Praying only to Shiva?

**saidevo** · 16 November 2010, 07:49 AM

namaste Alice.

Prayer--prArthana, is of three kinds:

• As the very terms prayer and prArthana indicate, prayer is a request for fulfilment of a wish/desire. Such prayer is for iShTa-kAmyArtha.

• As our personal wishes are getting more and more fulfilled, we start thinking about others and pray for their welfare. This is prayer for loka-kShemArtha--welfare of the world.

• When our heart is thus expanding with love, we get an ardent desire to experience the universality of the Self in jIvas--souls. Then we pray for AtmArtha--for increased awareness of the Self.

Every Hindu has an iShTa-devata--preferred deity, which is supreme over other deities. However, wise Hindus know that all Godforms are of only Brahman, so he/she should do-stotra--adore, all deities. A Hindu might belong to an exclusive religious sect like Shaivism, VaiShNavism, ShAktism and so on, but most Hindus pray to all deities, cutting across sectoral barriers. The SmArtha sampradAya--tradition, established by Adi Shankara BhagavadpAda, is a convenient atmosphere that gives a Hindu the wisdom to pray to all Gods, chiefly six: Shiva, ViShNu, Shakti, GaNesha, SUrya and Shanmukha. My suggestion for new Western Hindus to follow this sampradAya, as the temples abroad house all deities.

• If we have the wisdom to pray for others, seeking fulfilment of personal wishes, that is, kAmyArtha prArthana, is neither undesirable nor degrading.

• When we do prArthana for loka-kShemam--welfare of the world, our prayers will more and more become storas--eulogies, on God. After all, saguNa-mUrtis--personal Godforms, are running the affairs of the world, so why not adore them?

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If you just browse these two wonderful books by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, you will have more than a good idea about the hieararchy of GaNesha, KArthikeya and Shiva:

Loving Ganesha, Hinduism's Endearing Elephant-Faced God
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/lg/

Merging with Siva, Hinduism's Contemporary Metaphysics
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/mws/

As to why GaNesha is worshipped first, check:
KAnchi ParamAchArya satsangham
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=5821

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Some simple prayers to GaNesha and Shiva:
You can pray to GaNesha with these simple, general shlokas:

vakra-tuNDa mahA-kAya koTi-sUrya-sama-prabha |
nirvighnaM kuru me deva sarva-kAryeShu sarvadA ||

Hey bhagavAn--God, with a curved trunk--vakra-tuNDa, and a huge body--mahA-kAya,
who shines like--sama-prabha, a crore suns--koTi-sUrya!

Make all my acts and efforts--sarva-kAryeShu, always--sarvada,
be without hurdles or obstacles--nirvighnaM.

Audio link:
http://www.chalo.net/music/video/_ll..._Mahakaya.html

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gajAnanaM bhUtagaNAdi sevitaM
kapittha jaMbU phalasAra bhakShitaM |
umAsutaM shokavinAsha kAraNaM
namAmi vighneshvara pAda pangkajam ||

He has the face of an elephant--gajAnanaM.
He is worshipped--sevitaM, by all beings--bhUta, and is the head of God Shiva's army of gaNas.
He eats the essence--sAra, of wood-apple--kapittha, and rose-apple--jaMbU fruits.
He is the son--suta, of Goddess UmA.
He removes hurdles and sorrows--vighnas.
Let me offer my prostrations--namaskAram, at God Vigneshvara's lotus feet--pAda pangkajam.

Audio link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z47yQ0wi-4

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And here is a great kShama-prArthana--prayer seeking pardon for inadvertent commissions and omissions, to God Shiva:

kara-charaNa kRutaM vAk-kAyajaM karmajaM vA |
shravaNa-nayanajaM vA mAnasaM vA-parAdhaM |
vihitam-avihitaM vA sarvaM-etat-kShamasva |
jaya jaya karuNAbdhe shrI-mahAdeva shambho ||

O God MahAdeva, who is always victorious--jaya-jaya, happy,
and is an ocean of mercy--karuNAbdhe!

Forgive all my faults and wrong deeds--aparAdhaM, done through my hands--kara,
feet--charaNa, speech--vAk, body--kAya, action--karma, ears--shravaNa,
eyes--nayana, and mind--mAnasa.

Audio link:
http://www.hummaa.com/music/song/Kar...kam%5D/127856#

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**saidevo** · 16 November 2010, 08:01 AM

namaste Jasdir.

Originally Posted by jasdir

So, Saidevo ji, I have one Q: for you, have you ever practiced "Praynayams" ? Or are you in PURE DEVOTIONAL exersise ?

Although I have some experience in prANAyAma and dhyAna--meditation, all that I do by such sAdhana is through my morning sandhya-vandana. Other than what little I do by way of svakarmAnuShThAna--personal religious rigours, I perform some occasional pujas.

There is an intimate connection between prANa--vital force/breath, and chanting mantra. For example, the gAyatrI mantra, chanted with sincerity, gives all the benefits of doing prANAyAma. Moreover, while prANAyAma is only a preliminary part of meditation, gAyatrI mantra can be a full-fledged meditation by itself. Thus, I spend most of my spare time mentally chanting the gAyatrI.

**Sahasranama** · 16 November 2010, 11:35 AM

Namaste Saidevo,

Do you only do morning Sandhya? What do you think of the idea of trikala Sandhya, is it practical for someone living in the west?

**saidevo** · 16 November 2010, 09:44 PM

namaste Sahasranama.

Originally Posted by Sahasranama

Do you only do morning Sandhya? What do you think of the idea of trikala Sandhya, is it practical for someone living in the west?

It is difficult to make a good habit as it is to break a bad one. Since I have not done any daily sandhyA-vandanam at all (doing it only at festival times) during my college and office days, I find it difficult to acquire the good habit of doing it trikAla--three times, sandhyA-vandanam, so I rest satisfied with doing only the prAtaH--morning, now. Further, a respected elderly man known to us, who is a devotee of KAnchi ParamAchArya, told me even if a brahmin skips sandhya, he should chant the gAyatrI mantra for at least 108 counts a day.

Most brahmins here just go through the motion of trikAla sandhyA-vandanam, using their own brief versions of it, finishing it in just five minutes. My mind would not accept such a practice, so I do it in full with shraddha--sincereity, with a minimum of ten prANAyamas and 20 gAyatrI mantras, although it takes nearly a half hour. Similarly, I can chant only five gAyatrIs in a minute, doing it the proper way, so it takes me around 22 minutes to chant 108 counts of the mantra.

As for doing the trikAla-sandhya in a western country, I think it depends on the climatic conditions and personal will. KAnchi ParamAchArya advised that if one can't do the mAdhyAniham--afternoon sandhyA, at midnoon, one might do it along with his morning sandhyA. In some industrial houses like the TVS, I was told, they let the brahmin employees to take the recess at the appointed times for doing sandhyA.

One thing is almost certain. If the practice of doing sandhyA-vandanam is not acquired in early age, it would be very difficult to get into the habit after crossing 50 years of age, specially when a man is more interested in study and vichAraNam--spiritual inquiry.