Hinduism 16
Transcript (Not Corrected)
Opening Prayer
ॐ सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु ।
मा विद्विषावहै ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ।
हरिः ॐ ।
Transliteration (IAST):
Om Saha Nāvavatu
Saha Nau Bhunaktu
Saha Vīryaṃ Karavāvahai
Tejasvi Nāvadhītamastu
Mā Vidviṣāvahai
Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ
Hariḥ Om
Translation:
Om, may Brahman protect us both.
May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.
May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.
May what we both study reveal the truth.
May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other.
Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.
Hindu Samskaras: Sacred Rites for Spiritual Progress
Opening Prayer
Om Sahana Vavatu Sahana Bhunaktu Sahaveeryam Karavavahai Tejasvinavadhi Tamastumavidvishavahai Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hariom Om
May Brahman protect us both. May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge. May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge. May what we both study reveal the truth. May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other. Om Peace Peace Peace be unto all.
Introduction to Samskaras
We are discussing Hinduism, and today we are going to discuss a very important part of this tradition, which is Samskaras—Hindu Samskaras. The word is samskara. Many of us have heard the meaning in which we use this word: it is the sum total of impressions that we are born with and we acquire during this lifetime, which is also called character. We usually say, "This person has this character."
What does it mean? It means it is the sum total of the impressions, habits, and understanding the person has. But how did this person acquire this character? So he must have done something in his past life. Some people have good samskaras, some people have bad samskaras—bad character.
Why is it that some people are so good, and some people are not so good? This is one part of the understanding about samskara. The other part is the resultant of these samskaras: the happiness, unhappiness, the opportunities, the strength, the health, the intelligence, the social position a person has. All these depend upon one's samskara.
Sri Ramakrishna's Insight into Character
When you read the biographies of Ramakrishna or other great souls and saints, sometimes we come across certain types of incidents where these great people simply reject some people, saying, "You don't belong to this place, and there is no hope for spiritual progress in this life." One instance: Sri Ramakrishna had gone to meet Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and while he was sitting there, he observed there was a young boy there. Sri Ramakrishna didn't know anything—first time he was seeing him. Looking at his face, Sri Ramakrishna said, "Mother, this boy is very worldly."
Sri Ramakrishna could assess the character of a person. What is the character? How did he assess? He could see deep into the mental impressions of the person, because sometimes we smile, and how do the other persons know what is in our mind? We are very poor in recognizing the mental impressions of people, but these great souls, at a glance, can see.
The Root Cause of Mental Impressions
So what is the root cause? How does a person acquire these good impressions or bad impressions? We are discussing the Sanskrit word samskara. Even our physical body, our face cut, our experiences in life—all these are because of our samskaras, old impressions. These impressions are gained through habitually doing actions for many, many lives. And what is it that impels us to perform certain types of actions in a certain way? Our knowledge, our understanding, our faith. And why do some people turn bad? Because they do not have good samskaras, we say.
Samskara as Sacrament
In the secondary sense, life is a preparation through certain types of samskaras or sacraments so that we can become pure, we can acquire really good mental impressions. In that sense, the secondary meaning of samskara is sacrament.
What is the place of the sacrament in life? So if we have to sum up our previous classes on Hinduism: Hinduism says that we are all divine. Life is a journey. It is a journey which consists of two parts: from God down to this earth—that is the first part, called involution. And what is the second part? From this earth to God.
So we are all traveling towards God, and what is the achievement in life? What is the goal of this journey? The ultimate goal is to go to God, but this journey is divided into four parts which are called four purusharthas.
The Four Purusharthas
What are the supreme values that ought to be desired by human beings? Purushartha. Artha means "that which is to be desired." By whom? By a human being. An animal cannot desire it. A god cannot desire it—God means those who are in the heavenly world. He cannot desire it because he is only immersed day and night in senseless, sensate enjoyment.
So only human beings can desire. That is why it is called purushartha. Do all of us desire? Look at life.
What are those four supreme values in life? Dharma, artha, kama, and moksha.
- Dharma means a proper way of living life, equipping ourselves so that we will be fit to acquire and enjoy.
- The acquisition part is called artha.
- The enjoyment part is called kama.
But why these three? Because finally, just as a child grows up—no man is born from the sky. We cannot jump at a go and then say, "I would like God." We have to go through these stages of what we call desire—stages of desiring. Even to desire something, we have to go through the stages.
A child—what does the child desire? Dolls, playthings. What does a young man desire? Better playthings, grown-up playthings. What does an old man desire? Lots of medications, pills, blood pressure instruments, you know, all those things—sugar measuring instruments, all those instruments.
We have to go through these. So it is said life is a journey. The ultimate goal is to know who we are, to attain God. But this journey has to proceed through these former three types of desires, purusharthas. Now they are called the supreme goals of life: dharma, artha, and kama.
Why Are Artha and Kama Supreme Values?
Now you may wonder why are artha and kama called supreme goals of human life. Dharma is a wonderful thing—to live a perfectly moral life. For example, Sri Ramakrishna could never tell a lie. Only truth would come out of his mouth. It's very difficult for most of us to keep up to the truth. Real truthfulness is not even saying something but to make the mind and the action and the speech one so that there is no variance. It is extremely difficult. So we can understand that is a difficult goal, so it is a supreme value.
But why are artha and kama considered as values? Because unconsciously that is what every living creature is seeking. Artha and kama are common to all living creatures, humans and non-humans alike. That is why it is said in one of the beautiful wise sayings:
Āhāra nidrā bhaya maithunaṃ ca sāmānyam etat paśubhir narāṇām
So what is eating, mating, playing, and fighting? All these things are common to all living beings.
What is it that distinguishes a human being from an animal? Dharmo hi teṣām adhiko viśeṣaḥ dharmeṇa hīnaḥ paśubhiḥ samānaḥ—One who is devoid of dharma is equivalent to an animal. But what is the speciality of human beings? Dharma. If a person is having dharma, only that person is entitled to be called, properly called, a human being. Otherwise he is called a catuṣpāda—a four-legged animal. That's all. Two hands and two feet.
But what are those two hands doing? The two legs take you to the place to grab, and the two hands grab. So there is no difference at all with the four-legged animals. We are also four-legged animals only. So dharma is the speciality.
The Role of Dharma
And to acquire this artha and kama through the acquisition of dharma—because what really gives us the ability: the objects we can enjoy and the ability to enjoy. These two are separate issues. We must have the objects to enjoy, and even if we have the objects to enjoy, we must have the ability to enjoy.
So our scriptures tell us they can be attained only through one thing. What is that? Dharma. If we are having dharma—dharmāt arthaś ca kāmaś ca—from dharma spring both material things and also proper enjoyment. Without dharma, both will not be available. That is why dharma is very important. Even animals have their own dharma.
The Importance of Fitness to Enjoy
Even to acquire this dharma, acquire a proper fitting instrument to enjoy and to be able to enjoy them in a proper way so that the maximum benefit can be derived—I am dwelling on this subject in a little bit more detail because so much thoughtlessness is there with regard to even acquisition, of course, and enjoyment.
What is the proportion of enjoyment? How much can we enjoy an object? Do you know what is the mathematical calculation? The calculation is: as much as we are fit to receive a thing, only our enjoyment will be exactly to that extent.
Let me give you a small example. So you are desirous of having a sweetmeat, and you have a sweetmeat. Now how much can you really enjoy it? If you are an old man with diabetes, rheumatic pains, do you think you can really enjoy it? You can chew, but you will not be able to enjoy it. If you are a young person and very healthy and you are ravenously hungry because you walked a long distance or whatever, then your enjoyment will increase, is it not?
So dharma alone can give us that capacity to enjoy. Even animals—they don't eat whenever they want. They eat only when they are really hungry. You watch these nature videos, then you will see a tiger, a lion is moving very near, just a few feet from the herds of deer and all that. They won't move away because they know these animals are full and they are not going to hunt. But when they are hungry, the movements, you know, are different. Then they are very, very cautious about it.
So this is the law of nature.
The Eight Steps of Life
So to acquire this proper dharma, proper artha, and proper kama, every human being has to go again through eight steps: four of the varnas or four of the āśramas. That's why Hinduism has specified all the personality types—as we discussed, they have been divided into four types—and then the spiritual, a less spiritual, still more worldly, and completely dull: Śūdra, Vaiśya, Kṣatriya, and Brāhmaṇa.
And in each human life is again divided into four stages: the childhood, then the married, then the vānaprastha āśrama, and the sannyāsa āśrama. That is the ultimate goal. I also explained which pre-value corresponds to which stage of life again.
The Purpose of Sacraments
In this class, I would like to detail what type of sacraments are there. So what is the purpose of these sacraments?
First of all, in the olden days, our sages used to perform lots of sacrifices. You know they're called yajñas. First, it was for desiring health, long life, wealth, enjoyment, etc. As they evolved, then they discovered that there are higher types of happiness. So not only happiness of this world but happiness after death. Then they further evolved and then they said the highest happiness is available only when we become one with God. That is called mokṣa. That is how they have formulated these four purusharthas.
The Law of Karma
And now they also know that to attain something, there is no free lunch. That is one of the most important laws of karma. What is the law of karma? Can you explain to me, "Swami, what is this Hindu law of karma?" If an American asks, I would say very easily: there is no free lunch.
What does it mean? If you want lunch, you will have to earn it. If you want to be happy, then you have to work for it, pay for it. If you are unhappy, that means how did you become unhappy? You paid for that. Yes, you paid earlier for that. Does anyone pay for unhappiness? Yes, through our actions—unwise actions—we do that.
Life as a Sacrificial Act
Whole life, our ṛṣis, sages have understood, must be converted into a sacrificial act. What is a sacrificial act? I explained in my past classes. I was talking about bhakti yoga and also all the Vedic parts. Yajña—the word yajña means sacrifice.
This English translation of the word "sacrifice" brings wrong connotations to our mind that you are sacrificing something. What are you sacrificing? You know, suppose you borrow some money from somebody, promising, "I will repay you after 15 days," and the person comes after 15 days. You are making a great sacrifice—you are returning back the money to him. Are you?
So, what is the idea of the sacrifice here? The first part of the sacrifice is that we become fit to receive from God. It is a very important concept. God is ready to give. Are you prepared to receive it? As you know, all asthmatic patients know that Deva says, "You take me in as much as you like." But is it possible for the asthmatic patient? No. So, he has to be healthy like that.
The first part is by doing certain things, we become fit to receive the grace of God in the form of our fulfillment of our desires. In the second part, we try to give back to God what we receive with an acknowledgment, thankfulness: "Lord, I'm very grateful you gave me so much. I don't need so much. So, please take it back." This is the second part.
In the third part, my individuality is sublimated. I am not there. Who is there? Only God is there. That is the last part. Very well connected with our present, today's topic.
In Hinduism, a person is cremated. His body is taken into the fire. What is that? It is the final act of sacrifice, becoming one with God. Think of it. The whole life is considered by our sages as a great sacrificial act. But by just thinking, "I will sacrifice my life," it will not happen. It has to be—we have to understand what it is. Then we have to, stage by stage, progress into it, and that which helps us to progress so that we can make our whole life into a sacrificial act—that is called samskara. This is the real purpose of samskara.
Samskara as Sacred Action
Samskara means here: sacrament. The very word "sacrament" means an action that turns an ordinary thing into a sacred thing. You know, a small fruit you take—it's a fruit—but you offer it to God. Immediately what does it become? A sacred object. What is the purpose of this? So that ultimately we ourselves would become sacred.
You see, why pūjārīs are so much respected? Everywhere you know, pūjārīs, priests are respected. Why? Because they are worshiping God, and in every worship of God, the final act of worship is ātma samarpaṇa—one's offering oneself to God. I mean, it is not that one really feels it, but the purpose is slowly to feel that, and that's why a pūjārī is considered a sacred person because he does this thing.
Holy persons—you bow down to monks and nuns. Why do you do that? Who is a holy person, who is a monk or a nun? One who has offered himself to God. Sannyāsa—the word sannyāsa itself—nyāsa means offering to God. Sannyāsa means samyak nyāsaḥ—not me but it is You.
So even ordinary people understand it: this person belongs to God, and that is why they bow down. They don't bow down to the person; they bow down ultimately to the principle of God which is, who is represented through this particular person's vocation or life.
What is the point? The point is by doing that, one day I will also become like that. Life is a journey. The final goal of this journey is God realization, and before we realize God, there are three other things we have to acquire. They are called dharma, artha, and kama—means a righteous fit to become fit instruments and then to acquire things so that they can conduce to our happiness and to actually enjoy or experience them so that we become happy people. That is the purpose of these fourfold or these supreme values of human life: dharma, artha, kama, and mokṣa.
Preparation Through Varnas and Ashramas
And in order to be able to do that, to desire those four supreme values, we must prepare ourselves, and this preparation is gone according to Hinduism. First of all, from the low life, śūdra, then vaiśya, then kṣatriya, then brāhmaṇa, and then through student life, brahmacaryāśrama, married life, then vānaprasthāśrama, then sannyāsa life.
But the purpose of all these personality types and stages of life is only one. What is that? To progress in the journey. First we acquire dharma, then we acquire objects to enjoy, then we derive supreme happiness as far as possible in this world. Ultimately we realize all worldly happiness is limited; therefore the only unlimited happiness is God, and to attain to that God—that is called mokṣa.
And how does one prepare oneself through all these? Every caste has got samskara, and in Hinduism there are more than 41 samskaras, sacraments. That is to say, every stage of life you have to remind yourself: you are not yourself, you are God, you are a divine person. Try to realize it. And how to do that? Every time both the person and also the others who are helping us to come into this world and to grow up, they have to guide us properly.
So the whole Hindu life is hemmed in, as it were, as a preparation to meet God, and that is the purpose of samskara. Samskara means impressions, mental impressions, but here in this particular case, say that this, that sacrament, that particular act which appropriately creates this particular good mental impression, pure mental impression, spiritual impression—that act itself is also called samskara—an outward act which will ultimately help us acquire the inner act.
The Purpose of Bowing Down
As an example, I just mentioned: you bow down to God, you bow down to a holy person, thereby the holy person is not benefited. If he thinks he is benefited, he is not holy. But the purpose is for each one of us to acquire humility, to be able to see God ultimately. Who is getting benefit?
Some people ask, "Is there really any benefit?" I said, you know, you come at 12:15 and bow down to me 15 times—you will see at 12:30 what is the benefit.
The Path from Impurity to Purity
So it is said in our Hindu scriptures, we progress from low purity to the highest point of purity. So this beautiful verse which says:
Janmanā jāyate śūdraḥ saṃskārād bhavate dvijaḥ Veda-pathād bhaved vipraḥ brahma jānāti brāhmaṇaḥ
So first we are all born śūdras. One of the last classes I mentioned: though people are classified into four categories, all of us originally are divine, brāhmaṇas only, but we degenerated, we gone down the hill. So what is the way? Come up the hill—that is the only way.
So by birth we are all born as śūdras. There is no difference between a brāhmaṇa baby and a śūdra baby. Both are Kumbhakarnas only.
Saṃskārād bhavate dvijaḥ—means twice born. It is through parents, through the actions that he is habituated, and through that he becomes, as it were, reborn into a higher birth. Reborn means not physically, but he becomes a better person.
Vipraḥ means one who studies sacred scriptures and slowly tries to practice the disciplines, the teachings, and then he is entitled to be called as dvija. And then one day he will realize Brahman, God. Then he alone is entitled to be called as brāhmaṇa.
Through this verse also we are shown that first of all we are all born as an impure or unpurified mental—a bundle of undirected, indisciplined mental samskaras.
The Three Gunas
Just in fun, you know, in Hinduism we say there are three qualities called sattva, rajas, and tamas, and Rāvaṇāsura—he was the example of rajoguna—and Kumbhakarṇa is the example of tamoguna, and Vibhīṣaṇa the example of sattvaguna. He became a devotee of God.
But all of us when we are born, we are Kumbhakarnas. What do we do? Eat and sleep. And when we grow a little bit and become adolescents, young men and women, what do we become? Rāvaṇāsuras. Boys are running after girls, girls are running after boys. That's what Rāvaṇāsura did.
Then when we become old, our teeth start falling down, and what do we become? Vibhīṣaṇas. That is to say, sattvaguna develops. Life teaches us a lesson that we have to turn our attention to God.
How does one progress? By samskara, then by the study of sacred scriptures, ultimately by the realization of God.
Life as a Sacrificial Act
And as I just mentioned, Bhagavad Gītā makes this point very clear that life is meant to be a pure sacrificial act. There is a beautiful verse which says that any act which is not transformed into a sacrificial act—means which is not connected with God, which doesn't make us unselfish, which doesn't take us a little bit towards God—that act only binds us. Bondage means more unhappiness, less amount of progress. That is what it is.
So samskaras are what help a man progress in spiritual life, make his life an act of sacrifice, so that he can become a fit instrument to achieve these four supreme human goals.
The Purposes of Samskaras
Samskaras means the sacraments also serve some other purposes. What are those purposes?
First of all, it is the way these sacraments are conducted. So they achieve two immediate purposes:
- Destruction of the inauspicious things—getting rid of all that obstructs our happiness in this world. Hindus, you know, believe there are malevolent creatures and they create lots of obstacles in our life. The whole point is: remove whatever is not good for us, whatever creates more unhappiness to us. We believe there are certain things which you do. Through the performance of these samskaras, they will be gotten rid of, and extra auspicious things we get.
We pray to God: "May Lakṣmī give me wealth, may Sarasvatī give me wisdom and knowledge, may Gaṇeśa remove all the obstacles." Through these samskaras, this is one immediate purpose: getting rid of inauspicious things and acquisition of auspicious things.
Material Benefits
But there are also, there are better benefits are there. Number one: to invoke beneficence from the kindly gods—that is one of the most important things. As the result of the performance of these samskaras, really material benefits can be gained.
Let me give an example—how rational these things are. Take the example of upanayana, you know, sacred thread ceremony. Take the example of vidyārambha—that is to say, the child is started on his first educational course. So a holy man comes, takes some rice, and makes him write oṃkāra or sacred name of God—is called beginning of the educational ceremony.
What is the—how does it help us? Suppose a child really takes seriously this act and he starts going to school and then he approaches a good teacher, he studies well. You know, when a person studies well, what happens? He passes brilliantly. When he passes brilliantly, what do you think he will acquire? A good job. When he gets a good job, he will have a good family, he will enjoy the material benefits—not only that.
When sacred thread ceremony is given, what is the mantra he is given? Gāyatrī mantra. What is Gāyatrī mantra? That which evokes the presence of the goddess of wisdom into our brain—that means the person becomes very, very intelligent. Once the person becomes intelligent, what is it that he cannot achieve in this life? We all respect intelligent people, is it not?
You just see how material benefits are also got in this. Man wants happiness, so he marries—is another example. But he marries in a very proper way. A proper girl—there are ways of selecting a girl, selecting a boy, bringing them together, and with all ceremonies, prayers, worship, etc., they are married. There is a greater likelihood that those people will live a harmonious married life and enjoy earthly benefits instead of living like animals.
Material benefits are believed to be gained through the proper performance of these sacraments, sacred benefit.
Social Status and Privileges
Samskaras also create an awareness of the attainment of social status and privileges for the individual. You know, a person is endowed with sacred thread. Immediately he has a social status. Such a person, you can invite him: "Please perform worship in my house." Such a person can approach a guru—not before that.
So Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say that a person with these samskaras—somebody asked him, "Why did you get married?" "Because I needed this samskara, because otherwise people will not take my teaching."
Profound answer. Why? How is it a profound answer? Why should he need to get married? Suppose he tells about God, then will not people listen? A few people will listen. Not everybody will listen. Why? "Because, oh sir, you are a sannyāsī, you don't know what is the temptation a householder has to undergo, how much worry he has to undergo."
Now he is married, he kept his wife with him, he knows how to overcome the temptations. Then he can tell: "I also got married, I lived with my wife, and I know what difficulties you have. Take courage. Slowly, slowly you can control yourself."
Is it a wonderful thing? So that's what he used to say. Samskaras create attainment of social status. The boy who is given a sacred thread acquires the right to study the Vedas. The married man gains the title to perform the dharmas mentioned in the Vedas.
This is a particular thing to Hinduism and to, I think, also to Judaism. What is the particular thing? If a man is not married, he is unfit to perform most of these sacrificial acts mentioned in the Vedas. Yeah, dharma patnī should be there.
So sometimes the dharma patnī is dead—then what do they do? I'm giving an exceptional case, example. Then such a person cannot perform, so what does he do? He will make a representation of his wife either out of hay or some other material. It is said Śrī Rāmacandra had to do some sacrificial act—Sītā was not there. So they made a golden image of Sītā, kept by his side, and as though he was entitled to perform those things. Just I'm only telling about it.
Cultural Benefits
Third, samskaras bring about cultural gains. So it is said, you know, that there are—not to speak of social benefits and material benefits—there are countries like Russia who do not advance, however brilliant a person is, to higher positions unless he is married. Why? Because supposing, you know, he is sent to USA, after seeing USA and comparing USSR, then he will say, "I will be an immigrant in this country." But he can't be because his wife is held back there. Suppose he is not married—this is for blackmailing purpose, a wife is very important.
But this cultural benefit means a person through this performance of these proper samskaras—that person is considered to be a fit person to participate, to acquire certain types of culture.
There was one great sage called Aṅgiras, and he says poetically that the development of personality endows on its adherents only with the help of the samskaras. He gives a beautiful analogy: just as a picture is painted with various colors, so the character of the individual is formed by the proper performance of samskaras. It's a beautiful poetic imagery.
There is an outline picture—it is not very alluring—but you go on: first you draw the outline, that is what we are born with. Then take different colors and paint appropriately. See how much value that painting gains? So samskaras enhance the value of a person's life, not only inwardly but even outwardly.
To give an example: suppose Ramakrishna Order, suppose there is a novice and one day nobody is there to take a class. So the novice is asked, "You take the class"—what would be your reaction? But supposing a monk, you know, he becomes a monk, he puts on all that—what does he do? Yesterday he was wearing white clothes, and the next day he is wearing ocher cloth, but as soon as he steps, you have a special respect. Is it not right? So because these outward modes, we expect also in course of time, bring the inward change. That is why we put on all those things.
Sri Ramakrishna's Example of the Dog Collar
How do these things help? Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa gives a beautiful example. He says, you know, there are people who catch the stray dogs and shoot them, kill them. But supposing a dog is wandering but it has a collar—what does it mean? Means this dog is not a stray dog; it belongs to somebody. So immediately people, they make place for it, they will not harass it.
In the same way, here is a person—he is leading a good spiritual life—but very difficult to recognize. But as soon as he puts on this ocher cloth, everybody becomes aware: here is a monk, here is a nun, and they respect. And that person also cannot do certain things with this cloth on. This helps us, reminds us who I am, who we are, and it helps us progress.
So these samskaras—that is the role they play. A small baby, child goes on playing and all that. As soon as he endowed with sacred thread, immediately he becomes conscious: from now onwards I have to lead a proper life fit for a brahmacārī.
Supposing an unmarried person—he can go on doing whatever he likes in society—but as soon as he is married, at least his wife will be glaring at him. So he becomes conscious and he tries to regulate his life, and this is how samskaras help us. Culturally also it helps us.
The Eight Ātma Guṇas
Then what is the way these samskaras really help us? In one of our scriptures it is said so beautifully that eight ātma guṇas—there are eight spiritual qualities these samskaras help us to acquire. What are they?
- Dayā—universal compassion and love for all beings
- Kṣānti—tolerance, forbearance
- Anasūyā—means absence of jealousy, absence of trying to compete with other people
- Śaucam—physical cleanliness
- Anāyāsam—a state of relaxation, characterized with ease in relationship with others
- Maṅgalam—inner happiness, radiating harmonious conduct
- Ākārpaṇyam—generosity of spirit
- Aspṛham—detached state of mind arising from a dispassionate nature
These are called ātma guṇas, eight ātma guṇas. Samskaras help us.
Narada's Visit to Vaikuntha
There is a beautiful incident in the life of—in the Gospel. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa tells the importance of samskaras. There was the sage Nārada. One day he went to visit Nārāyaṇa in Vaikuṇṭha, and Lord Nārāyaṇa talked with him, and after that Nārada saluted the Lord and he left the place. Immediately the Lord said to Lakṣmī, "Sprinkle this place with water," and Lakṣmī said, "But Lord, he is a great devotee of yours. Why are you asking me to sprinkle?"
He says, "It is true he is a devotee—otherwise I would not have seen him—but he is not initiated."
Initiation is a samskara. This is the answer for many devotees' question: "Suppose I don't take initiation from a guru—what happens to me? Can I not realize God?" You see, definitely God can be realized with or without initiation, but if there is initiation, it is an extra help, and really, you know, "He is my guru—told me I have to meditate like this." It helps.
The Importance of Marriage Samskara
So these samskaras are they which help us. And unable to understand this wisdom, so many people, you know, they are just neglecting the samskara, especially the most important of the sacraments is the marriage ceremony where people are living like animals. It is
a contract: as long as we are happy with each other, we live together. What an amount of benefit they are losing by this—they are unable to understand now.
These are some of the benefits that one we get.
Sources of Knowledge About Samskaras
Now one point we have to make clear. Where from do you get the knowledge about the samskaras? According to Hindu sacraments, where is the source?
- The first source, of course, is Veda
- The second source is called Śrauta Sūtra—special branch of the Vedas which are where what type of samskaras, sacraments a Hindu has to undergo
- Then there is another type of literature called Gṛhya Sūtras—gṛha means what? Householder. So rules and regulations binding on the householders: what they should do, how they should bring up their children, what they themselves should do, what happens when a person dies, what they should do, etc.
- Then there is a literature called Dharma Sūtras—Manu Dharma Śāstra is one of them, for your example
- Then there is a last source: it is called Tradition—in our particular families there are certain particular types of actions, sacraments we do. It has nothing to do with scriptures. It may or may not have anything to do with scriptures, but it is followed by tradition. This is individual, these things.
The Sixteen Major Samskaras
As I said, how many sacraments are there? There are more than 41, but there are 16 most important sacraments.
Hindus have divided a life into three categories:
- Before birth
- After birth
- After death
Three Pre-Natal Samskaras
There are three what is called pre-natal samskaras—that is, before the birth of the child—and I will shortly discuss why it is so important.
Six Post-Natal or Childhood Samskaras
Then there are six post-natal or childhood samskaras. How many? Six. So how many? Three plus six: nine.
Five Educational Samskaras
Then there are five educational samskaras before he gets married.
Marriage Samskara
Then there is marriage. There is maturity samskara—it's called vivāha or marriage—and all these are done after the birth of the child.
Final Samskara
And then the last one is done after death, which is called antyeṣṭi or śrāddha.
The Three Pre-Natal Samskaras
There are three pre-natal samskaras. Why is it so necessary? Because Hindus believed that even before the birth, the child has to be purified, or things must be gotten ready before the birth of the child. If we are not ready, we will be damaged. The child also will not grow up into a proper mature spiritual personality—means what? He will not be as happy as he could be.
These are the three:
- Garbhādhāna after marriage—what is garbhādhāna? Means impregnating so that the child can be conceived
- Puṃsavana on the second or third month
- Sīmantonnayana
These are pre-natal samskaras.
The Six Childhood Samskaras
Then after the child is born:
- Jātakarma—that is, as soon as the child is born, a certain ceremony is held
- Nāmakaraṇa—naming ceremony
- Niṣkramaṇa—first outing of the child. Take the son—first take the son to see the sun. S.O.N.—take him to see the S.U.N., because sūrya darśana is considered to be the most auspicious. After that he will be taken either to a temple or to a holy person or to elders to get their blessings
- Annaprāśana—you know annaprāśana? First food giving ceremony
- Cūḍākarma—means first shaving of the head
- Karṇavedha—means piercing the ears
Practically I had undergone all those excepting, of course, vivāha and the S.U.N.—not done. If you observe my ears carefully, you will see both ears have been pierced and golden rings have been put. Don't look for golden rings now. They have been removed long, long before. But for a long time there was a bump here. I can even slightly feel here. It's called karṇavedha—piercing the ears.
These are the what is called childhood samskaras.
The Five Educational Samskaras
Then there are what is called educational samskaras:
- Vidyārambha—you know what is vidyārambha? First the child is brought to a temple or a holy person—first starting of writing of the alphabet
- Upanayana for certain castes—that is, sacred thread ceremony
- Vedārambha—that is, the child is sent to a gurukula, to a teacher for learning of the Vedas, etc. So that is over. By that time he has finished, he will be growing a beard
- Keśānta—so the first shaving of the beard
- Samāvartana or Snāna—who is a person who takes bath after the completion of the Vedic studies and returning home. He is called snātaka. That is a special ceremony
These are the five educational ceremonies.
The Maturity Samskara
Then after that, maturity samskara—what is that? Vivāha. And after that, whole life he will live. And then when he dies and finally his body is consigned to the fire.
Details of Garbhadhana
Why is it necessary that the husband and wife—they come together and then they will have to perform a ceremony? What is the ceremony? First of all, an auspicious day is fixed for them to consummate their marriage—not immediately after marriage.
Now what they do? Three days before, the ceremony is performed. Three days they will have to fast, they will have to pray, and they will have to live separately. And at the end of the three days, the husband and wife are brought together. There are wonderful prayers: "May thy womb be very fruitful. May you bring only a good child into birth so that our lineage, our country, this world will be a better world by the coming of the child."
What a beautiful concept. That means: let this child be a good, pure, intelligent, long-lived, happy spiritual child. Prayers help. It is started with a prayer. Let us not behave like animals and then first we enjoy, then whatever consequences—we take, no. It's all well planned, well prepared. This is called garbhādhāna. It is a beautiful ceremony. I won't go into the details.
Pumsavana
Okay. The second is called puṃsavana. Puṃsavana means puṃ means pumān—let there be a male child, because even in the ancient days a male child for some whatever reason is desired more than a female child. At the age of—if it is conceived—I think at the age of third month of that, that there is a special prayer: "May you bring forth a good child, intelligent and completely physically healthy, mentally healthy," etc.
Simantonnayana
Then sīmantonnayana—that is to say, it is a ceremony held between the fifth and eighth month after the pregnancy starts, conception starts. "May this mother of the child be happy."
So this is sīmanta means actually parting of the hair. What does it mean? The wife is given bath, she is given new clothes, and she is given new ornaments, and lots of prayers are there, but the most important thing is: let the mother be happy.
So I sometimes jokingly tell, you know, there is always this tension between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. The mother-in-law is always taking it out on the daughter-in-law. This is the right time for the daughter-in-law to take it out on the mother-in-law.
So yes, you know, sometimes devotees who are carrying the children, they come to me, and I ask them. I advise them specifically: this is the right time. Whatever you want, now you demand from your husband. He is, you know, duty-bound, whether his mother likes or not, to give you, to make you happy. Otherwise refuse to be happy.
It's a beautiful concept. What are the psychologists telling us now? Where the parents are happier, the children will—if there is a likelihood—the children will be happier children.
The Influence on the Unborn Child
Just to give an example—what is happening? Look, open your eyes and see what is happening. You know, a few days back, one young man—he killed 15-16 people in Germany. So what is the connection between that event and what I am talking about now?
The parents—they have 18 or 20 guns, first of all. What type of thoughts would the parents be entertaining? And what wonder is there if their offspring—as what they call chip of the old block—if he also turns to be violent? They might not have turned so violent, but the preparation is there. The thoughts are there. The atmosphere is polluted.
What wonder is there such a person, as soon as he becomes disappointed, unhappy, frustrated, the first thing he does is take the gun and take it out on others. It may be—if that family had been a very happy, healthy, spiritual, cultured, pure family, probably the chances of the child are less. Maybe if he had past worth, violent impressions, he might have done, but the chances are much less.
So here is: let the mother be happy. If the wife is happy, the husband is happy, and the growing child in the womb will also become a happier child.
How many examples I can give you with regard to this—that there are beautiful instances in our scriptures and everywhere that the growing child absorbs a lot of things more than we can imagine. It is nowadays science is helping us to prove these beautiful teachings of the scriptures.
The Sensitivity of Newborns
You will be astonished if I give you some examples. Even there is a hell and heaven difference between two babies born on the same day. Even a one-day-old child has already highly developed sensitivity, though he closes his eyes like a sage. When he yawns and then closes his eyes, you think he is as innocent. What the fellow is thinking inside—reacting, unable to express but reacting.
Some people are very compassionate. Some people are very cruel. Some people are very unselfish. Some are very selfish. Throughout the animal kingdom, this act is going on all the time.
We have to believe that these samskaras are great steps to help us grow into the right type of personalities. It is very important for us to make the expectant mother very happy, and it is even better if she can be given spiritual atmosphere.
The Example of Prahlada
The last example before I close today's talk is: Prahlāda had become one of the greatest devotees of God, and his father asked him, "How did you become a devotee? In our tradition, we never talk about God. In fact, if we talk about God, it is only to criticize him, to blame him, to think of killing him. How did you get?"
Then he says, then, you know, when I was in the womb of my mother, Nārada went on talking about God. He used to sing, and his mother, Prahlāda's mother, used to go to sleep, but the baby is intently listening.
This is just to show an example that we are not aware how much we are influencing the baby inside by our actions outside. So if the mother is pure, happy, content, spiritual, unselfish, there is a likelihood that the baby would be helped much, much more. That is why these samskaras are provided by our ṛṣis who knew not only much about the present life—they knew that there were past lives, they knew that there were going to be future lives, they knew that our fate, our happiness depends upon the type of life that we lead and what type of life we lead is entirely dependent upon what type of samskaras we undergo, both in the sense of mental impressions and also the physical actions that we do.
Sri Ramakrishna's Emphasis on External Observances
That is why Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to—one example—he used to tell the devotees: "Go to the temple, bow down before the Mother, take the name of God."
Why? Can't they take the name of God in his room? Can't they take the name of God at their own homes? Why was he insisting? Why was he going himself to the temple? He used to put off his shoes, go around Mother, prostrate, fan her, and receive prasāda.
Was it necessary for him? He already had attained the goal of life. Where was the need for him to do all these things? Because to set an example. Why does he need to set an example to other people? Because while he reached already the goal, they are yet to reach the goal, and these are the great helps.
The Example of Nag Mahashaya
That is why prasāda. You understand, you know, Nag Mahashaya—why do you think he has become such a great devotee? One day, Nag Mahashaya came to Holy Mother, and she gave him food in a śālpāta, we call it. Not only he had the prasāda, he also had the—that leaf on which prasāda is touched.
Now is it really necessary to go to that extent? I would not go. That's why I'm like this. So you see, his exuberance of devotion made him see—you see, anything prasāda touches, that also becomes prasāda. Thereafter they used to give him in thick metal plates.
The point is, he turned out to be such a great devotee because he observed these external acts which was not necessary for him, but that exuberance of devotion brings. So it helps us greatly if we follow these samskaras.
The Necessity of External Observances
So there are people who say that: "Can we not repeat God's name inside the mind? Is it necessary to take a bath? Is it necessary to wash the hands?"
I say, yes, it is necessary. When you are traveling or otherwise not capable of washing your hands, fine—take God's name mentally. But when you are capable of washing your hands or taking bath, then it would be highly beneficial to do that.
You know the difference. You come out tired from your office, then you go to the bathroom, take a nice bath—what difference it makes to you. You know, taking—simply pouring water has such a tremendous effect, not only on the body, but the mind becomes very, very calm. That is the effect of the water.
And you know it is said, if you are not having good sleep, can't sleep properly, one of the advices given is that you go and take bath before you go to bed. Somehow it has a calming, soporific effect. And then if you can take half a cup of warm milk, that will also help you.
It's an example to show you how important the observance of these physical actions called sacramental actions are in our aid to develop spiritual life. Once we realize God, nothing is necessary.
Conclusion
I will discuss next in my next class the details of these with certain examples and mantras also.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Closing Prayer
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
Om Śānti, Śānti, Śāntih.
Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.