Hari OM
'Text-days' are for delving into the words and theory of Advaita Vedanta.
We now explore the Sri Adi Shankara text, "SadaachaaraH". To obtain your own copy, click here.
The prayers of rising help to bring our mind to the sacred. What we see and hear influences how our mind will flow - which is why we must be careful and selective about what we see and hear from all the input the world offers. It is good to wake to the sounds of prayers, to the sounds of nature, to pictures which lift our spirits, be it family or an image of the Lord upon our altar. We set the tone for our day from the very minute we awake. There is a scriptural verse which tells us;
ïaeiÇy< su_aga< gaí AiGn< AiGnict< twa
àatruTway y> pZyet! AapÑ(> s ivmuCyte.
Shrotriyam subhagaam gaashcha agnim agnighitam tathaa
Praatarut-thaaya yaH pashyet aapadbhyaH sa vimuchyate||
When we hear the voice of a worshipper, when we see the lighted lamp (on rising)
When we see a happy wife and (when we see) a cow, all difficulties vanish.
This is why, in India, the morning air resounds with the sights, sounds and smells of bells, chanting, incense and so forth.
All of this sets the internal space for meditation - which ought to be the next step of morning saadhana. If we had (or have) the place to walk down to a river bank and make our offerings to the rising sun, this would be fantastic, but most of us don't. This is why it is important to have a small area of your room (or a whole place within your home) dedicated to studying, worship and contemplation. One would go to the bathroom and ablute for which there are also prayers and meditations, which we shall see in due course.
The next prayer from here though would be the Gayatri Mantra. It can be recited whilst facing out a window to the rising sun, or before your home altar, but you should be standing with hands in 'anjali' (together in universal prayer position). Discussion on the mantra has been here before. Today, though, watch and follow this short video. It is the traditional way of learning mantras. Pay close attention to the rhythm (chcchandas) and pronunciation, the rise and fall of the tone. Mantras are the closest things to 'spells' one can get!
Many of the popular mantras are also used as bhajans (hymns) and are given more musical rendition. Nothing wrong, but these are not to be used for this morning routine. That said, this rendition and visual is highly recommended.
