Guest guest Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 SUPRABHATHAM Suprabhatham literally means ‘good morning'! (Su, good, prabhatham, morning or dawn). In Western culture, people wish each other "Good Morning." But in Indian culture this is not done, because it is considered to be the equivalent of pouring water on the leaves of a tree. For effective watering of a tree, water must be given to the roots of a tree. The root of the Tree of Life is God. So God, who is latent and immanent in all, is sought out and made patent and public. In this prayer God is visualised as sleeping and then woken up and wished "Good Morning." Of course the Divinity in us is never asleep; but unless we take at least one step towards activating it, it does not manifest itself. Such a step is the singing of Suprabhatham, and putting into practice its implications. The first two stanzas of any Suprabhatham song exhort the sleeping God in us to arise (uththista). This word is repeated four times. First, God is requested to get up in order to engage in Divine duties for the day (Kartavyam Daiva Mahnikam). Second, it reminds God that He is not an ordinary person, but one with responsibilities for the whole world. The last "please get up" addresses Him as the 'Most Merciful One' and requests Him to get up for the sake of the welfare of the world as a whole (Loka Mangalam). When we pray thus, the Divinity inherent in us is manifested not for the sake of individual material welfare, but for the purpose of the welfare of the whole world or at least for the integration of the whole personality: physical, mental and spiritual. After the first two stanzas others follow, each of them ending with wishing God "Good Morning." The Venkatesa Suprabhatham, which is the most famous Suprabhatham song in India, says its first "Good Morning" to the consort of God, the Goddess who personifies Mercy and Compassion, and is said to be resident in His chest region. In the later stanzas, Lord Venkateswara of the Seven Hills (Tirupathi) is recognised as one of the forms of the omnipotent, and omnipresent, omniscient God – the originator and sustainer of the creation, the protector of His Devotees. He is also recognised and praised as the one who has descended to earth repeatedly in suitable forms for the removal of rampant evil and the re-establishment of Dharma for human beings. In the last but one stanza, He is seen as the Bridge that alone helps us to cross the ocean of life. In the Sri Sathya Sai Suprabhatham the approach is quite different. The six 'Good Mornings' are respectively said by: 1. Selfless volunteers (sevadals) in service of God 2. Singers of Soul-stirring, Heart-purifying bhajans 3. Devotees who have a special aptitude and enthusiasm in worshipping God ritually (Puja) with lamps, flowers, etc., 4. Devotees who are intellectuals like scientists, but have realised the validity of super- sensory, beyond-the-mind Truths, revealed in Scriptures 5. Devotees who are interested in knowing the Nature of Life, mo e than anything else, and have come to Prasanthi Nilayam to seek answers for their questions from the Lord 6. The totally dedicated devotees who are wedded to the Lord for life and who seek nothing except praising the Lord and implicitly obeying His will. Depending upon the levels of consciousness, different interpretations may be read between the lines of Sri Sathya Sai Suprabhatham. For example, one devotee wrote in “Sanathan Sarathi” magazine long ago that the six stanzas actually refer to six stages of spiritual awakening or of activating the spiritual centers inherent in our body. Accordingly, the Chitravathi mentioned in the third stanza represents the skeleton body, with three nadis: ida, pingala and susumna. This is an interpretation welling out of a subjective experience, which when accepted gives a different dimension and meaning to the meaning to the prayer. Devotees who have just begun their journey as spiritual aspirants should sing this Suprabhatham between 4 am and 6 am as a regular spiritual exercise. However, the maximum benefits may begin to flow only when the meaning is well understood and the implications sought are put into practise in day-today life. As Bhagawan Baba has pointed out, one must try to “awaken the Divinity inherent in everyone, not by preaching, but by the exemplary practise of Truthfulness, Right Conduct, Peace and Love towards every being.” That indeed will be the true Suprabhatham, heralding the dawn of the Golden Age for Mankind! Om Sai Ram Did you know? You can CHAT without downloading messenger. Click here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Sai Ram Mr Kumar Mahadevan! I have the Suprabhatam prayer from the book called Tarpovanam. Hope this is the right spelling of the book. Please let me know of you have a different copy to this prayer. Jai Sai Ram. Bessie SewsunkerAssistant AdministratorInformation Systems & TechnologyUniversity of Kwa-Zulu Natal (Westville Campus)Private Bag X54001Durban 4000SOUTH AFRICATel : 031 - 2607051Fax : 031 - 2607251e-mail : sewsunkerb >>> kumar mahadevan <mahadevan12 2007/07/13 09:08 AM >>> SUPRABHATHAM Suprabhatham literally means ‘good morning'! (Su, good, prabhatham, morning or dawn). In Western culture, people wish each other "Good Morning." But in Indian culture this is not done, because it is considered to be the equivalent of pouring water on the leaves of a tree. For effective watering of a tree, water must be given to the roots of a tree. The root of the Tree of Life is God. So God, who is latent and immanent in all, is sought out and made patent and public. In this prayer God is visualised as sleeping and then woken up and wished "Good Morning." Of course the Divinity in us is never asleep; but unless we take at least one step towards activating it, it does not manifest itself. Such a step is the singing of Suprabhatham, and putting into practice its implications. The first two stanzas of any Suprabhatham song exhort the sleeping God in us to arise (uththista). This word is repeated four times. First, God is requested to get up in order to engage in Divine duties for the day (Kartavyam Daiva Mahnikam). Second, it reminds God that He is not an ordinary person, but one with responsibilities for the whole world. The last "please get up" addresses Him as the 'Most Merciful One' and requests Him to get up for the sake of the welfare of the world as a whole (Loka Mangalam). When we pray thus, the Divinity inherent in us is manifested not for the sake of individual material welfare, but for the purpose of the welfare of the whole world or at least for the integration of the whole personality: physical, mental and spiritual. After the first two stanzas others follow, each of them ending with wishing God "Good Morning." The Venkatesa Suprabhatham, which is the most famous Suprabhatham song in India, says its first "Good Morning" to the consort of God, the Goddess who personifies Mercy and Compassion, and is said to be resident in His chest region. In the later stanzas, Lord Venkateswara of the Seven Hills (Tirupathi) is recognised as one of the forms of the omnipotent, and omnipresent, omniscient God – the originator and sustainer of the creation, the protector of His Devotees. He is also recognised and praised as the one who has descended to earth repeatedly in suitable forms for the removal of rampant evil and the re-establishment of Dharma for human beings. In the last but one stanza, He is seen as the Bridge that alone helps us to cross the ocean of life. In the Sri Sathya Sai Suprabhatham the approach is quite different. The six 'Good Mornings' are respectively said by: 1. Selfless volunteers (sevadals) in service of God 2. Singers of Soul-stirring, Heart-purifying bhajans 3. Devotees who have a special aptitude and enthusiasm in worshipping God ritually (Puja) with lamps, flowers, etc., 4. Devotees who are intellectuals like scientists, but have realised the validity of super- sensory, beyond-the-mind Truths, revealed in Scriptures 5. Devotees who are interested in knowing the Nature of Life, mo e than anything else, and have come to Prasanthi Nilayam to seek answers for their questions from the Lord 6. The totally dedicated devotees who are wedded to the Lord for life and who seek nothing except praising the Lord and implicitly obeying His will. Depending upon the levels of consciousness, different interpretations may be read between the lines of Sri Sathya Sai Suprabhatham. For example, one devotee wrote in “Sanathan Sarathi” magazine long ago that the six stanzas actually refer to six stages of spiritual awakening or of activating the spiritual centers inherent in our body. Accordingly, the Chitravathi mentioned in the third stanza represents the skeleton body, with three nadis: ida, pingala and susumna. This is an interpretation welling out of a subjective experience, which when accepted gives a different dimension and meaning to the meaning to the prayer. Devotees who have just begun their journey as spiritual aspirants should sing this Suprabhatham between 4 am and 6 am as a regular spiritual exercise. However, the maximum benefits may begin to flow only when the meaning is well understood and the implications sought are put into practise in day-today life. As Bhagawan Baba has pointed out, one must try to “awaken the Divinity inherent in everyone, not by preaching, but by the exemplary practise of Truthfulness, Right Conduct, Peace and Love towards every being.” That indeed will be the true Suprabhatham, heralding the dawn of the Golden Age for Mankind! Om Sai Ram Did you know? You can CHAT without downloading messenger. Click here Please find our Email Disclaimer here-->: http://www.ukzn.ac.za/disclaimer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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