The Goal and the Guide
By Bombai Srinivasan
Petal 5
The orthodox
Hindu families follows several rituals based on traditions at
every stage of the life. From the time a baby was born, nay even
by the time a mother-to-be conceives, and after the delivery of
the child and during its upbringing, till the last rites on the
way to graveyard, there are several rituals, which are
meticulously followed.
I do not
remember exactly what all functions were celebrated, while I was
growing up as an infant. I was brought up in an ‘agraharam’,
cluster of houses where the orthodox Brahmin families lived.
As such I had plenty of chances to witness and observe several
functions in many of our neighboring homes.
The parents
take their daughter to their place of living for the delivery of
the first child. The second or further deliveries would be
arranged in the husband’s home or any other safe places.
The news of
the newborn child is greeted in the house, by drawing kolams
in the front courtyards. This is done in houses of both the father
and the girl.
What is this
kolam?? This is a familiar sight in front of any house in
the southern parts of India. Various designs are drawn up daily
on the floor early morning, using primarily the fine rice-flours
(Rice pulverized in very fine grade). The kolams will be of
many geometrical designs, connecting up innumerable tiny dots, or
circling them.
During one of
the intimate talks, Swami had mentioned about ‘kolams’. In
old days, people used to wake up in the morning and it was their
habit to feed various insects, birds and animals, before they
themselves had any food. Swami used to mention about “ASHTA
PUSHPAM” (Eight types of flowers) as offering to God. Not the
ones, which we pluck from the trees and plants and which fade away
the next day. Ashta Pushpam, comprises of eight
divine qualities, which we should offer to Lord. One particular Pushpam,
which Swami mentions, is “Sarva Bhootha Daya Pushpam”.
(Daya or compassion towards all living creatures). The best way to
show compassion is to feed them sumptuously. Those days, people,
as they woke up in the morning, used to throw handful of rice or
rice flours in front of their homes so that tiny ants and other
insects could eat them. Gradually the rice flour was carefully
placed in front of the houses, and this practice slowly developed
into certain designs. These designs are known as kolams.
Kolams indicates, mark of auspiciousness in a family. In case
of any death in a family, this kolam is not displayed for
one full year thereafter. So if we find kolams in front of
any house, we can assume that all is well in that family!
Almost every
home will have a couple of cows in their homes. So the next agenda
for the ladies after waking up in the morning is to provide food
for the cows. Likewise, when the food is cooked, a big scoop of
rice or a piece of ‘Roti’ is offered to crows first.
“Athithi Devo Bhava” (Treat guests as God!) So in case any
guest, known to family or an unknown passer by who takes shelter
in the verandah of their homes, are also provided with sumptuous
food, before the family members eat their food. These rich
traditions are still practiced in most of the villages.
I was
mentioning earlier, that the news of arrival of a baby in a house
is greeted by drawing kolams in front of their homes. The
newborn child brings cheer and joy to the household, and friends
and relatives arrive to look at the newborn and to congratulate
the parents.
The first
important day for the child is its 7th day after
arriving in the world. This day the sisters of the father, (we
call them Athai of the child) arrives in the house of the
girl. They bring sweets and tiny ornaments. The child, 7 day old,
is adorned for the first time with gold ornaments. There
will be a couple of tiny gold bangles for the hands and for the
legs, few rings for those tiny fingers, and some times even nice
chains.
On the tenth
day of its arrival the child is given a holy bath by the water
sanctified by chanting some “Mantras” by the pundit. This
is also an important and auspicious day for the child, being
“Naming ceremony”. The child is called by its personal name for
the first time. After elaborate religious rituals, by the
purohits, (priests), the child is given a name. Yes, the child
gets a NAME!. All relatives and friends attend the naming
ceremony. Those days we had no right to choose the name for the
child. There is a strict pattern, which has to be followed. The
first boy gets its personal name of its father’s father. The
second male child gets the maternal grandfather. (The father of
it’s the mother). Like wise in case girl child, the first girl
gets the name of it’s father’s mother, and the second girl child
gets the name of maternal grand mother (It’s mother’s mother). If
there are more than two sons or two daughters, then you can have
your own choice!
Those were
the days, when no body thought about the norms of small family.
Any family will have more than five children. To be exact I was
the fifth son for my parents. The first two got the names of our
grand fathers, and for the rest of us, our parents chose names of
their own liking. My mother had made some special prayers to Sri
Venkatachalapathy (The presiding deity in Thirupathi), that I
should come out of the womb as a boy and not as a girl, and had
promised that the fifth child if born as a boy, would be given
that Lord’s name. Answering her prayers Lord Venkatachalapathi
had made me a boy! Now on that naming ceremony, it seems there was
some confusion! Venkatachalam happens to be the name of my father.
Father and son cannot have the same personal name! Since the Lord
has many names, an alias for Venkatachalapathi was chosen and
given to me! Yes, ‘Srinivasan’ is another name for Lord
Venkatachalapathi of Thirupathi.
It might
interest my dear readers to know, that my eldest son bears the
name of my father with some modification “Venkatesh” and my second
son bears the name of my wife’s father, Ramesh (an abbreviated
version of “Paramesh)!
On this tenth
day of arrival, after naming ceremony is done one more important
thing happen. An astrologer is brought to the house; and he is
requested to draw up a detailed horoscope of the child. The pundit
chants special “mantras” of the particular star in which
the child was born.
The horoscope
will show, the place of birth, exact date and time of birth, the
star on ascendance on that day, the planetary positions at the
time of birth etc. Important information is also inserted in the
horoscope. It is the name of the “Gothram” to which
the child belongs. Of course, the Gorthram is taken
down from the father’s lineage. My father is born in “Baradwaaja
Gothram” , and myself, and my children and my grand children and
great grand children are all of the same Gothram. I read Swami’s
declaration that Bhagavan has taken Avatar in Aapasthamba
Soothra, Baradwaaja Gothra”. It gave me
immense joy to know that I too belonged to the same Gothra that of
Bhagavan Baba.
This document
of horoscope normally plays an important role while choosing a
spouse for wedlock. It will come handy while matching horoscopes
while choosing their life partner. If we see the same
Gothram name in the horoscopes of the boy and the girl, it
will be disqualified immediately. Because, the off springs of the
same gothras are supposed to belong to the same
family lineage and they are supposed to be cousin brother and
sister.
This
horoscope is an important document as the child grows up. This is
useful for forecasting the future, and also to know in advance if
there is going to be any bad days in the near future. If it is so,
then the astrologers will also suggest some methods to overcome
the ill effects of the planets.
The days pass
on bringing joy and happiness to everybody in the house. All
along, the child is laid on a small mattress kept spread on the
floor. But on the 28th day after its birth, another
function is celebrated. This day a cradle is set up in the center
place of the home. At an auspicious time, amid clapping and
singing, the child is for the first time, put inside the
flower-decked cradle. The elders from the house, the neighbors and
lots of children join the celebrations. They all take turns in
singing lullabies, and other songs and they individually or
collectively push the cradle for gentle swinging. Sweets are
distributed
The child is
growing day by day. I am sure that I too would have enjoyed all
those loving care and affection when I too was an infant!
Petal 1 -
Petal 2 -
Petal 3 - Petal 4 -
Petal 5 -
Petal 6 - Petal 7
|