Respected sir(MR Narayanaswamy)
If I write some thing recd on internet as Kanchimatam letters, it is BASELESS
and would not have been sent. But if Mr Rajaram, quote it is 100% correct.
Always Mr Rajaram has double standard, though he declare he is impartial
Gopalakrishnan
On Saturday, 4 May, 2024 at 07:40:29 pm IST, Rajaram Krishnamurthy
<[email protected]> wrote:
I started ignoring the three mosquitoes as NOT WORTH A DIME. But here i just
want to tell him something: LET HIM KEEP NOTES OF ALL THE WORDS IN TACT AND
WHEN HE MEETS (I DON'T KNOW HOW NARAYANASAMY FROM NARAKA CAN MEET "HIM") MAHA
PERIYAVA SUBMIT OR THROW ALL THESE TO HIM. Thank you KR 4524
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Narayanaswamy Iyer <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, 4 May 2024 at 08:23
Subject: [iyer123] Re: [KeralaIyers] SANATANA DHARMA PART 14 K RAJARAM IRS
2524//3524
To: <[email protected]>, iyer <[email protected]>,
Laxminarayan Sarma <[email protected]>, gopala krishnan
<[email protected]>
Cc: Narayanaswamy Iyer <[email protected]>
Dear folks
When an uneducated, illiterate, humanoid such as K Rajaram ex-IRS 3524//2524
alias karuppan-chaami tries to struggle with its undeveloped miniscule mind, to
grasp great truths far beyond its reach, we get gross stupidities such as:-
(1) Paradise is the place where happiness is always experienced by the mind
and the senses. Music and dance - music of the gandharvas, dance by Rambha and
Menaka - Kalpaka, the tree that grants all wishes, Kamadhenu, the cow that
grants all wishes, the garden known as Nandana: devaloka means all these. It is
indeed a playground and there it is always joy.
My comments:-
"Devaloka" means the dwelling-place of the devas. Nothing else.
Not all dead humans' souls go to "deva-loka" no matter how deserving.
Depending on the balance of their punya-paapams as assessed by Lord Yama Dharma
Raaja and his book-keeper Chithra-Giptha, and their preferred personal deities,
they might go to sathya-lokam (the abode of Lord Brahma), to vaikuntam (the
abode of Lord Mahaa Vishnu), or rudra-lokam (the abode of Shiva).
(2) On a hypothetical basis, eternal happiness may be ours in svarga or
paradise. But there is no instance of anyone having actually lived there
permanently nor does it seem possible for anyone to do so.
My comments:-
The unemployed ex-exciseman is confused between paradise, devaloka, and
svargam, as he has no education at all but gropes in the dark for a black cat
in a dark room on a dark night.
(3) "There are forty samskaras to refine a man with Vedic mantras and to
involve him in the rites associated with those mantras. These are the first
steps towards the indissoluble union of the individual self with the Absolute -
it is Advaitic mukti, non - dualistic release."
My comments:-
Absolute gibberish from an outsider to our samskaarams who has not even an
elementary acquaintance with the significance, purpose, content, effect,
consequence, or performance of any one of these samskaarams, but blindly
fumbles and stumbles on in the vain hope of impressing the lambs he is leading
to the slaughter.
(4) "Caula comes after annaprasana. It is meant for the "sikha" which is
essential to the conduct of all good rites."
My comments:-
As expected the super-extra-ignoramus who composed this outrageous lie knows
not what is the samskaaram of chaulam -- shaving the baby's head of all hair
whether present at time of birth or grown subsequently. It has nothing to do
with "sikha", the kudumi or little tuft of hair that brahmachaaris,
gruhasthans, and vaanaprasthans wear.
(5) The passage has far too many crass errors for correction.
I do not propose to try to educate the pagan savage anthropoid ape just
descended from the jungle trees, and bares its fangs indiscriminately at all
passers-by.
S Narayanaswamy Iyer
On Fri, May 3, 2024 at 10:07 AM Rajaram Krishnamurthy <[email protected]>
wrote:
SANATANA DHARMA -FORTY SAMSKARAS Part 14 K Rajaram IRS 2524 /3524 LDN Kanchi
1 I used the word "samskara" abovealso explained its meaning according to
the Tarka-sastra(science of logic) as "impression onmemory". {TO BE TAKEN UP
LATER} But this is not how the word isgenerally understood. "Sam(s)"=well;
"kara"=making. "Samskara" means making something good, refining orpurifying it.
2 All creatures long for everlastinghappiness. There are two abodes of
eternal happiness. One is devaloga, the world of celestials orparadise, the
other is Atmajnana, the state of awareness of the Self. The Atman, the Self is
bliss; it is theBrahman. To realise this truth is to attain everlasting
blessedness. But thisstate, this joy supreme, is not experienced by the mind or
the senses. It isthe highest, the most exalted state and it transcends the
senses and the mind;it is a state in which a man becomesaware that "the body is
not I, the intelligence is not I, theconsciousness is not I".
3 Paradise is the place where happiness isalways experienced by the mind
and the senses. Music and dance - music of thegandharvas, dance by Rambha and
Menaka - Kalpaka, the tree that grants allwishes, Kamadhenu, the cow that
grants all wishes, the garden known as Nandana:devaloka means all these. It is
indeed a playground and there it is always joy.But a difference exists between
the joy known in paradise and the blissexperienced by the knower of the Self.
It is true that there is eternalhappiness in paradise but not so far the man
who goes there because he will notbe a permanent resident of it. If he has
earned a good ideal of merit he willbe able to reside there until he is reborn.
When he has enjoyed the fruits ofhis meritorious actions, the Lord will send
him back to earth. It is true thatthere are accounts in the Puranas of mortals
who earn a great ideal of meritand become gods themselves to reside in the
celestial world. But the samePuranas also tell us that the gods themselves are
not permanent denizens ofparadise. There are stories in these texts of the
celestials being hounded outof paradise by demons like Surapadma and Mahisasura
and of Indra, their king,himself being pushed down to earth to undergo
suffering there.
On a hypothetical basis, eternal happiness may be ours in svarga orparadise.
But there is no instance of anyone having actually lived therepermanently nor
does it seem possible for anyone to do so.
4 Happiness gained through the senses isderived from external objects. These
cannot be ours for all time. one whoremains nailed to his Self. The joy
experienced by Indra is but a droplet ofthe vast ocean of Atmic bliss, so says
the Acarya in his Manisa Pancakam: "YadSaukhyambudilesalesata ime Sakradayo
nirvrtah". According to Upanisads you will have external bliss if the senses
andthe mind are removed in the same way as you draw off the rib from a stalk
ofcorn and remain just the Atman. It needs great courage to pluck out thebody
and the senses realising that " I am not the body. Its joys andsorrows are not
mine". Such courage is not earned without inner purity.Conduct of religious
rituals is meant for this, for cittasuddhi ( purity of theconsciousness ).
There are forty samskaras to refine a man with Vedic mantrasand to involve him
in the rites associated with those mantras. These are thefirst steps towards
the indissoluble union of the individual self with theAbsolute - it is Advaitic
mukti, non - dualistic release.
5 We must strive to become inwardly pure bythe performance of works. Then,
with the inner organs ( antah - karana ) alsocleansed, we must mediate on the
Self and become one with It. This is theconcept of Sankara. If a man has such a
goal before him and keeps performingrituals throughout ( even without becoming
a sannyasin ) he goes to Brahmalokaon death. But if a manperforms rituals for
the sake of rituals without keeping before him the goal ofoneness with the
Brahman he will be rewarded with paradise, but not theparadise that is eternal.
Though the stay be brief he will enjoy greaterhappiness there than on earth. It
is samskaras that earn a man heaven.
6 We speak of threeworlds: devaloka ( world of the celestials ),
manusyaloka ( this world of ours), and naraka ( hell ). The first has nothing
but pleasure; in the second it isa mixture of happiness and sorrow; and in the
third there is nothing but painand sorrow. According to our sastras a man who
has committed terrible sins goesthrough torments of hell before taking lowly
birth again in this world. Oursastras also have it that this world of ours is
better than the others. How? Thereis not this kind of freedom in the other
worlds. Is a cow capable of earningmerit? The devas are like cows. So far as
the cow isconcerned there is neither merit nor sin in its life. On this
earth(bhuloka) only those like us human beings can win liberation - we can do
sothrough good actions. Other worlds are like hotels where the denizens eat
whatwe harvest here. There you may enjoy the fruits you have merited here by
youractions in proportion to the punya you have earned or the papa you have
piledup. Our world alone is karmabhumi (world ofworks). And even in this world
only human beings are capable of thinking andacting on their own. All other
creatures live by instinct. Those who live inthe other worlds have no right for
karma. A man's actions, his works, togetherwith his character, determine his
passage to other worlds. Only in thiskarmabhumi can we perfect our character by
performing virtuous acts and thusqualify to go to another world.
7 There is a proper time and a proper placefor the conduct of a religious
rite. Do you think a sraddha can be performed atmidnight? There is a right time
for it as well as a proper place. It is in India particularly,that is
Bharatavarsa, the Vedic karma must be performed, but even in this landit is not
permitted during certain periods. It has to be carried out inhallowed places
and during sanctified hours.
8 What is karma? It meanswork. Suppose you have to make a vesti
(dhoti). There are a number ofprocesses, a number of works for it. The cotton
has to be gathered from thefield; it has to be cleaned and spun into yarn; then
the yarn has to be woveninto cloth and dyed. In the same way a man has to be
made a knower of the Atmanthrough a series of rituals. Karma has to be
performed in such a way as topurify him both outwardly and inwardly. Such a
karma iscalled samskara. That which removes the impurities from anobject, takes
away all the bad or evil elements, and imparts good qualities toit is samskara.
Samskara is like combing the hair and applying oil to it.Certain types of
samskara are conducted on land. First the land is allowed todry in the sun,
then it is ploughed and irrigated. Seeds, say, of paddy, aresown and after they
sprout the seedlings are transplanted. The weeds areremoved, the field
irrigated again and the excess water drained off. When thecorn is ripe, the
crop is harvested, threshed and the chaff winnowed. The paddyhas to be
"seasoned" and pounded before the rice is used.
9 How many different steps are there inmaking cotton into a vesti. The
weaver has to take great care that the yarndoes not get tangled. Our Self is in
a tangle caused by the senses. It has tobe untangled and made eternally happy.
There are many obstacles toaccomplishing this. Now and then we experience some
happiness in the midst ofall our trouble and suffering. This happiness must be
made to endure for ever.For that we must go to Brahmaloka. In the presence of
Isvara there will be nosorrow. After the great deluge we will become one with
him. We have to prepareourselves now itself towards that end. The sages have
laid down the fortysamskaras and the eight "Atmagunas " for this purpose.The
Self isever pure. So it is wrong to believe that it has to be purified by
thesamskaras. It is nirguna, unconditioned and without attributes. So it is
alsowrong to speak of what are called Atmagunas, since the Atman has truly no
gunasor qualities or attributes.
10 However in practice, owing to Maya we donot realise that we are the
Atman without qualities. It is the Self perceivedin our dualistic life that is
referred to when we speak of samskaras and it isfull of impurities that have to
be removed through the samskaras. It has alsodurgunas or bad qualities which
have to be removed by cultivating the eightgood qualities. Once we succeed in
this, there will be neither any samskara norany guna. We will transcend all
gunas, all qualities, including the highest ofthem, sattvaguna. Finally there
will be only the Self without any karma,without any gunas and without any
distinction between the jivatman and theParamatman. But to come to this state
we have to go through the process ofsamskaras and cultivate the eight Atmagunas.
11 The eight gunas orqualities are : daya, ksanti, anasuya, sauca,
anayasa,mangala, akarpanya, asprha.
A "Daya" implieslove for all creatures, such love being the very fulfilment of
life. There isindeed no greater happiness than that derived by loving others.
Daya is thebackbone of all qualities.
B "Ksanti" ispatience. One kind of ksanti is patiently suffering disease,
poverty,misfortune and so on. The second is forgiveness and it implies loving a
aperson even if he causes us pain and trouble.
C "Anasuya" you knowis the name of the sage Atri's wife. She was utterly free
from jealousy : thatis how she got the name which means non-jealousy.
Heart-burning caused byanother man's prosperity or status is jealousy. We ought
to have love andcompassion for all and ought to be patient and forgiving even
towards those whodo us wrong. We must not envy people their higher status even
if they be lessdeserving of it than we are and, at the same time, must be
mature enough toregard their better position as the reward they earned by doing
good in theirprevious life.
D "Sauca" is derivedfrom "suci", meaning cleanliness. Purity is to be
maintained in allmatters such as bathing, dress, food. There is a saying often
quoted even bythe unlettered: "Cleanliness makes you happy and it even appeases
yourhunger". To see a clean person is to feel ourselves clean. In Manu'slisting
of dharmas that are applicable to all, ahimsa or non-violence comesfirst,
followed by satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-covetousness; non-stealingis the
direct meaning), sauca (cleanliness) and indriya-nigraha (subduing thesenses or
even obliterating them).
E The fifth Atmaguna is "anayasa". Itis the opposite of "ayasa" which denotes
effort, exertion, etc.Anayasa means to have a feeling of lightness, to take
things easy. One must notkeep a long face, wear a scowl or keep lamenting one's
hardships. If you loseyour cool you will be a burden to yourself as well as to
others. Anayasa is agreat virtue. In many of our rituals there is much bodily
exertion. When weperform a sraddha we have to remain without food until 2 or 3
in the afternoon.There is no end to the physical effort we have to put in to
conduct asacrifice. Here anayasa means not to feel any mental strain.
Obstacles,inevitable to any work or enterprise, must not cause you any mental
strain. Youmust not feel any duty to be a burden and must develop the attitude
thateverything happens according to the will of the Lord. What do we mean when
weremark that the musician we listened to yesterday touched the "tara-sthayi"
soeffortlessly? Does it mean that he performed a difficult musical exercise
withease? Similarly, we must learn to make light of all the hardships that
weencounter in life.
F What is "mangala",the sixth guna? Well, "mangala" is mangala. There is
mangala or an auspicious airabout happiness that is characterised by dignity
and purity. One must becheerful all the time and not keep growling at people on
the slightest pretext.This itself is extremely helpful, to radiate happiness
wherever we go and exudeauspiciousness. It is better than making lavish gifts
and throwing money about.To do a job with a feelingof lightness is anayasa. To
be light ourselves, creating joy wherever we go, ismangala. We must be like a
lamp spreading light and should never givecause for people to say, "Oh! he has
come to find fault witheverything". Wherever we go we must create a sense of
happiness. We mustlive auspiciously and make sure that there is happiness
brimming overeverywhere.
G "Akarpanya" is thenext guna. Miserliness is the quality of krpana or miser.
"Akarpanya"is the opposite of miserliness. We must give generously and
whole-heartedly. AtKuruksetra Arjuna felt dejected and refused to wage war with
his own kin. Indoing so, according to the Gita, he was the guilty of
"karpanyadosa". It means, contextually, that he abased himself to a woeful
state,he became "miserly" about himself. Akarpanya is the quality of
acourageous and zestful person who can face problems determinedly.
H "Asprha" is the last of the eightqualities. "Sprha" means desire; a
grasping nature."Asprha" is the opposite, being without desire. Desire is at
the rootof all trouble, all evil and, all through the ages, it has been the
cause ifmisfortunes. But to eradicate it from the mind of men seems an
almostimpossible task. By performing rites again and again and by
constantlyendeavouring to acquire the Atmic qualities one will eventually
becomedesireless. Says Valluvar:
1 Parruga parrarran parrinaiapparrai parruga parru vidarku DON’TLEAVE TO HOLD
HIM WHO HAS NOTHING TO LEAN ON BUT ONLY INDEPENDENT.
2 Tirumular goes a stepfurther. "It is not enough, " he says, "to be attached
to Isvara who is without attachmentand be free from other attachments. You must
be able to sever yourself from theattachment to Isvara himself".
Asai arumingal,asai arumingal Isanodayinum asaiarumingal
3 The Buddha calls desirethirst. Intense desire for an object is "trsna". ( The
Buddha callsit "tanha" in Prakrt). His chief teaching is the conquest of desire.
4 Desirelessness is the last of the eightqualities. The first one, daya, is
the life-breath of Christianity. Eachreligion lays emphasis on a particular
quality, though all qualities areincluded in the teachings of Buddha, Jesus
Christ, the Prophet Mohammed, GuruNanak, Zoroaster, Confucius and the founders
of all other religions. Even ifthese qualities may not have been pointedly
mentioned in their teachings, it iscertain that none of them would regard
people lacking them with approval. All religions teach people tobe loving, to
be truthful and to be free from jealousy, desire and greed. But our religion
goes further byimposing on us the performance of various samskaras to acquire
these qualitiesin practical life. There is no use in merely preaching, in
asking people to belike this or that. A man must be kept bound to a system
consisting of suchworks as would help him in practice to acquire the noble
qualities expected ofthem. Our religion alone does this. Other religions, it
isclaimed, teach love and desirelessness. But Hinduism, it is alleged, does
notgive any importance to such qualities and is, besides, ritual-ridden. This
viewis totally erroneous. In fact, our religion does more than others: while
layingemphasis on the eight qualities, it imparts lessons to take people beyond
them,to a state that transcends these very qualities. It also believes that
merelytalking about the qualities will serve no purpose. After all, we know,
don'twe, that we have to be virtuous, truthful, loving and so on? Still we find
itdifficult to live according to these ideals. What purpose is served if
ourcanonical texts merely keep urging us again and again to acquire
noblequalities? That is why, unlike other faiths which contain a great deal
ofethical and moral instruction, our religion teaches ethics and morality only
tothe extent needed. But is that all? Without stopping with mere precept it
tellsus how we may- in actual practice- cultivate and acquire them. This it
doesfirst by telling us stories through the Puranas of virtuous people who
obtainedfame and of evil-doers who got ill fame. But it recognises that such
examplesare not enough to provide the necessary inspiration, so it lays down a
numberof samskaras for the purpose of obtaining inner purity. Ours is the only
religion that givespractical training in making people virtuousand in acquiring
moral excellence. Instead of being proud of this fact, is itright to feel that
there is something lacking in our religion?
12 The dharmasastras have prescribed rites tomake us inwardly pure and
impart us the eight qualities. In this context thesutras of Apastamba and
Gautama have a dominant place. Among the Smrtis Manu'sis the most important.
Apastamba and Gautama deal with the dharmas common toall people. The former
lays down the duties and samskaras separately for thedifferent castes also.
Gautama deals with the forty samskaras and the eightAtmagunas. These
forty-eight are the means to take a man to Brahmaloka on hisdeath. He goes
before the presence of Isvara, which is like going to a greatjnanin. He can
remain quiescent in bliss. When Isvara, who conducts the worldhimself becomes
formless, he too [the man who attains Brahmaloka] will bedissolved in him.
Until then he resides in the world of Isvara (saloka) andlater attains sayujya,
that is becomes one with him. "Yasyaite catvarimsatsamskarah astavatmagunah sa
Brahmanah sayujyam salokatam jayati", so it issaid.
13 The body is involvedin various ways in performing the forty samskaras.
When you work in anoffice you use your hands and feet and mouth, don't you? So
is the case withthe samskaras. He who performs them and cultivates the eight
Atmagunas goesdirectly to the Brahmaloka in which world there is neither sorrow
nor happiness.When are you without sorrow and happiness? When you are with the
One whocreates them.
The Atmic qualities aredescribed as "Atmasakti". This term has recently come
intouse in newspaper language. In the old Sanskrit and Tamil texts we do not
seethe term "Atmasakti" used, only "Atmagunas".
The samskaras cover anindividual's entire life-span - "Nisekadi
smasanantakam" - from themoment before he is conceived in his mother's womb to
the time when his body isoffered to Agni. "Niseka" (impregnation) is a rite
performed with thesacrificial fire as the witness; and the funeral rites which
come last areperformed in the fire.
14 Agni, the sacred fire, must be kept burning throughout aBrahmin's life.
The Brahmacarin or bachelor - student must perform thesamidadhana everyday.
After he is married, with Agni as witness, he becomes agrhastha (householder).
He must now perform the aupasana in the fire. For thevanaprastha (forest
recluse), there is a sacred fire called"kaksagni". The sannyasin has no
sacrament involving the sacred fire:he has the fire of knowledge (jnanagni)in
him. His body is not cremated - thatis there is no Agni-samskara for it- but
interred as a matter of respect.Strictly speaking, it must be cut into four
parts and consigned to the fourquarters of a forest. There it will be food for
birds and beasts. In aninhabited place the severed parts of the body would
cause inconvenience topeople. That is why they were thrown into the forest.
There it would be foodfor its denizens; if buried it would be manure for the
plants. Now over thesite of the interment of a sannyasin's body a Brindavana is
grown [or built] :this again is done out of respect. At such sites all that is
to be done is toplant a bilva or asvattha tree.
15 All castes have rites to be performed withthe sacred fire. During
marriage people belongings to all varnas must doaupasana and the fire in which
the rite is performed must be preservedthroughout. Today, only Parsis seem to
keep up such a practice ofpreserving the fire. Their scripture is called the
Zend-Avesta which name musthave been derived from the Vedic "Chando-Vasta".
Their teacher wasZoroaster [Zarathustra] : this name must have been derived
from"Saurastra". Their homeland is Iran (from "Arya"). If thefire kept by them
is extinguished at any time they spend a good deal of moneyin expiatory rites.
With us rituals performed in the sacred fire have been onthe decline from the
turn of the century. The lifestyle of our people haschanged. If there is faith,
this great treasure (rites performed in the fire)could be preserved. The most
important reason for the loss of faith is thepresent system of education. This
body of ours has to be finally offered in thefire as ahuti (oblation) to the
deities. It is treated as a dravya(material forsacrifice) with ghee applied to
it before it is offered in the fire. Theceremony is called "dahana-samskara".
16 Theforty samskaras which are meant to purify the individual self are:
garbhadhana, pumsavana, simanta,jatakarma, namakarana, annaprasana, caula,
upanayana, the four rites likeprajapatya (Vedavratas) performed during
gurukulavasa (the years the celibatestudent spends in the home of his guru),
the ritual bath on completion ofgurukulavasa, marriage, the five mahayajnas
performed everyday by thehouseholder. We have listed nineteen so far. Then
there are seven pakayajnas,seven haviryajnas and seven somayajnas to be
conducted by the householder.Thus 19+21=40 The seven pakayajnas are:astaka
(anvastaka), sthalipaka, parvana, sravani, agrahayani, caitri, asvayuji.The
seven haviryajnas: agniyadhana, agnihotra, darsa-purnamasa,
agrayana,caturmasya, nirudhapasubandha, sautramani. The seven somayajnas:
agnistoma,atyagnistoma, uktya, sodasi, vajapeya, atiratra, aptoryama. Out of
the fortysamskaras some are to be performed everyday, some at certain times and
some atleast once in a lifetime. In the first category there are five
mahayajnas(panca-mahayajnas). Rites done to the chanting of mantras are more
beneficialthan those done without it - a sacrament involving mantras is a
samskara. Thesocial service that a house holder does is included among his
daily panca -mahayajnas. The panca - mahayajnas are: brahmayajna, devayajna,
pitrayajna,manusyayajna and bhutayajna. The chanting of the Vedas constitutes
brahmayajna.Sacrifices and puja are devayajna. Tarpana is pitrayajna. Feeding
guests ismanusyayajna. And offering bali to various creatures is bhutayajna.
17 Aupasana and agnihotra are part of thedaily religious routine. Though a
pakayajna, aupasana is not included in thegroup of seven pakayajnas mentioned
above, while agnihotra is one of the sevenhaviryajnas. Darsa - purnamasa is a
haviryajna to be performed once in fifteendays. The other five haviryajnas and
the seven somayajnas are to be performedonce a year or, at least, once in a
lifetime. As if out of consideration forus, the Smrtis have granted us this
concession: that the difficult somayajnasneed be undertaken only once in a
lifetime. But for the parvani - sraddha whichis to be performed once a month
and the sthalipaka every Prathama, the other five pakayajnas are to beperformed
once a year. To put it differently: the five mahayajnas (brahmayajna,devayajna,
pitrayajna, manusyayajna, bhutayajna) together with agnihotra andaupasana are
to be performed everyday; darsa-purnamasa and sthalipaka once afortnight;
parvani-sraddha once a month. The other yajnas are to be conductedonce a year
or at least once in a lifetime. On a plot of land growing one crop, harvesting
is doneonce a year, while on another plot growing three crops the same is done
onceevery four months. Some crops have to be watered everyday, some on
alternatedays. Such jobs are samskaras.
18 The samskaras beginwith garbhadhana, that is from the moment of
conception [or, more correctly,impregnation]. The "sarira-pinda"must be formed
to the chanting of mantras. People mistakenly think that riteslike Pumsavana
and simanta are meant for the mother. Actually,they are for the life taking
shape in her womb, the foetus and are meant topurify it. The elders have a
responsibility in this matter. One may not do therites meant for oneself, but
it is sinful to be negligent about those meant foranother life. Nowadays people
omit to perform garbhadhana, simanta, etc, sincethey think that such rites are
not fashionable.
Where there should be somedelicacy in man-woman relationship people act without
any sense of shame afterthe fashion in the West. But, when it comes to
performing Vedic rites in whichthe well-being of the new life created is
involved, they feel a sense ofawkwardness. Such an attitude is not right.
1 Garbhadhana, pumsavana andsimanta are performed before the child is born. The
sexual union of man andwife must be sanctified by the mantras. Instead of being
an act of animalpassion, it is raised to the level of a samskara with the
chanting of mantras:the purpose is the well-being of the life to be formed. It
is madness to giveup such rituals without realising the high principles
inspiring them and,instead, thinking them to be "uncivilized". If there is any
feelingof delicacy on your part about the garbhadhana (rtusanti) ceremony, you
do nothave to invite a crowd. But the rite itself must be gone through within
thefour walls of the home. It is no longer the custom to have a four-day
weddingwith the couple doing daily aupasana. Nor is the rite of sesahoma
conductedfollowing the day of wedding. The couple have sexual intercourse on
the sameday as the marriage without any ceremony and the chanting of mantras.
This isan evil practice and sinful. Since the intercourse takes place in an
animal manner,the children born too will be likewise. Pumsavana must be
performed in thethird month of pregnancy and simanta in the sixth or eighth.
Nowadays bothrites are gone through together anyhow.
2 On the birth of a child,its jatakarma must be performed. Gifts must begiven
away. Namakarana is on the eleventh day. Even this, the naming ceremony,has a
purificatory purpose according to the sastras. There are rules regardingthe
name to be chosen for the child in accordance with the naksatra or
asterismunder which it is born. It must be one from the many names of the Lord
and tocall the child by such a name is itself a samskara since it has a
cleansingeffect. We do not have the custom of "christening" our children as
"Longfellow"or "Stone". But nowadays even in this land similar names are given
tochildren. Also when the child's name is that of the Lord it is corrupted
ortwisted clumsily. The name given to a child during a Vedic ritual must
betreated with some respect.
3 When the child is six monthsold it is time for its annaprasana. The samskaras
from the garbhadhana tonamakarana are performed by the parents on behalf of the
child. In annaprasana,even though the father chants the mantras, it is
[obviously] the child thattakes anna or food.
4 If the mother takesmedicine, the baby is nourished, is it not? In the same
way the inner thoughtsand feelings of the parents will affect the foetus and
its character will beshaped accordingly. There is a difference between what you
write when your mindis calm and what you write when you are in an angry mood:
the first will begood to read while the second will not be so pleasant. The
body too is subjectto good and bad influences. The sexual union must take place
when the coupleare imbued with good thoughts: it will then lead to the creation
of a blob oflife (pinda) that will have the potential to develop into a noble
character.This is the reason why the marriage is consummated with the
intonation ofmantras.
There are people who have notaltogether ceased to observe such rites, but
sometimes they go through two orthree rites together. There is a right time for
every samskara and there aremantras as well as dravyas (materials) appropriate
to them.
5 Caula comes after annaprasana. It is meantfor the "sikha" which is essential
to the conduct of all good rites.The sannyasin has no sikha and is
shaven-headed; in fact, the sikha has to beremoved with the recitation of
mantras at the time one receives initiation intosannyasa. It is worn in the
caula ceremony with the chanting of mantras andwith a vow made to Paramesvara
(as part of the samkalpa). So it is wrong toremove it as we like in violation
of this vow. Is it proper to remove this lockof hair as if it were just a
handful of leafy vegetables? People install thesivalinga or salagrama for
worship. Would it be right ontheir part to discard them as they like. It would
be a different matter if theywere stolen or lost accidentally. Similarly, to
wear a sikha ceremonially andthen remove it, as and when we like, and wear a
crop is not proper.
6 The chanting of the Vedas, the performance ofVedic rituals and the dharma
practised by the householder with his wifestrengthen both body and mind (the
latter through the vibrations in the nadisproduced by the mantras). The sikha
on the Brahmarandhra isa protection and a means of obtaining such strength. It
is like the tiles onthe roof of a house. Only when you cease to perform Vedic
rites is it notneeded, that is when you are no longer a householder and became
an ascetic.Today even as student-bachelors or as householders we have ceased to
chant theVedas and practise Vedic rites. So, naturally, we do not wear the
sikha also.
7 Upanayana comes after caula. It is the firstsamskara that a boy performs,
chanting the mantras himself. Those conduceduntil this ceremony are meant to
protect the child from the evil influencesarising from the sins committed by
its parents. These are either"garbhika" or "baijika" (belonging to the womb or
to theseed or sperm). The samskaras performed by the parents are to remove the
illscaused to the child by these harmful influences.
Any samskara must be performed at the right time and by doing so we areabsolved
of our sins. To wash away the papa earned by us in the past we have togo
through samskaras in which our body, mind and speech are applied.
19 We think evil with our mind, tell lies withour mouth, and sin with our
body also. Indeed we practise all kinds ofdeception. The wrongs committed by
mind, speech and body must be wiped away byapplying mind, speech and body to
virtuous purposes. With the mind, Paramesvaramust be meditated upon; with the
faculty of speech, mantras must be chanted;and with the body, noble deeds must
be performed. It is from the time ofupanayana that one becomes mature enough to
perform samskaras that bringtogether mind, speech and body. I must speak about
another matter. Apart fromthe samskaras that a father performs specifically for
the sake of his child(from garbhadhana to caula), those (including other types
of rites) he conductsotherwise also benefit the children. This is according to
the saying, "Thegood done by mother and father goes to protect the children".
Untilrecently the children of Vaidika Brahmins were particularly bright, the
reason being the impetusthey received from the samskaras performed by their
forefathers. What ourancestors did by way of good works served as the
foundation of our moral andintellectual uplift for two or three generations.
Children born afterwards havebeen so much embroiled in worldly affairs as to
have become degraded.
20 Our fathers did not perform any samskaras.So we may feel sorry that we
have been deprived of the benefits that wouldotherwise have come to us. Let us
not give room for our children to make thesame complaint about us. Let us
perform samskaras for our sake and theirs. atakarma, namakarana,annaprasana
and caula are common to all jatis. Only Brahmins, Ksatriyas andVaisyas have the
upanayana ceremony. There is nothing discriminatory about thisnor need there be
any quarrel over the same. People belonging to the fourthvarna do physical work
to serve the world and in the process acquire innerpurity. They will gain
proficiency in their hereditary vocations only bylearning them from their
parents or grandparents. They do not requiregurukulavasa over some twelve years
[as in the case with Brahmins] nor do theyhave to learn the Vedas. If so their
work will suffer.
21 Upanayana is the first step taken towardsgurukulavasa. When a boy learns
the Vedas he must have no ego-feeling. At homehe has a lot of freedom. His
father will not be able to discipline him becausehis affection will come in the
way. That is why the child is to be broughtunder the care of a guru. Vocations
that require physical effort are differentfrom the pursuit of the Vedas. There
is no room for intellectual arrogance inthem or for the nursing of the ego. So
such work may be taught at home by thefather or some other elder in the family.
Those who serve by doing manual workdo not require to go through upanayana or
gurukulavasa. Certain special skillsor the finer aspects of an art or craft
that cannot be taught at home may belearned from a Brahmin teacher. The Brahmin
is expected to be proficient in allarts, all subjects, but none of these is
meant to be a source of hislivelihood. His vocation is teaching and the
chanting of the Vedas and theperformance of Vedic rites.
22 There is a relationship between the samskarasdescribed for a man and his
vocation and mental outlook. So it would be wrongto think poorly of certain
jatis who do not have to perform certain samskaras.You may think it strange,
but it is my view that it is those who have toundergo more samskaras than
others that must have been thought of poorly. Theidea is that these people need
more rites to be rendered pure. Others are notin need of so many to be cleansed
within. The larger the dose of medicine takenby patient the greater must be his
affliction.
23 None excels the sages in impartiality. Theydo not talk glibly like us of
equality but they are truly egalitarian inoutlook since they look upon all as
one with Isvara. The conduct of the world'saffairs is such that it requires
people following different vocations, doingdifferent jobs and with different
mental qualities in keeping with them. It isin conformity with these
differences and dissimilarities that the sagesassigned the samskaras also
differently to different people. There is noquestion of high or low among them.
It is in observance of the same principlethat the sastras lay down upanayana
for the first three varnas (Brahmins,Ksatriyas and Vaisyas) and also certain
samskaras connected with it. K Rajaram IRS 3524//2524
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