I am staying with my girlfriend's family in Malaysia. They are Hindus, and I have converted to Hinduism to marry her (but that's in the long run). They have a home altar, and it has doors that you are supposed to shut at night and open in the morning with special ceremonies. However, they aren' that ritualistic and so they don't know how to do it. I am extremely ritualistic (I visited an ISKCON temple in New Zealand, so I have a fairly good idea of Hindu theology and worship) and I would like to maintain the altar properly. Does anyone here know of a guide to maintain a home altar, with prayers and mantras to be chanted at the appropriate places?
Also, does anyone know of a guide for performing puja properly. I've seen several, but most 1) don't have the appropriate prayers to say, and 2) Aren't from the kind of Hinduism practiced here in Malaysia (South Indian Hinduism). The Puja set on our altar contains the following:
- a small bell
- a small dish with a handle for burning cone or round incense with a handle to hold it
- a small lamp with a handle to hold it (burns either oil or camphor)
- a camphor lamp (it is a round conical lamp with a raised portion in the middle to hold the camphor)
- a rounded (convex) pot of water
- a concave pot of water with a spoon
- a container of sacred ash'
- a container to hold kumkum powder
- a stick incense holder
At the temple, the priest offers the incense first, then the small oil lamp, then water with a spoon, then the large camphor lamp, and then sprinkles the deity with flowers. Is this the order I should use for home worship, and if so, what do I say when offering each item?
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