Instructions To Follow Sandhyavandanam

Sandhyavandana is a mandatory religious ritual that needs to be performed by all twice-born people of Hinduism. Especially brahmins who are initiated into the sacred thread ceremony called as Upanayanam, and instructed in its execution by a Guru (a qualified spiritual teacher). Sandhyavandanam consists of excerpts from the Vedas that are to be performed thrice daily at morning (prātaḥsaṃdhyā), at noon (mādhyānika), and in the evening (sāyaṃsaṃdhyā).

Sandhyavandanam is the oldest extant liturgy in world religion. It may be a practice descended from the much older daily Agnihotra.

Sandhyavandanam literally means salutation to Sandhya. Sandhya literally means transition moments of the day namely the two twilight: dawn and dusk and the solar noon. Thus Sandhyavandanam means salutation to twilight or solar noon.

The term sandhyā is also used by itself in the sense of "daily practice" to refer to the performance of these devotions at the opening and closing of the day. [1][2]
[3][4] The steps in the Sandhyavandan always include the following essential ones:
1. Achamana consists of Nama Sankirthana---taking the names of the Lord
2. Pranayama is the ritual purification of internals via breathing exercises
3. Marjana is a ritual self-purification
4. Mantra Prokshanam is a prayer for atonement of sins
5. Aghamarshana (performed by some schools, especially Rig Vedins) is a prayer for forgiveness of sins
6. Gayathri japa is meditation
7. Upasthanam is prayer to Mitra (in the morning prayer) & Varuna (in the evening prayer)
8. AbhivAdana is a salutory introduction offered to all deities. It usually follows a prostration to the deities of each direction ("dikpaalas") 

Aadhaar Number for Ration Card

'Aadhaar numbers of all members must for smart ration card'

News published by The New Indian Express on 26^th June 2016

MADURAI: Aadhaar numbers of all family members whose names are there in ration cards should be produced at the ration shops to be eligible for smart ration card, said S Gopalakrishnan, Principal Secretary and Commissioner, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, here on Saturday.

Speaking at a review meeting at the Collectorate on the ongoing linking of Aadhaar cards with ration cards, Gopalakrishnan said that the details of ration card holders, such as mobile number, type of card and number of persons in the family are being linked through an electronic device called Point of Sale (POS) at ration shops. “In addition, Aadhaar card numbers of all the family members on the ration card should be produced at the ration shops,” he categorically stated.

Stating that the linking process will eliminate maintenance of records such as A, B and Sitta registers by ration shop employees, Gopalakrishnan said that based on the records updated in the POS device, the government will initiate the process to issue smart ration cards.

Of the 9,37,005 card holders in the district, 50 per cent had updated their mobile numbers and 21 per cent had updated their Aadhaar card numbers. Ration card holders will receive SMS alerts for every purchase made at the shops, said Gopalakrishnan.

Though the updating began on June 1, the linking process failed to gain momentum with the civil supplies department declaring at the eleventh hour that photocopies of e-Aadhaar cards would not be accepted.

As it is, thousands of people who did not receive the Aadhaar cards are finding it extremely difficult to get the plastic Aadhaar cards at the e-service centres, courtesy technical problems and shortage of employees. The new decision to enroll the Aadhaar numbers of all the family members has compounded their woes.

Commenting on this, R Jeeva, District Supply Officer, said photocopy of the e-Aadhaar card had to be scanned to be linked with the POS device. “Necessary instructions will be given to the employees at the ration shops to accept the e-Aadhaar cards. Card holders should approach e-service centres to get Aadhaar card for their family members. We hope to complete the entire process before July 30,” she said.

“Necessary steps have been taken to fix the technical problems at the e-service centres. Additional staff will be employed,” Collector K Veera Raghava Rao said.