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
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