Chapter 3 - Detailed description of Dharmas of Brahmcharyashram by Bhagwan Shree Hari

Shri Narayan Muni said:- 

Detailed description of Dharmas of Brahmcharyashram by Bhagwan Shree Hari. 

‘O Good-Natured one!, the four stages of life are said as: (i) Brahmachari-ashrama i.e. observance of celibacy and studentship, (ii) Grihasthashrama – i.e. house holder’s stage/married state, (iii) Vanaprasthashrama – i.e. retirement from householder’s position & living in the forest, (iv) Sanyasashram - Renunciation stage. 1. 

These four stages are prescribed for the first three social classes (i.e. Varnas): Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya. However, some thinkers do not recommend the fourth stage for Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. 2. 

O Brahmin!, as I am explaining the duties (Dharmas) of the twice- born, suitable to their stages; firstly listen to the duties of those belonging to Brahmachari-ashrama (Stage of celibacy and studentship) 3. 

A twice-born boy, even though purified by post natal and other rituals, attains the status of twice-born, only after the thread ceremony. The thread ceremony of a Brahmin boy, is to be performed during the eighth year of his age (counted) either from conception or from actual birth. The ritual of thread ceremony may be performed during the eleventh year for a Kshatriya boy and during the twelfth year for a Vaishya boy. 4 - 5.

In the case of a precocious boy, the thread ceremony is recommended during the fifth, eighth and ninth year for Brahmins, Kshatriya and Vaishya classes respectively. 6. 

A Brahmin boy, aspiring for eminence in sacred knowledge, deserves to have thread ceremony during the fifth year. A Kshatriya boy, aspiring for strength and power may have the girdle (i.e. thread ceremony in which girdle of Munj grass is put as waist band) during the sixth year and a Vaishya boy, aspiring for wealth may have it during the eighth year. 7. 

The thread ceremony should be performed carefully, observing its proper procedure, because among all prescribed rituals this one leads the boy to the status of twice-born. 8. 

A Brahmin boy should be initiated during the spring season (Vasant), Kshatriya during the summer season (Nidagha) and Vaishya during Autumn (ghananta/sharad). Alternatively, the five months beginning with Magha month and ending with Jyeshtha month, are generally common for initiating boys from all the twice born classes. The thread ceremony should not be performed during the month of birth, the birth constellation and on the day of birth of a boy. In the case of the eldest son and eldest daughter, no auspicious ritual should be performed during the month of Jyeshtha. 9 - 10. 

However, the sages (the law-givers) Garga, Bhargava and Shaunaka suggest that the auspicious rituals may be performed in the converse positions of the month, the constellation and lunar dates. E.g. if birth falls in bright fortnight -Shuklapaksha, the auspicious ritual may take place in the dark fortnight Krishna- paksha and so on. 11. 

The thread ceremony, should be performed after assessing the strength of the planet Jupiter. If it is weak, then it should be performed during the month of Chaitra when the Sun (Ravi) enters the Meena- Zodiac (i.e. Rashi).12. 

The father may administer initiation as per convention of his own Vedic branch, in the morning after assessing the strength of the lord of his own Vedic branch and after selecting an auspicious Lagna. 13. 

Primarily, it is the father who should initiate the son. In his absence, paternal grand-father should initiate; in grandfather’s absence, the father’s brother and in the brother’s absence, the elder brother of the boy may initiate him. 14. 

Method of preparing Yagnopavit. 

Sacred thread is to be prepared in a holy place, measuring ninety-six finger-units out of pure cotton thread which is even and unbroken. It should have three folds upwards and triple threads again triply woven. It should have one knot. 15 - 16. 

A pair of threads is to be worn in Shrauta as well as Smarta rituals and the third one is to be used in place of upper garment if it is not worn. 17.

According to some thinkers, for an initiated boy, a single sacred thread is prescribed and for the other two i.e. Grihastha and Vanaprastha, two threads are prescribed and again a single thread for a renunciate. 18. 

The sacred thread should be made of pure cotton, jute (a coarse fibre/shana) or sheep-wool respectively for Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya or else, cotton thread is recommended for all the three classes of the twice born. 19. 

The sacred thread is to be worn on the (trunk) backside and up to the navel, and it should touch the waist. It should be so worn that the thread is neither too long nor too short. 20. 

The girdle of a Brahmin is to be made of Munja-grass, that of Kshatriya should be made of Mourva-grass and that of Vaishya should be made of Shana- the jute fibre and the knot should be threefold, small and of same size. 21. 

The Danda i.e. Staff of Brahmin should be of Palasha wood or Bilva wood. Its height should measure up to the hair knot. The staff of Kshatriya should be made of banyan or Khadira wood. Its height should measure up to one’s forehead. 22. 

The staff of Vaishya should be made of Pailav or Audumbar wood. Its height should measure up to the nose. The sitting mat of Brahmin should be of black deer’s skin; that of the Kshatriya should be of white-deer’ sskin and that of Vaishya should be of goat-skin. 23. 

The wise Acharya should sit to the north of sacred fire, facing the east, and initiate the newly threaded lad, who sits facing west, with the Gayatri mantra. 24. 

Begging alms. 

Then, the initiated boy, adorned with staff, Mrigajina, Girdle and the sacred thread, should circumambulate the fire, stand facing the sun and beg for alms. 25. 

While begging for alms, the initiated Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya boy should make use of the word ‘Bhavat’ (to show respect for the giver) in the beginning, in the middle and at the end respectively (‘om Bhavati Bhiksham dehi’ for the Brahmin boy.). 26. 

O Suvrat !, until the thread-ceremony is performed, in case of all the three Varnas, the boy has no restrictions on his wandering, speaking and eating. 27. 

Once he is initiated, he is called twice-born and a Brahmachari. Then, he should live a highly disciplined life in the household of his Guru. 28. 

Thus, he should put on girdle, sacred thread, deer-skin attire, keep his hair matted, hold staff and Darbha grass in one hand and carry a water vessel (i.e. Kamandalu), as per procedure. 29. 

Rules and regulations for a Brahmachari. 

Such a Brahmachari, following the rules of pure conduct, whenever called by Guru, should look at the face of Guru and receive instructions from him. 30.

At the beginning and at the end of the lesson, he should prostrate before the Guru. He should learn the Vedas daily, except on holidays. 31. 

The Guru can teach him by beating (occasionally) the disciple, for toning down his arrogance. Such beating is not objectionable. 32. 

Beating should be done lightly on the lower part of the body. It should not be on the head or on the chest, otherwise blame will befall on the Guru. 33. 

A father should fondle the boy for the first five years, beat (i.e. punish) him until he reaches ten years and treat him as a friend when he attains sixteen years of age. 34. 

A celibate student, desirous of learning, with his senses controlled, should always serve his Guru. Such studentship of a celibate is said to have four aspects. 35. 

Four steps of obtaining Vidya for Brahmchari. 

The first is that, the student should abstain from betrayal and such other blemishes, should consider Guru as his parents and obtain learning by developing norms of ideal studentship in him. 36. 

The second aspect is that, the student should show respect for the wife and son of his Guru and be humble before them and that student of pure conduct, having his senses controlled, should pursue his studies. 37.

The third one is that, he should serve his Guru lovingly; remembering the obligations to his Guru (for the latter’s role) in removing his ignorance. 38. 

The fourth is that, the disciple should do good to the Guru, with his speech, thought, action and even by his life (Prana) and wealth and yet remain humble. 39. 

Twelve good qualities and twelve bad qualities of a student. 

The following are considered to be the qualities of discipleship: knowledge, truth, endurance, modesty, absence of jealousy, courage, penance, control of mind, control of senses, absence of hatred, charity and performance of sacrifice. 40. 

The following are considered to be the vices of discipleship: lust, anger, grief, infatuation, greed, avarice, unkindness, temptation, jealousy, aversion and pride. 41. 

Abandoning the above said twelve vices, the disciple should develop twelve virtues and should pursue Vedic studies and also ponder over the meaning of the Vedas. 42. 

He should worship the sacred fire and the sun every morning and evening with a composed mind. By reciting his morning prayers i.e. Sandhya and Gayatri japa, he should salute his Guru and elders. 43. 

When he adopts the practice of saluting elders and offering service to them, his strength, life, reputation and talent increases more and more, day by day. 44.

He should be holy- alms (Bhiksha) every morning and evening at the doors of pious, twice-born householder’s. He should offer the alms to his Guru, and then eat it with the guru’s permission. 45. 

For a student, over-eating leads to ill-health, shortens lifespan and for him, heaven becomes unattainable. It also causes loss of merit and is hated by people. Hence it should be avoided. 46. 

The initiated student should not eat food from the same householder every day in normal course, except in case of emergency. A Brahmin student, may eat food up to his satisfaction in Shraddha rites without breaking the rules of his vow. 47. 

The disciple should always stand in front of his Guru, folding his palms with reverence. Only when he is ordered to be seated, should he sit in front of his Guru. 48. 

He should neither sit in an irreverent position in front of his Guru, nor mimic (imitate) his Guru in gait, gestures or speech. 49. 

Whenever he happens to overhear abuses about his Guru, he should immediately get up from his seat and leave the place, closing his ears, or else he may punish the abusers, if he can. 50. 

He should not worship his Guru, when he is away or when Guru is accompanied by his wife or when he is angry. He should also not reply to his Guru in a loud voice, under any circumstances. 51. 

The student should always bring a water-pitcher, kusha-grass, flowers and sacred fuel sticks. He should always apply ointment to Guru’s body and give him a bath (he should assist his Guru in every manner). 52. 

He should never crossover the remains of things offered to and used by his Guru like faded garlands, flowers his bed, his wooden sandals and footwear, his sitting mat, cot or even his shadow. 53. 

He should gather toothpicks etc., and offer them to his Guru. He should never go out without guru’s permission, and should always act to please his Guru. 54. 

He should neither sit in front of his Guru stretching his legs, nor should he clap or laugh aloud or take a nap. 55. 

If the Guru is running, he should run after him. If Guru is walking, he should follow him. He should not address his Guru by name, nor should he speak unsolicited. 56. 

He, with his senses controlled and mind subdued, should never be angry, should always be pure and should speak sweet and soft words in front of his Guru. 57. 

A celibate student should avoid listening to the stories of women, looking at them, praising them, thinking of them, playing with them, talking with them in private and their touch. He should never make friends with a libertine. 58.- 59. 

The wife and son of Guru are equally respectable as the Guru himself; so they should never be insulted. 60.

A celibate student should not do the following acts in case of Guru’s wife: massage or apply oil to her body, give a bath, comb her hair etc., 61. 

He should not salute the wife of Guru by touching her feet, if she is young. He should bow down before her, keeping a distance and say, ‘here I am by name . . . I salute you’. 62. 

He should never touch her body, because even that much amounts to a break in his vow of celibacy. 63. 

Father’s sister, mother’s sister, brother’s wife, wife of maternal uncle, one’s own mother and sister – all these are equally respectable as the wife of one’s Guru. 64. 

At any time, the initiated celibate should not leave the Guru under the sway of (impulses like) lust, greed and infatuation; otherwise he becomes a fallen. 65. 

‘But, a disciple should leave the Guru, if the Guru is blind with pride, if the Guru cannot discriminate between what should be done and what should not be and if he follows unrighteous path’- thus said Manu. 66. 

He should never insult the Guru from whom he obtains; knowledge of the worldly and religious matters and spiritual knowledge form Vedas and Vedanta. 67. 

That student who refrains from the crowd like (he is afraid of) a serpent; who refrains from eating tasty food up to his satisfaction as if he is afraid of death; and avoids the company of women as he would avoid a demonness alone obtains knowledge. 68. 

Love for gambling, safeguarding books (Pustak shushrusha), wandering in the garden, cheating on women, sloth and excessive sleep are the six hurdles in the way of obtaining knowledge. 69. 

The celibate who lives in Guru’s house for earning knowledge should take bath thrice and day and should pursue his studies with concentration and avoid bad company. 70. 

He should avoid flower garlands, sandal-paste and a liking for tasty eatables, put on vermillion scent, use tooth powder (for brushing his teeth)etc., 71. 

An avowed student should also avoid ceremonial bath, collyrium, umbrella, looking into mirror, gambling, singing, dancing and playing musical instruments. 72. 

He should avoid violence towards animals, wickedness, lust, greed, fear and keep himself away from honey- liquor, meat and forbidden eatables like garlic etc. 73. 

He should avoid sleeping by day during, early morning and evening; he should avoid blaming others and use footwear. 74 

That steadfast student should not attend dance programs or hear rustic music. He should never speak or hear lies. 75. 

He should not sleep on a cot and should not eat betel leaf (Tambula). He should perform the Vedic rites prescribed to him, from time to time. 76. 

Upakarma and other duties of Brahmachari; atonement for violation. 

He should start learning Vedic texts as per the procedure. The student belonging to Rigveda tradition should perform the ‘Upakarma’ rite in the morning on the full-moon day, in the month of Shravana, under the Shravana constellation. 77. 

The student belonging to Yajurveda, should perform the Upakarma rite, as per procedure at mid-day hour, on full-moon day in the month of Shravana. The student belonging to Samaveda, should perform the same in the afternoon in the month of Shravana, under the Hasta constellation. 78. 

When there is ‘Sankranti’ (the Sun entering in a Sinha sign of Zodiac) or lunar eclipse on a full-moon day, in the month of Shravana, then it (Upakarma) should be performed on any day under Hasta Constellation or on the fifth day in the bright fortnight of Shravana. 79. 

If the ‘Sankranti’ or eclipse falls before midnight, then commencement of Vedic studies should not be done. If ‘Sankranti’ or eclipse falls after midnight, then commencement of rituals could be done as there is no flaw in it. 80. 

Ritual of concluding the study of Vedas. 

In the month of Pausha, under the Rohini constellation or in the Ashtaka i.e. seventh, eighth or ninth day of dark fortnight of Pausha, Magha or Phalguna, the twice born may perform ‘Utsarga’ i.e. concluding of Vedic Studies out in the open - near a lake as per procedure. 81.

Some people perform the ‘Utsarga’ rite on the same day i.e. during ‘Upakarma’. In both these rites, seers are to be worshipped. 82. 

To such a student of fine character, ritualistic adherence, self control and absence of pretence should the Guru teach the Vedas, Shastras and Puranas. 83. 

For long, a Guru should examine the celibate student and then he should impart him the knowledge of Vedas whole heartedly, without any deceit. 84. 

The celibate student should study one, two or more Vedas as per his own interest. He should offer fees to Guru and then he should bathe with the permission of Guru, a ritual marking the end of his studies. 85. 

After that, according to the intensity of his dispassion - whether it is mild, moderate or intense, he should enter Grihasthashrama, Vanaprasthashram, or Sannyasashrama respectively. 86. 

Four type of Brahmchari. 

‘O great Brahmin!, it is said that there are four types of students who observe celibacy, they are Savitra, Prajapatya, Brahma and Naishtika. After the thread ceremony, as per procedure, he who recites the ‘Gayatri’ mantra and observes vow for three days, is regarded as the first type i.e. ‘Savitra’. The one who observes vow for one year and studies Vedas under the Guru the second type i.e. Prajapatya. He who observes the vow for twelve years or till he compete the studies of the Vedas is the third type of student i.e. Brahma. The forth one i.e. Naishtika, is one who observes the vow lifelong and lives with his Guru. He is definitely the excellent among the four types, as each succeeding types should be considered superior to the preceding ones in merit. 87 - 90. 

Unknowingly, if the twice-born eats food mixed with meat or liquor, he is needs to be threaded again. He should continue serving his guru and thus observe the vow meticulously and if at all, knowingly or unknowingly, he breaks the vow, he should undergo atonement to ward off the sins. Unless he is unwell or in adverse condition, he who does not go to beg alms and does not worship the sacred fire (by offering sacred sticks in fire), should observe the ‘Avakirni’ vow as expiation (it is told in Prayaschitta prakarana of this book). If the celibate eats tainted food collected in alms and vomits, if he looks at a naked woman, sleeps naked, sleeps at sunrise or sunset or during the day time, walks across the cemetery, sits in a carriage pulled by horse etc.., transgresses a respectable person, takes meals without wearing the sacred thread, accepts jewels etc., cuts a tree or kills a serpent etc., he should then, for self-purification, take bath, sip holy water (Achamana), sit in a pious place, practice restrain of breath (Pranayama) three times and recite Gayatri mantra, the mother of the Vedas, thousand and eight times. Atonements are prescribed for each and every breach of vow. I shall tell you those afterwards. Knowing the same will be beneficial to all. 91 - 98. 

‘O good natured one! Defilement on account of birth or death, for Naishtika (lifelong celibate), Vanaprastha, Yati (Sanyasi) and Brahmachari, is not prescribed by great thinkers. 99. 

If Guru, teacher, family priest, father, mother or any elderly person of a celibate student dies, he should take bath after the removal of the dead body. Thus he immediately becomes undefiled (i.e. chaste). 100. 

During the defilement period, the celibate student should not abstain from his daily duties like Sandhya, homa, etc., Thus, observing his vow, he should perform the ritual of offering a rice ball (Pinda) and water in the rite ‘Shraddha’. 101. 

‘O great Brahmin! These are the duties of the student in the first stage of life i.e. Brahmacharyasharama. Hereafter I will explain to you, the daily duties prescribed for a twice-born. 102. 

Thus ends the third chapter entitled ‘Narration of the duty of celibacy stage of life’ in the fifth Prakaran of Satsangi jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as Dharmashastra (the rules of the code of conduct). 3