Today, time is spent on mobile phones and in interaction with the net; in vedic times the moments of the day were taken up by mantras. From morning until the time people went to bed, they were surrounded by the chant of mantras. At the time of waking up, the first sensorial input was looking at the hands and chanting the waking up mantras:
Karagre vasate Lakshmi, karamadhye Saraswati
Karamoole tu Govinda, prabhaate karadarshanam.
Lakshmi is residing in the fingers of the hand, Saraswati in the palms Govinda in the base of the hands, therefore have darshan through your hands first thing in the morning.
Then after bath and before breakfast, the Gayatri mantra was chanted. Also prior to breakfast many of the household rituals were performed by the elders of the family, like small agnihotra or havan always using the mantras.
After the first meal, the young would go to school, learning everything in Sanskrit, using mantras, practising the sandhyas morning, afternoon, evening. This meant that three times they were chanting the Gayatri mantra during the day. The routine followed in the vedic civilization was highly saturated with mantras from morning until night. The main understanding of people was how to apply mantras.
In vedic times, life revolved around sunlight. Everything that was to be consumed, prepared or made was in the period of sunlight. Breakfast after sunrise and dinner before sunset. After sunset or before sunrise in the dark, nothing was to be consumed as it would play a detrimental role to one’s health.
Until recently in India the belief was prevalent that after sunset nothing should be eaten. Scientifically this belief has been validated, as the circadian rhythms in the body are controlled by light. In the absence of light, these rhythms become sluggish, in the presence of light they become active. When eating during the sunlight period the whole physical system is active, able to digest and absorb the nutrients from the meals.
The kitchen used to be a place which was treated with utmost respect like a temple or an altar at home. Everything had to be clean; people with shoes were not allowed to enter the kitchen. Anybody entering the kitchen had to wash their hands and feet. The kitchen was the cleanest and purest place in the house. This indicates that it was a strict society which upheld food as an important aspect for life and specified how food had to be treated. Even now in old households there is an alla in the kitchen where the statue or picture of the deity Annapurna, Lakshmi or Devi is placed. Every morning before starting the fire, the deity or alla is worshiped.
The sleeping pattern played an important role in the life of the vedic civilization. For the first time in vedic literature the number of hours of sleep required for people has been mentioned. Scientists today specify how many hours of sleep are required by different age groups like children, youth, adults, the elderly. Similarly, vedic literature identified how much sleep was required. A range of hours was prescribed for each group like children who do not go to school, and children who go to school, people engaged in society, in their profession, workers, renunciates. There was a standardized distribution of hours required for sleep based on the idea that sleep and night time create a balance in body and nature.
At night during sleep when one is exhausted the body relaxes, the muscles relax and all the agitations of the day subside. Similarly, the activity of natural rhythms dies down and everything goes into a state of passivity at night. Not long ago, there was a tradition in India not touch any plant after sunset. Plants are sleeping after sunset, if they are touched they will wake up.
Every household had a tulsi, which is a medicinal plant. In the house where there is tulsi the air, the environment becomes pure because tulsi has anti-fungal, anti-germicidal properties, purifies the atmosphere and destroys pollutants. Tulsi represented the required purity. In the household the place of tulsi was the cleanest and the most beautifully decorated place. Every week fresh cow dung was put around the plant and designs painted on it. For every kind of therapeutic use, such as skin irritations, colds, coughs, tulsi was applied. Tulsi was the medicinal chest of the house and it would be used for each and every small and big problem.
In the vedic household, members of the family were told to have good thoughts at mealtimes as thinking affects the food and water. In the old Indian system there was a strong belief that food and water absorbed the energy of people who are around it. If a latecomer arrived at the table, fresh water which had not heard any sound or which had not interacted with human beings was served. It was believed that everything is energy, including food and water, therefore any thought or word was going to effect the food.
Another belief was that people working in the kitchen had to be happy, if they were grumpy the food would be affected. While preparing meals there should be joy, singing of kirtan and mantras or silence. During meal times, the entire focus was on eating not on gulping or swallowing but on chewing and eating. People were told to masticate the food until all the solid had disappeared. Today the focus is on fast-food and fast eating.
After the food was cooked, a portion was left for every form of life – a hand full would be left in the garden for ants and insects, a hand full on the perch for birds to come, a few rotis were taken to feed the cow. At the dining table there was always an empty place for any unknown arrival at the time of a meal. Food was considered to be important, it was nutrition and gave life.
Today people are not looking at nutrition but at taste, and because of taste they change food habits regularly. They do not eat the same food twice or thrice a week. In the previous civilizations the same diet was followed for at least one month. In that way, the body could derive the necessary nutrients and replenish the shortcoming. Today the body does not have the chance to recover what it uses, and dependency on vitamins, minerals and supplements increases as no or little nutrition is received from the diet.
Another rule was that the stomach should be filled with fifty percent solid, twenty-five with liquid and twenty-five should remain empty, filled with air. With this simple rule people in the household and community were able to digest whatever they ate. There was vitality, stamina, strength, health and a natural sanyam came into life.
If possible and if society, the family, the routine of the household accepts, change the meal timings. It is a matter of habit yet if you can gradually tweak the timing, not all of a sudden but over a period of time, and bring the meal times closer to the period between sunrise and sunset, a dramatic improvement will be seen in your health. With this change, you will feel light, have good sleep and have more time available. This change will allow you to face difficulties with confidence and grace and there will be a greater sense of physical health and wellbeing.
In vedic times the use of mantras was an integrated aspect in the daily routine of people. Mantra chanting can become part of everyone’s lifestyle. As an introduction to this practice, three times have been identified when the chanting of mantra is most beneficial. However, any time can become a moment to connect to a mantra, one’s own personal mantra or a universal mantra, such as Om.
Instead of the vedic chanting ‘karagre vasate lakshmi’ mantra chanting with three specific sankalpa can be done on waking. When one wakes up the mind is semi-awake, not fully awake. In that semi awake condition there is direct access to the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is an area of mind which absorbs a lot of the tensions and impressions from the environment and one’s response to those impressions and tensions. This area is very susceptible to influences.
Consciously when the mind is active there are barriers to defend the mind, including your logic. Unconsciously one does not have to worry as everything is unconscious. Subconsciously the faculties are neither fully active nor fully dormant but have the sensitivity to pick things up. What is picked up in the subconscious state is highlighted, for it requires a response.
If one thinks a thought in the subconscious mind and decides to do something, that thought will encourage strength, determination, motivation and drive to do what one has set out to do. If in the subconscious mind a thought can be implanted saying ‘I am happy’, then in the most trying situations one will be happy as it is the subconscious mind telling one to be happy. The conscious mind may say, ‘There is no reason to be happy’, but the subconscious mind will make one feel happy. In yoga this is called the kshetra, the area of impressions, samskaras, karmas, habits.
The modern lifestyle trains the conscious mind, the vedic lifestyle trained the subconscious mind and the training of the subconscious mind began with mantras; for them mantras had religious significance and meaning. People were seeing locations or placements of different deities in their own body. Instead of this practice mantras can be used for implanting thoughts of health, wisdom and overcoming distress in life.
Mahamrityunjaya mantra
Om tryambakamyajaamahe sugandhimpushtivardhanam.
Urvaarukamivabandhanaatmrityormuksheeyamaamritaat.
Gayatri mantra
Om bhoorbhuvahsvahtatsaviturvarenyam.
Bhargodevasyadheemahidhiyoyo nahprachodayaat.
32 names of Durga
Om durgaadurgaartishamanee durgaapadvinivaarinee.
Durgamachchhedineedurgasaadhineedurganaashinee.
Durgatoddhaarineedurganihantreedurgamaapahaa.
Durgamajnaanadaadurgadaityalokadavaanalaa.
Durgamaadurga maalokaadurgamaatmasvaroopinee.
Durgamaargapradaadurgamavidyaadurgamaashritaa.
Durgamajnaanasamsthaanaadurgamadhyaanabhaasinee.
Durgamohaadurgamagaadurgamaarthasvaroopinee.
Durgamaasurasamhantreedurgamaayudhadhaarinee.
Durgamaangeedurgamataadurgamyaadurgameshvaree.
Durgabheemaadurgabhaamaadurgabhaadurgadaarinee.
The day begins in a positive manner with the Mahamrityunjaya mantra for health, Gayatri mantra for wisdom and the 32 names of Durga for overcoming distress.
ॐ द्यौ: शान्तिरन्तरिक्षं शान्ति: पृथ्वी शान्तिराप: शान्तिरोषधय: शान्ति: वनस्पतय: शान्तिर्विश्वेदेवा: शान्तिर्ब्रह्मशान्ति: सर्वं शान्ति: शान्तिरेवशान्ति: सामाशान्तिरेधि ।। शान्ति: शान्ति: सुशान्तिर्भवतु सकलारिष्टसुशान्तिर्भवतु सर्वे ग्रहा: सुशान्तिर्भवतु ।। ॐ शान्ति: शान्ति: शान्ति: ।।
Om dyauh shaantirantarikshagvam shaantih prithvee shaantiraapah shaantiroshadhayah shaantih vanaspatayah shaantirvishvedevaah shaantirbrahma shaantih sarvagvam shaantih shaantireva shaantih saa maa shaantiredhi. Shaantih shaantih sushaantirbhavatu sakalaarishtasushaantirbhavatu sarve grahaah sushaantirbhavatu. Om shaantih shaantih shaantih
May there be peace in the heavens (celestial plane), peace in the sky (astral plane), peace on earth (physical plane), peace on water, peace among herbs, plants and trees, peace among the ten cardinal points of the planet, peace upon Brahma, peace everywhere, peace upon me, peace and peace alone. May there be peace and auspiciousness, may all the misfortunes and tribulations be pacified, may all the planets be pacified.
— Shanti Mantra of the Sama Veda
This mantra is chanted when one leaves one’s home. It is an affirmation, a sankalpa, a connection to peace, which is in the heavens, the space, herbs, aushadhi, which is visible in the moon. With this mantra one cultivates an awareness of peace and harmony before setting out for one’s day’s work and engagements. First one connects with the feeling of peace then one is ready to work, involve and participate. Today people live the opposite – as soon as they wake up the connection with stress is active. They are connected to stress all the time. Whereas with the input of mantras, the moment the eyes open one connects with three positive sankalpas and before leaving the house with peace and harmony.
The three mantras replace ‘karagre vasate lakshmi’ of the vedic area and the Shanti mantra replaces the prayers people used to do before leaving the house. They used to pray to the directions and put a tika for a successful journey. The tika of dahi, curd, was put if one had to cross water; sindoor, red, if one had to do something auspicious; black tika or kajal, if one had to do something difficult; yellow tika, if one had to study. Each tika represented the dharma one was following in life.
The tika was not an adornment for the face, it represented the vocation one was following. A student would have a yellow tika, with peela chandan, the wife and husband would have red tika as they were in charge of ruling the family; the helpers would generally put white tika of bhasma. Each person and their tika represented a particular vocation in life, an activity they were engaged in. That tika could change – according to one’s activity, one could have a different one in the morning and in the evening.
The tika was an indication of having the awareness of one’s engagement and commitment to it. In that way, a continuous direction was provided in one’s lifestyle or how one could express oneself in the best possible manner.
After the three mantra sadhana and the Shanti mantras, the third set of mantras from the Bhagavad Gita (4:24) is chanted before meals.
Om brahmaarpanam brahmahavirbrahmaagnau brahmanaa hutam;
Brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahmakarmasamaadhinaa.
Brahman is the oblation;
Brahman is the melted butter (ghee);
by Brahman is the oblation poured into the fire of Brahman;
Brahman verily shall be reached by him who always sees Brahman in action.
Before taking food, one disconnects from tensions and frustrations and connects to an awareness of offering respect and expressing gratitude for what one is experiencing and given in life.
The fourth or sadhana mantra is the guru mantra, or a universal mantra such as Om or So Ham.
It is important to compensate moments of leisure with moments of activity, and moments of activity with moments of leisure. If one is practising meditation for one hour one has to practise physical karma yoga for three hours for the pranas to become balanced, the senses to become active and for the body and mind to regain harmony.
In meditation prana is being built up and stored, therefore, after meditation one has to use that prana shakti through physical activity. When there is depletion of prana shakti due to a lot of physical activity, it is meditation which helps to replenish prana shakti.
This balance becomes part of one’s natural expression and living. The of twenty-four hours has been defined by muhurats and kaals, specifying like which period, muhurat, or kaal is good for which type of activity, which type of thought, performance and action. For example, the period between four and six in the morning is known as brahma muhurat, the time of Brahma. Similarly, from twelve to two it is nidra kaal, the time when one has the deepest sleep. Different times have been identified according to the prominent energy and activity. If one can understand the prominent energy and activity and adapt one’s routine accordingly there will be success all around.
In the past, simply by observing the time and what was happening at that time people would know whether they would be successful or not. By watching the swara, the flow of breath, when the work started they would know whether the work would succeed or be a failure. By watching the shadow, they would know whether there would be success or failure. That level of awareness was there.
Living a vedic lifestyle does not invent anything new. It is an attempt to develop that level of awareness which people had and which was lost. By bringing back into one’s life a few of those lost beliefs and customs, such as mantra, attitude towards food and a routine in harmony with nature, there will be more wellbeing, balance, contentment and happiness in the family and in society.
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