Thread Ceremony - Parsi and Hindu.

Navjot

The initiation ceremony, or the Navjot, is the occasion when th child is admitted into the Zoroastrian fold, and is then invested with the outward symbols of the Faith-the shirt (sudreh) and the girdle (kusti). This investiture is a very ancient Aryan custom and is pre-Zoroastrian. It has been practised among all the Aryans since immemorial ages. Both the Hindus and the Zoroastrians have kept it up to this day. But there are some ramarkable differences to be observed between the two peoples to-day. In the first place, among the Parsis both boys and girls are invested with the shirt and the girdle, whereas among the Hindus the investiture is for boys alone and not for girls. The Zoroastrian have kept up the ancient form of the dress almost unchanged, viz., both the shirt and the girdle. But among the Hindus the shirt had dwindled down to a mere thread-the sacred thread worn across the chest and over the left shoulder, while the girdle, though worn at the time of the investiture, has dropped out almost completely. There is a third thing also necessary with the shirt and the girdle, a covering for the head. Fifty years ago no Parsi would have remained bare-headed either by day or by night; and even to-day, though the men have adopted the European costume and they go about bare-headed most of the time, still at the times of prayers, inside the temples and during all religious ceremonies the wearing of a small velvet or silken skull-cap is compulsory. Orthodox and old fashioned women tie up their hair with a white cotton kerchief, so as to have the head always covered, and even though today kerchief has been discarded, still at prayer time their head must be covered either with the kerchief or with their silk sari. Among the Hindus the tuft of hair worn on the top of the head by the men -the shikha- corresponds in its original object with the cap of the Parsi.

The Navjot (literally, 'the New Birth') ceremony marks the second birth of the child, i.e., into the Zoroastrian fold. The ceremony, it is enjoined, should take place between the ages of seven and fifteen, but it is rarely postponed beyond the age of puberty and usually the age is between seven and nine. After this investiture the Zoroastrian has to wear the shirt and the girdle day and night (except while bathing), and these constitute the dress of the body of a Zoroastrian when it is carried to the last resting place.

The shirt is a loose garment of white cotton, the colour implying Asha, the fundamental doctrine of Zoroaster's Faith. It is called sudreh, which word, according to some scholars, means 'the Good Path'. It is usually short-sleeved and reaches down nearly to the knees. It has no collar and is cut low down over the chest; and in the centre there is a small pouch or bag-shaped attachment sewn on. This is called the gireh-ban. This is the most important part of the garment, for it is the symbolical repository of the good thoughts, the good words and the good deeds of the wearer.

The kusti is woven out of while lamb's wool, and the process of weaving it is a complex one. It is prepared, as a rule, only by women of the priestly class, though nowadays sometimes non-priestly women also may weave it. First of all the wool, is spun into a fine thread, and two threads of the requisite length are twisted together, symbolising the union of the Two Spirits for manifestation. Then seventy-two such double strands are taken and woven together into a long thin hollow tape. The number seventy-two represents the seventy-two chapters of the Yasna, the most important book of the Scriptures. The hollow tape is then turned carefully inside out after which there is a ceremonial washing and finally it is rolled up tightly. Every detail in the preparation of the kusti is symbolical, the seventy-two strands are divided into six groups of twelve each, these numbers also having definite significance.

As worn over the sudreh, the kusti goes round the waist thrice, to signify the three commandments of Zoroaster-humata, hukhta, huvarshta. It is secured by 'a sailor's knot' before and behind. Each twist of these knots is meant to bring one important truth to the mind of the wearer: (1)that God is the One Eternal Being, (2) that the Mazdayasni Faith is the true Faith, (3) that Zoroaster is the true inspired Prophet of God, and (4) that the wearer shall try to obey the three commandments.

Upanayana

In the Hindus this ceremony is essential to the members of the three higher classes and marks a boy's official acceptance into his varna. At this point he becomes "twice-born." Everyone has a first, biological birth, but when a young man seeks his spiritual identity he symbolically accepts a spiritual teacher as father and the Vedas as mother. He may also receive a new, spiritual name. At the ceremony, he receives the jenoi (sacred-thread), usually worn for his entire lifetime. It is replaced at intervals, but never removed until the new one has been put on. There is a separate samskara marking the beginning of education, but today the two ceremonies are often combined.

Upanayana means "sitting close by," referring to the boy's taking shelter of the guru (spiritual teacher). Traditionally, he would move away from home to the teacher's ashram, called "gurukula." Even members of the royal family were trained to live simply without luxury or sense-gratification, in order to keep their minds pure and unspoiled. When later married, they would remain attached to the spiritual values they imbibed during their school days. The emphasis at gurukula was on the study of the Vedas and development of character.

The ceremony itself involves shaving the head, bathing and wearing new clothes. The boy may also beg alms from his mother and from other relatives. There is a havan and the investiture of the sacred thread, which hangs over his left shoulder. The boy will then hear the Gayatri mantra from his priest or guru, who may give him a spiritual name to signify his "second birth". Thereafter, wrapping the thread round the thumb of his right hand, he will chant this prayer thrice daily, at dawn, noon, and dusk. The boy takes vows to study the Vedas, serve his teachers and follow certain vows, including celibacy. He often concludes the ceremony by offering the traditional dakshina (gift) to his teacher.