Hi All,
I recently started or trying to start Sandyavandanam after 20 years or so. Just wondering about it contents.
It heavily praises the nature, the supreme God , navagrahas, yama, Gayatri and Vishnu.
There is no mention of Shiva. At one point it says "Brahmavai namaha, Vishnave Namaha and Mrutyuve Namaha" .
Whats the story? Did it get altered in the course of time?
Not trying to start an Iyer-Iyengar debate, but curious since either scriptures were dedicated to one GOd.
This one has multiple but misses mentioning Siva completely.
One of the real question you may want to answer to *only* yourself is the motivation for you to undertake this practice at this time after a gap of 20 years.
Sandhyavandanam is not about any praise of anyone per se to get transactional benefits from some "devata" though such interpretation do exist among many 'uninformed'.
There are many other ignorant and possibly offensive interpretations exist as well about this practice. We need viveka to stay away from such people.
There are many other threads about Sandhyavandanam in this forum that may be beneficial.
The practice is considered part of our 'Nitya Karma' conducted primarily to quieten our often agitated mind. A mind so 'purified' will allow for the possibility for one to see the reality the way it is.
The sankalpa or the commitment to begin Sandhyavandanam is for " DURITAKSHAYA DWARA SRI PARAMESWARA PREETHYARTHAM" etc which is about wanting to remove impurity (of the mind on a daily basis).
The invocation of Isvara is not about pleasing Isvara (though such interpretations exists) but it is about a person being aligned with the 'whole' (Isvara representing the 'whole' and Dharma).
Water (represented as a Devata in Vedic style) is then used to symbolically wash the 'mind'. We use the water to wash our body and organs. In the same spirit the 'inner organ' of the mind is also washed symbolically with water. Invocations of all pervading form of the Lord (Vishnu) is also done again in the spirit of purification of the mind.
The preliminary steps continue with prayer and salutations to many forms of Isvara (including devatas for various planets) so that one's ego/mind is under check through this purification process.
Next is a sankalpa or commitment step to do Mantra Japa meditation using Gayatri Mantram.
The practice includes Pranayama to break the cycle of thoughts at key junctures.
Meditation and Pranayama are known to have excellent benefits to our body, mind (emotion) and intellect even in terms of recent neuroscience studies.
Depending on where one is at in terms of their Sadhana there are few interpretations of the Gayatri Mantra.
The common meaning is something like "We meditate upon the effulgent glory of the Divine Light; may Isvara inspire our understanding and activate our intellect"
Sandhya Devi, the female principle of Isvara is invoked in the Solar Orb during the meditation. It is a role play which concludes by asking Sandhya Devi to symbolically stay at the top of a mountain watching over us.
The concluding rituals include more prayers include prayers to Akasha (space) by bowing to all directions.
Mrithyu - Lord of Time/Change is symbolically thought of as Siva also (as Sri Vikrama has pointed out)
Also this passage narrated by a few include invocations to Lord Siva in some interpretations
"Ritagum Satyam Param Brahma Purusham Krishna-pingalam //
Oorddhwaretam Viroopaksham Viswaroopaya Vai Namo Namah //
Viswaroopaaya Vai Namo Nama Om Nama Iti "
The conclusion of prayerful meditation is with recitation of 'Kayen vacha' which means
- Whatever have done with the Body, mind and intellect ,I surrender them to Isvara without personal ownership.
While I have not done justice to the whole practice with this brief write up, I wanted to share very basic information about this ritual.
If our attitude is right, the benefits of purified mind can lead one towards Isvara.