Srimad Bhagavatam – day 779
Praying to the Lord is a must before retiring to bed and upon waking up
Narayana Krishna
Maharishi Śuka continued, “Krishna and Balarama washed their feet and then ate rice mixed with milk. They were aware of the arrangements made by Kamsa for the next morning and hence rested peacefully that night on the carts itself.
Kamsa heard that Krishna and Balarama had playfully broken the gigantic golden bow and had effortlessly slayed all his soldiers.”
Kamsa’s attendants had reported to him, ‘O King, the boys played with the soldiers just as children play with toys. In a matter of a few minutes, they destroyed the entire sacrificial hall, broke the hands and legs of the soldiers who attacked them and ransacked the place completely’.
“Hearing that the boys had deftly and smoothly killed all his men at one go, Kamsa’s fear intensified. For long he had been spending sleepless nights, fearing Krishna and this news worsened his fear. After tossing in bed restlessly for a very long time, he just managed to catch a wink, however even that was filled with many inauspicious omens indicating his impending death. He saw that he was being attacked with a sword, he felt he was being kicked and that his army was being destroyed. He woke up with a start-‘Krishna has come here. Where is Krishna? Oh this Krishna- where is he?’ Shouting ‘Krishna Krishna’ all the time, he spent the night”.
Even devotees do not think of the Lord as much as he did. Devotees stick to a perfect timetable to worship the Lord- the morning is fixed for worship. Thereafter no prayers and no thinking of God until evening. Night, before retiring to bed, they have to sing Kakada arati. Many do not bother to offer arati (lamp) to the Lord before retiring to bed. They do not even wash their feet before jumping into bed. Remember that feet should be washed clean before retiring to bed at night. Then, one is guaranteed good sleep. Never go to bed with dirty feet. We should brush our teeth, wash our face, hands and feet, pray to the Lord, invoke the Goddess of sleep (nidra devi) before going to bed. Without sleep a person is driven mad. A minimum of 3 to 4 hours of sleep is a must. It may not be adequate but is the bare minimum. To remain healthy, a person should sleep for minimum 5 hours. Therefore, just as you brush your teeth, wash your face, hands and feet upon waking up, you must clean yourself before retiring to bed. Think of the Lord- think of any mantra, any chant, any divine name that is loved by you and while chanting that name try to fall asleep.
Immediately upon waking up, rub your palms together, then open your eyes and look into your hands. At that moment, all the Gods reside in your palms alone! They bless you with auspiciousness and longevity.
Among the many superstitions, one is the belief that the person whose face is seen first in the morning determines how the events would turn out during the day. On days when events go contrary to the expectations, they curse the person whose face they had seen soon upon waking. On days when they are lucky, they praise the person. It is a different matter altogether that they may curse or praise the same face on alternate days, depending on how their day progresses. Those who believe in such superstitions should see their own reflection in the mirror soon upon waking up. They can then praise or curse themselves every alternate day. The more the person believes in such superstitions, the more his life is ruined. Neither can he/she eat leisurely nor sleep peacefully.
Before retiring to bed, every person should mentally offer obeisance to the Goddess of sleep and to all the Guardian-deities. Such prayers should be said mentally. There is no obligation to walk all around the house offering obeisance to every God in every direction. Do not go around sprinkling water all around the house and upon the members in the house in an attempt to purify the surroundings. Believing that you have turned insane they will rush you to a physiatrist.
Do not sleep in the north-south direction. The head should never be north-facing as it goes against the earth’s magnetic waves. This is not a superstition. The vibrations that travel through the body when it is kept facing north are harmful. When the person sleeps with head facing east or west, the vibrations coming from the Sun travel pass through the body from the head to toe. When these positive vibrations pass through the body, all the ailments are dissipated.
Books on every subject are available in the market these days- on sleep, dreams, tongue, teeth, eyebrows, twinkling of the eyes, omens- and what not. Authors are many but readers are few. The world had advanced a lot. Now one can do a google search anytime and the answer for any subject is instantly found. Even knowledge from Vedas and Upanishads are available in the internet. From death to immortality every subject is covered there. The internet will show up the mantra that should be recited at bedtime. Just chant the mantra diligently. Upon waking up, Google will show the mantra to be chanted. Chant it. More importantly, memorise the verses to avoid Googling night and day. If you fail to fall asleep, then even at midnight you can do Google-search for remedies.
Narayana Krishna