What I know about deity worship at home (and that applies to Laddu Gopal seva also) is that whatever standard of worship you set in your house, you have to maintain. When the lord comes to our house in the form of deity, He adjusts as per the schedule and capacity of the householder. But when the lord appears in the temple, then everything revolves around Him and has to be as per His timings. One more thing I have heard but still to be able to apply fully is – when there are deities in the temple and you are serving in the temple, then the temple deities take precedence over the home deities. One has to give more importance to temple deities (esp on festivals).

Now how to serve Laddu Gopal ji in the house  – you can start by keeping a very minimal standard and increase as and when the desire comes and the buy in is there from all the family members, instead of starting as if its a temple and then the entire routine becomes cumbersome and a drudgery for everyone. We shoudl do whatever we do with love – that is important. There shoudl be minimum one arati a day, min one bhoga a day. You can increase to 2 -3 aratis and bhoga as many times as food is cooked in the house.

Now I will tell you the ideal – do mangalarati (not necessary because the lord is a baby in your house, may need to sleep till 8.00 am like Banke Bihari Lal Ju of Vrindavan), do sandhya arati, do tulsi puja twice a day. Offer whatever you cook or eat to the lord and take only remnants of maha prasad. Keep the lord’s utensils and wiping cloth, cleaning soap/ detergent/ vim bar separate and do not use for any other purpose. Shringar/ abhishek can be done daily, twice a day or once in a fornight – every ekadasi or every alternate weekend, as per convenience. Put the lord to sleep every night (approx same time every night) and you may put some laddoo and water (both covered) for night time snack if He feels hungry at night. Remove the flute and crown when you put Him to sleep. Remove whatever flowers you put during puja at sleep time. You can even get a small bed for Him to sleep in. You can tuck Him in each night and wake Him up (approx same time everday) in the morning. The clothes shoudl be as per the weather – light non jari cotton clothes for summer, grand jari clothes for ocassions, woollens for winters.

Follow your local temple – do chandan seva on akshay tritiya, continue for 21 days, do jhoolan for janmashtami, set up a separate damodar during kartik. If they are doing lotus offering in summer, jal vihar – whatever you can follow in your house, you can do as per interest, time, capacity and cooperation of family members. My firm belief is that if you fight with family members and then do seva, that seva is not accepted. Better to serve internally and with mind, rathar than pick up fights and then serve, telling yourself you are the only devotee.

When you have time, sing kirtans in front of the lord, read Bhagawatam in front of the lord. Keep on looking at Him, admiring Him, sharing with Him what you did the whole day, your thoughts and feelings, laugh with Him, cry with Him. The best part is – everything is service and He accepts everything.

Enjoy serving the lord. Love Him and make Him the centre of your life.

The most important thing I am saying at the end – give up ownership of your house. Mentally, transfer the ownership of your house to Laddu Gopal – stay in your house as if you are His servant. Keep the altar area especially clean.

“Jai Shree Radhe”