
Diwali Essentials For A Brighter Celebration
A Comprehensive Guide to Traditional Pooja Rituals and Items Needed
The Diwali Festival, or the Festival of Lights, is one of India's grandest festivals and one of the largest festivals across the world. The word "Diwali" originated from the Sanskrit term "Deepavali," which literally means "a row of lights." The festival signifies victory for good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and light over darkness. It's a season when families gather, illuminate their homes, give each other gifts, and more so perform pious ceremonies to glorify the sacred.
Performing pooja on Diwali is a very sacred thing, and the right items help to fulfill the rituals properly. In this guide, we will walk you through the list of the essentials needed as well as tips for the beautiful atmosphere to create while performing pooja and decoration on Diwali pooja. Let's peek into all the must-haves that can help you celebrate Diwali in your own unique way-by devotion, by tradition, and full of joy.
Meaning of Diwali Pooja
Diwali Pooja is observed over five days, with the third being the most important since that is the day when families do their Lakshmi Pooja. It is believed that the pooja brings in Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, prosperity, and abundance. Such practice is said to ensure one's good luck, success, and happiness for the following year.
To make the pooja meaningful, first of all, you need to collect all the required Diwali pooja items in advance. These items are symbolic, but they help create a sacred atmosphere, which will make you feel closer to the divine.
Must-Have Diwali Pooja Items
Here's the list of essentials that you must include in your Diwali pooja kit and some additional tips on how to make the pooja special and memorable.
- Diyas (Earthen Lamps)
The heart of the festival of Diwali lies in the diyas. They are lit up for just the very purpose of diaspelling darkness and ushering light into our lives. Traditionally made out of clay, these little earthen lamps filled with oil or ghee and lit by the use of cotton wick is included in the pooja. These would be kept all around the house on each of the doorways and the windows and the balconies. According to beliefs, this shiny light of diyas keeps evil spirits away and brings positivity into life.
Decorate during Diwali pooja: Hang colourful and beautiful diyas in a line outside your mandir (home temple). On some occasions, the earthen diyas, flowers, and rangoli make it look really warm and divine.
- Camphor
Burning camphor is considered a sacred way of performing Hindu rituals, mainly during the festival of Diwali. The fragrant smoke of camphor not only purifies the air but has a spiritual cleansing effect too. It is believed that lighting camphor removes negativity from the house and showers positivity. One crucial part of the Diwali pooja is the offering of camphor to the deities during the aarti.
- Incense Sticks (Agarbatti)
Incense sticks create a fragrant environment during pooja. The soothing aroma of agarbatti is sure to aid in meditation and focus the mind during rituals. Various fragrances such as sandalwood, jasmine, and rose are more often used for their calming effects. These incense sticks are normally kept in holders either on puja thali or around the pooja space, which fills the room with an aromatic sense divine.
- Puja Thalis (Plates)
A puja thali holds the importance of incorporating the various items in pooja and all the offerings in one place. Thalis are produced using different materials such as brass, copper, or stainless steel, and they are typically decorated with intricate designs. A diwali pooja items list usually includes a thali that contains items such as kumkum or vermilion rice diya flowers sweets prasad.
Puja thali is beautifully decorated and placed as the center of the Diwali rituals. You can add some creativity to the design of the thali with flower petals, turmeric, and colorful rangoli designs.
- Havan Samagri (Materials for Fire Rituals)
Apart from pooja, some families also perform havan on Diwali. It is a fire ritual and the materials include dried herbs, ghee, and wood burned for divine blessings in the fire ritual. The havan smoke is said to cleanse the surroundings and bestow prosperity.
- Ghee (Clarified Butter)
Ghee is a very important part of any Diwali celebration. It is used to light diyas and for offerings during pooja and havan. The use of ghee represents purity, and using it in the pooja brings divine blessings. In addition, ghee can be used to prepare sweets for prasad during the pooja.
- Sweets and Prasad
Sweet dishes form a very major part of the celebration. The pooja ceremony includes offering sweets and prasad to God. These preparations-the ladoos, pedas, kheers, and what have you-are prepared with utmost love and devotion. Later, after the pooja, the same sweets are distributed as prasad among family and friends-meaning sharing the divine blessings.
Those sweets prepared from ghee are especially auspicious as ghee is pure and divine. Do not forget to include your favorite sweets in your list of items for the diwali pooja to be offered in the ceremony.
- Flowers (Marigold, Rose)
Flowers, mainly marigold and rose, are utilized the most for mandir decoration during pooja in diwali. The marigold garland can be seen adorning the mandir and filling the environment with the aroma of the flowers. Fresh flowers are rendered as a token of love for and reverence toward the deities. You can get the pooja space beautifully decorated with flower petals and rangoli designs.
- Tulsi Leaves
The sacred plant in the Hindu religion is tulsi, also known as holy basil. It is even worshipped in Diwali. During pooja, tulsi leaves are offered to the deities. Including tulsi in pooja brings peace, prosperity, and good health for household.
- Candles
While diyas remain the classic choice for lighting Diwali, candles can also be used to brighten up your home. Be it scented candles or a decorative candle, the overall setup for diwali pooja takes more of a contemporary look. They offer soft, warm glows and complement lighting from diyas.
How to Create the Perfect Atmosphere for Diwali Pooja
Beautiful and inviting pooja area setting is very important for the creation of a sacred space for worship. Here's how to prepare your home to get ready for Diwali pooja:
Mandir Decoration: Mandir or Pooja space should be cleaned thoroughly. Marigold garlands and rose petals make it beautiful and pure, with colorful torans (beautifully prepared flower or bead door hangings around the mandir) adding rich beauty to it.
Lighting: Apart from diyas, small decorative candles and fairy lights surrounding the mandir will give a peaceful and heavenly ambiance. Put diyas in all other areas of the house to portray that light is spread in all directions.
Rangoli preparations: Colorful rangoli made of powder colours or flower petals is an integral component of Diwali decor. The beautiful rangoli designs created at the entrance in front of your pooja room welcome Goddess Lakshmi to your home.
Decorating the puja thali: Take time to brighten up your puja thali with colorful colors, flowers, and rangoli designs. Beautifully framed thali is added to the festive ambiance and helps in making your pooja meaningful.
Conclusion
Diwali - Celebrate with Devotion and Tradition
Diwali is a festival that marks the occasion of spiritual growth and bonding. The right diwali pooja items would ensure that you perform the rituals smoothly and with devotion. GiriUSA offers a wide range of diwali pooja kits as well as diwali pooja items for the complete celebration.
Come and shop from GiriUSA.com for all your diwali pooja items. Let the light of Diwali illuminate your life with joy, prosperity, and happiness.