September 08 2011 - Nithyanandapedia

Nithyanandapedia

September 08 2011

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A small living room where a group of devotees sits on a floral-patterned mat for a home satsang or puja. A shaved-headed man in white dhoti and shawl with gold border sits at right, wearing a rudraksha mala, beside a tray with brass lamps, a plate, flowers and small offerings on a green cloth. Several women in saris (orange, maroon, teal, blue) and children sit with palms pressed together, while a young man in a blue shirt and another in white sit in front, facing the altar. A television and speakers stand on a shelf behind them.

A small indoor room with plain whitewashed walls hosts a home worship scene. A woman in a white sari with a gold border sits at left, holding a lit oil lamp aloft toward a framed picture on a draped table. The framed picture shows a woman in orange garments seated beneath a tree, garlanded with flowers. Two brass oil lamps flank the picture, with bananas and fruit on the table. Before the seated group is a small stone fire pit with burning embers and a dish, and a row of small round offerings is laid on a cloth. Around it sit a man in white shirt with palms pressed together, a boy, another man in white, and several women in white and ochre saris with flowers in their hair, hands folded in prayer. A young child sits in front, and a metal plate of offerings and a brass tray lie on the floor.

A photograph of a devotional puja inside a room with a white cloth on the floor. Several seated devotees with palms pressed together face a framed portrait on the right, garlanded with white and pink flowers. The portrait shows a smiling figure in saffron-orange robes and a rudraksha-style bead necklace, seated before a tree trunk, though the portrait is a printed picture, not a physical person. In the foreground a man in an orange kurta kneels with folded hands, and a woman in a maroon and cream sari sits with her back to the camera, wearing a dark bead mala. Offerings on the cloth include bananas, fruit, a lit oil lamp, flower petals, a kalasha-like brass vessel, kumkum and incense sticks. Around six people are visible, mostly women in cream and blue saris, plus men in white shirts seated at the back.

A photograph of a puja set up in a room with floral curtains. A seated priest in white dhoti and shawl with a bare upper body and a rudraksha-style mala holds a book and a yellow flower, facing a small brass lamp with a bright flame and a second seated person beside him. In front of them lie brass vessels, a plate of yellow flowers, fruit and offerings on a woven mat. On the right, a framed portrait labelled with a readable name stands on a white draped table, garlanded with pink, yellow and white flower strands. The portrait shows a smiling figure with long dark hair in orange robes and a white bead necklace. A small white sign with a blue border sits behind the priest. A blurred person in the foreground at lower left is partly visible.

August 11 2009

A small whitewashed room during a puja. A central figure seated on a white cushion wears an orange robe, a white and orange floral garland, and a long-haired swept-back style, with hands pressed together in namaste. Before him on a blue cloth are fruit, sweets, brass vessels, a plate of offerings, and a lit oil lamp. Around him, a woman in a cream sari with gold border kneels with hands folded, a young man in white kneels at left, and young men in orange robes and yellow vests sit with palms joined along the right side. Floral petals are scattered on the blue mat.

A photograph of a funeral-rite room with pink walls and barred windows. In the upper right, a man in saffron-orange robes with long dark hair and a beaded necklace stands beside a white-draped bed and a wall of flower garlands; he may be the candidate noted in the page, though his face is not clear enough to confirm. Seated on the red floor at left, several men and boys in saffron and white clothing face a brass and steel puja arrangement with lamps, bowls of offerings, fruit, flowers and leaves. A woman in white clothing stands at centre making an offering. At right, a glass-sided casket holds a body covered in white cloth, decorated with marigolds and leaves.

July 25 2009

December 28 2012

A seated group of devotees faces a small altar in a plain room with a green floor mat. At the centre, a woman in a white and gold-bordered sari sits beside a lit fire pit and an arrangement of dishes, one hand raised in a gesture while holding a small object. Across from her, a young man in a white shirt sits with palms pressed together in prayer. Behind them on the wall, a framed portrait shows a robed woman seated beneath a tree with a flower garland, flanked by two brass oil lamps on a white-draped table. Around the fire, seated people in orange, pink, maroon and white saris and white shirts face the altar, with several braided hair visible from behind. The scene resembles a homa or puja with offerings of sweets arranged on a cloth.

A photograph of a pada-puja ritual in a hall with a red curtain. Several men sit cross-legged on mats in white dhotis with orange-gold borders, bare-shouldered and wearing rudraksha malas and tripundra forehead markings. The front man, wearing glasses, speaks while hands are clasped; others sit with hands folded or holding ritual items. Brass oil lamps, bells, a kalasha-like brass vessel, flowers and a plate of offerings sit on orange cloths on the floor. Behind them, men in white and an orange-robed figure stand near the wall.

A pada puja at a devotee's home. A seated woman in an orange saree with a red floral garland and a rose bouquet receives worship from a woman in a white and gold saree who holds a lit oil lamp over a brass plate of flowers. A man in white dhoti and shirt sits with palms joined, and a shaved-headed boy stands with a silver ceremonial fan. Behind them, several people in orange and ochre garments and beaded necklaces stand with palms joined. A yellow-walled shrine shelf holds a framed portrait of a saffron-robed figure, garlanded with flowers, a kalasha, brass lamps and a small deity murti.