BENEFITS OF SANDHYAVANDANAM FOR YOUNG BRAHMACHARIS:-
It is worthy to note that, the regular performance of the sandhyavandanam in a young brahmachari is what will decide what he becomes in the future, what culture he gains, what status in material & spiritual life he attains & so on. The question asked by the so called "modern" parents of today is that, how does this help their children? The answer are as follows:
*The sandhyavandanam MUST be started at the tender age of around 8 years. This inculcates discipline, devotion, patience, stability, etc into the young child's mind as his tender mind is still free from different kleshas. Innocence is still prevalent at this age & it is important to rightly guide the child & shape him to be an excellent individual.
*All the japas include a "dhyana shloka(a hymn to meditate on the form of the deity)". With good understanding of this shloka, a young brahmachari is able to "visualise" the deity in his mind. This increases the imagination power & the creativity of the child. He learns to "develop" things/concepts in the mind through divinity.
*Yogic aspects such as the pranayama, nyasas, mudras,etc cause excellent development in the physical body as well as the mind. It increases the immunity, the thinking power & inner strength of the child.
*The pranayama slowly improves the health of young brahmacharis. They do not develop breathing problems & throughout the span of their life, they retain their health.
*Over time, those brahmacharis who rigourosly perform the sandhyavandanam knowing its meaning develop a much higher mental stability. Today we see young boys running away from homes, committing suicide, involving in criminal activities,etc. This is primarily because they cannot digest even little downfalls in their lives. Even a little scolding from a parent or teacher makes them take extreme steps. Continuous performance of sandhyavandam brings about a sense of stability in their minds & they do not become mentally weak.
*By imbuing the sandhyavandanam into the life of young brahmacharis at a young stage of their lives, you turn them into great patriots of their culture, tradition & country. They develop profound respect for their heritage & nation.
*We see these days that parents & teachers try to inculcate good habits like speaking truth into children usually by threatening them. However, those who perform sandhyavandanam regularly, natuarally develop honesty in themselves. They become more inclined towards truth & righteousness.
*We normally see certain sections of the youth show negligence or disrespect towards our tradition. In the long run, they become morally weak. They throw out their own parents & become a hindrance to the society. This can be avoided if sandhyavandanam is introduced at a very early age. Natural inclination towards divine aspects naturally bring about great qualities in them. Remember that even great scientists like Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam are staunch believers of divinity.
*Many children suffer from concentration problems. This becomes even more dominant as they reach higher classes. The reason for this is they do not have the ability to develop a concept in their minds & fix all their attention on it. The japas performed during the sandhyavandanam always involve the part wherein the boy has to visualise the deity in his mind & meditate on it continuously. When taught well, this increases concentration.
*It is not only the material aspects of life that parents must look after. It is their sole responsibility to ensure that in the long run their offspring must develop spiritual temper, i.e the ability to grasp spiritual aspects. At one or the other point of life, one who has continuously performed sandhyavanadam will feel the desire to know divinity. The spark slowly begins to grow as a little flame. It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that this flame is not extinguished even before it is formed.
*It is the responsibility of grandparents & especially the grandfather to make sure the young brahmacharis of our community tread the right path. We see several grandparents criticize their children for not upholding their culture. But understand that it is you yourself who is responsible for this. Instead of wasting your retired lives watching tv serials, chatting with anyone & everyone,etc take up the task of explaining the importance of our culture to your grandchildren at a very young age. If young children can be brainwashed into terrorists by extremists in the name of jihad, why can't we inculcate habits which bring good to our own younger generation?
Each & every one of us must strive to follow our culture & make sure the next generations follow it. We must not resort to forcing them in this regard. Instead, we ourselves should understand & make them understand as well.
