Sri U.Ve. Deivanayakam swamy (Adhyaabakar in Thiruvallikeni arulicheyal goshti, founder of kaarimaaran kalai kaappagam and involved in various kainkaryams) has come up with a DVD which has full demonstration of the trikaala (morning - praatas, noon - maadhyaahnikam and evening - saayam) Yajur Vedha sandhyaavandhanam. This DVD, recorded in Thiruvallikeni, has clear explanation of every step in the Yajur Vedha sandhyaavandhanam, with clear recitation of mantras (with variations for both thenkalai and vadakalai sampradayam) and a live demonstration by the above mentioned swamy himself. This DVD is priced at a very low price of Rs. 100 and can be purchased from:

*Address 1: *103 T. P. Koil Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 5. Ph: 044-28440009

*Address 2: *G2 Komalammal Flats, 38 North Tank Square Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 5.

Kindly call us and check for the availability before purchasing.

Now that uttaraayanam is dawned, it is also time to perform upanayanam for young boys who have not had their upanyanam done yet - usually upanayanam is done in uttaraayanam. Usually the right age for upanyanam is according to one's varna - its best not to delay this until the day before wedding (as its becoming a common practice in some places).

We urge the srivaishnava community to purchase this to understand the proper procedure and follow it ourselves and encourage our children to follow it as well.

Steps in Sandhyaavandhanam

*Purification*:- Aachamanam, praanaayanam
*Statement of purpose*:- Sankalpam
*Surrender and dedication*:- Saatvika Tyaagam
*Purification*:- PrOkshanam, Prasanam, Achamanam, Puna Prokshanam
*Getting rid of demons who are attacking Suryan*:- Arghyam
*Purification*:- praanayanam
*Apology for any delay*:- Praayaschita Arghyam (No need to do this for
Maadhyaanikam)
*Purification*:- aachamanam
*Thanks for benefits received*:- Kesavaadi Tarpanam
*Purification*:- Aachamanam, japa vidhih
*Preparation for gayatri*:- Pranaayama mantra japa, gaayatri aavahanam
*Bringing in the Lord for protection*:- Gaayatri Japam
*Purification*:- Praanayamam
*Realization of the the presence of the Lord*:- upasthaanam
*Salutations to the sanhdya devataas*:- sandhyaadi devata vandanam
*Expression of one's lineage*:- Abhivaadanam
*Salutations to the directional devataas*:- Dikvandanam
*Expression of one's lineage*:- Abhivaadanam
*Surrender and dedication*:- saatvika tyagam
*Getting rid of demons who are attacking suryan*:- arghyam
 

Sandhyaavandhanam is one of the most important nithya karma anushtaanam for trIvarnikaas (brahmana, kshatriya, vaisya). It is said in the saastram that "sandhyaa hIna: asuchi:" meaning one who has not performed sandhyavandhanam is unclean/unfit for any vaidhIha activity.

It is also one of the things (even starting with the previous generation from 1970s) which have been given up by many of us due to various reasons - rise of naasthikaa vaadham (especially in Tamilnadu), movies, changed work culture (working for money/working late hours), etc. Also, in this generation, in several cases, since the fathers/elders themselves do not know the proper sandhyavandhanam procedure, many of the younger children who get upanayanam done misses out on the practice of doing sandhyaavandhanam since there is no one to teach them.

Due to bhagavad aajna (order of god as in the saastram) every dvijan (twice born - brahmana, kshatriya, vaisya) must do sandhyaavandhanam thrice every day - no exception - even during aasoucham (theettu) days we must perform sandhyaavandhanam without fail. But for the benefit of the younger generation who likes to question everything, we can explain the benefits of doing regular sandhyaavandanam as below:

* Doing aachamanam lets us sit in an unconventional posture which helps us develop strong leg muscles. Nowadays, we find many people (even youngsters) find it difficult to sit on the floor for more than 15-20 minutes. That is because there is no practice for that posture - we always sit in sofa, chair, bed, etc our legs/joints dont get used to sitting posture.
* Regular intake of water (we do several achamanams during one sandhyaavandanam) leads to refreshing our body and helps avoiding dehydration for people who dont drink water regularly.
* Pranayamam when properly done is a simple but powerful way to regulate our breathing. This part is even very popular among all societies now (western or eastern) as we can see everywhere there is talk about yoga, meditation and breathing exercises.

Again, all of these are side benefits which we dont need to crave for - but we get these automatically if we simply follow our sastras.