Guest guest Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Dear All, Please excuse me if this question is too " naive " or has already been discussed here. I found a huge list of Devi Stotras in the Sanskrit.gde website. The number is truly baffling and given our hectic lives it is well nigh impossible to chant all or most of them even once weekly, forget about doing it daily. However if that's not possible, I would still like to chant some of the stotras at least, daily, for spiritual enhancement. Please let me know your recommendations on specific stotras which could be chosen for daily recitation. There is a thought that when we chant a stotra or mantra it's the power of Sanskrit words that changes our environments and our lives for the better, while there's the alternate thought that it's only the grace of the divine Mother that works. Sometimes I get doubts like, if chanting one or two works like Durga Saptasati would be enough for both material and spiritual upliftment, what then is the purpose behind this huge compendium of stotras? Also, I heard from an elderly person that it's better to chant the mantras in the early mornings, and the stotras during evening Sandhya. Please let me know your thoughts on this. Regards, Hari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 , Harihara Krishnan <harih2002 wrote: > However if that's not possible, I would still like to chant some of >the stotras at least, daily, for spiritual enhancement. Please let >me know your recommendations on specific stotras which could be >chosen for daily recitation. When choosing a stotra it will be better if we leave out controversial ones like durgA saptashatI or lalitA sahasranAma. This is because after reciting for some time somebody(like me :-)) will come and say you should not be chanting this etc etc.. This disturbs our concentration and takes away peace of mind. > There is a thought that when we chant a stotra or mantra it's the >power of Sanskrit words that changes our environments and our lives >for the better, while there's the alternate thought that it's only >the grace of the divine Mother that works. This is a not easy question to answer. To me it looks like the devata-s choose who is meant to worship them at random. The chanting of stotra-s or mantra japa/sAdhana is all a non-futile attempt at pleasing the devata-s. >Sometimes I get doubts like, if chanting one or two works like Durga >Saptasati would be enough for both material and spiritual >upliftment, what then is the purpose behind this huge compendium of >stotras? maybe to suit to different tastes of individuals? A vaiShNava maynot like the idea of saying saptashati daily. Somebody might find bAlA or lalitA appealing. > Also, I heard from an elderly person that it's better to chant the >mantras in the early mornings, and the stotras during evening >Sandhya. Please let me know your thoughts on this. Early in the mornings because it is real quiet. It will work even if mantra japa is done during the dead of the night which is also suitable but since it is a really odd time it is avoided. Some mantra-s like those of vArAhi are done at night I was told. The parashu rAma kalpa sutra says this. My teacher told me that in the vArAhi devasthAnam in kAshi, they do archana etc during night only. The first step is to find a suitable guru. This is very important. One can be sure that he/she is not going anywhere without a guru. One can appraoch a family guru if there is one or approach the teachers of any upAsaka friends whom they trust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Dear hari, Namaste. Don't think that your question is *naive* but this is the plight of most of the spiritual aspirants and all of us are sailing on the same boat - a rudderless boat. The grace of the gurunatha is what is required in spiritual path. *ishwarAnugrahENa pumsAm advaita vAsana* is the popular quote. Now, as regards one's nitya anushtana, there is a popular vakya in which runs as *Tapas svadhyaya niratam*. Here *tapas* implies veda-pratipAdya jnana chintana / manana and *svadhyaya* means swa-veda shakha adhyayana. If you belong to Krishna Yajur Veda Shakha / Shukla Yajur Veda Shakha / Rg Veda, at least chant some of the portions of that shakha and try to meditate / contemplate on its purport. Also, swa-vedha shakha upanishads are recommended for a serious study. Acharya Sankara in his *sadhana panchakam* stresses *Vedo nithya madheeyatham, thadhuditham karma swanushtiyatham* ie., Let us read Vedas daily, Let us do rituals based on them, Let the Gods be worshipped based on them; *sruthi sira paksha samasreeyatham* ie., Let us try to understand the import of Vedas. Which implies, do your nitya / naimittika karma like sandhya & siva panchayatana, study swa-shakha riks / suktas daily. Atleast, one round of Satarudriya (namaka/chamaka), Purusha & Sri Sukta daily and contemplating on them is recommended. Now, coming to stotras, it is better to worship one's *kula devata* (family deity) rather than running for new ones. The grace of the kula devata is easily accessible because there is a sort of *riNa* which the kula devatas have owing to the puja / tarpanas of our father / grandfather / great grandfather etc. So, the stotras related to one's kula devata may be chanted provided one has the time after doing nitya / naimittika karmas and siva panchayatana. Some of the popular stotras recommended by my gurunatha for adhyayana & svadhyaya during leisure hours (irrespective of caste/creed/gender): 1. Dakshinamurthy Stotram 2. Vishnu Sahasranamam 3. Gajendra Moksham 4. Siva Mahimnah Stotram (by Pushpadanta) 5. Narayaneeyam 6. Saundaryalahari 7. Lakshmi Nrisimha Karavalamba Stotram 8. Bhagavat Gita 9. Ramayana I close my post with the words of advice from Shri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamigal. " DO NITYA SANDHYA. AT LEAST LEARN RUDRAM, PURUSHA SUKTAM, SRI SUKTAM. DURING PUBLIC HOLIDAYS / FESTIVALS, TRY TO DO SAHASRA GAYATRI. BY THIS, AT LEAST WE CAN SAVE OUR FACES FROM VEDA MATA GAYATRI " . With regards, sriram namAmi veda mAtaram.... , Harihara Krishnan <harih2002 wrote: > > > Dear All, > > Please excuse me if this question is too " naive " or has already been discussed here. I found a huge list of Devi Stotras in the Sanskrit.gde website. The number is truly baffling and given our hectic lives it is well nigh impossible to chant all or most of them even once weekly, forget about doing it daily. However if that's not possible, I would still like to chant some of the stotras at least, daily, for spiritual enhancement. Please let me know your recommendations on specific stotras which could be chosen for daily recitation. > > There is a thought that when we chant a stotra or mantra it's the power of Sanskrit words that changes our environments and our lives for the better, while there's the alternate thought that it's only the grace of the divine Mother that works. Sometimes I get doubts like, if chanting one or two works like Durga Saptasati would be enough for both material and spiritual upliftment, what then is the purpose behind this huge compendium of stotras? > > Also, I heard from an elderly person that it's better to chant the mantras in the early mornings, and the stotras during evening Sandhya. Please let me know your thoughts on this. > > Regards, > Hari > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.