Samskaras Bring Divine Qualities Into The Child
We are missing out several advantages of our rich tradition.
Particularly our children are missing a lot.
Take samskaras for instance.
What do parents want?
They want the child to grow up as a good human beings, succesful and happy in life.
When you have good qualities, life will become succesful.
Life is not just big salary, or big profit.
What are the qualities of a good human being?
Physical hygeine, fearlessness, kindness, knowledge, humility, simplicity, non-violence, tolerance, honesty, sacrifice, softness, gentleness, love towards plants and animals, love towards nature, refrain from doing bad things, lack of arrogance.
These are not even human qualities, they are divine qualities.
The absence of these is the asuree bhava, nature of asuras.
Depending on how far these qualities are present in a person you can say you can say how far he is holy or unholy.
How much he is a deva and how much he is an asura.
As a society, the effort of our sages has been to produce more and more people with divine qualities and the samskaras are meant for this.
What is samskara?
Samskara is purifying, refining.
Removing bad qualities and instilling good qualities.
Not just after the child is born.
Even before birth.
There are three samskaras meant for this.
Garbhadhana, pumsavana and seemantonnayana.
Garbhadhana is conceiving at an auspicious time.
In agricuture don't we have timing of when the seeds are to be sown or planted. There are fixed months, there are fixed seasons, then only the yield will be good.
You don't do planting at the peak of the summer.
This depends of the weather.
In the same way, since for a human being it is not just about yield, it is about so many aspects of life, the factors are many more and more comples.
What is conception?
Conception essentially is planting a seed.
Shastra gives is suitable days of menastual cycle for conception, even astrological factors are there.
Identifying a good time for conception will definitely have a bearing on the qualities of the child to be born.
If you look at the mantras chanted in Garbhadhana samksara, you will notice that the father is invoking divine energies on to his body before the conception.
Divine energies are present in his body at the time of conception.
Conception is not just a physical act.
It is a spiritual act in an atmosphere which is divine be deliberate invocation of divine energies, so that the child to be born also has divine qualities.
In fact, if you see the mantras, the father is praying to the divinity that you please act through my body and give birth to a child who is noble and capable in every respect.
Then there are two more important samskaras which are pre natal.
Pumsavana and Seematonnayana.
Both of them involve chanting of mantras for the physical, mental and spiritual health of both mother and child.
Then there are some rules that the father and mother have to observe during pregnancy.
I am not going to list them out.
The pregnant lady should not undertae strenuous travel in the fourth, sixth and eighth month.
She should always have kumkum on her forehead, hair should be properly done.
When you keep your body fresh, naturally the mind also will be fresh.
That will help the child in the womb.
There are many such rules. They are not arbitrary.
They are meant for the benefit of both the mother and the child.
The father also has to observe a vow called garbha-deeksha.
He should travel far, not get into adventures, basically focus on the wellbeing of the mother and the child and also prepare for the proper deevelopment of the child when he is born.
There may be so many superstitions, I am not talking about them.
I am talking about those prescribed in authentic shastras.
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