Swamiji TV

Other links



Video details

The spiritual frame of our days

A discourse on the spiritual and practical significance of the Sandhyā rituals at dawn and dusk.

"Sandhyā means connection. It refers to the juncture when the sun sets and night arrives—the joining of day and night."

"In Brahma Muhūrta, all good things happen. If you let it pass, it is not good... This is not merely a religious thing. It is for our body, our life, a lifelong healthy life."

The speaker explains the concept of Sandhyā as a sacred time for connection and prayer. He describes the balancing roles of Sūrya (sun) and Chandra (moon), and details a morning ritual involving waking at Brahma Muhūrta, cleansing with water, and offering prayers to the divine or one's guru. The talk emphasizes how aligning with these natural cycles promotes health, peace, and wakefulness, integrating this practice into daily life.

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Sandhyā means connection. It refers to the juncture when the sun sets and night arrives—the joining of day and night. In this context, it is the time before we retire when we offer prayers to Gurudeva, to Bhagavān, to whichever divine figure, parent, or guide we hold dear, according to our faith or religion. At that moment of prayer, you connect; you become one with that unity. This act of Sandhyā is profoundly important. Throughout the day, we are with Sūrya Nārāyaṇa. This Sūrya Nārāyaṇa is for everyone—not just one person or one village. It is for all: humans, all creatures, the entire vegetation, the oceans, rivers, and all water. Everything is contained within this oneness. That is why we say Bhagavān Sūrya Nārāyaṇa. Sūrya is the sun, and Nārāyaṇa is Viṣṇu. This Sūrya, this Nārāyaṇa, is present in our entire life. All light, all prāṇa comes from the sun. Without the sun, we would perish—our skin, our bodies, our trees, everything. Then the moon rises. The moon is beautiful and very cooling. It is said that when the moon appears, sweetness enters our bodies and permeates all fruits and everywhere else. It provides balance. The light of the moon balances our entire vegetation, and this change is necessary. What a night it is! Even all the creatures look at the moon when it shines. They wish to go there, but no creature can reach it. In the heat, then in the winter, observe the beauty. It is so beautiful for all the flowers and bees; there is a beauty in the night. All animals feel free and pleasant; they have enough to eat and drink, everything is in order. And when that same light appears, everyone gazes at it. What a great light. We also call it Chandra, Bhagavān Chandra. Sūrya Nārāyaṇa and Chandra are a great pair; these two balance our bodies, all our hormones, our entire physical being, everything within us, and also the trees. Therefore, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa said, "The moon brings the sweetness." So at night we are... sleeping, or we are gazing there: beautiful, silent. The whole night should be peaceful and silent. Go to the forest, or to the mountains somewhere, and hear the bees—how beautiful. Then there are some creatures turning and talking. Yes, that is life. The sun and moon are our right and left hands. In the early morning is Brahma Muhūrta, the time of Brahman. At that time, we automatically wake up. Our sleep ends, and we open our eyes. We turn left and right. It is like when a child awakens from sleep and the mother immediately takes him into her lap. And so we all, from that beautiful night, now we wake up. Wake up, wake up. Those who cannot wake up before sunrise will wish for many things and lose something. So at that time we should rise. Jal Jagadīśa—water is God. We need a lot of water. We come and touch water with our hands. We need water, and when we first touch it, we bring it to our face. We close our eyes, clean our face, clean our mouth, and at least wash our hands and arms completely with water like this. Yes, cold water. And if it is too cold, it will warm you. So with water, washing the whole arms and the whole face, you will suddenly feel energy awaken within you. Then you can go and offer a praṇāma. Generally, one goes to bathe and change clothes, then proceeds to the altar—to your guru, your God, your religion's figure, your beliefs, your father, your mother. You should speak to them. Offer a prayer. It may not be very long, but still: Om Guru Brahma, Guru Viṣṇu, Guru Devo Maheśvara, Guru Sākṣāt Parabrahma, Tasmai Śrī Guruve Namaḥ. Dhyāna Mūlam Guru Mūrtiḥ, Pūjā Mūlam Guru Pādam, Mantra Mūlam Guru Vākyaṁ, Mokṣa Mūlam Guru Kṛpā. Then we are fully awakened. It doesn't need to be more than this mantra. When you chant it like this, you become fully awake and alert. And so, what happens? The sun's light comes. We can see a beautiful light approaching. You see this wonderful morning light. And we observe, oh, beautiful, it is Brahmā's time. And not only we, but all animals, all birds, all wake up. When the sun rises, every bird, all animals, all leaves and flowers awaken again. The lotus flower goes to sleep when the sun sets, and before sunrise, it awakens again. This is what the vegetation does. Why can humans not do the same? There is a beautiful, nice song: "Ut jag viśvam bhor bhai, avren kato sovat." It is sung by school children once or twice a year. All children should get up early and come to the ashram before sunrise. With their masters and teachers, they all walk through the city or village. Beautiful, beautiful. But the birds and many other animals—how nicely they sing every day! In November, December, and after, when birds... That is automatically from this Sūrya Nārāyaṇa. So, early in the morning, wash yourself and then do whatever you like—good things, prayers, anything. You know, a mother looks at her child's face and says, "Wake up, my little light," and the child opens its eyes. Then there is a beautiful play between the little child and the mother. The father is also there, but more so the mother. What a beautiful play between mother and child, and between father, mother, and child. Humans, many tree birds in the nest go and talk. All the deer and other animals with their young all come together. Oh human, wake up, understand. Chant your mantra, make your prayers, and you can sing a kind of poem or bhajan or something. One can sing a bhajan, say a song, anything: Śrī Rām Jai Rām Jai Jai Rām, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Hari, Jai Kṛṣṇa Hari, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Hari... Hari is Bhagavān, Śiva, Kṛṣṇa—Śiva as well. Early in the morning, we take water on the body. We wash our body with water. Har Har Gaṅgā, Har Har Gaṅgā, Har Har Gaṅgā. Gaṅgā māyā, jal māyā, param māyā. Hey mother, hey water, oh mother Gaṅgā. It awakens in humans. It awakens energy. Then comes sunrise. Then we take water in our hands and playfully offer it. We can do that to the Tulasī plant, or in the Gaṅgā, or wherever you are. So we offer, after cleaning ourselves, we praise water and then offer it. It has significance in life. And you will see that many, many diseases will not come to us. This is not merely a religious thing. It is for our body, our life, a lifelong healthy life, a peaceful life, a friendly life, a great life—everything. So this is not about saying, "Oh, this religion, that religion." But most people, most people believe in God. And therefore, they also make offerings to the gods. That is holy water. I went to church two or three times. On the right side, there is a little container with water. I thought it was for the birds, but elderly women were going and taking this water. They might put it to their mouth or something, but it is there. We are like that. Therefore, life is life. In Brahma Muhūrta, all good things happen. If you let it pass, it is not good. Now, there are some parts of the world in summer where sunrise and sunset are only an hour apart. So, what should we do? There, we have to manage ourselves. So our sleeping—when we close our eyes, it is already night. And we open our eyes, and it is the sun. This is about our health. It is about health. And so, morning prayer is also important. Make light. Because of sunrise, we act before the sun. We make the sunlight. Then, what do we do? We use some kind of nice fragrance, like incense or Agarbattī. For what? To have a good smell, because we were sleeping in the house, and all night we were... and many people say, "I cannot sleep, I must open my window," even if it is very cold, because they need fresh air. And why? So that before sunrise, you will wake up. Some people close everything and cover their mouths, and they sleep like that even when it is day; for them, it is still night. That is called laziness, and that is why there is satsaṅg. Śubha Anuśam. So our Gurudeva Bhagavān Swāmī Mādhāvanjī Bhagavān said, and it is said, that even the birds and animals are singing, so why can we not? These are great things. I wish you all the best. This was regarding the evening and morning, which will come again. So, my dear ones, it is great, great, great. So, make the mantra. After making a prayer, you speak something, and maybe you have eaten before or you will eat after. Then wash your hands and so on. Speak with your family. Then make at least one mālā, and then sleep. Or, make your prayers in the evening, washing and everything, then make one mālā. If you cannot sing, you can... So that is it. God also has the circulation of time, and we are part of that same cycle. It is said that this practice is truly a protection against many illnesses. It is said that it is really a protection against many diseases.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

Email Notifications

You are welcome to subscribe to the Swamiji.tv Live Webcast announcements.

Contact Us

If you have any comments or technical problems with swamiji.tv website, please send us an email.

Download App

YouTube Channel