The Kalash

I admit for this blog post I'm cheating a little bit - I'm actually reusing a post I wrote in a forum. But I figured it doesn't hurt to ask the question I'm asking here outside of the forum too. So on that note...

Recently at the local temple in my area (the Hindu Temple of Rochester), I actually did something that was quite bold, for me at any rate: I sponsored a kalash puja, meaning I donated money to the temple and therefore got a spot to do a kalash puja with some other devotees. This was exciting for me, as this was something I've certainly never done before! :-)

However, I can't help but feel that I didn't do it entirely correctly, and that I made mistakes - I couldn't keep up with the priest's chanting during the times we were supposed to follow along (and I'm almost positive I didn't pronounce everything correctly), I might have arranged the flower petals wrong (because they were falling off), and I lit the wrong end of the incense burner. This was my first time doing this puja, so I can forgive myself for these mistakes (and everyone else seemed to do so as well ), but for next time, I want to be more prepared.

So therefore, if any of my readers want to give me more information on how to do the kalash puja, and more info on what it means, I'd be really grateful. I know overall it's the intent that counts, but maybe if I know more I can do it better next time. And I sure hope there's a next time that I can do it! :-)