NISHKAMAN SACRAMENT
(Taking child out in fresh air)
Nishkraman Sacrament
is the sixth sacrament. ‘Nishkraman’ means to take outside(the house). Until now
the child was being raised within the four walls of the house. The child will
not always remain within the closed environment of the house but has to move out
side the house as well. If the true meaning of this sacrament is understood, and
it is appreciated that the objective is to give emphasis on the importance of
the air we breathe which is charged with solar energy, and further, that the
child has to be brought out of a lower level of living into the natural healthy
environment, then Nishkraman sacrament is no less important than any other
sacrament.
The
Time for performance of Nishkraman Sacrament.
The
child, if healthy and well, should be taken out of the house into the sun two
months after birth, however if the child is weak then the timing should be three
months after birth. If the child is taken out earlier, then the child is likely
to be adversely affected by the heat or cold. The reason for including
Nishkraman sacrament as part of the sixteen sacraments is to ensure that parents
pay attention to it. Just as several rules are made for maintenance of good
health on reaching the stage of youth, such as morning exercises, playing
football in the afternoon so as to maintain strong body, in the same way as soon
as the child is born it has been made necessary through sacrament that two or
three months after birth the child should not remain in the closed environment
of the house but enjoy the clean air and the beautiful sunshine outside.
Physiologists say that for the
balanced development of our body it is necessary for calcium and phosphorous to
be absorbed. A person becomes restless and irritable in proportion to the amount
of calcium lacking in the blood. Without Vitamin D calcium would not be absorbed
in the body. Neither milk nor curd contains Vitamin D. It is only available in
sun light hence it is necessary to expose the body to sunlight so that there
in no weakness due to lack of Vitamin D and also that calcium and phosphorous
are absorbed by the body through the effect of sunlight.
The importance of viewing the sun
The
universe is controlled by two elements -heat and cold. In the material sense
the heat in the body is the sign of life, the cooling of the body is a sign of
loss of life energy. From psychological view point the movement of the mind is a
sign of mental power and the immobility of the mind is a sign of mental
weakness. Therefore the child is exposed to the sun as soon as he/she takes the
first step in life, so that the child becomes mobile and active like the sun.
The
importance of viewing the moon
The
moon provides coolness. Excessive heat can be damaging. From psychological point
of view thinking at a very high pace can produce mental disorder, therefore mad
persons are called moonstruck or lunatic. In English ‘lunar’ means ‘moon’. After
viewing the moon water is taken in the palm and then thrown down on the ground.
The act of throwing the water downwards means that mental disorders resulting
from the effect of the moon are pushed away downwards. Water can take any
shape, in the same way the mind is influenced by the environment. The mind
should only indulge in positive thinking, just as the sun’s positive action
converts water into vapour and raises it. Discard lowly feelings, just as we
throw down the water from the palm-this is the meaning of all these
proceedings.
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