What Is Rites of Passage - Free Essay Example

Rites of passage describe the ceremonies that are associated with certain transitional moments in an individuals life (Cunningham 74). In Hinduism there are samskaras. These are Hindu rites of passage. They are not just formalities or ceremonies to celebrate periods of transition in a Hindu individuals life. They serve to purify the soul at critical junctions in lifes journey, (Rites of Passage). The word samskara means mental impression, these ceremonies create a positive feeling about moving from one phase of life into the next. There are various samskaras all throughout the different stages of life (Rites of Passage). One of these samskaras is called upanayana. This rite of passage is the beginning of the acceptance of a student by a guru. It marks an individuals entrance to a school in Hinduism (Rites of Passage).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The age varies, while it is usually children between the ages of eight and sixteen years of age (Upanayana: a Hindu Rite of Passage), another source says the ceremony can be performed between the ages of five and twenty-four (Britannica). This is because the three upper classes of the Hindu caste system, Brahmans which are priests and teachers, Kshatriyas who are warriors and rulers, and Vaishyas known as merchants and tradesmen, have different educational requirements (Britannica). During this event the child, usually a boy but can be a girl, is given a sacred thread called janeu. They must wear this thread for the rest of their life (Upanayana: a Hindu Rite of Passage). The thread has a loop made of three knotted and twisted strands of cotton cord. The knots are symbolical. The thread is replaced regularly so that the wearer can have it throughout their life time. It is normally worn over the left shoulder and diagonally across the hip. This shows the w earer is divija or twice born. The second birth having taken place when the guru shared the knowledge of the Gayati mantra to the student and wearer of the thread (Britannica). The person going through upanayana is taught the secret of life through brahmopadesam or revealing the nature of Brahman, the ultimate reality. This is otherwise known as the Gayatri mantra (Upanayana: a Hindu Rite of Passage). The ceremony ends when the student kindles the sacrificial fire and pleads for alms. This represents his dependence on others during his brahmacharin period (as a child he cannot fully depend on himself yet) (Britannica). Upanayana itself means taking somebody near knowledge. This expresses the simplest meaning for what the ceremony is all about. A child entering their education.   A second meaning of the word is that which is above. Meaning the thread that is worn above the shoulder after this ceremony. Elaborating on the symbolism of the thread, the thread is usually ninety-six times breadth of four fingers of a man. This is believed to be equal to a mans height. The four fingers represent one of the four states that the soul of a man goes through. These are waking, dreaming, sleeping without dreaming, and knowledge of the absolute. The three threads themselves represent three Goddesses. The Goddess Gayatri of the mind, the Goddes Saraswati of the word, and the Godddess Savitri of deed. It is saying that anyone who wears the sacred thread should be pure in thought, word, and deed. It is a reminder to the wearer that they should live their life in a good way with purity. A reminder that life is not lived for oneself but for others and that a debt is owed to the guru, the parents, and the society. Another important aspect of the thread is the knot in the center. This represents Brahman, the pure form of energy which is in everything and makes up everything (Upanayana). The ceremony can vary between regions and customs. In an upanayana ceremony based on traditional Mithila Brahman customs there are multiple days to the ceremony. Mithila is a region of the ancient Videha Kingdom and is heavily influenced by the Goddess Durga. There is the day of Shagun. All the female family members will apply haldi or turmeric oil and dub grass to the childs foreheads, arms, stomach, and legs. This is called ubtan and it is done to preserve the symbolic meaning of rebirth. They are not allowed to wash it off until the end of the ceremony. After this family members invite the deity they worship into the ceremony. Once this is done the upanayana officially starts. The next day is the Mandap Puja. Here all the family members have arrived, and they make an animal sacrifice to their deity as an offering. These do not occur in all villages though, again it varies from region to region. The animal is cooked and served to all the guests. There are large celebratory dances. There is the day of Puja. It begins with prayer and offering to ancestors and more dancing and singing. The series of rites begins and the children entering the ceremony are given special garments for their period of learning under the gurus. This is when they receive the Gayatri mantra that was mentioned above. They then go to their mothers and ask for bhiksha or alsm and blessings. Next, they go to the temples, where their hair is cut. This symbolizes the beginning of a new life. The children participating will then go where eleven male brahmins (priests and teachers or the guru) stand while reciting the Gayatri mantra. This is where they receive their sacred thread or jeanu. They wear it over the left shoulder and under the right arms. Each one is then made to stand on a stone slab. Which symbolizes how strong the resolve is that accompanies a life of learning. Once more they go to family members, mainly female, and ask for gifts. The gifts normally consist of gold, jewelry, and c lothing. To finish out the event the family celebrates once more with song and dance. The main part of upanayana has ended. As new brahmins, these students are expected to be committed to education for as long as they live. They are to live with honor and duty and to avoid impurity, dirtiness, and immoral behavior. The threads very meanings support this. Those who go through the rite of passage that is upanayana are expected to carry on the Vedic tradition and to ensure that its teachings and reflections are applied to all Hindu society (Upanayana: a Hindu Rite of Passage) This ceremony marks the transition from childhood to the growth towards adulthood and knowledge. It is celebratory and represents the awe of people surrounding growth in general and the progression of life. Upanayana can also be considered a rite of initiation. As it initiates a child into a student. Hinduism has so many different and important rites of passage. Upanayana is only one of the many important samskaras.

Admittance Into Afterlife - Literature Essay Samples

As humans, we are configured to strive to get the most out of our lives, no matter how that may be. However, that often means we succeed at the sacrifice of others. Humans are not perfect, however the mistakes that many people make at some point in his or her life are unforgivable. Many believe in a form of afterlife. Those who do also believe that one must be deserving and do good during one’s time here on earth to earn admittance into that afterlife. The poem, â€Å"The Listeners,† written by Walter de la Mare, is attempting to teach its readers that we all must be our kindest, greatest selves during every single moment within our precious lives on earth. He exhibits this by showing that those who attempt to venture off into eternal life and happiness are never worthy of admittance. Therefore, we must renovate our lifestyles and truly begin to achieve our greatest potential as a group, with no major complications, in order to deserve a spot in eternal paradise. The setting in which the poem takes place is a crucial part of understanding what the speaker is attempting to teach its readers through the poem. The Traveller comes upon a house with â€Å"only a host of phantom listeners†(Line 13) inside, â€Å"thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,/ That goes down to the empty hall†(17-18). The reader is immediately able to recognize that nobody else inhabits that particular part of the house at that time, considering the stairwell leads to an â€Å"empty hall.† This could be due to the phantom listeners not allowing anybody to climb the stairway to heaven, thus explaining why the hall is empty, having nobody worthy enough to be in its presence. It is also known that the phantom listeners are â€Å"thronging† the dark stair, crowding around it to protect it from outsiders. They are doing everything in their power to guard that staircase, as it is the one thing many inhabitants of earth have always dreamed of, yet they are always much too flawed to be granted admittance to climb the staircase. These phantoms are essentially the judges as to who can enter heaven. In addition to the interior of the house, the surroundings of the house have many key features as well. The horse in which the Traveller voyaged upon â€Å"in the silence champed the grass/ Of the forest’s ferny floor†(3-4). The words â€Å"champed† and â€Å"in the silence† give off a very calm, careless notion, as if the horse does not wish to worry about what its rider is getting himself into. Horses have always been known and used as a major form of transportation, especially in previous times. Through this knowledge, we can conclude that the horse represents the passage from the material world to the supernatural world. Considering so many try and fail to be allowed entrance into eternal life, one could only suppose the horse would be a bit weary of the situation. Additionally, when the Traveller is nearing the house, a bird flies â€Å"up out of the turret,/ Above the Traveller’s head†(5-6). Considering the bird flew over the Traveller’s head, not just in any nonspecific direction, we know that the bird plays a role within the afterlife admittance process. Birds are often depicted as spies, so this bird that flew atop the Traveller could very well be spying on the Traveller, judging his worthiness, or, in most cases, unworthiness. Throughout the poem, the setting, both indoors and outdoors, plays a key role in its interpretation. de la Mare follows a strict rhyme scheme within the lines of two and four, six and eight, ten and twelve, and so on. This happy, sing-song-like rhyme scheme embodies the cheerful, lighthearted views that those who inhabit the material world have regarding the idea of going to heaven once their time comes. However, the lack of a rhyme within lines one and three, five and seven, and the like represents a lack of consistency within humans and their beliefs. Humans are constantly faltering in their path to success and their striving to care for others before themselves, and slip-ups are very common. This shows that there is a great deal of improvement that mortal humans must work on in order to be worthy of a welcoming into eternal afterlife. This confusing inconsistency within people’s beliefs is the explanation as to why the afterlife is such a valuable privilege; those who are strong enough to stay on the path to prosperity for all are the ones who have earned entrance into hea ven. Through this unique rhyme scheme, de la Mare is able to skillfully portray that those who deserve entrance into immortality must never falter in their faithfulness to themselves and others. Since the average human is truly undeserving of eternal afterlife, it is extremely necessary to learn how the human race can greatly improve upon itself. To help with this confusion, the speaker provides reasoning, through the dialogue of the Traveller, behind why these people are not deserving of nirvana. Understanding that the poem is alluding to an alternative afterlife, we can come to the conclusion that the Traveller has died and passed on into a different world, in between heaven and earth. The poem begins with a very harsh â€Å"‘Is there anybody there?’†(1) from the Traveller, â€Å"knocking on the moonlit door†(2). Rather than politely knocking on the door, the Traveller makes a rather rude introduction. This clearly depicts the mortal human’s aggressive and demanding tendencies. In order to be deserving of a privileged afterlife, we must learn to free ourselves of all conflicts of our mind and understand the importance of kindness and compa ssion for others. We must put others before us, rather than ourselves before others. In addition to knocking rashly once, the Traveller then forcefully knocks again: â€Å"And he smote upon the door a second time;/ ‘Is there anybody there?’ he said†(7-8). These two knocks upon the door happen within a few lines of each other, which translates to about few seconds within the poem’s time frame. Through this repetition of phrases, the speaker demonstrates the worldly human’s impatient lifestyle; everything is wanted immediately as fast as possible or else he or she will be gravely disappointed. Even worse is the fact that the Traveller failed to realize his unnecessarily aggressive attitude the first time, and made no effort to fix his mistake the second time. The speaker is attempting to break us from this mundane way of living by showing the Traveller’s failed journey to the afterlife, revealing the consequences of this condescending lifestyle . Later in the poem, when the Traveller is beginning to give up and accept defeat on his afterlife audition, he angrily raps upon the door and says something to the listeners inside the house: â€Å"For he suddenly smote on the door, even/ Louder, and lifted his head:-/ ‘Tell them I came, and no one answered,/ That I kept my word,’ he said†(25-28). Through the expression, â€Å"I kept my word,† one can only think that the Traveller came to an agreement with someone else; in this case, it would be God. However, the fact that he furiously â€Å"smote† upon the door demonstrates that he was angry that he did not get his side of the deal with God. This proves that the Traveller only agreed to the deal because of his self-benefit, rather than it being the right thing to do. This concept directly correlates to the reasoning behind many of our kind actions; we are all under the false understanding that as long as we do honorable things to promote the commo n people here on earth, we will automatically go to Heaven. Through the Traveller’s aggressive tone and behavior, we are taught that we need to look out for the well being of others before ourselves not because we must to do so in order to earn a spot in Heaven, but because it is the genuine, righteous thing to do. If we can accomplish this, we can truly accomplish anything. Through just a few lines of dialogue within the poem, the speaker teaches us a great deal about what it really means to deserve total nirvana. If everyone in the world began to look out for the common good not because if he does he will achieve afterlife, but instead because it will make the world we live in today a much greater place to be; everything would change for the better. This, along with acceptance into afterlife once our time is up here on earth, would make the strongest, most beautiful package in the world. We could live in happiness forever, and who would not like that? The only question is, where do I sign?