Upanayanam
Compiled by Srini Nagarajan, SVT Youth Group.
Upanayanam is the Samaskara or the ceremonial rite in which the
young Brahmin boy is invested with the sacred thread and initiated into the
Gayathri - the Holiest of all mantras in the legacy of the Rishis.
After
the Upanayanam is performed, the boy or the Vatu - as the young
Brahmachari is called, becomes eligible to study the Vedas. As this Samaskara
signifies a spiritual rebirth as it were, the boy becomes a Dvija or a
"Twice Born" after the Upanayanam is performed. Etymologically
speaking, the word means, taking (NAYANAM) near (UPA). In the ancient days when
the scripturally ordained modes of conduct were strictly followed, the father
took his son near the Gayathri Mantra, and there after near a Guru and left him
under his care and tutelage soon after the Upanayanam was performed. The Guru
took him near the Vedas (i.e. taught him to chant them in the traditional way)
which in turn ultimately took him near God. Thus, the ceremony opens for the
young Brahmachari, a succession of gates, leading to the ultimate goal of human
existence - the realisation of God. In the scheme of the four ashramas
prescribed for the individual, the Upanayanam Ceremony signifies the boy's
entry into the ashrama namely Brahmacharya.
The Investiture
Ideally,
this Samaskara is to be performed when the boy is just past seven. In
any case, the investiture with the sacred thread should not be delayed beyond
the sixteenth year. Before the onset of adolescence, and before the dormant
primordial biological urges in an individual surface, he must be initiated into
the Gayathri.
The Gayathri Mantra
Literally,
Gayathri means which protects him who chants it. She is the mother of all the
mantras, and when chanted with devotion and single pointed concentration and
purity, takes the chanter to the ultimate bliss - the knowledge of the Supreme
Truth, called the Brahman. The Gayathri is a mantra praying for divine guidance
to inspire and illumine the intellect so that the Jiva may know his real self -
the Atman. Universal in its approach, it does not seek any personal benefit for
the chanter. The venerable Bhisma, while extolling the greatness of the
Gayathri from his bed of arrows declares - Where the Gayathri is chanted,
ultimately deaths, involving the performance of obsequies for children by their
elders will not occur. Thus it is a prayer for universal welfare which the
brahmin must perform as a sacred trust enjoined on him.
Method to perform the Gayathri Mantra
The Gayathri must be chanted in the
prescribed manner, thrice a day, as a part of the religious duty called the
Sandhyavandanam, ordained for all brahmins. The Sandhyavandanam is an excellent
daily exercise in quietening the mind and rendering it fit for meditation on
the highest truth epitomized by the Gayathri. Because of its great importance
as a spiritual practice, the sastras have proclaimed its primacy of place in
unequivocal terms, to the extent that no exceptions are provided. It has to be
definitely performed thrice daily, throughout one's life. All the good things a
brahmin may do are of no avail, if he fails to perform his Sandhyavandanam and
Gayathri Japa regularly. The scriptures are unanimous on this point. The
immense benefit accruing from regular and assiduous practice of the
Sandhyavandanam and chanting of the Gayathri is something that each individual
can corroborate by his own experience.
The Sacred Thread
The
sacred thread, with which the Vatu is invested on the holy occasion of
Upanayanam, may be compared to an electric circuit. Even as any leakage point
in an electric circuit will result in a drain of precious electrical energy,
any object, like key or coin, tied to the sacred thread, serve as leakage
points through which the carefully garnered spiritual power of the Gayathri is
frittered away. The sacred thread must therefore be kept free from association
with any other object.
Bhikshakaranam
In
the days to yore, the brahmachari went out into the streets to beg for alms
from various houses - Bhikshakaranam. This is being done symbolically today.
While it may be very difficult to practice Bhikshakaranam daily in today's
conditions, we would do well at least keep in mind the spirit underlying the
Bhikshakaranam and try to imbibe the virtues it inculcates. The practice of
Bhikshakaranam will induce humility and quell the ego - it will root out all
difference of high and low, wealthy and poor, as every brahmachari, regardless
of his family's standing, has to practice it. Above all, it will enable the
young Vatu to overcome the craving of the tongue, and induce the restraint of
the senses so very necessary for properly imbibing the Vedic Knowledge.
The
various lofty truths explained above are only illustrative, but by no means
exhaustive of the innumerable nuggets of wisdom that lie embedded in our
scriptures. It is for us to practice these observances in our daily life to the
extent possible and direct measure, ennoble our lives.
May the Divine Vedic Mother in her quintessential form as
Gayathri bless us and inspire us to rediscover our extraordinary rich Vedic
legacy, on the occasion of the Upanayanam