¶ … Hindu Worship Service on Mahashivratri India, one of the world's oldest civilizations, is known for its long and rich tradition of religion dating back to the 1028 hymns of the Rig Veda (the world's oldest religious text), probably composed between B.C. 1500 and 900. In fact, modern Hinduism can trace its roots back to the Rig Vedas though Hinduism itself changed and evolved, from the earliest icons of worship of Mother Goddesses and 'elements' of nature, to the modern day Hindu belief that life is controlled by a triad of Gods: "Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer."

Orthodox Hindus offer prayers and perform 'puja' (worship service) religiously and regularly, both in the temple and at home. Sometime ago, I had the opportunity to observe a typical Hindu worship service at a friend's home. My friend belongs to a Tamil Brahmin family, which observes all the traditional religious practices, though they have settled in America. Being exposed for the first time to the idea of elaborate worship service conducted at home, I later asked the priest conducting the 'puja' to explain the significance of such a ceremony in the residence, as against attending one at a place of worship.

He explained that the Hindu belief is that "Worshipping should be a personal experience." He also added that devout Hindus regularly performed different types of worship service at home in the belief that it appeased the Gods and resulted in "God's Blessings on the house and its members." This was over and above attending worship service at temples.

Whereas the basic rite of the Vedic religion was sacrifice (yajna), that of Hinduism is worship (puja). In general a god is...

The ladies wear rich 'saris' and the male members including young boys dress in 'dhotis,' leaving the upper half of their bodies bare. The women also place a 'kum tilaka' on their foreheads while the men apply sacred ash in three rows on their foreheads, chest, upper and lower arms. Between their brows is placed a dot of sandal paste, layered over with 'kum.' The ash on the forehead, I was told, is a symbol of a follower of Shiva.
Every member takes a bath and dresses up in clean clothes. The 'puja' room is naturally cleaned up and the images of Ganesh, Shiva and Parvati are placed in the centre of the room. A 'jyot' (lamp) is lit in front of the images and 'agarbattis' (incense sticks) are also lit."

The priest, dressed in a nine yard dhoti worn in a style known as 'panchakaccham,' with an 'uthiiryam' or upper unstitched garment covering his upper torso sits on a flat stool before the household shrine where all the ritual items have been washed and laid out in readiness.

The 'shaligrama' or river stone (representing…