As Festival of Diwali has many legends associated with it, we worship God and Goddess to seek their blessings on these sacred days of the year.

Lakshmi puja

Goddess Lakshmi, the wife of Lord Vishnu and Daughter of Sage Bhrigu is worshiped for light, beauty, good fortune and wealth. On the day of Diwali Goddess Lakshmi descends on earth in her celestial light and beauty, visits all the Indian homes to bless the families with peace, prosperity and good luck. It is said she likes to visit only clean and nicely decorated house with lots of diyas and light.

Lakshmi pujan is one of the most important duties to be performed in Diwali; and this is how it begins. Spread a new cloth on a raised platform. Put a handful of grains and a kalash (pitcher) upon it, three fourth of it filled with water. Put some rice, betel nut, a coin and a flower in the kalash. Put 5 kinds of leaves or 5 mango leaves on the kalash and place a small plate on them. As Goddess Lakshmi stands gracefully upon a lotus flower, fill the plate with rice and draw a lotus with turmeric powder on rice; and place the idol of Goddess Lakshmi upon it.

According to Hindu mythology Lord Ganesha is the God of good beginning, who wades away the obstacles from one’s path. Ganesha is to be worshiped before any God or Goddess for a flawless completion of their worship. On the right side of Goddess Lakshmi’s place Lord Ganesha’s idol. In front of the idols place a pen/ink and books of occupation or business accounts. The wealth we possess is also a form of Lakshmi.

Offer kumkum, haldi and flowers on the platform upon which the idols are placed and also offer kumkum haldi and flower to the water to be used in puja to invoke Goddesses of River to join you in the worship. Then by reciting the Vedic mantras, invoke Goddess Lakshmi. If not with Vedic mantras, you can even do it by chanting her name with flowers in your hands and her image in your mind. Then offer the flowers to the idol.

Place the idol of Goddess Lakshmi on a separate plate. Bathe it with water and panchamrit (a mixture of milk, curd, sugar, honey and ghee) and then also with water containing an ornament. There after wipe it and place it back on the kalash. Light a lamp and incense sticks, Offer sandalwood paste, saffron paste, kumkum, haldi, abeer and gulal to the idol. Offer bel leaves, flower and puffed rice. There after make the offerings of sweets, fruits and coconut to Goddess Lakshmi.

Towards the end perform the aarti. Make sure the aarti is sung in a low voice and in a peaceful and eternal atmosphere. Goddess Lakshmi doesn’t like loud voice and a lot of clapping.

Ganesh puja

Ganesh puja is an imperative part of any Indian ritual to be performed on any auspicious Indian occasion or festival according to the Hindu mythology. Lord Ganesha is the son of Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva. Lord Ganesha is worshiped for attaining peace, knowledge and prosperity. Diwali, the beginning of Indian New Year is the most sacred festival for Hindus. To invoke Lord Ganesha and seek his blessing, Ganesh Puja is performed for the joyous Diwali celebrations. As Goddess Lakshmi is worshiped to seek good fortune and wealth, Lord Ganesha is also worshiped on the same altar to ask him to bless the devotees for a hurdle-free performance of Lakshmi-Ganesh Puja.

On a Raised Platform, idol of Lord Ganesha is placed on the Right side of Goddess Lakshmi, made an offering of saffron paste, sandalwood paste, kumkum, haldi, abeer, gulal, bel leaves, flowers and a garland of cotton beads. The flowers offered being of marigold pleases Lord Ganesha extremely. Lit a lamp, incense sticks and dhoop in front of the idols and chant the mantra and the name of God and Goddess. After the puja, perform aarti of Lord Ganesha, singing His praise and Mercy on devotes and thank him for his countless blessings.

Kali puja

During one of the battles of Goddess Durga against the evil forces, her fearful and furious form “Maa Kali” is depicted as having born from her forehead. Kali Maa emerged to protect the world from the cruelty of devils. So to destroy the evil and the negative forces in the world and also within us, Maa Kali is worshiped on Diwali.

As the Legend reveals, Shambhu and Nimbhu, two menacing devils marred the peace of the king of Gods, Indra. As a result, the Gods took shelter in the Himalayas, the home of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Fearing the devils, Gods sought protection of the Goddess of strength, Maa Durga. As a savior of heaven and earth, to defeat evils, Maa kali came into existence from the forehead of Maa Durga. Killing the demons, Maa kali wore a garland of their skull. With blood shed all around her Maa Kali lost her senses and went up to kill anyone and everyone around. Watching the massacre, to stop it, Lord Shiva threw himself under Maa Kali’s feet. Seeing Lord Shiva beneath her feet she came back to her senses and stopped the killing. Getting shocked, her tongue came out of her mouth. This is the reason why Maa Kali’s idol is in such form.

Ever since, Kali puja is performed to overcome all the negativity and evils around and within us. Its’ usually performed by a tantric on a new moon day in November.

Diwali Aarti

Aarti forms an imperative part of any Hindu worship. Devotees sing the prayers to the respective God and Goddess followed by their Puja. These are the verse praising God or Goddess including a small story or the tale of their merciful deeds. Aarti are sung in a melodious tune to please the God or Goddess.