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Abhakamma Guru Śaraṇa Sukhapāya Sakāralara Samaya Abhakama Śaraṇasukapāya yāṁ gātā leṣaṭa gurūhāya amṛta jālabhārasāya amṛta mīrābhīyā manābhārakya amṛta mīrābhīyā hirvāyaṇe jālatāyaṇe jānamātikā. Haṁsa Yogīrāja Mahākīśvarānanda Jīviśva Gurudeva Kī Chā Lambhodaram Viśālakṣam Vandeham Gaṇanāyagam Gajamukha Gaṇapatim Karuṇāsamudram Kaliyugavaradam Kalpadārum Bajabaja Duntivināyagam Sumugam Pārvatī Putram Prabhumsadam. Good morning, everybody. Thank you. I will speak in English, and then I will also speak in Hungarian. If someone else needs to translate into other languages, please take care of that, as I do not speak the other languages of the people present. I thought I would share with you a little about performing a small pūjā at home, or a pūjā to which you may invite people. That is what we do: we invite family and friends, organize a pūjā, and one person leads it while others join that family or person. I have prepared a little and will explain it to you. I began with the Gaṇeśa Śloka, the Gaṇeśa Mantra: "Ekadantam mahākāvyam saptakañchinasannigam lambodaram viśālakṣam vandeham gaṇanāyagam gajamukha gaṇapādim karuṇāsamudram kaligāvaradam kalpadāram bhaja bhaja dhuntivināyagam sumuham pārvatī putram prabhum sadā." The reason is that I am not as proficient as Swāmījī or other paṇḍits. So, my first prayer goes to Gaṇeśa, who would pardon me if I make any mistake during this little pūjā demonstration. I will keep this short, especially regarding the Śivaliṅga, and treat it with care. You must be very careful. So, be sure to take care. At a pūjā ceremony, the preparation is very important, and there is much work for those preparing. It is quite detailed, and there is great pleasure in doing it. Here, we have quickly put together a few items. First, I tried to draw a small kolam on the table. If there is an altar, the floor is cleaned first, typically swept and then wiped with a wet cloth so it is absolutely clean. On top of that, we create a design. I was born in South India. In the southern part, we prepare that area with what is called a kolam. It could also be referred to as a maṇḍala, but a maṇḍala is a more complicated version. A kolam is usually simpler; ladies can draw one in a couple of minutes. Here, I tried to make a kolam. I did this by taking a little flour from the kitchen—typically wheat flour—mixing it with water, and drawing with my finger. One can use the ring finger or little finger for finer lines. You can look at it later; it was drawn quickly and is quite simple. In South India, the tradition exists of sweeping in front of the house in the morning and drawing a kolam. Sometimes, instead of rice flour, a white stone powder is used. In some villages, if you do not see the kolam, it signals that something has happened in that house, like a death. I have already prepared this kolam. Now, I will proceed step by step. As a symbol of respect in such a ceremony, we wear a vāstrom, a cloth, around our waist. It is better to use a plate with some depth for performing abhiṣeka (pouring of water) so the liquid is contained. If you use a flat plate, it might spill. I will show you the items I have. First, for the abhiṣekam, I am taking this much water. I have plenty. I will repeat the process to show how it is done. When we perform abhiṣekam, we typically chant the Śrī Rudram. I will chant just the first verse. Śrī Gurubhyo Namaḥ. You chant a mantra and perform the abhiṣekam. If you are more experienced with another mantra, that is also fine. It is not just a simple pouring of water. First, the liṅga is anointed with oil, then with milk. After the milk, a liquid with saffron (not turmeric) is used. Then, coconut milk is used—the water inside the coconut, not squeezed milk. Then, sandalwood powder mixed with water, yogurt, and honey water are used. We continue one by one. First, I will show you. Let's say I have the oil. I keep the sequence in mind. The first step is to start with the milk. After the milk, you wash the liṅga. There is a small cloth for this. Usually, after the first abhiṣeka, we wipe the liṅga, perform a dīpam (waving of light), and then proceed to the next substance. So, we perform abhiṣeka with one substance, like water, then perform dīpam, and only then the next abhiṣeka. You do not put one substance on top of another without this intermediate worship. In a perfect setup, the liquid flows away, but at home, you may have another place to collect it. The water that collects is the abhiṣeka dīrta or abhiṣeka water. Finally, it is distributed to all participants with a small spoon as abhiṣeka amṛta. I am going to collect the abhiṣeka water here. After this, the ārādhanā (worship) continues. Until now, I said the abhiṣeka is made with different materials. You do not need to have sand, water, or coconut at home; that is not essential. But it would be good to have water, milk, yogurt, and at the end, honey. The point is that between each abhiṣeka, you clean the liṅgam. After cleaning and pouring out the substance, you perform dīpam, then the next abhiṣeka. This liquid from the Śivaliṅga is called abhiṣeka dīrtam. At the end, it is distributed among the guests. The dīpam we perform has three different types. I will explain them after the performance. We would go in front and perform the dīpam properly. Chanting a mantra, we perform this dīpam. After this, we usually take a little flower and offer it to the deity. This is one ārādhanā. People may perform five, seven, or nine different ārādhanās, and it can continue. Every time after the abhiṣeka, imagine your deity is nicely anointed; after milk, it will be completely white. This was one deep āratī. We can do more. After five or more, the milk is completely drained, and this is offered to God. This is typical in Indian temples, where the sanctum sanctorum is completely inside, and people cannot go near it; only the main priest does. When it is full, it is closed. All forms become quite visible, and the person creates contact with the divine with their eyes, head, and all senses. This is in the depth of the temple where ordinary people might not enter, so the presence can be sensed and seen, making your contact with God quite direct through your senses in the temple. The sanctum sanctorum is only for those who, by tradition, have the right to be there. Now, let's say the water abhiṣeka is done, and the liṅga is purified and washed. After cleaning, I repeat with milk. After finishing with milk, I should perform another dīpam. Imagine if you perform a ritual with milk and sandalwood, you can see the liṅga in a yellow or sandalwood color. It is also possible to perform abhiṣeka with pañcāmṛta (a mixture of five nectars). If you are doing it with fruit, do not mix the fruit with water, as we prefer substances not to be mixed. Finally, the last one is typically with Vibhūti, sacred ash. I was thinking of showing with flour from the kitchen, which looks like Vibhūti. It can also be done with flowers, but now it will be with flour. I mentioned in the beginning that they usually do an oil abhiṣeka first. This is the first step, and then the Vibhūti will stick everywhere because of the oil. Thus, Śiva will be totally covered. The Vibhūti sticks all over, and you can see the full liṅgam in white from a distance. In summary, you start with oil, and then all other ingredients stick to it and are evenly distributed. These pūjās are done so routinely that we sometimes do not notice the details. Priests and paṇḍits do it so routinely that we may not even recognize it. Śiva typically has three strips of Vibhūti on the forehead. You may feel as if Śiva has just appeared before you. Before performing the flower pūjā, I would like to install a Gaṇeśa picture here. Now, I will perform with a flower. You might use just a flower, or a flower and some rice. Every time you offer, you can take them together, as Swāmījī demonstrated the other day. Anyone who would like to join is welcome. The offering can be done together. The dīpam cannot be done by ten people, but the flower offering can engage more people. If you have many people, you can have many flowers; the final outcome will be very colorful and gratifying. Many people can offer many flowers in a group, and at the end, there will be a very colorful bouquet, making a nice impression. Would anyone like to come forward? We chant a mantra; you can chant whatever mantra is close to your heart. After all, it is about what you offer from your heart. These rituals add value. Typically, this brings us to the end. We collect all the flowers, and everyone will get a small quantity of the offered substance to take home. The dīrta, when you receive it, you can put it on your forehead or head. If there is plenty, you can also usually drink a little. It is better not to lick it; just drop a little into your mouth and then apply it to your eyes and head as a sign of respect. I thought I would show one more thing. This is actually the main way of performing pūjā. You can have more mantras, more abhiṣeka, more dīpa. This is the most common practice. I have installed Gaṇeśa here. The way of greeting Gaṇeśa is very special in South India. I do not know how it is done in the northern part, but it is very well-practiced in the South. I thought, if you want, you can join me. I will first demonstrate how we do it, explain the significance, and then, if you like, you can stand up and join. With that, we might close our session. I have already asked Gaṇeśa's pardon at the beginning. What we do is this: when we see Gaṇeśa upon entering a temple—as he is usually at the beginning—we offer our respect first. Typically, we cross our legs and hold our two ears. But before that, we do one more thing. We first thank Gaṇeśa. We cross our legs and tap on our head a minimum of five times, maybe more. While tapping, we also chant a specific mantra. I will tell you the mantra. All of you can stand and do it. This is the mantra we chant to Gaṇeśa. I will go there and show it is not difficult. I will do it completely now. I do this a minimum of five times. This is taught even to children, though children sometimes do it with straight legs if they cannot balance. I will do it now in front of Gaṇeśa. Before you all do it, let me tell you the significance. If you go on the internet to YouTube and type "super brain yoga," this is what it is called in America. They experimented with this on mentally retarded children and saw tremendous improvement. These children do it every day. Now I think it is clear why we encourage children to do this. It is not too late for us to do it either. I am going to go in front of Gaṇeśa. You can also join me; we will stand in a row and perform this. All of you can do it to offer our respects. I will stand here. If anyone would like to join, please stand up. One last thing: this Gaṇeśa is my iṣṭadeva. This particular Gaṇeśa is from where I was born; all festivals involved him. So, he is always with me, I feel. Köszönöm szépen. Nagyon. Thanks immensely. Okay, all of you, please cross your legs. Tap your head five times. Would you like to repeat the mantra? I will say it in little pieces for you to try to repeat. Okay, start tapping your head. Cross your hands and hold your ears. Five times. Thank you. I hope it was not very boring. That is all from me today.