| Since yesterday, cricketer-turned-politician-turned-acto, Navjot Singh Sidhu, has a maha Mritunjay jaap being conducted by two priests at his MP's residence, in Delhi. The jaap will last 40 days.
Sidhu tells HiTLIST, "A yagya will be performed everyday. On the fortieth day, there will be a maha yagya, where all my family members will assemble and offer 10,000 aahutis."
Sidhu is up at 3 am everyday, and sits with the priests from 3.30 am to 8 am. "Thereafter, I go on with my normal duties. Whenever I get time, I will be reciting some more mantras. I need not sit throughout the day, however, though the priests will take turns and read for 24 hours."
Exile from Patiala
Why did he not hold the jaap in Patiala, where his wife and children stay? "Apart from my shoots and other work commitments, my life is restricted to Delhi and to my constituency, Amritsar (he was elected to the Lok Sabha from here in 2004). I have vowed to my people that as long as I am in political office, I will not go to Patiala for a single day.
I didn't even attend my father-in-law's cremation in Patiala for this reason. My wife understands my commitment and shuttles between Patiala, Amritsar and Delhi. She gets annoyed at times, but I make her see light," he says.
His transformation
Sidhu says he loves to be close to God. "I was very shy and withdrawn in my younger days. I would score a century, and be scared of the press. I read books by Swami Vivekananda, did breathing exercises and got into meditation — and a dramatic transformation unfolded in me. The frank and fearless Sidhu you see on screen is a result of all that." |
| What is the maha Mritunjay jaap?
The maha Mritunjay mantra is from the Rig Veda. Anybody can recite this mantra and attain good health, release from bondage and other problems.
This is held to be a great reliever from all evils, and can be recited at any time, like any other maha-mantra.
Preferably, it should be recited for 40 days, both in the morning and evening, after lighting a jyot and sitting on a woollen asana, while facing east. This is held to be the greatest work of Maharishi Vashistha. | |
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