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Dear members/friends of the Tiruvenkatam Group,

One of the fundamental tenets of the Vedic faith is
that Man's journey through life is punctuated by a
series of defining moments: moments in which
soul-purificatory events take place and hence are to
be duly celebrated through solemn ritual. 

Such defining moments in a man's life begin at his
conception in the maternal womb and end when he is
finally laid out to rest on a funeral pyre. 

Such life-defining moments or events are called, in
the Vedic lexicon, "samskArA". Due performance of
Vedic 'samskAra', and carrying out faithfully the
various responsibilities in life it enjoins upon Man,
is what, it is believed, prepares Man for, and renders
his soul fully fit to undertake the greater journey of
life hereafter.    

     "vaideekaiihi: karmabhihi: 
       pUnnyair-nishEkAdhir-dvijanmanAm  I
     kAryah: shareera-samskArah: pAvanah: 
       prEtya chEha cha II"

                       (Manu-smriti II.2)

(meaning):
"With the sacred 'vaideeka' rites and rituals should
be performed the various 'samskArAs' of the body,
namely, 'nishEka' and all the rest too, of the
twice-born, which purify here and hereafter". 

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

Many ancient Vedic texts -- especially the "smriti-s"
of YagnyavAlkya and Manu, as well as the
"grUhya-sUtrAs" of Apasthamba, Asvalayana etc. -- have
handed down to us a great many list of 'samskArAs'.
Most people who have some acquaintance with the Vedic
tradition might have heard of the all-too-familiar
expression: "40 samskArAs". But if anyone of us were
asked to enumerate the 40, few would pass the test.
That is because, in the course of centuries, Vedic
society has all but given up due performance of these
'samskArAs' and none of us know what the 'samskArAs'
really are other than that they numbered 40 once upon
a time in the ancient past.

The number "40" is of course a historical accident.
There is no Vedic text to name that actually
establishes the number of "samskArAs" to be exactly
40. The fact is that some 'smriti' texts name 10,
others 52 and the rest provide a range somewhere
between '10' and '52' with no definite order or
sequence to the various "samskArAs". The fact of the
matter is that the observance and performance of these
'samskArAs' too underwent change over the course of
the centuries. Some periods in history saw society
performing more number of 'samskArAs' while other
periods practised fewer.  

In the present time in India, amongst the community of
the Vedic faithful, the most popular Vedic "samskArAs"
still very much in practice are only about 10 and they
are, as you all probably already know:

1. garbhadAna (conception)6. annaprAsana (first solid
morsel feed)
2. pumsavana (post-natal rite)7. choodAkarana (ritual
tonsuring)
3. seemanthonnayana (pre-natal rite)8. upanayana
(investiture of sacred thread)
4. jAtakarma               9. samAvartana (Vedic
convocation)
5. naamakarana (naming ceremony)10. vivAha (marriage
rites)

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

It is because the above 10 'samskArAs' are greatly in
vogue today amongst common people that they seem to
have eclipsed somewhat a few other less well-known
"samskArAs" which however actually have a  standing
and weight that is equal to any other in the Vedic
order. 

For example, amongst SriVaishnavites, the
"pancha-samskAra" or the "samAshrayana" is a very
special "samskAra" whose importance in life cannot be
over-emphasized. Likewise, when a man completes 60
years of age, he and his spouse undergo the "samskAra"
called "shashti-abdapoorthi". All these special but
lesser-known 'samskArAs' serve to add very deep
spiritual meaning to the journey of life of Man.

The "sathAbhishEkam" or 80th birthday of a man is not,
in the popular view, known as conduct of strict Vedic
'samskArA'. Some people in fact do not accept it
strictly as 'samskAra' at all -- in the same sense as
say "upanayana" or "vivAha" is regarded as 'samskAra'.
IN fact, I have not myself come across a
"gruhya-sUtra" text where "sathAbhishEkam" is
specifically listed as an item in the list of Vedic
"samskArAs". I am also ignorant of any references to a
'sathAbhishEkam' ceremony being performed for any
personage or character anywhere in the Srimadh
Ramayana or Mahabharatha (the two principal
'ithihAsAs') wherein one otherwise easily finds
narrations about Rama undergoing "samskArAs" like
"upanayana" etc. or Rama performing Jatayu's last
rites ("prEta-samskArA" or "brahma-mEdham") etc.  

It is because of the rather un-sure or un-clear status
of the "sathAbhishEkam" rite as a Vedic "samskArA"
that very often in modern Vedic community, it is not
performed with the same level of zest or fervor as
perhaps a "vivAha" or "upanayana" ceremony. 

It is quite common to see this 'samskAra' being
performed in what is generally called "a low-key"
manner. Usually, the event will involve no more ritual
activity than a humble offering of food to a nearby
temple ("nitya-padi kainkaryam"); some others will
else go to a great temple like Tirumala and offer
there one of the several "aarjitha sevAs" to the
Deity; yet others will simply make a donation in cash
or kind to one of the public charities in their area
such as an orphanage or home-for-the-aged etc. 

IN most cases, the person himself, for whose sake the
event is to be conducted, will be extremely reluctant
to undergo a ritual like the "sathAbhishEkam"
especially if it involves a bit of fanfare. There are
several reasons for their reluctance. Most eighty-year
olds these days back home in India live for most of
their aged lives quite alone, given that most of their
children or grand-children have all either immigrated
out of India or else taken jobs abroad for extended
periods of time. Most 80-year olds therefore live
alone in their homes and hence see little or no point
in celebrating their 'sathAbhishEkam'. 

Another reason for reluctance on the past of many 80-
year olds to celebrate this "samskAra" is this : a man
of eighty who happens to have already lost his spouse
has really no enthusiasm whatsoever to celebrate an
event like his "sathAbhishEkam". In fact, it took a
great deal of persuasion on my own part and my
family's part to make my father finally accede to
participate in his "sathAbhishEkam" celebrations. We
all knew the extent of the despair he sank into when
in 2002, his wife, Sangita Kalanidhi Mani
Krishnaswami, passed away. He had never fully
recovered from that bereavement four years ago. And it
was the reason why the idea of performing his own
"sathAbhishEkam" never enthused him very much.

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

Whatever may be the reasons of present-day custom or
practice that either urge or discourage the observance
of the 'samskAra' called "sathAbhishEkam", I strongly
hold that we must never doubt the fact that our
age-old Vedic ethos and value-system, in itself, does
affirm in no uncertain terms the practice of
venerating the  aged and elderly in our families with
due observance of the relevant "samskArA". Here is why
I think so:     

IN the Vedic scheme of things, as you all know, there
are 4 stages into which a man's life neatly falls.
They are called "AsramAs": 

(1) "brahmachAri" (youthful student; age 5 to 21), (2)
"gruhasthA" (the socially active and working
householder age 25-65), 
(3) "vAnaprasthA" (the socially detached member; aged
65-80) the respectable "retired" senior-citizen of the
community) and 
(4) the "sannyAsin" (the renunciate; age 80+ who in
the evening of life is engaged in constant
contemplation of its meaning, its value and its many
blessings ("atma-vichAra")). 

The theory of the "4 AsramAs" is not a sociological
relic of some distant past. Even in the 21st century a
man's life, if one examines it carefully, does indeed
more or less fit into this age-old Vedic pattern. 

Now, we may say that of the 4 "aasramAs", 3 are
actually extensions of the "gruhasthAsramA". One leads
to it and the other 2 lead away from it, all quite in
natural and harmonious sequence. IN other words, the
stage of "brahmachArya", we might say, graduates to
that of the "grushastha"; and the stages of
"vAnaprashtA" and "sannyAsa" transcend it. 

Of all the 4 stages of Man, it is the time he spends
as a "gruhasthA" which is said to be of central
importance. A good and successful "gruhastha" is said
to be the evolute of a good and successful
"brahmachArin"; and by the same token, a good and
successful "gruhasthA" is said to be the seed or
natural promise of a wise and good "vAnaprasthA" who
will eventually emerge in old age to grow into
becoming a most venerable "sannyAsin" towards the end
of his mortal days and from whom we can learn
invaluable lessons and truths of life. 

The centrality of the "gruhasthAsrama" in society, and
the fact of it being the source of all human wisdom
and goodness as seen fully fructified in old age
amongst the elders of society i.e. "vAnaprasthAs" and
"sannyAsins" -- this fact is very well and movingly
underscored by Manu in his famous "smriti":

           brahmachArI gruhasThascha 
          vAnaprasThO yatis-tathA I
        EthEy gruhasTha-prabhavAsh-chathvArah:   
          pruThagAsramAh:  II
                         (Manu-smriti VI 87)

"The student, the householder, the forest-dweller, the
ascetic --- these, the four separate orders or stages
in the life of man, are all but natural extensions of
the householder".

          gruhasTasthU yadA pashyEdh
          valeepalita-mAtmanah:  I
        apath-yasya tathA-pathyam
          tadhAraNyam samAshrayEth  II
                            (Manu-smriti VI.2)

"When the householder sees the wrinkles grow on his
skin, and his hair turn white, and has seen the son of
his son having grown too, then let him retire to the
forest".

      vanEshu tu vihrt-yaivam 
        tritheeyam bhAgam-Ayushah: I
      chathurTham-AyushO BhAgam 
        tyakthvA sanggAn parivrajEth  II
                              (ibid VI.33)

"Having passed the third portion of life in the
forests, let him, having abandoned attachments, wander
(as an ascetic) during the fourth portion of his
life".  

In the light of Manu's "smriti" above, it would be
reasonable to look upon the "sathAbhishEkam" of a man
as truly a glorious and final affirmation of the
validity of Vedic "chaturAsrama". It is the
celebration of a man's successful passage or
transition from the "gruhasthAsrama" to that of
"vanaprastha" and finally to "sannyAsa".

                *****************
               (continued in Part 3)

Regards,
dAsan,
Sudarshan






Sudarshan Madabushi
Chief Financial Officer & Vice-President
KGL Ports International
Plot A-21, Kuwait Free Trade Zone.
PO BOx 24565, Safat 13106,
Kuwait.
Ph: (965)- 4827804/5 Ext 212
Fax:       4827806
mob:       7063337
email:  mksudarshan2002@xxxxxxxxxxx


                
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