Samashti Upanayanam Samskara
Upanayanam is one of 16 major samskaras prescribed for a Hindu in the scriptures. The ancient Apasthamba Sutra describes upanayana as a samskara or a purificatory rite that is performed to impart the sacred Gayatri mantra before the student is taken to the teacher for learning the knowledge of the Vedas.
On Sunday, April 22 nd 2007, Chinmaya Mission DFW organized a samashti upanayanam samskara that was open to all Balavihar students and CHYKs. Twenty seven vatus with their families and friends participated in the ceremony which was performed by Br. Bhasa Chaitanya of CM Houston and Br. Uddhav Chaitanya, Resident Acharya of CMDFW. The 27 children who were initiated included both boys and girls ranging in age from about 5 to 25.
The ceremony was held at a local park on the baseball diamond. A tent over our heads and a tarp below our feet provided some protection from the elements. Seven havan kundas along with all the required puja samagri were set-up for the vatus. The ceremony started with the ritual lighting of the lamp, followed by Ganapati puja, punyahavachanam, rakshabandhan and upavita puja and dharanam. The vatus invoked the blessings of Lord Agni and performed a homa.
The vatus then approached the acharyas one by one for the Brahmopadesam, which is the introduction of the young aspirants to brahmajijnāsa (desire to know Brahman). The vatu now becomes brahma-chāri/chārini, one who follows the prescribed rules in the pursuit of Brahman. After the ceremony was over, all the children went around for bhikshātana, begging for food or any other materials to offer to the āchārya under whose tutelage they would be learning the scriptures. Of course, all the festivities would not be complete without food! A sumptuous lunch was enjoyed by all.
The ceremony was followed by a four day training class conducted by Br. Bhasaji who taught all the children the proper procedure and mantras for performing sandhyavandanam.
