What is the best direction to place the Pooja Mandir in our home?
We’re no experts, but from what we understand, as per Vaastu Shastra, it is believed that ideally the pooja mandir should be placed in the north east corner of your home, i.e. the deities should face the south west direction. Therefore, when you worship them, you will be facing the north east direction. The north, or east are also commonly considered appropriate directions for a placement of a home temple.
One the main reasons for this as per the shastras is that the north-east, north or east corner is where the energy of the home emanates and therefore is the best suited for the pooja mandir and the deities to be seated there. Traditionally in India, the north east corner is referred to as the Ishaan corner, which is derived from the sanskrit word for Lord, Ishwar and therefore transcribes as the ‘Corner of the Lord.’
Another reason these directions are considered auspicious for a pooja temple or all religious activity for that matter whether it be chanting, meditation, or archana, is because of the fact the Sun or Surya rises in the east and as we all very well know, it is the source and origin of all energy and life in this universe and hence also worshipped in Hinduism.
Having said this, sometimes it's hard for all directions to align and fall in place. We believe more in a faith based approach than the fear driven one, and wonder shouldn’t any location be ok? With no disrespect meant to anyone, we truly feel that if our faith in our Lord is true and if our intentions are good and our conscience is clear, then no matter what the direction, any place where the temple is kept is the best place in the home, irrespective of the direction, because our Lord resides there. It’s just something to think about!
