Part 2 of 3
STUDIES1. Thou shalt devote thy leisure hours before or after evening meal to reading good books and periodicals.
2. As thy body and soul require exercise, so does thy mind need constant culture, so that all its faculties may grow strong and healthy and gather wisdom and truth.
3. Let not thy reading be vain or unprofitable, let it not be such as may corrupt thy morals.
4. Books are like companions. Noxious literature like evil company secretly defiles the heart, while good books are as wholesome and fruitful as the company of saints.
5. Verily a book of wisdom is the soul's best instructor and friend in solitude.
6. Without lips it gives abundance of counsel, and though it has no hands it wipes off the tears of the sorrowful.
7. The householder shall keep a library of select books in the house, and shall dedicate it to the God of Wisdom. 8. And he shall from time to time enrich his library by the addition of suitable books according to his means.
9. Let the family library be small, but let it contain the choicest books and breathe the fragrance of what the wise have written and said in different ages. 10. And let there be a wide variety in thy collection, that as thy food varies from day to day thy mental food too may vary and suit the diverse tastes of the mind:
11. Science and literature, theology and philosophy, history and biography, poetry and drama, moral anecdotes and accounts of travels, sermons and devotions, and above all the holy scriptures of all nations.
12. And thou shalt cherish thy books and preserve them with great care like unto rich treasures, and thou shalt treat them reverentially as sacred things, for they are repositories of God's truth.
13. Remember that all truth is divine, and whether moral, historical or scientific, it ought to be honored as God's truth. 14. Let thy reading be moderate, and not excessive.
15. For too much reading like too much eating is a burden and a weariness to the system, and hinders assimilation.
16. If thou canst not digest what thou eatest thy food shall be poison unto thee and bring on diseases.
17. And if thou devourest a multiplicity of books thy mind shall be encumbered and burdened and it shall be enervated and its organs unfitted for sound thought.
18. The true scholar shall read a few lines or a few chapters daily and take care that what is read is digested and assimilated before he proceeds to read again.
19. The end of reading is not information nor pleasure, but the disciplining and perfecting of the mind by thought.
20. Thought is the mind's gastric juice which converts knowledge into wisdom, information into character, and the contents of books into the blood and fat of the soul. 21. Therefore be not ambitious of reading too much or learning too much or remembering too much, but let it be thine ambition to be thoughtful that thine may be always a healthy, strong and bright intellect.
22. Think and ponder on all that thou readest, judging and reasoning, comparing and generalizing, analyzing and comprehending, and evolving sound principles, till all objective truth is subjectified and assimilated to thy being and character.
23. Woe unto those who are ever floating upon the wide sea of books and catching mere straws.
24. Blessed are they who dive below and gather pearls.
25. A whole library yieldeth no profit to the superficial and thoughtless reader, but the thoughtful find a world of wisdom in a dozen words.
26. Be not tired of learning, nor shalt thou deem thyself too old to learn, but diligently gather wisdom till the last day of thy life.
27. It is indeed a glory and a privilege to be ever learning at the feet of the Divine Teacher. 28. Remember that we all come to earth as to an academy for education and discipline, and blessed are they who pass out of it with brilliant scholarship to receive their prizes and honors in heaven.
29. Be not enamoured of books of fiction, for they only fascinate the heart and regale the imagination, but give no real food to the mind.
30. He who delights in too much romance eats shadows and dwells in the land of apparitions.
31. Unclean and filthy literature thou shalt never touch.
32. Beware of atheistic books, for they are a horror and an abomination.
33. Wilt thou, O believer, for the sake of false liberalism, defile thy table by placing upon it such blasphemous books as deny and insult the Lord? God forbid!
34. If thou readest one atheistic leaflet thy neighbour shall read twenty such volumes and the evil contagion shall spread.
55. Therefore treat every form of atheistic literature as the deadliest foe of God and man, and shun even the shadow of that vile thing.
36. Honor above all books the shastras of the prophets of all ages, for in these scriptures is deep wisdom, the wisdom of inspiration, and give unto them unsectarian reverence and homage. 37. And may all thy studies and readings, O devout scholar, conduce to the glorifying of the Science of the New Dispensation!
CHARITIES. 1. The house that hath no charity is not the house of God, though it may have all the ostentation of daily worship and roar with noisy prayers.
2. Faith without charity is hollow pietism, it is a barren tree that beareth no fruit.
3. He who professeth love for the Father but hath no love for the brother is a hypocrite and an impostor, who hides selfishness in sack cloth.
4. But in the truly devout the love of God is like an overflowing river, which swells and rises, breaks all barriers and spreads over the wide world, filling all its deep places with plenty, and producing a harvest of joy in its parched field.
5. Therefore the householder shall eschew selfishness as a curse and an abomination, and make his home the home of charity and love.
6. Yet not in a spirit of pride and arrogance shalt thou give unto the poor, despising them as low outcasts worthy only of contempt and pity.
7. But thou shalt honor the poor and the needy, and account it a privilege and a virtue to serve them.
8. For if charity blesses him that receives, does it not bless him a hundred fold who gives? It giveth silver to the recipient, but to the donor it bringeth gold.
9. Verily, verily he who giveth to the poor giveth to the Lord, and therefore shall charity be always magnified even as giving unto the Lord.
10. In so great and divine a work then be not idle or indifferent or weary, but let it ever be thine ambition to do the greatest amount of charity with the limited resources and opportunities at thy disposal.
11. Nor should thy charity be fitful, a mere outburst of temporary sentimentalism.
12. Thou shalt organise charity as a domestic institution, so that the angel of mercy may never sleep in the house of God.
13. Whensoever the poor come and seek shelter, food or help, let them find in thee a ready helper, and let them not return disappointed seeing thy doors closed or thy hand unwilling.
14. Give to every suppliant a willing ear, even to the humblest and the poorest, and hear all that he has got to say, and then consider the merits of his case dispassionately and charitably.
15. If he is a fit object of charity feed him, clothe him, or serve him otherwise, with a reverent and cheerful heart.
16. When thou buyest thy month's provisions for thy family buy rice and flour for the poor, and let the same be especially set apart in thy store room, and consecrated unto charity, and used exclusively for that purpose.
17. And all thine old clothes and worn out things thou shalt lay aside every month, and distribute among those who need them, thus utilizing even things that are rejected and neglected.
18. Thou shalt also give regular monthly grants to charitable societies according to thy means, and never shalt thou withhold or discontinue them on the plea of poverty.
19. For if thy means fail and thy resources prove insufficient for thine own household thou shalt curtail thy charities accordingly, but thou hast no right to deprive the poor of their due.
20. Remember that the money thou hast is not thy property to be used at thy will and pleasure, but a sacred trust committed to thy hands by the Lord for His own purposes.
21. And He has commanded and charged each of his believers, even the poorest, to spend a certain proportion every month for the benefit of others, and therefore thou shalt on no account misappropriate such money to thine own selfish ends.
22. Ye trustees of the Lord's charity fund, render unto Him a faithful account of your stewardship, and let monthly debit sheet show the actual payment of the amount due to the poor.
23. Charity embraceth a wide variety of useful services for the benefit of society, and many are the errands of mercy.
24. To feed the hungry, to give water to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to nurse the sick, to build houses for the homeless, to console the bereaved, to relieve the sufferings of the widow and the orphan, to assist the indigent student with books, to help the establishment and maintenance of hospitals, schools, and churches, these are ordinary works of charity, to which thou shalt apply thy heart and energy and substance whensoever occasion arises.
25. And there are extraordinary works too which the Lord enjoins upon thee at particular times and seasons.
26. When famine breaks out in the land or plague or epidemic or fire, or some disaster befalls hundreds of people in thine own country or elsewhere, bringing ruin and starvation and distress, thou shalt render prompt succour and do thy best in all possible ways to alleviate suffering.
27. In the summer months when the sun is powerful provide cooling drink, sherbet and ice for the thirsty, and let the weary, traveller and the over-worked laborer find at thy door rest and refreshment, and a constant supply of pure water flowing from the fountain of mercy.
28. So when it is cold thou shalt provide warm clothing for the poor and the ragged who suffer from the inclemencies of the weather.
29.
Thou shalt not encourage idleness and pauperism by indiscriminate charity, but thou shalt only help the deserving. 30. Let not thy gifts be announced with a flourish of trumpets that men may applaud and glorify thee, but when thou givest let thy hand give secretly and modestly, not courting popularity.
31. True charity is not in the hand but in the heart, not in the deed but in the wish, and unto the Lord is more acceptable the widow's mite than the splendid gifts of heartless liberality.
32. Blessed are they who live for others and dedicate themselves, body and mind, to the service of humanity, for they shall have their reward here and hereafter.
RELATIONS. 1. Hallowed are the relationships and duties of the household, and woe unto him who neglects them as things earthly.
2. Many there are who boast of great things, such as yoga and bhakti, asceticism and philanthropy, and in their conceit forget the smaller concerns of their daily life and affect to despise their parents, their wives and children.
3. They fancy they soar in heaven, and they think it mean to touch the ground of earthly duty.
4. But these men are without excuse before heaven's judgment, for the Lord Himself hath established and sanctified all household relationships and all domestic duties hath He enjoined, and each proud transgressor will He visit with condign punishment.
5. Thinkest thou, child of conceit, that thy home is an unholy lodging, and thy parents and children and wife, mere brute relations to whom thou owest no moral obligations?
6. Nay, regard thy home as the Lord's home and all thy relations as sacred relations, whom the Lord has called thee to honor and serve.
7. Not the least in the Lord's family darest thou despise or neglect.
8. And for each little obligation thou shalt be called to account here and hereafter.
9. Dost thou not know, O man, who thy parents are? Thy father and thy mother are of heaven heavenly.
10. Thou shalt revere them and bow before them and give them reverential homage as unto holy persons.
11. For who on earth is so great as thy father? And thy mother, is she not high as heaven?
12. Thy father and thy mother hath the Lord appointed as His representatives in the domestic world to nurse His children and train them in His ways.
13. In thy father behold thy heavenly Father, and in thy mother behold the heavenly Mother's love incarnate.
14. Verily, as scripture saith, parents are divine persons and ought to be revered and served as such:
Mataram pitaram chaiba sakshat pratyaksha devatam,
Matva grihi nishebeta sada sarva prajatnatah.
-- Mahanirvan viii. 24.
15. Children, obey your parents, serve them to the best of your ability, satisfy their requirements, relieve their sufferings, and gladden their hearts with words of sweet affection.
16. Labor with your body and mind as long as ye live to discharge the debt of obligation which ye owe to your loving parents, a debt immense as the shoreless sea.
17. And when they are old and infirm take good care of them, give them your best services for their temporal well being, and cheer them with sacred readings and sacred music for the benefit of their souls.
18. Let not your services be hollow and external drudgery, like those of a hireling, but the overflowing of intense affection, fervent gratitude and loyal attachment.
19. Ye sons and daughters in God's household, under benign parental discipline and guidance daily grow in faith and righteousness and love.
20. Parents, give your children physical, moral and spiritual education, and train them up for the Lord.
21. Too much indulgence corrupteth the child, and likewise too much severity.
22. Therefore, in moderation shall parental authority be exercised, tempering hard discipline with tender love.
23. Adopt no system of high-pressure trainings, but let the training of children be easy and natural.
24. Be not too meddlesome, but leave them to attain healthy growth under proper influences.
25. Take precaution always that they are not forced into premature and precocious development.
26. Give your children health first — pure air, good food, exercise and rest.
27. And when they are boys and girls give them moral instruction, and when they are young men and young women give them religion.
28. Do not stuff the young head with hard dogmas and doctrines of theology; rejoice not if you see little children utter the catechism parrot-like.
29. In educating and bringing up children the father and the mother shall both take part, for each has a part to fulfil, and unless paternal and maternal influences combine juvenile education is incomplete.
30. Then is the child's education perfected when all the virtues of the father and all the graces of the mother unite in his character.
31. From evil company and from all demoralizing influences guard the young.
32. Give your boys and girls select books and select companions, and present to them good pictures and illustrated moral anecdotes, that their tender and susceptible hearts may catch the best impressions in early life.
33. Develop in the young a taste for the poetry and beauty of nature and cultivate in them a love of flowers.
34. If there is a garden attached to the house let them go about looking at plants and trees, evergreens and flowers, and let them also take part in gardening.
35. And if there are domesticated animals and birds in the house let the children be taught to treat them kindly, to feed them and caress them.
36. Children in God's household shall always be distinguished for kindness to animals, yea even to little ants and insects.
37. Honor little children, for of such is the kingdom of heaven, and be it always your ambition and care so to train them that their innocence may develop into holiness and they may be sure of heaven hereafter.
38. And in the education of children all earthly parents shall ever look up to the Supreme Parent as their guide and pattern.
BROTHERS AND SISTERS. 1. Brothers, love your sisters: sisters, love your brothers.
2. For ye are born of the same parents, and the Lord calleth such to be knit together in the sweetest affection solely because of their common parentage, and for no other reason.
3. Ye may condemn each other's failings, ye may differ widely in opinion and temper, but ye shall always love with intense affection all of the same parents born.
4. Live in peace, under the parental roof, as one united family, serving one another with pure and disinterested affection, and let no unseemly dispute disturb the harmony.
5. Quarrel not, be not jealous, be not unkind, treat not the elders with disrespect nor the younger ones with contempt.
6. As ye grow in years and get married ye may go and settle elsewhere with your husbands or wives, but there shall be no separation or disunion of hearts though there may be physical separation.
7. Wherever ye may be your hearts shall live in peace and concord, united in lasting fellowship, and nothing shall break the bonds which God hath established.
8. Marriage is a fruitful cause of dissensions between brothers, and the best of brothers have parted and quarreled and proved inveterate enemies because of their quarrelsome wives.
9. Therefore beware; let none cast away the brother of his heart or his dear sister with a view to please his wife. 10. And let no woman be at enmity with her brothers or sisters to please her husband.
11. Realize the sacred Import of the words brotherly love and brotherhood, and let your mutual dealings be such as may truly serve as a pattern and an example of happy and loving fellowship.
12. That thus little brotherhoods and little sisterhoods may eventually swell into a universal brotherhood and a universal sisterhood in the kingdom of heaven, acknowledging and serving God, their common Parent, as a blessed confraternity of loving souls. HUSBAND AND WIFE. 1. Matrimony is a divine institution, and it shall he honored as such.
2. They degrade it to a human Institution and an earthly alliance who treat it as a civil contract.
3. Is the husband merchandize and are wives goods to be bought and sold in the market?
4. Is the registrar the god of marriage and doth his seal ratify the marriage bond?
5. It is the soul that marries, and it is the Lord God and He only who ties the connubial knot between one immortal soul and another.
6. Remember that there is no marriage save that which the Lord Himself solemnizes.
7. Therefore when ye marry invoke not the aid of human law or civil authorities to help you to purchase each other as mercantile commodities under a civil contract, but enter into the sacred bonds of matrimony in the presence and under the seal of the Heavenly Registrar.
8 . And who is there among you who can undertake the awful responsibilities of married life without the Lord's blessing and grace?
9. Bow reverently at the feet of the God of Marriage, and devoutly enter the world of trials and temptations with His blessing on your heads and His light and strength in your hearts. 10. And so long as ye live pray and struggle that the connubial alliance of your souls may be perfected year after year unto an everlasting union in heaven.
11. For marriage is not a final consummation but a progressive state of increasing attachment and growing holiness.
12. No man, no woman is truly or fully married; wedlock is only the first step towards the inner partnership which is yet to be and a type of the higher spirit-union which is yet to grow.
13. Therefore let the husband and the wife be more and more fully married and united in spirit.
14. For now they are only half, then they shall be one, an indivisible unity in the Lord.
15. To this end is marriage; therefore ye husbands and wives, trust each other, honor and love each other, and in all things, temporal and spiritual, try to work in perfect accord and harmony that ye may be one.
16. Let not the husband or the wife arrogantly raise questions of the superiority of his or her sex, but let them honor each other as equals and co-workers in God's household.
17. The husband who treats the wife as a menial servant and cannot trust her chastity unless she is in close custody as a prisoner in the zenana, who would always keep her down as a slave and never allow her to rise, is unworthy of her.
18. So is the wife wholly unworthy of her husband who always tries to enslave him and reign over him and keep him fascinated in the chains of carnality and worldliness.
19. Let there be no tyranny on either side, but united service in the Master's establishment.
20. Though equals let not the man or the woman falsely personate each other's character or usurp each other's functions.
21. The Lord has assigned to each a distinctive character and mission in the family, and let none depart from it.
22. Let not the man be womanly, let him not play the housewife: let not the woman seek to be manly, let her not be ambitious of doing man's work.
23. But let each do the work appointed by the Lord, and maintain towards each other most friendly relations as partners; never quarreling as hostile rivals.
24. Woe unto the woman who contradicts nature and defies God, and leaving her legitimate functions indulges in masculine pursuits and sports and amusements and imitates masculine habits. Ruin awaits her and shame and degradation shall become her lot. 25. If pride ruins the house jealousy is another cause of domestic unhappiness. Eschew jealousy as a lie and a sin.
26. Unfaithfulness is the greatest sin against which both the husband and the wife shall guard themselves, the least thought of unchastity in the heart being accounted an abomination.
27. But chastity which is safe only where there is no danger and is ready to succumb to the temptation is not true chastity. Let conjugal fidelity be proof against all manner of temptation and trial. Let husband and wife be so thoroughly devoted to each other that unchaste thoughts shall become impossible in all circumstances.
28. To chastity add love. The former is negative, the latter positive. The former is the bud, the latter is the blooming flower.
29. The husband and wife shall love each other with passionate and enthusiastic attachment and fondly dwell in each other.
30. As they shall work conjointly in regulating the temporal affairs of the household, they shall also pray together and occasionally converse on the eternal interests of their souls.
31. It is a heavenly spectacle when the husband and the wife sit together in some retired place and pray and sing and commune with the Eternal Spirit with joyful hearts.
32. So may they rise when this life is over to the beatitudes of heaven and enter together the mansions of everlasting holiness and joy!
SERVANTS. 1. Blessed is the house where the servants are kindly treated and their wants carefully attended to.
2. The pride of man so puffeth him that he hates and despises his servants and thinks it mean to look after their well-being.
3. Shall the master serve? The servant alone serveth. So argues the conceited heart.
4. Yes the master serveth, no less than the servant. He who serveth not cannot be a master.
5. Even the Lord of heaven and earth serveth, yea He cometh down daily from His exalted throne to serve even the poorest and the lowest of His servants. 6. Then fling away thy pride, boastful man, and think it truly divine to serve those who come to serve thee.
7. The householder led by the spirit of God shall look upon the menials under him as his children worthy of his tenderest care and paternal solicitude.
8. Let him remember that the Lord holds him accountable for these wards committed to his guardianship.
9. And let the master of the house be unto the servants their father, and the mistress of the house their mother, so shall there be exceeding joy among them, and they shall serve both loyally and cheerfully.
10. When thou engagest thy servant give him clearly to understand what his work shall be, explaining to him the exact nature of his duties, the total quantity of work he shall have to perform, the number of hours he shall be allowed to rest each day, and also the precise time when he shall get his wages, whether weekly or monthly or quarterly.
11. Let not wages accumulate, for then the householder runs into debt and brings upon himself the double curse of breaking a sacred contract and inflicting sorrow and suffering, improvidence and debt and habits of recklessness upon the poor and helpless, while he himself rejoices in plenty and eats his bread merrily.
12. Wilt thou cruelly deprive thy servant of his due and deny him his bread and salt while thou art fattening thyself and thy children with his money?
13. God forbid! Against such atrocious selfishness, injustice and inhumanity may He guard thee!
14. Tempt not thy servant, for he who bringeth the poor and the weak into temptation committeth grievous sin.
15. If thou givest thy servant no definite work to do but leavest him amid the uncertainties of a wide sea of general service, making him thy butler, tailor, cook and groom, and loading him with all manner of responsibilities, thou temptest him to be negligent and idle and unfit, and thou spoilest him with too much work and too many cares.
16. The servant who is expected to do everything shall do nothing satisfactorily and shall always cause his master trouble and vexation.
17. Nor shalt thou tempt thy servant by leaving thy cash and jewellery and other precious things scattered on all sides. Nor shalt thou give him charge of thy household furniture and goods without making a list of them or distinctly making him responsible for them.
18. He who keeps no account of his own things, is extravagant and reckless, and does not keep his servants under control and a strict sense of accountability must not wonder or regret if his things are constantly missing and disappearing and his servants growing in dishonesty and unfair dealings.
19. How many have made honest servants dishonest by leading their weak hearts into temptations!
20. These men sin against God by losing through negligence the things in His house of which they are responsible custodians, and they sin against man by plunging him into temptation and corruption: — verily the Lord will punish both the negligent master and dishonest servant.
21. The apartments assigned to the servants shall not be damp or unhealthy: let them have healthy rooms, comfortable bed, warm clothing in winter and nourishing food.
22. And when they are ill neglect not to supply them with proper medicine and diet.
23. As thou shalt punish and scold thy servants when they are disobedient or negligent, thou shalt gladden them with kind words and make them handsome presents when they discharge their duties to thy satisfaction.
24. On occasions of religious festival and domestic ceremony give the menials in thy establishment a joyful feast.
25. The fruits of the season, ice, sweet-meats, clothes and shoes, new or old, shall also prove acceptable presents, and shall cause thy servants to smile and bless thee.
26. Let the man servant and the woman servant live apart from each other, and let them not by cultivating undue familiarity bring scandal and corruption into the Lord's house.
27. Dissipation and drunkenness thou shalt check among thy servants with the severest discipline.
28. Thou shalt also keep thy children from contracting evil habits in the company of bad servants: these have ruined many a family.
29. Beware of the seductive charms of frail women and harlots who often seek employment in the guise of domestic servants and entrap and ruin the unwary. Against such foul pest close thy doors. 30. Do all in thy power to enforce the strictest moral discipline among thy servants and lead them into the paths of honesty, sobriety and purity.
31. If they can read fail not to put in their hands cheap journals and illustrated popular magazines that they may find profitable employment for their minds during leisure hours.
32. When they are engaged in devotion or other religious exercises interrupt them not.
33. If they are of thy faith admit them occasionally to such services or hymns or readings in the house as may be interesting and profitable to them.
34. As God rules His servants so shalt thou rule thy servants righteously and in mercy.
CEREMONIES. 1. The householder shall perform all domestic ceremonies in the name of the One Holy God.
2. And he shall shun all admixture of idolatry and superstition.
3. Neither shall he bow before the gods of the land seeking to please kith and kin, nor shall he introduce new forms of idol-worship or new superstitions of his own devising. 4. The purity of his faith shall he preserve unsullied in all rites and ceremonies, and his conscience shall he keep clean and undefiled.
5. Be not addicted to forms and pompous symbolism, and always avoid pageantry and show.
6. For the heart that panteth after these shall prefer the thing of the senses to the things of the spirit and run into the excesses of ritualism. 7. Encumber not the spirit with too many empty forms, but adopt only such rites as the spirit demands and needs, so that the form may be subservient to the spirit and not the spirit to the form.
8. The children of the Spirit rejoice in simplicity, not the superfluity of external observances.
9. There is no merit in rites and ceremonies, no sanctifying efficacy in outward objects or forms.
10. The purest and the grandest rite hath no saving power in itself, nor are things in themselves hallowed which we call hallowed.
11. Flowers and incense, fire and water, flags and pictures may prove helpful to devotion; but woe unto him who magnifies them as sacred things.
12. Times and seasons, hours and months may be appointed for particular devotional or household purposes and may therefore seem holy; but woe unto him who ascribes holiness unto them and thinks other seasons unholy.
13. Recitations of scriptural texts, priestly ministrations, ablutions, vows, all these verily have their uses, and may be made to subserve most sacred purposes; but woe unto him who thinks that they are therefore sacred in themselves and none is saved without their saving merits.
14. And yet thou shalt observe all rites and ceremonies enjoined by the Lord with becoming solemnity, doing nothing recklessly or with irreverence. 15. Whenever there is a domestic festival to be celebrated or any important sacrament to be performed conduct thyself according to the rules and discipline of thy Church, so that the ceremony may be solemn and impressive.
16. And let ail the members of the Holy Church adopt uniformity of procedure and a fixed and definite ritual in matters essential leaving room for differences in things non-essential to suit varying tastes and the diverse needs and customs of different races and communities.
17. Thus shall there be unity of worship and likewise unity of ritual in the homes of all who are loyal to the Holy One and His Church.
JATKARMA Oft BIRTH-FESTIVAL. 1. When a child is born there shall be rejoicing in the house.
2. And the occasion shall be celebrated with becoming demonstrations of joy and gratefulness.
3. For is not the birth of a child the advent of an immortal soul, the enlistment of a new soldier to fight against evil and establish the kingdom of heaven on earth, a fresh accession to the ranks of workers in the Lord's vineyard, and the appearance of a new star of joy and hope in the firmament of the domestic world to gladden the hearts of parents? 4. Is not the child a precious gift of Providence, a fresh proof of the Lord's loving kindness?
5. Is not this new-born babe an angel of innocence and divine beauty in whose face is the image of the very God?
6. Wilt thou then treat this great event in the household with cynical indifference, O householder?
7. Rejoice father and mother, brother and sister, rejoice all ye in God's house, rejoice kinsmen and neighbours, and give unto this bright angel a fitting reception and a joyful welcome, and pour out your heart's thanksgivings unto the Merciful Lord.
8. After the birth of the child it shall be thoroughly washed and cleansed and anointed, and dressed in a suit of fresh garment of pure white linen shall be presented to the mother.
9. And the mother shall joyfully look at the child, and kiss it with overflowing affection.
10. And then assuming a prayerful attitude she shall thus invoke Divine blessing: Lord, I have seen the face of this new-born child Thou hast given me. I thank Thee for Thy gift. Father, bless this child, and make It Thine for ever.
11. Then shall the father come and see the child and pray likewise.
12. And then shall brothers and sisters come, and other relatives, and they shall behold the face of the babe with joy and thankfulness, and pray for Divine blessing in their hearts.
13. Great care shall be taken of the child for four weeks after confinement, and the laws of health and sanitation shall be rigidly observed under medical advice and direction, and it shall be treated as a sacred trust.
14. Within a month from the day of birth the jatkarma or birth-festival of the child shall be celebrated.
15. The sanctuary shall be decorated with fresh flowers on the day appointed.
16. After the introductory portion of the usual morning service the father shall stand before the family altar, and offer the following prayer:
17. Merciful God, I thank Thee for having with tender care protected this child in the mother's womb, and preserved it, in its helpless and defenceless condition, from all manner of danger and disease. I thank Thee that, in darkness and solitude, Thou didst shape its limbs with artistic symmetry and beauty, and having furnished it with all necessary appliances Thou hast in the fulness of time brought it into the world to do Thy work and serve Thy people. And as I thankfully bow before Thee for this Thy gift, which is unto me a fresh token of Thy love, a treasure and a joy, grant that I may fully realize my responsibility and discharge my stewardship with fidelity. Conscious of my weakness and imperfections I cast myself under Thy guidance, and most humbly do I beseech Thee to give me faith and strength and true paternal love, that I may as Thy devoted servant keep this infant under Thy guardianship and care, and rear it for Thy service. Bless this child, and be unto it Father and Mother and Friend, that it may ever repose on Thy tender lap far from all evil.
God of this house, make the new-born child a real joy in all things unto its parents and a blessing to the whole family. For all Thy mercies, Good God, we ascribe unto Thee glory everlasting.
18. Then shall the minister pronounce the benediction, and the entire congregation shall say:
Peace, Peace, Peace.
19. A hymn shall be chanted, suitable to the occasion, at the close of the ceremony.
NAMKARAN OR NOMINATION CEREMONY. 1. The namkaran ceremony shall be held within six months from the date of the birth of the child.
2. On the day appointed, the child shall be taken into the bath-room for the ablution.
3. It shall be anointed with flower-oil, and then out of a new and clean cistern water shall be poured on its head, and the body shall be rubbed and cleansed.
4. The child shall then be dressed in a new suit of clothes appropriate to the occasion and decorated with ornaments such as the means of the parents shall provide, not profusely but tastefully.
5. Let sandal wood be rubbed against a piece of stone with water, and let the fragrant paint be applied to the forehead of the child, as is the national custom.
6. And during all this time there shall be national music as is usual on such occasions, to add joy to the festivity. 7. The relatives and guests shall enter the family sanctuary or assemble in some other place appointed for the purpose and elegantly decorated with evergreens and flowers and flags of various colours.
8. The minister of the congregation to which the family belongs shall officiate as family priest, or the upadhaya, or some other missionary or elder of the Church. 9. He shall conduct service in the prescribed order, and at the conclusion of the introductory portion the minister shall send for the child.
10. The father of the child shall carry it on his arms, and standing before the vedi in the midst of the congregation.
11. He shall pray in the manner following:
O Lord of the universe, whom we love and trust and adore as our Household Deity, to Thee I present and commend this my beloved child. Merciful Father, Thou hast safely preserved and nourished this helpless child amid the dangers of the world: and as a Loving Mother Thou hast nursed and suckled it, and it has grown from day to day in strength and stature in the sweet milk of life Thy breast hath supplied. And now, having made it fit, Thou hast called it into Thy presence to give it a name whereby it shall be designated and known unto the world as a person and establish its individuality as a member of the human family; and also to put into its mouth the first morsel of strong food in substitution for the milk of helpless infancy, and thereby celebrate, amid the festive joy of the family, its initiation into man's estate. For all these mercies accept, O God, my warmest thanks. Help us to approach Thee with abounding gratefulness and joy in our hearts, and present this child of Thine at Thy holy feet for the honors Thou hast reserved for it. Graciously vouchsafe unto this child Thy sweet kiss and Thy tender blessing, and give it to-day its name and its rightful place in Thy house. And while its lower self takes its position in the world, grant, O Spirit Eternal, that its soul may grow and be fitted for its true place among the immortals in Thy heavenly kingdom. Grant unto us strength that we may so train and educate this child that it may prove Thy dutiful child and faithful servant. Make it truly a joy unto its parents and an ornament of the family. Be with this our beloved child for ever, and prosper it under Thy benignant care. Unto Thy holy and merciful Name be glory and honor time without end!
12. The child shall then be presented to the arms of the minister and he shall thus name the child: In the presence of God Almighty and before the congregation of His faithful believers I give unto the son [or daughter] of Sri ..... the name Sriman [or Srimati] ..... May the Lord of Mercy bless and prosper the child!
13. A flower garland shall the minister put round the neck of the child, and kissing its forehead thus bless it: In the name of our good God I bless thee, dear child, and to His care I commend thee.
14. The whole congregation shall then say
Peace, Peace, Peace.
15. And the usual benediction and a suitable hymn shall conclude the proceedings.
16. Service over, the child shall be taken into the inner apartments and presented to the mother, who shall carry it on her arms into the dining-room, which shall be tastefully decorated for the occasion, the ladies of the house and all the female relatives and children forming a procession.
17. The child shall be seated on a small wooden raised seat or carpet.
18. And rice and curries of all sorts, fruits and sweet-meats shall be arranged on plates before the child.
19. Out of these dishes, the mother shall put into the child's mouth a little of each, beginning with rice or rice-pudding or bread, saying: This rice I administer unto thee. The Lord bless the rice unto thy well-being.
20. After the mother has administered rice and curries, the chief among the female relatives and guests shall do likewise.
21. And as the child eats, the ladies shall sound the conch-shell and the children shall make joyful sounds. 22. There shall also be music at the time in the outer courtyard of the house.
23. After the rice ceremony is over the child shall be brought into the parlour, where relatives and friends shall make presents and impart blessings and kisses and good wishes.
