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PRACTICE OF SANDHYA-VANDANA Sandhya-vandana is the greatest discipline of 16 kriyas in which the universal light of Gayatri is invoked. Practice of this meditation leads to cosmic consciousness. This is to be practiced during the early hours of the morning and evening. Those who want to practise it intensely can meditate four times a day that is, early morning, mid-day early evening, and midnight. Those who observe this sadhana or discipline rigidly before the sunrise and soon after the sunset, which are considered as the hours of power, shall certainly have their third eye of wisdom opened within a short period of time. Those who cannot meditate four times a day should at least observe twice, that is in the morning and in the evening. In the whole of Sandhya-vandana, there are sixteen kriys-s: twelve are to be observed before the great meditation and the thirteenth kriya is the great meditation on Gayatri. After the meditation, the remaining three are to be observed. These sixteen kriya-s or esoteric, mystical disciplines, are: 1. Acamana 2. Pranayama 3. Sankalpa 4. Marjana 5. Apa prasana 6. Aghamarsana 7. Arghya-pradana 8. Bhu-suddhi 9. Bhuta-suddhi 10. Asana-vidhi 11. Gayatri-hrdaya-parayana 12. Gayatri-nyasa 13. Gayatri-dhyana 14. Tarpana 15. Upasthana 16. Gayatri-prasthapana These sixteen kriyas are to be studied under the guidance of a spiritual teacher trained in this technique Even before you begin the very first kriya known as acamana, there are certain prayers to be offered as soon as you get up in the morning until you bathe and get ready for meditation. The whole detail of this, along with the prayer mantra-s as they are observed since time immemorial in the Himalayan tradition, will be narrated in these pages. BEGIN THE DAY WITH PRAYER Chant as your get up from bed in the early morning: Uttisthottistha Govinda Uttistha garudadhvaja/ Uttistha kamalakanta Trailokyam mangalam kuru// Awake and arise (in my heart), my Lord, Govinda, (as divine consciousness). Awake, my God, who flies on the eagle. Arise, O spouse of Goddess of Prosperity. Bless all three worlds with peace. This prayer brings very high vibrations of expansion of consciousness to soar high in your activities and attain prosperity and peace. Then look at both of your palms, holding them together, and pray: Karagre vasate Laksmi Karamadhye sarasvati/ Karamule tu Govindah Prabhate karadarsanam// (I meditate on) Laksmi, the Goddess of Prosperity, residing at the tip of the finger; and Sarasvati, the Goddess of Wisdom, in the mid-palm; and on Govinda, the Lord of the Universe, at the base of the palm. (I meditate on God's powers) early in the morning, seeing (Him in) my palms. Samudravasane devi Parvatastanamandite/ Visnupatni namas tubhyam/ Padasparasam ksamasva me// O Mother Earth, spouse of Lord Visnu, whose robes are the oceans, bosom the mountains, forgive me (your child) who am just to walk over you. Now you should bathe or, if it is inconvenient for any reason, wash your face and limbs. As your bathe or wash, chant the following mantra or mentally repeat it: Gange ca Yamune caiva Godavari Sarasvati/ Narmade Sindhu Kaveri Jale 'smin sannidhim kuru// Puskaradyani tirthani Gangadyah saritas tatha/ Agacchantu pavitrani Snanakale sada mana// Bless with thy presence, O holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Sindhu, and Kaveri. May Puskara, and all the holy waters and the rivers such as the Ganges, always come at the time to my bath. After bathing, put on the meditation clothes, chanting Om Namo Narayanaya (Om. Salutations to Lord Narayana, the Heavenly Father) twelve times. If the sun is not visible due to clouds or you cannot go out due to weather conditions or for any other reason, then you meditate on the sun in your brow center. Chanting the following mantra: Dhyeyah sada savitrmandala-madhyavarti Narayanah sarasijasanasannivistah/ Keyuravan makarakundalavan kiriti Hari hiranmayavapur dhrtasankhacakrah// The supreme Lord, Narayana, who resides in the Solar orb, seated on the lotus seat, wearing armlets, alligator-shaped ear-rings, and diadem, garlanded, having a golden body (and) holding the conch and the discus, should always be meditated upon. Now do the sun-salutation. Those who know the sun-salutation posture or yoga with its twelve limbs can do the sun-salutation by using one mantra for each limb. Those who do not know that posture or cannot do it dui to any reason can meditate on the sun-god by joining their palms and chanting the following mantra-s. Begin your meditation with the sun-salutation. In the beginning, sit erect, join the palms, close your eyes, and meditate on the pillar of light up and down the spine and in the middle of the brows. Chant these twelve mantra-s which are the twelve names of the solar deity, as follows: 1. Om Mitraya namah Salutations to Mitra, the bestower of universal friendship. 2. Om Ravaye namah Salutations to Ravi, the bestower of radiance. 3. Om Suryaya a namah Salutations to Surya, the dispeller of darkness. 4. Om Bhanave namah Salutations to Bhanu, the shining principle. 5. Om Khagaya namah Salutations to Khaga, the all-pervaiding. 6. Om. Pusne namah Salutation to Pusan, the mystic fire. 7. Om. Hiranyagarbhaya namah Salutations to Hiranyagarbha, the bolden-coloured one [who brings healing]. 8. Om Maricaye namah Salutations to Marici, the light. 9. Om Adityaya namah Salutations to Aditya [one aspect of Visnu]. 10. Om Savitre namah Salutations to Svaita,impeller. 11. Om Arkaya namah Salutations to Arka, the remover of afflictions. 12. Om Bhaskaraya namah Salutations to Bhaskara, the cosmic brilliance. Om. Sri-Savitre Suryanarayanaya namah. Mitra-Ravi-Surya-Bhanu-Khaga-Pusa- Hiranyagarbha-Maricyaditya-Savitrarka- Bhaskarebhyo namo namah. Om. Salutations (to the effulgent power of) Lord Narayana manifesting through the sun-god. Again and again salutations to (the twelve aspects of light of God, known as) Mirta,Ravi, Surya, Bhanu, khaga, Pusa, Hiranyagarbha, Marici, Aditya, Savitr, Arka, Bhaskara. Keep a cup of pure water. Hold a spoon in the left hand and take a spoonful of water from the cup and pour it onto the right palm, holding the hand like a conch and chant the following mantra: Akalamrtyuharanam sarvavyadhivinasanam/ Suryapadodakam tirtham jathare dharayamy aham// I hold in my stomach to holy water which has washed the feet of God Sun-the holy water which wards off untimely death and destroys all diseases. Sit facing east or north and then chant the purificatory mantra: Om. Apavitrah pavitro va sarvavastham gato'pi va/ Yah smaret Pundarikaksam sa bahyabhyantarah sucih// Om! Whether impure or pure, under all conditions he who thinks of the Lotus-eyed one, [becomes] pure imternally and externally. (Saying thus, sprinkle the water over the head.) ACAMANA Acamana or three times sipping the holy water is for purifying the body, mind, and the soul. It purifies the gross, astral, and causal bodies as well. This discipline calms our senses, stops the oscillation of the mind and makes us feel like meditating. The Holy Name of God that is repeated as we sip the water relieves us of all pain and sickness. Therefore, it is said in the scriptures, "Holy water is the best medicine for all ills and God is the best physician." One should do the acamana sitting. One should not talk or laugh or stand during the acamana. Acamana should be done pouring a spoon of water into the cavity of the right palm and sopping with devotion the holy water, chanting the mantra Om Sri Kesavaya Svaha, meditating on the meaning of the mantra as, "Salutations to Lord Kesava." After sipping the holy water, one has to take the right palm over his head and bring back the palm for sipping the second time. Chanting the mantra Om Sri Narayanaya Svaha, "Salutations to Lord Narayana", one should sip the water with reverence and take the right palam above the head as before. And again one has to pour a spoon of water in the cavity of the right palm and chant Om Sri Madhavaya Svaha, "Salutations to Lord madhava", and do as above. This three times sipping the water is known as acamana. Now you should wash your right palm by pouring one spoon of water, chanting Om Govindaa Namah, "Salutations to Lord Govinda". Continue chanting the remaining Caturvimsati i.e. 24 of the mantra-s as follows (their meanings are given below): Om Visnave Namah Om Madhusudanaya Namah Om Trivikramaya Namah Om Vamanaya Namah Om Sridharaya Namah Om Hrsikesaya Namah Om Padmanabhaya Namah Om Damodaraya Namah Om Sankarsanaya Namah Om Vasudevaya Namah Om Pradyumnaya Namah Om Aniruddhaya Namah Om Purusottamaya Namah Om Adhoksajaya Namah Om Narasimhaya Namah Om Acyutaya Namah Om Janardanaya Namah Om Upendraya Namah Om Haraye Namah Om Srikrsnaya Namah CATURVIMSATI-MANTRA These 24 great mantra-s are chanted from the day of the sacred thread ceremony just before chanting the Gayatri-mantra. They are usually chanted during the early hours of the morning and in the evening when the day breaks into night. This is part of the Sandhya-vandanam or salutation to God during the meeting periods of day and night. All of the twenty-four names are sacred. Taken individually, each twenty-four great names of God with the benefit there from are given below. Om Sri Kesavaya Namah Om Sri Narayanaya Namah Om Sri Madhavaya Namah Om Sri Visnave Namah Om Sri Madhusudanaya Namah Om Sri Trivikramaya Namah Om Sri Vamanaya Namah Om Sri Sridharaya Namah Om Sri Hrsikesaya Namah Om Sri Padmanabhaya Namah Om Sri Damodarava Namah Om Sri Sankarsanaya Namah Om Sri Vasudevaya Namah Om Sri Pradyumnaya Namah Om Sri Aniruddhaya Namah Om Sri Purusottamaya Namah Om Sri Adhoksaiava Namah Om Sri Narasimhaya Namah Om Sri Acyutava Namah Om Sri Janardanaya Namah Om Sri Upendraya Namah Om Sri Haraye Namah Om Sri Krsnaya Namah
PRANAYAMA Pranayama or rhythmic breathing is one of the most important kriya-s of Gayatri meditation. Prana means breath. Ayama means expansion. The discipline though which the breath is expanded is known as pranayama. By breath exercise, man attains longevity, health, and extraordinary energy. All ailments come to man due to lack of enough oxygen supply to all the nandi-s in the body. Mind, breath, and semen are closely related. If one is controlled among these three, the other two are automatically controlled. By controlling the breath, the mind is brought under control and the semen or the energy is conserved. By mind control, man attains perfect consciousness and by preserving the semen, longevity, health, and creativity are gained and man is capable of helping humanity by doing noble deeds. Deep breathing supplies enough oxygen to the lungs and the system. It purifies the blood and blesses with a healthy body. Therefore, pranayama should not be slighted or neglected. Everyone should practise pranayama regularly, every day, to keep the body and the mind healthy to carry on the duties successfully. The holy scriptures teach the method of pranayama as follows: Plug the right nostril by the right thumb. Inhale the breath deeply by the left nostril until you mentally chant the Gayatri-mantra once. Now plug both the nostrils and hold the breath until you mentally repeat the Ghayatri-mantra once. Now exhale through the right nostril, plugging the left until you chant once the Gayatri-mantra. Inhaling is known in Sanskrit as puraka. Holding the breath is known as kumbhaka, and exhaling is known as recaka. These three processes are totally known as pranayama. As you advance duration by chanting three Gayatri-mantra while you hold the breath chanting one Gayatri mantra during each inhalation and exhalation. Om. Pranavasya Parabrahma rsih, Paramatma devata, Devi Gayatri chandah. Saptanam vyahrtinam Visvamitra-jamad-agni-Bharadvaja-Gautama-Atri -Vasistha-Kasyapa saptarsayah, Agni-Vayu-Aditya-Brhaspati-Varuna-Indra -Visvedeva devatah. Gayatrya Gayatri chandah, Visvamitrah risih, Savita devata. Siromantrasya Parabrahma rsih, Paramatma devata, Anustup chandah. Pranayame viniyogah. Parabrahma or the Transcendental Godhead Himself is the supreme Guru for the Pranava or Om, the Word. Paramatma, the all-pervading Spirit of God, himself is the presiding deity of this mantra; Gayatri is the meter, Visvamitra, Jamadagni, Bharadvaja, Gautama, Atri, Vasistha, Kasyapa are the seers of the seven rhythms or vyahrti-s, Varuna, the god, wind-god, sun-god, Brhaspati, the celestial teacher, Varuna, the God of waters, Indra, the head of the celestials, and Visvedeva or the cosmic spirit, these are the presiding deities. For Gayatri-mantra, Gayatri itself is the meter; Vsvamitra is the one who heard and saw this rhythm during his deep meditation; the light is God, anustup meter. It is prescribed for pranayama. The following is muttered and meditated upon during prahayama. The purport of the mantra-s is:
THE INNER MEANING May that eternal God, our Creator, independent Reality, the worshipful, one who has no beginning, light of wisdom and Truth; That Lord who manifests through the sun, propitiated by the highest gods, one who bestows wisdom and everlasting life; we meditate on that Light. May our intellect be illumined by that Light of God. One who protects us from the waters of karma, the Light of all the lights, the essence of everything, one who bestows immorality-May that all-pervading, almighty God bless us with enlightenment. SANKALPA-KRIYA Sankalpa-kriya means a total commitment to do something good. When you mentally decide that you are going to do something in the name of God at a given year, at a given month and day, at a given auspicious moment, then such a devotional commitment makes you very dear to God, who accepts your though, word, and deed as an offering. Usually in Sankalpa-kriya, or the making of a noble decision for meditation, the devotee reflects on the cycles, the periods of beginning of creation. This shows the remote antiquity of this creation and eternity of the soul. In the evolutionary process, which is an expansion of consciousness, one is now blessed with a human birth, a given year and a time in which one is privileged to serve the Almighty Lord to attain liberation-all these are remembered through the mantra. What a sublime kriya! A mere day of Creator Brahma, the son of God the Father is equal to 4,320,000,000 human years. Brahma's night is as long as his day. His year is made up of 365 days and nights. According to the Purana-s, since this creation, Brahma has completed fifty years of his life and the exact midday in the first day of his fifty-first year is running now. One mere day period of his is equivalent of fourteen Manu-periods. The present Manu ruling over our creation is the seventh Manu, known as Vaivasvata Manu. Now, seven is the exact half of fourteen; therefore, the almanac reads that it is the exact midday of Brahma. It is said that when Brahma completes his one-hundred years, he will merge in Parabrahma, the Father. Now one Manu-period is approximately seventy-one great ages. Each great age is of four ages or yuga-s and these four yuga-s are known as Krta Yuga, the Golden Age; Treta Yuga, the Silver Age; Dvapara Yuga, the Copper Age, and Kali Yuga, the Iron Age. It is known that in this Vaivasvata Manu's period, twenty-seven great ages have rolled by already and the 28th Kali Yuga is running right now, and this cycle (Kalpa, a Brahma's day), is known as Sveta Varaha kalpa or Divine Boar Cycle. In this Kali Yuga, which consists of 4,32,000 human years, only 5,000 years have passed until now. These are all the hidden description that come in the mantra-s of Sankalapa-Kriya given below: Srimad-bhagavato mahapurusasya Visnor Ajnaya pravartamane adyasmin brahmande bhuloke Jambudipe Bharata khande Brartavarse mirror daksinadogbhage Brahmano 'sya divitiye parardhe Sri-Svetavarahakalpe Vaivasvata-manvantare astavimsatitame yuga-catustaye atra kaliyuge prathama-carane Buddhavatare Salivahanasake vartamane samvatsare...ayane...rtau...mase...pakse...tithau...vasare evamgunavisesanavisistayam subhatithau mamopatt-duritaksayadvara sri-Parmesvaprityartham pratassandhyam upasisye. Among the endless universes created and ruled just by the mere will of Lord Visnu, in this universe, on the planed earth, in Jambu-dvipa (woodapple-shaped island), in the continent of King Bharata, known as Bharatavarsa (Sanskrit name for India), to the south of Mount Meru (considered as the axis of the universe), in he second half of the hunderd years of the Creator Brahma, in the Divine White Boar cycle, when the seventh Manu, Vaivasvata, is ruling, in this first foot of the twenty-eighth kali Yuga, during eh incarnation of the Budha, in Salivahana's era, at the current year (...), solstice (...), season (...), month (...), fortnight (...), date (...), day (...), in this auspicious day characterrised as above, for the destruction of all my sis committed accrued in me, towards pleasing the Supreme Lord, I shall be practising this morning meditation on Gayatri (or I am performing this Sandhya-vandana). MARJANA Marjana means cleansing. It is a purificatory discipline. By bathing, the body is purified, but the discipline of marjana is for internal purification, which is done through mantra-s. by the discipline of marjana, the flow of blood becomes rhythmic, and exciting passions subside. The Mind becomes one-pointed and meditative. Varuna, god of waters, becomes pleased. Meditation becomes very soothing and joyful. The unconscious and subconscious dimensions are also purified by marjana. The agony of sin and ignorance is washed away. The springs of devotion manifest. The mantra of marjana-kriya runs thus: Apohisthetimantrasya Sindhudvipa-Ambarisa rsih, Apo devata, Gayatri chandah, marjane viniyogah. Apo hi stha mayobhuvah/ Ta na urje dadhatana/ Mahe ranaya caksase// Yo vah sivatamo rasah/ Tasya bhajayateha nah/ Usatir iva matarah// Tasma aram gamama vah/ Yasya ksayaya jinvatha/ Apo janayatha ca nah// In this prayer, there are three parts. Each part is made up of three stanzas which means that there are a total of nine parts. While performing this kriya, the devotee should chant all stanzas with the prefix of Om and after chanting each stanza, he should sprinkle the water over his own head until he chants the seventh stanza. Chanting the eighth stanza, he should offer the water to the earth. Chanting the ninth stanza, once again he should sprinkle the water over his own head. If the marjana-kriya is done in a river, then one has to take the holy grass in one's hand to sprinkle the water on the head by chanting the mantra. Marjana-mantra with its nine parts is an follows. Sprinkle water on your head after you chant each mantra: 1. Om. Apo hi stha mayobhuvah. O Water Gods, you (always) confer happiness (on those who meditate on you). 2. Om. ta na urje dadhatana. Bless us with strength (to be ableto do the everlasting, noble deeds). 3. Om. mahe ranaya caksase. (Bless us) to attain the highest wisdom. 4. om. yo vah sivatamo rasah. That most auspicious essence of (bliss). 5. Om. tasya bhajayateha nah. Make us partakers thereof 6. Om usatir iva matarah. Even as eager mothers (feed their children with the milk from their bosom). 7. Om. tasma aram gamama vah. To him are gladly come. (Now offer water to the earth). 8. Om. yasya ksayaya jinvatha. To whose abode you send us. 9. Om.apo janayatha ca nah. Waters, bless us with (spiritual) children (and grandchildren to continue this spiritual line). |
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