A Wisdom Archive on recitation

Hotri (Sanskrit). A priest who recites the hymns from the Rig Veda, and makes oblations to the fire.

 
(See also: Hotri, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,  )

Charanas
A class of minor demigods who specialize in reciting praises.

 
(See also: Charanas, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul )

Udgitha: The Pranava [Om] when it is sung aloud in Vedic recitation.

 
(See also: Udgitha, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul )

Prayer is common to all religions. Love for God is universal, the mode or method of prayer could be different since everyone is free to pray to the divine power in their own way. Prayer should be acceptable to all, simple and easy to adopt in daily life. Generally, people follow the path of prayer practised in the family. The Gayatri Mantra and any other prayer should be recited with sincerity and for the love of God. Only then its true benefit can be derived.

 
(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Gayatri Mantra: Gayatri - Mother Of All Mantras

In India, the day begins with worship. People pray, bow and meditate. Members of the Jain community all over India bathe, put on new clothes and walk barefoot to their local temple. They embark on their daily pilgrimage with no possessions and with high aspirations. Some of them carry a cloth mask which they wear when inside the temple. From the moment they walk into the temple, all worldly concerns are set aside to facilitate meditation. Their focus is on the Tirthankaras , the teachers who conquered their own vices to teach the world about compassion and salvation through example. The recitation of the Namokar Mahamantra encourages them to salute the achievements of all divine souls who attained salvation.

 
(See also: Jainism Worship, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Jainism Worship: Sincere Prayer for Peace and Harmony  

The Lalitasahasranama enumerates the one thousand names of Devi as Lalita-parameshwari . When Manmata , the god of love, was reduced to ashes by Shiva’s opening his third eye, the ashes were collected by Chitrakarman, one of Shiva’s attendants, who used it for drawing the figure of a man.
 
When Shiva glanced at the figure, it leaped into life at once. The artist advised the person so created to pray to Shiva, by reciting the Sata-Rudriya. Pleased at his devotion, Shiva blessed him with the overlordship of the world for 60,000 years. On hearing this, Brahma cried in dismay, '' Bhand, Bhand ’’ and so the person came to have the name Bhanda.

 
(See also: Devi Lalita, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Devi Lalita: One Thousand Names Of Devi Lalita  

Scriptures by themselves cannot make a person enlightened. They give knowledge, not wisdom. But the Ashtavakra Gita is different. This scripture negates every facet of life, except supreme consciousness.
 
Sage Ashtavakra says to Janaka: "My son, you recite or listen to countless scriptures, but you will not be established within until you can forget everything"(16.1). He stresses the import of knowing one's own self. A person may quote extensively from the Bhagavad Gita or the Upanishads. But only through self-knowledge can he even begin to discover the stainless truth.

 
(See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Life and Death: All that Exists is Total Awareness

True realisation takes place on knowing and seeing God in His transcendental form. It is a metaphysical experience within the human body. The manifestation of inherent divinity is in reality the revelation of the divine self of man. This is not different from the Supreme Self that permeates even the tiniest particle in the universe. It is accessible to all human beings.

 
(See also: Self-Realisation, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Self-Realisation: Cosmic Vision Alone Reveals the Truth  

According to the Hindu view of creation, it was sound and not light that appeared first. In Vedic parlance it is called Nada Brahma or the Sound Celestial. Vedic rishis believed that the evolution of the Brahmand or universe was caused as a result of Bindu Visphot or an atomic explosion, that produced infinite waves of sound, which represent cosmicascent and expansion.
 
The sound was a monosyllable: Om . Since Om is related to the beginning of the universe, Hindus consider it the most sacred syllable with which Vedic mantras commence.

 
(See also: Sangeet Marga, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Sangeet Marga: Sangeet Marga - Path To Moksha  

The chanting of the Divine Name or nama japa has an important place in bhakti tradition. Nama japa can be in the form of japa or stotra. Japa is silent repetition of a mantra while stotra is uttered out loud.
 
The sahasranama stotra is perhaps the most popular of all stotras. There are sahasranamas of most of the deities of the Hindu pantheon of which two have attained great popularity. These are the Lalita Sahasranama in praise of the Divine Mother and Vishnu Sahasranama in praise of the Lord conceived as Vishnu.

 
(See also: Sahasranama, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Sahasranama: Power of Chanting The Sahasranama