The silence of the early morning begins with the sense of deep gratitude I feel about being born in Bharata and as a child of Sanathana Dharma.

Instinctively my hands touch Bhumi Devi and I feel a connect to her, I chant a verse

समुद्रवसने देवि पर्वतस्तनमण्डले ।
विष्णुपत्नि नमस्तुभ्यं पादस्पर्शं क्षमस्वमे ॥
Samudra-Vasane Devi Parvata-Stana-Mannddale |
Vissnnu-Patni Namas-Tubhyam Paada-Sparsham Kssamasva-Me ||

Meaning:
1: (Oh Mother Earth) O Devi, You Who have the Ocean as Your Garments, and Mountains as Your Bosom,
2: O Consort of Lord Vishnu, Salutations to You; Please Forgive me for treading on you.

And then I look at my palms and chant again:

कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः करमध्ये सरस्वती ।
करमूले तु गोविन्दः प्रभाते करदर्शनम् ॥
Kara-Agre Vasate Lakssmiih Kara-Madhye Sarasvatii |
Kara-Muule Tu Govindah Prabhaate Kara-Darshanam ||

Meaning:
1: At the Top of the Palm dwells Devi Lakshmi, and in the Middle of the Palm dwells Devi Saraswati,
2: At the Bottom of the Palm dwells Sri Govinda; looking at the palm invoke the Gods and contemplate on them.

This chanting and praying continues when I take a bath invoking the great rivers, in the water :

गङ्गे च यमुने चैव गोदावरि सरस्वति ।
नर्मदे सिन्धु कावेरि जलेऽस्मिन् संनिधिं कुरु ॥
Gangge Ca Yamune Cai[a-E]va Godaavari Sarasvati |
Narmade Sindhu Kaaveri Jale-[A]smin Sannidhim Kuru ||

Meaning:
1: O Holy Rivers Ganga and Yamuna, and also Godavari and Saraswati,
2: O Holy Rivers Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri; Please be Present in this Water (and make it Holy).

After a shower I step out to look at the rising Surya Bhagavan absorbing those energy filled rays, I feel that soft touch of Vaayu, the Wind God.

Then I bow down to Mother Tulasi, that magical medicinal plant that cures so many ailments. The area in front of the main door I clean and draw rangoli with rice flour. I still find my mind chanting various chants.

Can you imagine many still follow all these customs in spite of the turmoil for almost a 1000 years with wave upon wave of invaders and then for 200 years we had colonisers yet our connect to our culture remains but today with globalisation there is a lack of understanding of our culture, our Sanathana Dharma.

Ancient cultures across the world had a deep connect to Mother Earth and their life styles were in synch with Her but as the wheels of time turned, they lost that connect that remained in Bharata. As the invaders and colonisers came into Bharata bringing with them a disdain and contempt for our ways slowly we lost the understanding of our culture except in pockets and many followed blindly making it a ritual with no inner involvement.

After the rangoli we prostrate to parents and other elders at home, remembering our ancestry.

As the morning progresses the kitchen calls. Before cooking, Agni devata and all the ingredients are offered silent prayers.

Before the meal the crows are offered food, since crows are representative of ancestors, if one has any other animals, they are all fed and before the meal several prayers are chanted. Some are an expression of gratitude for the food we have, yet others are for invoking the digestive fires.

Evenings normally revolve around contemplation and learning of the sastras while the day is spent in the pursuit of one’s avocation

Some follow all this but with the advent of the rat race we are all living in, a lot of it has vanished and for many it is a painful ritual in which they see no meaning since they sadly are biased and lack thinking with an open mind.

I will go back and describe all the above in lieu of the Pancha-Maha yagnas as I have understood them soon.