Perform his Thread Ceremony

Saint Baba Maharaj Arvikar performing the diksha (initiation) of Saint Madhav Swami during the thread ceremony

One time, when Saint Baba Maharaj Arvikar was staying at Kakuma’s home in Mumbai, Kakuma noticed Baba deep in thought, resting on the armchair in his room. She was always paying attention and checking on Baba, just to see if he wanted anything. 

That day, when asked about what he was thinking about, Baba said, “Ma, Madhava’s thread ceremony should happen.”

Kakuma, having seen Saint Madhav Swami wear his sacred thread (which is only worn after a thread ceremony), replied, “But Baba, his thread ceremony is already done.”

Baba didn’t say anything. 

A little while later, as soon as Madhav Swami retuned from some errand, Baba asked him, in front of Kakuma, “Madhava, has your thread ceremony happened?”

Then, Saint Madhav Swami said no. 

Kakuma was shocked to hear this.

Since Saint Madhav Swami was born into a family faced with difficult financial circumstances and his father passed away while he was still young, his thread ceremony hadn’t happened. But when he left home, arrived in Alandi and resolved to complete the Dnyaneshwari recitations, at that time in order to appease his hunger, he decided to ask for bhiksha (alms).¹ But since his thread ceremony hadn’t happened yet, he decided to place a sacred thread on Saint Dnyaneshwar Mauli’s samadhi and ask for his blessings. He had faith that his thread ceremony was done with the blessings of and by Saint Dnyaneshwar Mauli. 

Baba had decided to do Madhav Swami’s thread ceremony because it was time for the latter to be given diksha (initiation). One can understand the reason behind this through what Baba says in one of his discourses. 

He says that the sacred thread must be given by the guru, and not by a pandit. The fundamental spiritual custom is that the sadguru should perform the sacred ritual and impart the sanskar of the sacred thread. There are arrangements/provisions for this ceremony to be conducted for all social groups, as prescribed by ancient scriptures. Even if differences have been brought into worldly arrangements, no such distinction exists at the spiritual or dharmic level.

In Indian culture, some rituals have been created. Often, many intellectuals, silly intellectuals, think, “What, do you think we do not know what these traditions and rituals are? These are rituals that are performed during childhood, that is all.”

But the children have no understanding at all of these rituals performed during childhood. So why are they done?

We do it for the impact that divine powers (adhidevik shaktis) have on our physical world. What is adhidevik shakti? All of our karma and the karma gods. These will encourage and motivate you. They will throw you in with various company and that company will influence you, awaken you. It is for the support of those adhidevik shaktis to remain with you day and night, to reduce the obstacles or objections of these powers that we have these rituals. Whether we recognize this or not. 

When these rituals happen to us, it means that later in life, whenever we are faced with emotional or physical adversities, a person can understand how the adversity can go away and be defeated (haran and hanan).

The rituals, through which we gain support are referred to as the adhidevik rituals. If we spend some time thinking about the special rituals that were given a place in the Vedic age, then we can see that an example of this thought is as follows: if a foot steps on a rock, there is no time for thought. There may not be much space for thought, but there is an impact. When the rock and foot come into strong contact, then are you going to think, “My head must break.” No thought is needed! Your head will break! It is not necessary that a thought should have any impact. The relation exists without thinking.

Adhidevik creation has a realm in all of us. That realm should become pure and its company should remain pure. If the sanskar intended to act on it becomes pure, there would be no thought spirals anymore. Remember this. But, because of these rituals, more thought will be created. It was like this, that the sanskar creation happened. 

¹After a thread ceremony, people who are dedicated to the service to god used to go off on their own, and on that path it was customary for them to ask for bhiksha or alms.