When you move into a new house or apartment, locating an appropriate space for a pooja mandir is one of the bigger tasks for devout Hindus. The proper placement of the altar, statuettes, lights, and other items, as well as the overall location of the pooja mandir in the home, can affect the overall energy of the space and your ability to meditate. But the placement also has practical issues that you need to address to ensure anyone using the space remains safe in the event of an emergency.

Quake Preparedness

For homes that are in or near quake fault zones, quake preparedness will be an issue. Statues should be held down with museum wax or quake putty, pictures on the wall need special secure hangers to reduce movement during shaking from a quake, and cabinets should be bolted to the floor or wall. Keep in mind that you shouldn't install the cabinet or shelves in the wall itself (like cubbyholes); you just want to secure the cabinet and shelves so that they don't topple over. Anything that has doors on it, like the cabinet, should have secure latches.

Fire Regulations

Candles and oil or ghee lamps are a part of decorating and using a pooja mandir, but if you live in an apartment or a rented house, your landlord might forbid the use of candles. In this case, it's perfectly fine to use electric candles, especially if your pooja practice involves leaving candles burning for long after you're done meditating. Sneaking around and breaking your lease conditions to light a real candle or oil lamp won't make you feel good, and it could introduce negativity that you don't need. Small electric lights and electric candles are just fine as long as your intent is good.

Pet Protection

Pets should not be allowed in a pooja room or near a pooja altar or cabinet. Depending on your circumstances, you could have to add extra barriers to protect the pooja space. For example, if you own your own home and have a separate room for pooja, all you have to do is keep the door closed. But if you rent an apartment with other roommates, and your pooja mandir is really a corner of your bedroom, you've got to create a way to close off the space from your pet, if your pet stays in your room, too. One option might be to install screens that you bolt to the wall, similar to how you'd bolt a bookcase to the wall; the screens could open in the middle, but you'd have a latch on them that the pet couldn't get past.

The pooja mandir should be a clean, calm, and quiet space that invites you to worship and meditate. Ensuring these practical matters like fire safety helps put your mind at ease. Contact a company like vishranthicreations.com for more information and assistance.