The Altar

By ~Gurudevi Ma, Satguru Shri Mahashaktiananda

The Purpose of the Altar

The home altar is a sanctuary; which is sacred space in the home. The altar is the perfect place for the practice of affirmations, mantras, japa, chants, and prayers. The room or area for the altar holds sacred vibrations of communion with God, Masters, Angels, Elementals and your inner Self. Lighting the altar candle/s and offering incense can have the effect of quieting the mind in the midst of a busy day. The altar helps the mind to concentrate on a focus, feel peaceful and enter into a deep state of meditation on the inner Divine Self. The altar assists in altering human consciousness into the inner Divine consciousness. Making the altar beautiful and joyful with flowers and incense encourages looking up within the concerns of everyday life. Let the altar be as elaborate or as simple as is appropriate to your circumstances. The elements of an altar may be from nature such as gem stones, crystals, flowers, plants, one or more candles, a water offering cup, and an incense bowl or holder or other decorative objects. Placing pictures of great masters on the altar are focuses of their energy and presence. They are a reminder of the stillness found within meditation. You may want to have devotional pictures of your personal Guru and the Masters; Jesus Christ, Mother Mary, Buddha. Spiritual Art such as the 'I Am Presence', Elohim Cyclopea, Angels, Ascended and Unascended Masters, Yogis and Yoginis, and your personal Guru.

The Hindu Tradition

The Hindu tradition is to have an altar in the home, which is an important part of daily activities. The altar represents the idea that Hinduism is more a way of life than a religion. The home altar is the puja which refers to the act of worshipping; pujasthana is the place of worship; or to puja. The prayers are called the aarti, and they are made up of hymns to the Gods and Goddesses. These prayers may be accompanied by a clanging bell and a traditional candle made up of a cotton wick soaked in oil. Hindus may pray at the

altar for a moment or spend half an hour in meditation. Studying the scriptures and singing bhajans in the living room of a private home is an expression of Hindu life. The home altar is important to a devout person, very often a woman, and may become a gathering place for other devotees. At the home altar women express spiritual leadership. The Hindu rites at the home altar are varied. They may light incense and perform a puja, offering fresh flowers to the Deity, or place flowers near a photograph of the guru. The home altar is usually decorated for the holidays with extra care. In south Indian Hindu women make elaborate altars in their homes, decorating them with tiny colored lights and images of the Gods and Goddesses, the Gurus, and of people and animals which they wish to include. According to Vaastu Shashtra; the ancient Indian system of architecture; the northeast direction is considered auspicious. It's said to be the direction of Isaana (the Lord of all quarters) associated with religion, good fortune, and faith. Hindus believe that God is omniscient and that prayer can be done anywhere, such as by a beautiful river or tree. Many Hindus face the sun and practice the Sun Salutation in the morning or evening. Hindus also visit their favorite temples, which offer tranquility and the soothing smell of sandalwood incense.

The Buddhic Tradition

In the Buddhic tradition, flowers are usually arranged to show aspects of the teaching: -a single flower to show the unity of all beings; -three flowers to represent the Three Treasures; -four to represent the Four Noble Truths; and so on. Flowers represent the offering of our training and may reflect the season as a reminder of impermanence. Placing candles on the altar provide soft lighting and bring the fire element for transmutation. Through devotion to God, the human consciousness is transformed into divine consciousness. The meaning of the word altar is: altering one's consciousness. Begin to meditate with the use of decrees, prayers, and affirmations. Darkness of consciousness is transmuted into the light. A single candle can be placed on the Buddha's left side (the right-hand side facing the altar). This represents the light of the Buddha's Teaching which comes from the compassionate heart of Buddha. For safety on a small altar, a night light or candle in a votive glass works very well. The water offering cup placed in front of the Buddha symbolizes the cleansing power of meditation that transforms greed, anger and delusion into compassion, love and wisdom. The cup is always kept full, symbolizing that the water of the spirit is always there. The incense bowl stands in front of the water cup. This bowl should be filled with ash or sand and should be deep enough that lit sticks of incense inserted into it can stand

upright. Incense is lit and offered before a meditation period or when you feel it might be useful to have a short period of recollection to ground yourself during a busy day. The incense stick can also be used to time a meditation period. A five to six inch stick takes about 30 minutes to burn down. The perfume of the incense permeates all corners of the room and thus symbolizes the power of the Teaching to reach and transform all forms of greed, hate and delusion.

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