A rejuvenated Brahmana

I have long prided myself for my heredity which goes all the way back to Vedic rshis of the ancient ages. After all who else but Brahmanas can trace their origins right back to when our ancient civilization originated. Even today when a Brahmana kid introduces(Abhivadaya)himself to elders, that introduction is a record of his illustrious lineage. It starts with the pravara or the name of the rshis whose descendant that person is. For e.g. my Abhivadaya goes thus ...

Abhivadaye (Salutations O elders)
Angirasa Bharhaspatya Bharadwaja Triya rshiyaye pravaranvida (I belong to the line of Angirasa followed by Brihaspati followed by Bharadwaja. These are the three rshis who start my lineage)
Bharadwaja gotra (My gotra is Bharadwaja)

But today that is all there is as far as one's Brahmanatva or "being a Brahman" is concerned - pride in past lineage, the heights attained by one's ancestors long back in the ancient age - but what have I done to claim being a Brahmana, which is a status that carries such purity. How different am I compared to any other youth out there...maybe my brain stores a few mantras in its labyrinths.

Being a Brahmana meant living life austerely...the rules for Brahmanas were far stricter than those for other communities...they had to live their life in sadacharya or good conduct so that they deserved their place at the top of the society, so that they naturally commanded the reverence of all other people and could rightfully guide people in spiritual and religious matters. But today how many Brahmanas can claim to that level.

Anyways...I may continue on this tirade upon myself and other "Brahmanas" like me indefinitely to no avail. But there is one occasion when I feel being a Brahmana and the great privilege it is. Thankfully God has granted one such occasion every year. It is the tithi or astronomical configuration of Sravanamase Shuklapakshe Paurnamsyam or the day of the Full Moon (Poornima) in the Bright Half (Shuklapaksha) of the Hindu calendar month of Sravana (which falls in Aug-Sept), which in Tamil is called Aavani. This tithi falls under the nakshatra or star of Dhanishta, which is called Avittam in Tamil. Hence this occasion is known as Aavani Avittam (or the day of the star Avittam in the month of Aavani).

On this day, all Brahmanas do what is known as Vedarambam or 'restarting the Vedas' i.e. they start the study of Vedas again. This is accompanied by putting on a new sacred thread and casting off the old one. Mantras such as the "Kamokarshit" and the Gayatri mantra are said a 1008 times to repent for the sins committed over the past year or for not following the right conduct (which we are all guilty of :D)

Last year for the first time I had the Avani Avittam in my native village in Palakkad and witnessed the huge difference of the occasion there compared to how it is done in the larger cities.

Having found it to be an amazing experience, this year I again went there. Waking up and having a bath early in the morning, I first of all went through my Sandhyavandanam book. Having not done my daily rituals in years, I had forgotten the sequences completely and even the mantras at places. But the mantras are difficult to forget. These have been repeated and reinforced in my brain hundreds of times, so they come back at will. Once I was fairly confident that I understood it, I started with it and completed my Sandhyavandanam in around 25 min.

Thereafter I went down the village to another house a few blocks away - it was the home of the vadiyaar. Already several men were sitting in the verandah who having finished their Sankalpam or pledge had already started chanting the Kamokarshit a 1008 times. All looking resplendent in silk veshtis and overdrapes with the mark of Siva - three horizontal lines of vibhuti or ash across their forehead, neck, chest and arms.

Being a bachelor - a brahmachari, I had to do one more ritual prior to that, which was the Samidhadanam which is done around a yajna fire. It is worshipping the Fire God - a Vedic ritual. The young college going son of the vaadiyar handed me the darbha or dry grass. There is one folded in the form of a ring, which is worn around the ring finger. Two straight blades of this grass are folded around the finger. This gives one the authority to say these mantras, perform the rituals and benefit from it. Two other blades are placed beneath one's feet as one sits cross legged on the floor. This signifies the place as a sacred one, where one is involved in performing Vedic rituals.

The boy said the mantras and I repeated them behind him. This is another thing I find fascinating, listening exactly to the words and their pronunciation and then repeating it smoothly behind...this is not all that easy as its in Sanskrit and most of us dont understand the meaning at all. But it is fun and a great experience.

Thereafter there was Sankalpam and of course chanting a mantra 1008 times. After that late in the morning we went to the Siva temple, where the actual Vedarambam and Brahmayajnam are done. When over 30 Brahmanas chant the Vedic mantras in the proper metre one could feel the energy and aura around. The entire chamber reverberated with the sounds of the shlokas.

Thereafter we went to the pond adjoining the temple, the bathing pool of yesteryears and even occasionally these days and there standing in the water, we chanted the mantras, made oblations with the water and changed the sacred thread.

After this we made our way back to the village. A typical village is but a straight road on both sides are houses with tiled roofs, adjoining walls and open verandahs to the front. The people had gathered to their front doors to see the procession of the Brahmanas returning. As we made our way back we were chanting the Rudram...ah it sounds so lyrical. As all the adult men were in our procession, it was only womenfolk and children waiting there. As we made our way, the women bent down and prostrated themselves wherever they were like one does while seeking the blessings in a temple. This procession of Brahmanas is considered auspicious and even widows can seek blessings so I found patis aged over 80 bending down. It was something totally unique.

We went all the way to the other end of the village to the Vishnu temple where we were to perform another set of pujas for an hour and a half. Lunch was only after this at 1.30 in the afternoon.

To me this was one day where I did something, at least a little bit to be in some way the descendant of my illustrious forebears. And at the end I came out, if only for another year - a rejuvenated Brahmana