Monday 11 October 2010

Navgraha Stotram


Navagraha Stotram
[with Navagraha Gayathri]

1. Japaa Kusuma Sankaasam - Kaasyapeyam Mahaath' Yuthim
Thamo'urim Sarva Paapa Ganam - Pranathosmi Dhiwaakaram
Aswa Dhwajaaya Vidhmahe' - Padhma Hasthaaya Dheemahi
Thannas Soorya Pracho Dhayaath. - [ Sun - Soorya]

2. Dhadhi Sanka Thushaaraabham - Ksheero Dhaarnawa Sambhavam
Namaami Sasinam Somam - Sambhor Makuta Bhooshanam
Padhma Dhwajaaya Vidhmahe' - Hem Roopaaya Dheemahi
Thanno Soma Pracho Dhayaath. - [Moon - Chandran]

3. Dharanee Garbha Sambhootham - Vidhyuth Kaanthi Samaprabham
Kumaaram Sakthi Hasthancha - Mangalam Pranamaam Yaham
Veera Dhwajaaya Vidhmahe' - Vigna Hasthaaya Dheemahi
Thanno Bhowma Pracho Dhayaath - [Mars - Sevvai - Kujan]

4. Piryangu Kali Kaasyaamam - Roope'naa Prathimam Budham
Sowmyam Sowmya Gunopetham - Tham Bhudham Pranamaam Yaham
Gaja Dhwajaya Vidhmahe' - Suka Hasthaaya Dheemahi
Thanno Bhuda Pracho Dhayaath - [ Mercury - Bhuthan]

5. Dhe'vaanaancha Risheenaancha - Gurum Kaanchan Sannibham
Bhudhdhi Bhootham Thrilokesam - Thannamaami Bhruhaspathim
Vrusha Dhwajaaya Vidhmahe' - Gruni Hasthaaya Dheemahi
Thanno Guru Pracho Dhayaath - [Jupitar - Guru]

6. Hima Kundha M'runaalaabam - Dhaithyaanam Paramam Gurum
Sarva Saasthra Pravruththaaram - Bhaargavam Pranamaam Yaham
Aswa Dhwajaaya Vidhmahe' - Dhanur Hasthaaya Dheemahi
Thanno Sukra Pracho Dhayaath - [ Venus - Sukran]

7. Neelaanchana Samaabaasam - Raviputhram Yamaagrajam
Chaayaa Maarthaanda Sambhootham - Thannamaami Sanaicharam
Kaaka Dhwajaaya Vidhmahe' - Kadga Hasthaaya Dheemahi
Thanno Mandha Pracho Dhayaath - [ Saturn - Sani]

8. Ardha Kaayam Mahaaveeryam - Chandhraadhithya Vimardhanam
Simhikaagarba Sambhootham - Tham Raahum Prnamaamyaham
Naka Dhwajaaya Vidhmahe' - Padhma Hasthaaya Dheemahi
Thanno Rahu Pracho Dhayaath - [ Rahu ]

9. Palaasa Pushpa Sankaasam - Thaarakagraha Masthakam
Rowdhram Rowdhraathmakam Go'ram - Tham Kethum PranamaamYaham Aswa Dhwajaaya Vidhmahe' - Soola Hasthaaya Dheemahi
Thanno Kethu Pracho Dhayaath - [ Kethu ]

Navagraha Sthothram

1. Japaa kusuma Sankaasam - Kaasyapeyam Mahaath' yuthim
Thamo'urim sarva Paapa ganam - Pranathosmi Dhiwaakaram.

One who looks like the Hibiscus flower, Son of Kashyapa, full of radiance,
Foe of darkness and the one who dispells all sins, I prostrate that Soorya.

2. Dhadhi sanka Thushaaraabham - Ksheero Dhaarnava Sambhavam
Namaami sasinam Somam - Sambhor makuta Bhooshanam.

The one who has the hue of curd and icebergs, one who emerges from the milky ocean, Chandra who adorns Shiva, I prostrate. that Chandra.

3. Dharanee garbha Sambhootham - Vidhyuth kaanthi Samaprabham
Kumaaram Sakthi Hasthancha - Mangalam Pranamaam Yaham.

The one who is the son of Bhooma Devi, One who has the lustre of lightning,
One who has Shakthi in his hand, and the auspoicious one, I prostrate that Angaraka.

4. Piryangu kali Kaasyaamam - Roope'naa Prathimam Budham
Sowmyam sowmya Gunopetham - Tham Bhudham Pranamaam Yaham.

The one who is dark like the bud of Priyangu flower, One who is unequalled in beauty and is intelligent, And the son of Chandra, One who is peaceful, I prostrate that Budha.

5. Dhe'vaanaancha Risheenaancha - Gurum Kaanchan sannibham
Bhudhdhi bhootham Thrilokesam - Thannamaami Bhruhaspathim.

The one who is the Guru of the Devas and Rishis, the one who is radiant and intelligent, The Lord of all the three worlds, I prostrate that Brihaspathi.

6. Hima kundha M'runaalaabam - Dhaithyaanam Paramam Gurum
Sarva saasthra Pravruththaaram - Bhaargavam Pranamaam Yaham.
The one who has the lustre of the dew, Lotus stem and Thumba flower, High priest of Asuras
and the one who preaches the Shatras, I prostrate that ( Bhargava )Sukracharya.

7. Neelaanchana Samaabaasam - Raviputhram Yamaagrajam
Chaayaa Maarthaanda Sambhootham - Thannamaami Sanaicharam.
The one who is blue, one who is like charcoal, one who is the son of Surya and the brother of Yama, one who is born to Chaya and Surya, I prostrate that Saneeswara.

8. Ardha kaayam mahaaveeyram - Chandhraadhithya vimardhanam
Simhikaagarba Sambhootham - Tham Raahum Pranamaam Yaham.
The one who has half a body and is full of valour, One who opposes Chandra and Surya without fear, One who was born from Simhika's womb, I prostrate that Rahu.

9. Palaasa pushpa sankaasam - Thaarakagraha masthakam
Rowdhram rowdhraathmakam go'ram - Tham Kethum Pranamaam Yaham.
The one who looks like Palasa flower, One who is the king of the stars and
One who has a fierce form and is scary and angry, I prostrate that Kethu.


It is customary to recite Manthra Pushpam, or a short version of it, at the conclusion of all major prayer rituals in the Temples and at home pooja functions. Often we offer flowers to the Deities at this time making some people to think that this is something to do with the flowers [pushpam].

The verses of Manthra pushpam is given in Yajurveda. It is actually a recitation about the origin and evolution of the natural forces like water, air, fire, earth, Sun and the stars and not just praising God.

Yopãm Pushpam Vedha - Pushpavãn Prajaavãn Pasumãn B'havathi
Chandramãpã vã Apãm Pusham - Pushpavãn Prajaavãn Pasumãn B'havathi
Ya Ye'vam Vedha - Yopaam-aayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan Bhavathi
1

Agnirvaa Aapaam-aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Yo Aghneraam-aayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Aapovai Agner-aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Ya Yevam Veda - Yopaam-aayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
2

Vaayorvaa Apaam-aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Yo Vaayor-aayathanam vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Aapovai Vaayor-aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Ya Evam Vedha - Yopaam-aayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
3

Asovvaitha pannapaam-aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Yo Mushyathapa -thaayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Aapovai Amushyathapa -thaayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Ya Evam Vedha - Yopaam-aayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
4

Chandramaavaa Apaam-aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Yach Chandramasa Aayathanam vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Aapovai Chandramasa Aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Ya Evam Vedha - Yopaamaayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
5

Nakshathraanivaa Apaam-aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Yo Nakshathraanaa Apaam-aayathanam - Vedha Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Aapovai Nakshathraanaa Aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Ya Evam Vedha - Yopaam-aayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
6

Parjanyovaa Apaam-aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Yaf: Parjanyasy-aayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Aapovai Parjanyasy-aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Ya Evam Vedha - Yopaam-aayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
7

Samvathsarovaa Apaam-aayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Yas Samvathsars Yaayathanam Vedha - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Aapovai Samvathsars Yaayathanam - Aayatha-navaan B'havathi
Ya Evam Vedha - Yopsu Naavam Prati Thishti tham Vedha - Prathyathi thishtathi
8

The meaning of the verse is as follows: The world is all made of water and is the basic of everything and is worthy of our prayers. As water is cool so also the moon is cool like a flower of the water. He who understands this gets all prosperity [with progeny and cattle]. Fire is also a producer of this water and the air is a producer of the fire. As the sea water raises as vapor to the clouds and falls as rain to give us the warmth and prosperity, the Sun is related to the water. As we see the star [through astrological position] which determines the rain and prosperity, we see the relation of stars for all this prosperity through water. Each year, as we get the rainy season to get our rains, the year around seasons get importance. On this water the world revolves around like a boat sailing in the ocean and he who understands this gets all the prosperity.

A Guide to Meditation


Meditation is not something new or strange that we should impart it from external world.

Actually, every work done with a feeling of devotion is a kind of meditation.

If you love a thing constantly without break, it is meditation.

Meditation is the affirmation of the mind and confirmation of Reality.

The act of uniting the reason with the feeling is meditation.

Meditation is the art of setting oneself in tune with God.

Meditation on Reality is spiritual life.

Meditation on God is the highest of Sadhanas.

To love God is to serve him, to serve Him is to meditate on Him, to meditate on Him is to know Him, and to know Him is to realize Him.

If you want to know creation, you have to enter into the substance of creation.

Feel your identity with the Supreme Being in meditation. That is the essence of meditation.

If you can convince your deep feeling that whatever you see is inside that Supreme (including yourself and everybody) that is the meditation.

It should not be that you are happy inside the meditation hall and unhappy outside. You must be happy in the street, in the market place, in the bathroom and not only in the temple or the meditation hall.

Meditation is the art of contacting Reality, and for that you have to first be sure what Reality is.

Meditation on the Eternal Being is the supreme form of love.

Meditation starts with duality and ends in Unity, from an adoration of God to the Being of God.

Meditation should be continued till death, or till the rise of Self-knowledge or until the goal is realized, without any anxiety, or impatience on one's part.

The essential thought to be remembered in all meditations is that there should be no thought except that of the chosen object, or the ideal of meditation.

If life is to become a healthy whole, the spirit of religious worship and meditation has to saturate and seep into the secular life.

Knowledge and meditation, however, are not possible for one who is worldly, sensual, deluded, proud, egoistic and selfish.
One who meditates on the Universal Prana has no enemies.

Prayer is a current flowing with the thoughts towards God. Meditation is the highest prayer where the thoughts are fixed in God.

Meditation is hard for those who are psychologically and philosophically bankrupt.

Moksha is the immediate non-objective experience of Brahman on which one has been meditating all along with intense devotion.

Knowledge is Jnana or Anubhava of the Nirguna Brahman, and meditation is Dhyana, or Up asana on Saguna Brahman.

A meditating mind is like a still lake.

The meditating principle is not the ego; it is the Universal Being itself. It is God meditating on God ultimately.

Meditation is nothing but the recognition in consciousness of the connecting link between subject and object.

Clear-sightedness, passionless ness, serenity, self-restraint, indifference to the world, fortitude, faith, collectedness of mind and yearning for liberation from bondage are the prerequisites of spiritual meditation.

Dream is an unconscious occurrence. You have no control over it. But meditation is a conscious effort.

The entire psychology of meditation is nothing but a setting right of errors in thought.

Success is achieved in meditation in proportion to the extent of the honest feeling within ourselves that Brahman is the only Reality, and is the one aim of life.

Thought is being; consciousness is Existence. If this is asserted, then meditation will succeed.

By meditation, observation and reasoning one comes to realize that Existence is not space and space is not Existence.

Brahman's all attributes mentioned in the Upanishads, positive as well as negative may be brought together in a single group as aids to meditation.

Brahman is the Absolute, and one cannot meditate on Brahman, because it is inclusive of even the meditator himself.

Contemplation on Existence-Consciousness-Bliss as the whole of Brahman, in Sattwa, is the highest form of meditation.

Different symbols used in meditation give rise to different experiences corresponding to each.

Desire less meditation's result is only ascent and no reverting to the mortal world.

Desire ceases when you behold the Atman, and this beholding the Atman is called meditation.

Desire is the assertion of the personality. In meditation the personality is dissolved.

Directly the Absolute is known through profound reflection and meditation.

The highest kind of meditation is Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma.

It is your soul that is actually meditating on the soul of the object.

Indestructible is the knowledge attained though meditation on the truths of the Vedanta.

Indirect knowledge received by means of instruction from the preceptor requires to be deepened into experience by reflection and deep meditation.

It is advisable to engage oneself during spare hours in the study of such subjects as are conducive to entertaining the thought of the object of meditation.

Meditation leads to the gradual ascent of self by degrees of expansiveness.

Nobody can do so much good to the world as a Yogi engaged in meditation. You must know very well that the value of work depends upon what you think in your mind.

Nirguna form of meditation is laid down in several of the Upanishads. The main type of meditation inculcated is on Pranava, or Omkara.

No meditation will become successful if the senses are active, because the senses are the opposite of the effort at meditation.

On the path of Jnana-Yoga, as a necessary condition of spiritual meditation, the value of philosophy is incalculable.

Of all things, Selfhood is the ultimate meditation.

One-pointed ness is the secret of meditation. This is an essential feature that we have to remember.

Prana-Agnihotra is a religious performance of the one who practices the Vaishvanara Vidya, who meditates on the Cosmic Being.

Seeing the noumenon is the art of meditation; the merger of object with the subject and vice-versa.

Subject wanting the other, the object. This is materialistic meditation and not spiritual meditation.

Study, reflection and meditation are the processes of the method of Self-transcendence.

The resting of the consciousness in its own self, which is universality of being, is the highest Yoga or meditation.

The object of meditation is not just one among the many objects of the world; it is rather the only object before us.

The quickness of the process of attainment depends upon the intensity of the power of meditation, both in its negative and assertive aspects.

Unless the idea becomes God, the meditation will not yield results.

Vidya is a meditation, an art of thinking on the Supreme Goal.

When the mind is tired and unwilling, you should not meditate.

When meditation deepens, you can lessen your activities and take to meditation more and more.

When Prarabdha dies, all activities cease, but while it functions, it cannot be overcome even by the force of meditation.

When there is an abandonment of interest in names and forms, meditation on Brahman becomes unobstructed in every way.

When you meditate on the Absolute, you are equally thinking of yourself. The

Atman is the Para atman only. You are merging with it.

When one sees a stone, for example, its existence-aspect should be separated from its name and form and, thus, its existence should be meditated upon as an aspect of Brahman.

Whenever you breathe, you get connected with the Cosmic Prana. The intention of meditation is to connect one's Prana with the Cosmic Prana.

We should not meditate when we are possessed by our ego.

We live religion when we are in a state of meditation, because religion is the relation between man and God, between the soul and the Absolute.

When one sits for meditation, there should be no anxiety.

When we want to be seated for a long time for meditation or Japa, if we have some sort of restraint and control over the functions of the body, it yields to our requirements.

It is a well-known fact that the process of meditation in the field of spiritual life is centralized in the attempt of consciousness to concentrate itself on Ultimate Reality.

Unite yourself with that One Person. Then you will have no problems. This is called Yoga, spirituality, religion, or meditation, and that is the aim of life.

You are part and parcel organically entwined with the whole universal fabric.

If you can maintain this consciousness always, you are perpetually in a state of meditation.

If sometimes one is tired of meditation, we have only to conclude one has only engaged oneself in another kind of activity, calling it meditation, while really it was not so.

Aspirants on the spiritual path are generally conversant with the fact that meditation is the pinnacle of Yoga and the consummation of spiritual endeavor.

All the procedures of meditation are, in the end, ways of awakening the Soul-consciousness which, in its depth, is, at once, God-consciousness.

In meditation, thought and being coalesce and become one.

The apparently inseparable connection of the body and, in fact, the whole of one's life, with the physical elements of creation gets gradually loosened when one progressively advances in meditation.

Meditation is a self-integrating process throughout, from the beginning to the end, and hence any form of self-alienation is opposed to and becomes a hindrance in meditation.

The pinnacle of Yoga is the absorption of the mind in the object of its concentration.

But meditation is adventure, which opens up a new vista before us and surprises us with our relationships which were not apparent in our waking work-a-day life.

When the meditating consciousness so gets absorbed in the object that the idea of the object and the name of the object drop out altogether and there is a consciousness of the object alone, independently, without any kind of external associations, where one becomes the true friend of the object, not merely an observer or a judge of the object, but an organic mass of sentience in which the object is dissolved, as it were, in one's being,-that is to be known as the great freedom of the self.

The false idea that meditation is an individual affair has to be removed from the mind.

So, in meditation, the whole mind assumes the shape of a mass that moves wholly, entirely, totally, completely towards the object, the great point on which we may be concentrating for the purpose of our union with it.

The all-pervading nature of God excludes nothing from its purview and inclusiveness, and that which we regard as the best thing in our life may be regarded as our object of Meditation.

Even during meditation one may have to face many difficulties, such as the inability to reconcile apparently contradictory statements occurring in the scriptures, the persistent feeling that the world and the body are real, and, finally a sense of hopelessness and a feeling of impossibility in regard to the achievement of the supreme purpose of life.

Constant meditation on Om allows the individual consciousness to take the form of Om itself which is unlimited in its nature.

Meditation is our duty. It is not something that you are doing as an occupation; it is the art of being yourself.

The masquerading veil has to be torn asunder and we have to see the object 'as such´ in meditation, and not as it appears to the senses and the mind.
The object of meditation is a concentrated focus of the entire structure of the universe.

It is to be remembered that the value of meditation does not so much depend on the length of time that you take in sitting for it, but in the quality or the intensity of feeling operating at that moment.

When one is in a mood of meditation, one is practicing true religion, but by so doing one does not belong to any particular religious cult. We live religion when we are in a state of meditation, because religion is the relation between man and God, between the soul and the Absolute.

We must remember that ritualistic worship also is a kind of meditation. Worship is not a mechanical action.

Why we put Tilak on the forehead?


Without the worship of Sri Ganesh no work in Sanatan Dharma should begin. Likewise,no religious work should begin without a Tilak on the forehead.

Chandan or sandalpaste,Roli,Kumkum,Sindoor and Sacred Ash or Vibhuti can also be used as Tilak.

Tilak is a mark of auspiciousness. It is put on the forehead with sandal paste, sacred ashes or kumkum (red tumeric). The devotees of Siva apply sacred ashes (Bhasma) on the forehead, the devotees of Vishnu apply sandal paste (Chandan), and the worshippers of Devi or Shakti apply Kumkum, a red tumeric powder.

The scriptures say: "A forehead without a Tilak, a woman without a husband, a Mantra the meaning of which is not known while doing Japa (recitation), the head that does not bend before holy personages, a heart without mercy, a house without a well, a village without a temple, a country without a river, a society without a leader, wealth that is not given away in charity, a preceptor without a disciple, a country without justice, a king without an able minister, a woman not obedient to her husband, a well without water, a flower without smell, a soul devoid of holiness, a field without rains, an intellect without clearness, a disciple who does not consider his preceptor as a form of God, a body devoid of health, a custom (Achar) without purity, austerity devoid of fellow-feeling, speech in which truth is not the basis, a country without good people, work without wages, Sannyasa without renunciation, legs that have not performed pilgrimages, determination unaided by Viveka or discrimination, a knife which is blunt, a cow that does not give milk, a spear without a point- all these are worthy of condemnation. They exist for name´s sake only."

From this you can imagine the importance of Tilak or the sacred mark.

Tilak is applied at the Ajna Chakra, the space between the two eyebrows. It has a very cooling effect. Application of sandal paste has great medicinal value, apart from the spiritual influence. Application of sandal paste will nullify the heating effect when you concentrate and meditate at the Bhrumadhya. Tilak indicates the point at which the spiritual eye opens. Lord Siva has a third eye at the Brumadhya. When he opens the third eye, the three worlds are destroyed.

So also, when the third eye of the Jiva is opened, the three kinds of afflictions - Adhyatmika, Adhidaivika and Adhibhautika- are burnt to ashes. The three Karmas- Sanchita, Prarabdha and Agami,- and also all the sins committed in the countless previous births, are burnt. When you apply the Tilak, you mentally imagine: "I am the one non-dual Brahman free from all duality. May my eye of intuition open soon." You should remember this every time you apply a Tilak.

There are various methods of applying Tilak. Saivas apply three horizontal lines with the sacred ashes. The vaishnavas apply three vertical lines (Tripundra) on the forehead. When they apply Tilak, they say: "O Lord, protect me from the evil effects of the Trigunatmika Maya which has Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas as its binding cords."

Some Vaishnavas apply only one vertical line. Only the method of application differs, but the significance is the same in both the Vaishnavas and the Saivas.

The Tilak is used in various ways for different reasons.

Without the Tilak,Sandhya,Pooja,Deva Darshan,Tarpan and other religious activities should not be performed.

There are thirteen places on the human body where Tilak can be placed.However it is only on the forehead that it is noble.The head is the summit of the body with the brain being the axis of the entire body.

According to Hindu Astrology,Mesh Rasi or the House of Aries is on the forehead.The Lord of Mesh is Mars and His colour is Red.This is why Red Chandan and Sindoor is placed as Tilak on the forehead.

The fingers used for applying Tilak are as follows:

At the base of the little finger is Mecury,at the base of the ring-finger is Sun,at the base of the middle finger is Saturn,at the base of the index finger is Jupiter and at the base of the thumb is Venus.

Perfect peace is experienced at Sunrise,Saturn is the protector of lifespan,Jupiter represents immortality and Venus represents health.Tilak applied with the ring-finger and the thumb is very benifical.

In addition to this,the Sun represents firmness,brilliance,honour,respect and faith.These are the blessings achieved by applying Tilak with the ring-finger.Venus gives lifeforce,health,is the creator of new life,the bestower of gentility and politeness.This is achieved by applying Tilak with the thumb.

Women should use the ring-finger for applying Bindie with unbroken rice grains. Men should also use unbroken rice grains(Akshat)mixed in red chandan and apply the Tilak with the thumb.

The unbroken rice grains symbolises steadfastness and firmness of the brain and is also a symbol of peace.

It is reffered to as Deva Dhanya----grains of the Gods.