YAGYOPAVEET AND GAYATRI
Shikha and Sootra, Symbols of Hindu Dharma
There are two symbols of Hindu Dharma, one is shikha (distinctive lock of hair on the crown of the head) and the other is sootra. Sootra means Yagyopaveet or sacred thread. Just as in the context of devotion for one’s own country there is a national flag, so also shikha is like a flag of divine culture on the fortress of human brain. Religious communities have their respective flags. The idol of Lord Shiva can be installed merely by placing a circular stone on a platform. Shikha is like a banner of Gayatri Mata installed on the top of the head, so that it may always be kept in mind that the entry of evil thoughts is banned in this area and only righteous thoughts are welcome.
In Hindu Dharma, Mundan, in which the hair on the head of a child are shaved, is regarded as an important ceremony. In fact, this is a celebration of installation of shikha which is formed by removing other hair on the head. Human body is regarded as a temple on which shikha is established like a banner.
Yagyopaveet, an Image of Gayatri
Yagyopaveet is also called Brahma–sootra. Thread is also called sootra. The authors of Vyakran, darshan, religious scriptures and several other ancient treatises have tried to express their purport in very brief, concise sentences in Sanskrit. Detailed commentaries, annotations have been written on these sootras which explain the meanings underlying them. Although, there are no letters in Brahma–sootra, much has been indicated with the help of images, marks, signs, pictures etc. The Brahma–sootras of Yagyopaveet also, even without speech and script incorporate within them meanings of deep import.
Gayatri is known as Guru–Mantra. Yagyopaveet ceremony is performed with the chanting of Gayatri Mantra and other Ved–Mantras. It is as much necessary for a dwij to know Gayatri as it is to put on Yagyopaveet. Gayatri and Yagyopaveet constitute one pair as do the words Lakshyami-Narayan, Sita-Ram, Radhe-Shyam, PrakritiBrahma, Gauri-Shankar. Their union forms one single unit. Just as husband and wife living together constitute a family, dwijatva is a union of Gayatri and Yagyopaveet. Yagyopaveet is sootra and Gayatri its interpretation. They are inter-linked.
There are three threads in Yagyopaveet; so also Gayatri has three phases. The first phase is “ tatsavitur varenyam”, second is “ bhargo devasya dhee mahi”, and third one is “dhiyo yo naha prachodayat”. To understand the principle underlying three threads of Yagyopaveet, one should thoroughly understand the afore-said three phases of Gayatri. There are three granthis (knots) and one Brahma Granthi in Yagyopaveet. In Gayatri there are three Vyahritis, namely Bhooha, Bhuvaha, Swaha and one pranav (Om). Onkar (Om) and three Vyahritis of Gayatri Mantra symbolise respectively the BrahmaGranthi and three knots of Yagyopaveet. The first, second and third phases of Gayatri symbolise the first, second and third threads of Yagyopaveet respectively.
Let us now examine in detail what is the meaning and philosophy underlying this interpretation of Gayatri and Yagyopaveet. The message of pranav is that God pervades all living beings and so a Sadhak should devote himself selflessly and quietly in the service of humanity. Bhooha implies that the human body is just a transient instrument. A seeker of truth should not get attached to it but should enhance his inner spiritual awareness, pursue the righteous path and do selfless service. Buvaha means a person who struggles valiantly against evils attains self-realisation. He alone is wise who follows high ideals with pure means. Swaha implies that truth should be pursued through discriminating wisdom and pure intellect and thus inspire others by example to lead a life of austerity, devotion, self-inquiry, self-restraint and sacrifice.
This, in short, is the four-fold duty of a person who puts on Yagyopaveet. He has to develop his capabilities, has to be generous and utilise his talents in the service of others. Thus alone can he attain peace and happiness for himself and help others to attain these.
According to Gayatri-Geeta, nine fibres of Yagyopaveet represent nine virtues which are as important and precious as gems. These virtues are (1) the science of life (2) awakening of inner hidden energies (3) superiority (4) purity (5) divine insight, (6) righteousness, (7) wisdom, (8) self-control (9) service.
By having knowledge of the science of life man understands the mystery behind birth and death. He has no fear of death and is always fearless. He has no attachment to or craving for worldly objects. He, thus, escapes from the pendulum like swings of ups and downs of life created by the illusory play of dualities of success and failure, pleasure and pain, birth and death etc. from which ignorant people are perpetually tormented.
A person who is able to awaken his dormant energies becomes more and more healthy, learned, wise, generous, cooperative and respectable, as the inner energies gain prominence in his soul . A weak person is often a victim of bad habits, destiny and of wicked persons who are stronger than him; but a strong and noble person himself enjoys life and extends a helping hand to those weaker to him. Injustice flourishes when there are no checks and balances in the exercise of power. Acquisition of power by persons of nobility of character acts as an antidote to this unbridled and evil exercise of power by those who are evil-minded tyrants.
Superiority does not lie in power and pelf but in the richness of high ideals and aims and feelings of compassion, kindness, sharing and caring. Persons who possess only power and pelf and lack inner refinement and balance are crude, fickle-minded, mean and disturbed. They live lives of utmost inferiority. On the other hand, persons of high thinking, generosity of nature and noble actions lead lives of superior quality even if they are not materially affluent. It is this aristocracy of spiritual richness that give unshakable peace and unalloyed happiness.
Purity is true beauty. Not only human beings but even animals and birds, insects and worms like beauty. Wherever there is impurity, ugliness is bound to be there and nobody would like to stay there. A person having impurities in his body is bound to be weak and sick. Then what to say of a person whose mind, intellect and inner-self are full of dross? He is no better than an animal or devil. The only way to rise above these infirmities is to cultivate all-round purity. One who is pure internally as well as externally, whose means of livelihood, ideology, body, speech, dress, residence and other materials of use are clean and pure, will be happy, cheerful, sweet-tempered and contented.
Divine insight means establishing relationship with divine qualities of the world. Like attracts like. Persons having an outlook of seeing goodness in the world find good persons all around them. If we pay attention to philanthropic deeds, goodness, service-mindedness, cooperation and good deeds done by the people we will find that by and large there is far more good in the world than evil. To a person with perverted mind, all objects and person will appear perverse. Likewise one who looks with eyes of love and understanding will find the same qualities reflected back from all around him. He will discover that the world is a multi-hued, beautiful and sweet-smelling garden of God.
We should inculcate good habits, good qualities and righteousness within us. Modesty, politeness, courtesy, sweetness in speech, generosity, service, cooperation, honesty, industriousness, punctuality, orderliness thrift, dutifulness, vigilance, sense of glad humour, patience, courage, bravery, enthusiasm are all divine qualities. It is also virtuous to be proficient in music, literature, arts, crafts, business, oratory, industry, education etc. Persons having such qualities, undoubtedly, lead a happy life.
Wisdom (vivek) is like a spiritual searchlight by which a person can distinguish between truth and falsehood, proper and improper, gain and loss. Innumerable mutually contradictory beliefs, conventions, ideologies are prevalent in this world and each of them has some basis and is linked with the name of some great personage. Under such circumstances it is difficult to decide what should or should not be accepted. Righteous wisdom alone can decide what is genuinely acceptable, keeping in view the factors of place, time, circumstances, utility and public good. He who can intuitively and spontaneously take proper decisions will attain perennial happiness and peace. The basic cause of most of the conflicts, miseries, sins and unhappiness in the world is evil-mindedness, illusion and ignorance. A person endowed with wisdom escapes from all these snares.
To maintain proper balance of the life-force, thinking capacity, sexdesire, labour etc. is known as self-control (sanyam). These natural urges and drives should be neither suppressed nor allowed unbridled indulgence. Human body is a powerhouse of a wide range of energies. Extra-ordinary success can be achievedand all-round progress can be made if these energies are wisely channelised.
To help people help themselves is one of the greatest services one can render. Ordinarily, spending time in other-centred activities, giving money in charity or extending physical or mental help are deemed as acts of service. None bothers to see whether or not such service has led to self-sufficiency, inspiration and awakening. Generally such a service makes persons so servedlazy and dependent on others and on destiny and is harmful in the long run. Service should be rendered in such a way that it may accelerate enthusiasm, resourcefulness and self-reliance. It is a sacred service to make one’s own self, others and the world at large more prosperous, beautiful and happy.
These nine virtues are, undoubtedly, nine gems. Ruby, pearl, emerald, topaz, diamond, sapphire, gomed and jewel are called nine gems. Those possessing these nine gems are considered to be happy in all respects. But according to scriptures, persons having the afore-said gem-like qualities of Yagyopaveet and Gayatri are as rich as Kuber, although they may lack material wealth, land and property. A wise person putting on Yagyopaveet possesses KalpaVraksha adorned with nine gems of virtues and always enjoys divine prosperity. For him this bhulok is heaven. A person having this KalpaVraksha attains success in all the four kinds of noble pursuits, viz, divinity (dharma), wealth (Arth), material enjoyment (Kam) and liberation (mokshya).
Putting on Yagyopaveet is necessary for Sadhaks
Some people think that they should not put on Yagyopaveet as they will not be able to observe its rules. This amounts to saying one should not worship unless he has devotion to God. God is worshipped so that we may be able to develop devotion. Similarly, Yagyopaveet should be put on so that conscious attempt could be made to observe its rules. Only a sick person needs medicine.
People have strange misgivings about observance of rules. Some think that Yagyopaveet relates only to fulfilment of certain rules, just as not taking food without taking bath or not taking food which is not fresh or which is cooked by a person belonging to a different caste. These are all false beliefs. The object of Yagyopaveet is to promote allround human development which includes development of health and to do so, it is necessary to follow carefully all rules relating to food also. But if there remains any flaw in observing certain rules regarding food, it should not be considered that the right to put on Yagyopaveet has been forfeited on that account.
Some people do not put on Yagyopaveet or abandon it on account of fear that they are likely to forget putting Yagyopaveet around their right ear while going to urinal or latrine. It is true that this rule should be strictly observedbut the beginners deserve some leniency till the routine becomes a habit. In the beginning, Yagyopaveet may be wrapped round the neck so that it may climb up above the waist. The main purpose in putting Yagyopaveet round the ear is that it may go up above the waist so that there may not be any possibility of its being touched by any sort of impurity. If perchance one fails to wind it up around the ear it is not necessary to change the Yagyopaveet. Putting on Yagyopaveet around the neck can be dispensed with as soon as habit is formed to wind it around the right ear.
For children of tender age and other forgetful persons Yagyopaveet of one-third size, known as kanthi, can be used by putting it around the neck. Small children and insufficiently refined / uncouth people often neglect to clean Yagyopaveet daily which gives bad smell on account of perspiration, dirt etc. It was to take case of such cases that wearing of kanthi, consisting of a string of small beads of tulsi, rudraksha or some other sacred material around the neck came in vogue.
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