The auspicious Upanayanam ceremony is a ritual by which a young boy or vatu is invested with the ‘sacred thread’ and is soon after initiated into the celebrated gāyatrī mantra, the holiest of all mantras and a priceless legacy passed down from the ancient sages. After the Upanayanam ceremony is performed, the boy becomes eligible to study the vedas and thus, the ritual signifies a spiritual rebirth for the young vatu.

On 20th and 21st February, 2021, Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai undertook the performance of the sacred Upanayanam ceremony for 84 young vatus. The proceedings began on the evening of Saturday 20 February, as all the vatus, their parents and families gathered for the performance of guru prārthanā, navagraha homa and gāyatrī homa at 5:00 p.m by the entrance of Sri Sathya Sai Premamrutham hall. These prayers and homas were performed as an offering to invoke Goddess Gayatri to bless all the vatus who would be initiated into the sacred gāyatrī mantra during their Upanayanam ceremony the following morning. The rituals were underway when Sadguru arrived and granted Darshan to everyone who was gathered at Premamrutham. Sadguru then sat as Bhajans continued and after some time, He proceeded to the homa kuṇḍa where He performed the final pūrṇāhuti and thereafter blessed everyone with sprinklings of the sacred water from the yajña.

Sadguru then briefly spoke to all the young vatus, revealing that this auspicious occasion marked the official launch of the re-awakening of sanātana dharma which is the real mission of the Sai Avatar. Sadguru also revealed that in times to come, sanātana dharma would spread not only across India but throughout the globe.

As Sadguru concluded His message, He received Mangala Arati as the rituals for the day came to a conclusion.

On the morning of Sunday 21 February, 2021, the rituals began at 8:00 a.m at Premamrutham, where all the vatus and their parents were seated. The event began with prayers to Lord Ganesha to remove all obstacles. Thereafter, the rituals of the Upanayanam ceremony began and Sadguru arrived at Premamrutham at around 9:00 a.m. After granting Darshan, Sadguru took His seat on stage and the proceedings continued as the sacred thread was invested to each boy by his father and the auspicious gāyatrī mantra was chanted into the ears of the young boys. This initiation into the gāyatrī mantra is also known as brahmopadeśa and facilitates the flow of Divine guidance to inspire and illumine the intellect so that the jīva or individual soul may know the paramātma or Supreme Self.

After the ceremony concluded, Sadguru profusely blessed each of the vatus and their parents and lovingly took photographs with all of them. Sadguru then addressed everyone reminding the importance of the Upanayanam ceremony and how the word itself means that it gives one a closer vision of one’s true Self’. When one is born from the mother’s womb, one is no different from an animal but after this sacred ceremony, the jñāna śakti or power of wisdom is awakened, thus bringing one closer to the Divine Self.

Thus, the most auspicious and sacred Upanayanam ceremony came to an end and after receiving Mangala Arati, Sadguru proceeded to partake lunch with the blessed young vatus.