GAYATRI MANTRA STEPS

 

                                                 ❤ STEP TWENTY-FOUR ❤

                            IN THIS STEP, WE PERFORM MANTRA SAMSKARA. THERE IS NO REAL EQUIVALENT OF THE WORD SAMSKARA IN ENGLISH. BROADLY TRANSLATED, IT COULD MEAN COULD MEAN CULTURAL VALUES, UPBRINGING OR AN ACT MARKING TRANFORMATION. IN SANATANA DHARMA, THERE ARE 16 SAMSKARAS, IMPORTANT MILESTONES, IN THE LIFE OF A PERSON'S LIFE. THE SAME COURTESY IS EXTENDED OT THE LIVING ENERGY OF ANY MANTRA WE INVOKE. GAYATRI IS NO EXCEPTION.

                      THE MANTRA OF GAYATRI WAS CURSED BY BRAHMA, VASISHTHA AND VISHWAMITRA. SO THE PRIMARY SAMSKARA OF GAYATRI MANTRA IS TO ABSOLVE IF FROM THE CURSE OF THE SAGES (SHAAP VIMOCHANA). TO DO SO, CHANT THE SHAAP VIMOCHANA MANTRA OF BRAHMA, VASISHTHA AND VISHWAMITRA SEVEN TIMES EACH. IF YOU CANNOT DO SEVEN TIMES EACH, DOING IT THRICE EACH WILL ALSO DO, BUT THAT'S THE BARE MINIMUM. THE MANTRAS ARE PROVIDED IN THE APPENDIX.

                    PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS BOOK IS WRITTEN FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT INITIATED. IF YOU ARE INITIATED INTO GAYATRI MANTRA, YOU ONLY HAVE TO DO MANTRA SAMSKARA BASED ON WHAT YOUR GURU TELLS YOU. USUALLY, IT'S DONE ONLY ON THE FIRST DAY - SOMETIMES NOT EVEN ON THE FIRST DAY. BUT BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE SADHANA. IF YOU ARE NOT INITIATED INTO THE GAYATRI MANTRA, YOU'D HAVE TO DO IT EVERY DAY.

                                                        ❤  STEP TWENTY-FIVE ❤

                                 THE 25TH STEP MANTRA DHYANAM. NOW SOMETIMES, IN SOME SADHANAS YOU HAVE WHAT WE CALL A DHYANA SHLOKA, WHICH IS USUALLY A VERSE THAT DEPICTS THE DEVI - THAT TALKS ABOUT HOW YOUR OBJECT OF WORSHIP LOOKS, WHAT IMPLEMENTS SHE CARRIES, WHAT KIND OF FACE SHE HAS, HER PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, SO YOU CAN MEDITATE ON THAT FORM. IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IT VERY SIMPLE, JUST CHANT YOUR GAYRATRI MANTRA AND LET THAT BE YOUR DHYAM SHLOKA. OR YOU CAN GO ONLINE, WHERE YOU CAN FIND A MYRIAD OF IMAGES OF VEDMATA GAYATRI. PICK THE ONE THAT APPEALS TO YOU, AND MEDITATE ON THAT FORM IN THE BEGINNING. IF YOU ARE KEEN ON USING ON THE DHYANA SHLOKA, I'VE PROVIDED THAT IN THE APPENDIX.

                                                    ❤    STEP TWENTY-SIX ❤

                            NOW THE GOOD NEWS, YOU ARE READY TO DO THE CHANTING, MOOL MANTRA JAPA, STEP NUMBER 26, WHERE YOU WILL PICK UP YOUR BEADS AND START CHANTING. YOU WILL CHANT BASED ON THE SAMKALPA YOU HAVE TAKEN, SO IF YOU HAD SAID, I AM GOING TO CHANT "X" NUMBER OF TIMES A DAY, THAT WHAT YOU WILL DO. IF YOU HAD SAID, I AM, ONLY GOING TO CHANT "X" NUMBER OF MINUTES A DAY, THEN THAT'S WHAT YOU WILL DO.

                           I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU THAT CONSISTENCY IN CHANTING IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

                                                  ❤STEP TWENTY-SEVEN❤

                                         

                            ONCE YOU HAVE DONE THE CHANTING, WE SHOW UTTARA MUDRA OR POST-JAPA HANDLOCKS. A COUPLE OF THEM MAY SEEM A BIT COMPLICATED, BUT THEY AREN'T. EIGHT HANDLOCKS ARE SHOWN IN THIS STEP. THEY ARE DHENU, GYANAM, VAIRAGYA, YONI, SHANKARA, PANKAJA, SAMHARA, LINGAM AND NIRVANA MUDRA (ALSO KNOWN AS SAMHARA MUDRA)

                               IN THE OLDEN DAYS, TEACHERS WOULD MAKE THEIR STUDENTS SLOG FOR YEARS BEFORE THEY WOULD TEACH MUDRAS, SOMETIMES. A DISCIPLE WOULD TRAIN FOR 12 YEARS, YET THE TEACHER WOULD NOT INSTRUCT THEM ON MUDRAS AT ALL. WHEN WE GET SOMETHING AFTER MUCH TIME, EFFORT AND ENERGY, WE USUALLY VALUE IT. I HAVE GIVEN YOU THE MUDRAS FREELY, BUT PLEASE DON'T THINK THAT THESE MUDRAS ARE CASUAL GESTURES. MUDRAS REPRESENT A POWERFUL METHOD TO AID THE FLOW OF ENERGY.

                        ONCE YOU HAVE DONE THESE, YOU JUST DO THE NAMASTE MUDRA ALSO KNOWN AS ANJALI MUDRA. IT IS DONE IN THE STANDARD NAMASTE POSTURE BY JOINING BOTH HANDS AND BRINGING THEM TO YOUR CHEST.

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