A beautiful ceremony brings back memories of a knowledge-centered civilization

There is nothing more touching than being 10,000 miles away from one’s motherland and still preserving her ancient rituals with dedication. I was invited to the Upanayana ceremony of a young boy whose parents hail from the Indian state of Karnataka. I had met him on a couple of occasions but not really noticed him. Today, at the completion of all the rituals, I saw a glow on his face that made me realize yet again, why the ceremony is regarded as the second birth in Hindu traditions and the child becomes a Dwija or twice-born. Ancient India had many rites of passage called Samskara and one of the important ones which mark a child’s entry into education is called Upanayana. It was typically performed for children between the ages of 8 and 12. After this ceremony, a child would set out to study under a Guru (or many Gurus) for several years in order to gain mastery over a variety of subjects and return home only after passing the final examination. The child who embarks on such a period of study is called Vatu. For more details about the educational heritage of India and how it impacted the world, please look up my book <a href="https://www.amazon.in/dp/9390961084/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_glt_fabc_QNCH2G0K3XT6AAG1KY8G" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> if you live in India and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/9390961084/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_awdb_imm_7JYZHNS9PYCTVGN75MB3" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> if you live in America. The book is also available on the Amazon websites of other countries. <a href="https://medium.com/@sahana.singh/a-beautiful-ceremony-brings-back-memories-of-a-knowledge-centered-civilization-8f9aa00a9fd3">Website</a>