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 --- SriRangaSri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: 
> Message: 3         
>    Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2005 04:06:04 +0800
>    From: "S Rajalingam" <s.rajalingam@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Upanayam
> > Dear Vaishnavas
> > I agree with all the input but what is the case on
> Devotee like myself who> only got Upanayam at the
age of 39.> I would very much appreciate if the
bhagavathas on this list can throw some light.
 Thank You
                  **************

Dear Sri S Rajalingam,
That's a really good question! Besides the obvious
humour laced in it, it is thought-provoking! I commend
your candidness in raising it openly.

Many members have given their inputs on the subject.
They are quite right in pointing out age-old 'sAstra',
the traditional convention we all abide by, sets the
age for 'upanayanam' very early in life. But Sri Anbil
svAmi is right in asking for the actual 'pramANam' to
support members' view that says the ceremony must be
performed at ages 7, 9, 11, 13 or 15 and that
thereafter performance of 'upanayanam' is actually a
"waste of time and money". 

We also need to know the actual "pramANam" for the
other view which holds after a boy turns 16 without
undergoing 'upanayanam', it is just as well he goes
all his life without the sacred thread. 

(Perfunctorily, of course, later in life, in order to
duly solemnize such a boy's wedding, say at age 25 or
30, just before the main wedding-rites, a separate and
hurriedly arranged ritual is usually performed for the
purpose of investiture of "yagnyOpavItam" (sacred
thread) on the poor young groom. The purpose of this
rite is really to ensure the officiating priest is not
inconvenienced, that he is not incapacitated from
performing due processes of Vedic wedding-ritual. It
is to enable the priest to go ahead, without let,
hindrance or embarrassment, and ceremoniously proclaim
the blessed couple as Man and Wife). 

Be that all as it may, the question of Sri Rajalingam
is pertinent enough to warrant scrutiny and a serious
response. My views given below are NOT to be taken as 
authoritative. It comes with the caveat to members 
they are entering uncharted waters. 

The "sAstrA" is unambiguous a boy's "upanayanam" must
be performed ASAP in life. Very little room is
provided in the "sAstra" by way of concessions
extended to the timing or performance of this
important Vedic rite. There are few circumstances in
life under which lapses relating to performance of
"upanayana" may be condoned or extenuated. But that
does not mean persons like Sri Rajalingam have no
hope. On one hand, our Vedic "sAstrAs" are, no doubt,
strictly inviolable, but then, on the other hand, the
'sAstra' also does not totally abandon or damn
trangressors. It shows them a way out too to somehow
redeem themselves. The Vedic faith is a compassionate
one. It always seeks to hold everyone in its embrace. 
                
               ******************

"Upanayana" is a Vedic "samskAra". If we understood 
what "samskAra" truly means in the Vedic faith, we
will not fail to understand why "upanayana" must be
performed at the appropriate time pre-ordained by
'sAstra'. Equally, we will also not fail to appreciate
why even those who, unfortunately, have transgressed
the "sAstra" in this regard, cannot be held wholly
irredeemable.
 
The Sanskrit word "samskAra" is extremely difficult to
translate into any other language. Usually, "samskAra"
is translated by English-speaking persons as "rite of
passage", implying threby that the "upanayana
samskAra" is something akin to the "baptism" of the
Christians, the "bar mitzvah" of the Jews or the
"sunnat" (circumcision ceremony) of the Muslims. The
latter are all indeed "rites of passage" marking as
they do solemn initiation into adulthood. When a
Christian, Jew or Muslim boy "comes of age", he is
said to be ready to cross a major calendar-milestone
in the voyage of life.

A Vedic "samskAra" is far, far more than mere rite of
passage. For a Vedic adherent, the whole course of
human life is like a flowing river of "samskArAs".
There are something like 40 different Vedic
"samskArAs" beginning with the "seemantham" performed
for the human foetus beginning its great journey of
life within a mother's womb. On the 10th day after
birth, there is the "samskAra" of "nAma-karana" or
"punyAvachanam" for the infant. Thereafter, there is
the "chaula samskAra", the first tonsuring for the
toddler. Childhood is also marked by other
"samskArA-s" like "anna-prasnam", "aksharAbhyAsam"
etc. When the child reaches the age of 7 or 8, there
is the "upanayana samskAra" about which we are all now
discussing. The boy who has undergone "upanayana
samskAra", when he matures into a young man, becomes
ready for the "vivAha samskAra", the wedding-rite
which ushers him into the "gruhastAshrama"
(householder) phase in life. Then there are other
various "samskArA-s" a full-grown man undergoes in the
onward voyage of life. There are the SriVaishnava
"samskArA-s" collectively called "pancha-samskArA". In
ripe old age, there is also the "samskArA" of
"shashtiabdapoorthi" (60th birthday) which a
"gruhastA" undergoes...

At the end of life too, when a man sheds his mortal
coils, there is a "samskAra" to which he is finally
subjected. It is called "antima samskAra",
"prEta-samskAra" etc. -- the last Vedic rites by which
a human soul departs into the beyond...

If it is not really a rite of passage, we may now ask,
what then is Vedic "samskAra"? 

In his book of discourses, "deivattin kural" ("The
Hindu Dharma"), the Sage of Kanchi, PujyaSri
Chandrasekharendra Saraswati has explained it all very
beautifully.

When we sit down to eat a typical south Indian meal,
we should, for once, take a moment to ponder over the
plentiful rice served. Before we tuck into the meal
with gusto, we should ask ourselves, "From where does
this wonderful "annam" come? And where does it go?". 

No one needs enlighten us where the rice goes. It goes
right down our throat into the belly, of course. But
if we reflect a little more deeply upon the fact, we
realize that the "annam" ultimately transforms itself
into vital "prANa" or Energy. And it is mysterious,
ethereal, vital Prana that sustains the life-force
within us. In a metaphysical way of speaking, (as
indeed the Taittiriya Upanishad does in a very famous
passage), we are ourselves, body, mind and soul,
comprised of nothing but the essence of "annam".

What then, we should hence ask, is this "annam" made
of? How did it get to become the vital source of life
and the hi-octane energy that it verily is?

If we ponder upon that question, we will be led into a
grave contemplation of the various processes (or
"samskArAs") through which the grain that we are about
to eat had to serially undergo before arriving as
steamingly wholesome "annam" upon on our meal-plate.  

First, there was the process of "seeding" which the
farmer performed. Then after careful tending in the
field, the paddy was "harvested". Merely upon
"harvesting" (which we may regard as roughly analogous
to a "rite of passage" for paddy), paddy does not
become fit for human consumption. Thereafter, the
grain has to undergo a few more "samskArAs". It has to
be "de-husked", then it has to be "separated from the
chaff". Then the grain has to be "bagged" and
transported before it finally arrives home. At home
(the "gruhasthAshrama", we might say!), the rice has
to undergo yet a few more kitchen "samskArAs" before
it can be served as full meal on a table. The rice has
to be "cleaned", for example, and then "cooked" and
placed inside a vessel...

The long and short of it all is that just as a grain
of rice, travelling from the farmer's field to the
dinner-table, must necessarily undergo a series of
processes before it can become fit finally for human
consumption, likewise, so does a human soul, according
to the Vedic faith, need to undergo a series of
"samskArAs", before it can become fit to arrive at its
divine destination in heaven -- on God's dinner-table,
so to speak. (In Vedantic theology, the Almighty is
often referred to as the ultimate "bhOgi", the
ultimate enjoyer of souls!).         
       
The Kanchi AchAryA's metaphor of rice is a very apt
one indeed, if you think about it deeply enough. 

Each of the several "processes" by which paddy is
rendered into rice and then finally into a meal...
each has to be necessarily performed at the right
time. None can be delayed or postponed if the final
wholesome quality of the rice is to be ensured. A
farmer must perform the "seeding" operation, for
example, at just the right season. The paddy must be
"harvested" at the right time. The rice cannot be
"de-husked" in the rainy season... so on and so forth.


So is the case indeed with Vedic "samkskArAs"! Each
must be performed at the appropriate time. When a
young man does not get married in time i.e. his
"vivAha samskArA", for some reason or other, gets
delayed, everyone besides himself will get terribly
perturbed. Again, when a person dies, his relatives 
make sure they lose no time whatsoever in performing
his last rites, isn't it? People actually shudder to
even think of delaying or postponing the "antima
prEta-samskArA" of a deceased, don't they? We should
now ask ourselves rather pointedly why the "upanayana
samskAra" alone should receive a different, rather
cavalier treatment at our hands? Why should we be lax
in performing this particular "samskAra" when we will
ordinarily never brook delaying others? 

In the Vedic scheme of things, a "samskAra" performed
at the right time ensures that a man faithfully
carries out the responsibilites appropriate to his
station in life. We can say hence that a "samskAra" 
is really not so much a "rite of passage" as it is a a
"rite of growing responsibility". 

The "upanayana samskAra", for example, ensures that a
boy between the ages of 7/8 and 18/20 diligently
carries out the duties enjoined upon him by the stage
in life called "brahmacharyam". It is during this
period in his life that he must apply himself to
gaining knowledge and cultivating his intellectual
acumen. The "upanayana samskAra" he has undergone
helps him greatly indeed in remaining deeply aware of
this responsibility of his. Such awareness instils in
him mental concentration, perseverance and humility.
He also acquires good habits of personal hygiene,
mental alertness, gentle manners and a pleasing
personality. These ingrained habits of his soon turn
into character, and then character gradually
transforms itself into his very destiny... 

The "vivAha samskAra" too similarly ensures that a man
duly carries out his various duties as a "gruhasthA"
--faithfully and responsibly. The marital vows he
takes as part of the "samskAra" include the
"saptapadhi" -- the solemn circumambulation of the
ritual fire 7 times -- and it is meant to help him
remain ever aware, at a deeply spiritual level, of the
many important tasks and duties that he, as even a
simple householder, owes to society.
 
               ***************

A Vedic "samskAra" is thus no mere "rite of passage".
It has much, much more profound significance. It is an
affirmation of a certain way of life, symbolizing as
it does, a commitment to a certain lofty Vedic ethos
and outlook on life and the world itself. 

A "samskAra" can perhaps be defined, if definition is
possible at all, as a spiritual process of refinement
in life, a "kArmic" process meant to leave its
felicitous imprint upon the human soul as it
progresses through its long and eventful journey on
earth -- from its beginnings as an amorphous foetus in
the maternal womb, through the four great "ashrama-s"
of "brahmacharya", "gruhasthA", "vAnaprastha" and
"sannyAsa", and finally to its ultimate destination in
the lap of God...

                **************

And now for a final word of solace to Sri Rajalingam. 

Sir, just because your "upanayana samskAra" was
inordinately delayed in life it does not mean you have
no hope. It does not mean you have missed the bus. It
is actually a God-sent opportunity for you to
re-double your spiritual efforts and reap greater
rewards of the spirit eventually. 

Instead of doing "gAyatri japa" 10 or 28 times daily,
perhaps you should make an extra effort, on as many
occasions as possible, to perform "japa" 108 or 1008
times. The more often you do this, I would reckon, the
more easily you will overcome any handicap you might
have suffered as a result of undergoing the "upanayana
samskAra" so late in life, at age 39! 

God be with you, Sir, have no doubt about it!  

Thanks and regards,

respectfully,
dAsan,

Sudarshan






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