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consciousness is not manifest till the meaning has been made one's own. Meditation is the experience of bliss. Hence, if people do worship without interest or without any control over themselves, they will not be able to reap any benefit.
Some people, who are unable to follow Sanskrit, follow or recite translations of the Bhaktämara in order to enjoy the beauty of the idea expressed. It is natural. People can experience the pleasure of the Bhaktämara recitation when translated into their mother tongue. But the mantras, which are enshrined in the Bhaktämara, will have been mediated upon or recited only when one recites the original verses and not the translations.
1 Penance and the Bhaktämara Worship
At the time of undertaking any worship associated with the Bhaktämara Stotra one must undertake some form of penance. A three-day penance called the attham is ideal for a layman. This requires fasting for three days consuming only previously boiled water. The devotee must also observe the cleansing as prescribed earlier. If he finds three-day fasting a bit strenuous, some 'ekäsanäs' should be done (consuming just one meal a day). A worshipper of any such practices should not take more than one meal a day. Such worshippers can take prescribed food in a limited quantity and must also maintain celibacy.
An aspirant then starts reciting, counting the rosary of hundred and eight beads, the following mantras.: a] Om Hrim srimrsabhajinendraya namah. (a rosary of hundred and eight beads, twenty times). b] Om Hrim namo Arihantänam siddha nam (a rosary of hundred and eight beads ten times).
surinam uvaijhayanam sähunam nama rddhim
vrddhim samihitam kuru kuru Svähä. c) Om Hrim shrim Dharnendra Padmävati pujitaya (a rosary of hundred and eight beads once). Srisankhesvara Pärshvanäthaya namah D] Sri Mäntunga gurave namah (do a rosary of hundred and eight beads once).
Some forty-four mantras are advocated for a person who is observing the three-day penance. He must bow in a prescribed way whilst reciting each mantra. Thus fortyfour will be covered in three days at the rate of twelve in the first two days and twenty on the third. These mantras are given in the appendix. Those who subscribe to the theory that the Bhaktämara consists of forty-eight verses will undertake forty-eight mantras,
A mantra or stotra is not just a collection of sounds or words but enshrines in itself great power. Initiation into mere sounds does not confer any benefit. An aspirant requires a competent Guru. If the aspirant develops an earnest longing for such a teacher, then he may find such a Guru. Having got an outside teacher, one should not neglect one's inner awareness, which also works like a Guru and is called the internal preceptor. Aspirants, thinkers, philosophers and worshippers could have experienced in their lives some guidance from an unexpected quarter when they had a feeling that
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| SR No. | 008333 |
| Book Title | Nav Smarana |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Vinod Kapashi |
| Publisher | Vinod Kapashi |
| Publication Year | |
| Total Pages | 224 |
| Language | English, Sanskrit |
| Classification | Book_English, Devotion, Worship, Worship, J000, & J999 |
| File Size | 922 KB |