|
|
|
Written by Sri Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
|
|
|
I have dealt with a large number of samskaras, indeed more than forty of
them. The Brahmin is expected to perform sacrifices almost all through
his life, thereby making his life itself a sacrifice in the cause of
mankind.
On his death his body is cremated with the chanting of mantras and this
rite also bring good to the world. While the samskaras refine a man,
purify him, the mantras chanted at the time create benign vibrations in
the world. And, while each karma is apparently meant for the performer
as an individual, it also brings benefit to the entire world. In truth
there is
no karma that does not benefit mankind in general. All rites begin with
the prayer, "Jagat--hitaya Krsnaya". When we chant the Gayatri we do
not say, "may the sun god quicken or inspire my intelligence", but "our"
intelligence. So the gayatri is a prayer made on behalf of all creatures
(It
would be perverse to argue that it should be enough if one Brahmin did
the Gayatri-japa for the benefit of all--the word "our" is not to be
construed thus. Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas must mutter the
Gayatri not only for their own good but for that of all castes, all
creatures
including animals, birds, insects, all sentient beings.)
You must have seen that sacrifices constitute the major portion of the
samaskaras. There is a mantra in the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (4. 4. 22)
which describes the benefits derived from their performance. It says
that
Brahmins endeavour to realise the Self through Vedic learning, through
the performance of sacrifices, through charity, through austerities and
through fasts. But when this purpose has been accomplished they
renounce all (rites including sacrifices) and become sannyasins. It
follows
that all the elaborate sacraments are performed for the cessation of
these very sacraments. Of all the benefits derived from the rituals like
sacrifices this is the highest, the very abandonment of rituals. How
does a
big karma like a sacrifice prepare you for the renunciation of that very
karma, that very sacrifice?
There are two types of karma. One is doing what we like. This, instead
of
purifying the mind, muddles it and make our burden of karma heavier.
The second is the performance of rites without any expectation of
rewards, dedicating them to Isvara in a spirit of sacrifice. In the
second
type we are cleansed inwardly and the burden of our karma is made
lighter and ultimately we are taken to the point beyond which it is not
necessary to perform any rites. A man who has renounced all works in
this way may, with the compassion of Parasakti, continue to work for the
good of mankind. But even though he is a doer he will not be conscious
of
that ability.
How is the impurity of the mind washed away? If you perform a big
sacrifice without any desire in your heart, without any feelings of
hatred
against anybody and without any consideration of loss or gain, success
or
failure, your mind will be cleansed. The mind, body and speech must be
totally involved in it and must remain fixed on a single goal. Then all
the
impurities will be burnt away. It is like the rays of the sun passing
through
a magnifying glass and converging on a piece of paper and burning it.
There are a hundred thousand things to do in a sacrifice; there are so
many mantras to be chanted; so many different materials to be collected.
So the performer's mind will be fixed on a single goal.
If a king is to perform a horse sacrifice (asvamedha), he has to look
into
so many different requirements. Different animals have to be brought to
the place of sacrifice including even a tiger. If a man devotes himself
for a
number of years with a single-minded purpose and devotion to some
work or other his mind will be made pure and he will reach the stage
when there will be no need for him to perform any more rites. To build a
gopuram, to dig a large pond or to be engaged in some other public work
is to make one's mind taintless. In fact the mental purity so achieved
seems to my mind to be a reward greater than anything else.
Even if a man does not take to sanyasa after performing sacrifices as a
householder, he goes to the meritorious world. With the grace of Isvara
he becomes one with that very Isvara. And, when Isvara himself is
absorbed in the Brahman as the Paramatman, he too becomes one worth
him. When Isvara emerges to create the world he does not become
trapped in it. Or there is another way of putting it. Krsna Paramatman
speaks of the "yogabhrasta
", one who dies without realising the Self in
spite of practising yoga. In his next birth such a man starts where he
left
off in the earlier birth and ascends to a higher state. What is said
about
people who practise yoga applies also to those who perform sacrifices.
It
means that a man who conducts sacrifices but dies before becoming a
sannyasin is born again with a greater sense of discrimination in his
next
birth and with enough maturity to forsake all karma and become a
sannyasin.
Those who are not entitled to all samskaras will reach state by doing
their
work properly, by being devoted to God, by reciting his praises, by
performing aupasana and by offering libations to their fathers. |
|
|
