Thai poosam is thanksgiving day to Lord Muruga after he won the war against a demon. Lord Muruga is the Lord of virtue, wealth and youth in Hindu mythology. Apart from the celebrations taking place in India Singapore and Malaysia undergoes a grand celebration of Thai poosam every year. The celebrations include devotees offering paal kavadi(milk), thaneer kavadi(water), spike kavadi, pushpa kavadi(flowers) with sincere prayers to Lord Muruga. The Bathu caves in Malaysia and Srinivasa perumal temple of Singapore involves a grand celebration.
The poojas to Lord Muruga are done in an grandeur way with milk, panchamirtham etc for two days. Chanting Sri subramanya gayathri mantra on this day is very auspicious.
One should always enter the temple through the main entrance.
Never enter a temple wearing wet clothes.
One should never go to the temple empty handed. You should take some offerings like Coconut, Fruits, Flowers or Camphor.
In a temple one can light a burnt out lamp, but should never put out a burning or lit lamp.
Vadha Narayana Maram (Tree) represents Air among the Pancha Boodhas. If you worship Lord Ganesh who is set up at the base of such trees your growth will increase.
Always enter a temple or a house by placing your right feet first.
One should never pray Lord Shani (Saturn) by standing right in front of the deity. One should always stand by the side when worshipping Lord Shani.
After returning home from the temple you should give some time before you wash your hands and legs.
When a temple is closed one should never worship/pray from outside.
One should go to the temple only during the temple visiting hours. You should never sleep inside the temple.
One should not carry the items for Pooja/Archana using the left hand.
When carrying items for a Pooja in a bag, basket make sure the bag is not left hanging below your hip level.
You should never bring home any item that is considered as property of the temple.
Arasa Maram (Tree) represents Sky among the Pancha Boodhas. If you worship Lord Ganesh who is set up at the base of the Arasa Maram you will be blessed with children.
Vanni Maram (Tree) represents Fire among the Pancha Boodhas. If you worship Lord Ganesh who is set up at the base of the Vanni Maram you will be blessed with all your needs in life.
Amla Tree (Nelli Maram) represents Water among the Pancha Boodhas. If you worship Lord Ganesh who is set up at the base of the Nelli Maram your wealth and income will be very satisfactory.
One should never have a bath immediately after returning from the temple.
Inside a temple never pray at a place/sannadhi where there is no lamp lit.
When you are leaving the town from home, you should leave from the front entrance of your home and not from the rear side.
On Wednesdays and Saturdays never give or lend Gold or Silver Items.
You should never do auspicious things wearing wet clothes. Only inauspicious things are performed wearing wet clothes.
If you start repaying the first installment or payback regularly on Tuesdays your loan will be settled quickly.
Fasing on Chadurthi makes your life happier and increases the chances of attaining more benefits at work.
Fasting on Sankadahara Chadurthi protects you from sudden death and accidents.
Fasting on Sashti, Kirthigai protects you from evil forces and from health problems.
Fasting on Ekadesi brings you peace of mind and happiness.
Fasting on Pradosha fulfills all the desires and makes your life of no wants.
Fasting on Shivarathri makes your wishes come true.
When a person prays or performs a pooja for the benefit of others it is called as Paarartha Pooja.
You should never have a oil head bath on Amavasai, Pournami, Janma Nakshatram and on Sundays and also on your birthday and wedding day.
It is believed that Parvati resides at the base, Saraswati at the centre of the palm of your hand and Laksmi at the upper portion of the hand ie., fingertips. It is therefore advised that the first thing you see after you wake up in the morning is your right hand palm.
When a person prays or performs a pooja for himself ie., for his benefit it is called as Suvartha Pooja.
Hindu Customs on visiting Temple
Never sleep in a room that is completely dark. There should be at least some light in the room.
You should never put out a burning lamp, camphor or incense sticks by blowing with your mouth.
You should never sleep with your head placed in the North Direction.
You should always begin a Hanuman Pooja on a day when the star is Moolam and you should offer pooja only in the mornings.
On Tuesdays and Fridays never give or lend Rice or other Food Grains.
Avoid buying dress materials, gold and property on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
In the pooja room do not place pictures of Gods along with pictures of departed souls like grandfathers, great grandfathers etc. You can place them in the pooja room on a different side. For eg., if Gods are placed facing east you can place the pictures of the deceased facing south or north etc., If you worship this way then the blessings you will receive will be several fold.
Brahma Muhurtam is between 3:00 am and 6:00 am in the early morning. Lighting a lamp in this period makes all your desires come true.
Do not light a lamp or allow the lamp to glow from 9pm till brahma muhurtam.
When lighting a lamp in the pooja room make sure that the lamp is not facing south.
Lighting of Burnt Red Sand lamps (Agal Vilaku) will give you more power.
Lighting of lamps with Coconut oil or Ilupai oil brings you health and wealth.
Lighting of lamps with threads made from the lotus plant will relieve you from sins committed in the previous birth (Purva Janma Pavam) and bring wealth.
Lighting of lamps with threads made from cotton will maintain harmony in the family.
Lighting a lamp with threads of pure cotton and dipped in ganga water, turmeric water and rose water and then dried removes all sorts of thoshas and brings all sorts of wealth to entire family.
Lighting of lamps with Castor Oil brings you all kinds of wealth.
Lighting of lamps with pure ghee protects you from all kinds of health defects and gives you a prolonged healthy life.
You should never sleep in a room that is completely dark. There should be at least some light in the room..
Lighting of Bronze lamps will relieve you from your sins.
When praying to the family deity(Kula Dievam) you should light lamps with a mixture of Neem & Ilupai Oils along with Pure Cow Ghee.
One should worship Lord Narayanan by lighting lamps with Gingelly Oil.
You should never put out a burning lamp, camphor or incense sticks by blowing with your mouth.
One should worship Godess Mahalakshmi by lighting lamps with Pure Cow Ghee.
When adjusting the thread in lamps in a temple, your fingers will come in to contact with the oil of the lamp. One should never rub that oil on the head
Doing Prayer of thanks to God before taking food is appreciated in all religions as it assures the blessings from God that there will be no scarcity of food for the entire life.
If you sit facing east and have your food it increases your life span.
Lighting of lamps with threads made from cotton will maintain harmony in the family.
If you sit facing south and have your food it brings you fame.
You should never sit facing north when having food
It is always good to keep a handful of food to the crows before eating in the noon. The crow is considered as Lord Shani and by feeding him we try to appease him from his anger. It is also believed that feeding of crows is as good as feeding our deceased.
You should always donate food or money to beggars while going into the temple and not when returning from the temple.
The Solar Eclipse will be visible in India from 11:25:32 AM to 03:15:13 PM hrs (Indian Standard Time) on January 15th, 2010. The eclipse will pass between southern tip of India and northern Sri Lanka.While it will not be visible in USA and Canada, its visible also in
Africa, Bahrain, China, Dubai, Europe, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka.
Do not perform any work during Surya Grahanam
Temples are closed during Surya Grahan
Take bath in Ganga or Brahma Sarovar rivers on Solar Eclipse
Chant Mahamritunjaya Mantra of Lord Shiva and Ashtakshara Mantra of Lord Shri Krishna
"Makara Sankranthi" on 14th January is the most auspicious day at Sabarimala. Ayyappa swami said to King Rajashekara at the time of entering into meditation at Ponnambala Medu as "I am entering into eternal meditation for the betterment of the world. However, every year at the time of Makara Sankranthi, I will wake up from my meditation and open my eyes to see the world. At that time you may adorn my idol with all the ornaments that you have made for my coronation ceremony and Makara Jyoti will appear in the Ponnambala Medu."
As said by Him, every year Makara Jyothi or Makara Sankranthi is celebrated in a grand manner in Sabarimala, the abode of Swami Ayyappa in Kerala.On this day, the Jewel Casket is carried on head from the ancestral residence of the royal family of Panthalam to the Shrine on this day. A Garuda, the Brahaman kite, follows this ornaments-carrying procession, hovering about in the sky, After these ornaments are worn on the Lord the bird circles the temple in the sky three times and disappears.
A Star called as "Uthram Nakshathra" that can never been seen in the sky appears on the day of Makarajyothi before the sighting of the Jyoti. A Jyoti is seen for a little time on the hill top showing the presence of Swamy Ayyappan gracing his devotees.
'Harivarasanam' is the creation of Kumbakudi Kulathur Iyer. In 1955, Swami Vimochananad recited this Ashtakam for the first time at Sabarimala. And its a a nostalgic tradition that remains unbroken to this day that Harivarasanam is recited just prior to closing of the temple doors at night.
