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Let me share a mantra with you that claims that the Lord's Grace can make the cripple climb mountains and the mute eloquent. With this mantra, you are asking for the Lord's grace to ease you out of difficult situations.
Mookam karoti vaachaalam
Pangum langhayatey girim
Yatkripaa tamaham vandey
Paramaananda Maadhavam
Which means:
I salute that Madhava,
the source of Supreme Bliss,
whose Grace makes the dumb man eloquent
and the cripple cross mountains
There are times in life where the more one tries to remedy a situation with someone, the worse it becomes. When you encounter a situation where even communication fails, then recite the following Mantra. It is the 15th verse of the 15th chapter of the Bhagvad Geeta. Lord Krishna states:
Sarvasya chaaham hridi sannivishto
Mattas smritir jnaanama pohanamcha
Vedaishcha sarvaair ahameva vedyo
Vedaanta krid veda videva chaaham
Which means:
I am seated in the hearts of all.
Knowledge and memory stem from Me,
as well as their absence.
I Am verily that which has to be known by all the Vedas.
I Am the author of the Vedanta,
and the Knower of the Veda I AM.
The key sentence here is that Krishna claims that He is seated in the hearts of all. As you recite this Mantra, know that the other person is aware of whatever you truly are experiencing vis-à-vis them, and/or the situation.
It pays to pray to Hanumanji as He was the instrument in re-uniting Shri Ram with Ma Seeta. Also Shree Ram is forever indebted to Hanumanji as the latter wanted nothing in return for His services. All He wanted was to continue to be devoted to the Divine Pair.
Do read the Hanuman Chalisa and the translation of the Sunder-Kaand as these prayers are a great help in times of trouble. Also, the one prayer acknowledged by Lord Vishnu, as the prayer to remove problems and gain the Lord's grace is the Satyanarayan Katha. This prayer should be done on full moons only for maximum effect.
In the end, remember that the Lord knows best. You must repose your trust in him, and always end your prayers with the words, "Lord, thy will be done." This way, whatever is right, will happen
Mantras from the Veda Samhitas for the Sandhya worship
What is Sandhya:
The Veda Samhitas has been the foundation for all aspects of Hindu or Indian Culture since ancient days. These books are vast—Rig Veda Samhita alone has about twelve thousand verses; Thus persons who read them entirely everyday are necessarily small in number. Thus even from ancient days, at least three thousand years ago, a small subset of the Veda mantras were chosen by our savants so that they could be recited at least once a day by all persons. Later on all these mantras were embedded in a ritual so that the attention of the worshippers can become more focussed and not wander when reciting the mantras. The mantras and the associated ritual came to be labeled as Sandhya Worship. Sandhya means a junction, typically the conjunction of night and day. Thus the recitation should be done thrice daily in the morning dawn before sunrise, at noon and in the evening twilight.
The core part of the worship is the repetition or japa and meditation on the Light of the supernal Sun, Savitr or on the Goddess Savitri using the famous mantra popularly known as gaayatri occurring originally in Rig Veda Samhita, third mandala, sukta 62 and verse 10, i.e., RV 3.62.10 revealed to the sage Vishwaamitra.
The details of the Sandhya worship vary from community to community and also on the Veda to which the doer belongs. We give below the mantras commonly used by most persons. The basic program has four steps. Persons who do not find time to do all the steps can try to perform the step 3, namely the repetition of the gaayatri mantra.
Four steps of the Sandhya worship:
Purification of the mind and body
Invocation of the God Savitri or the Goddess Gaayatri
The main mantra of the Gaayatrii and its repetition or japa
Conclusion of contemplation
In some books, the repetition of the praNava or Om mantra is part of sandhya worship and it is done after the third step above.
Japa on the PraNava
Veda Mantras for Sandhya Worship
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MANTRAS in detail
About Hindu Mantras—potent thought forms
WHAT IS A MANTRA? According to some the word MANTRA is a word of Persian origin. MANTRA means a THOUGHT FORM. MANTRA combines two words, MAN-to think and TRA - instrumentality.
It is a magic incantation or spell. In Hinduism, MANTRA was mentioned in the Vedas as well as in TANTRAS. They are part of Vedic SAMHITA. Using a MANTRA, Hindus believe that they can bring changes in the material and spiritual worlds.
MANTRA is that sound you cannot hear. It does not mean that it is infra-sound or ultra-sound either. Mantra is widely used in almost all Hindu
prayers.
In Hinduism, all deities are represented by Mantras. Each deity is connected to a particular mantra. All Hindu mantras are made of Sanskrit alphabet.
It is believed that each letter has a potency of infinite power and when several of these letters are put together the it becomes a powerful mantra.
According to the power of MANTRAS they are grouped into MASCULINE, FEMININE and NEUTRAL mantras. Mantras that end in PHAT or HUM are called masculine mantras. Mantras that end in SVAHA is called feminine mantras. Mantras that
end in NAMAHA are called neutral mantras.
MANTRAS are also grouped into 1. KANTHIKA or uttered 2. AJAPA or non-uttered.
The topmost powerful MANTRAS are known as BIJAKSHARA or BIJA MANTRA or SEED MANTRA. They are the most mystic syllables in Hinduism. BIJA means SEED and AKSHARA means SYLLABLE. The BIJAKSHARA mantras are actually are not
properly pronounced. They are pronounced by nasal sounds.
There are thousands of Mantras in Hindu scriptures. Most of the Hindu mantras are made by ancient saints using 52 alphabets of the Sanskrit language.
Even though Sanskrit is basis of all mantras, nobody can deny the fact we can make mantras with other languages also. Many mantras have no meaning at all. They are strange combinations of Sanskrit alphabets.
DOES TM USE MANTRA? Of course, they do. Even though I am not a member of TM,I am certain that they use Hindu mantras as the basis of their teaching.
As far as I know, they study each individual very well, before they offer that individual a particular mantra well suited for that individual.
Picking up the right mantra is very important.
DOES HAREKRISHNA USE ANY MANTRA? Their mantra is “HARE RAMA, HARE RAMA,RAMA, RAMA HARE HARE; HARE KRISHNA, HARE KRISHNA, KRISHNA, KRISHNA, HARE
HARE.” This mantra is actually stating VICTORY TO LORD KRISHNA.
This mantra is supposed to free one from the bondages of Karmas. It is said that even people who unknowingly listen to this mantra is benefited by this mantra. That is the reason why, HARE KRISHNA members chant this mantra in
public places.
PLEASE TELL ME SOME MORE IMPORTANT MANTRAS.Two important mantras in Hinduism are PRANAVA mantra and GAYATRI MANTRA. Pranava mantra is actually the mantra about AUM - the unspoken word of Hinduism.
GAYATRI MANTRA which originated in Rig Veda [III, 62:10] is chanted by almost all Brahmins in India today, before they start their morning activities almost every day.
There are still a lot of mantras in Hinduism.
There are even mantras to attract opposite sex. OM MANI PADME HUM is a great Buddhist mantra. We can even consider HAIL MARY and BISMILLAH IR-RAHMAN IR-RAHIM to be powerful mantras which have nothing to do with Sanskrit.
MANTRA is powerful when given by a Guru to his disciple. Scriptures say that there is no practical value if you read the mantra from a book and chant it. However certain mantras like “HARE RAMA....” is good with or without a guru.
AUM is a BIJAKSHARA MANTRA. That is why it is so powerful. Mandukhya Upanishad describes AUM mantra in detail.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF “Aham Brahmasmin”?
The actual meaning of “Aham Brahmasmin” is “I am Brahman, the Spirit”. Of course, anyone can say that line very easily, but only God-realized masters experience it. All of us, even though we are Pure Spirit or energy, still find it difficult to fight the Illusion (Maya) which says “I am the body”.
Anyway the idea expressed in the lines “Aham Brahmasmin” can be explained in another way. Look at a Dead Body and a Living Body. Both are identical, but the Living Body has something that the Dead Body does not have.
That which is missing in the Dead Body is the Spirit - Brahman, but at the same time, when Brahman is present in the body, it creates the greatest illusion that “I am the Body”.
I will give you another example. Look at your computer. It does all kinds of wonders for you, but if you accidentally switch off the main
circuit-breaker, your expensive computer is a dead machine.
So, here the electric current is the Brahman or Spirit. We know that Brahman or Spirit acts differently in different people or creatures according to their Karmas. Similarly, the same electric current is a Thinker in a computer, a heater in your electric iron and a cooler in your
air-conditioner.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF “Tat Tvam Asi”?
”That Thou Art” is the meaning of the above line. This statement is an indirect repetition of “Aham Brahmasmin” meaning “I am Brahman”. As you can
see, both statements are one and the same.
Brahman alone exists, everything else is illusion or Maya. “Tat Tvam Asi” is actually quoted from Chandogya Upanishad (6-8-7) : That subtle essence is the self of this entire world. That is real, that is self. That Thou Art.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “Sat-Chit-Ananda”?
Absolute Existence -Absolute Knowledge - Absolute Bliss. Saints usually use this statement to arouse in devotees spiritual feelings and to break away from material bondage.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF “Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram”?
Truth-Bliss-Beauty. This statement again expresses the true nature of one who is one with Brahman. A God-realized person will experience
Truth-Bliss-Beauty all the time.
IS “Ham Aham Sah” A MANTRA?
Yes, it is a Mantra. It means “I am he, he is I”. This Mantra came from the word Hamsa. Hamsa means swan. It is a symbol of Brahman, like DOVE is the
symbol of HOLY POWER. Those who attained cosmic consciousness are often called Paramahamsa - the great swan.This mantra is similar to the Hebrew
word Jehovah (old testament) which means “I am”.
WHAT IS GAYATRI MANTRA?
OM BHUR BHUVAH SVAH
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASYA DHIMAHI
DHIYO YO NAH PRACHODAYAT
“ Om, Glory to Great Savitri, the excellent, the effulgence of the divine,let us meditate upon it. May it inspire us with understanding, who is
GAYATRI.”
WHAT IS GAYATRI MANTRA?
Gayatri Mantra and Pranava mantra [AUM] are few of the most important mantras of Hinduism. The Gayatri Mnatra originated from Rig Veda [III,
62:10]. Some call that mantra SAVITRI MANTRA since it contain the word SAVITRI.
WHO COMPOSED THIS MANTRA?
Saint Vishwamitra, who was a Kshatriya by birth and who was finally elevated to BRAHASHRI due to his intense tapas and devotion. It is said that the 24 syllables of this great mantra are the summation of all four vedas.
The Viswamitra Tantra states: “ THE 24 SYLLABLES OF GAYATRI ARE HER 24 SAKTIS OR POWERS. THE MODE OF WORSHIP SHOULD BE ACCORDING TO THE FORM OF SAKTI.” Even sage Vasishta who fought with sage Viswamitra constantly said: THIS BEAUTIFUL MANTRA GAYATRI CAN EVEN CONVERT A IDIOT INTO A LEARNED SAINT. Even Adi Sankara wrote very highly about this mantra.
HOW WILL ONE CHANT THIS MANTRA?
This mantra has to be given to an aspirant by a guru. Mantra should be chanted in the proper tune. Chanting the mantra with mistakes, is worse than chanting the mantra at all.
WHAT IS THE LEGEND BEHIND THIS MANTRA?
According to legends, GAYATRI or SAVITRI is the 2nd wife of Lord Brahma. Brahma’s first wife is Saraswathi. It is said that Saraswathi was once
missing for an important function at Lord Brahma’s palace and Brahma was forced to marry in a hurry to a girl from earth as a substitute for
Saraswathi for the function and that girl was SAVITRI.
For absoultely FREE educational Flow charts on Hinduism, please write to me with your postal address.
vijashar@rediffmail.com |
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