Reciting Hunuman Chalisa

Reciting Hanuman Chalisa

 

1)     Reciting the opening Doha of Hanumaan chaalisa many times will remove the doshas arising out of having insulted knowingly/ unknowingly one’s preceptor/ a Raama Bhakta.

2)     Reciting the second Doha will remove hardships in life and grant wisdom and strength.

3)     Reciting the opening chaupayi of the chaalisa “Jaya Hanumaan gyaan guna saagar…..” will bless one with Divine knowledge.

4)     Reciting the third Chaupaayi “Mahaaveer vikrama Bhajrangi…..” will help in reforming persons who are into bad company or have fallen into undesirable habits.  It will also give abundant strength.

5)     Reciting the 7^th and 8^th chaupaayis “Vidyaavaan gunii athi chaathur…..” will help one to cultivate Raama Bhakti and become dear to Lord Raama.

6)     Reciting the 11^th Chaupaayi “Laaya sanjeevan…..” will help in removing effects of poisonous bites and in removal of fear from snakes.

7)     Reciting the 12^th Chaupaayi will help in removing misunderstanding between brothers and promote unity between siblings.

8)     Reciting the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th chaupaayis will help in attaining fame.

9)     Reciting the 16^th and 17^th Chaupaayiis will help in recovering lost status or in attaining desired promotions/ posts.

10) Reciting the 20^th Chaupaayi will help in accomplishing even difficult tasks overcoming all obstacles.

11) Reciting the 22nd chaupaayi will give Divine Protection during adverse planetary periods.

12) Reciting the 24^th Chaupaayii will help in driving away Negative Energies including Boota, Pisachas, saakinii, daakini, and black magical deities.

13) Reciting the 25^th Chaupaayi will help in maintaining good health.  It will also give the ability to bear physical pain when one is injured.

14) Reciting the 26^th Chaupaayi gives relief from difficulties.

15) Reciting 27^th and 28^th chaupaayiis grants bestowal of desires by Divine Grace.

16) Reciting the 29^th Chaupaayii grants fame.

17) Reciting the 30^th Chaupaayii helps in victory over evil forces.

18) Reciting the 31^st Chaupaayii gives occult powers and great Wealth.

19) Reciting the 32^nd, 33^rd, 34^th and 35^th Chaupaayiis helps one to enjoy an ethical and fulfilling life without any worries/ frustrations at the end of such a contented life one will attain the Divine Abode of Shri Raamaa.

20) Reciting the 36^th Chaupaayii gives relief from all difficulties and pains.

21) Reciting the 37^th Chaupaayii secures the Grace of Hanuman.

 

Those who have major tasks to accomplish should recite the appropriate chaupaayii with devotion 1008 times on an auspicious Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday or on a Moola Nakshatra day. 

They can also tail pooja along with this (offering sandal wood paste and kumkum/sindoor to the tail of Hanumanji’s image for 48 days).

Others can just recite it 12 times, 24 times, 32 times, 36 times, 54 times, 108 times, 1008 times, or even 10008 times based on time availability and convenience. 

Absolute Faith and the correct attitudes combined with this recital can definitely help one to achieve all that one sets out for in life.  May the Grace of Lord Hanumaan Bless us all.

What is a Puja

What is a Puja
	Puja is the act of showing reverence to a god, a spirit, or another aspect of the divine through invocations, prayers, songs, and rituals. An essential part of puja for the Hindu devotee is making a spiritual connection with the divine. Most often that contact is facilitated through an object: an element of nature, a sculpture, a vessel, a painting, or a print. During puja an image or other symbol of the god serves as a means of gaining access to the divine. This icon is not the deity itself; rather, it is believed to be filled with the deity’s cosmic energy. It is a focal point for honoring and communicating with the god. For the devout Hindu, the icon’s artistic merit is important, but is secondary to its spiritual content. The objects are created as receptacles for spiritual energy that allow the devotee to experience direct communication with his or her gods. Performing a Puja A worshipper is required to be pure of body and mind. The Puranas lay more stress on the quality of devotion and good behaviour than on rigid puja procedures. Puja originated as a substitute to homa and other Vedic sacrifices which women and Shudras could not perform and which required animal sacrifices. Due to Dravidian (see Dasas), Buddhist and Jain influences that preached non-violence, the killing or sacrifice of animals was discontinued and with the development of iconography, idol worship and puja took the place of sacrifice. It was also recognized that worship was essential for all, whatever the gender or caste (see Varna) and therefore puja was formalized as a universal option instead of the exclusive homam. Pujas in Temples A Hindu temple is believed to be the earthly seat of a deity and the place where the deity waits for its devotees. As such, temple structures are sacred spaces where gods partake of human offerings and in which the people can be with the gods. Many temples resemble palace architecture; this is not surprising, as deities are often considered kings. Temples are normally dedicated to one primary god. Often they are elaborately decorated on the outside with stone or plaster carvings depicting religious stories, and their decoration is specific to the deity being worshiped. Mythological scenes are juxtaposed with scenes of everyday life and important political events, such as royal coronations, conquests, and celebrations, or with portraits of royal and secular patrons. These divine images and mythological scenes on the outer walls of the temple help worshipers recall the sacred stories they have heard or read. One should remove one’s shoes before entering a Hindu temple in order to pay appropriate respect to the deity within the temple. The innermost sanctuary of the temple contains the principal image of the deity. The character of each shrine is determined by the deity being worshiped. Short Pujas/ Daily Pujas Each time when you say ‘Samarpayami’ (literally: I am offering), please offer two axataas to the LORD with love and devotion.(Akshatha is uncooked rice, if possible colored with kumkum , saffron powder, termaric and a little bit of water. Can be prepared well advance for a week and kept near the ALTAR). 1. Dhyaanam Samarpayami (Think or meditate on the LORD) 2. Aawaahanam Samarpayami (Offering invitation the LORD) 3. Aasanam Samarpayami (Offer a seat to the LORD) 4. Paadyam Samarpayami (offer water to wash the feet) 5. Arghyam Samarpayami (offer water to wash the hands) 6. Aachamaneeyam Samarpayami (offer water to drink ) 7. Snaanam Samarpayami (Give bath to the LORD) 8. Maha Abhishekam Samarpayami (main head bath) 9. Pratishtaapayaami (make him seated ) 10. Vasthram Samarpayami (Offer clothes to the LORD) 11. Yajnopaveetham Samarpayami (Offer the Holy Thread to the LORD) 12. Gandham Samarpayami (offer sandalwood paste/powder) 13. Akshatham Samarpayami (Offer Akshatha to the LORD) 14. Pushpam Samarpayami (Offer flowers to the LORD) 15. Ashthothtra Poojam Samarpayami (Offer the Holy 108 names of the LORD) 16. Dhoopam Aaghraapayaami (offer agarbatti) 17. Deepam Darshayaami (offer light ) 18. Neivedyam Samarpayami (Offer food to the LORD) 19. Phalam Samarpayami (Offer Fruits the LORD) 20. Taamboolam Samarpayami (offer beetle nut and leaves) 21. Dakshinam Samarpayami (Offer money to the LORD) 22. Maha Nirajanam Samarpayami (the main aarati) 23. Pradakshinam Samarpayami (taking clockwise rounds in front of the lord) 24. Namaskaram Samarpayami (prostrations offer them) 25. Mantra Pushpam Samarpayami ( both incantations and flowers 26. Praarthanaam Samarpayami (offering prayers; List your requests) 27. Xamaapanam Samarpayami (offering apologies to lord for any mistakes)

 

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About Homams

What are Homams
	Homams are pujas performed for a particular deity by invoking Agni – the God of fire. It is said that when Lord Brahma (the creator among the Trinity) created man, he also created “Homam” for man’s livelihood and his attainment of spiritual desires. The fundamental premise of Homam is derived from the Vedams, although, according to “Purusha Sooktham”, it is the other way around – Vedams originated from Homam! Anyhow, Vedams and Homam are eternal truths having neither beginning nor end, and are “Apourusheyam” (divine, not the creation of humans). Karmam (work or action) is an integral part of living. Right and wrong Karmams can hardly be discerned by human intellect, and has to be guided by knowledge. Vedams, indeed, contain the highest form of knowledge. The singular goal of Vedam is to guide man through the correct path. And Homam forms the essence of all the Karmams prescribed in the Vedams. The goal of all Homams is the prosperity of the people at large by energizing and protecting the environment. The Sun is considered as the main source of energy supply, and fire is considered as a representation of the Sun’s energy. According to the ancient texts on Homam, any offer to Fire as a god, is actually an offer to Sun. Any such offer is either to enrich energy in the environment or to destroy the undesirable elements in the environment, and thus, in both ways, environment is protected. Attaching divine nature to such rituals (like Homam) induced people to practice them. Thus, the ancient texts proclaim that “Such Vaidika Karmams are result-oriented, and meant to lead to Sreyass or spiritual attainments”. Performing the Homam Ritual Each Homam is performed strictly according to scriptures. These are conducted by fully learned and experienced vedic scholars.The ingredients recquired for these homams are different for each homams.Each homam is performed after praying (Shankalpa) for the specific relief / benefit desired for each individual.After each homam, pundits are fed with vedic prayers.

 

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About Parad

About Parad
	Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil. It exists in several forms: elemental or metallic mercury, inorganic mercury compounds, and organic mercury compounds. Mercury is an element in the earth’s crust. Humans cannot create or destroy mercury. Pure mercury is a liquid metal, sometimes referred to as quicksilver that volatizes readily. It has traditionally been used to make products like thermometers, switches, and some light bulbs. Mercury is found in many rocks including coal. When coal is burned, mercury is released into the environment. Coal-burning power plants are the largest human-caused source of mercury emissions to the air  Burning hazardous wastes, producing chlorine, breaking mercury products, and spilling mercury, as well as the improper treatment and disposal of products or wastes containing mercury, can also release it into the environment. Mercury and its compounds have been used in medicine, although they are much less common today than they once were, now that the toxic effects of mercury and its compounds are more widely understood. Mercury in the form of one of its common ores, cinnabar, remains an important component of Chinese, Tibetan, and Ayurvedic medicine. As problems may arise when these medicines are exported to countries that prohibit the use of mercury in medicines, in recent times, less toxic substitutes have been devised. Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system of people of all ages.

 

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About Shaligram
	Shree Shaligram is a sacred stone found in Gandaki river found in the Muktinath area of Nepal . This stone is worshipped as the aniconic representation Lord Vishnu , just as Lingam is worshipped as  aniconic Lord Shiva. The marks on the Shaligram are natural with the pattern often representing that of Sudarshan Chakra, the Discus of Lord Vishnu.    The worship of these stones is widespread and dates back to a distant past. They are worshipped in temples, monasteries and households all over the country, as visible and natural emblems of Vishnu. The sipping of water in which these stones are bathed is a daily ritual for the pious Hindu belonging to the old and traditional families. Salagrama is an iconic in character. However in comparison,  the linga may be a natural object like the bana-linga found in the river Narmada, or carved  by man in stone, gems or clay or any material.  But Salagramas are always only those which are naturally found in the river Gandaki; they are never made by man.  It is interesting to that the great Samkara (632-664 A.D.) mentions in his Vedanata-sutra-bhashya the worship of no other god other than that of Vishnu, and that too in his Salagrama aspect (1,2,7 ‘yatha salagrama harih’; 1,2,14 ‘salagrama iva vishnoh’; 1,3,14 ‘yatha salagrame vishnuh sannihitah, tadvat’), and not in iconic forms. There is a wide-spread belief that the aniconic salagrama must necessarily accompany the iconic representations; and the worship offered to the salagrama takes precedence in the worship offered at home or in temples. It is a fact that in the Vishnu  shrines, salagramas are invariably placed in close contact with the ‘mula-murti’, which worship is offered. Even in the celebrated temple of Vengadam (Tirupati-Tirumalai), the group of salagramas always kept at the feet of the main deity in the sanctum partakes of the principal worship daily; administrating a ceremonial bath to the salagramas is an important detail. Salagramas do not require preliminary rituals of purification and consecration. They naturally contain the vibhuti of the Godhead, and may be worshipped straight away. In the worship of Salagrama, no initiation is required; there is no special hymnology or specific procedure of worship, nor any need for a qualified priest or master of ceremonies. Worshipped anyhow, it will bestowal the benefits; and there is no error of any kind. If, however, it is formally worshipped with all the details scrupulously observed, the benefits procured are boundless. The pentad form of domestic worship, known as panchayatana-puja, is the popular usage in country since about the eight century A.D., it involves worship of five major deities (Vishnu, Siva, Devi, Surya and Ganesha) on a common platform. The deities are more usually represented by characteristic emblems: salagrama for Vishnu, bana- for Siva, metallic ore (dhatupatra or yantra) for Devi, crystal (sphatika) for Surya and red-stone (sona-sila) for Ganesha. The five deities of the group are arranged according to the sectarian preference. The Vaishnavas place salagrama in the centre and the other four deity-emblems in the four corners; the Saivas place the bana-linga in the centre, and the other objects in the corners; and so on. The five sacred objects are placed on a metallic plate, on which the tulasi leaves and the bilva-leaves are also offered, and the worship is conducted to all the five deities. It is usual to offer the sixteen sequences of worship (shodasopachara), reciting a verse from ‘Purusha – sukta’ for each sequence. The Shaktas, however, prefer to worship five water – vessels (kalasas) in which the deities are invoked, instead of the aniconic emblems mentioned above. The five deities in ‘panchopasana’ are also regarded as symbolizing basic ingredient elements of the universe: Vishnu-akasa, Siva-earth, Devi-fire, Surya-air and Ganapati-water. These elements are also constituents of human body, and the personality of an individual is predominantly one of these five elements, although all the elements are necessarily involved. The worship of one of the five deities, according it the central position is indicated for the devotee in whom the corresponding element is prominent. Salagrama stones are obtained only from the river Gandaki, which is a Himalayan stream, celebrated since antiquity as Narayani, Salagrami, Hiranvati and Hiranyavati. The epic Mahabharata speaks of its sanctity (Bhishma-parva): it contains in itself the waters of all the holy-rivers (Vana-parvan, 84, 113), and it is the abode of Agni, the fire-god (ibid.). Krishna, Arjuna and Bhima are said to have crossed this river on their way from India-prastha to Girivraja (Sabha-parva, 20, 27). The puranas also describe it as a sacred stream in which all the gods and titans abide (‘punyodaka surasura-nishevita’). By merely looking at it, one would eliminate all his mental defilement’s, by touching it his bodily sins are burnt up, and by sipping its water the verbal demerits are thrown out. One who comes into contact with this sacred stream will be liberated from the cycle of birth and deaths, even if he be a sinner. For the very stones found in this river, marked with discus, are verily the glorious gods themselves. The Salagramas are specifically described as fossil-stones which have taken shape in the Gandaki-river, and as characterized by the presence of discus marks (‘gandakyudbhava-vajra-kita-krta-chakra-samayukta-sila). The legend tells us that Gandaki, the lady-devotee, performed penances for long years, and that she got a boon from Vishnu, which made Vishnu reside in her womb (in her depths) as her own offspring; the Salagrama-stones are thus the forms of Vishnu. The presence of divinity in the Salagrama is for the welfare of the devotees. And for the reason, the river Gandaki became among all the rivers extraordinarily sacred (‘mat-sannidhyan nadiman tvan ati srestha bhavishyasi’). Being a mystic river, looking at it, touching it, bathing in it and sipping its waters will be conductive to eliminate all sins, even the greatest of sins pertaining to the body, speech and mind. In the ancient texts, the river Gandaki is located in the south of the Himalayas, ten yojanas distant; and an area in the river is regarded as the holy Chakra-tirtha. It is in this part of the river that Salagramas are found. In Varaha-purana (Reva-khanda), a mountain called Salagramagiri) is said to be responsible for the salagrama stones (‘salagramotpadaka – parvata). If this mountain represents Vishnu, there is said to be another mountain close to it (called Somesvara-giri), which provides sacred stones (called siva-nabha-sila) representing Siva. Salagrama is actually the name of the village on the banks of the river Gandaki, where the holy stones are picked up. The name is derived from the hut (sala) of the sage Salankayana, who beheld the form of Vishnu in a tree outside his hut (cf. Varaha-purana). This hut was on the banks of the Gandaki, and it was in that particular spot that these sacred stones were found in abundance. The stones were therefore called Salagrama. Shala (or Sala) also means the hardwood tree known to botanists as Shorea robusta or Valica robusta (Sarja), grown in Nepal (known there as Sukhava). It is said that the cluster of these trees in the otherwise barren stretch of the Himalayan foothills called Mukti-sthana, was responsible for the village close to this cluster, being known as Sala-grama. On the banks of the river Kali-Gandaki, the sacred stones were also found in abundance. The river Gandaki is a very ancient river; and the geologists say that it existed even before the formation of the Himalayan ranges. It rises beyond the Himalayan ranges, probably in Tibet, and flows (in the north-south direction) into Nepal, which is the southern  valley of the Himalayas, and India. The situation of the birth of the river is given as North 27 27 and East 83 56’; it courses in the south-western direction, and joins Ganga in a place called Bhavatyapur in Bihar. It is an important tributary of the river Ganga. It is called Salagrami or Narayani in Uttar-pradesh. It was known to the Greek geographers as Kondochetts. It has abundant water throughout the year, as the rain in the rainy season and melted snow in summer keep it full of water. It courses for about one hundred and ninety miles, making itself useful throughout, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India. It rises on a high peak, and flows down in swift torrents. The area inundated by the rivers in this part of the country has four important rivers: Kosi in the East, Gandaki in the middle, Karanali to the west, and Mahakali in the far-west. Trisula-ganga is its tributary in India; the river Gandaki joins Ganga near Patna (near Sonapur) in Bihar, having coursed through Champaran to Mujafharpur district.     There is a lake at the source of the Kali-Gandaki (Krishna-g), called Damodar-kunda, connected in legend with the sage Salankayana, on the Nepal – India border. The lower Gandaki is well known as Mukti-natha-kshetra, also called Salagrama-kshetra. The sacred stones are largely found on the banks of Kali-gandaki near Tukche, between the two mountains Dhavala-giri and Annapurana. Damodara-Kunda is a Saivite place of pilgrimage (Somesvara-kshetra): it was a custom for the rulers (Ranas) of Nepal to visit the shrine during Siva-ratri to receive the salagrama-stones specially selected and picked up from the Gandaki-river. The spots where salagrama-stones are found within the Nepal territory. Actually there are four spots in the river within Nepal jurisdiction, where the sacred stones are picked up. Until recent times, the spots were leased out to private enterprises, and the palace of the Maharaja reserved the right to appropriate what it considered as the most precious and valuable stones; other stones were given over to the lease-holders. An even number of salagrama stones must be worshipped, but they must not be only two; an odd number of them is never worshipped, but one only is regarded best. If a person worships daily twelve salagrama-stones with devotion, his merits will increase, and sins will be destroyed. It must always be presented freely by a teacher or well-wisher with the words “peace, may it be good to you”; it should be received with reverence in the cupped hands and placed on ones own head, as a mark of acceptance. Even as the fire lies latent in wood, and bursts out when ignited, Vishnu pervades the salagrama-stones and appears when the stone is worshipped. A salagrama-stone continues to be worthy of worship even when it is broken. Split or cracked, it does not lose its auspicious nature. Only the mark of the discus must be present in the stone. A salagrama-stone damaged in any way will not become unfit for worship; it is not always sacred and worthy; nothing can be a deterrent for its worship.

 

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