Everybody is busy preparing to greet goddess Lakshmi into their houses on Diwali, before that we indulge massively in holding cleanliness drive in our houses. What is the most important tool that aids us in doing so? It is our indispensable jharoo. This is one thing which is present in every house all the time. What we forget to do is being thankful, Diwali gives us an opportunity to do so. It is a ritual in many parts of India to buy a jharoo on dhanteras.
Some people buy new brooms on dhanteras and symbolically worship them alongside Goddess Lakshmi. “We generally buy a new broom and then use it for Diwali and later also,” Says Neha Shukla, who lives in Panchkula but belongs to Bihar.
We clean our houses every day with this most significant utility tool and never even care about it. Maids or we ourselves just throw it in one corner of the house.
Rituals and customs do not arise out of anywhere. Everything in Indian rituals and traditions is symbolic, it is a custom to worship the jharoo at the time of Lakshmi puja. Might sound strange, but why worship the jharoo?
Jharoo is considered to represent goddess Lakshmi. Goddess ‘Sheetala’, worshiped in Hindu culture, Buddhism and some tribal cultures holds a broom in her right hand. She is a goddess associated with smooth transition of seasons.
“As a routine affair, we never touch the broom with our feet, so its that important,” says Archana Sharma, a homemaker from Mohali.
“Yes, my mother does worship the jharoo on Diwali, although I do not know the procedure of the ritual,” says Rita from Uttar Pradesh who lives in Chandigarh. Some people even donate brooms in temples on Diwali.
It gives us the message that anything small if we use it daily without paying attention to it generally, must be respected. Besides, the jharoo is a symbol of cleanliness. It is not without reason that Aam Admi party made it the party symbol.
It also represents our inner purity, clean thoughts, clean mind and clearing away of all the cobwebs of unwanted ideas, notions and perceptions. A broom removes all negative energies and laziness, logically thinking it cleans the house and so is an important device in our day-to-day life.
Some important notions about the broom;
- We should not touch the broom with our feet
- Keep it at a secluded place away from sight
- A broom should be laid on the floor and not against the wall
- Do not keep it in the kitchen area, store room or dining room
