worship of sandhya forms the root of life...

worship of sandhya forms the root of life...

विप्रो वृक्षः तस्य मूलं तु सन्ध्या

वेदाः शाखाः धर्मकर्माणि पत्रं।

तस्मान्मूलं यत्नतो रक्षणीय्ं

छिन्ने मूले नैव शाखाः न पत्रं॥

चाणक्याद् इति केचन वदन्ति॥

vipro vṛkṣāḥ tasya mūlaṁ tu sandhyā

vedāḥ śākhāḥ dharmakarmāṇi patraṁ|

tasmānmūlaṁ yatnato rakṣaṇīyṁ

chinne mūle naiva śākhāḥ na patraṁ||

cāṇakyād iti kecana vadanti||

If a brahmin is compared to a blooming tree, then the root of the tree is the practice of worship of Sandhya.. during  the dawn, dusk and the the mid-day.. 

The branches of the tree are the Vedas and practice of dharma or virtuous practices would be the like the leaves of the tree.  Therefore the root should be protected with all efforts.. 

If the root is gone,  can the branches or leaves exist?

We have read a lot about the importance of worship of Sandhya in Indian life.. 

The scriptures and puranas extol the importance of the sandhya prayers too often.. 

But I was pleasantly surprised to see the above quote in a collection of works of Chanakya..who is not essentially our copybook writer on religious matters..  

The relevance  of the sloka for the practitioners of Sandhya worship  needs no exaggeration..

The cardinal feature of worship of Sandhya in our lives is the exact time schedule to be followed in the obseravanace... 

Rain or storm, draught or famine, the schedule for Sandhya worship is fixed  with reference to the rising and setting of the sun and this schedule is immutable.. 

Hence a regular  worshipper of Sandhya  is clearly committed to an ordered lifestyle..   

More, if the basic order in life is not maintained,  all frills  can prove to be of little use.. 

The edifice or the root should be strong, 

  so the root should be protected with great care..