GAYATRI CHANTING IN LIEU OF SANDHYAVANDANAM?
amritha varshini
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 2015 at 1:59 PM
Subject: GAYATRI CHANTING IN LIEU OF SANDHYAVANDANAM?
To:
"Some of my friends tell me that they don't do sandhyavandanam but
regularly chant Gayatri. They feel quite happy and contented about this
being the right practice for someone who has no time to do sandhi. Is
this OK?"
(A participant's query in the Satsangham held in Chennai last Sunday.)
A participant in my Veda class recently raised a query: "some of my friends tell me that they don't do sandhyavandanam but regularly chant Gayatri. They feel quite happy and contented about this being the right practice for someone who has no time to do sandhi. Is this OK?"
I have heard this comment myself from time to time and the unequivocal answer to this question is "no, it is not acceptable". Chanting Gayatri mantra has its benefits only when the person does sandhyavandanam as well. Not doing sandhi makes you unfit for any religious rites, and there are no exceptions or exemptions to this rule. Gayatri mantra is an integral section of the sandhyavandanam, but only a section.
That said, one can -- and one is encouraged by Vedas and by Maha Periyava -- to do Sahasra Gayatri or chant the mantra any number of times separately with due sankalpa -- BUT AFTER one performs trikala sandhya vandanam.
Once a person has undergone Upanayanam and Brahmopadesam, doing sandhya vandanam three times a day becomes his mandatory nitya karma. Let us understand this clearly.
rag...@gmail.com
The same question was asked to our Guru when he
was teaching the proper procedure to perform sandhyavandanam. According to him, may be
it is a good physical and mental exercise to recite just the Gayatri. But in addition if we
believe in fulfilling our nithya karma as a duty then one has to do sandhyavandhanam
that include gayathri japam. These manthras are from vedas hailed by upanishats and should be practiced with respect.