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Preparation For Puja
1. Physical purity: One should take a bath with just sufficient water to clean the body.
2. Purity of clothes: One should have a special set of clothes to wear only for puja. This clothing
should never have been used while using the restrooms and worn during eating or drinking.
3. Purity of mind: While worshiping, avoid stray thoughts. One should utter relavent verses and
should meditate virtues of the Jineshwars.
4. Purity of ground: One should carefully sweep the floor of the tample, clean and arrange
articles of worships.
5. Purity of Upakaran (articles used in worship): One should use good and clean articles.
6. Purity of Ceremony: One should avoid thinking of the worldly matters and should perform the
whole ceremony in a systemic manner.
Swastik
The word 'Swastik' means "may good come to you". The swastik represents the cosmic cycle of birth and death.
Siddha Shila
1. Right Faith-Daeshan 2. Right Knowledge-Gyan 3. Right Conduct-Charitrya
1. Human Being-Manushya 2. Celetial Being-Devas 3. Plants And Animals-Tiryanch 4. Hell Beings-Narki
The siddha shila is placed at the top of the swastik. When the soul is liberated from the cycles of birth and death it reaches this place.
The three circles which represent three jewels. Samyak Darshan (Right faith), Samyak Gyan (Right knowledge) and Samyak Charitrya (Right conduct). It is a bridge to the siddha shila.
The four petals represents four virtues: Daan(charity), Shil (virtues), Tapa (austerity), and Samveg(nobility).
There are four parts to the Swastik and they are called "Four Gatis". 1. Manushya (Human) 2. Devas (Celetial beings), 3. Tiryanch (Plants and animals) and 4. Narki(Hell beings). Narki being the lowest and Manushya being the highest gati. There is a continuous transmigration from one gati to the other gati. The Swastik is a constant reminder to us to break out of the birth and death cycle.
Nav Ang (Nine Points) Seva Vidhi
