How to Perform Hindu Morning Prayer

Hindus offer prayers in the morning, afternoon and evening. Hindu Early Morning Prayers (Karaagre Vasate) invoke the Divine and prepare the person for the coming day by offering the actions of the day to God. The worshiper is then prepared to receive blessings throughout the day.

Things You'll Need

• Altar with image of the god

Instructions

1. 

   Bathe before prayer. Hindus always clean themselves before approaching God. It is a simple sign of reverence.

2. 

   Recognize the importance of water as a source of life while bathing. Offer a prayer about water. An example of a prayer just prior to bathing is: "In this water, I invoke the presence of holy waters from the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri."

3. 

   Perform prayers after bathing and before eating in a place set aside for prayer.

4. 

   Regard your hands, which are symbols of hard work. Each morning, prayerfully recognize the blessings that you have received in order to perform a good day's work. Each part of the hand symbolizes an important Hindu goddess or god. The Goddess Lakshmi is designated to the fingertips. She is the goddess of wealth. Saraswati, the goddess of learning, is recognized in the palm of the hands. Govinda is represented by the part of the hand just above the wrist.

5. 

   Recite with devotion, "Oh! Mother Earth, who has the ocean as clothes and mountains and forests on her body, who is the wife of Lord Vishnu, I bow to you. Please forgive me for touching you with my feet." You may also chant the Gayatri Mantra: "We meditate upon the glorious splendor of the Vivifier Divine. May He Himself illumine our minds."

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Prayer Before Bathing with Audio
• Early Morning Prayer with Audio
• Daily Life as a Hindu
• Gayatri Mentra with Audio