Avani avittam - The day to atone for one's sins - Hindu Brahmins

Traditionally, Brahmins were charged with the study, teaching, and chanting of the Vedas as their main vocation.
Brahmacharis were boys who had undergone their spiritual (second birth) with the yajnopaveetam and initiation into the Gaayatri mantra.
They would typically spend eight years learning a particular Veda from their guru in a school called paatasala.
Upakarma literally means acts/work (karma) to be done before (upa).
It comprises the preparatory acts done before starting Vedic studies every year. For students of the Yajur Veda, Upakarma falls on the full moon day in the month of Aavani, hence it is also called Aavani Avittam. For Rig Vedis, it is the day prior to the full moon day, and for Sama Vedis it is on the day of Ganesh Chaturthi.

The rituals done on Upakarma day are for starting the next year's Vedic studies on an auspicious note by atoning for various shortcomings or wrongdoings, seeking blessings from the rishis and gods, and by charging up the Brahmachari's spiritual batteries for fruitful learning in his new semester.

Kamokaarsheet Manyurakaarsheet Japam: Kaama (desire) and manyu (anger) are the root causes of all our sorrows. This japam is chanted 108 times to submit all our misdeeds deriving from these demons to be burnt up by the deities of kaama and manyu.

Brahma Yajnam: The first few mantras of each of the four Vedas are chanted to symbolically mark the beginning of the new Vedic school year.

Maha Sankalpam: This is a long invocation that identifies the participants in terms of their lineage and spatial and temporal coordinates in the Hindu cosmos, specifies the syllabus of studies they wish to undertake, purifies them ritually, and expresses their resolve (sankalpam) to learn and teach the Vedas properly.

Yajnopaveeta Dhaaranam: The sacred thread, yajnopaveetam, symbolizes our oneness with Brahman, the ultimate reality. The three strands in the original yajnopaveetam which is vested during Upanayanam (the Gaayatri mantra initiation ceremony) represent various triads that are very important in Hinduism � Brahma, Vishu, and Shiva; the letters A, U, and M of the most potent Vedic sound OM; the ida, pingala, and sushumna nadis through which the Kundalini shakti has to be properly channeled for spiritual advancement; the three gunas sattva, rajas, and tamas; etc. It is also a visible symbol of the authority and competence of the person wearing it for carrying out his Vedic duties. A new yajnopaveetam is worn (dhaaranam), with mantras asking for it to impart spiritual effulgence (Brahma tejas). The old thread is then removed and discarded.

Kaandarishi Tharpanam: The Vedas were seen in the meditative trances of our ancestral rishis (seers), who codified them into various sections, called kaandas. Obeisance with water offering (tharpanam) is given to them in this ritual, asking for their blessings before commencing new learning.

Sravana Homam: Agni, the Vedic deity of fire, is the divine carrier of our oblations and invocations to all the gods. During this homam (fire ceremony), the students ask to be blessed for their learning to proceed without obstacles and then chant and hear (sravana) sample sections from the four Vedas, and also from auxiliary scriptures called Vedangas, as a token of commencing their studies. The teacher declares that their studies have formally begun. The students offer their dakshina to the teacher and partake of the prasaadam before disbursing.

Gaayatri Japam: This is done the morning of the day following the Upakarma ceremony. Traditionally, all Brahmins are supposed to chant the Gaayatri mantra 108 times during the three sandhyas (the Sun's transition periods; dawn, noon, and twilight) each day. The Gaayatri mantra is the most powerful and sacred of all Vedic mantras. Its meaning is: Om is verily this world, the mid-region, and heaven (the three spheres of the cosmos); We meditate on the divine effulgence of that adorable Sun (Savitar) of spiritual consciousness; May He stimulate our power of spiritual insight. As a mantra, it has great potency if it is chanted properly, even if its meaning is not understood, though meditating silently with complete awareness of its meaning has greater benefits. The Gaayatri mantra is the quintessence of the Vedas and it has the power to bestow protection, health, longevity, prosperity, creativity, spiritual radiance, and ultimately moksha (liberation via self)realization of our oneness with Brahman. It is chanted 1,008 times on the day following Upakarma to make up for not chanting it regularly during the previous year.

Why to touch the feet of elders

It is plain that the Sciences of Electricity and Magnetism were not only extensively cultivated by the Ancient Hindus, but also highly developed, and the principles applied in their practical daily life. As other instances of their advanced knowledge of the Sciences, we find that iron or copper rods are inserted at the tops of all temples that Mindulies (Metallic cells) made of either gold, silver or iron are worn on the diseased parts of the body, and that Asanas or seats made of either silk, wool, kusha grass, or hairy skins of the deer or tiger are used when saying prayers. The function of the rod at the top of the temple is the same as that of the modern lightening conductor. The Mindulies serve the same purpose as the electrical belts and other appliances of the present day electrical treatment of diseases. The woolen and skin asanas protect our lives during a thunderstorm. So do the wooden sandals or mithiyadi worn by the sanyasis of old.
For the same simple reasons described above, it is the age long custom among Hindus that younger people should prostrate before the elders and touch their feet with their head so as to acquire magnetic energy and more particularly before the saintly persons, as these saints had magnetized their system by their Tapasya, i.e., by observance of Brahmacharya (celibacy), conducting Poojas, by practice of Yoga Asanas, Pranayamas and meditation, and by austere observances and various spiritual practices.

Why to sleep in a particular direction w r t Earth's axis

He explains the reason why we Indians are advised to sleep in head in South/east direction only as follows:

“Never lie down to sleep with your head northward or westward” is a common injunction given from time immemorial by the Indian mother to her children. Almost every Hindu- orthodox or heterodox- observes this dictum of his ancestors, but he doesn’t know the rationale or significance behind the dictum, although it has been handed down to him through generations. For example, Vishnu Purana says: “O King! It is beneficial to lie down with the head placed eastward or southward. The man who lies down with his head placed in contrary directions becomes diseased.” The Varshaadi Nool says: “Sleeping eastward is good; sleeping southward prolongs life; sleeping westward and northward brings ruin.” The Mahabharata says: “Men become wise by sleeping eastward and southward.” There are two Tamil proverbs which run thus: “Vaaraatha Vashvu Vanthaalum Vadakkae Thalai Vaikkakkuudathu”, meaning; ” Even in the heyday of sudden fortune, one should not lie down with head to the north”, and ” Vidakkeiyayinum Vadakkaakaathu”, meaning: “Even the head of the dried fish should not be placed northward.” The Ayurvedic physician seats his patients facing eastward before diagnosing the disease or administering his medicine. Brides and bridegrooms are always seated facing eastward on the wedding day. Even corpses are placed down with the head southward.
The explanation for such advice and practice as discovered recently is as follows: This dear Earth, on which we live, has been for ages past, and is still being subjected to constant exposure to the source of all Energy-Heat, Light, Electricity and Magnetism- the Sun. When its eastern half is heated by the sun, its western half remains comparatively cold. In consequence, a strong and constant current of thermal electricity generated by the sun, travels across the earth from east to west. By this current of electricity the earth becomes magnetized, and its geographical north pole, being to the right-hand side of the direction of the current, is made the magnetic north pole; and its geographical south pole, being to the left-hand side of the same current, is made the magnetic south pole. Thus the earth is rendered a mighty thermo-electric magnet. This is evident from the fact that by the attractive and repulsive forces of its poles, the compass needle, in whatever position it is placed, is invariably turned so as to point to the North and the South.
We have learnt inside the class rooms that a non-magnet kept in contact with a magnet is eventually converted into a magnet, or that magnetism is imparted to it. And that the poles of the magnet have infused opposite polarity into the ends of the non-magnet. Now, we human beings are in perpetual contact with the huge Electro-Magnet, the Earth. We are all therefore converted into small magnets. It has been found by the experiments that the human body also is a magnetable object, though far inferior to iron or steel. This cannot be denied that, for in addition to other causes, there is a large percentage of iron in the blood, circulating through the body.


Further, as our feet are magnetized by contact with the northern hemisphere of the earth, where exist all the properties of north polarity is induced in our feet, and consequently, north polarity is induced in our head.

It has been found by the experiments that the human body also is a magnetable object, through far inferior to iron or steel. This cannot be denied that, for in addition to other causes, there is a large percentage of iron in the blood, circulating through the body.

At school when experimenting with magnets we have seen : “Unlike poles attract each other; like poles repel.” We used to restore the magnets back to their place in the laboratory with their unlike poles in contact, so that the polarity may not be destroyed. Now, it is very easy to conceive that if you lie down with your head placed southward and feet northward, the South Pole of the earth and your head, which is the North Pole of the human magnet, as also the North Pole of the Earth and your feet, which is the South pole of your body, being juxta-position, will attract each other, thus the polarity of the human body, natural to it, will be preserved; which if you lie with your head placed northward and feet southward, the like poles of your body and the Earth being in the juxta-position, will repel each other, and thereby the natural polarity of your body will be destroyed or its intensity diminished. In the former position, the polarity acquired by the human body during the day by standing, walking or sitting on the ground, is preserved intact at night during sleep; but in the later position, the acquired polarity is seriously tampered with and destroyed. This arrangement of the poles in the human body is natural to it, and therefore conducive to our health and happiness. The body enjoys perfect heath, if the polarity natural to it is preserved unaltered, and it becomes subject to disease if that polarity is in the least degree altered or its intensity diminished.
This would lead us to infer these arguments apply only to the inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere. The inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere must lay down their bodies with head northward, for similar arguments. That the bulk of the human race live on the Northern Hemisphere, appears to have been known to the ancient Hindu Sages, as the dictum appears to have come down without any qualifying remark.

Why the Eastern direction is preferred to the Western for placing the head in the lying down posture is explained thus: “It has been established by experiments on medical electricity that if a current passes from one part of the body to another, it exercises a wholesome influence where it enters, and produces some inflammations in that part of the body whence it goes out. If you lie down with head eastward, the current of thermal electricity, which is constantly passing over the surface of the earth from east to west, passes through your body also from head to feet, and therefore subdues all inflammation present in the head, where it makes its entrance; while if you lie down with head westward, the same current of the electricity passes through your body from the feet to the head, and therefore produces some kind of inflammation in the head, whence it goes out. The head contains the most vital of organs, and the most delicate of mechanisms- the Brain. It is a clear and healthy head that can easily acquire knowledge, and not an inflamed or congested head, which, on the other hand is the hot-bed of vague and distressing thoughts.

The head contains the most vital of organs, and the most delicate of mechanisms- the Brain. It is a clear and healthy head that can easily acquire knowledge, and not an inflamed or congested head, which, on the other hand is the hot-bed of vague and distressing thoughts.

Thus has been elucidated for our benefit, what was commonly considered a superstition hitherto.

Swami Buaji Maharaj's teaching

Swami Buaji Maharaj was a hundred and twenty one years old yogi,
who was also the founder of the Indo-American Yoga-Vedanta Society in New York.

Sri Swami Buaji Maharaj, a Master of Hatha Yoga and beloved teacher to thousands of students around the world, left his body on July 22,2010 in Bangalore, India. He was believed to have been over 120 years old. (Picture shows Swami with Thomas Koovalloor of New York).

Swamiji, as he was affectionately known by his students, along with contemporaries such as Swami Satchidananda, BKS Iyengar, and Swami Kailashananda, was one of the first Indian masters to bring the classical practices of traditional yoga to the United States. Since 1972 he resided alone in a small apartment near Columbus Circle in New York City, where he taught a rigorous form of Hatha Yoga to generations of students. A humble and dedicated teacher, SwamiJi was a personal Guru to his students and considered them part of his family. He was always accessible to them and took a personal interest in their welfare. He would often cook food for them after the class, engage in philosophic discussions, organize cooking classes, go on field trips to temples, and perform or attend their weddings.

Swamiji was born in the late 1800s to a poor orthodox South Indian Brahmin family. Born with crippled feet, he overcame huge obstacles and achieved many “providential escapes” to rise to become a master of yoga. His path toward yoga began when he was 13, when he was stricken with an unknown illness and was believed to be dead. He awoke on the funeral pyre before it was lit, a feat for which he became ostracized. Soon afterward he attended a yoga demonstration organized by Swami Kuvalayananda of Kaivalya Dhaam, Lonavla, India, and began his training there. After extensive training, Swami was given the title 'Bua' and he began teaching yoga. After many more years of vigorous practice of yoga and teaching, he traveled to Rishikesh to study and practice with the great yoga master Swami Sivananda; there he was conferred the title "Yogiraj" by Sivananda, and was later bestowed with the sacred title of 'Master of Hatha Yoga.' It is believed that Swami Bua is the only yogi to have been granted this title from Sivananda’s Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy. He has also known Sathya Sai Baba when Sai Baba was in his youth and was the only Yogi known to perform in his presence.

Although he had little formal education, Swami Bua was a master of language and spoke numerous languages with complete fluency. He traveled extensively throughout the world teaching and lecturing on the philosophy of Yoga to many thousands. He (taught and – delete) interacted with world spiritual leaders like Bhagawan Ramana Maharshi, Sathya Sai Baba, Aurobindo, Swami Sivananda, Sri Sri Sivaya Subramunia Swami of Kawai Adheenam in Hawaii and many others. In 1999 he received the “Hindu of the Year” award from “Hinduism Today” publication for his life-long dedication to the practice and philosophy of Yoga.

Beyond these external achievements, Swami Bua truly lived and embodied the complete practice of yoga in all of its facets. He never felt the need to establish a formal “school” based on his teachings; he led a simple life with few possessions, accepted only donations for classes, and lived on whatever his students brought him for food, clothing and other necessities. He led an austere and disciplined life, rising before sunrise, performing ablutions, cleansing and purifying the body, performing morning meditation, prayers, and yoga practice, and preparing to give himself over to his students and followers for the rest of the day. As a teacher, he combined stern discipline with great good cheer and humor, throwing out puns and plays on words as he challenged his students to answer the most important and unanswerable question in life: “who are YOU?” He lived his life with tremendous ethical discipline, always admonishing his students to “speak the truth!”

Ahimsa, the practice of non-violence, love, and compassion, was at the heart of Swamiji’s way of life. A lifelong vegetarian, he frequently warned his students not to “turn the belly into a burying ground.” He transformed thousands of people into vegetarians. Long-time student Patricia D’Angelo recalled: “when you tasted his food, his cooking, it not only filled the stomach but also nourished the soul. He had such a reputation of feeding people that all visiting Swamis, great masters, people in general were always invited to feast at his tiny apartment in New York City.” In the early 1990s, burglars broke into Swamiji’s apartment and smashed in his teeth. While they ransacked the apartment, Swamiji retreated into the kitchen, where he cooked them a vegetarian meal and served them before they made their getaway.

His longevity and prowess as a yogi were legendary. Although he never spoke of his age, photos of him through the years indicate that he was at least 120 years of age. He continued to practice vigorous asana well into his 90s, astounding students a quarter of his age with his postures. D’Angelo recalled first meeting Swamiji when she was a young woman: “When I witnessed what an 84 year “young man” could do with his body I knew I was in the presence of a Master. The way he moved his body, the fluency of the movement, the control of the body, the precision of each pose, it was all beyond description. No one had taken yoga to that degree…” Swamiji was known worldwide for being able to blow the conch for indefinite periods, and often convened gatherings of world religious leaders with a 5-minute continuous invocation with the conch.

Although no one will ever know for certain how a person such as Swami Bua came to be, he leaves a clue behind in one of his favorite sayings, words that this gentle Master truly lived by: “Begin the day with love, spend the day with love, fill the day with love, end the day with love. That is the way to God.”

Swami Bua leaves three daughters, a son, several grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and thousands of devotees around the world.

What is a mridangam?

The mridangam is a double-sided drum whose body is usually made using a hollowed piece of jackfruit wood about an inch thick.

The two mouths or apertures of the drum are covered with a goat skin leather and laced to each other with leather straps

around the circumference of drum. These straps are put into a state of high tension to stretch out the circular membranes on

either side of the hull, allowing them to resonate when struck. These two membranes are dissimilar in width to allow for the

production of both bass and treble sounds from the same drum.

The bass aperture is known as the "thoppi" or "eda bhaaga" and the smaller aperture is known as the "valanthalai" or "bala

bhaaga". The smaller membrane, when struck, produces higher pitched sounds with a metallic timbre. The wider aperture

produces lower pitched sounds. The goat skin covering the smaller aperture is anointed in the center with a black disk made

of rice flour, ferric oxide powder(rock powder) and starch. This black paste is known as the "sAtham" or "karnai" and gives

the mridangam its distinct metallic timbre. The combination of two inhomogeneous circular membranes allows for the production

of unique and distinct harmonics. Pioneering work on the mathematics of these harmonics was done by Nobel Prize winning

physicist C. V. Raman.

Immediately prior to use in a performance, the leather covering the wider aperture(left side for right handed mridangists) is

made moist and a spot of paste made from rava flour and water is applied to the center, which lowers the pitch of the left

membrane and gives it a very powerful resonating bass sound. The artist tunes the instrument by varying the tension in the

leather straps spanning the hull of the instrument. This is achieved by placing the mridangam upright with its larger side

facing down, and then striking the tension-bearing straps located along of circumference of the right membrane with a heavy

object (such as a stone). A wooden peg is sometimes placed between the stone and the mridangam during the tuning procedure to

ensure that the force is exerted at precisely the point where it is needed. Striking the periphery of the right membrane in

the direction toward the hull raises the pitch, while striking the periphery from the opposite side (moving away from the

hull) lowers the pitch. The pitch must be uniform and balanced at all points along the circumference of the valanthalai for

the sound to resonate perfectly. The pitch can be balanced with the aid of a pitch pipe or a tambura. The larger membrane can

also be tuned in a similar manner, though it is not done as frequently. Note that since the leather straps are interwoven

between both the smaller and larger aperture, adjusting the tension on one side often can affect the tension on the other.

The mridangam is played resting it parallel to the floor. A right-handed mridangam artist plays the smaller membrane with his

or her right hand and the larger membrane with the left hand. This can be described in words as follows: The mridangam rests

upon the right foot and ankle, the right leg being slightly extended, while the left leg is bent and rests against the hull

of the drum and against the torso of the artist. For a left-handed percussionist, the legs and hands are switched.

Students of this art are required to learn and vigorously practice both the fingering strokes taught as the training becomes

more advanced, which are generally used as aesthetic embellishments while playing.The combination of these finger strokes

produces complex mathematical patterns.

Today the mridangam is most widely used in Carnatic music performances. These performances take place all over Southern India

and are now popular all over the world. As the principle rhythmic accompaniment (pakkavadyam), the mridangam has a place of

utmost importance, ensuring all of the other artists are keeping their timing in check while providing support to the main

artist. One of the highlights of a modern Carnatic music concert is the percussion solo (thani avarthanam), where the

mridangam artist and other percussionists such as kanjira, morsing, and ghatam vidwans exchange various complex rhythmic

patterns, culminating in a grand finale where the main artists resumes where he or she left off. Mridangam is used as an

accompanying instrument in Yakshagana Himmela (orchestra) where it is called Maddale. However, Mridangam used in Yakshagana

is markedly different in structure and acustics from the ones used in Carnatic music.

about me

I am a mumbaikar.I love to accompany as a pakavadyam(support musician)for carnatic classical Indian music events.