You are here: SriPedia - Ramanuja - Archives - Feb 2004

Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00033 Feb 2004

 
Feb 2004 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


Asmad Gurubhyo Namaha
Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha

> I have a doubt. sandhyAvandanam itself is a ritual performed in
> limited time and chanting of gAyatrI is a part of it. So one cannot
> think of His qualities while repeating gAyatrI. So is it not 
> better to devote some time to read some pASurams with their 
> meanings or
> bhagavadguNa darpaNam (sahasranAma commentary) rather than spending
> time in rituals e.g. sandhyAvandanam?

Dear Shri Vishnu,
Before getting into your question, I would like to comment on few 
comments posted by others on your question. First and foremost of 
all, sandhyavandanam is only for the 3 varnas. It is not for all. 
So, sandhyavandanam is not a MANDATE for all as few people claim. 
Moreover, if those who belong to the 3 varnas claim that 
sandhyavandanam is a Nithya Karma and needs to be performed as 
a "ritual" and is a mandate, let me put forth a question. Brahmanas 
are not supposed to earn, live a luxurious life etc. They must beg 
and eat (Bhavathi Bhikshaam Dehi?!). They must wear a shikai that 
must not be for a style, but for respecting the vedic instructions. 
Must wear kadukkan, thirumans that are not lean enough to be 
unnoticed by others but for remembering the dasathvam of our athmas 
to the lord, perform Agnihothram, must not go out of the country, 
must not eat frozen foods from the fridge;) etc etc. People violate 
almost every basic instruction of vedas and when it comes to 
sandhyavandanam, they own it so much - am not much surprised 
anyways:) The gayathri that most people praise about, is the one 
that was given by Vishwamitra and is called the Vishwamitra 
gayathri. In general, gayathri means the metre(chandas) that defines 
the format of the manthras. We have so many gayathris like Vishnu 
gayathri, Lakshmi gayathri etc. Someone said that Shri Krishna had 
mentioned that he is the Gayathri. Well, Shri Krishna denoted that 
he is the basis of all manthras in that context and not just this 
sandhyavandana gayathri.

Back to your question, per our aacharyas, we must indeed try to 
follow all our dharmas as much as we can. Yet, these dharmas could 
be given up when it becomes an obstruction to a 
bhagavath/bhaagavatha kainkaryam. Moreover, sandhyavandhanam is not 
a mere act that needs to be performed as a duty. It is not as simple 
as one cleans the entrance of a house, or draws the kolam at the 
entrance. It is much beyond that. If you get a chance, try to read a 
book named "Sandhyavandhana Bhashya" by the father of Shri Putthur 
Swami. This bhashya clearly explains the inner meanings of 
sandhyavandhanam (from Shrivaishnava Thennacharya sampradaya 
perspective). Once you read it, you will love to do the 
sandhyavandhanam every day.

For those who are not really aware of the inner meanings of 
sandhyavandhanam from our sampradaya perspective, here is a small 
yet critical trap that it has: The contemplation on the "OM" or 
the "Gayathri" itself leads to extreme internal happiness and makes 
you feel the oneness of the whole universe over a course of time. 
But this path is probably the worst of all as per our sampradaya and 
this path is called the Kaivalya where one gets frustrated in the 
samsara(samsara virakthi), yet doesn't develop interest in the 
bhagavad/bhaagavadha kainkarya. Hence, these people get liberated 
from here(samsara), but never get into the 
saameepya/saarupya/saayujya moksha, rather end up in a cemetry in 
the moksha called Kaivalyam(edu nilam in tamil). This is because, 
these people ask for self-enjoyment and since the self is a nithya 
vasthu, they get an eternal abode. But, because they don't show any 
interest towards bhagavath/bhaagavatha kainkarya, they do not get 
the bhagavath sambhandham in this eternal abode(Kaivalyam) and hence 
this place is called the cemetry in the moksha. So, either we must 
perform the ritual in the right way, or as Vishnu said, devote some 
time to read some pASurams with their meanings or bhagavadguNa 
darpaNam (sahasranAma commentary) rather than spending time in such 
contemplations. 

For Shrivaishnavas, even performing our rituals or chanting the 
manthras are for the lord's happiness and we see no goal to enjoy 
it by ourselves.

All comments based on the Thennacharya sampradaya references are 
welcome. I would like to keep mum on comments based on other 
sampradayas, as I do not understand or could answer those due to my 
ignorance or the irrelevance.

Sarva Aparaadhaan kshamasva. 

Azhwar Emperumanar Jeeyar Thiruvadigale Saranam

Adiyen,
Ramanuja Dasan





[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
ramanuja-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list