Re: Prayaschitta
namaste everyone.
I do believe in all kinds of prayashchitta, specially going on yAtra (tour) for doShas (deficiencies) that persist over time. For small transgressions, I resort to reciting the gAyatri mantra.
KAnchi ParamAchArya once spoke about this saying in Sanskrit:
akSharatdvayam abhyastam nAsti nAsti iti yat purA |
tad idam dehi dehi iti viparitam upasThitam ||
He explained:
Some people are born rich and some poor in this birth. This is because those who were rich in their earlier birth refused (saying 'nAsti nAsti--no, no') deserving cases of charity end up in this birth poor, asking 'give me, give me (dehi dehi)'. The shAstra says that begging is an act of indignity which the begger suffers: to refuse a deserving case is therefore a sin with consequences.
Most case of seeking alms these days, especially in metros like Chennai, are fraught with untruthfulness, so I often do not comply with giving them money. In that process I sometimes end up with the feeling that I might have refused a genuine case, for which transgression I seek to reciting the gAyatri mantra a few times. I also compensate such ommission by surprising the poor garbage collector who passes through our streets daily by giving him on some days, fresh fruits, biscuits, snacks or some money occasionally.
I recite gAyatri mantra seeking a good gati (path) in the next birth, when I accidentally tread on small creaters like ants, or need to the end the life of a waywardly invasive creature like a cockroach that has grown big enough to fly!
*****
Originally Posted by
Eastern Mind
Vannakkam: Sometimes we feel a bit guilty over deeds, intentional, or unintentional. Prayaschitta is the intentional action intended to help out with this. It's meant to be any purifying action we can undertake. Here's a link that explains it in more detail.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pr%C4%81ya%C5%9Bcitta
I often feel so inclined. I guess I must have erred a few times.
Thoughts? What have you done, how did it work out, what would you consider?
Aum Namasivaya
रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥
To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.
--viShNu purANam
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