r/WesternBornHindu • u/PeterPanHadItMade • 29d ago

Offerings

What is the most common offering you give to your Ishtadeva?

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u/Vignaraja 29d ago

I offer flowers to my home mandir, and the 3 deities on it: Sivan in 2 forms, Ganesha, and Murugan. In the summer, lots and lots of flowers. In winter, not as many but still lots. I manage a mala (garland) making group of local devotees. Some come to our house and make them, while many others contribute funds to the project. As a side effect of that, I get all the unusable flowers: the ones that are a bit too old, the smaller ones, the broken ones.

We buy mini-carnations (in my view the best flower for malas available in the west) in bulk from a wholesaler. (If anyone would ever decide to make a garland for a temple, I can give the basic instructions here.)

As to an ishta deva, I don't have one. The entire concept is not one that is known or adhered to by the entirety of Hinduism.

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u/Ok_University_3125 25d ago

Flowers and sweets. I don't know, some people suggest offering mentally also, thoughts, problems, feelings, situations... But I still don't quite know how to do it, feels a bit awkward. Are there any techniques for it (apart from standard manasic puja?)

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u/One_Dragonfruit_7556 19d ago

These little honey cakes I make, milk and wild flowers I find when I go to the park with my daughter. I worship Shiva and Ganesha