Hari Aum.
I thought I would share some practical advice on how to complete a purascharana based on my experience of having completed a few so far. This advice is especially intended for people who want to do a purascharana while juggling various commitments such as career, family and so on.
I will discuss some common obstacles that stop people from completing a purascharana and then suggest some possible solutions. I am myself a student on the spiritual path but I have some experience that may be of help to you. I am therefore sharing this in the hope that this may help you complete your purascharana and move towards the attainment of God.
Note- this article is about providing solutions to overcome some common obstacles in completing purascharana. For the specifics of how to do a purascharana, please see the article dated November 6, 2015 (link below).
http://mantrayoga.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/how-to-perform-purascharana-simple.html
Obstacle 1: The mind says it is too big a task
Solution: Break it down in to smaller goals and celebrate when you complete each one
A purascharana is an extended mantra practice which typically requires several hundred-thousand recitations of a mantra. The mind may be daunted by the number of recitations. What is the solution?
Beak down the purascharana mentally in to smaller goals. If your target is five lakhs of the panchakshara mantra of Shiva, break it down into five portions of one lakh each in your mind.
After each lakh, enjoy the achievement, thank God and continue. See the purascharana as having different stages. Each time you complete one stage (e.g. 25 %, 50 %, 75%), do something to celebrate your success so far. This will help stay motivated to complete the sadhana and complete 100% of the purascharana.
Obstacle 2: The mind says there are too many rules
Solution: Be realistic, bend the rules where needed, but never abandon the japa
It is true that there are some traditional rules to be followed when doing purascharana. However, rules are meant to support the practice, not to destroy it. A purascharana should not collapse simply because one cannot precisely follow every rule.
For example, it is advised that one should bathe three times a day when doing purascharana. My Guru says that it is enough to wash one's face, hands and feet and sit for japa if one cannot bathe. Obviously a busy mother who has to care for her children and also do a job, may not be able to bathe three times a day! It is perfectly reasonable in these circumstances to bathe once a day to maintain basic hygiene.
Equally one may not be able to eat freshly prepared sattvic vegetarian food daily. This is especially true for people living in the West where there is limited domestic help. One is one's own cook, driver, cleaner and everything rolled into one (Sivananda says this is a good thing as one should be independent and not rely on servants!). In these circumstances, one may have to eat food cooked the previous day from the fridge. While this may not be the traditional way, it may be the only practical solution. One has to be realistic about one's external circumstances when doing purascharana and not get overly bogged down by rules.
As my Guru Sivananda says, "Use your common sense always". All worries about rules etc, will vanish when one reminds oneself that the purest thing in the world is the name of God. It makes the unclean into clean and the unholy into holy.
If one is tired, unwell, sick or weak, one can bend all rules and do the japa alone. If one feels too weak to sit and do japa, one may lie down and do japa. If one feels too ill to even brush one's teeth one day before doing japa, one can sit up in bed without doing so, and do japa.
Every rule can be abandoned if necessary, but the japa should never be abandoned under any circumstances.
If one has to choose between keeping the rule and doing the japa, one should always choose the japa over the rule. The rule is to support the japa, not break it.
Note- my Guru says that those who do purascharana with worldly goals in mind (more money, career etc) will have to follow every rule. However, he says those who do purascharana simply to please God and attain His grace, should focus more on doing the japa with devotion and worry less about external rules (though one should of course keep these where possible).
In summary, one should emphasise the spirit rather than the letter of the rules in purascharana if one is doing this for spiritual attainment.
Obstacle 3: Trying to do too much japa daily
Solution: Be practical, commit to a small amount but do it every day until completion
Many people make big commitments of daily japa to do purascharana and give up after a few weeks or months. This is a mistake. It is better to do a smaller amount with regularity every day for years, than do a lot for a few weeks and then stop completely.
If one has family and work commitments, one has to be realistic about how much seated japa can be done. One may be able to commit 30 minutes or one hour only per day. This may mean that the purascharana takes 1-2 years or more. This is absolutely fine. The important thing is to complete the practice somehow, even if it takes a few years.
The key is to do the same amount every day - not less, not more. This will help develop a habit. Once the daily habit of japa is there, it becomes much easier to complete the purascharana.
Obstacle 4: Fear of God
Solution: Understand that God is love
Some people are afraid that God may become angry if they make some mistake in their practice, do not stick to every external rule, if they give up the purascharana etc. Instead of risking incurring the wrath of God by not doing the purascharana perfectly, they feel it is better not to start at all.
This fear is completely unnecessary and is simply the mind's way of creating obstacles in one's spiritual path.
God is love, He/She is compassionate and our nearest relative and friend. Would our earthly mothers become angry if we start making them a present and give up half way? Obviously not. Then why should the Divine Mother and Divine Father, who are the source of all love in earthly parents, be angry if we stop our spiritual practice?
Nobody will be angry if we give up sadhana. The only thing that will happen, is that we will lose the protection we get from the mantra. The mantra protects our mind from vicious, undivine thoughts and raises our consciousness to a pure level. It destroys our past negative karma and creates new positive karma, it helps us rise above all karma into the realm of the divine.
If we stop our sadhana, the only thing that will happen is that we will lose out on something precious. We will become vulnerable to undivine thoughts (anger, lust, greed etc) and may do evil actions/negative karma and thus create unnecessary suffering for ourselves. We will create delay in attainment of spiritual peace, bliss and immortality.
But nobody will be angry. Especially not God. He/She may feel compassion and pity for us, that we are foolish enough not to see the damage we cause ourselves by stopping sadhana. But there will be no anger. Let us understand this well.
Obstacle 5: Impatience for results
Solution: Learn to manage the mind, remember that good things come to those who wait
The mind wants to see immediate results. We all experience this. We want some fantastic spiritual experience soon after doing a little sadhana. The mind becomes frustrated if this does not happen and wants to give up the sadhana.
However, good things come to those who wait.
Based on my experience, I can say that doing purascharana has made me kinder, more compassionate, more aware of my faults, more sensitive to the suffering of other living beings. Of course I still have a long way to go to purify my mind but some improvement has happened as a result of my sadhana. This is very valuable. Only a pure mind can meditate and realise God.
This internal purification is more valuable than some siddhis like flying in the air, clairvoyance etc that only serve to fatten the ego. I am happy to say that I do not have any such siddhis. Nor do I want them. I pray to God that I may have enough sense to ask for Him alone and not for any siddhis- because He alone is worth having, nothing else. This is the approach advised by my Guru.
So one needs to learn patience on this path. It is not easy. I become frustrated at times myself. But I have learned to manage my frustration and continue the purascharana practice. I am grateful to God for this.
It is also worth remembering- every recitation of the name of God produces a result. It may be invisible but it is there. It has an auspicious effect even if our mind cannot immediately see it.
Obstacle 6: Poor time management, inability to finish the day's japa
Solution: Start the day with japa. Aim to complete more than 50% of the day's quota in this session
I have two sessions of japa per day. This is realistic given my circumstances.
I have a morning session and an evening session. The morning session is before breakfast. Whatever time I wake up, whether early or late, I start the day with this. During the morning session, I complete more than 50% of my day's japa. This puts me in a relaxed frame of mind as I know I will be able to easily complete the rest in the evening. I am also more fresh in the morning so like to do most of the japa then- in the evening before sleeping, I am more tired and do a shorter session.
On days when I do not start with japa, I am more likely to fail in completing the japa for that day. Therefore I have formed the habit of having a morning japa session before breakfast. This may take place at different times as I wake up later at the weekends, and earlier on working days. But in general, I never have breakfast until I have done my morning japa session.
Also, if you have a busy life, aim to complete your japa in 1-2 sessions during the day. Unless you are a full-time japa yogi with no other commitments, it is very unlikely that you will be able to sit 3-4 times daily. So calculate how much japa to do in 1-2 sessions to be able to finish the daily quota.
If you are unable to complete the full day's japa, note down how much was not done and try to catch up (do the extra) in the coming days to make up the deficit.
Obstacle 7: No clear goal for completion of purascharana
Solution: Have a clear completion date for purascharana
Before starting the purascharana, clearly write down your intended finish date. Calculate this by working out how much japa you can do per day, your intended start date and how many days you need to finish the purascharana.
I use a website (see link below) to help me with this. I enter the start date of my purascharana on the website and add the number of days I need to finish- the website then tells me the end date. I write this down in my mantra japa diary.
https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html
Once I decide an end date for purascharana, I try to stick to this at all costs. If I am sick, or there are some unavoidable circumstances, and for example, I can only do 7 malas that day instead of the usual 11, I note this down in my mantra diary and catch up by doing extra 4 malas on another day. (However, in general, I do the same number of malas every day). But I do not extend the date of completion - this remains fixed. This helps me to stay focused and continue the japa steadily every day.
Obstacle 8: Not keeping proper count of japa
Solution: Keep a separate diary for purascharana
I keep a special notebook only to record the mantra done every day during purascharana. Looking at my diary, I can easily see how many malas were done daily since I started. After every 2 lakhs, I draw a line under the date of completion, and write down how much has been done, and how much japa is still to be done. The diary is a valuable visual aid that shows me my progress towards completion of purascharana. It is an exact record of how much japa I have done daily. My Guru Sivananda advised this and I find this very useful in keeping motivated in my sadhana.
Obstacle 9: No fun and relaxation in life, too much discipline
Solution: Take rest, do some hobbies, let your hair down from time to time
Purascharana is a discipline. It can take years to complete. It takes significant mental adjustment and planning. While japa may be enjoyable at times, on other occasions, it may feel like hard work. It takes effort to discipline the mind and to sit every day to do this practice.
To stay motivated in the path of discpline, it is important to have some relaxation and enjoyment in life. It is good to spend time with family and friends (in a sattvic way), do a hobby, go out in nature, watch a good movie or do something to let your hair down occasionally.
Being very tough with oneself all the time, will lead to mental rebellion as the mind will say it has had enough of discipline. I go out for walks in nature, watch some movies occasionally, spend time with family relaxing and ensure I keep a sense of balance between discipline and fun in my life. This helps me stay balanced and continue my daily purascharana practice.
Note- it may sound strange to say 'have fun' along with being disciplined. After all, in spiritual books, one reads about yogis doing terrible tapas like standing on one leg for years, living on mere air and doing nothing but sadhana.
But one has to be very realistic in spiritual life. Even great yogis like Yajnavalkya and Vishwamitra were overcome by flaws like anger and lust, other great yogis like Bharata became attached to a deer. Even the ancient yogis had to overcome the same flaws that you and I have to overcome.
It is no use building castles in the air and dreaming about tapas. The only tapas that matters is what we actually do, not what we dream about doing.
If having some fun in life, means one will do sadhana daily, then one should have some fun in life (sattvic fun obviously!)- this is to be seen as an investment in sadhana, as an aid to spiritual practice (not as an obstacle).
Obstacle 10: Lack of sleep, poor diet, poor health
Solution: Sleep enough, eat healthy food, exercise and take care of the body
Health is wealth. My Guru Sivananda says: "If wealth is lost, nothing is lost. If health is lost, something is lost. If character is lost, everything is lost."
A physically healthy body is a great help in doing sadhana. Having a sick body that is in pain will make it difficult for the mind to concentrate on the mantra. Taking care of one's health is an important duty for every sincere spiritual aspirant.
One should get enough sleep (6-8 hours per day depending on the individual), eat healthy sattvic vegetarian food, and do some exercise at least 3 times a week. Along with this, one can do a little asana and pranayama as able for health.
In the name of being detached, some spiritual seekers disregard the health of their body, and refuse to take care of it, saying they leave this in the hands of God. This is extremely foolish according to my Guru.
He says that self-effort is needed to obtain the grace of God. The human body is a precious instrument given for the purpose of sadhana and God-realisation. The Gurus say that one gets a human birth only after countless births in other species and it is a great gift from God. It is the one birth in which the door to God realisation is open.
One should therefore avoid foolish habits that destroy the body (such as over-eating, smoking, drinking alcohol, using recreational drugs etc) and take good care of one's health to ensure maximum sadhana in this lifetime.
Final advice:
Only one thing ultimately matters in purascharana, i.e. daily practice of mantra japa. This alone will grant everything else that one may lack, be it devotion, discipline, ability to follow other rules etc.
Daily japa without break is the one and only rule that really matters. All other rules are dependent on time, place and circumstances.
My final advice therefore is- be fearless, trust in God and in yourself, and proceed with determination on the path of purascharana, the path of success in spiritual life.
May God and Guru bless us all with spiritual peace, wisdom and bliss.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
I thought I would share some practical advice on how to complete a purascharana based on my experience of having completed a few so far. This advice is especially intended for people who want to do a purascharana while juggling various commitments such as career, family and so on.
I will discuss some common obstacles that stop people from completing a purascharana and then suggest some possible solutions. I am myself a student on the spiritual path but I have some experience that may be of help to you. I am therefore sharing this in the hope that this may help you complete your purascharana and move towards the attainment of God.
Note- this article is about providing solutions to overcome some common obstacles in completing purascharana. For the specifics of how to do a purascharana, please see the article dated November 6, 2015 (link below).
http://mantrayoga.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/how-to-perform-purascharana-simple.html
Obstacle 1: The mind says it is too big a task
Solution: Break it down in to smaller goals and celebrate when you complete each one
A purascharana is an extended mantra practice which typically requires several hundred-thousand recitations of a mantra. The mind may be daunted by the number of recitations. What is the solution?
Beak down the purascharana mentally in to smaller goals. If your target is five lakhs of the panchakshara mantra of Shiva, break it down into five portions of one lakh each in your mind.
After each lakh, enjoy the achievement, thank God and continue. See the purascharana as having different stages. Each time you complete one stage (e.g. 25 %, 50 %, 75%), do something to celebrate your success so far. This will help stay motivated to complete the sadhana and complete 100% of the purascharana.
Obstacle 2: The mind says there are too many rules
Solution: Be realistic, bend the rules where needed, but never abandon the japa
It is true that there are some traditional rules to be followed when doing purascharana. However, rules are meant to support the practice, not to destroy it. A purascharana should not collapse simply because one cannot precisely follow every rule.
For example, it is advised that one should bathe three times a day when doing purascharana. My Guru says that it is enough to wash one's face, hands and feet and sit for japa if one cannot bathe. Obviously a busy mother who has to care for her children and also do a job, may not be able to bathe three times a day! It is perfectly reasonable in these circumstances to bathe once a day to maintain basic hygiene.
Equally one may not be able to eat freshly prepared sattvic vegetarian food daily. This is especially true for people living in the West where there is limited domestic help. One is one's own cook, driver, cleaner and everything rolled into one (Sivananda says this is a good thing as one should be independent and not rely on servants!). In these circumstances, one may have to eat food cooked the previous day from the fridge. While this may not be the traditional way, it may be the only practical solution. One has to be realistic about one's external circumstances when doing purascharana and not get overly bogged down by rules.
As my Guru Sivananda says, "Use your common sense always". All worries about rules etc, will vanish when one reminds oneself that the purest thing in the world is the name of God. It makes the unclean into clean and the unholy into holy.
If one is tired, unwell, sick or weak, one can bend all rules and do the japa alone. If one feels too weak to sit and do japa, one may lie down and do japa. If one feels too ill to even brush one's teeth one day before doing japa, one can sit up in bed without doing so, and do japa.
Every rule can be abandoned if necessary, but the japa should never be abandoned under any circumstances.
If one has to choose between keeping the rule and doing the japa, one should always choose the japa over the rule. The rule is to support the japa, not break it.
Note- my Guru says that those who do purascharana with worldly goals in mind (more money, career etc) will have to follow every rule. However, he says those who do purascharana simply to please God and attain His grace, should focus more on doing the japa with devotion and worry less about external rules (though one should of course keep these where possible).
In summary, one should emphasise the spirit rather than the letter of the rules in purascharana if one is doing this for spiritual attainment.
Obstacle 3: Trying to do too much japa daily
Solution: Be practical, commit to a small amount but do it every day until completion
Many people make big commitments of daily japa to do purascharana and give up after a few weeks or months. This is a mistake. It is better to do a smaller amount with regularity every day for years, than do a lot for a few weeks and then stop completely.
If one has family and work commitments, one has to be realistic about how much seated japa can be done. One may be able to commit 30 minutes or one hour only per day. This may mean that the purascharana takes 1-2 years or more. This is absolutely fine. The important thing is to complete the practice somehow, even if it takes a few years.
The key is to do the same amount every day - not less, not more. This will help develop a habit. Once the daily habit of japa is there, it becomes much easier to complete the purascharana.
Obstacle 4: Fear of God
Solution: Understand that God is love
Some people are afraid that God may become angry if they make some mistake in their practice, do not stick to every external rule, if they give up the purascharana etc. Instead of risking incurring the wrath of God by not doing the purascharana perfectly, they feel it is better not to start at all.
This fear is completely unnecessary and is simply the mind's way of creating obstacles in one's spiritual path.
God is love, He/She is compassionate and our nearest relative and friend. Would our earthly mothers become angry if we start making them a present and give up half way? Obviously not. Then why should the Divine Mother and Divine Father, who are the source of all love in earthly parents, be angry if we stop our spiritual practice?
Nobody will be angry if we give up sadhana. The only thing that will happen, is that we will lose the protection we get from the mantra. The mantra protects our mind from vicious, undivine thoughts and raises our consciousness to a pure level. It destroys our past negative karma and creates new positive karma, it helps us rise above all karma into the realm of the divine.
If we stop our sadhana, the only thing that will happen is that we will lose out on something precious. We will become vulnerable to undivine thoughts (anger, lust, greed etc) and may do evil actions/negative karma and thus create unnecessary suffering for ourselves. We will create delay in attainment of spiritual peace, bliss and immortality.
But nobody will be angry. Especially not God. He/She may feel compassion and pity for us, that we are foolish enough not to see the damage we cause ourselves by stopping sadhana. But there will be no anger. Let us understand this well.
Obstacle 5: Impatience for results
Solution: Learn to manage the mind, remember that good things come to those who wait
The mind wants to see immediate results. We all experience this. We want some fantastic spiritual experience soon after doing a little sadhana. The mind becomes frustrated if this does not happen and wants to give up the sadhana.
However, good things come to those who wait.
Based on my experience, I can say that doing purascharana has made me kinder, more compassionate, more aware of my faults, more sensitive to the suffering of other living beings. Of course I still have a long way to go to purify my mind but some improvement has happened as a result of my sadhana. This is very valuable. Only a pure mind can meditate and realise God.
This internal purification is more valuable than some siddhis like flying in the air, clairvoyance etc that only serve to fatten the ego. I am happy to say that I do not have any such siddhis. Nor do I want them. I pray to God that I may have enough sense to ask for Him alone and not for any siddhis- because He alone is worth having, nothing else. This is the approach advised by my Guru.
So one needs to learn patience on this path. It is not easy. I become frustrated at times myself. But I have learned to manage my frustration and continue the purascharana practice. I am grateful to God for this.
It is also worth remembering- every recitation of the name of God produces a result. It may be invisible but it is there. It has an auspicious effect even if our mind cannot immediately see it.
Obstacle 6: Poor time management, inability to finish the day's japa
Solution: Start the day with japa. Aim to complete more than 50% of the day's quota in this session
I have two sessions of japa per day. This is realistic given my circumstances.
I have a morning session and an evening session. The morning session is before breakfast. Whatever time I wake up, whether early or late, I start the day with this. During the morning session, I complete more than 50% of my day's japa. This puts me in a relaxed frame of mind as I know I will be able to easily complete the rest in the evening. I am also more fresh in the morning so like to do most of the japa then- in the evening before sleeping, I am more tired and do a shorter session.
On days when I do not start with japa, I am more likely to fail in completing the japa for that day. Therefore I have formed the habit of having a morning japa session before breakfast. This may take place at different times as I wake up later at the weekends, and earlier on working days. But in general, I never have breakfast until I have done my morning japa session.
Also, if you have a busy life, aim to complete your japa in 1-2 sessions during the day. Unless you are a full-time japa yogi with no other commitments, it is very unlikely that you will be able to sit 3-4 times daily. So calculate how much japa to do in 1-2 sessions to be able to finish the daily quota.
If you are unable to complete the full day's japa, note down how much was not done and try to catch up (do the extra) in the coming days to make up the deficit.
Obstacle 7: No clear goal for completion of purascharana
Solution: Have a clear completion date for purascharana
Before starting the purascharana, clearly write down your intended finish date. Calculate this by working out how much japa you can do per day, your intended start date and how many days you need to finish the purascharana.
I use a website (see link below) to help me with this. I enter the start date of my purascharana on the website and add the number of days I need to finish- the website then tells me the end date. I write this down in my mantra japa diary.
https://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html
Once I decide an end date for purascharana, I try to stick to this at all costs. If I am sick, or there are some unavoidable circumstances, and for example, I can only do 7 malas that day instead of the usual 11, I note this down in my mantra diary and catch up by doing extra 4 malas on another day. (However, in general, I do the same number of malas every day). But I do not extend the date of completion - this remains fixed. This helps me to stay focused and continue the japa steadily every day.
Obstacle 8: Not keeping proper count of japa
Solution: Keep a separate diary for purascharana
I keep a special notebook only to record the mantra done every day during purascharana. Looking at my diary, I can easily see how many malas were done daily since I started. After every 2 lakhs, I draw a line under the date of completion, and write down how much has been done, and how much japa is still to be done. The diary is a valuable visual aid that shows me my progress towards completion of purascharana. It is an exact record of how much japa I have done daily. My Guru Sivananda advised this and I find this very useful in keeping motivated in my sadhana.
Obstacle 9: No fun and relaxation in life, too much discipline
Solution: Take rest, do some hobbies, let your hair down from time to time
Purascharana is a discipline. It can take years to complete. It takes significant mental adjustment and planning. While japa may be enjoyable at times, on other occasions, it may feel like hard work. It takes effort to discipline the mind and to sit every day to do this practice.
To stay motivated in the path of discpline, it is important to have some relaxation and enjoyment in life. It is good to spend time with family and friends (in a sattvic way), do a hobby, go out in nature, watch a good movie or do something to let your hair down occasionally.
Being very tough with oneself all the time, will lead to mental rebellion as the mind will say it has had enough of discipline. I go out for walks in nature, watch some movies occasionally, spend time with family relaxing and ensure I keep a sense of balance between discipline and fun in my life. This helps me stay balanced and continue my daily purascharana practice.
Note- it may sound strange to say 'have fun' along with being disciplined. After all, in spiritual books, one reads about yogis doing terrible tapas like standing on one leg for years, living on mere air and doing nothing but sadhana.
But one has to be very realistic in spiritual life. Even great yogis like Yajnavalkya and Vishwamitra were overcome by flaws like anger and lust, other great yogis like Bharata became attached to a deer. Even the ancient yogis had to overcome the same flaws that you and I have to overcome.
It is no use building castles in the air and dreaming about tapas. The only tapas that matters is what we actually do, not what we dream about doing.
If having some fun in life, means one will do sadhana daily, then one should have some fun in life (sattvic fun obviously!)- this is to be seen as an investment in sadhana, as an aid to spiritual practice (not as an obstacle).
Obstacle 10: Lack of sleep, poor diet, poor health
Solution: Sleep enough, eat healthy food, exercise and take care of the body
Health is wealth. My Guru Sivananda says: "If wealth is lost, nothing is lost. If health is lost, something is lost. If character is lost, everything is lost."
A physically healthy body is a great help in doing sadhana. Having a sick body that is in pain will make it difficult for the mind to concentrate on the mantra. Taking care of one's health is an important duty for every sincere spiritual aspirant.
One should get enough sleep (6-8 hours per day depending on the individual), eat healthy sattvic vegetarian food, and do some exercise at least 3 times a week. Along with this, one can do a little asana and pranayama as able for health.
In the name of being detached, some spiritual seekers disregard the health of their body, and refuse to take care of it, saying they leave this in the hands of God. This is extremely foolish according to my Guru.
He says that self-effort is needed to obtain the grace of God. The human body is a precious instrument given for the purpose of sadhana and God-realisation. The Gurus say that one gets a human birth only after countless births in other species and it is a great gift from God. It is the one birth in which the door to God realisation is open.
One should therefore avoid foolish habits that destroy the body (such as over-eating, smoking, drinking alcohol, using recreational drugs etc) and take good care of one's health to ensure maximum sadhana in this lifetime.
Final advice:
Only one thing ultimately matters in purascharana, i.e. daily practice of mantra japa. This alone will grant everything else that one may lack, be it devotion, discipline, ability to follow other rules etc.
Daily japa without break is the one and only rule that really matters. All other rules are dependent on time, place and circumstances.
My final advice therefore is- be fearless, trust in God and in yourself, and proceed with determination on the path of purascharana, the path of success in spiritual life.
May God and Guru bless us all with spiritual peace, wisdom and bliss.
Hari Aum Tat Sat
Dear Vishnupriyaji,
ReplyDeleteMy Pranams to you.
I have been waiting to tell you that I have begun my purascharana on the 6th of May as per the muhurtha set by you. I have done a detailed puja to Lord Ganesha, My Guru and then recited a few slokas on Lalitha Tripura SUndari Matha and then have begun my Japa. By the grace of God I have able to do it uninterruptedly so far and I know it is a long long way to go. And I am sure Amma will be with me and take me till there.
I would like to feel her as my own always and love to talk, thing and meditate about her. I strongly feel it is only through her grace that I can feel so for her so much.
And I need to thank you from the core of my heart for every thing. Please be with me as my guide for ever.
And one more thing is that the article on the practical tips is really really useful.
Thank You Thank You Thank You.
Om Sri trioura Sundariah Namah
Om Sree Matre Namah
Om Namo Narayanaya
Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasu devaya
Krishnaya vasudevaya Hariye Paramatmane, Pranathah Klesa Nasaya Govindaya Namo Namah
Dear Madhavi,
DeleteIt is great to hear that you have started your purascharana and that this is going well so far. It is wonderful to hear of your devotion to the Divine Mother and I have no doubt that She will bless and protect you and give you the strength to complete your sadhana.
I am very glad to hear that you found this post helpful. As a fellow traveller on the spiritual path, I would be happy to support you in any way that I can in your spiritual journey.
Do keep in touch from time to time regarding how the purascharana is progressing. I wish you every success.
Om Shri Tripura-Sundaryai Namah
Om Namo Narayanaya
Warm regards,
Vishnupriya
Dear Vishnu Priya
ReplyDeleteIt is really inspiring to read your article! Thank you! It gives me much strength to keep moving forward in my japa and to be consistent and focused on the goal. Heartfelt thanks to you!
Hari Om
:-)
Thank you for the kind words.
DeleteHari Om :)
Hi Ji,
ReplyDeleteI recently got married, during the puruscharana, is physical intimacy with spouse completely prohibited. If yes, how does one cope with that.
Namaste,
Delete(Sorry for the delayed reply-- only just seen this comment)
Being faithful to your spouse and being moderate in marital relations is advised for householder engaged in spiritual sadhana. Many rishis of the past were married-- marriage is no bar to spiritual progress; it can give us a chance to develop many virtues which are helpful in spiritual life.
Hope this helps
Best wishes