Sandhyavandhanam timings

[Guest guest]

- SrImate rAmAnujAya namaH -

 

Further to discussion with the elder generation of my family on

sandhyavandhanam timings, i have been advised that to do sandhyavandhanam

beyond a certain time after sunset is adharmam. Since i am working during

the day and at times the sunset timings in my part of america can be as

early as 3.00 p.m, i wonder whether it is true in what i have been told in

the fact that i do sandhyavandhanam only at 7.00 p.m every day which is

night time. Is this equivalent to adharma or am i justified in thinking that

Sandhyavandhanam needs to be performed irrespective of the timing. I would

be grateful for a clarification and please forgive me for my ignorance.

Thanking you

 

Vinod Parthasarathy

 

 

 

_______________

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

[Guest guest]

Vinod Parthasarathy wrote:

> Further to discussion with the elder generation of my family on

> sandhyavandhanam timings, i have been advised that to do sandhyavandhanam

> beyond a certain time after sunset is adharmam.

 

Dear Vinod:

 

Your elder must have said what he did only to spur

you to do sandhyAvandanam at the ideal time. According

to the shastras as I have studied them, it is never

considered "adharma" to do sandhyAvandanam. It is

naturally preferable that this sacred worship be performed

at the appropriate time -- i.e., before sunrise in the

morning, when the sun is at its zenith for the midday

arghyam, and before sunset for the evening worship --

but the overwhelming majority of us are unable to adhere

to such a rigorous schedule, and the merciful shastra

makes accomodations for us as well.

 

To tell you the truth, the rules actually go one step further.

The arghya-pradAnam (offering of water with the gAyatri-mantra

to the Lord within the sun) in the morning should ideally be

performed while the stars are still visible -- i.e., before dawn

has broken. The gAyatri-mantra-japa should then be performed

*until the sun has fully risen!* Only after the complete

orb of the sun is visible should the upasthAna mantra be

recited. Typically, this is a full 1.5 hours for just the

morning sandhyAvandanam. In fact, Apastamba Maharshi recommends

japam of 1008 gAyatris every morning!

 

Naturally, this is impossible for virtually all of us. So, should

we offer the arghya late (after sunrise or sunset), we recognize

our imperfection and perform a 'prAyaScitta' (atonement) in

several ways. Apastamba recommends fasting in lieu of the next meal.

Sri Gopala Desika mentions this as well as another, easier

option, offering an extra arghya, which is what all of us do

these days.

 

In short, Vinod, you are correct -- there is no exception to

the rule "one must perform sandhyA everyday without fail".

We must do it whenever we can, even if late.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

Mani