamp) and
the Agarbatti (incense sticks)
begin the
puja by offering
haldi, kumkum , and flowers to the platform on which the
kalash is placed.
- Sprinkle this water on all
puja utensils to
purify them.
- Make a Panchamitra
with 5 ingredients of milk, curd, ghee(clarified butter),
sugar & Honey.
- Start with Ganesh
Pujan (Ganeshji are a must for Diwali pujan.
Ganeshji should be worshipped in all pujas before any
other god or goddess. He is the Lord of
Wisdom and the remover of obstacles.)
by reciting
Ganesh Mantras
and
Ganesh aarti.
Offer a garland to the god. Offer flowers and make an
offering of sweets, coconut and fruits.
- Now invoke goddess Laxmi by
reciting the Laxmi
mantras.Then offer the flowers to the idol.
- Place the idol of Lakshmi in
a plate and bathe it with water,
panchamrit and then
with water containing some gold ornament or a pearl. Wipe
the idol clean and place it back on the
kalash .
Alternately, you can just sprinkle water and panchamrit on
the idol with a flower.
- Offer sandal paste,
haldi, kumkum, to
the goddess. Offer a garland to the goddess. Offer
flowers and make an offering of sweets, coconut and fruits.
- Then worship the ink and
business books. Open the first page of each book and write
'' Shubha Labh '' on
it and draw a Swastika in the clockwise direction.
- Wash all your gold and
silver coins with water,
panchamrit and then with water
- Make an offering of puffed
rice and batasha to the
Gods.
- Finally, perform the
aarti for goddess
Laxmi and the
universal aarti of "Om Jai Jagdish Hare..".
- At the end distribute the
prasad to all members present and the have some for
yourself.
- Now light the lamps and
candles all around the house. No corner of the house should
be left in darkness. (Note : Donot light the diyas
before puja.)
More about Diwali :

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