Importance of Asan and Sovala

Scriptures and Guru advise not to sit directly on the ground while performing Japa or Puja. Whats the reason behind this?

When one performs Japa or Puja as per shastra or Guru's instructions, an electric charge is developed on the body of the performer. This positive charge helps regulate flow of oxygen throughout the body to various organs that are in need of oxygen. This flow of oxygen as well as electrical energy helps remove blocks within the body.

However, when one sits directly on the ground the positive charge developed during japa can get discharged. That is why while doing puja or japa they recommend to sit on asan or wooden plank (paat) which is good insulator and prevents discharge caused due to the touch to the earth which is a good conductor of electricity. They also recommend not to touch anybody while doing Japa or Puja. This is not because the other person is inferior, which is usual understanding, but because it may cause discharge as the body is a good conductor of electricity.

Also they recommend to wear sovala (a silk cloth) while performing Japa or Puja. Again the same reason. Silk cloth is an insulator of electricity and helps preserve the charge developed during Japa or Puja.

Sage Vyasa and the Puranas

Hindu Dharma lays high importance on concepts of Punya (Merit) and Papa (Sin). It is the Punya that helps - not only to enjoy all pleasures of life i.e. bhukti, but mainly to achieve the one and only goal of human birth i.e. mukti, meaning getting liberated from cycle of birth and death through 84 lakhs of species. Human birth is the only chance to achieve this goal. And so it is advised that one should adopt a lifestyle that helps reduce and eventually eradicate the measure of Papa (sin) and on the other hand increase the measure of Punya (merit). 

The great sage (Bhagvan) Vyasa wrote 18 Puranas, mainly to help all human beings understand importance of human birth and its goal. He summarized all puranas in two sentences (sanskrit sentences mentioned above) - Helping others is Punya, hurting others is Papa. Content of puranas, in the form of mythological stories, helps to gain knowledge which empowers one to be of help to others as well as helps understand how to avoid hurting others.

This is a very humble & feeble attempt to bring forward a little portion of such a gigantic work of Sage Vyasa. To start with we will understand what it means by Puran and the names and categories of Puranas.

The word Puran means a very old thing. It also means “Though old it is New”. The 18 puranas are namely – 1) Bhavishya Puran 2) Bhagwad Puran 3) Matsya Puran 4) Markandeya Puran 5) Varah Puran 6) Vaman Puran 7) Vaayu Puran 8) Vishnu Puran 9) Bramhanda Puran 10) Bramha Puran 11) Bramha-vaivarta Puran 12) Narad Puran 13) Kurma Puran 14) Linga Puran 15) Padma Puran 16) Agni Puran 17) Skandha Puran and 18) Garud Puran. 

Of these, Garud Puran (18th puran) is generally read during the period of mourning of a person. That is during 10 days after a person departs this world.

Of these 18, 10 puranas are considered as Shaiva Puran namely – 1) Shaiva 2) Bhavishya 3) Markandeya 4) Linga 5) Varah 6) Skandha 7) Kurma 8) Vaman 9) Bramhand & 10) Matsya. 

4 puranas are considered as Vaishnav Puranas namely 1) Vishnu 2) Bhagwad 3) Narad & 4) Garud Puran. 

Bramha Puranas are 1) Bramha & 2) Padma. 

Agni Puran is also known as Agneya Puran. 

Bramha-viavartana Puran is also known as Surya Puran.

Besides these, there are 23 Upa-puranas namely 1) Shiv 2) Narsimha 3) Sanathkumar 4) Bharagav 5) Vashistha 6) Maheshwar 7) Saura 8) Naradiya 9) Parashar 10) Durvasa 11) Kapil 12) Ausanasa 13) Manav 14) Vaarun 15) Sambha 16) Nandi 17) Aditya 18) Tulasi 19) Ganesh 20) Devi 21) Kalika 22) Devibhagvad & 23) Renuka. 

All these are written by the great Sage Vyasa. Sage Vyasa is considered an incarnation of Sriman Narayan (Lord Vishnu) himself born to Parashar rishi in Vidwath dynasty. 

Vyasa is given the credit of collating Vedas in four parts namely Rigveda, Yajurveda, Saamaveda and Atharvana veda and also laying down the principles of Veda known as "Bramhasutras" & making them known to the world. According to the Puranas he poses supreme intelligence, strength to understand and analyze the "Bramhasutras". He is considered equal to the "Trimurtis" namely Shiva, Vishnu & Bramha. And that is why he is considered as the Guru of all. In fact the Guru Poornima, that we celebrate every year, is known as Vyasa Poornima. Even saints, sages and rishi-munis pay their respect to him on that day.

In some of the next articles we will try to get insight into Puranas.

Importance of Japa and how to do it

This article is based on the lectures of great saints like Sankaracharya and Swami Chinmayanda......

The thoughts that emanate in our mind are difficult to control. This is much more experienced when we sit for contemplation (or meditation or prayer). During these acts, the mind starts wandering. Japa, that is chanting the Name of the Lord again and again, helps in controlling this wandering mind to a very great extent. 

Dhyana is nothing but seamless Japa i.e. chanting the name of Lord, also called as Namasmaran, with unwavering mind. One needs a great degree of control to perform Dhyana.

When we start our journey in Bhakti Marga, the best way to begin this journey is to start with performing Japa. We can call Japa as the stepping stone of spiritual path. Once we are able to control our mind by Japa, the path towards meditation becomes easy.

It is the long association and interaction between individuals that creates mutual love and affection among individuals. So is true when creating love and affection for God. By reciting God's Name and centering our thoughts on Him, we can have long association and interaction with Him which will eventually create mutual love and affection between us and God. Hence Japa can be considered as an act of preparing for the love of God.

Practice of Japa leads to Dhyana where one masters the art of controlling the mind at will. Hence Japa is considered to be the guide which leads to Dhyana Marga. It does not mean that the Japa is inferior to meditation or contemplation. This is explained in Bhagwad Gita.

Now we come to the common question - how to perform Japa? 

The right moment for starting the Japa is the time you start feeling that you want to do it. Choose a place (in your house or anywhere) where you can sit alone without any disturbance. Select a picture or idol of the God or saint whom you adore. Hang it in front of the place where you propose to sit, in such a way that the feet of the idol or the picture is at your eye level.

You sit, with leg crossed, on an "aasan" (seat) preferably a blanket or wool or a mat. Take a Japa Maal (garland) of 108 beads.

First start observing the feet of God and then slowly raise your eye till you reach the eye of the picture or idol of God. Then you start concentrating on the face till you come to a stage where you can look at the face without blinking. It may take few days to reach this stage. Now you start imagining that the God is on the right side of the heart. When you have reached this stage it means you are fit for starting the Namasmaran (Japa).

To count the beads hold the Japa Maala in right hand between the thumb and the ring finger. Choose the Naam or Mantra you want to recite and then roll the beads one after the other. When you come to the last bead (108th) known as Meru you have completed one Maala. Don’t cross the Meru bead but reverse the Japa Maala and start all over again. Starting from 1 or 2 Maala twice a day, go on increasing in stages till you reach 20 Maalas per day. In this manner you can perform the Japa. This can be achieved only after constant and regular practice. It is better to start by doing 1 or 2 Maalas a day and then slowly increase the count, rather than jumping to the higher count right at the beginning.

Also, we should stick to the time while performing Japa i.e. there should be strict discipline. 

There are two types of Mantras which are generally used in Namasmaran - namely Vedanta Mantra and Religious Mantra.

Some Vedanta Mantras are 

1. Tat-tatvamassi
2. Aham Brahmhassmi
3. Iyyam Aatma Brahman

Etc.

The religious chants are 

1. OM Namo Narayana
2. Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram
3. OM Namah Shivay

Etc....

Generally these chants are given by a Guru so that they attain more power. Still, anyone can start doing the Japa on his own.

For a Mantra to kindle the fire (thought) of spiritualism, a Guru is essential. Because of his powers, Guru gives life to Mantra and ignites the flame of spiritualism which is buried in shishya. Hence it is also advisable to get the Upadesh from Guru. As Mantra helps in dhyana, upasana i.e. worship also helps in dhyana. This can be considered as idol worship (also known as Bhakti-marga). It is not important whether it is an idol or a picture but the importance lies in the thought which should be centered on the GOD.

When we perform Japa or Upasana we must pray with love, compassion and affection. At the same time mind should not wander away. The Mantra or Naam should be recited in such a way that it becomes an offering to the GOD. 

While doing meditation or Japa or dhyan, we may come across some obstacles.

1. We may feel sleepy
2. We may feel annoyed or angry for no reason against anyone we come across after completing the Japa or dhyan

It is necessary to guard against these obstacles.We should strive to lose the feeling of “I” or “Me” in our thoughts and actions.

In one of the next articles I will explain about which Maala to use and also the importance of seating on aasan and wearing sovala (sacred silk cloth).

Characteristics of good Guru, and good disciple

As per Shankaracharya, a good Sadguru is the one who talks nothing but only spiritual subjects and whose sole goal is to promote spirituality.

In the history and even now there are many examples of good Sadgurus. We will visit examples of two Sadgurus.

First is Sage Vyasa. Known for his most famous book in the history, none other than Mahabharata. He collated 18 puranas. He also wrote Brahmasutras to explain in easy language the great Brahma tatvas. He divided Vedas into four parts. For such a gigantic work that he accomplished, he achieved the title of Jagadguru. In fact Gurupournima that we celebrate every year is also known as Vyasapournima primarily to remember Sage Vyasa and his work and pay homage to him.

Sage Vyasa is like a root of a tree of Hindu dharma. We call ourselves as followers of Hindu dharma because we attempt to follow at least some principles of Hindu dharma. All these principles are branches of Hindu dharma. And the root of all these principles can be found in scriptures written by Sage Vyasa.

They say Guru protects those who completely surrender to him. Whether it is material world or spiritual world, one attains security because the knowledge that one achieves. Do we not see the examples of people who survive through ups and downs of market because of the mere strength of knowledge they possess? Similarly to survive in life, whether here or hereafter, one needs a knowledge. And this knowledge can be achieved by serving Guru.

Guru-Shishya parampara (tradition) is a very important part of Indian culture. As per Indian culture the knowledge is subtle and it is transferred as well through subtle methods.

Let’s take an example of Sage Dhoumya from the age of Dwapara Yuga. He had three disciples – Arun, Baidra and Upamanyu.

Sage Dhoumya was a good Guru, as per definition by Shanakaracharya that we learned previously i.e. he was only interested in spiritual subject and his sole goal was to promote spirituality. Shankaracarya also defines characteristics of good disciple. A good disciple is the one who is only interested in nothing but spiritual upliftment.

In those days the knowledge was not transferred through books. Disciples used to serve Guru in his house. Disciple used to do all household chores in Guru’s house. At the end of their stay in Guru’s house, Guru used to transfer or implant the knowledge to disciple by merely placing his right hand on disciple’s head. Disciple received knowledge as per his capacity. It is the intensity of devotion of disciple that decides how much and what knowledge received.

Lets visit the stories of three disciples of Sage Dhoumya.

First is Arun. Sage Dhoumya asked Arun to water the farms. The farms were not receiving water. Water had to be stopped so that it could be directed to farms. Arun tried all the ways he could to stop and direct the water, but when finally he could not stop water, he himself lied down in canal to stop water and direct it to farm. Sage Dhoumya was moved by this devotion of Arun and implanted all knowledge in him and sent him back to his home.

He asked his second disciple Baidra to bring grains collected from farms back to home.  Baidra collected all grains, filled them in bullock cart and started back to home. On his way back, one of the wheels of the cart got stuck in the mud. One of the bullock could not pull the cart and so finally Baidra replaced that bullock and he himself pulled the cart. Sage Dhoumya was also moved by this devotion of Baidra and he implanted all knowledge in him and sent him back home.

To his third disciple Upamanyu, Sage Dhoumya asked to take cows to the forest for grazing. While in forest, when Upamanyu became hungry he asked for bhiksha from nearby village. This was not approved by his Guru i.e. Sage Dhoumya. Sage came to know about this Upamanyu's act, of asking bhiksha, through his divine vision. He asked Upamanyu to bring back bhiksha to home. Baidra followed that instruction and started bringing back bhiksha to ashram. However, while out in the forest, unable to control his hunger Upmanyu started asking two bhikshas. One to bring back home and one for himself. Sage again came to know this through his divine vision.Upamanyu And he asked Upamanyu to bring back home both bhikshas. Again Upamanyu followed instruction and started bringing back both bhikshas to home. However still he could not control his hunger while he was out in the forest. He saw some calves drinking milk from cow’s udder. While calves were  drinking milk few drops were falling on ground. Hungry Upamanyu collected those drops and satisfied his hunger. Sage again came to know this and scolded Upamanyu and asked him to stop this. Upamanyu followed instruction and stopped drinking milk. On his next visit he found one juicy plant and he started drinking juice of that plant taking it as milk. Unfortunately while drinking juice some drops fell in his eyes. He could not see anything. Still, in this condition he went searching for grazing cows. On his way he fell in a well. With great intensity he called his Guru for help. When Guru came to know the condition of Upamanyu through his divine vision he immediately came to rescue Upamanyu and not only he rescued him but cured his eye vision as well. The story shows that Sage was always scolding Upamanyu. But in reality Sage was very pleased by Upamanyu as he never rebelled against his Guru. Upamanyu found news ideas of satisfying his hunger but he never disregarded his Guru. That’s why Sage was very pleased with Upamanyu and sent back him home after implanting all knowledge in him.

These stories show how a real Guru is only interested in nothing but spiritual upliftment of his disciples and how real disciples are only interested in nothing but spiritual upliftment.