MUSINGS IN THE MORNING……

        

The other day, somebody was telling me that he has named his child “Samanyu”

I thought it was a good name – bit different and unique. Parents these days do a lot of research before finally arriving at a nice name for their new born darling. (They invite suggestions from all and sundry, but finally zero in on the name that appeals to them best – fair enough. However, in olden times, matters were much simpler – son gets the name of his grandfather, and daughter inherits her grandmother’s name…… Matter ends there!

The name, ‘Samanyu’ kind of kindled some interest in me. If you break the word, it will read as “Sa + Manyu”, the one who carries ‘manyu’ with him. Manyu in Sanskrit means ‘Anger’. In other words, one of the meanings of the name happens to be “one with extreme anger” as given in the web page that I saw:

http://www.birthvillage.com/Name/Samanyu

Obviously, I didn’t tell my friend about it – after all, I would not lose his friendship on this issue! And, most of the web sites carrying meaning of names say Samanyu means ‘Lord Siva’. Somewhere, I have read that you should address people by their names, as far as possible, for your name is supposed to be the sweetest music to your ears – as researchers have found out. Let us come back to ‘manyu’. Brahmins in South observe one day in the year as “Samvatsara Praayaschitha” or the “annual confession”– excuse the crude translation. The idea is to openly announce to the world what all ‘non-sense’ you committed during the year that went by. According to Hindu philosophy, all our dushkarmas are supposed to emanate from one or more of the following six vices,

Kaama (meaning lust),

Krodha,or Manyu (meaning anger),

Lobha (meaning micerliness),

Moha (meaning passion or desire)

Madha (meaning illusion or headweight / ego) &

Maatsarya (meaning envy or unwanted competition)

However, the first two vices (lust & anger) are supposed to be most damaging. This is the reason why the rituals on the “Samvatsara Praayaschitha” day start with a confession on a broad perspective. (The day falls on Avittam – Sravishta star in the Tamil month of Aavani - Sraavana). You start with the mandatory Sandhya Vandhan, followed by reciting the mantra “Kama: aakarsheed, Manyu: aakarsheed” – popularly recited in the convenient format - ‘Kamokaarsheed, Manyuraakarsheed’. In simpler terms, the mantra means that “I was attracted by ‘Kama’ (lust) and ‘Manyu’ (anger), which are the main cause for all my wrong-doings in the past one year. This is followed by ‘tharpan’ to all the sages, devas, & forefathers. Thereafter, apologize for all kinds of sins committed during the year – sins include most of the seemingly innocent actions like eating non-vegetarian food to indulging in sex with own spouse (?) and extra-marital actions – physical as well as conceited or symbolic (!). The so-called sins included anything and everything one can think of….Having done the “confession”, and with a pure mind, you start veda aarambha, all over again. The rituals end with ‘homa’ and Haarathi.

Surprisingly, this concept of ‘confession’ you can find in Christianity also. The ‘sinner’ fixes up a date with the priest (father). At the appointed time, the priest enters a special cubicle and places his ear at the (only) small opening through which the devotee admits his sin (which can be anything from murder to illicit relationships or a wide range of wrongs), repents for his act and seeks forgiveness from God through His representative - the priest. Obviously whatever has been confessed will remain confidential and will not be divulged under any circumstance. I am not aware of any such practice among Muslims, Sikhs etc. I am sure they might also be practising some such rituals. Polishing the shoes / chappals of devotees at the Gurudwara entrance as a form of repentance is one such act we know of. I do not know about majority Hindus. May be they think that mere going to temple, and praying would absolve them of all their sins! Or, at a higher level, they put part of the booty from their business in the hundi at Tirupati, Guruvayur etc. I know many businessmen include Balaji as their partner. Luckily, these days, He does not take physical form and act upon matters that are done without His consent…. And thankfully, it only happens in films.

Point is, once you realize your mistakes and sincerely and honestly feel sorry for them, 90% of problems are solved. However, more often than not, the ego comes into play - “why should I?” You will be surprised to see that this ‘first person, singular’ is the root cause of many of the problems we see around us today.

More later……………

a n a n d . . . . .
for ever..........