Tips for a Iyer Home

Dear Friends,

Here are a few tips from a book called “Live with Grace” in Tamil. May be what Kerala iyers believe and follow may be slightly different.Possibly each of you know several dos and donts as well as several tips which makes life easy .Why don’t you please share it with the group.

1.Lighting of lamp

a. If Gingelly oil is used then all the sufferings of family will disappear

b. If castor oil is used family life in the house would become sweeter

c. If groundnut oil is used family will run into credit problems

d. If lamp faces east then sorry and bad luck will disappear

e. If lamp faces west credit problems, sufferings due to Saturn, and quarrels between siblings will disappear.

f. If lamp faces west problems in fixing marriage, problems for education, would disappear. Wealth will accumulate.

g. Lamp should never face the south.

2.What should be seen as soon as one awakes from sleep:-

Lotus, Gold, Lamp, Sun, Sandalwood, Sivalinga, sea, Cow with calf, right hand, Sumangalis, Mridangam, Mirror, King, Forest elephant, Black monkey. Etc

3.What should not be done at night.

Washing cloths, Taking curds,Eating Nellikkai, Sweeping floor and throwing it out, Sleeping below a tree, Scraping of soil, Ploughing, etc

4.What should not be crossed while walking:-

Goat, Space in between cows, Fire, Space between two Brahmins, Space between husband and wife, Space between teacher and student,

5.Where people should not wait:-

Places where good people quarrel, Place where alcohol is consumed, Place frequented by prostitutes, Places where people quarrel with each other, Public place where water is collected

6.Things that will give longer life:-

Evening Sun, Smoke from Homa, Clear and Pure water, Eating milk with rice at night, Helping the sick, Bowing before elders etc.

7.Places where Goddess Lakshmi lives

Lotus, Elephants face, Back of a cow, Vilva plant, The Seemantha Reka of virtuous women,

8.Things that should not be done by women

Breaking Ash Gourd for Drishti, Breaking coconut while pregnant, Charity without the knowledge of husband,

9.Number of Pradakshinams

Siva temple: Any odd number of rounds above 3. When Only Siva Linga without his consort is there in the temple, We should not make complete rounds of the temple.

Vishnu Temple :4 times

Ganesha temple:once

Sun temple :once

While doing Pradakshina, we are supposed to walk slowly and gently and concentrating our mind on God. When Abisheka is being performed we should not do Pradakshina.

10.Namaskarams in a temple

Sashtanga namaskaram in a temple should be done in such a way that there is no prathishta of God in the side pointed by our feet.So it is recommended that this type of Namaskara is done outside the Dwajasthaba.. Women should not do Namaskarams with their chest touching the floor. They also should not do angapradakshinams.

11.Places where one can meditate:

River bank, Where Agni Kunda is there, Temples, Cowshed and Garden where holy flowering trees are planted. f these are not available then one can do meditation in ones own house. Meditating sitting on a tiger skin, fulfills all desires, On a skin of deer one gets Gnana , On cloth cures disease and on Woolen removes sorrow.

Chains for Japa should be made of sangumani, Silver beads, Neem seed. Coral beads, Spatika, Rudraksha or lotus seed.

P.R.Ramachander