God’s well known attribute

उपासकां वरदायक होसीं, ऐसी तव कीर्ती |
                                                       - आरती काळभैरवाची

They say that to become eligible for God's grace and blessings one should do what God likes. It is not possible that one does whatever one likes and still expect God to shower His blessings. This does not work even in human relationships. Is it not? Even if father loves his son and daughter he cannot be happy if they do not do anything what father wants them to do. Father expects son and daughter to follow some discipline not for father's sake but for their own development. The same is true with relationship between God and human being.

They say that God likes the discipline. But not any discipline. He likes the actions that are performed with love, with a noble motive. That action does not need to be extravagant. More than external display the internal motive is what is important. 

Numerous stories have been told through Pothis and Puranas about God's well known attribute (कीर्ती) of blessing Upasakas (disciplined persons) who perform Upasana, a disciplined routine for purifying self so that one can become qualified to participate in God's own work. Like working for best employer offers one a job security, the same is true when one participates in God's work. The Upasana itself is not difficult to start with. One can choose upasana that suits to one's own routine. The best upasana is the one that is prescribed by one's own Guru. However if one does not have Guru there are some popular disciplines to choose from, for example

1. Lighting a lamp and incense stick in front of God's idol or photo
2. Offering a garland of flowers or just a flower to God's idol or photo
3. Offering naivedya to God
4. Chanting or listening a stotra (hymn) 
5. Singing or listening a prayer / arti  in front of God
6. Chanting the name of God
7. Saluting one's own parents
8. Remembering and prostrating before one's own Kula Devata (Goddess of one’s own lineage)
9. Reading a line, a page or a chapter from religious scripture
10. Performing Surya namaskar in front of God

They say one should decide a time of day to perform these actions and then try to stick to that time. These actions do not take much time. But the benefits, tangible and intangible, that one incurs by performing one or all of these actions consistently are huge.