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Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar reveals ancient Vedic secrets behind the performance of Sandhya Vandanam, its connection to the atmosphere and the ideal time to experience elevated states of consciousness.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Sandhya means the dawn or dusk or noon, where nature is undergoing a change. So, when there is a transition in the entire atmosphere, it is very congenial in our mind also to transit between the waking, dreaming and the sleeping state and reach out to the fourth state that is ‘Turya’, the gap that is in between them. So, this state of consciousness is most suitable for prayer, our experience in the mystic or spiritual realm inside of you. That is why when you see the sunrise in the morning, you feel a certain elevation, and the sunset is very romantic. I don’t think people sing romantic songs in the noon time! There is a mood, there is a time frame, there is a certain atmosphere that gets created for romanticism. And this is romancing with nature; sunset time. And prayer is nothing but a romance with the Divine. It’s not just asking for something; it’s romancing with the Universe and what is the prayer that we do? May all our minds be soaked in the transcendental truth. May the Divine inspire all our minds. This is the mantra that one chant. It’s a collective prayer, not an individual prayer. The Gayatri Mantra which is considered one of the most supreme mantras is a collective prayer. It doesn’t say give ‘me’ only, no, it says give ‘us all’ such brilliance in our intellect. May the brilliance dawn in all our intellect and lead towards the truth.
