Brahma yajnya means individual (personal) meditation of Eeshvara/God and is called sandhya, sandhya-upāsanā or sandhyā yog-upāsanā. The Sanskrit word sandhya is derived from its root words sam and dhya which simply mean sam i.e. to do very good or proper dhya i.e. meditation of Eeshvara/God. In sandhya while the focus is on meditation i.e. upāsanā (see previous chapter), nevertheless it also incorporates all three components Eeshvara-stuti-prarthana-upāsanā i.e. praise, prayer and meditation of Eeshvara.
Sandhya is not a rote recitation or chanting of select mantras or hymns from the Vedas and other Vedic scriptures. Sandhyā implies contemplating upon the teachings of the mantras especially on the attributes of God and doing dhyān i.e. meditating on them. Sandhya as advised by Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati incorporates in an indirect manner all eight steps of yoga as described by rishi Patanjali in Yoga Darshanam.
It has often been asked, ‘Why do sandhyā; what are the benefits of belief in Eeshvara/God, prayer, and meditation’? According to Vedic traditions, true sandhya-upāsanā provides a person inner joy and strength to do the right thing and follow the path of virtue in life. One’s spiritual knowledge expands and deepens. Ability to concentrate is increased and the intellect becomes sharp both in spiritual and secular affairs so that one can easily solve most problems. One is able to see things clearly as they are and differentiate right from wrong. The will power is tremendously strengthened and the person learns to complete tasks instead of finding excuses. Vanity is removed; one becomes humble and develops love and compassion for others instead of hate and jealousy. One’s fears in life are removed and the ability to withstand setbacks or even extreme miseries is in life are markedly enhanced. One becomes willing to die for the sake of truth or freedom. Such virtuous living and dying is in sharp contrast to dying as a terrorist, who kills innocent people while one is brain washed by the exhortations of fanatic religious leaders; such a person is committing suicide and squandering a precious life given by God for heinous crimes and would eventually reap the consequences of his/her sinful karmas/deeds.
A person following this path does not need praise or accolades from others to do the right thing rather the virtuous path becomes one’s inner conscious. Finally, a person achieves Eeshvara/God realization and enjoys bliss and peace in life with God as one’s constant Companion. If one does not attain moksha after this cycle of life and death despite living a virtuous life, one is born at a higher station in next life to have opportunity to get even closer to God and attain moksha.
As one progresses in dhyan-upāsanā (i.e. meditation to Eeshvara/God) and one gets consciously closer and closer to Eeshvara/God, the person’s soul starts to acquire a small element of the attributes of Eeshvara/God based upon the person’s effort and abilities. The soul acquires true knowledge from Omniscient Eeshvara/God the Source of true knowledge. The soul acquires strength and courage from Omnipotent Eeshvara/God. However, the soul’s abilities even in the most advanced stages of dhyan yoga (asamprajnyāta samadhi) remain quite limited. Whereas, Eeshvara/God is Sarvajnya i.e. All-Knowing, the soul always has limited knowledge i.e. it is alpajnya. Whereas Eeshvara/God is Omnipresent the soul at any given time is ekadeshi-exists in one place only. Whereas Eeshvara/God is the Creator of the universe from prakriti-physical matter, the soul’s capability to utilize physical matter to create material things remains quite limited e.g. the soul can create an earthen pot from mud but cannot create the mud itself.
Preparation for Sandhya:
It is recommended that Sandhyā should be done twice every day; at dawn a little before sunrise and in evening soon after sunset.
One should set aside at least half an hour at each time and preferably one hour if enough free time is available. The place for sandhyā should be quiet and peaceful if possible. It can be inside the house in a quite area where there are no distractions and preferably there is free flow of fresh air or outside the house in a quiet area in a garden as a suitable alternative. Sandhyā is best done sitting in a posture i.e. an asana in which one can sit comfortably and steadily while meditating without changing positions. The most commonly recommended asana is Sukhāsana, the asana of comfort. The aspirant sits cross-legged in a relaxed manner without attention to the position of the feet (either facing up or down) with the head, neck and spine in as straight a line as possible that is consistent with comfort. The hands either rest upon one another in the lap or over the respective knees with upturned half-opened grasp. Variations on this asana are the Padamāsana (lotus position), Siddhāsana. and Swastiãsana which an aspirant may select depending upon their preference. The rug for sitting should be comfortable neither too soft nor too firm. Before starting Sandhya in the morning, it is usually recommended that the aspirant after waking up in the morning meet one’s daily toiletry needs, brush teeth, and bathe to freshen-up and be fully awake and alert. One must use common sense regarding all the recommendations stated above and if any item is not convenient or cannot be controlled by the aspirant (e.g. street noise outside the house, unavailability of shower on a given morning, one is travelling in a train or airplane), one should make one’s best effort and still practice sandhya and not find excuses.
The next step after sitting down is to make whole body relaxed there will be no discomfort or bodily distractions during the dhyān/meditation practice. Following this, the aspirant must make all effort to calm his/her mind away from its usual mundane thinking activities and distractions, and make it peaceful and focused towards sandhyā.
Maharshi Dayanand and most authors who have written on Vedic Sandhya recommend that one start Sandhya by performing three bahaya prānāyamas³ i.e. deep exhalation. This step is carried out by exhaling deeply with force as one continuous breath and then holding the breath in exhalation (expiration). However, this pranayama should be performed with a gentle force and should not be associated with any jerk(s) or breaks during expiration. When one starts to feel discomfort in continuing to hold the breath in exhalation, then one should slowly breathe in air again without any jerk. Throughout this prānayāma, in the mind one should silently chant (japa) Eeshvara/God’s name as Om while contemplating on meaning-Dear Eeshvara/God, You are Sarva Rakshak i.e. our Protector and Nurturer. After this one cycle of pranayama, one should breathe in and out two or three regular (i.e. average) comfortable breaths. Then, restart a new exhalation pranayama cycle and complete two more such cycles (a total of three). Before starting this step, it is advisable to apply mool bandh by gently pulling in/up one’s pelvic/anal/rectal muscles as one does when one has to hold stool/bowel movement from coming out when a bathroom is not conveniently available such as when traveling. Also, one should gently pull in lower abdominal (below navel/belly button) muscles towards the spine and sit upright with a straight spine. Pranayam further steadies the mind and body in meditation practice.
Most authors who have written on sandhya recommend that to help focus the mind, the aspirant should start sandhya by chanting Gayatri Mantra because Gayatri Mantra summarizes the purpose of sandhya which is to do Eeshvara/ God’s stuti/praise, dhyan/meditation and then a prarthana/prayer for wisdom to correctly understand truth including its subtleties, to discriminate right from wrong and then have the courage to live accordingly. The aspirant should slowly chant/recite Gayatri Mantra either in medium or low voice, or silently in the mind While contemplating on it’s meaning.
The word prānāyāma is usually translated to mean the controlled taking in and expelling of breath for decreasing the agitation of the mind so that one can concentrate one’s mind and meditate better. At a deeper level prāna refers to the subtle life force, the vital energy of the body and the word ayama means expansion or increasing. There are several types of pranayama, the best pranayama for meditation is considered to be bahaye i.e. deep exhalation and holding the breath at the end of exhalation.