UpanayanamThe initiation was done by the Upadesham (instruction) of the Gaayathri manthram. The
manthram (sacred formula) is a universal prayer that can be used by men of all climes and
creeds, for, it calls upon the Glorious Power that pervades the Sun and the three worlds to arouse,
awaken and strengthen the Intelligence, so that it may lead to intense Saadhana and Saadhana
may lead to success.First: Faith, that can stand the ridicule of the ignorant, the cavilling by the worldly, the laughter
of the low-minded. When someone ridicules, you should argue like this within yourself: Is he
ridiculing my body? Well, he is doing what I myself would wish to do; for, I too want to escape
out of this attachment of this body. Is he ridiculing the Aathma? Well, he is doing the impossible,
for, the Aathma is beyond the reach of words or thought; it is unaffected by praise or blame. Say
to yourself, "My Aathma thathwa (Principle of the Self) is Nischala (immovable), it is Nirmala
(pure)," and carry on.
Second: Do not worry about ups and downs, loss or gain, joy or grief. You are yourself the
maker of the ups and downs. If you but care, it can all be one smooth level. You label something
as loss and something else as gain. You crave for a thing and when you get it, you call it joy;
when you don't, you call it grief. Cut the craving off, and there will be no more swinging from
joy to grief.
Third: Reason out and get convinced of the truth, Sarvam Brahmamayam (All is Brahman). You
know there are five elements or bhuuthas, which constitute, by their permutations and
combinations, the world called Prapancham, the "Five-constituted." Prithivi or the Earthelement
has five qualities, the maximum, and so, it is the grossest. It has its own special
characteristic of gandha (smell), as well as the characteristic of the other four, namely, sparsha,
rasa, ruupa and sabdha (touch, taste, form and sound). The next one Jala, the water-element has
only four, its own special one---taste and touch, form So it is subtler than the Earth-element.
Agni is subtler still, because apart from its special characteristics of form, it has only two others,
sound and touch. Vaagu, the Air-element has touch as its special and one more quality, sound.
Finally the lightest and subtlest of all the five, Aakaasha, the Sky-element, has only one
characteristic, its own, namely, sabdha. Now, God is subtler than even Aakaasha and so He is
all-pervading, even more than ether or anything more pervasive than that. His nature is beyond