UPANAYANAM

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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 quitening 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