ओं वाक् वाक्
ओं प्राणः प्राणः
ओं चक्षुः चक्षुः
ओं श्रोत्रं श्रोत्रं
ओं नाभिः
ओं ह्दयम्
ओं कण्ठः
ओं शिरः
ओं बाहुभ्यां यशोबऌम्
ओं करतऌ करपृष्ठे
OM vaak vaak
OM praanah praanah
OM chakshuhu chakshuhu
OM shrotram shrotram
OM nabhihi
OM hridayam
OM kanthaha
OM shiraha
OM baahubhyaam yashobalam
OM karatala karaprishthe
O God! May my voice be blessed with power and strength. O God! May my breath be blessed with power and strength. O God! May my eyes be blessed with power and strength. O God! May my ears be blessed with power and strength. O God! May my abdomen be blessed with power and strength. O God! May my heart be blessed with power and strength. O God! May my throat be blessed with power and strength. O God! May my head be blessed with power and strength. O God! May my arms be blessed with power and strength. O God! May my hands be blessed with power and strength.
Indriya Sparsha is the first in a series of actions that are meant to prepare body, mind and soul for an encounter with the Omnipresence of God. These various aspects of man must be harmonized and unified if the experience of Upaasanaa is to have the desired effect of inducing a state of acute awareness of the all-pervasive Nature of Divinity. Indriya Sparsha serves to purify and bless the organs of the physical body through which the eternal soul manifests its will while embodied on this earth.
The words yasha (fame, greatness or power) and bala (might or strength) play a central role in understanding the Indriya Sparsha mantras. Man alone would be capable of nothing. It is by the Grace of God that he receives the ability to move and act as a free agent.
Yet, the power and freedom that God grants man brings with it great responsibility. The individual has been given the power to exert his own will upon his environment, whereby he may choose the path of virtue or the path of vice. Since the beginning of time, the virtuous have chosen to exercise their God-given strength in the service of Dharma.
In order for the soul to observe the dictates of Dharma and perform its duty effectively and efficiently, the physical organs through which it operates must be sound and in good working order. During Indriya Sparsha, we ask God to grant us the blessings of power and strength so that we may be able to carry out our duties with grace and skill.
We ask that God grant our voices the endurance to drown out the rantings and ravings of the deceitful and ignorant with the invincible words of truth. We ask that God grant our breath the vitality to carry us forward, free from illness and disease, through the difficulties of our journey in this life. We ask that God grant our eyes the acuity to perceive goodness and truth wherever they be found, and to avoid being fooled by acts of deception. In short, we ask that God grant all of our bodily organs the power and strength to do that which is right and avoid that which is wrong.
Through the physical act of anointing the various parts of the body with pure water, we direct our consciousness to the various limbs through which we create our Karma. Conscious awareness of the entirety of one's physical self is a necessary prerequisite for taking control of one's actions in this world. Indriya Sparsha is a means to help us attain this awareness.
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