Most Indian houses have a prayer room or altar. A lamp is lit and the Lord adores every day. Other spiritual practices such as japa, repetition of the Lord’s name, meditation, paaraayana, scripture reading, prayers and devotional singing, etc., are also performed here. Special worship is done on auspicious occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, festivals and more. Every member of the family, young or old, communicates with God and worships him here.
The Lord is the complete creation. He is, therefore, the true owner of the house in which we live. The prayer room is the main room of the house. We are the occupants of the land of your property. This notion frees us from false pride and possession.
The ideal attitude to adopt is to consider the Lord as the true owner of our homes and us as guardians of your home. But if this is difficult enough, we could at least think of Him as a very welcome guest. In the same way that we will welcome an important guest with the greatest comfort, we also congratulate the presence of the Lord in our homes by having a prayer room or altar, always clean and well decorated.
The Lord is also omnipresent. To remind us that he lives in our homes with us, we have prayer rooms. Without the grace of the Lord, no task can be accomplished successfully or easily. We invoke His grace by communicating with Him in the prayer room every day and on special occasions.
Each room of a house is dedicated to a specific function, such as the bedroom, the room to be accommodated, the kitchen to cook, etc. The furniture, decor and atmosphere of each room are conducive to the purpose it serves. Also for the purpose of meditation, worship and prayer, we must have a propitious atmosphere, hence the need for a prayer room.
Sacred thoughts and sound vibrations permeate the place and influence the spirit of those who spend time there. Spiritual thoughts and vibrations accumulated by regular meditation, worship and chanting permeate the prayer hall. Even when we are tired or agitated, simply by sitting down for a moment in the prayer room, we feel reassured, rejuvenated and spiritually elevated.
