With devotion and reverence, one should worship by offering wealth, sandals, and other suitable items, showing respect through gestures such as touching the feet, and by performing acts of bathing, anointing, making offerings, and presenting food. The worship of the guru is itself the worship of Shiva, the Supreme Self, and whatever remains after the guru partakes—be it food, water, or any offering—becomes purifying for the disciple. Disciples and devotees of Shiva are encouraged to accept and consume the remnants left by the guru, for these are as sanctified as the leavings of Shiva Himself. However, nothing should be taken without the guru’s permission; to do so is as blameworthy as theft. What the guru knowingly and graciously bestows should be received with care and gratitude. It is the guru, the knower of distinctions, who dispels ignorance and leads the disciple to the highest goal. At the outset of any sacred act, obstacles must be removed so that the undertaking may be completed without hindrance. When an act is performed thoroughly and without impediment, its fruits are assured. Therefore, the wise should always begin by worshipping the Lord of Obstacles, Ganesha, to ensure the successful completion of every endeavor. To dispel all afflictions—whether they be fevers, tumors, diseases, or any suffering of the self—the wise should worship all the gods. This also applies to troubles caused by spirits, wild animals like jackals, or even by ants and similar creatures, as well as from the sudden appearance of lizards or other animals. Inauspicious signs in the home, such as the presence of a tortoise, snake, a woman of ill repute, or a wicked person, or untoward events relating to trees, women, cows, or especially at the time of birth, all call for attention. When sorrow threatens, material causes such as impurity, the adverse influence of Saturn, or widespread epidemics are to be considered. Fevers, contagious diseases, smallpox, birth-star conjunctions, planetary transits, and conjunctions in one’s own sign are also recognized as sources of affliction. Evil dreams, contact with a corpse, an outcaste, or a fallen person, and their entry into the home, are considered divine afflictions. When such omens or afflictions arise, the wise should perform a pacifying sacrifice to counteract these faults. This ritual should be conducted in a temple, cowshed, stupa, or even in the courtyard of one’s house, on a clean, raised, and well-decorated platform. Only as much rice or grain as needed should be placed, smoothed out, and in the center, a lotus should be drawn, surrounded by a square. A pot, wrapped with thread and fumigated with fresh guggul, should be placed in the center, with similar pots set at the four directions. Eight pots are filled with water purified by mantras and five auspicious substances, and stalks of mango and other sacred plants are inserted. The nine gems, beginning with sapphire, are arranged in order, and a priest skilled in ritual, together with his wife, is appointed to preside. Golden images of Vishnu, Indra, and the other deities are placed, and with bowed head, Vishnu is worshipped in the central pot, with outer worship performed as well. In the directions beginning with the east, Indra and the other deities are worshipped in turn, each with the appropriate mantras, and offerings are made with their respective names. All rituals from invocation onward are to be performed by the teacher alone, who, together with the officiating priests, recites the prescribed mantras. On the western side of the pot, after the recitations, the sacred fire ritual (homa) is performed, with the number of offerings being a crore, a hundred thousand, a thousand, a hundred, or one hundred and eight, as appropriate. The ritual may be completed in one day, nine days, or even over a mandala of forty days, according to time and circumstance. For peace, śamī wood is used in the homa; for prosperity, palāśa wood. The offerings are made with fuel, rice, and clarified butter, each accompanied by the proper names and mantras. Once begun, the ritual should be completed with the materials prepared, and at the end, after reciting the auspicious invocation, the site is sprinkled with water. Afterwards, Brahmins are fed in proportion to the number of offerings made, and the teacher and officiating priests, being learned, also partake of the sacrificial food. At the conclusion of all offerings, the planets beginning with the Sun are worshipped, and gifts—such as food and jewels—are presented to the priests in order. Ten gifts are then made, followed by even greater gifts, distributed among children, those who have undergone initiation, householders, and forest-dwellers. Next, gifts are given to maidens, married women, and widows, and all implements used in the ritual are presented to the teacher. Since Yama, the lord of death, is considered the master of calamities and diseases, he too should be propitiated. To please Yama, the Kālada gift is offered: a golden image of Kāla, holding a noose and goad, in human form, fashioned from either a hundred or ten niṣkas. This image is given along with a gift, and sesame seeds are offered for the attainment of full longevity. Clarified butter is given for the removal of disease, and a thousand Brahmins are fed—or, if resources are limited, at least a hundred. If one is destitute, one should do as much as possible within one’s means. For the pacification of spirits and directions, the great worship of Bhairava is performed. At the end, the great anointing and offering for Shiva are completed, and Brahmins are fed with abundant food. By conducting the sacrifice in this manner, all faults are pacified, and this peace-sacrifice should be performed every year in the month of Phālguna. At the first sign of inauspiciousness, it should be performed immediately, or at least within a month. If a great sin arises, one should worship Bhairava; if a great disease arises, one should make a resolve again. In every situation, if one is poor, at least a lamp should be offered. If even that is not possible, after bathing, one should give whatever little one can and offer salutations to the Sun with the mantra one hundred and eight times. The wise may perform a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even a crore salutations. Through this sacrifice of salutations, all the deities are satisfied.