PUBLISHER'S NOTE .

Jlindu Rites k Rituals

PUBLISHER'S NOTE
(Sacred.MeaninrJs <E lee!ings)
Of! the.. .of the. 75th. birth anniversary
CONTENTS: PAGE (A.,nruf Mahotsav) of His DiYine Holiness. Shri
PramtlkhS",ami Maharaj, we are pleased to introduce this
Publisher's Note i ••••. i . ,i. " '
Preface to the Revised Third Edition ii OUr rishis and seers h,,,ye kl1?wrlasvidhaIlO.
They fOli... th,e .of th.e.. whole
Lord Swaminarayan - Life & Work iii
t0o.k int? "ccounl
Introduction ix man's psyche . .But
Chapter: over the centuries the of these vidhallos decreased due to
random additions to them.
1. Puja (Worship) 1 They 10sttheirefficieIjcy a.nd in some people began to
2. Nilya Puja-I (DailyyYorship) 10 tllell'\ as a. forII\. of earning a.nd. so the bega.Ij to,
3. Nitya Puja-II (Varied Aspects & Meanings) 22 faitll ill tlleII\' !,rl tllese injuncti()ns to. associated
religioIj,'j'he sincelie
4. Arti 42
seeker of truths, if he studies the original inj';'nctions of the rishis
5. Kanthi 46 in depth will not only appreciate their intellectual and religious
6. Mandir (Temple) 50 .o.f mind, but will also be proud of the loftiness of our
7. Utsava (Festivals) ; , , 54 cultural heritage,
Here, by the inspiration of His Divine Holiness Shri Pramukh
8. Yagna (Sacrifices) 58 Swami Maharaj, an attempt has been made to understand this rich
9. Char Mandir (Home Shrine) 63 heritage. There has long been a need for such a book in which our
10. Safsang/Char Sabha (Home Discourses) 67 rites, rituals and injunctions are explained in detail. Swami
Jnaneshwardas has taken great effort to fulfil this need. For
11. 73 Hindus living abroad, a great contrast exists between the Hindu
12.. ftlrily) , 84 environment at home and that outside. The young attending
Appendix-l - The Hindu Calendar & Seasons 94 school are eager to learn about the reasons and principles
underlying the Hindu rites, observances and diet. This book
Appendix-2 - The Mandir .. 95
attempts to explain these.
Appendix-3 - Festivals InThe Swaminarayan Sampradaya 97
NOTE ON TRANSLAnON
..""., , i., ,',: 99
Bibliography, ; " :..,..: : ,..:.;..:, ; 107 Throughout this book liberty has been taken to maintain usage
of some Cujarati and Sanskrit words. The reasons are threefold:
Index 109
(i) Many words in Hinduism have no equivalents in English or
their translated meanings may not do justice to the meanings of
the original words.
(ii) To avoid repeated usage of long-winded translations.
(iii) To familiarise the non-Hindu reader with common Hindu
religious terminology. For this, a special Glossary has been
included,