Prayaschitta and Conducting Shanti Pooja
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IMPORTANCE OF PRAYASCHITTA
(REPENTANCE, ATONEMENT)
Humans suffer untold miseries like poverty, childlessness, seperation from loved ones, punishments, diseases and torments because of their Karmik actions. Karma is of two types, SUKARMA AND KUKARMA. Acts that are not permitted by Dharma, Kutumba, Grama, Rajya and Vishwa are called as KUKARMA. Such acts are called PAPA or SINS.May it be myself or any of you,at some point in our lives, we must have sinned. Sins can be committed by though, speech and actions. In each case, we increase our Karmic reaction load for this and the next birth resulting into suffering of Mind , Body and Souls.
In order to cleanse oneself of present birth Karmic reactions and reduce suffering, one needs to perform PRAYASCHITTA or Act of Repentance.
Elsewhere I have stressed the importance of Prayer.No Prayer is effective if it is not preceded by element of Repentance.
I want to stress the importance of Repentance or PRAYASCHITTA, here.
No prayer, pooja or offerings to Lord or our ancestors' spirits in form of Shraddhha is complete if proper PRAYASCHITTA or REPENTANCE is not done for one's Karmas of present and the past births.
PRAYASCHITTA is like a cleansing Fire, which burns your Sins. No one can escape Karma phala but by doing Prayaschitta the Conscience becomes clean and the suffering is considerably reduced.
All planetary bad periods, bad transits (Gocharas) and bad Yogas in Horoscopes result into suffering. This is God's way of awarding punishment for Karma.
So when Planetes are to be appeased and Shanti Prayogas are to be performed,
IT IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE THAT YOU DO THE NECESSARY PRAYASCHITTA OR REPENTANCE BEFORE SUCH POOJA.
Various forms of Prayaschitta have been prescribed by our religious texts. I am simplifying the texts into a simple form as under and if it is done with full faith, I am sure it will be as good as doing such prayaschitta as laid down in
Shastras.
When you prepare yourself to do this prayaschitta, the best way is to ask for forgivance from wronged people. If this is not possible next best thing to do is tell the image of God or Goddess of your choice about all the sins committed by you. Among all the forms of God's images, the best is a Crystal or
Sphatik.
After getting the crystal form please do the poojas regularly for at least one full circle of Moon,
i.e., 28 days and then treat crystal as living God and pour out your repentance to crystal.
SIMPLE PRAYASCHITTA (REPENTANCE) PRAYER
O God, I am suffering untold miseries due to my sins.
I know that I have committed many sins and I need to be punished.
I might have sinned knowingly or unknowingly in my past and present births.
I might have committed acts which are not allowed in any society any religion or any place on earth.
I might have pained many a soul living in all living things which we can see or which we cannot see.
Such souls might have resided in plants or animals.
Please help me cleanse my soul as I am truly regretting for such acts of sins.
I promise that henceforth I will not commit such sins knowingly and do further acts of repentance by doing things beneficial to people, places and this universe.
So help me God.
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Conducting Shanti Pooja
The most powerful Mantra is "PRAYER ".
Power of Prayer lies in total surrender .
It means a surrendering of ones EGO.
Problems, pains and suffering in the life are only due to our EGO.
They are Karmic reactions, which we call as "Karma Phala".
All the suffering due to one's present Karma manifests in " Karma Dosha"
All the suffering due to one's past birth Karma manifests in "Bhagya
Dosha"
Meaning bad luck.
If the Ego is intact and inflated, the Karmik Reactions are felt in the form of Bad Yogas (combinations) in the Horoscope and Dasas of Planets or Bad Periods. Planetary Transits and Dasas give good or bad results as per ones Karma and Bhagya. All Karmic reactions come with compound interest. Meaning, Present bad deeds or Sin may call for one's suffering the consequence for a week or so but if the deeds are beyond the enduring present life time, they have to be endured for a longer period with compound interest in the next birth.
No one can escape the results of such Karmic Reactions. The sum total of effects felt by individuals is in the form of pains, problems, delays, joblessness, childlessness, widowhood, poverty, diseases of mind and body , failures, deprivations etc.
If your Ego is intact, you will suffer maximum effect. If you are like a tree in the eye of a storm, you are likely to be uprooted. But if you are like grass, nothing will happen to you even in the face of the worst storm. Grass bends, but the tree does not.
If
you surrender to supreme power which employs such periods of pain and
misery to give you back your Karma Phala ,the intensity of such periods is
considerably reduced.
Some of the forms of surrender are, performing Poojas, Archanas, Homas,
Vratas , Donations, etc.
But the best form is Prayer. The best way for Ego destruction is to Pray
with full faith.
Unless you surrender totally, Faith does not manifest in you.
Mere performing of any religious rite or pooja or Homa does not result in release from pains and misery.
If
any Pundit or Astrologer offers a solution saying that pooja, Homa or
wearing precious stones will remove your pains and suffering, and if you
believe in such claim, then you are deluding yourself. Astrologers , Gurus
and doctors can advice you and prescribe medicines or remedies. It is up
to you to fully follow strict regimen in order to get the best out of the
treatment.
Apart from such poojas and shanti prayogs done by pundits, you need to
follow sincere advice and do the remedial japas yourselves to get faster
relief.
Once you pray with total faith, no words are necessary. Your own devotion and faith would remove a part of obstacles and suffering which even Mantra and Tantra cannot do.
So please participate in Shanti Prayogs with total faith. And perform simple poojas or chant Japas. It is equally important to desist from increasing your Karmas (Bad) or else, all problems will surround you once again with more intensity.
All
Priharas or Prayers of Appeasements to Planets, Gods etc need your equal
participation.
It is of paramount importance
All problems have respective solutions. So is the case about planetary problems. Generally each planet has potential to harm you or give you benefits, if it is improperly or properly placed in your birth chart. Generally it is believed that Saturn is bad and Sukra / Chandra are good. Guru is Jeeva and Guru saves. But Sani gives you long life also, if placed in 8th house and Guru in exaltation in 8th house or 3rd house cannot save you as it spoils the bhaava it is placed in. All planets respond to poojas done in good faith. Poojas for each planet's shanti must be done if found to cause you problems.
Generally the person afflicted has to be present during the shanti. But in circumstances beyond control, poojas can be done on behalf of the person. Due to lack of time, and other constrains, I do not undertake to get the poojas performed on behalf of the jathaka .
But in extreme cases, if you cannot get really a good pundit to get the poojas done, I would suggest you good vidwan pundits who would perform the rituals as per the tenets of the shastras and arrange to send the prasadams to you.