Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Same Prayer at Dawn for Mahatma Gandhi and Narendra Modi 


Varanasi. It only strengthens "Gandhi credentials" of our man in parliament , as the senior and junior Gujarati recite same prayer at dawn, almost a century apart.  During a re-look on collected works of the Mahatma, in connection with Bharat Mata temple of Varanasi, I was struck by this revelation .
 The Mahatma in his inaugural speech (October 26, 1936)  said-  As I was asked to perform the opening ceremony in the morning, and as I listened to the chanting of the Vedic mantras, I thought of a verse in our morning prayer which we have been repeating now for 20 years: ‘Mother Earth, Spouse of Vishnu, ocean-clad and mountain-breasted, I bow to Thee. Forgive me the touch of my feet.’ 
Modi as a swayamsevak and pracharak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been reciting these mantras as a part of pratahsmaran.
When the Mahatma included these mantras in his dawn prayer , RSS  was not even founded !

कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मिः करमध्ये सरस्वति ।
करमूले तु गोविन्दः प्रभाते करदर्शनम् ॥

karaagre vasate lakshmiiH karamadhye sarasvatii .
karamuule tu govindaH prabhaate karadarshanaM ..

 . The front part of the hands (the finger tips) are ascribed to Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, the middle part (the palm proper) to Goddess Saraswati - the Goddess of learning and the root (the part of of hand near the wrist) to Govinda (God). Therefore, every morning, one should have a respectful look at one's hand which symbolizes honest labor.
समुद्रवसने देवि पर्वतस्तनमण्डले ।
विष्णुपत्नि नमस्तुभ्यं पादस्पर्शं क्षमस्वमे ॥

samudravasane devi parvatastanamaNDale .
vishhNupatni namastubhyaM paadasparshaM kshamasva me .

O! Mother Earth, who has the ocean as clothes and mountains and forests on her body, who is the wife of Lord Vishnu, I bow to you. Please forgive me for touching you with my feet.

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