38. W for Water:
The use of water by the Hindus, particularly Brahmins, remains a mystery. From Birth to Death they use it in all the ceremonies. No one can imagine doing Sandhyavandhana without water. Ancient Rishis used it to bless, curse, donate, wed, purify, to satisfy the departed souls and cleanse. Though Christians use it for Baptism, Brahmins use it for everything. How can water get so much power when it is used in a curse or in a blessing (Prokshanam), no one knows.
W for We: Most of the Vedic mantras including Gayatri pray for the entire mankind. It is always ‘We’ and not ‘I’.
39. X for Who are you? : Another beauty of Sandhyavandhanam is the self introduction. When unknown value is mentioned, we always use X and Y as we do in Algebra. With the Brahmins no one needs to ask’ Who are you?’ From Sandhyavandhanam to meeting elders (Except Sanyasins) a Brahmin introduces himself by saying Abhivadaye---- which indicates his Kulam, Gothram, Vedam etc. What a beautiful system we have. Who else in the world do it in their daily prayers?
40. Y for Yamaya Nama: Everyone is afraid of death. But for Brahmins even death is a subject of worship. He faces South and prays to Yama everyday in his Sandhya and praises him as Dharmarajan-A king of Justice! This mantra will drive away the fear of death. No one else worships the God of Death every day. This reminds everyone that Life is short and Art is long. It motivates us to do more good. Which community in the world does it?
41. Z for Zodiac and Z for Zoolatry : Nine planets travelling through twelve zodiac signs are worshipped by the Brahmins every day to ward off their evil influence. The beauty of the worship lies in the order of the heavenly bodies in Sunday (adityam Tarpayami) ,Monday (somam),Tuesday (angarakam),Wednesday (budham),Thursday(bruhaspathim) ,Friday(sukram) and Saturday (sannaischaram tarpayami). We invented the days of the week. Neither the Egyptians nor the Europeans invented this. They haven’t got the heavenly bodis for all the seven days. Norse gods and Roman gods take the place for several days. Whereas our system has been the same from the Vedic days. Even Thirugnana Sambhandhar sings this in his KolaRu Thiruppathikam
ஞாயிறு திங்கள் செவ்வாய் புதன் வியாழன் வெள்ளி
சனி பாம்பிரண்டும் உடனே ஆசறு நல்ல நல்ல அவை
நல்ல நல்ல அடியாரவர்க்கு மிகவே
--கோளறு பதிகம் (சம்பந்தர்)
Zoolatry is the worship of animals. We do worship the snakes in the Narmadhayai nama: mantra. The mantra is actually done on two planes. One is the Naga race Vs Kuru race clashes as explained earlier. The other is actual snakes which ancients wanted to avoid.
So Sandhyavandhanam contains all sciences from Astronomy to Zoolatry. We must get an entry in to the Guinness Book of Records for carrying on this practice for several thousand years.
Please treat these nine parts as “A layman’s commentary (Bhashyam) on Sandhyavandhanam. --finito
The use of water by the Hindus, particularly Brahmins, remains a mystery. From Birth to Death they use it in all the ceremonies. No one can imagine doing Sandhyavandhana without water. Ancient Rishis used it to bless, curse, donate, wed, purify, to satisfy the departed souls and cleanse. Though Christians use it for Baptism, Brahmins use it for everything. How can water get so much power when it is used in a curse or in a blessing (Prokshanam), no one knows.
W for We: Most of the Vedic mantras including Gayatri pray for the entire mankind. It is always ‘We’ and not ‘I’.
39. X for Who are you? : Another beauty of Sandhyavandhanam is the self introduction. When unknown value is mentioned, we always use X and Y as we do in Algebra. With the Brahmins no one needs to ask’ Who are you?’ From Sandhyavandhanam to meeting elders (Except Sanyasins) a Brahmin introduces himself by saying Abhivadaye---- which indicates his Kulam, Gothram, Vedam etc. What a beautiful system we have. Who else in the world do it in their daily prayers?
40. Y for Yamaya Nama: Everyone is afraid of death. But for Brahmins even death is a subject of worship. He faces South and prays to Yama everyday in his Sandhya and praises him as Dharmarajan-A king of Justice! This mantra will drive away the fear of death. No one else worships the God of Death every day. This reminds everyone that Life is short and Art is long. It motivates us to do more good. Which community in the world does it?
41. Z for Zodiac and Z for Zoolatry : Nine planets travelling through twelve zodiac signs are worshipped by the Brahmins every day to ward off their evil influence. The beauty of the worship lies in the order of the heavenly bodies in Sunday (adityam Tarpayami) ,Monday (somam),Tuesday (angarakam),Wednesday (budham),Thursday(bruhaspathim) ,Friday(sukram) and Saturday (sannaischaram tarpayami). We invented the days of the week. Neither the Egyptians nor the Europeans invented this. They haven’t got the heavenly bodis for all the seven days. Norse gods and Roman gods take the place for several days. Whereas our system has been the same from the Vedic days. Even Thirugnana Sambhandhar sings this in his KolaRu Thiruppathikam
ஞாயிறு திங்கள் செவ்வாய் புதன் வியாழன் வெள்ளி
சனி பாம்பிரண்டும் உடனே ஆசறு நல்ல நல்ல அவை
நல்ல நல்ல அடியாரவர்க்கு மிகவே
--கோளறு பதிகம் (சம்பந்தர்)
Zoolatry is the worship of animals. We do worship the snakes in the Narmadhayai nama: mantra. The mantra is actually done on two planes. One is the Naga race Vs Kuru race clashes as explained earlier. The other is actual snakes which ancients wanted to avoid.
So Sandhyavandhanam contains all sciences from Astronomy to Zoolatry. We must get an entry in to the Guinness Book of Records for carrying on this practice for several thousand years.
Please treat these nine parts as “A layman’s commentary (Bhashyam) on Sandhyavandhanam. --finito
