Though more famous deities are usually housed in temples, which Hindus frequently visit, such divine images are also installed in private residences for regular worship, usually performed once or twice a day.
1. A large conch-shell (to blow)
2. A cup of fresh water and a spoon (for purification)
3. Incense sticks (at least three).
4. Ghee lamp (usually five wicks)
5. Small conch-shell (for offering water) with a stand
6. Container of water to be offered
7. Cloth or handkerchief
8. Small plate of flowers
9. Lighter or matches
10. Whisk (a yak-tail chamara and/or a peacock fan)
11. Bell
Most Hindu households will have set aside such items for arati, though not mandatory all will perform the ceremony on a daily basis.
Usually, scriptural rulebooks or puja padhati are consulted for proper procedure, with the offerings initially directed toward a picture of one’s teacher or priest, and then toward the Lord himself, either as a deity, a picture, or some other representative item.
- The Lord exists in his spiritual abode (transcendence) and is likewise present in the hearts of all individuals (immanence).
- God becomes manifest not only as incarnations but also in “material” images. Thus, Vaishnavism, in particular, sees the deity as the “iconic incarnation” of the Lord.
- The Sanskrit texts called Shilpa-Shastras give exact prescriptions for the fashioning of deities.
- Deities, by their inconceivable power, can appear in their original spiritual form in any material element, including stone, wood, paint, gold, silver, and jewels.
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