Hindu+Rites+and+Passages

The idea behind the Hindu rites of passage is the purification of the soul at important events in one’s life. These are known as ‘Samskara’, meaning ‘mental impression. Some traditions can mention anywhere from ten to sixteen rites of passage, but there are only four that are currently popular now. These are: Jatakarma (birth ceremonies), Upanayana (initiation), Vivaha (marriage), and Antyeshti (funeral and rites for the dead).

The Jatkarma ceremony is for welcoming a baby into the world. The father places a small portion of ghee and honey onto the baby’s tongue and whispers the name of God into the baby’s ear. Around the eleventh day, the parents celebrate the name-giving ceremony by dressing the baby in new clothes. An astrologer then decides the child’s horoscope. The child’s name is traditionally chosen based on the position of the moon in the birth chart. An obligatory feast follows after.

The Upanayana is essential to higher classes and marks a boy becoming ‘twice-borne.’ This means that they have their biological birth as their first birth, and then their spiritual birth, where they take a spiritual teacher as a father and the //Vedas// as a mother. At the ceremony, the boy receives a //Jeno//, (a sacred-thread) that he wears for life, although it might change through their life. There is a separate ritual for the beginning of education, but it is often combined with the Upanayana

Vivaha is generally considered the most important of the rituals. It was traditionally, the only ritual performed for both men and women in the fourth //Varna//. The //Varna// is the Hindu caste system that is structured into four distinct groups. A couple in the fourth //Varna// would stay together until the husband took the path of renunciation. Divorce was not allowed and those who left their partners were ignored by society. Matches were usually arranged by elders based on astrological principals.

After marriage, most Hindus spend their time as householders. After their children have left, there is generally a period of time where parents gradually remove themselves from active life and prepare themselves for death.

Antyeshti (the funeral rites) are almost universally performed and all follow the same pattern. Most Hindus cremate their dead with the exception of small children and saints who are considered pure and therefor buried. As funeral ceremonies take place at dusk or dawn, whichever is closer, this means that, in India, the body is cremated fairly soon after death while in other countries, regulations mean that it happens later.

Following this, there is a period of mourning of about thirteen days where the family is considered impure and will not eat some foods or attend religious functions. These rites are to allow the soul of the person to pass into a better level of existence.