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Sandhyavandanam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sandhyavandane (Sanskrit: sandhyvandana) is a mandatory [according to whom?] religious ritual that needs to be performed by all twice-born people ofHinduism. Especially brahmins who are initiated into the sacred thread ceremony called asUpanayanam, and instructed in its execution by a Guru (a qualified spiritual teacher). Sandhyavandanam consists of excerpts from theVedas that are to be performed thrice daily at morning (prtasadhy), at noon (mdhynika), and in the evening (syasadhy). The term is a Sanskrit compound consisting ofsadhy, meaning "union", or more specifically the union or junctions of day and night which takes place in the morning or evening twilight,[1] and vandanam meaning worship.[2][3] In addition to dawn and dusk, noon is considered the third juncture of the day, and hence meditations and prayers are performed daily at those times. The term sadhy is also used by itself in the sense of "daily practice" to refer to the performance of these devotions at the opening and closing of the day.[4][5]
Contents [hide] 1 Sandhya Vandhana is the essence of Yoga & Meditation 2 Main components of Sandhyavandanam 3 Daily duties of Brahmins 4 Science behind the practice 5 Miscellaneous 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References

Sandhya Vandhana is the essence of Yoga & Meditation

1. Achamana consists of Nama Sankirthana 2. Pranayama is the Breathing exercise 3. Gayathri japa is meditation 4. Navagraha tarpana is to please nine planets daily 5. Upasthanam is prayer to Sun god & Lord Varuna

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Main components of Sandhyavandanam

Poorvaangam

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Aachamana + Angavandanam - Sipping water three times + purifying parts of the body Ganapathi Dhyanam - Requesting Lord Ganeshaa for cessation of obstacles Pranayama - (Prana) Breathing (aayamaha) regulation exercise controls Pranamayakosha (Physiological aspect). Pranamaya kosha include these 5 systems - Prana (respiratory system), apana (excretory system), vyana (circulatory system), samana (digestive) and udana (reversing system). Influences Anamayakosha (Anatomical aspect) and Manomayakosha (Emotional aspect). There are 2 types: Kevala pranayama (Done silently - focus is on body) and Sagarbha pranayama (recommended) (With mantra - health improves but we remain detached from body). Done 3 times to 10 times. Meaning of Mantra - Pranava - Om means eeswarah (implying that God is everything). Vyahrithihi) - Bhu, bhuvaha etc. refer to 7 upper lokas (other 7 lower lokas are implied) are all God. Gayatri - Simple meaning - I meditate upon the light of the sun which activates our intellient) Gayatri shiras (again says that God is everything - All waters (aapo), lights (jyothi), essences/nourishment(raso), God's nourishment (amrutham) is God). Sankalpam - Taking the resolve - has benefit of auto-suggestion (telling yourself that this is your focus for next 15
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Sandhyavandanam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

odd minutes). Prokshanam Jalaprashanam or Marjanam Arghya pradanam Navagraha Kesavathi Tarpana Gayatri japam Upasthaanam Dik-Vandhanam Abhivadanam Samarpanam Chanting of the Gayatri mantra, traditionally, is done 32, 64 or 108 times (it depends on the person doing sandhyavandana; he can chant any number of times. "YathaSakti Gayatri mantra japam karishye" was the sankalpam in Sandhya vandana), depending upon the prescriptions of the practitioner's Veda and Sutra, an integral part of Sandhyavandanam.[6] In addition to the mantra, the ritual of sadhy includes other rites that are purifying and preparatory (Sanskrit: uddhi mantras), serving to prevent distracting thoughts and bring focus to the mind. Some of these are propitiatory libations of water to the Gods of the planets and of the months of the Hindu calendar, atoning for Sandhyavandanams not performed and atoning for sins committed since the last hour of Sandhya. In addition, one of the most important rituals of Sandhyavandanam involves worshiping the Sun as Mitra in the morning and worshiping Varuna, in the evening. Each Shakha of the holy Veda has its own unique way of sandhyavandanam. Shatatapa Smriti says a Dwija who doesn't do sandhyavandanam at least once will be a dog in the next birth. During Ashoucham (during death of any relative or birth of a child) sandhyavandanam is done without water and Darbham (Kusha grass). On Trayodashi, during sayam sandhya minimum gayatri japam and silence is prescribed by some vedik scholars. There are few additional mantras in Navagraha Kesavathi Tarpana for Bodhayana Sutra. They include Yama mantras, in addition to Navagraha Kesavathi mantras.

Daily duties of Brahmins

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Doing Sandhya vandhana first creates the eligibility for a brahmin to do all rituals following it.Rituals done without doing sandhyavandhanam is regarded as fruitless by Dharmastra. Thus, sandhyavandhana forms the basis or regarded as the foundation for all other vedic rituals. After doing Sandhyavandhana dhyannika Sandhya to get rid off sins occurred due preparation of lunch like boiling rice,cutting vegetables, burning firewood etc. In Vaishvadeva homa rice cakes are offered to vishvadevas (all devatas).

Science behind the practice

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Worshipping the sun is an essential component of a Hindu's daily practices, either in the form of either Suryanamaskaram or Sandhyavandanam. In the presence of mild sunlight, referred to a "Sandhya", human body burns the cholestrol that is present in the skin tissues to generate Vitamin D. For Brahmins who were otherwise forbidden from consumption of animal fat and meat, this is a vital practice as it helped them to obtain their Vitamin D requirement thusly. Apart from this, regular recitation of Sandhyavandanam, helps regulating the blood pressure and the postures in which these the entire practice is performed helps in overall muscle rejuvenation. However, all religious practices cannot be explained by science.[7] Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra: The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om, (the name of formless God.) That God (tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing / respect (varenyam). We all, therefore, should
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Sandhyavandanam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

meditate (dheemahi) upon the light (bhargo) of that deity (devasya) and also do chanting of Om. May He (yo) guide in right direction (prachodayat) our (nah) intellect dhiyo So we notice that the important points hinted in the mantra are:1) The total kinetic energy generated by the movement galaxies acts as an umbrella and balances the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence it was named as the Pranavah (body of energy). This is equal to 1/2 mv2 (Mass of galaxies x velocity) 2) Realizing the great importance of the syllable OM, the other later date religions adopted this word with a slight change in accent, viz., amen and Ameen. 3) The God could be realized through the saguna (gross), upasana (method), i.e., (a) by chanting the name of the supreme as OM and (b) by meditating upon the light emitted by stars (suns).

Miscellaneous

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Other aspects of the ritual, though, speaking strictly, not to included in Sandhyavandanam, may include meditation, chanting of other mantras (Sanskrit: japa), and devotional practices specifically for divinities that are preferred by the practitioner.[8] Regarding the connection with meditation practices, Monier-Williams notes that if regarded as an act of meditation, thesandhy may be connected with the etymology san-dhyai.[9] Depending on the beliefs Smartha, Sri Vaishnava, Madhva these mantras or procedures have slight changes, while the main mantras like marjanam (sprinkling of water), prashanam (drinking water), punar marjanam and arghya pradhanam remain the same in 95% of the cases. Smarthas (Advaithins) have Aikyanu Sandanam, where they (Yajur Vedins) recite the verse from bruhadaranyaka Upanishad (Brahmir vaa Aham Asmi).Sivaprasad Bhattacharyya defines it as the "Hindu code of liturgical prayers."[10]

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