Morning Schedule and Prayers

The standard temple schedule begins very early in the morning, at 4:30 am. The first worship service is called Mangala Arati (mangala means auspicious, arati means worship). Spiritual life is very successful when one gets up early and starts the day right. Srila Prabhupada said that all temple devotees must attend Mangala Arati. If it is not possible for you to go to a temple and you would like to begin at home, this page will give you a good start.

The links below cover each part of the morning program, in chronological order. You can follow the whole program at home, beginning with Sri Sri Gurvastakam and ending with breakfast prasadam. Each page gives the prayer, its translation, and the word-for-word meaning so you can learn to sing along.

1. 4:30 am
   Mangala Arati. The Deity doors open.

   • Sri Sri Gurvastakam
   • Srila Prabhupada Pranati
   • Panca-tattva Maha Mantra
   • Hare Krishna Maha Mantra
   • Sri Nrsimha Prayers
2. 5:00 am
   Tulasi Puja and prayers

   • Sri Tulasi Pranama and Kirtana
   • Sri Vaisnava Pranama
   • Ten Offenses in Chanting the Holy Name
   • Sri Siksastakam
3. 5:20 am
   Japa period

   • Chant the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra on beads. Sixteen rounds is the standard Srila Prabhupada set for initiated devotees; begin with what you can do attentively and build up.
4. 6:45 am
   Srimad-Bhagavatam class

   • Listen to Srila Prabhupada give class. All of his recorded Bhagavatam lectures are available with audio on prabhupadabooks.com.
5. 7:30 am
   Greeting the Deities

   • Govindam prayers
6. 7:40 am
   Guru Puja

   • Guru Puja, worship of the spiritual master
7. 8:10 am
   Breakfast prasadam

   • Prasada Sevaya, the prayer for honoring prasadam

A realistic program for a working household

Very few people can keep the full temple schedule at home while raising a family and holding a job. Srila Prabhupada did not expect it. He asked that householders keep the essentials every day and add more as circumstances allow. A workable minimum, which the strict Prabhupada-only temples teach their home devotees, looks like this:

1. Rising
   Bathe, put on tilak, offer Mangala Arati before your altar

   • Five to ten minutes with the Gurvastakam, Prabhupada pranati, and the maha-mantra. See how to offer arati.
2. Morning
   Chant your rounds

   • Your fixed daily number of rounds of japa, before the day's work if at all possible.
3. Breakfast
   Offer and honor prasadam

   • Play a few minutes of Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavatam class while you eat.
4. Day
   Work as an offering

   • Offer every meal. Chant while commuting or doing chores. See Practical Engagement.
5. Evening
   Gaura Arati and reading

   • A short arati with the Gaura-arati song, then fifteen minutes of Srila Prabhupada's books, ideally read aloud with the family.
6. Rest
   Early to bed

   • So that rising early is possible. Devotees sleep as little as they healthily can, and never after sunrise.

Keep this every day for a month and it becomes the shape of your life. Then add the pieces of the full temple program one at a time.