Talk:Meaning of Saṁskāras
By Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami
What is karma? It means work. Suppose you have to make a veṣṭi (dhoti). There are a number of processes, a number of works for it. The cotton has to be gathered from the field; it has to be cleaned and spun into yarn; then the yarn has to be woven into cloth and dyed. In the same way a man has to be made a knower of the Ātman through a series of rituals. Karma has to be performed in such a way as to purify him both outwardly and inwardly. Such a karma is called saṁskāra.
That which removes the impurities from an object, takes away all the bad or evil elements, and imparts good qualities to it is saṁskāra. For instance, we talk of "keśa-saṁskāra". It means shaving or delousing and applying oil to the hair. Saṁskāra is like combing the hair and applying oil to it.
Certain types of saṁskāra are conducted on land. First the land is allowed to dry in the sun, then it is ploughed and irrigated. Seeds, say, of paddy, are sown and after they sprout the seedlings are transplanted. The weeds are removed, the field irrigated again and the excess water drained off. When the corn is ripe, the crop is harvested, threshed and the chaff winnowed. The paddy has to be "seasoned" and pounded before the rice is used.
How many different steps are there in making cotton into a veṣṭi. The weaver has to take great care that the yarn does not get tangled. Our Self is in a tangle caused by the senses. It has to be untangled and made eternally happy. There are many obstacles to accomplishing this. Now and then we experience some happiness in the midst of all our trouble and suffering. This happiness must be made to endure for ever. For that we must go to Brahmaloka. In the presence of Īśvara there will be no sorrow. After the great deluge we will become one with him. We have to prepare ourselves now itself towards that end.
The sages have laid down the forty saṁskāras and the eight Ātmaguṇas for this purpose.
When we use the term Ātmaguṇa or speak about the Ātman being rendered pure, there is a suggestion that we are dualists (Dvaitins) who hold that the individual self is different from the Paramātman. In truth there is only one Ātman, one Self, and there is no difference between the jīvātman or individual self and the Parabrahman. The Self is ever pure. So it is wrong to believe that it has to be purified by the saṁskāras. It is nirguṇa, unconditioned and without attributes. So it is also wrong to speak of what are called Ātmaguṇas, since the Ātman has truly no guṇas or qualities or attributes.
However in practice, owing to Māyā we do not realise that we are the Ātman without qualities. It is the Self perceived in our dualistic life that is referred to when we speak of saṁskāras and it is full of impurities that have to be removed through the saṁskāras. It has also durguṇas or bad qualities which have to be removed by cultivating the eight good qualities. Once we succeed in this, there will be neither any saṁskāra nor any guṇa. We will transcend all guṇas, all qualities, including the highest of them, sattvaguṇa. Finally there will be only the Self without any karma, without any guṇas and without any distinction between the jīvātman and the Paramātman. But to come to this state we have to go through the process of saṁskāras and cultivate the eight Ātmaguṇas.
If we wish to emulate the example of the noble character of the Purāṇas, we will have to contend against various obstacles like our attachments and desires, our feelings of hatred and fear. We will have to be disciplined through works and we will have to observe the rules about our daily routine, about how we should sit and stand and eat and dress. In this way we will rein in our mind, subdue our passions and ego, and our feelings of anger, hatred, fear and sorrow will gradually wither away. The saṁskāras and Ātmaguṇas are interconnected. They will help us to acquire the qualities of the noble Purāṇic characters whose stories we listen to or read.