After waking up in the morning first
we should think about our cherished God. Close your eyes and try to see Her or
Him. Like, I try to visualize Goddess Durga atop Her lion.
Then, it is time to clean yourself
through a hymn –
 |
| Lord Ghanashyama |
Apabitro pabitro ba sarbabasthan
gatopi ba,
Yah smaret Pundarikashyam sa
baahaayabhyantara suchi.
Ati nilo Ghanashyamam Naliyalatalochanam,
Smarami Pundarikakshyam teno snato
bhabamyaham.
Meaning – The person who thinks of God
Pundarikaskhya gets cleaned in whatever condition he remains. By thinking of
God Ghanashyama we get a holy bathe (without actually bathing).
The next step is to look at the palm
and chant this hymn –
Karagre basate Lakshmi, Karamadhye
Saraswati,
Karamule tu Govindah, Prabhate
karadarshanam.
Meaning – Look at the finger tip part
of your hands and try to visualize Goddess Lakshmi there as She is belived to
stay at the finger tips. Then, look at the middle part of your palm and try to
see Goddess Saraswatee as She is believed to stay at this place of the hand.
Finally, look at the root part of your palm and try to visualize Lord Govinda
(Krishna or Vishnu) as He lives there. Finally offer your pranam to all of
them.
Now, it is time to beg excuse to
mother earth as you are going to put your feet on Her. Chant this hymn –
Samudrah basane devi, Parbatah
stanamandale,
Vishnupatni namastubhyam paadasparsham
Khyamaswame.
Meaning – Oh mother earth. Ocean is
your clothe and mountains are there in your chest. Oh consort of Lord Vishnu
please forgive me for putting my feet on you.
Then offer pranam to mother earth and
get down from your bed. Now chant the Nabagraha hymn to please the nine planets
–
Bramhaa Murari Tripurantakari, Bhaanu
Sashi Bhumisutoh Budhascha, Guruscha Sukra Shani Rahu Ketabah, Kurbantu sarbe
mama suprabhatam.
Meaning – Oh Lord Bramha, Murari
(Another name of Lord Vishnu, Ari or enemy of Mura demon. Lord Vishnu had
killed Mura and Daruna, two demons), Tripurantakari (Lord Shiva, who can end
the three worlds), Bhanu (Sun), Sashi (Moon), Bhumisuta (Mars), Budha (Mercury),
Guru (Brihaspati or Jupiter is the teacher or Guru of the Gods), Sukra (Venus),
Shani (Saturn), Rahu and Ketu, please make my morning good.
When chanting this hymn try to
visualize the face of these nine planets when uttering their names. Then first
see some holy things like Mridanga, gold, mirror etc. and then go to wash your
face.
(Besides the suggestion in the first
paragraph, all other slokas can be found in the book ‘Nityakarma Pujaprakash’)
Written by - Himanshu Guru (the blogger). If you have any doubt in the article please feel free to ask me at himanshuguruz@gmail.com