Sandhyavandanam

[Guest guest]

dear bhagavatas,

 

the numerous mails about Sandhyavandanam reflect varied points of view. the basic question is whether Sandhyopaasanam could be given up in favour of bhagavat/bhaagavata kainkaryam, when the occasion arises.

 

there is an oft-quoted Smriti vachanam--"Sandhya heena: asuchi: nityam, anarha: sarva karmasu". according to this, one who has Sandhyavandanam as a duty, but does not perform the same, is forever impure and inelgible for any other karma. it follows from this that even for kainkaryam, Sandhya upaasanam is a pre-requisite, without which there is no eligibility for bhagavat/bhaagavata kainkaryam. would we ever dream of joining a ghoshtti without Tiruman kaappu on our foreheads? just as we wouldn't, so too Sandhyavandanam has to be performed to make one eligible for any type of kainkaryam.

 

doubts in this regard arise perhaps because we tend to distinguish Sandhyavandanam from bhagavat kainkaryam. in the sankalpam for Sandhyavandanam, we aver that we are performing the ritual as a form of kainkaryam to the Lord--"Bhagavat kainkarya roopam". hence when performance of this act is by itself a kainkaryam, that too one that Emperuman has ordained as "Aagyaa kainkaryam", ( a "must-do") the question of forsaking it in favour of something else does not arise. there is of course no disputing the fact that such Sandhyavandanam has to be performed with focus on the Lord, duly meditating on His kalyana gunas as enshrined in each of Veda mantras forming part of Sandhyavandanam.

 

and attaining Svaroopa Gnaanam doesn't appear to exempt one from performance of Sandhyopaasanam. this is the stand taken from advaitis, who aver that Sandhyavandanam and other rituals are meant merely for chitta suddhi and once the same has been attained, there is no need for such crutches--this is reflected in their sanyaasis giving up the yagyopaveetam, in a symbolic gesture of Karma Tyaagam.

however, Sri Bhaashyakaara Sampradaayam enjoins on us the duty to perform all ordained Karma till our last breath, as a form of kainkaryam to the Lord--"Bhagavat kainkarya roopam".

 

more than any shastraic provisions, the practice of Poorvaacharyas like Sri Ramanuja is a guiding beacon for us in the matter. even in the twilight of his life, at a ripe old age of more than a century, Sri Bhaashyakaara stood up with difficulty to perform Sandhyavandanam, leaning on the shoulders of his disciples--Swami Desikan recounts this moving episode in Srimad Rahasyatrayasaaram. if such was the anushttaanam of Emperumaanaar, need there be any question as to what path we must tread?

 

in my limited experience, i have seen vidwaans and elders, irrespective of their sampradaayic affiliation, performing sandhyavandanam regularly and without fail. there might be a leeway in the sense that if bhagavat kainkaryam at sannidhis is to be performed at the same time when Sandhyopaasanam is due, then the latter might be postponed to some extent and performed with due praayaschitta arghya pradaanam later, upon completion of sannidhi kainkaryam.

 

we would thus find that whether it is Shastram or Poorvaacharya anushttaanam, Sandhyavandanam has always been given importance and performed, not just as a ritual, but with sincerity, devotion and love, as behoves any other kainkaryam to Emperuman.

 

it is of course easy for us to devise alternatives, via-medias and justifications for non-performance: but if we do so, we would only be eroding the glorious traditions set by our achaaryas. and once we give up this Sandhyavandana kainkaryam, it would open the floodgates further for an eventual and total abandonment of all that our Sampradayam stands for.

 

dasan, sadagopan