Om! Gam! Ganapathaye! Namaha! Om! Sri Raghavendraya Namaha! Om! Namo! Bhagavathe! Vasudevaya! Om! Ham! Hanumathe Sri Rama Doothaya Namaha!
SANKALPA – A PROPOSAL IN A VEDIC WAY Traditionally in Hindu religion before performing any work we undertake sankalpa which is a kind of declaration to ourselves and to the God within us. The Vedas says that the whole Universe is evolved through a Sankalpa of Lord SriManNarayana. Sankalpa is a Sanskrit word meaning a resolution, free will or determination. The word sankalpa itself means good intention, an oath or a resolution to do something, a solemn pledge to do something good. In Sanskrit ‘San’ means good and ‘Kalpa’ means a Shastra, or a Veda. Sankalpa means proposing to do something good in a Vedic or a Shastric way. In any religious ceremony/ritual generally we observe a person takes a sankalpa (a firm resolve) to achieve the purpose of the ceremony. Sankalpa literally means taking a firm decision to accomplish one particular thing in spite of facing troubles in its achievement. Sankalpa cannot come all of a sudden. It is conception of a deep routed strong desire formed in the inner heart of hearts that gets manifested. All Yagnas and worships are accomplished after taking a vow for its performance. Sankalpa is nothing but the expression of the feeling which the Saadhaka (doer) has for the accomplishment of a Saadhana (task). By making a pledge a person becomes committed towards the accomplishment of his goal. Taking an oath means becoming committed to something. We would have observed all political leaders, Government officers all over the world taking a pledge or oath of secrecy, in the name of God before taking charge of their offices. Before elections political parties release their manifesto (sankalpa). In the courts before commencement of trial the witnesses are asked to a take pledge in the name of God. In Hindu culture it is believed that when a person speaks something after taking an oath it becomes true. At the time of induction an employee is asked to sign an oath of secrecy. In a Corporate world it is the sankalpa of the promoter that gets manifested and results into a Company. All these are nothing but sankalpa in different forms and for different causes. Mere sankalpa alone is not sufficient to accomplish the deeds. Besides sankalpa one should have strong dedication, determination (will power), discipline, accompanied by sincere hard work and persuasion. Sankalpa acts as a foundation in accomplishing the task or reaching the goal. When Divinity is added to the sankalpa it gains strength and gets proper direction. We have many mythological and historical examples of the power of sankalpa. Achievement of Lord Hanuman is the best example. Other examples are that of Bhakta Prahlada, Bhakta Dhruva, Bhakta Markandeya, Bhageeratha, Sathi Savithri etc. Nearest historical example is that of Mahatma Gandhi who could achieve freedom for India with his strong sankalpa.
Sankalpa sloka and its Significance Sankalpa is usually done by taking some flowers and rice in the right hand and dropping it using water. A Vedic Sankalpa consists of the elements of time, location, almanac, lineage, purpose, (wish/desire), target (Deity), and nature/mode of karma. It starts with, Sri Govinda Govinda! shubhe shobana muhurthe, Sri MahaVishnor Aagnaaya, Pravarthamanasya
Time Element: (Reckoning of time with reference to Lord Brahma) Aadya Bramhane Dwiteeya Parardhe: That means first half of the life time of Lord Brahma is over and we are in the 2nd half called Dwiteeya Parardhe in the 51st year of Lord Brahma (50 years of Lord Brahma is equal to 155.52 trillions human years) Sri Swetha Varaaha Kalpe That means we are in the first day (only day) called Swetha Varaha Kalpa in the 51st year of Lord Brahma the day on which Lord Sri ManNarayana took the form of Swetha Varaha (White Boar) Vaivaswatha Manvanthare In Swetha Varaha Kalpa (first day of Lord Brahma) after passing through 6 Manvantharas out of 14 we are currently in the 7th Manvanthara called Vaivaswatha Manvanthara. Astavinshatitame (28) Kaliyuge – Kali Prathama Charane In the current Manvanthara (Vaivasvatha) we have passed through 27 Maha Yugas out of 71 and we are currently in the 28th Maha Yuga. In this 28th Maha Yuga after passing through Krita, Thretha and Dwapara Yugas we are currently in the Kaliyuga in its first quarter after passing through 5110 years Bauddhavathare: In the time when Lord SriManNarayana has taken birth as Buddha Salivahana Sakhe Further reckoning down based on the concept of Sakha, after passing through the Yudhistira and Vikrama Sakhas we are currently in the Salivahana Sakha1931 years since its beginning in 78 AD.
Geographical-Element Jambudweepe: Out of the seven Dweepas in this Universe we are in the Jambudweepa (island) on the Earth (Bhumandala) surrounded by the Sea (Lavana Samudra) Meror Dakshina bhage (parsve) - To the south of mountain called Meru Parvatha which is in the centre of Jambu Dweepa.
Bhaaratavarshe: There are nine Varshas in this Universe out of which we are in the Bhaarathavarsha which is in the southern region of Meru Parvatha. Bharathakhande: In the land ruled by King Bharatha – Asethu Himachala Paryantham (the present India). Godavari Dakshina theere: To the south of river Godavari (Depending on the location this may change) Mama Swagruhe (own house) or Sobhana Gruhe (staying in rented house) - This may change depending on the place where one is performing the karma. Devata Sannidhau: In the presence of God dwelling in my house. Depending on the place where one is performing the karma this may differ.
Current Day Element (Description of the day) Asmin Vartamanena: At the present time Vyavahaarike – Chaandramanena: As per the present calendar that is in vogue. Samvastare: There are sixty years as per the Lunar Calendar which gets repeated cyclically starting from Prabhava and ending with Akshaya. Aayane: The year is divided into two based on the transit of Sun into Makara raasi called Uttarayana and Karkataka raasi called Dakshinayana. Ruthau: The year is divided into six seasons starting from Vasantha followed by Greeshma, Varsha, Sharad, Hemantha, and Sisira Maase: Each season/ruthau comprises of two months which are named after the star falling on the full Moon day of the month as per Lunar Calendar starting from Chaitra and ending with Phalguna. As per solar calendar it is referred as per the transit of Sun into each Zodiac Raasi starting from Mesha (Aries) and ending with Meena (Pisces) Pakshe: Each month (Masa) is again divided into two fortnights based on the Moon’s position (waxing Moon /waning Moon) called as Sukla Paksha (starting from Prathama to Pournima) and Krishna/Bahula Paksha (starting from Prathama to Amavasya) Thithau: Each paksha comprises of 15 thithis out of which 14 thithis gets repeated in both the pakshas and the 15th one will be either Pournima or Amavasya. Vaasare: There are seven days in a week starting from Sunday which gets repeated cyclically. Nakshatre: There are twenty seven (27) stars in the almanac which are placed in 12
raasis of the zodiac. These stars cyclically get repeated starting from Aswini and ending with Revathi. Yoge: There are 27 yogas in the almanac starting from Vishkumbha and ending with Vaidruthi. These yogas also get repeated cyclically. Karane: There are eleven (11) Karanas out of which seven gets repeated and four occurs on specific days of Sukla Prathama, (Kimsthugna), Bahula Chaturdasi (Sakuni), and Amavasya (Chatushpath, Nagava) In practice the names of Yoga and Karana are not spelled out. Instead it is just mentioned as Subha Yoge, Subha Karane. On some occasion it is mentioned as Vishnu Yoge and Vishnu Karane evam guna visheshana vishitayaam – Subha thitau Element of Lineage (Gothra): Description of the Rishi lineage in which one is born which is generally known from forefathers. Here one’s Gothra pravara to be spelled out. Namadheyasya: the name by which you are called (xyz) Purpose Element: Purpose may differ according to the desire/need/cause. It could be for one’s self materialistic benefits or for family reasons or for self Gyana Bhakti Vairaagya prapthyartham or for performing sacred rites or for the sake of society, How you are performing: Self or with the help of a learned Purohit. If it is self Bhagavat preranaya prapta vidya anusaarena yatha shakthi, if it is through a Purohit, AacharyaMukhena, Reference to the specific Deity: Addressing whom (Deity) the specific ritual is being performed. Reference to the name, nature and mode of ritual (Karma): The ritual could be Nitya or Naimittika Karma or any specific ritual/pooja/vratha/ Homa/Remedy/Seva/Pitru Karya/Dana etc. Thus a Vedic sankalpa has so much of meaning and significance behind its words. During sankalpa we meditate on the Supreme form that has come into existence trillions of years ago. No work can be successfully accomplished without dedication. For successful completion of any aaradhana Divine blessings is a must which can be obtained with sincere devotion and complete surrender. Without sankalpa no objective can be accomplished. No remedies pooja or karma yields results without sankalpa. One must always start a work with a proper sankalpa with a proper understanding of its meaning and significance. The idea behind praying
for the sankalpa is to eradicate the feeling of doership or ahankara. Therefore before making a sankalpa one should always bear it mind that the sankalpa will not result into harming anyone’s feelings or intentionally done to hurt anybody. As said earlier sankalpa is a deep routed desire that gets registered with the soul. If the sankalpa cannot be completed in one life time the desire will not get vanished after the death. The desire will remain as a poorva janma vaasana (samskara) that gets manifested at some point of time in future births. The soul takes many births to accomplish the unfinished task and it continues to take births till it finally gets detached from the desire. The sankalpa that is being uttered by every one in Hindu religion has percolated down from ancestors and taught by forefathers in every family since time immemorial. It is the specialty of Aryan culture that a tradition started by our ancestors thousands of years ago is still alive. The greatest significance of the ritual Sankalpa lies in its effort to preserve the Aryan tradition.
An example of a typical Sankalpa: (with reference to the current day) Sri Govinda Govinda! shubhe shobana muhurthe, Sri MahaVishnor Aagnaaya, Pravarthamanasya, Aadya Bramhane, Dwiteeya Parardhe, Sri Swetha Varaaha Kalpe, Vaivaswatha Manvanthare, Kaliyuge, Kali Prathama Charane, Bauddhavathare, Salivaahanasakhe, Jambudweepe, Meror Dakshina bhage, Bhaaratavarshe, Bharatha Khande, Godavari Dakshina theere, Sobhana Gruhe, Devata Sannidhau, Asmin Varthamane, Vyavahaarike, Chaandramanena, Sri Virodhi Nama Sanvastare, Uttarayane, Greeshma Ruthau, Jyesta Maase, Sukla Pakshe, Panchami Thithau, Bruhaspathi Vaasare, Pushyami Nakshatre, Dhruva Yoge, Baalava Karane, evam guna visheshana visistayaam, subha thithau, Srimaan Aatreya Archananasa Syavaasya Pravaranvita, Aatreya Gothrothpanna, Bhargavasarma Namadheyasya, Mama Gyana Bhakthi Vairaagya prapthyartham, Sri Bharathee Ramana Mukhya Praananthargatha Sri Lakshmi Narayana Preethyartham, Bhagavat preranaya prapta Vidya anusaarena Yatha Shakthi, Sri Lakshmi Narayanasya Dhyanaavaahanadi shodasa upachaara poojam karishye! ! Bharathee Ramana Mukhya Praanantargatha Sri Lakshmi Narayana priyathaam preetho varado bhavathu!!
Sri Krishnaarpanamasthu bhargavasarma
