I am leaving for India to visit Panditji and the Vedic Life Foundation in Kanpur early on September 27th.
This means that you must have your reservations in for the Nine Days of Mother Divine yagya by midnight on the 26th, Friday night. Please visit http://www.jyotish-yagya.com/9days-oct2008.html to review your options and send us your confirmation email.
I will be out of touch while traveling and unable to give your yagya requests to Panditji until the afternoon of the 29th, leaving very little time for him to organize pandits for yagyas to start on the 30th! The fun thing is that I’ll be able to look over at him in his office and say, “Panditji, Mary wishes to be included in the Nine Days of Mother Divine yagya.” I’ll get to speak with him rather than email.
Pictures and commentary on my trip will appear at regular daily intervals, assuming that I’ll have internet access. Note that we are in Mercury Retrograde fromSeptember 24th to October 15th. This is a time when Mercury appears to move backward in its orbit. There tend to be problems with communications, travel, and electronics. So, Mercury willing, I’ll have news here each day about my trip and Vedic Life.
You’re going to get an intimate window into the workings of the Vedic Life Foundation. I’ll be interviewing not only Pandit Dixit, but also some of his Pandits. I’m going to ask questions about where they got started, what it was like to begin studying Vedic Science at the tender age of 5, what are the parts of a yagya, what is the samkalpa (intention) in planetary yagyas, how to get the most from your yagyas or what influences the results, and your questions too!
Please email me with your questions to present to the Pandits. I’ll ask them one by one and post the MP3 recordings of the interviews. I’m new to blogging with Wordpress but if you post a question on the blog, I’ll get it to the Pandits.
Chuck,
I am curious about your comment above concerning the age of study. Is it common for the pandits to begin study at age 5, or is this true only of Pandit Dixit? Do the Pandits choose their path, is this decided by their family, or are they otherwise selected in some way?
Thank you for your willingness to be a messenger and reporter.
Continued blessings on your journey.
Hi Redheads!
Thanks for your excellent questions and your blessings!
It is common for the children to be chosen by other Vedic scholars at the tender age of 5. Sometimes they are chosen from within the Brahmin families, and other Brahmin families may feel that their young sons are excellent candidates for becoming Vedic Priests. I’ll pose your questions to Panditji at lunch today.
Dear Redheads,
I asked Panditji about the children being taken away from their families at the tender age of 5.
He said that this is the way it has always been done far into antiquity. The children are noticed in the village as standing out from the rest of the Brahmin community. They are the best of the best. Jyotishis study their charts extensively and verify their potential.
The children are well cared for in the ’seminary’. They are taught the chants and developed into Pandits beginning at this age because that is what it takes to create a Holy Person who can remain focused and remember all the chants that need to be delivered. It is said that it takes several lifetimes to learn Sanskrit alone.
Along with their studies of the Ved, verbal and written lessons in Sanskrit and all the Sacred Texts, they are well fed, their health maintained at a radiant level, and they get to play each day!
So, in a way, Pandits do choose their paths. They choose them in an earlier life by their actions so that their present karma brings them to the Ved.
Interestingly, some choose a different path once they’ve reached a particular summit. Ashish, who is my guide in Delhi, lives there and works in marketing. He does not chant yagyas at the Ashram any more. But he does remain a trusted and beloved member of their community. I’m really happy to have him as my anchor man in Delhi.