Guidelines_for_growth

Guidelines for spiritual progress of a mAdhva family

VMS is for spiritual growth of its members and tries to help in all possible ways to improve the spiritual practices. Some basic guidelines are provided here to help families who are trying to start or improve their spiritual journey in mAdhva religious practices. These are general guidelines that can be tailored for individual needs. Please note that one need not have to implement or practice all these on day one. Please take your own time and proceed at your own pace in the spiritual path. These are suggested items for somebody who is just starting his / her journey in spiritual life.. There is no one fixed or specified path for spiritual progress. There are various ways and means to attain spiritual goal, depending on the individual cultural & social background and intellectual development.

These guidelines are organized as 'basic' and 'intermediate' levels. At each level, top 10 things that a mAdhva family can do is listed. To interact with other like minded people and to learn more about spiritual practice, you may subscribe to 'VMS List' or 'Dvaita list' . Please go through the footnote provide at the end for some more details.

Basic level:

1. Do SandhyAvandanama daily (for men) once a day. Tulasi pooja and sri krishNa mantra japa (after upadesha ) is specified for ladies. Children can recite some of the shlokas of sri Hari, vAyu and guru parampara and some of the shlokas given in this web site. Please visit study center in this web.

2. Have a photob of sri madhvAcharya in your house and pray to him with few shlokas (of Laghu vAyu stuthi or khila vAyu stuthi) every day.

3. Try to practice observing 'upavAsa' c (fasting) on "Ekadashi".. This is the most important vrata for mAdhvas.

4. Try to learn the shloka “sriman madhvamate hariH parataraH…” (composed by sri vyAsa theertha which gives a summary of mAdhva philosophy) and the meaning of the shloka .

5. Chant vishNusahasra nAmad with your family at least once a week or once in fortnight.

6. Learn to chant at least sections 1,3,6 and 10 of Dvadasha stotra.e

7. Learn to sing at least couple of devara nAmAs to sing with your family at bhajans.f

8. Learn to chant sri KrishNashtakag by sri vAdirAja.

9. Learn to chant sri venkatesha stotra in sri bramHAnda purAraNa.

10. Learn the Guru paramampara stotras that pray to important yatis and haridasas in the mAdhva spiritual lineage (parampara).

11. Have satsang with like minded people on a regular basis.

Intermediate Level:

In addition to the above mentioned duties, please include the following for further progress in the spiritual life.

1. Do devara Pooja h at least couple of times a week and special pooja and bhajans on EkAdashi and dvAdashi days.

2. Learn to Chant sri Hari vAyu stuthi. English transliterated text is available in Dvaita archives. Contact any VMS volunteer for details.

3. Do japa of at least one of sri nArAyaNa ashtAkshara mantra, vAsudeva dvAdashakshara mantra, shiva shadakshara mantra etc. You need to get upadesham from a qualified person for this.

4. Try to study Bagavadgeetha and its interpretation as per Madhva philosophy.

5. Celebrate mAdhva festivals like sri madhva navami, sri rAghavendra swami ArAdhane at home or at the local temple.

6. Have regular bhajans and devara nAma singing at home or in a group at the temple or somebody’s residence.

7. Learn to chant first chapter of sri sumadhva vijaya.

8. Learn the dashAvatAra stuthi of sri vAdirAja.

9. Study the life history of great saints, yathis and haridasas and try to study some of their simple works.

10. Study some aspects of mAdhva philosophy using the books and material in dvaita and VMS web sites.

Foot notes:

a) Importance of doing sandhyAvandhanam can not be emphasized enough. This is the foundation of all spiritual progress.

b) You can ask VMS volunteers for a photo.

c) Spiritual importance of Ekadashi is explained by SrimadAcharya in krishNamR^itamahArNava (Please look at postings by Shrisha Rao in Dvaita list archives at www.dvaita.org). Health benefits of fasting are explained in book “Miracles of fasting by Dr. Bragg” available in health stores or at www.bragg.com. You can also ask anybody who fasts on a regular basis how clean their stomach and intestines feel after fasting.). If you can not fast completely, take as little food as possible. Children above the age of 8 and adults up to 80 should be able to fast. Please under take fasting on a gradual basis if you have any medical problems and consult your doctor. With practice, it is possible to do full set of activities for the day while doing upavAsa.

d) The English transliterated versions of vishNusahasra nAma are available at Pittsburgh temple and on the web (http://members.tripod.com/~vedamantra/ ).

e) These are very devotional songs composed by sri mAdhvAcharya. Sri Bannanje GovindAcharya has done a very good kannada translation which is sung by sri vidyAbhUshaNa. You don't have to be a musician to do this.

f) VMS has published a devara nAma book in kannada and with English transliteration with an accompanying cassette to help anybody interested to do this.

g) Good source for mAdhva stotras is “Stotra mAlika” authored by sri vyAsanakere prabhanjanAcharya. It is available in Sanskrit and kannada scripts. Some shlokas are also available in Dvaita and VMS web sites.

h) There are various devara pooja books and cassettes for you to get started. Pooja can be done in as little as 20-25 minutes if you are constrained for time. There is a good devara pooja cassette in English published by tArA prakAshana . Contact tara@dvaita.org or any VMS volunteer for details.

|| Shri Krishnaarpanamastu ||