By Tattvavit Dasa
Seven devotee children celebrated a special day of their own in Germany with twenty of their school friends and their friends’ family members on a Sunday in May at Goloka-dhama, in Abentheuer. The event was organized so that the devotee children could have a Vedic version of their Catholic friends’ First Communion ceremony.
Naryani Dasi, a year ago, felt that her two children were missing something when the other school children had their First Communion. Catholic children got nicely dressed up for an event in church, and they were at the center of that special day. She asked herself and others, Why don’t our kids have such a nice day?
Her friend Analaksita Dasi, a teacher by profession, agreed to help Narayani organize the children and the event. Starting last October, the two mothers held home meetings once a week, and this continued for six months. They taught seven devotee children songs and scriptural verses. They showed them how to paint OM, the sacred combination of Sanskrit letters. The children learned to do puju, a worship ceremony, and one day offered puja to Srila Prabhupada in the Krishna temple. For Christmas, the children baked cookies.
Narayani’s daughter, Vraja-lila, is ten; her son, Ramai, is eight. Their father, Vrajendra Kumara Prabhu, has a prasadam business, and he catered the event. The other five children were Elias (Analaksita’s son), Mandali (the daughter of Adi Sesa and Murali), and three girls named Hannah, Laura, and Maxime.
To the Vedic version of First Communion, held at the Krishna temple, Narayani and Vrajendra Kumara and Analaksita invited two teachers and the seven children’s friends and families. Sixty guests took part.
Adi Sesa Prabhu spoke to the assembled people about the meaning and basis of the ceremony. The seven children received flower garlands, and a temple priest conducted a fire sacrifice before the Deities. The seven children offered grains and bananas into the fire. They recited a Sanskrit verse and gave the German translation, and they chanted Hare Krishna and sang the Nrsimha prayers.
Vrajendra Kumara said, “Some of our kids’ friends felt so attracted to the fire sacrifice and chanting that they asked their parents if such a ceremony could also be held for them.”
I personally see it as a very significant step or a symptom of maturity. There is sufficient room in our tradition to accommodate a wide variety of the cultural phenomena.
Integration v assimilation is often discussed, and an example of good integration was when Bishnupriya Manipuris king took to Lord Chaitanyas movement in early 1700s. The features of the worship and special features such as ritual dances and ghats are different to the mainstream, but ensured integration in the local culture without loss to the philosophy side of it. This innovation appears to be an amazing form of preaching and potential of finally connecting with a second generations environment.
This is similar to Vedic Samskars. Starting from the name giving ceremony for the baby, going out first time, grain ceremony, mundan ceremony, then starting the school, vedic graduation ceremony, etc, and upto forty other more samskars in a persons life.
In Varnashram these rituals are norm. So if devotees seriously look at implementing Daivi Varnashram Dharma, then these cultural needs of social interactiions of family and friends will be met.
In all these ceremonies, usually, small or big yajnas are main focus with the chanting of the mantras, distribution of prasad and gifts. So these brings all the family members and friends together for exhange of gifts, prasad and glorifying the Supreme Lord by Chanting Holy Names in Sankirtan becomes a very enjoyable household duty.
My father-inlaw got me into regular annual christmas holidays-Bhagavata Saptahams conducted in the house he built for us in Kerala India.The sixth Saptaham will go on in coming Dec.08 with its own reccuring funds.
He select different Nambuthiri youths of excellent sanskrit knowledge and eloquonce mixed with Bhakti because of their deep influnec on the Kerala -psyche with their kind of austere ,bearded looks and degrees .All the 18000 verses will have to be finished in seven days ( 7am -7pm,)with two major feasted celebrations( Krishnavataram,Rukmini swayamavaram).
The first sapataham reciter, 27 years, is reported to be a doctorate in Vedantam ,Post Doctoral in Sanskrit from Berlin Univ.and the personal parikarmi( rithvik) of the one of the richest man in the world . He with his team of two have to stay 7 days with us each time ,hearing the Mangalarati and Sandhyarati plus getting exposed to many books including Krishna Art book, Darsan etc.He is has shed his shyness to spread the GLORIES HARE KRISHA sankirtan in his own circles.I picked up his Mobile phone oneday, it was his mother greeting him Hare Krishna.I said Hare Krishana to her.
Another Nambuthiri who did the third one in the annaul series in his early thrities ( fatheriing a daughter recently) is soliciting my advise and patronage for a ‘Narayaneeya Wichara Satram ‘.He expects this will be a rare opportunity for Nambuthiri and such nobler youths to partake in a symposium on vedantam and Bhakti.
Why me ?-as I am Blaramakrishnadas.jps
I used to monitor their deliveries ( based on a 2007 GBC Resoulution on Satahams)w.r.t philosophy and never allowed them to go haywire beyond Bhakti into mayavadam etc.
In fact the principle I told them was:Vedantam can hardly deliver the truth to you but it can deliver you to the Truth.Trust that!
I will tell you when I fix up the syposium and interfaces with them and fight it out to impress them and passon to them teh mercy of Nima Nitai with the blessings of all you Gourabhaktas!