Page 66 - Hinduism

making the soul more and more fit to approach God. So Upanayana is considered to be the most important saṁskāra as, in it, the man is initiated into the worship of God by means of Vedic stanzas and is invested with the sacred thread in token whereof. Worship of God is the essence of religious life. Marriage is also a spiritual act which enables a man to perform Vedic rites which exalt him spiritually and to continue the race which redeems him from his debt to the fore-fathers. By these saṁskāras one’slife becomes living in and for God.
For this purpose our religion teaches not only the above saṁskāras but also detailed rules of conduct which are ethical aids to spirituality. Some of these will be defined below. 1. Śauca or śuddhi is keeping the mind, speech and body clean. Keeping the mind clean is to prevent it from lapsing from sattva into rajas and tamas. Keeping the speech clean is not to utter lies or words calculated to cause pain to other beings. 2. Viveka is discrimination between good and bad, between body and soul. 3. Ārjava is identity of purpose between body, speech and mind. 4. Samatva is feeling pleasure and pain at the pleasure and pain of others. 5. Tusti is being satisfied with what one has. 6, 7. Śama and Dama are controlling the mind and the senses from being attracted by undesirable objects. 8. Dāna is giving to others what one has. 9, Tyāga is renouncing what is not good to oneself. 10. Daya is pity or
sympathy for the suffering of others. 11. Mārdava is 66