1 Scripturally - Ordained Purificatory Rites

(Benedictory discourse delivered, in Kannada, at Kolar on 8.4.1988)

(To save, by teachings about the Self, people, who are trapped in the dense forest of ignorance and are exceedingly tormented by the heat of the flame of the forest fire of transmigratory existence, Dakshinamurthy (Shiva) gave up silence and, coming from the foot of the banyan tree, moves about in the world in the form of Shankaracharya.)

If a man gets purified, then the deeds performed by him yield good results. That is why the Shastras have spoken of 16 Samskaras (purificatory rites); these have been elaborated into 48 Samskaras. The scriptures declare that we must not lead a life devoid of Samskaras.

There are procedures for doing things. For instance, to do Sandhya Vandanam, a man is required to first bathe, adorn himself with pure clothes, perform Achamanam (procedure in which water is sipped thrice uttering the name of God) and remember the Lord in accordance with:

(He who remembers the Lord becomes externally and internally pure.)

If after all this, a man performs Sandhya Vandanam, a beneficial result accrues.

On the other hand, suppose that a man, without taking a bath, merely sprinkles impure water on his head, saying:

(O Deities of the waters! May you, who are joy-conferring, give us food and nourishment.)

Also, suppose that he then takes defiled water and performs Sandhya Vandanam. What, indeed, would be the fruit that would accrue to him?

Here a doubt can arise. Some may feel, “So long as Sandhya Vandanam is performed, what does it matter whether the scripturally-prescribed procedures relating to cleanliness, and the like are observed or not?” The following example reveals the need to do things the way they are required to be done.

A person has to use the prescribed application form to apply for a Government job; only then is one’s job-application considered. We may choose to reject the prescribed form and prepare one, using paper of better quality. However, the authorities will not accept it; they will insist that we use the standard printed form. If we keep stressing the superiority of our form, the authorities may tell us, “Keep your fine paper with you; we will keep our ordinary forms with us!”

Just as applications for Government jobs have to be made in the specified mode, if a procedure is prescribed by the Vedas and we transgress it and do something else, Ishwara will not accept our religious observance. We may claim, “Our hymns are superior to those of the Vedas.” However, while people may find our poetic utterances delightful, such words will not yield Punyam (virtue), unlike the Vedic utterances.

Thus, Samskaras that are enjoined by the scriptures are very important for us. Before a person is born, his parents perform a Samskara called Garbhadhana. This rite is meant for ensuring or facilitating conception. It is not performed to derive some materialistic pleasure or to get rid of some mental disturbance. People, however, are not often aware of this.

Food, moving about and sleep are natural to man. This is what many think. However, for those who have faith in the Shastras and know their import, taking food is a Yajna (sacrifice); moving about is a Yajna and sleeping is also a Yajna. Bhagavatpada has said that while taking food, a knower thinks that he is pleasing God by this sacrificial offering. While sleeping, the knower holds that he has merged with God.

On seeing an object, he thinks that he is beholding the Self, which is the unchanging substratum of all objects.

In this manner, if we do everything with a spiritual attitude, our actions become purificatory rites; they render the mind magnanimous and pure. Animals eat whatever item of food they find, roam wherever they want and sleep whenever they feel sleepy. We should not be on par with them. It is sufficient for them to just spend their lives and thereby expend the past actions responsible for their birth as animals. Our case is dissimilar. We can and should strive to attain a better future life than the present one; alternatively, we must achieve total fulfilment in this life itself and become liberated. Thus, it is necessary for us to lead a regulated life.

It is natural for a child to desire to eat food. If it is given all sorts of food, there will be adverse effects. So, to give food to a child in a beneficial manner, the Anna Prashana Samskaram, the purificatory rite in which a child is given a small quantity of rice for the first time in its life, has been prescribed.

Much hair grows on the head of a growing child. The head thereby becomes heavy. Hence, the hair needs to be removed. The scripture prescribes the Chooda Karma or tonsure ceremony; this is a regulated procedure for removing hair. Everything, inclusive of tonsure, must be executed in the way in which it ought to be done.

Education has to be provided for a child. It may be said that it is sufficient to straightaway have him admitted in a school. The Shastras say that such is not the case; the Upanayanam, thread ceremony, must be performed first.

The word “Upanayanam”means, “Taking one near the Guru.”

During Upanayanam, the boy is initiated into the Gayathri Mantra. Why?

Goddess Gayathri impels our intellect. By worshipping Her through the Gayathri Mantra, we pray for our welfare as we do through the following Upanishadic prayer:

Our education will amount to little if we do not have a pure mind, bestowed on us by divine grace. If the teacher does not act according to their wishes, uncultured students threaten to take him to task when he comes out of the classroom. This is the fruit of education without culture. How should the good student conduct himself? It is said:

“When the Guru is sitting in front of you, you must not even breathe hard.” If one goes to the extent of being mischievous, the teacher cannot even remain there.

For our intellect to become pure and tranquil, we need God’s blessings. Hence, the Shastras ordain that after having the Upanayana Samskara, one should serve a Guru, get educated and please him.

After the completion of studies:

Man has got what is known as “Pitru Rina” or obligation to his forefathers. These days, people want their family line to continue to grow. The same feeling was there even in our forefathers. They, begetting good citizens, brought about the growth of their family line. Hence, continuing the family line is also a duty. So, the student is asked to do that by getting married.

Nowadays, the answer to the question, “Whom should you marry?”, is considered to be, “One should marry a girl who appeals to the mind and the eyes.” Some moderners deem it unnecessary to consider even whether the “Gothram” of the boy and the girl are the same or whether the boy and the girl are very closely related to the extent forbidden by the Shastras.

We now hear that, according to medical science, the farther the relationship between a husband and a wife, the better, as the chances of a familial genetic defect affecting the offspring is less. However, when it comes to a lustful one, it is said:

As such people have neither fear nor shame, they may do anything. However, once they get married, they begin to think of ways of obtaining a divorce! This is not how things should be.

In the Ramayana, we see that Rama had Sita for His wife while He was at Ayodhya; She was His wife in the forests and He continued to have Her as His wife even when Ravana abducted Her. Thus, Rama, under all circumstances, had only one wife. Further, Sita was the crest jewel amongst chaste wives. Rama and Sita were an ideal couple. By imitating them, people can lead a grand, married life.

During the marriage ceremony, it is said:

“While engaging in any religious act, while earning money and while enjoying worldly pleasures, you should not desert me.” Making this promise, the couple get married. However, nowadays if the question were asked, “Who uttered these words?”, the answer would be, “The priest who conducted the marriage.” This is because the boy and the girl are unaware of the promise; it is the priest who has learnt by rote, the concerned words, who utters them. This is the level to which we have degenerated.

Just because the import of a purificatory rite is not obvious to someone, it does not follow that the rite is without significance. The following example illustrates this: When one goes to a hospital, one has to scrub one’s hands before touching the surgical instruments there. Washing one’s hands with ordinary water is insufficient; one has to use a disinfectant. One may ask, “Why should I do so?” The answer is, “To avoid causing infection.” Suppose one were to argue, “I fail to see how I would infect the surgical patient. So, I refuse to disinfect my hands.” The response of the surgeon would be, “Get out.” There is a fixed procedure to be followed.

Bacteria cause infection. It is so written in medical books. Bacteria cannot be seen with the naked eyes but can be seen with the aid of a powerful microscope. What is there inside curds? One can see nothing. However, if one were to use a microscope, one would see very odd things and would say, “Oh, how can I use this curd which has bacteria in it?” A ripe mango is palatable but if it were seen through a microscope one would exclaim, “I will never eat this fruit”, because one sees strange creatures moving inside it. Thus, there is difference between what we can see and what is actually there.

Why did not God give us the power to see bacteria? Because we have to manage our lives; what He has given us is sufficient for that. If one wishes to see more minutely then one may resort to a microscope. However, if one were to use the science of medicine and instruments such as a microscope to prepare good food, one will only fail. In other words, there is a time and place for everything. For instance, one must cook in the traditional fashion; thereafter one may use medical science to analyse the food.

To sum up, there being a proper way to do things, Samskaras that are prescribed by the Shastras are important. Merely because one does not readily recognise their significance, it does not follow that they do not have any. They indeed purify us.