It is a universal truth that cosmic energy drives everything : (A brief sketch on the grand Samashti Samitadana event held at Chennai) It is a universal truth that cosmic energy drives everything, and the closest form of cosmic energy on the earth is Agni. It is therefore appropriate that the Brahmachari is initiated into rituals related to Agni and observes these rituals. The Hindu tradition recognizes four progressive ashramas (stages) of a human being’s existence – Brahmacharya, Grahastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. Of these, the first stage Brahmacharya is the one in which a young mind absorbs the knowledge required for the subsequent stages. An essential aspect of gaining and reinforcing knowledge is by personal performance of acts in a prescribed sequence, in other words, performance of rituals. Samitadanam is one such important ritual. It is simple to perform, takes just ten minutes and uses readily available materials. It is an unfortunate aspect of modern living that even this simple, daily ritual has vanished from the daily regimen of the brahmachari. About three months ago, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam made a significant observation that the process of revival of discipline in the lives of brahmacharis should start with recreating awareness of simple daily rituals like Samitadanam. Sarma Sastrigal, a practicing Vedic priest and a teacher of the Vedas in West Mambalam, ignited the minds of a group of students and volunteers and spread awareness of this important agni-ritual for brahmacharis. In a couple of months, the initiative created a deluge of response from across the City. As with most activities with youngsters, a group event was more likely to have an enduring impact than doing it individually. Thus was born the idea of having a Samashti Samitadanam event. Sunday, May 4th, was a very auspicious day on account of at least two known facts – Sankara Jayanti and Ramanujar Jayanti. It was chosen as the day for this first-of-its-kind program of Samashti Samitadanam at West Mambalam, Chennai. More than two hundred young brahmacharis participated in the Samitadanam at Panigraha Kalyana Mandapam from 7 am to 9 am. The program commenced with a brief, soulful Carnatic music recital by Sarvasri SP Ramh, VV Srinivasa Rao (violin) and Neyveli Skanda Subramanian (mridangam). This was followed by recital of Thotakashtakam and telecast of the recording the Anugraha Bhashanas of Sri Jeer of Ahobila Mutt and the Sankaracharyas of Kanchi Matam Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal and Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi Swamigal. Sarma Sastrigal, in a brief talk before the commencement of the main Samitadana event, exhorted he assembled youth to continue doing this important daily ritual. He said they could perform this on Sundays and holidays if weekdays were too full. He also gave useful tips on pursuit of the holy path and the youngsters responded attentively. During the performance distinctive attention was given to Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas and the children could do Samitadanam as per their respective Vedic lineage. Technological help was at hand to have the program telecast live in different parts of the world through an effective webcast arrangement. That was verily the icing on the cake. A sumptuous breakfast for children as well as accompanying parents brought the event to a close, and the children went back with new veshtis and sparking gindis (tirtha patras) and more importantly the commitment to perform Samitadanam regularly.
Posted on: Tue, 06 May 2014 08:43:08 +0000
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