GAYATHRI MANTRA STEPS

                                                                       STEP TWO

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            THE SECOND STEP IS TO PIT ON FRESH CLOTHES. SOME PEOPLE KEEP A SEPERATE SET OF CLOTHES FOR THEIR DAILY PUJA, AND THEY DON'T WEAR THEM ANYWHERE ELSE, WHICH IS QUITE GOOD, BUT I HAVE ALSO SEEN SOME LAZY ONES WHO WOULD WEAR THEIR CLOTHES FOR A PUJA AND HANG THEM ON A HOOK AND THEN THE NEXT DAY TAKE THEM OFF AND WEAR THEM AGAIN. THEY WILL SAY, "THESE ARE MY PUJA CLOTHES", BUT THEY MIGHT NOT WASH THEM FOR 30,40 OR 50 DAYS. BELIEVE ME, I KNOW SUCH PEOPLE. DON'T DO THAT. PUT ON FRESH CLOTHES.

             THERE IS A STORY I WROTE ON MY BLOG SOME TIME AGO. ONECE BUDDHA WAS IN SOLITUDE, WALKING, HE ASKED FOR ALMS FROM A MAN. THE MAN REFUSED AND STARTED SHOUTING AT HIM, CALLING HIM NAMES. BUDDHA DID NOT SAY ANYTHING, AND WENT ON HIS WAY QUIETLY 

           ANOTHER MAN, WHO WAS OBSERVING THIS, WENT TO THE MAN AND SAID, YOU JUST INSULTED BUDDHA".

           THE MAN SAID, "THAT BEGGAR COULDN'T POSSIBLY BE BUDDHA" THE OBSERVER SAID, "NO, HE WAS!"

           "BUT BUDDHA IS ALWAYS SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE"

      WELL, HE IS IN HIS STINT OF SOLITUDE.

            REPENTING HIS ACTIONS, THE MAN WENT LOOKING FOR BUDDHA, BUT COULDN'T TRACE HIM. THE NEXT DAY, HOWEVER, HE FOUND HIM, AND FELL AT HIS FEET.

            O LORD! HE SAID REMORSEFULLY, I AM SORRY I INSULTED YOU AND CALLED YOU NAMES.

            OH, WHEN WAS THAT? BUDDHA SAID CALMLY.

           JUST YESTERDAY!

          TATHAGATA DOES NOT KNOW YESTERDAY, BUDDHA SAID, I ONLY KNOW TODAY, THIS MOMENT.

          BESIDEDS HYGIENE, THE IDEA OF BATHING AND PUTTING ON FRESH CLOTHES IS SO YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO HAVE A FRESH START FOR THE DAY. IT IS A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY, A DIVINE BLESSING THAT YOU HAVE ONE MORE DAY TO LIVE, ONE MORE MOMENT TO BREATHE. I READ SOMEWHERE THAT IF WE WERE TO LIVE EVERY DAY AS IF IT IS OUR LAST DAY, WE ARE MOST CERTAINLY  GOING TO BE RIGHT. SO PUT ON FRESH CLOTHES.

                                                               STEP THREE

                       NOW YOU ENTER THE PUJA GRIHA, THE SANCTUM SANCTORUM, OR STAND BEFORE THE ALTAR, IF YOU HAVE A SEPERATE PUJA ROOM OR JUST A LITTLE SPACE, HOW DO YOU APPROACH IT? YOU ARE ENTERING YOUR SACRED SPACE. LIKE YOUR WASHROOM IS WHERE YOU PERFORM PHYSICAL CLEANSING, YOUR ALTAR IS FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL CLEANING. THERE IS A MANTRA THAT YOU SAY PHAT, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO STAMP THE FLOOR WITH YOUR HEEL. IN EARLIER TIMES, THEY USED TO DO THIS BECAUSE FLOORS WERE SEALED WITH COW DUNG AND THE LIKE. THUS, THERE WOULD BE SOME MICROORGANISMS ON THE FLOOR OF YOUR SANCTUM SANCTORUM, AND BY STAMPING YOUR HEEL ON THE FLOOR, YOU WOULF SHAKE THE SURFACE SO THEY COULD MOVE, SO YOU DON'T STEP ON THEM.

                      HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE THESE SEED SYLLABLES? IS IT "HRING", OR IS IT "HRIM", ? FOR THAT, I WOULD GIVE YOU A SIMPLE RULE OF THUMB - THE ELABORATE METHOD IS A LITTLE COMPLICATED, AND THIS IS NOT THE FORUM FOR THAT. BUT QUITE SIMPLY, HOW DO YOU SAY THE WORD, "MAA", YOU DONT SAY "MAAG", - YOU SAY MAA, SIMILARLY, THE WORD IS "HRIM", (M BEING THE SAME SOFT NASAL SOUND AS IN THE WORD "MAA") NOT "HRING".

                   IF I HAVE TO PRONOUNCE AN "M" SOUND AT THE END, I WILL NOT WRITE AN "M". I QILL SIMPLY HAVE WHAT WE CALL AN ANUSWAR, A DOT. THE ANUSWAR DENOTES A PURELY NASAL SOUND WHERE THERE IS A LURKING "G" SOUND, AS IN OM HRIM ASTRAYA PHAT. I CAN'T THINK OF ANOTHER WAY TO EXPLAIN THIS IN WRITTEN ENGLISH.

                                                                          STEP FOUR

                      STEP FOUR IS PERFORMING THE PURIFICATION RITUAL. YOU WOULD HAVE A LITTLE VESSEL OF WATER - YOU JUST DIP YOUR FINGER IN IT. REMEMBER, THE INDEX FINGER REPRESENTS IGNORANCE, IN THE INVOCATION OF MANTRAS, AS IN ALL SPIRITUAL, RELIGIOUS KARMA, WE KEEP THIS FINGER AWAY. TO PERFORM PURIFICATION, EITHER TAKE A FLOWER IN YOUR HAND, HOLDING IT WITH YOUR THUMB AND THREE FINGERS (EXCEPT THE INDEX FINGER) OR SIMPLY JOIN THE RING FINGER WITH THE THUMB IF YOU ARE NOT USING A FLOWER. NOW TAKE A LITTLE POT OF WATER. YOU DIP RING FINGER JOINEDD WITH YOUR THUMB, OR IF YOU HAVE A FLOWER, YOU CAN DIP YOUR FLOWER IN THE WATER AND CHANT THE MANTRA.

                                              OM APAVITRAH PAVITRO VA

                                              SARVAVASTHAM GATO API VA

                                              YAH SMARET PUNDARIKAKSAM

                                              SA BAHAYA ABHYANTARAM SUCIH

                          AS YOU ARE DOING THAT, SPRINKLE SOME WATER IN ALL THE TEN DIRECTIONS. YOU DON'T COUNT, ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, ETC., - JUST DO SO SYMBOLICALLY.

                       THIS MANTRA EXPRESSES THAT EVEN THOUGH I HAVE TAKEN A BATH AND PUT ON FRESH CLOTHES, THERE ARE STILL IMPURITIES I CARRY ON MY BODY, IN MY HEART AND MY MIND, WHICH ARE TO BE REMOVED BY MEDITATING ON THE DIVINE ENERGY. THE MEANING OF THIS MANTRA IS GIVEN BELOW:

                                                  OM APAVITRAH PAVITRO VA

                                                  SARVAVASTHAM GATO API VA

                        IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW IMPURE YOU ARE, IN WHATEVE STATE YOU MAY BE. 

 

                                            YAH SMARET PUNDARIKAKSAM

                                            SA BAHAYA ABHYANTARAM SUCIH

   

           THE ONE WHO MEDITATES ON THE DIVINE ENERGY - THE LORD IS CALLED PUNDARIKAKSHA HERE, WITH BEATIFUL LOTUS EYES - THE ONE WHO MEDITATES ON SUCH FORM OF THE LORD IS PURIFIED INSIDE OUT.

            THIS MANTRA DOES NOT GIVE YOU AN EXCUSE TO NOT BATHE, BUT IT WILL PURIFY YOU, SO DO IT WITH THAT SENTIMENT.

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