Prayer Stand

I stood in front of the small prayer stand in my house and glanced at the Gods placed there. The stand is in the corner of our kitchen. They were placed there because that was the only suitable space we found for them. The stand is a piece of glass held up by two metallic brackets.
Our prayer stand. Image courtesy: Dhanya Vallat
Framed photographs of Goddess Laxmi, Lord Krishna, Lord Ganapathy, and Lord Ayyappa are placed on the stand. Every day, early in the morning, I pray to the Gods asking for their help and assistance to guide me through the day.

This was my prayer routine before I got married.

Since marriage, I have added a few steps to my morning prayer routine. I first fill water in a kindi and shankha. Then, I light the traditional lamp at home. I then burn a single incense stick. I move them in a clockwise motion around all the photo frames on the prayer stand thrice. I then place the incense stick on a stand. I then proceed to pray as I did above and then touch my heart and then the head.

In an episode of Postcards from Nowhere, talking about the Kerala art of kalaripayattu, the host Utsav Mamoria shared the significance of touching the hand to the heart and then the mind. He says that it is to signify that the mind is to start the fight only if the heart approves. I think my action at the end of my prayer is to signify something similar.

Once in a week, we visit the Ayyappa Temple. In my next post, I hope that I will be able to share with you my prayer when I am at the temple.




Location: Pune, Maharashtra, India

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