Explaining The Necessity And Significance Of Upanayam

In the Tamil Brahmin tradition (and others?), during the upanayanam, the novice is taught the 'Abhivaadaye' or the ritual self-introduction. It is expected that, in the future, whenever the student prostrates himself before his elders, he will present himself thus:

"I, descended from the lineage of these three rishis (named), of this gotra (specified), a follower of this sutra (specified), and this Vedic tradition (specified), named (his - the novice's - name), present my respects to you."

This is said after the namaskar (prostration), in a standing bow, with hands covering each ear.

When the novice does this, he is not only introducing himself and paying his respects to his elders; he is also reminding himself of his lineage and his obligations to his ancestors. In a sense, he is prompted to recall that he must aspire to live up to an unbroken tradition of which he is a temporary caretaker and do so with resolve and humility. The hands are placed over the ears so that he does not hear the utterance of his own name. Of course, he can hear everything he is saying in his mind's ear! This gesture serves as a check against vanity, to remind him that it is not pride in his patrimony that is the essence of this ritual, but duty. Protect and nourish that which you have inherited, and pass it along to the next generation - that is the message of this practice. Not so different from the Mathematics Geneology Project, or the induction of a new president. Or, yeah I did my undergrad at Stanford, my MD at Harvard-Med and now I'm an oncologist at Sloan-Kettering.

 

The simplest explanation - why we give 'gotra' introduction at our ceremonies.

 

Hi @Gauri03,

I really liked the idea of @kaniths. I spent half a day in Gurukul during my recent trip to Chennai. The objective is to donate the money that my mother willed for my son for a good cause. The person I approached insisted that I should visit the place before donation and I agreed. It was one of the best experiences I had in recent days. What a simple life those children lead in the Gurukul and how much of love I see among the students. The teacher, care-taker and all other people working in the Gurukul shower love to those children. They even have a Goshala and the cows are brought from all over India.

The children wake up at 4 a.m. in the morning and go to sleep at 8 p.m. in the night. They have play time. I heard so many stories about sophisticated children objecting to having open shower under a tap like in a village. There were some children who had not seen villages before and they started running around the village only to be brought back carefully by the staff. The type of musical instruments played, dances performed and bhajans sang during our visit were scintillating. Everything is so regulated and I can't believe in the recent times, parents were ready to send their children for Gurukul for 12 whole years to learn Veda. It might be conjecture on by part but I did feel the glowing faces of those children comparable to those Vedic people in Ramakrishna Mutt. Becoming a Chaturvedi is an uphill task and to learn them by heart and understand the meaning is very significant.

Frankly, if I were to start my life all over, I would have experienced Gurukul myself (despite the comments @Rihana might make again about my adventure of watching Bobby so many times only to see Dimple Kapadia). Karnataka is very famous for old traditions and I am sure you will find a Gurukul easily. If you have trouble, please message me privately and I can find one for you to visit nearby from your husband's hometown. But make sure, you tie your son with your overwhelming love before you venture on such a trip.

Viswa