Sandyavandanam and achamanam

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear SrI Malolan Narayanan :

 

Regarding your question on Aachamaneeyam

and whether the Achamana water goes into heart

or shpould it be done in a way that water ingested

reaches the heart is linked to the PramANam :

 

" apsu prAptaAsu hrudhayam BrAhmaNa:

Suddhim AapnuyAth ".

 

(Meaning ) : When the AchAmana Jalam reaches

the heart , the Brahmin attains cleanliness .

 

The above PramANam cannot be taken literally .

The Aachamana water enters from the mouth ,

travels thru the alimentary canal and ultimately

reaches the stomach .

 

There is no direct physiological connection between

the mouth or stomach with the heart . The stomach

and its function as well as that of the heart and Brain

are controlled however by the sympathetic and asympathetic

nervous systems, which are a part of the Central

Nervous System .

 

The ParamANam relates to the mental suddhi

arising from the Aachamanam , which is much more

than the ingestion of the water . Repeating the 12

VyUha Moorthys of the Lord (Sriman narayana)

and touching the sections of the face and torso

associated with these 12 Moorthys with specfic finger

tips ( end points of Bio-electricty in the human body )

leads to Suddhi ( the equivalent of Aachamana water reaching

the heart ; whenever one refers to heart , it also

connotes mind ) .

 

There are 25 steps in Yajur Veda SandhyAvandhanam .

Aachamanam is the first of these 25 steps . Each of

these steps ( how to) have been illustrated in a Video

prepared few years ago with the supervision of

HH Srimath PoundarIkapuram Andavan of Srirangam .

 

You can access this video and write up on the 25 steps

of SandhyA Vandhanam at :

 

http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/sandhya/index.html

 

http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/sandhya/content.html

 

There is plenty of information & references there about

"Science , Bio-electricity ans health " in addition to

proper performance of Sandhya Vandhanam to gain

optimal results .

 

Part of Aachamaneeyam is to touch the 12 VyUha SthAnams

of Sriman NarayaNa , where VaishNavAs adorn Urdhva

PuNDrams . The significance of the 12 VyUha SthAnams ,

the Mnatrams for the invocation of the Murthys and Their

Devis is covered in another e-book in the Sundara Simham

series entitled " Panniru Naamams " ( The Twelve Names

starting from Kesava and ending with DaamOdhara) . The URL

for this e-book number 18 is :

 

http://www.sundarasimham.org

 

or More directly ,

 

http://www.sundarasimham.org/ebooks/ebook18.htm

 

V.Sadagopan

Acting Moderator , Vaideekam Group

 

-

Malolan Narayanan

Dr. Sadagopan

Saturday, October 27, 2007 12:14 PM

Fw: Sandyavandanam and achamanam

 

 

 

Dear Sir,

 

Sending you this email as mentioned before as Deevalur Swami is currently busy with other pressing duties.

 

This also has the link I referred to in my last email.

 

Again, sorry if you had already read this email posted to this group.

Regards,

Malolan

 

----- Forwarded Message ----Malolan Narayanan <malolan.narayananVaideekam-Groups <vaideekam >Sunday, October 21, 2007 4:21:31 PMSandyavandanam and achamanam

 

 

Dear members,

 

When one does 'achamanam' (sipping the water - as it is put in Englis), it is said the water has to reach one's heart.

 

So, does this reference to the water reaching the heart imply a reference to what has to thought in mind or does this mean in a way literally, i.e. the water dripping down to the heart region.

 

This question and my ealier one came when browsing thru this web page:

http://www.payer.de/dharmashastra/dharmash103.htm

 

This site is a good one as it tries to analyse each opinion that was put forward by different people. Also, it raises a lot of questions. I hope I'll be posting a lot of questions on dharmasastra and hopefully receive explanations that make these concepts clear. A lot of confusion comes around the point that we seem to follow a lot of rules laid down years ago. I have to admit there are some which holds good irrespective of the ages and some need some refinement.

 

Regards,

Malolan

[Guest guest]

Respected Sir:To add to what our respected member Dr.Sadagopan has mentioned.Right from the top of the head to the fag end of the root / tip of the spinal column ending, there are 'chakras' or wheels. Traditionally these are 7 in numbers. A chakra is a center of activities that processes & channelises basic prana or bioelectric energy & the 7 key chakras are associated with the effective, efficient & optimal function of the body/mind nexus. Scientifically, as our learned Dr.Sadagopan Sir, has mentioned the spinal nervous system with the sympathetic & parasympathic nervous systems govern all our instincts, reflex actions & exchange electrical signals with the brain & therefore, engaging these points with drops of water charged with prayers, chants & the Lord's name acts as a powerful cleansing activity. In the Sandhyavandanam process, rituals, one of the most significant rationale is to secure inner cleanliness so that the more broader raison d’être of obtaining the grace of our Lord the Beloved Sriman Narayanan's holy feet.It is impossible to internally clean yourself with a piece of cloth. Sleep,rest,diet & fasting etc. also may not provide the required inner cleansing. Our thoughts are still there. Thoughts govern our action & consequently, we are what we think. The Vedic seers saw this body-mind exchange of energy clearly & devised a cleansing mode for internal cleansing.This is also one of the reasons why Pranayama is also enjoined in the Sandhyavandanam process. If, strictly one follows the Pranayama process, then fresh oxygen & active elimination of toxic carbon dioxide is achieved. The subtle nerve-endings get activated afresh & one is ready to take on the day. We all know the placebo effect in medicine. If with full faith one takes the medicine, the body accepts because the mind has accepted & prepared the nervous systems to accept. In a similar manner, focusing our thoughts on the water, charging it with the Lords name, dedicating it to the Lord, in full faith, when you consume the drop of Achamanan water drops, as it passes thru the Chakras, the drop becomes potent & along with Pranayama, the chakras get re-charged. What happens if you drop of water over a surface? As it travels down the surface it wets the path thru which it travels. The effect of the drop removes the dryness on the surface even as it passes thru the surface. In a similar manner, the drop of water ingested starts of the cleansing effect by wetting the key chakras. How do you clean your TV screen? Or your computer monitor? You spray a little of the cleaning liquid & when the small droplets sprayed spread over, with the piece of cloth you wipe the screen by spreading the wetness around & rub back & forth & lo & behold the screen is shining. In a similar way, as soon as Achamanan is over the next act is Pranayama. The potent water has removed the dryness at the grosser level of the chakras & then Pranayama acts like the cleaning cloth by moving life giving prana & oxygen, which by its very nature starts impacting the minute droplets of the sprayed drop. The chakra thereby gets its sheen back & like the engine of a motorcycle sputtering back to life with a healthy Burr burr when the driver kicks the starter, the chakras start off.Among the chakras at the throat level, at the heart level there is the Vishudi & Anahata chakra respectively. The former is supposed to govern discrimination & wisdom & the later decisions where the mind has no role i.e. heart based, affection / love /kindness decisions happen - that is why u commonly hear these 'have a heart!!' or 'he is ruled by the heart & not by the head, impractical man ', 'you cannot let your heart overrule your head', etc. etc.By cleansing these key chakras, the bioelectric energy fields get a free access to all parts of the body & brain & body functioning attains its purpose. Look at the ingenious way in which our ancient Seers have conceived to address the inner cleaning issue. Just between the eyebrows right in the center is the Ajna chakra that is supposed to control the mind. Now unlike the Vishudi & Anhata chakras that are inside the throat & down below, where water can reach thru the mouth water cannot reach the Ajna chakra. You cannot pour drops into the ear or bend your neck back & drop water thru the nostrils or put water thru the eyes. So how to achieve the cleansing? No sweat for our Ancient Seers! . Simply charge your fingertips with the name of the Lord & use acupressure at all possible points on the face so that like hot spears the cleaning happens.That is why two thirds of the 12 points of Achamanan are located on the face. Since water is not feasible, the touch points side of the nostrils, the ears, the cheeks, the eyes are all subject to the acupressure. Even before the Chinese discovered the magic of acupuncture using fine needlepoints, our Vedic Seers had put the science into practice. Why the reference to ‘like hot spears in the previous para? Similar to a needle end which when applied with the proper pressure & precision, will activate the dormant state of the relevant energy point with applying pressure in quick succession – note that the Achamanan is done without any let. Also it’s not a slow act. Once you sip the water, the ‘touch purification’ thru acupressure is instantaneous, almost a reflex action. Now imagine, on the face, from all possible angles, except perhaps from the back of the head, in quick succession pressure is applied. Like rays the energy pierces & centers on the eyebrow. The chance of a miss out is practical negligible. What is the effect? Cleansing at its best without water. A superb scientific marvel! very practical, easily do-able, simplistic.What is the net effect? As soon as you get up, you externally clean yourself, then start off with the internal cleansing. Your mind, heart & nervous systems are arrayed in perfect unison & your brain starts functioning with sound discrimination & in silent wisdom.There is yet another angle to the ‘touch-point’ concept of the Sandhyavandanam. This has got to do with the Mudras. For instance the traditional Namaskar __/\__ is a mudra. Even Christians while making the sign of the cross end up touching the heart with both the palms making a symbol of the cross over the heart. When we sit for Japa, typically the thumb & the forefinger are lightly joined, during Pranayama this is used. The overall effect is that energy gets balanced resulting a more calming/soothing effect on your thought-physio-psycho set-up. Also to enhance concentration Mudras are used apart from therapeutic & other uses. Some of the impact of Mudras where fingertips are used predominantly.Thumb touches tip of index finger: churns energy to the legs & lower body. Thumb touches tip of middle finger: invokes patienceThumb touches tip of ring finger: enhance self-confidence. Thumb touches tip of little finger: helps in IntuitionYou will thus see that most of the above actions are subtler than the subtlest & cannot be easily ‘felt’ or ‘seen’. Though, symbolic & esoteric they are firmly rooted in science & psychology. So by a judicious mix of psychology, physiology, spirituality, body, mind, chemistry, & electronics our ancient Seers have attempted to interlink the structure of a human with the universe.Errors if any may be pardoned a ignorant ramblings. kayena vacha...manse.....sarvam Krishan arpanam !!!!!!!!!OM Tat SatTat Tvam asiPost script : When one talks of placebo effect, the medicine in reality is somewhat inert and neutral. The healing takes place due to the auto-suggsestion . Moreover the placebo is not relevant for serious ailments. However, for the topic under discussion, the reference to the placebo is just by way of an analogy to drive the point. Readers are requested to understand the spirit in which the placebo reference is made. In case of the water charged with Sriman Narayana’s name, there is no question of inertness or neutrality. It actually attains potentiality and does its work. " Dr. Sadagopan " <yennappan " Dr. Sadagopan " <yennappan Sent by: Oppiliappan 10/28/2007 01:40 AMPlease respond toOppiliappan To " Malolan Narayanan " <malolan.narayanancc<vaideekam >, " Ponnappan " <Oppiliappan >, <swami.n.natarajan, " Sgt " <saranagathi >Subject Re: Sandyavandanam and achamanamSrI: Dear SrI Malolan Narayanan : Regarding your question on Aachamaneeyam and whether the Achamana water goes into heart or shpould it be done in a way that water ingested reaches the heart is linked to the PramANam :  " apsu prAptaAsu hrudhayam BrAhmaNa: Suddhim AapnuyAth " . (Meaning ) : When the AchAmana Jalam reaches the heart , the Brahmin attains cleanliness . The above PramANam cannot be taken literally .The Aachamana water  enters from the mouth , travels thru the alimentary canal and ultimately reaches the stomach . There is no direct physiological connection betweenthe mouth or stomach with the heart . The stomach and its function as well as that of  the heart and Brainare controlled however by the sympathetic and asympathetic nervous systems, which are a part of the Central Nervous System .     The ParamANam relates to the mental suddhi arising from the Aachamanam , which is much more than the ingestion of the water . Repeating the 12 VyUha Moorthys of the Lord (Sriman narayana)and touching the sections of the face and torsoassociated with these 12 Moorthys with specfic finger tips ( end points of Bio-electricty in the human body )leads to Suddhi ( the equivalent of Aachamana water reaching the heart ; whenever one refers to heart , it also connotes mind ) . There are 25 steps in Yajur Veda SandhyAvandhanam .Aachamanam is the first of these 25 steps . Each ofthese steps ( how to) have been illustrated in a Videoprepared few years ago with the supervision of HH Srimath PoundarIkapuram Andavan of Srirangam . You can access this video and write up on the 25 stepsof SandhyA Vandhanam at : http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/sandhya/index.html http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/sandhya/content.html There is plenty of information & references there about " Science , Bio-electricity ans health " in addition toproper performance of Sandhya Vandhanam to gainoptimal results . Part of Aachamaneeyam is to touch the 12 VyUha SthAnams of Sriman NarayaNa , where VaishNavAs adorn Urdhva PuNDrams . The significance of the 12 VyUha SthAnams ,the Mnatrams for the invocation of the Murthys and Their Devis is covered in another e-book in the Sundara Simhamseries entitled " Panniru Naamams " ( The Twelve Names starting from Kesava and ending with DaamOdhara) . The URL for this e-book  number 18 is : http://www.sundarasimham.org    or More directly , http://www.sundarasimham.org/ebooks/ebook18.htm      V.Sadagopan Acting Moderator , Vaideekam   Group - Malolan Narayanan Dr. Sadagopan Saturday, October 27, 2007 12:14 PMFw: Sandyavandanam and achamanamDear Sir, Sending you this email as mentioned before as Deevalur Swami is currently busy with other pressing duties.  This also has the link I referred to in my last email. Again, sorry if you had already read this email posted to this group. Regards,Malolan----- Forwarded Message ----Malolan Narayanan <malolan.narayananVaideekam-Groups <vaideekam >Sunday, October 21, 2007 4:21:31 PMSandyavandanam and achamanamDear members, When one does 'achamanam' (sipping the water - as it is put in Englis), it is said the water has to reach one's heart. So, does this reference to the water reaching the heart imply a reference to what has to thought in mind or does this mean in a way literally, i.e. the water dripping down to the heart region. This question and my ealier one came when browsing thru this web page:http://www.payer.de/dharmashastra/dharmash103.htm This site is a good one as it tries to analyse each opinion that was put forward by different people. Also, it raises a lot of questions. I hope I'll be posting a lot of questions on dharmasastra and hopefully receive explanations that make these concepts clear. A lot of confusion comes around the point that we seem to follow a lot of rules laid down years ago. I have to admit there are some which holds good irrespective of the ages and some need some refinement. Regards,Malolan