Hinduism 17
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 Ceremonies of Life
Opening Invocation
Om Sahānā vavatu, sahānau bhunaktu, saha vīryaṃ karavāvahai. Tejasvi nāvadhītamastu mā vidviṣāvahai. Om śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ. Hari 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.
Introduction to Saṃskāras
We have been discussing saṃskāras—sacraments according to Hindu conception. In my last class, I discussed that life is a journey: first from God to saṃsāra, and now from saṃsāra to God. This journey moves through four types of personalities, four stages of life. The purpose of this journey is ultimately to reach God, but secondarily through the acquisition or ascending of three steps: dharma, artha, and kāma. Saṃskāras are those things which prepare us, purify us, and make us fit so that we can undertake this journey.
In the end, the ultimate point of the journey is called Ātma Samārpaṇa—complete merging of oneself into the divine. As we become purer and purer, we become fit to receive God's grace. Another way of putting it is: we use this word "grace of God." What does it mean? The more the grace of God enters into us, the more we disappear and God manifests.
The Parable of Irish Blood
There was an American who had an Irish friend. So this American came to see his friend, and on the way they were travelling in a car when there was an accident. The American was unconscious; he lost a lot of blood and was admitted to the hospital.
The doctors declared the man needs a lot of blood, but they didn't have any. The Irish man said, "He is my friend, I will give." So a liter of blood was taken and given to the American.
The American recovered sufficiently, understood what his friend had done, and gave him $100,000. Then after a few minutes, a doctor said his friend needs another liter. So the Irish man gave him another liter of blood, and this time also the American recovered. He gave this fellow $1,000.
The third time he needed blood, one more liter was given, and this time he gave only $100. The fourth time he needed another liter of blood, and this time he gave nothing. So the Irishman asked, "What is this? First you gave $100,000, then $1,000, then $100, then nothing."
The American smiled and said, "Don't you see? Now I am full of Irish blood!"
So the more we receive the grace of God, the more we become God-like. That is the meaning of receiving the grace of God. These saṃskāras help us to become less of ourselves and more of God-like. That is the purpose.
Prenatal Saṃskāras
In my last class, I discussed three prenatal saṃskāras. What are they?
1. Garbhādhāna (Ceremony of Conception)
The first is the ceremony of conception, Garbhādhāna. Why should a conception ceremony be there? Because when you observe normal life, you will see most people behave like animals—that is to say, they want to fulfill their natural desires. They do not take any thought about what is going to happen as a result of this union.
If they want good children—mind you always that having children is the primary purpose of marriage or any sexual union—and if you have any doubts about it, consider that religious scriptures talk about the sacredness of sexual union. If by chance you have read the book The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, in simple terms what the book proposes is that the pleasure we get out of all these things is a bribe the gene gives to us to accomplish its purpose. What is its purpose? To propagate itself. If physicists are talking in this vein, then what to speak of spiritual people and scriptures?
What is the purpose of progeny? Why do we want children? Why do we want to get married? It's not because of the pleasure that we derive; it's because a purpose has to be fulfilled. What is the ultimate purpose? Do not stop at artha and kāma—we must reach the fourth stage, which is called liberation, mokṣa.
So this getting married, leading a particular type of life, and bringing up children—how does it help? It helps us in two ways. One, by giving us some real happiness. If it is a good family, it gives us wonderful happiness. There is no happiness in this world equivalent to the happiness of a family where husband, wife, and children are all in harmony. Otherwise, it is hell. This is how, once we experience this happiness, the mind longs for a higher type of happiness. This is how it helps one way.
The other way is that marriage is a real help. The only way we can get the spirit of renunciation is by undergoing troublesome partners, troublesome children, troublesome grandchildren. Ultimately you get disgusted so much and say, "I will be a monk of the Ramakrishna Order!" Not joking, but this is how renunciation progresses from a lower step to a higher step.
The Garbhādhāna Ceremony
At this ceremony, a pūjā is done—a worship of the Lord—and there are many mantras, but I will only quote to you very briefly:
- "May we produce strong and long-lived sons as fire is produced by friction."
- "May he be well-behaved."
- "I am part of God, and I shall produce good sons to liberate my ancestors."
- "May we beget shining, wealthy children."
- "May we donate liberally to the needy and attain mokṣa, liberation."
- "May God make you fit for conception."
- "Let the evil spirit flee from you."
- "Let your child be free from defects like lameness and deafness."
- "Be you like the divine Kāmadhenu."
These are most ennobling mantras which tell us: the children should be spiritual children. I also want to be a spiritual person. How can I be unless my family is in harmony? The whole idea is: let us all progress towards God.
This is the compulsory duty enjoined on the Hindu to repay his ancestral debt, except when either or both the partners are functionally unfit. This is the spiritual purpose: May I have spiritual children. May I also progress spiritually from dharma to artha to kāma to finally mokṣa, liberation. That is the purpose.
2. Puṃsavana (Prayer for Male Offspring)
Then there is the second ceremony, as we already mentioned: Puṃsavana. Though in every society there seems to be a kind of partiality to male progeny—females are not that much wanted—my understanding is there was a lot of struggle for existence. Mind you, all these saṃskāras have come from hundreds of years ago, maybe 20 centuries, and almost 10 to 11 thousand years. At that time, the struggle for existence was very, very hard.
Therefore, the males serve two purposes. One purpose is that they protect the family. Another purpose is they are the people who help the family survive. It is the males who help the family survive, and if there are females, there is a negative effect. Always, you know, men want women. Therefore, enemies are more likely to raid and then take away the females rather than the males.
Even now, among animals—if you see lions, tigers—when one male lion takes over a pride, the first thing it does is kill all the male offspring. But it never does any harm to the females. Why? Because it wants to increase its genes through the females. We are also descending, you know, from animals. The same idea is there. That's one reason.
The other reason is—mind you, this industrial civilization is only the product of two or three centuries back. Before that, what was the civilization? Agricultural civilization. And in agricultural civilization, hard work had to be done by the males. That is why there was always a desire for male presence. This is the second reason.
The third reason is: as there is a saying among us in Hinduism, the daughter always belongs to somebody else. It is only the son who remains at home. The daughter gets married and she goes away to her husband's place. That is what happens in patriarchal society. Only in matriarchal society does the son go away and the daughter remain at home—and that too, only one daughter.
So probably there is this inherent desire within every society that we must want more male children. And those who are lady devotees, do not mind—even I also want only males so that they can become brahmacārīs in our order!
Puṃsavana means a hearty prayer to the Lord: May I have strong, healthy, intelligent male children. This is the prayer for male offspring.
3. Sīmanta or Sīmantonnayana (Parting of the Hair)
What is the third one? Sīmanta Utsava or Sīmantonnayana. This is done generally in the fifth to eighth month of pregnancy. As I mentioned in my last class, what is the purpose? If the pregnant mother is very happy, then the offspring which she is bearing is likely to be a very happy child. So try to make the wife very happy—that is the purpose of this. They give all sorts of ornaments, new clothes, decorate her very nicely. Until the child is born, she is almost looked upon as a goddess.
Just to give you a glimpse of how our Vedas, Kalpasūtras, and Dharmasūtras treated this: Music, especially on the vīṇā, is indicated to be played on this occasion. This increases the mother's circling power besides conferring other psychological benefits. Ladies are asked to sing, "Be a mother of heroic sons," thus creating a heroic atmosphere.
The mother fasts and keeps silent after the ceremony till nighttime when the stars become visible. At the close of the ceremony, she touches a male calf symbolizing a son. "May she give me a brave son. Whatever is uttered herein is true. The oblation offered is meant for Rākā, and it is not for me."
These are translations of some of the mantras which indicate: let the mother carry the offspring without any mishap or accident. Let her give birth to strong, healthy children. That is the purpose.
The Psychology of the Sīmanta Ceremony
Psychologically, how important it is to keep a beautiful atmosphere, a sweet atmosphere! It starts with prayer and looking after the wife very, very sweetly. How much psychology our ancestors knew even in those days to be able to understand these things! It is amazing, really speaking.
Not to speak of human beings—we can even say that animals are also very much affected by musical instruments. When they are happy, they produce more milk. So economically also it makes sense. Our Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa, used to do it.
But the most important thing is: music has a tremendous effect. Of all the influences that exert a change within us, voice and sounds are the most wonderful. You see a painting—not much influence. You read some book—not much influence. But you hear a voice, sometimes you can never forget it, either for good or bad. Tremendous effect!
Children are soothed—you know, music can soothe children. And some parents want to experiment on their children, and some fathers start to sing, and then the child goes mad! The power of the voice is tremendous, either voice or instrumental or vocal. It has tremendous effect.
So the idea is: from this time onwards, the pregnant mother should be kept in the happiest frame of mind so that her offspring would also likely be happier.
These are the three prenatal saṃskāras: Garbhādhāna (ceremony of conception), Puṃsavana, and Sīmanta.
Childhood Saṃskāras
Immediately after the child is born, until he starts his educational saṃskāras, there are certain saṃskāras.
4. Jātakarma (Birth Ceremony)
The first is, of course, Jātakarma. Jātakarma means: as soon as a child is born, immediately certain ceremonies have to be done.
One of the purposes is to ward off evil things. You know, every religion believes there are malevolent creatures who are out to harm, especially newly born babies. It is not mere belief—there are lots of instances when these creatures can do harm if sufficient care is not taken.
The other purpose is: it is a joyous occasion. A child is born, and this child must be brought up so that he will be an ornament, a credit rather than a debit to society. Pūjā is done for the sake of blessing and prayer, and it also creates certain vibrations. You know, Vedic chanting has wonderful powers of vibration.
Nowadays people are discovering that. Take one simple example: the Gāyatrī Mantra. When it is chanted rhythmically and beautifully, how much effect it has upon our minds! Have you ever noticed it? Just Gāyatrī Mantra for one hour in a beautiful voice. There is one recording by one famous singer, Anuradha Paudwal. It is so beautiful. You go on—you will enter into a meditative state.
You know, there are so many Western spiritual organizations that have somehow understood this. They chant Gāyatrī for 10 minutes, 15 minutes. They just light a lamp and go on chanting. If you attend any Buddhist interfaith meeting, you will see that they light so many lamps, beautiful lamps, and in that semi-darkness type of atmosphere, they have their own peculiar chants. Sāmaveda is designed around this. Music has tremendous power.
Part of this sacred ceremony is music. So there would be music, there would be pūjā, etc. There will be tremendous prayer so that the child may develop good saṃskāras, good impressions of the mind, or he can learn—if there are bad impressions—to offset them through proper atmosphere, creation of proper atmosphere, etc. So it is a wonderful ceremony. That is what distinguishes human beings from animals. Everything is connected with sacredness, with God.
The Secret Name
Then a name is given during this ceremony. This is called: as soon as the child is born, a ceremony is there, and it is also called a purification ceremony. Hindus believe somehow that the mother becomes impure by the birth of a child.
There are two types of impurities according to Hinduism: when someone is born, when someone is dead. So in the Gospel we get there is a song. One devotee says, "I am impure because my mother ignorance is dead, and I have two sons born: Discrimination and Dispassion, Viveka and Vairāgya." On both accounts, I am observing a period of aśauca, we call it—impurity. These are the two important parts.
So to also purify, this pūjā ceremony, worship ceremony also helps us to get rid of these impurities. And then a name is given to the child. It's a most wonderful and interesting part. I'm not talking about naming of the child, which comes later on. Here, a secret name is given there and then.
These priests and others will come and they will pray: "May we live a hundred years. Be a stone, be an axe unto your enemies, be the imperishable gold." Then the father prays that the child be endowed with strength, valor, and fame. And there are a lot of ceremonies, and then he says, "Your confidential name is Veda."
What is Veda? Knowledge. Your confident secret name is Veda. You know why this name is given? For two purposes. One purpose is that an unnamed child—just as Christians believe an unbaptized child would go to the other place—an unnamed child is likely to be harmed. But if he is named, he will not be harmed.
Wonderful name: Vedoʼsi tvaṃ, vedoʼsi. "Thou art Veda." This is the secret name. "O child, for you I give this beautiful name."
And then after that, you know what he does? He will touch the child—the father of the child—touch the child with a bar of gold, make the child lick a little of the mixed ghee and honey. The first thing a just-born baby is given is ghee and honey. That is the first food. This is the food of Gods, food fit to be offered to Gods. A child also is considered as equivalent to a God. So if something comes out of the mouth of a child, then you should consider it as the words of God Himself.
"O child, for you I give this ghee and honey which has been produced by God who is the producer of all the wealth of the world. May you be preserved and be protected. I establish in you the idea of God who is the giver of life. I establish in you the idea of God who is all beatitude. I establish in you, O child, the idea of God who is the source of all movements. I establish in you the idea of God who is the life of all, all beatitude, and the source of all movements."
Thus saying, praying, the father gives ghee and honey six times to the child. What a marvelous prayer! Where else do you get this kind of prayer? "I establish in you the idea of God"—as though he is injecting into the just-born baby the idea of God so that he can become a godly person later on. What a marvelous concept!
5. Nāmakaraṇa (Naming Ceremony)
Then comes the fifth saṃskāra, which is called Nāmakaraṇa—naming of the child. It's a very important ceremony in Hinduism because Hindus believe that every name is vibrating. It's a sound. Every name is a sound, and every sound is a vibration. Depending upon what type of vibration, the effects are also experienced. So the child must be given most wonderful names so that it will remind the child: you are such and such.
For example: Viṣṇu, Kṛṣṇa, or Prasāda. Some children are named as Prasāda—Rāma Prasāda. What a beautiful name, or associated with Kṛṣṇa! You know, monastic names associated with God: Ānanda, Vedāntic names.
Every Hindu child—it is an imposition, it is a sacred command—should not be given ugly, horrible names, ferocious names like Bhūtinī, Pretinī, Piśācinī. Such names should not be given. Beautiful names, so that those who hear, and also the child, will be reminded of the name.
Usually they will be the names of the gods and goddesses. If it is female: Gaṅgā, Kāverī, Sarasvatī, Śāradā, etc. Good names. This is very important for us. I consider it most important.
Exception: Protective Names
But before I go into a little bit more of that, I have to tell you also: you know, there are some parents who unfortunately, for some reason, lose their children in childhood. They die, or some accidents happen, some disease comes—they can't retain them.
So there is a belief: some star, malevolent star—usually Śani Graha, Rāhu Graha, and all those things—are influencing the child, or some malevolent beings like ghosts and spirits are taking away the child. So to prevent them, they will give very bad names. It is an exceptional case.
One example is Pāpī Reddy. Pāpī—not puppy! Pāpī means what? A sinful person. Why? Because the devils will come to know, "Oh, this is our man. We don't need to do anything." So they will leave him alone.
Otherwise, barring these accidents, one should be given beautiful names. The idea is: you give a good name so that when you call that boy, you are calling God Himself or Goddess Herself. And the boy also has the same idea about himself.
That is why when a novice completes a certain period of training in our order, he is always given a most beautiful name with "Chaitanya" at the end. But once he takes to monastic life, again most beautiful names are given, so that, you know, it is a reminder for us, and it is also so nice to hear the good names, ideal names.
The Science of Sound and Vibration
It is very important—this ceremony is very important. Either on the tenth day or twelfth day, a child is named with a good name. And as I mentioned, every name is pronounced, sounded. Every sound has a vibration, and every sound has either a good vibration or a bad vibration. Why not have a good vibration?
The whole mantra śāstra—it is called in Sanskrit Sphoṭa Vāda. Sphoṭa means vibration. The entire mantra śāstra in Hinduism is purely based upon this knowledge: that every sound has a vibration. If we can produce a similar type of sound, then we can have mastery over that particular thing.
Just to give an example: I read all sorts of psychological books—"How to have a good interview?" So the advice given to the interviewee, the person who is being interviewed, is: observe your interviewer. If the interviewer is scratching his left ear, you also scratch the left ear. If he crosses his left leg over the right leg, you also put the left leg over the right. What is the idea? That you are being in synchrony with that person, so that that person will not have negative ideas about you.
This is how to have harmony with others—not to speak of interviewing only. If you want to make friends with somebody, after some time if you observe what the other person is doing, you will also be doing it. So this kind of imitation has a certain effect—not a hundred percent, but certain effect is there.
So this is the idea: that if we can produce beautiful sounds with beautiful vibrations, it will give us wealth, it will give us health, it will give us many good things.
Magnetotherapy and Vibration
Now another theory is known as magnetotherapy. Have you heard about magnetotherapy? Some magnets—you know, if you have got stomach ache or headache or rheumatic pains or things like that—there are some people who practice this magnetotherapy. They will use certain magnets, place it either on your hands or the magnets in the form of a small bangle like that.
So what does a magnet do? It's vibrating with certain types of power. So that somehow affects the brain, and there is a lot of evidence to show that it is true. Done correctly, it helps us.
Just to give you one example—though not connected with our topic—there was a girl who was staying in her house in the basement. Suddenly she started feeling somebody, some presence was watching her. Some presence was watching her all the time. She did not know. She was going mad because she was thinking it may be an evil spirit, whatever it is.
There were people who were trying to find out whether ghosts and other things exist, whether in some houses, haunted houses, etc. When this girl claimed, "I always feel somebody is always—as long as I am in the basement—watching me all the time," these people went with electromagnetic detectors. And then they found out what happened: she bought one digital alarm clock, and that has got, you know, chips. Some vibrations were coming, and it was near her head, and these vibrations were affecting the frontal lobe of the brain—her brain—and that was producing that strong sense of feeling the presence of something.
Now this is not different from a person who believes in God, who believes in spirits and ghosts. We always feel something. The first part of the brain that is to be affected is this frontal lobe. So it is nothing supernatural. They removed that digital alarm clock—all the presence had left!
The point is that the vibration of that digital alarm clock was definitely affecting her frontal lobe. This is only—I am only telling you to prove the effect of this vibration. But I am not saying that if you are feeling the presence of God, you will have to search for some electromagnetic devices in your house! What I am saying is the power of vibration. Mantras have the power to soothe. Music has this tremendous power.
The Power of Unified Vibration
Why does it happen? Tell me. I can tell you a lot of examples, but I will give one example. You know, soldiers always march in unison: left, right, left, right, like that. But when they come to a bridge, they don't do it. Do you know why? Because that marching in unison produces such a tremendous vibration—sometimes, if the bridge is weak, it can break down! So there, the officer says, "Dismissed!" And then they walk just as they like. And as soon as they cross the bridge, again they start.
Power of vibration! The secret of music is to be able to produce the right power of vibration. And this produces appropriate changes in our brain. When the brain becomes receptive through these appropriate vibrations, then we can have visions.
Music Therapy and Rāgas
The music therapy—again I told you—in Hindu music there are rāgas. And it has been proved that if a person plays a particular rāga, finely scattered sand assumes particular shapes. Did I tell you about that? You spread sand—very fine particles of sand—and play, say, vīṇā or a flute, some stringed instrument near that. If you play a particular rāga, the sand particles arrange themselves in a particular way, in shapes.
What wonder is there? Receptive minds could see the Divine Mother, Goddess! Every rāga is the formation of some Goddess!
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had a vision of Mother Sarasvatī playing the vīṇā, and with each note, billions of creatures were coming into existence. And when she completed her playing, all of them entered back. This sṛṣṭi-sthiti-laya is nothing but a play of the Divine Mother. To put it in another way: life is a play, līlā. But here it is a play of the Mother Sarasvatī's vīṇā.
Have you read Devotees of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa? It is there in The Great Master. If you read it, you will come across this.
So it is an important ceremony to give a good name. Don't ever give to your children any horrible names or meaningless names.
6. Niṣkrāmaṇa (First Outing)
Then the sixth saṃskāra is called Niṣkrāmaṇa Saṃskāra—first outing of the baby to show the Sun, God, sādhus, holy people, temples, etc.
There is a Hindu belief that this is very important—the first outing. Usually, many of our devotees, what do they do? The first outing will be to the center. Let the child see Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, or let Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also see the child, so that the child will get the blessings of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.
It is very important. The first visible God, according to Hinduism, the greatest God who is visible to each one of us—who is that? The Sun God, Sūrya Deva. That is why the whole Gāyatrī is addressed to the Sūrya Deva: morning, afternoon, evening, etc. Without seeing the Sun, at least mentally, there is no Gāyatrī upāsanā at all.
So the Sun God—the Sun influences our life. He is the producer of food. He is the producer of seasons. He is the producer of our sustenance. He is also the one who takes away all the evil things. Do you know that? When a dead body is lying, who is it that cleans it up very quickly? If you go to Africa and other places, the dead body will be completely devoid of any smell within a few hours because of the power of the Sun. Otherwise it will produce a lot of evil effects.
The first sight of the baby should be the Sun. And the parents, they show the Sun. And then also in the night, they will show the Moon. And of course, they will come to the temples. This is the sixth saṃskāra.
7. Annaprāśana (First Feeding of Solid Food)
The seventh saṃskāra is called Annaprāśana, and many of you know that. Many babies are brought here for Annaprāśana. The idea is: the first solid food is food that is offered to God.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say that if we take prasāda of God, we become prasāda of God. I mentioned last class that Nag Mahāśaya used to be given prasāda in a leaf, and not only did he use to eat the prasāda, he also used to eat the leaf! What is the idea? Because prasāda touched the leaf, the leaf also has become holy, and so he doesn't want to leave it. This is the idea.
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had tremendous faith, and especially there are two types of prasādas which he used to call Mahāprasāda. One is food offered to Lord Jagannātha at Puri, and the other is the prasāda offered to Mother Kālī, Mahākālī. This is called Mahāprasāda.
And especially the prasāda of Lord Jagannātha—Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa used to say every devotee must take a bit of that food every day in the morning, and that will give devotion, that will purify the mind, and that will make him fit to receive the grace of God. And if devotees of Rāmakṛṣṇa believe Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's words, then they must do it—not once in a way, occasionally. It's very easy to get dried prasāda. Just get it.
What is the idea? The idea is: if we take prasāda, then what do we become? We also become prasāda ourselves!
Stories of Prasāda
You know, there was a very wonderful incident. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa could never visit Puri Jagannātha because he believed that if he goes there, he would enter into samādhi like Caitanya Mahāprabhu—he would never come back. So he sent M. M went there and embraced the Lord and came back. Then you know what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa did? He embraced M! Because M embraced the Lord, and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa embraced M, therefore Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa also, as though, embraced the Lord indirectly.
This is what—there is a custom in South India, in our parts where I was born. You know, Lord Veṅkaṭeśvara, Bālājī, is the most important deity, and there will be many people who would be going there. From my village, it's quite far away. Many people cannot afford to go there.
So there is a beautiful custom—I don't know whether it is there in other parts of India. Even if rich people, when they decide to go, two or three days before they go, they will have to take one small vessel, put it on their heads, and go on chanting, you know, Bālājī's name: Tirupati Veṅkaṭeśvara, Govinda, Govinda, like that. They go around the village.
Now the villagers who cannot go for some reason—they will put something: a bit of rice, a bit of money, a little bit of turmeric, kumkum, etc., to the person. The idea is: you are going there, you are fortunate, you carry these things on my behalf, offer them to the Lord, and when you come back you will bring the prasāda and you will give it to all of us.
So the person will go on others' behalf, he will carry this and offer it to the Lord, and when he comes back he will bring some prasāda and he will distribute it to everybody in the village, a little bit. Now they feel blessed that they also have got the fruit of visiting the Lord through this. What a beautiful concept!
Chariot Festivals
Another beautiful idea: you know, there are people who cannot visit the temple, even because of two reasons. One is they may be untouchables in those days, and secondly they may be old—they may not be in a position to go. That's why the Lord comes to them! And this is called chariot festival, horse chariot festival, elephant festival, etc.
The Lord is pulled in a chariot, you know—chariot festival. In South India, there is a peculiar custom. The Lord has a special—it is called makuṭa, you know—you put it on the head like a crown, so that it is not put really on the Lord, but it is used for putting it on the head of the Lord. And the priests bring it, and any old person, you know, from the house—they will bring the old person in a wheelchair or in a cot, or they hobble—then this priest will go and put that on the heads of the person. That is the prasāda of the Lord. The Lord is blessing, as though the Lord's hand is being put on the heads of these people.
We all used to rush to get these things—we didn't understand what the significance of it was at that time.
So these are all the means of how we can spiritualize our life, how we can become pure. This is one of the most important saṃskāras, called Annaprāśana. The first food should be prasāda of the Lord, by that also indicating: you must become prasāda—means you must become a dedicated person to the Lord. This is the idea. We are great believers in prasāda.
That is why, you know, the Hindu ceremonies are so beautiful. And Hindus don't believe in half measures. They don't believe in merely dried prasāda. They want pañca bhakṣya parāmaṇa prasāda—in gold and silver plates, if possible! That is why our festivals are becoming so popular. Every festival, more and more people are coming. So that's why somebody remarked, you know: for Hindu pūjās, it's bhajan and bhojan—these are the two most important things!
So Annaprāśana is a very important ceremony. Usually it is done in the sixth month. By that time, the child is able to take solid food, and the first food should be food offered to the Lord.
Then at this time, there are many prayers done. I won't go into the details, but this is one of them: Tvam annapatir annaṃ vardhamāno bhūyāḥ—meaning, "O child, may you be endowed by God's grace with anna. May you grow in strength, and may you live a long life."
This is the physical anna, but later on will come the intellectual and spiritual anna. That we will discuss shortly.
8. Cūḍākarma (First Shaving of the Head)
Then comes the next, Cūḍākarma. Cūḍākarma means first shaving of the head. Many people shave heads on a few occasions.
The first occasion is when the child is seven or eight months old—the head is shaved. Another occasion is when some near and dear relative dies—it is done. Of course, the third occasion is when the child goes to the gurukula—then the head is shaved. Then, of course, one of the most sacred ceremonies where the head is shaved is when a person takes to the fourth āśrama, which is called saṃnyāsa.
Shaving of the head indicates shedding, shaving of all attachments. The strongest, most horrible attachments—they are in the head, above the head! The barber is called, a ceremony is done, the complete shaving of the head is done.
The most precious object of a human being is the hair. In Tirupati Bālājī, what is the best offering one can give to God? It is the hair! Whether man, woman, child, old man, old woman—the head is shaved. Because a shaven head is indicative of two things: One is the attachments are shaven, and second is it is also an indirect symbol that everyone is to become, in the end, a monk or a nun, a saṃnyāsī. This is the symbolic significance of it. The idea is that this must be a brahmacārī—brahmacārī is a spiritual preparation.
9. Karṇavedha (Ear Piercing)
Then the next is Karṇavedha. Karṇavedha means piercing of the ears. So they make a small hole—not only for girls. In the past, they used to do it for males also. I don't know how many of you have got it. Certainly I had my share of it, as I mentioned. And they put golden, you know, small rings around the ears.
Karṇavedha, piercing of the ears. They say there is some significance. I do not know what exactly it is, but they say it is good for health. I don't know whether it's good for health or not, but this is one of the ceremonies which is going out of fashion now.
So these are the childhood saṃskāras.
Educational Saṃskāras
Now comes what is called the educational saṃskāras. It's most important. There are three such saṃskāras, or rather four saṃskāras.
10. Vidyārambha (Commencement of Learning)
Vidyārambha—you know, a child is brought sometimes. We do it here. They bring rice, etc., and the first thing that we do is write the name of God: Om, or Om Namaḥ Śivāya, or one's chosen deity's name—whichever God's name, Sarasvatī's name. There will be a pencil and there will be paper, some rice, etc., and this is a ceremony.
Many, many Hindu devotees observe even today. They go to a temple or come to our āśram, and we do it. The idea is: let this child be endowed with good education. That is one of the saṃskāras, Vidyārambha. May God bless this child so that the child will not have any obstructions for his acquisition of true knowledge: intellectual knowledge, moral knowledge, and spiritual knowledge.
But this is only the beginning.
11. Upanayana (Sacred Thread Ceremony)
For Brāhmaṇas especially—in the olden days, Brāhmaṇas and Kṣatriyas, they are called dvijas—there is this special type of ceremony: the sacred thread ceremony. There is Yajñopavīta ceremony. That is also called Upanayana.
Why is it called Upanayana? You know the word upa—the prefix upa: upāsanā, upavāsa, upa, as we call it in Bengali. Upa means near. Nayana means to take, to lead. Take the child nearer to the teacher. That is why it is called Upanayana.
This is the most important ceremony in an upper-caste Hindu man's life. And on this day, he is considered to be reborn. He is called dvija—twice-born. It is the most important ceremony.
The Significance of Upanayana
So this ceremony gives the child a second birth. The child commences his journey on the road to spiritual life. And this is contrasted with a life of eating, sleeping, and procreating, which is a kind of animal life.
And on this occasion, the child is given the most important treasure. What is it? Gāyatrī Mantra! Gāyatrī Mantra is put into his ears.
The Gāyatrī Mantra
What is the essence of this Gāyatrī Mantra? You know, Gāyatrī Mantra—first of all, I mentioned to you earlier, in case you have forgotten—it consists of 24 letters. It consists of three parts. What are those three parts? Can you remember the Gāyatrī Mantra?
Om Bhūr Bhuvaḥ Svaḥ
Tat Savitur Vareṇyaṃ
Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi
Dhiyo Yo Naḥ Pracodayāt
Om Bhūr Bhuvaḥ Svaḥ—that is not part of the real Gāyatrī Mantra. Tat Savitur Vareṇyaṃ, Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi, Dhiyo Yo Naḥ Pracodayāt—three parts. These three parts are taken from three Vedas: Ṛgveda, Yajurveda, and Sāmaveda. Later on, this Bhūr Bhuvaḥ Svaḥ was added to it.
The essence of this mantra is: O Lord, I pray to You earnestly. May You be my guide. May You enlighten my buddhi. This is called the awakening of the medhā. Medhā means spiritual intelligence.
And Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was very particular that every Brāhmaṇa must do this. Swami Vivekānanda said, "Let every Hindu be given a sacred thread."
There is no mantra which is so ancient—first of all, it is thousands of years old—so beautiful, so meaningful, so rhythmic, so vibrating. I can tell you, as I just now mentioned, just go on listening for half an hour, one hour, in a beautiful voice. It has a beautiful effect upon our mind.
The Meaning of Gāyatrī
But the meaning of the mantra is even more beautiful. What is it? It is a mantra of complete self-surrender.
Now I am thinking with my buddhi—means my intelligence. What does my intelligence say to me? "I am the owner. This is me. These are mine." I and mine.
What does this mantra say to us? It says: "You are the owner. You are the Lord. Everything belongs to You. I also belong to You." Complete self-surrender, as the Bengali song says: Sakali tomāra icchā—complete self-surrender!
"So I meditate upon You. May You enlighten my intelligence."
What is the final intelligence? What is the highest intelligence? Spiritual intelligence: that I am not the body; I am the divine being! That is the ultimate essence—whether you call it Ahaṃ Brahmāsmi, call it Tat Tvam Asi, Sarvaṃ Khalv Idaṃ Brahma—to feel that everything is divine. Therefore I am also divine. I am not the body. I am not the mind. But I am unable to achieve that realization.
But how can I achieve? Only through Your grace! And this is the prayer for the grace of the highest divinity. There is no name there. The name is neutral: Tat—that, that highest reality, Brahman. May It enlighten my mind.
This mantra is given to the child. Just look at the beauty of this saṃskāra, this sacrament! Even before the child has gone to the teacher, he has already been given the very essence of the whole life: You surrender yourself.
Practicing Self-Surrender
So this surrender comes—the meaning of this mantra has to be put into practice. "I surrender myself to You, O Lord." That's a beautiful prayer, but it has to be put into practice.
How does one put it into practice?
Mātṛ devo bhava—may your mother become God to you.
Pitṛ devo bhava—may your father become God to you.
Ācārya devo bhava—may your teacher become God to you.
Then, Atithi devo bhava—may the guest become God to you.
Gradually, let everything become God to you! That means: try to see God in everything. This is the essence of the Upaniṣad, Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad. What is the first verse?
Īśāvāsyam idaṃ sarvaṃ yat kiñca jagatyāṃ jagat
This whole universe is nothing but a manifestation of Īśvara, the Lord. Live your whole life with this knowledge and enjoy your life with this knowledge. Everything is filled with God. You are also God. Your neighbor also is God. What you think belongs to you is also God's. Everything is nothing but God. That is the essence of this Gāyatrī Mantra: to see the divinity.
So, Tat Savitur Vareṇyam—that means the excellence, the splendor, divine splendor. And where is the divine splendor? Bhūḥ, Bhuvaḥ, Svaḥ—filled in all the three worlds. Filled means what? Not like sunlight. Filled means the three worlds are nothing but manifestation of Yourself!
"I do not have the eyes to see it right now. May I have those eyes to see it."
Bhagavad Gītā, 11th chapter. What does Arjuna say? "O Lord, I believe Your words—that this whole universe is nothing but Your manifestation. But I do not have that intelligence to see You. So may You be gracious enough so that I can see how You see the world."
And you know, He says, "You cannot see Me through these ordinary eyes. But I will give you: Divyaṃ dadāmi te cakṣuḥ. Paśya me yogam aiśvaram—Look!"
And Arjuna opened his eyes. He looked. What did he see? Nothing but the divine Lord! The whole universe is nothing but manifestation of the divine Lord.
That is the lesson. This child is taught from the very beginning through self-surrender: You surrender your individual, ignorant, stupid intelligence into the divine intelligence. Then divine intelligence will come into you. And then what will you see? The whole universe is nothing but Your manifestation. This is called Viśvarūpadarśana. This is the ultimate goal of all of us: to see Sarvaṃ Khalv Idaṃ Brahma.
12. Gurukula and Learning
So thereafter, the other ceremony is: he will go to a gurukula. Nowadays, of course, that system is no longer there. Then he spends some years acquiring some knowledge.
13. Samāvartana (Convocation Ceremony)
Then at the end of it, there is a ceremony. It is called Samāvartana ceremony. Samāvartana means simply: the education is complete, and the child is going—has completed one fourth of his life. What is that life? Brahmacaryāśrama is complete. He is most likely to enter into the gṛhasthya life, the married householder's life. And there must be a saṃskāra for that.
So there is a convocation address there. The teacher gathers all the students who have completed their education, and he gives them final instruction. And I will read out these instructions in my next class and continue the saṃskāras.
I think next week we have this class.
Closing Prayer
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
Om Śānti, Śānti, Śāntih.
Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.