गृह्णात्यात्मप्रकाशान्निजविषयमतोऽध्यात्ममन्त्रेन्द्रियं स्यात्
सूर्याद्यन्तः प्रवृत्तिं प्रजनयति ततश्चादिदैवं तदुक्तम् ।
रूपाद्यं चाधिभूतं यदनुगतमनुध्येयमात्मस्वरूपं
तेनान्ते तस्य तिष्ठाम्यहमभिमुखमित्यष्ठ मे स्पष्टमाह ॥
There are various ways of performing Sūrya Namaskāra. Here is an outline of the procedure taught by Harshaji to many members of Kamakoti Mandali.
After performing a saṅkalpa on a Sunday, early in the morning, for arghya pradāna and Sūrya namaskāra, Trcha nyāsa is performed and a kalaśa filled with śuddha salila (to which tila, taṇḍula, dūrvāṅkura, bilva, kuśa, kusuma and rakta chandana – the seven ingredients specified by Srī Vidyāraṇya, are added) is worshipped. Srī Sūryanārāyaṇa is invoked in the dvādaśāvaraṇa yantra and worshipped with ṣōḍaśōpacara followed by āvaraṇa pūjā. The description of the Yantra is:
bindutrikōṇavr̥ttaṁ ca ṣaṭkōṇaṁ vr̥ttayugmakam |
vasukōṇaṁ tathā vr̥ttam dvādaśāram tathaiva ca |
bhūpuratrayasaṁyuktam sūryayantram vidhīyatē ||
Note: śrīvidyōpāsakas perform pātra sthāpana as in śrīkrama and perform the dvādaśāvaraṇa pūjā during the caturāyatana pūjā in the śrīcakra.
After the āvaraṇa pūjā, Saurāṣṭākṣarī or other upadiṣṭa saura mantras (navākṣarī in our case) are recited 108, 300, or 1008 times. Based on sampradāya, some use Trcha (first maṇḍala of Rgveda), some Mahāsaura (Rgveda), Aruṇa (Taittiriyāraṇyaka, not followed by any members of Kamakoti Mandali), etc., for Sūrya namaskāra. Trcha (tri+rcha) vidhi is taught to us in Mandali. The namaskāras are followed by Trcha arghya pradāna. For both arghya and namaskāra, a sampuṭa of vyāhr̥titraya, saurāśṭākṣarī, Nārāyaṇa aṣṭākṣarī, Shiva pañcākṣarī and Tvaritā (who represents sūryaśakti) is used. The number of āvartanas prescribed for namaskāra is 6, 4, or 2. 12 or 24 arghyas are generally offered to Lord Sūryanārāyaṇa. Though purāṇōkta namaskāra (janmāntarakr̥tairdōṣaiḥ, etc.) is prescribed for those who cannot perform Vaidika namaskāra, we are taught to perform one round of this as well after the Trcha vidhi. The practice is concluded by the recitation of Viṣṇu Sahasranāma stotra and āditya hr̥daya. A person should follow for three days rules such as abstinence, etc., before undertaking the practice. There are also purāṇōkta arghya mantras for those ineligible for Vaidika mantras. Some follow the practice of performing 108 namaskāras using purāṇōkta mantras (kuryāccēdbhaktisahitō hyaṣṭōttaraśatam bhavēt).
Sūrya namaskāra is practiced by many in our Mandali on Sundays, special days such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries, Yugādi, Saṅkramaṇa, Rathasaptamī, Siddhārtha saptamī, etc.