Early Awakening

This is a very ancient practice, but it has been substantially adapted for modern city life. Nevertheless, its effect remains, and it is very significant.
In Russia, people often said, “God gives to those who rise early.” The point is not that someone who gets up early can do more and therefore receive more than those who wake later. Rather, in the morning, vibrations of the highest level descend to Earth. They pass by those who are asleep and fill only those who are awake. It is like having some jugs with lids and others without: the open ones fill with water, while the closed ones do not.

The tradition of waking early belongs to followers of many Teachings, quite apart from its recommendation in the Vedas, discussed below. This is a very important practice. It can transform you rapidly all by itself.

But do not be alarmed. As I said at the beginning, you will not need to follow the full rigour of the traditional approach. There is a gentler version for you, which I describe below.

How to practise

Technically, the practice is very simple. Set your alarm for 4 a.m. Go to bed as usual and wake at four when it rings. From there, there are stages. I will describe them in increasing order of difficulty. You may practise only the first and easiest stage without going further. It will still help you develop. Nevertheless, during the first stage you may feel capable of more; then move to the second, and perhaps later to the third.

First stage

• Wake at 4 a.m. to the alarm. Switch it off and go back to sleep. Naturally, you will probably remain awake for about five to ten minutes. Many people now use mobile-phone or electronic alarms, so you can set two alarms at once: the first for 4:00, and the second for whatever time you need, such as 7:00. Every mobile phone has a multiple-alarm function. If you have a mechanical alarm clock, simply reset its alarm hand. It is all quite straightforward.

Second stage

• This stage is more demanding. Wake at 4 a.m., sit up in bed—perhaps reclining, or even lying on your back with a high pillow—and meditate a little. You may well fall asleep during the meditation. That is normal. Stay with it for ten minutes or more, perhaps twenty to thirty minutes.

Third stage

• This is the most demanding stage. Wake at 4 a.m. and get out of bed. Then do any spiritual practice you choose. For example, sit in your favourite meditation place and do a full meditation. Or recite a mantra or do a self-development practice. It can be anything you choose. Afterwards, you can go back to sleep. This stage may take about an hour.

Whichever stage you choose, practise for at least a week: seven days. Of course, you can continue longer. Suppose you decide to begin tomorrow morning and practise for ten days. Set the alarm for four, wake up and go back to sleep. Do this for all ten days without interruption. Be resolute. Do not entertain thoughts such as “Perhaps I do not need this” or “I will skip today; I want a good sleep.” If you decide on ten days, practise for ten days without a break. The first stage is very easy and not difficult to do.

Notes

1. The result may astonish you. You may feel like a wilting flower that has suddenly begun receiving life-giving water. Depression, unpleasant states and thoughts will disappear, replaced by clear judgement, calm and spirituality. Pure, bright thoughts will begin to come to you. You will overflow with the desire to live, and joy flowing from your heart will become your constant companion. Higher knowledge will begin to unfold spontaneously within you. Paranormal abilities will begin to develop, such as reading others' thoughts, clairvoyance, predicting the future, and so on.
2. If you have an inner feeling that you should wake not at four but, for example, at three, half past three or half past four, try that time. If you want to be very precise and not miss a minute of the beneficial morning period, use the description of Brahma's Hour and its calculation below.
3. This practice also considerably extends life. According to statistics, people who wake early live longer, look younger and become ill less often.

© Author: Sergey Veretennikov (Om Shanti)
Practice given on 14 April 2013.

Brahma's Hour

In the Vedas, Brahma's Hour is called Brahma-muhurta. It is a special morning period recommended by the Vedas for waking and spiritual practice. At this time, everything a person does is amplified hundreds of times.

According to Vedic timekeeping, a full day is divided into eight yamas, shown as eight segments of the circle in the illustration below. Day and night each last three yamas, with the remaining twilight periods in the evening and morning. A muhurta is an hour, equivalent to forty-eight minutes on a modern clock.

Twilight is also called sandhya, lasting ninety minutes.
According to the Vedas, a person should rise two muhurtas before sunrise, that is, an hour and a half before dawn in their locality. This period is marked in the illustration above. You can find the time of sunrise here.

Please also see the information I gave on the Ediniya Time page.

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