Beautiful life just doesn’t happen; It is built by prayer, humility, sacrifice, and hard work –  Swami Chinmayananda

A prayer room is an integral part of every house be it big or small. We should have a prayer room because, it serves as a gateway between us and the supreme power. This spiritual arena in the house separates us from the materialistic world and connects with spirituality.

What is a Prayer Room?

In the Hindu Culture, we have a more profound significance of allocating a place for prayer at home. It is a sacred room from which positive energy radiates to other rooms. According to Vastu Shastra, it is favorable to have the pooja room in the center of the house. But, if this is not possible you can place it in the North-East direction or East, West directions.

In a prayer room, deities are worshipped by lighting a lamp. Spiritual practices like Japa, meditation, devotional singing, reading of Vedas and scriptures are also done here. On special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries, and on festivals like Diwali each member of the family communes with and worships the Lord in this room.  Click here to Know the importance of Puja in our lives.

Significance of a Prayer Room:

God is the creator of the entire universe, and we are mere caretakers of his creations. The presence of prayer room is a subtle reminder of the same. This master room shows us that we are only temporary occupants of his property, and hence we should never fall prey to pride and possessiveness.

The mere acceptance of this fact puts one in the path of dispassion, and enables to perform duties with complete involvement and unattached attitude.

Secondly, a prayer surfaced from the core of the heart in an undisturbed environment has a lot of power and prayer room serves this purpose. When you enter this sanctum, you are detached from worldly chaos and become one with God. This concentration enriches the devotion and unburdens the heart.

When we chant mantras in pooja room, positive vibrations are generated. These vibrations have a significant effect on our minds and provide right direction to live. Thus, it is essential that these rooms are placed away from Bedrooms and Bathrooms to avoid the penetration of negative energies. Read about impacts of positive thoughts on our mind.

Lastly, these rooms channelize energy that heals mind, body, and soul. When one visits these rooms, he gets a step closer to peace, prosperity, and progress.

The stream of happenings, come and go irresistibly around and above you, and that which gives the balance to face them steadily is prayer – Swami Chinmayananda.

Things to be kept in mind while making a prayer space in the house:

• While worshipping, one should face towards East/North.
• The height of the idols in Pooja room should be more than 2″ and not more than 9″.
• The feet of the idol should be at the chest level of the devotee worshipping.
• Avoid storing anything above the cabinet or slab where the God’s idol is placed.
• Do not make a Pooja room in a bedroom or on a wall adjacent to the bathroom.
• Wash your hands and legs before entering the pooja room.
• Use copper vessels for storing water in pooja room.
• Do not draw a triangular pattern of any God.
• The wall colors of pooja room should be white, lemon or light blue.
• The Agni Kund should be in the SE direction, and the offerings should be made to the fire with the face towards the east.
• Place the lamp in the Southeast corner of the pooja room.

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Remember, prayer is not to change the patterns around you, but to give you protection from them – Swami Chinmayananda.