BENEFITS OF SANDHYAVANDANAM FOR YOUNG BRAHMACHARIS:It is worthy to note that, the regular performance of the sandhyavandanam in a young brahmachari

is what
will decide what he becomes in the future, what culture he gains, what status in material & spiritual life he
attains & so on. The question asked by the so called "modern" parents of today is that, how does this help
their childeren? The answer is as follows:
*The sandhyavandanam MUST be started at the tender age of around 8 years. This inculcates discipline,
devotion, patience, stability, etc into the young child's mind as his tender mind is still free from different
kleshas. Innocence is still prevalent at this age & it is important to rightly guide the child & shape him to be
an excellent individual.
*All the japas include a "dhyana shloka(a hymn to meditate on the form of the deity)". With good
understanding of this shloka, a young brahmachari is able to "visualise" the deity in his mind. This increases
the imagination power & the creativity of the child. He learns to "develop" things/concepts in the mind
through divinity.
*Yogic aspects such as the pranayama, nyasas, mudras,etc cause excellent development in the physical
body as well as the mind. It increases the immunity, the thinking power & inner strength of the child.
*The pranayama slowly improves the health of young brahmacharis. They do not develop breathing
problems & throughout the span of their life, they retain their health.
*Over time, those brahmacharis who rigourosly perform the sandhyavandanam knowing its meaning develop
a much higher mental stability. Today we see young boys running away from homes, committing suicide,
involving in criminal activities,etc. This is primarily because they cannot digest even little downfalls in their
lives. Even a little scolding from a parent or teacher makes them take extreme steps. Continuous
performance of sandhyavandam brings about a sense of stability in their minds & they do not become
mentally weak.
*By imbuing the sandhyavandanam into the life of young brahmacharis at a young stage of their lives, you
turn them into great patriots of their culture, tradition & country. They develop profound respect for their
heritage & nation.
*We see these days that parents & teachers try to inculcate good habits like speaking truth into children
usually by threatening them. However, those who perform sandhyavandanam regularly, natuarally develop
honesty in themselves. They become more inclined towards truth & righteousness.
*We normally see certain sections of the youth show negligence or disrespect towards our tradition. In the
long run, they become morally weak. They throw out their own parents & become a hindrance to the society.
This can be avoided if sandhyavandanam is introduced at a very early age. Natural inclination towards divine
aspects naturally bring about great qualities in them. Remember that even great scientists like Dr.APJ Abdul
Kalam are staunch believers of divinity.
*Many children suffer from concentration problems. This becomes even more dominant as they reach higher
classes. The reason for this is they do not have the ability to develop a concept in their minds & fix all their
attention on it. The japas performed during the sandhyavandanam always involve the part wherein the boy
has to visualise the deity in his mind & meditate on it continuously. When taught well, this increases
concentration.
*It is not only the material aspects of life that parents must look after. It is their sole responsibility to ensure
that in the long run their offspring must develop spiritual temper, i.e the ability to grasp spiritual aspects. At
one or the other point of life, one who has continuously performed sandhyavanadam will feel the desire to
know divinity. The spark slowly begins to grow as a little flame. It is the responsibility of parents to ensure
that this flame is not extinguished even before it is formed.
*It is the responsibility of grandparents & especially the grandfather to make sure the young brahmacharis of

our community tread the right path. We see several grandparents criticize their children for not upholding
their culture. But understand that it is you yourself who is responsible for this. Instead of wasting your retired
lives watching tv serials, chatting with anyone & everyone,etc take up the task of explaining the importance
of our culture to your grandchildren at a very young age. If young children can be brainwashed into terrorists
by extremists in the name of jihad, why can't we inculcate habits which bring good to our own younger
generation?
Each & every one of us must strive to follow our culture & make sure the next generations follow it. We must
not resort to forcing them in this regard. Instead, we ourselves should understand & make them understand
as well.