Birth & Initiation

Birth Rituals

While there are many rituals to signify the impending arrival and safe birth of a newborn, our focus is on two rituals: Jatakarma & Namakarana.

Jatakarma

Once the child enters the world, Jatakarma is performed to welcome the child into the family. The father places a small amount of ghee and honey on the baby’s tongue and whispers the name of God in his ear.

The Journey of Life - Rites of Passage.pdf

Namakarana

On about the eleventh day after birth the parents celebrate the name-giving ceremony (namakarana) by dressing the baby in new clothes. The naming ritual solemnizes the child as an individual, marking the process by which a child is accepted and socialized by people around them. The rite of passage also includes a gathering of friends and relatives of the baby's parents, typically with gifts and for a feast.

Key Actions

The mother bathes and is given new clothes, and the house is filled with flowers.
The father shaves to emphasise the removal of pollution.
The family astrologer announces the child’s horoscope. Traditionally the child’s name is chosen according to the position of the moon in the birth chart.
A priest casts a horoscope to determine the first letter of the child’s name, then the father writes the name of the family deity, followed by the child’s date of birth and the proposed name.
The father whispers the name into the baby’s right ear.

Songs and sometimes a havan (fire sacrifice) accompany these rites, followed by the obligatory feast.

Initiation Ritual

The Upanayana is the first of three rituals that mark the transition to adulthood. When the child reaches school-going age, the Upanayana (sacred thread) ceremony is performed. Upanayana ritual symbolises the end of an era in a boy's life and the initiation into another. With this ceremony, a boy leaves his childhood, proceeds to become a man, and follows the path of getting knowledge.

The sacred thread ceremony, which is only available to the upper three castes (those who are twice born), is when a boy is introduced to a guru and given the sacred thread (yajnopaveet) made up of three strands symbolising the three vows he will follow in his life:

to promote knowledge gained from the sages (Rishi Rin)
to look after and respect his parents and ancestors (Pitri Rin)
to contribute to society and the nation (Dev Rin).

In the past, the boy usually left home to live with the guru and learnt how to meditate and the language of the Vedas. Today, this is a ceremony that takes place in front of family and friends.

Initiation for Girls

Traditionally this ceremony was open only to boys. With changing attitudes, some groups now initiate girls, although girls usually do not receive the sacred thread

Related Values & Issues

The purposes of education
Delaying gratification (austerity)
Celibacy

Key Actions - Upanayana

The day for the ceremony is chosen by the family priest, and the boy’s head is shaved except for a tuft of hair on the crown.
He bathes, wears special white clothes and shares a meal with his mother prior to the mother leaving the ceremony.
The boy faces west opposite his father and a piece of cloth is held between father and son as blessings are chanted.
Offerings of rice and ghee are made to Agni, the god of fire.
The boy is given new clothes and a piece of deer skin on a loop of cotton is placed around his neck.
Then three strands of white cotton, tied with a sacred knot, are placed over his left shoulder and are hung diagonally across his chest: the thread is worn for the rest of his life and is renewed annually at a special ceremony for Ganesha’s birthday.
Kneeling, the boy recites a hymn, takes a vow of celibacy and makes a promise to obey his father, his guru, the family priest and to concentrate on his studies.
He is then presented with a staff to follow the right path.
The ceremony concludes with a feast for family and friends.

Key Symbols

The sacred thread
Shaved head
Ascetic dress
Staff

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