Hinduism – Why do we have a prayer room

I have just got a book (author’s name is not printed) on Hinduism and its rituals giving scientific reasons

as per Swami Chinmayanandji.  I am just reciting the contents of it for the benefit of maximum readers.

Why do we have a Pooja Room?: Most Indian homes have a prayer room or altar.  A lamp is lit and the Lord

worshiped each day. Other spiritual practices like Japa-repetition of the Lord’s Name, meditation, Paaraayana-

reading of the scriptures, prayers, and devotional singing etc. are also done here. Special worship is done on

auspicious occasions like nbirthdays, anniversaries, festivals and the like.  Each member of the family- young or

old-communes with and worships the Divine here.

The Lord is the entire creation.  He is therefore, the true owner of the house we live in too.  The prayer room is

the Master room of the house.  We are the earthly occupants of His property.  This notion rids us of false pride, ego

and possessiveness.

The ideal attitude to take is to regard the Lord as the true owner of our homes and us as caretakers of His home.  But

if that is rather difficult, we could at least think of Him as a very welcome guest.  Just as we would house an important

guest in the best comfort, so too we felicitate the Lord’s presence in our homes by having a prayer room or altar, which is

at all times, kept clean and well-decorated.

Also the Lord is all pervading.  To remind us that He resides in our homes with uis, we have prayer rooms.  Without the

grace of the Lord, no task can be successfully or easily accomplished.  We invoke His grace by communing with Him in the

prayer room each day and on special occasions.

Each room in a house is dedicated to a specific funcvtion like the bed-room for resting, the drawing room to receive guests,

the kitchen for cooking etc.  The furniture, decor and the atmosphere of each room are made conducive to the purpose it serves.

So too for the purpose of meditation, worship and prayer, we should have a conductive atmosphere-hence the need for a prayer room.

Sacred thoughts and sound vibrations pervade the place and influence the minds of those who spend time there.  Spiritual thoughts

and vibrations accumulated through regular meditation, worship and chanting done there pervade the prayer room.  Even when we are

tired or agitated, by just sitting in the prayer room for a while, we feel calm, rejuvenated and spiritually uplifted.

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