Common Application- I have to do this every day. I did not choose to take this responsibility. I was born into it. I am a Brahmin, the protector of sacred learning across generations and it is my duty to do Sandhyavandanam every day. It was the 20th of October 2009. After an arduous bus ride with my extended family, we finally reached the town of Kumbaknonam. We were greeted with a grand welcome replete with firecrackers. I then participated in a day-long ritual in which I chanted several prayers in Sanskrit, a language I did not understand. The ‘Gayatri Mantra’, one of the most powerful prayers in Hinduism, was passed on to me by my father. I was taught an elaborate process involving numerous prayers, actions and breathing rituals called Sandhyavandanam. I was told to perform this activity three times a day for the rest of my life. This was a huge commitment and I was thrown in the deep end.
…show more content…
School and other commitments always kept me busy and frankly I did not see any benefit from doing Sandhyavandanam every day. For years I questioned the need for Sandhyavandanam. In today’s modern world are we truly Brahmins? My father is a business executive and my grandfather was a banker. We were not priests nor did we study ancient texts. Then why do we still need to maintain a Brahmin lifestyle? Why do we still need to burden our self with
School and other commitments always kept me busy and frankly I did not see any benefit from doing Sandhyavandanam every day. For years I questioned the need for Sandhyavandanam. In today’s modern world are we truly Brahmins? My father is a business executive and my grandfather was a banker. We were not priests nor did we study ancient texts. Then why do we still need to maintain a Brahmin lifestyle? Why do we still need to burden our self with