Sandhya Vandanam - Series Argyam etc...contd

Sandhya Vandanam (SV) – Argyam etc

This is in continuation of my last piece on when and why etc…….

As said earlier, SV has essentially 3 parts namely (a) Argyam (b) Gayathri mantra Japam and (c) Upasthanam. Let me now attempt to take these up individually to understand their significance, and then go over to individual mantras.

1.Argyam

Argyam in Samskrit means “an oblation to a reverential God”.

Imagine this scenario; Sun is about to arise in the east, and we offer argyam as an oblation to Him, with a prayer, to inspire us to contemplate on that light of the “ignorance reliever” namely the Universal soul, and take us to the ultimate desire of mumukshus ( one desirous of liberation/moksha), and deliver us from this cycle of birth and re-births.

(I am personally taken in by the beauty of this. Welcoming the Sun – “savitha meaning one who inspires” - is like a 21 gun salute, to borrow from modern times, and is to my mind, not only more majestic but equally poignant at the same time).

2. Gayathri Mantra

Manthaaram thrayathe iti mantraha” – one which protects the cognitive thinker is called a “mantra”. That which protects the one who sings the mantra is Gayathri.

The meaning of gayathri has been repeated often in my other pieces in the blog. The prayer in “argyam” is a gist.

The word Japam is a repetition of a prayer/mantra in an undertone.

3. Upasthaanam.

The word upasthanam has ( as is common with this language) many meanings. A few of them, more appropriate in this context are

(a) Waiting upon with prayers

(b) Attendance/Service

(c) Remembrance recollection/memory

(d) An abode/Sacred place.

After finishing with japam , we do the Upasthanam with a prayer to the Diety (gayathri) seeing her off to her sacred abode, and as a “Beating Retreat” ceremony, offer prayers in the form of different oblations.

(Again I feel amazed at the beauty of this great ritual of seeing off the deity whom you have invoked just before commencing the Japam.

I will reserve the further part dealing with some individual mantras associated with this “nithya karma” for the next.

I hope folks you are all following this, and find it interesting. Your comments, I repeat are / will be a great help in carrying on with this new beginning of trying and capturing for my own and others' sake an essence / broad understanding, the significance/meaning of some of our karmas and scriptures. This is a difficult task, even granting that these are from books on these albeit in languages other than English.

Love

Vichu