Vashtu Puja
A family is moving into an empty flat across from
us. They were ready to begin their vasthu puja when they realized they didn't
have any matches to light the ceremonial incense and candles. When they rang the
doorbell to ask us for some, Marion was already in her pajamas, so she ran to
the bedroom. I got them the matches and then was invited to sit in on their
puja.
First of all, puja literally means "respect," and
is a practice whereby Hindus pray and make offerings to their gods. Hindus hold
pujas for all sorts of reasons, ranging from regular observances to special
occasions like a birth. In this case, I was invited to a vashtu puja. Vashtu, in
my very limited understanding, is sort of like Indian Feng Shui. Supposedly in
some parts of India the rent paid for a living space is partly a function of its
vashtu (which I guess would translate as its spiritual energy or promise). The
family, the Kumars, was holding a vashtu puja to bless its new home.
Needless to say, it was a very
interesting experience. A holy man and his accomplice were hired to offer the
puja. I'll have to ask Dr. Kumar, but I wonder if it has always been the
practice that someone is hired to perform such a puja, or whether traditionally
most families had someone in the family spiritually worthy or capable of
offering the puja themselves. In any case, the Kumars hired a person to offer
the vashtu puja.
I figured it would be
disrespectful to ask if I could take pictures, even after the actual prayer was
completed, so unfortunately I'll have to describe everything. In the middle of
the otherwise empty house, the holy man had prepared a geometrical design on the
floor made of white and yellow flower petals. around the perimeter were about
four incense holders, each with 4-5 sticks of incense, and five brass candles
(the typical Indian type where a wick is set in liquid oil that is held in a
bowl). In the center of the design was what looked like a folded dhoti or sari,
on top of which was a coconut.
For
about a half an hour, the holy man went through a routine where he sprinkled oil
on some flower petals that he then tossed onto the stacked items in the center
of the design; all this while saying prayers in a hushed voice. He also at
various times rang a bell for 20-30 seconds. I wondered if it would wake the
sleeping kids. Later in the ceremony, the holy man uncovered various jars and
bowls in which were salts, oils, and other unidentifiable contents. These were
either added to the oil in a candle he would wave around what I'll call the
alter (the flower petal design and stacked items) or sprinkled into other bowls.
One such bowl had about two dozen balls that appeared to be made out of a flour
or grain mixture of some sort.
Later
still, the ceremony became interactive and I was a little nervous. Granted, Dr.
Kumar left his mobile on for the whole thing, and he never bothered to turn it
off even after it rang twice, so I figured the whole thing was a little bit
casual and my participation, or potential failure to participate correctly,
would not be a problem. First the holy man lit about eight more candles, but
these were not the type that burned oil. They appeared to be burning some sort
of organic matter. At this point, with all the candles and incense, the place
became almost unbearably smokey. There was no fan on since it would have blown
out the flames, and for some reason only one door was open (perhaps fear that a
breeze passing through would also blow out the flames). So there was no air
circulation. Dr. Kumar's mother, who was sitting on the floor near the flames (I
was standing at the back of the room, near the open door), had a pretty intense
cough.
A final candle was lit, and the
holy man came around to all of us. I watched the first few people so I would
know what to do if he came to me. I held out my hands over the candle, as if to
catch the smoke, and then moved my hands to my face as if to smell the smoke,
and then made a 'namaste' gesture. Later there was a cup from which the holy man
poured a small amount of liquid into people's hands. Everyone sipped the liquid
out of their hands, and then wiped their hands on their face. I passed on this
one, since it entailed stepping forward to the center of the
room.
At the end of the ceremony, the
holy man placed what looked like a cutting board at the feet of Dr. Kumar. Dr.
Kumar put down payment for the man on the cutting board, and then the man took
the money and placed down a banana leaf with a paste mixture and flowers on it.
Everyone took a small amount of the paste and applied it to their foreheads. I
was going to pass on this as well, until Dr. Kumar brought the banana leaf to me
and showed me how to do it.
The payment
aspect was especially interesting to me. I know it's the sociologist in me
again, but I'm fascinated at how the sacred (vashtu puja) and profane (cash
exchange) are handled in such a ceremony. There were obviously other interesting
aspects, but this one stood out. The whole experience also made me reflect on my
own religious beliefs. I won't go into those here, but suffice it to say that I
saw a lot of similarities (not superficially, but in terms of deeper things like
human relationships to god(s) between what I observed at the puja and what I
have observed in the religious traditions with which I have personal
experience.
Later Dr. Kumar informed me
that there would be another puja at 4:30 a.m., then tomorrow a welcoming
ceremony where milk is served, and finally a third puja, after which the family
would be required to spend the night in the flat (they won't move in full-time
until April 1). I didn't ask to be invited back for the 4:30 a.m. puja.
Posted: Fri - March 24, 2006 at 08:46 AM