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Devotional Practice
The mantras, hymns, pujas, and vows of everyday Hindu life, each explained in plain words: what it is, where it comes from, what it means, and how it is kept.
Mantras
The Gayatri Mantra
A dawn prayer asking the sun to illuminate the mind
The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
Shiva's mantra of healing, courage, and release from fear
Om Namah Shivaya
The five-syllable heart of Shaiva devotion, whispered and roared across centuries
The Hare Krishna Mahamantra
Sixteen words that carry the whole heart toward Krishna
Om Gam Ganapataye Namah
The ancient seed-call to Ganesha, spoken before every beginning
The Shanti Mantra
A wish for peace that begins with all beings, not just you
Asato Ma Sadgamaya
A three-line prayer that asks to be led from unreal to real
Om: The Sound Itself
The syllable that holds everything, spoken before all else
The Lakshmi Mantra
A call to Lakshmi, the goddess who holds grace in her open hands
The Saraswati Mantra
A prayer to the goddess of learning, placed on every student's lips
Aartis and Chalisas
The Hanuman Chalisa
Tulsidas's forty-verse song of courage, shelter, and devotion to Hanuman
Om Jai Jagdish Hare
The one aarti that unites almost every Hindu household at dusk
Om Jai Shiv Omkara
The great Shiva aarti, sung at the lamp's edge with an open heart
Jai Ambe Gauri
The beloved aarti that calls the Mother home each evening
Jai Ganesh Deva
The aarti that opens every door before worship begins
The Durga Chalisa
Forty verses of shelter, sung at the feet of the Mother
The Shiv Chalisa
Forty verses of devotion, carried to Shiva on every breath
Stotras
The Vishnu Sahasranama
A thousand names of Vishnu, spoken from a battlefield to eternity
The Lalita Sahasranama
A thousand names of the Goddess, each one a doorway to her grace
The Aditya Hridayam
The sun-hymn Agastya gave Rama on the eve of battle
The Shiva Tandava Stotram
Ravana's thundering hymn to the Lord who dances the world alive
The Mahishasura Mardini Stotram
A thunder-paced hymn to the Goddess who broke the buffalo demon's pride
The Rama Raksha Stotram
A sage's prayer that wraps the devotee in Rama's shelter
Bhaja Govindam
Shankara's urgent call to turn the heart toward Govinda before time runs out
Nirvana Shatkam
Shankara's six-verse hymn that strips the self to pure awareness
The Lingashtakam
Eight verses of pure praise for the sacred form of Shiva
The Kanakadhara Stotram
Shankara's golden hymn calling Lakshmi's grace to every threshold
Puja at Home
Daily Puja at Home
A small flame lit each morning, calling the divine into the home
Setting Up a Puja Room
How to make a corner of your home into sacred ground
The Satyanarayan Puja
A puja of gratitude and trust offered to Vishnu, the Lord of Truth
Ganesha Puja
Welcoming the remover of obstacles before every new beginning
Lakshmi Puja on Diwali
Welcoming the goddess of abundance into a lit and ready home
Navratri Worship and Ghatasthapana
Nine nights of lamp-light, barley, and the Goddess who holds everything
The Griha Pravesh Puja
The rite that turns a new house into a home
Vrats and Observances
The Ekadashi Vrat
A twice-monthly fast that turns the eleventh day toward Vishnu
The Pradosh Vrat
A twilight fast that opens the heart to Shiva's grace
The Monday Vrat
A weekly offering of hunger and prayer at Shiva's feet
Karva Chauth
A wife's daylong fast, kept by moonlight and love
The Vat Savitri Vrat
The vow a wife keeps under the banyan to hold love past death
Fasting During Navratri
Nine nights of fasting, prayer, and turning the heart toward the Mother
Living Practice
How Aarti Is Performed
A circling flame, a shared blessing, and the heart turned toward the divine
What Prasad Is
The gift you give the deity, returned to you as grace
The Tulsi Plant in the Home
The living plant at the heart of a Hindu household's daily devotion
What Vastu Shastra Is
An ancient Indian art of shaping space so life can breathe
Vastu for the Puja Room
Where you place the shrine shapes how the room breathes