Hawan &Puja
What is a Hawan?
A havan or Homa is a religious ceremony performed in temples and in homes that involves worship through the use of a sacred fire kindled as per the guidelines in the Vedic scriptures. It is a process of eradicating inner imperfections prevalent in our being and has all the healing techniques included in it beautifully. It is a rare combination of Accupressure, Touch healing, Meditation, Psychiatry, Knowledge and Wisdom. Derived from Sanskrit word ‘Hu’, the words havan and homa mean ‘to offer’, ‘to present’ and ‘to eat’. The word havan is generally used in North India while homa is more often used in South India, but in either case, the meanings are identical. The use of fire as a means of worship is the most ancient of all rites, going back to the earliest Vedic times.
How is Hawan performed?
Hawan is performed in a receptacle (Hawan kund) in which a fireplace (Vedi) is made with bricks. The Hawan fireplace is decorated with colorful flowers, leaves, grains, and beans. Wood to be used as fuel for Hawan should burn easily without creating much smoke. The Hawan wood should be completely dry and cut or broken to suit the size of the Kund. The Hawan Samagri is a combination of thirty-six herbs used to purify the atmosphere and smells very good, like incense. Puja Samagri normally consists of a mixture of sandalwood powder and ghee. The other essential ingredients include Agarbatti (Incense Sticks), Dhoop (Incense), Roli (Colored powder), Gangajal (Holy Water), Mauli (Sacred Thread), Kapoor (Camphor), Laung (Clove), Elaichi (Cardamom) and Mishri (Crystal Sugar).
What is the significance of a Hawan?
- It is a process of eradicating inner imperfections prevalent in our being.
- If you are experiencing difficulties of any kind, doing a Hawan will help to lessen those difficulties. In addition, as a very sacred act of merit, it will benefit all family members and invited friends.
- The spiritual significance lies in remembering, praising and thanking God and His Supreme Nature, praying for wisdom to perform the right actions, and praying for abolition of our imperfections and inculcation of positive qualities.
- The combination of the powerful energy of the fire and the Sanskrit mantras creates extremely auspicious and purifying vibrations that are beneficial to all who attend the Hawan.
- The smoke that rises from a Hawan contains a powerful healing energy and as it rises to the heavens it purifies the atmosphere, both physically and subtly, encouraging a peaceful environment and gentle weather.
- A rare combination of Accupressure, Touch healing, Meditation, Psychiatry, Knowledge and Wisdom
Combining Puja with Hawan
A Hawan or Homa is similar to a Puja in the sense that both are common modes of Hindu worship and both are symbolic forms of communication. Combining ‘Puja’ and ‘Hawan’ is, in fact, the most common practice of Hindu worship. For instance, a ceremony could begin with Puja of praying Lord Ganesha followed by a Puja using a copper pot, coconut and leaves to Lord Varuna which may include a ‘Hawan’ directed towards Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Maa Durga. As a matter of fact, there are many Pujas and many Hawans combined together as per the guidelines in the Vedic scriptures.
We will organize Hawan and Puja at any occasion according to the procedure of ‘Hindu Puja Vidhi and mantra. It will be arranged at a suitable time, location and occasion. For more information, kindly contact us and request a Hawan and Puja.
“The basis of life has been said to be food. The basis of food is earth. The basis of earth is water and the basis of water is air. If air will be pure, all elements of the chain will become pure, thus purifying and cleansing life itself”.