What is Samskaras or SANSKARAs (Sanskrit: संस्कार)?
SANSKARA is a practice which we follow by observing our elder generation and mutually follow them. SANSKARA is when a child observes his father shaving; he applies shaving cream on his own cheek or when a child sees her mother applying make-up, then she tries it on herself. it is in general more of observation and following .
SANSKARA has nothing to do with caste, religion, politics, idealism or secularism. It is the practice which we are trained to do. If born as a Hindu, & I practice religious rituals or sing religious rhymes, and continuous constant practice worship by following a particular religious method, than it does not mean that I am a religious person or I believe in god. It is simply a SANSKARA, a practice that I was trained to perform from my childhood. Younger generations tend to copy the older generation, as it gives a sense of social inclusion on a bigger platform. Nature has given humans diverse needs. And to fulfill these needs there is a need for society and these societies bring the need for social inclusion.
NEED AND SANSKARA
So, SANSKARA is also linked to need fulfillment. It satisfies the requirements of human person. Psychological requirements, physical requirements, philosophical requirements, social requirements, and material requirements are fulfilled by social inclusion. And Sanskara is an easy method of social inclusion. These Sanskaras manifest as tendency, karmic impulse, subliminal impression, habitual potency or innate dispositions.
We can’t prove scientifically all the benefits of following our elders and their practices. India is a democratic country and it has a vast history of culture & tradition. The theory of Sanskara has also been used, in ancient Indian texts, to develop explanations for how and why human beings remember anything, the impact of these on memories and impact on his sense of suffering, happiness and connect-ness.
In India, today when we discuss about “SANSKARA”, we talk about moral decay, ethnic depression or western influence but we never discuss the following of practices. If there is a moral decay or change in the traditional practice then who should be responsible for it, who is entitled to provide the better social security or a sense of social inclusion.
SANSKARA is a tool which provides better social inclusion sense. But in this contemporary globalized era, we cannot be depended on old tradition or practices, which have no value now. And there is also a need to strengthen the age old practices which benefits the society and which encourage more social inclusion. So there is a need for encouragement of moral Sanskara i.e. combined old & new practices which benefit the society at large.
So the question rises is the SANSKARA a constant or variable entity? Surely it can’t be constant, with geographical change and evolution process, we change our practice, and therefore SANSKARA also change. We should not force any practice (old or new) on new generation; there is need for creating awareness and consequences of any practices. Let them observe and face this new world with their own understanding. Let them develop their own SANSKARA.
