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The word kāma has many meanings. It is karma, action; kāma is passion. For humans, it is said that your passion should be utilized for giving birth to a noble human creature. This must be done very consciously, very aware, and with very spiritual consciousness. Therefore, the ṛṣis prescribed the sixteen saṃskāras for the soul who will descend into a human body. A soul that will be liberated and will be a liberator—one incarnated as a savior—arrives thanks to those parents and their wishes, who are advised to prepare for such a soul. These are the sixteen saṃskāras. I will not explain them in detail due to time, but I thought you should know them. I will only tell you the names and their literal meanings, all for the purpose of having the best child, a noble human creature. The first saṃskāra involves the parents, the husband and wife, making preparations for their new generation. This entails purification of the body from all kinds of intoxications: alcohol, nicotine, narcotics, toxic food, meat, eggs, spoiled food. They perform prāṇāyāma four times a year, fast, and eat healthy, fresh food—in that era, all food was organic, so there was no question of organic or non-organic. Then, they search for the best constellation. It may take a few years, but they wait until that constellation arrives. The husband and wife are told to live happily together but follow brahmacarya—a hard time. Then, on that particular constellation, they prepare for conceiving the best child. This is the first saṃskāra. Without it, you cannot receive that divine child; the divine child will not come to you. You are asking the cosmic self to descend into this mortal world. A special energy, a special soul is coming to that mother. Can you imagine the blessed parents of Jesus, in whose lap Jesus played as a baby? Or the blessed parents of Mahāprabhujī, Devpurījī, Holy Gurujī, Kṛṣṇa, or Rāma? Can you imagine a great divine soul incarnating and being in your lap as a small baby? Yes, it could be. But dharma rakṣita rakṣitaha—first, live life according to dharma; protect and save your own dharma and other people's dharma. Otherwise, most people are born "out of the alcohol bottles." The best day for conception, they said, is sixteen days after menstruation. This saṃskāra is called garbhādhāna, meaning achieving or receiving the embryo—becoming pregnant. The second is called puṃsavana saṃskāra. This ceremony takes place in the third month, when it is known she is pregnant. There are mantras and chantings. Now she is not seen as a wife but as a mother, a divine Śakti—respected, helped, served, taken care of, and protected. Now, svadharma and paradharma apply: svadharma is his dharma, and paradharma is her dharma, strī dharma (the woman's dharma). His dharma is to protect both his dharma and her dharma. The ceremony includes mantras for the protection of the embryo, so a healthy, good child will be born. Both husband and wife make a saṅkalpa: they will not do any action, work, have any thoughts or quarrels that may cause abortion or affect the psyche of the child. The third saṃskāra is performed in the fourth month of pregnancy. It is for the development of the child's mental abilities and better brain capacity. It is very important that the lady, our future mother, is very happy all the time. Except for working time, the husband should not leave her alone. He must not go gambling, drinking, or go outside. How to make her happy and relaxed is the duty of the husband. The fourth saṃskāra is called jātakarma. The child is now born and has entered the human race. It is said that immediately at birth, the father should take a golden thread or something nice that doesn't hurt, like a tiny golden spoon. He mixes a little honey and ghee and, using this golden piece or his finger, writes "Oṃ" on the tongue of the child. The father also first whispers a mantra into the child's ear—whether it is a girl or a boy is not yet known. This is the fourth saṃskāra. The fifth saṃskāra is giving the name, done after one hundred and one days or at the beginning of the second year. The name should be beautiful, meaningful, great, dear, divine, and of great significance, because it will influence the child's personality. The sixth saṃskāra is niṣkrama. This is done in the fourth month after birth, according to the child's birth day. It means the child should be brought into a good, open environment before being exposed to dangerous infections and influences. This is the first education, giving the child a view of the world: these are trees, these are clouds. It is a beautiful sightseeing of this sṛṣṭi, this creation. The seventh saṃskāra is annaprāśana, the first time giving anna, meaning some form of solid food. This is the first grain food, like rice, wheat, or barley—perhaps just a quarter spoon or a touch on the tongue. This is the first solid food in the child's life, aside from mother's milk. This is done between the 6th and 8th month, when the child's digestion can handle it. Nothing is better than the mother's milk. The mother should always get the best, good, solid, and rich food. Take care of the mother's diet, and automatically the child gets the best milk. The eighth saṃskāra is cūḍā karma, the first haircut. This is done either in the first or third year and is also called the muṇḍana saṃskāra. It is a big ceremony with a feast, where you cut something from the child for the first time (aside from the umbilical cord). The ninth saṃskāra is karṇavedha, the piercing of the ears. It does not matter if it is a boy or a girl; it protects from many kinds of allergies and illnesses. It is scientific; you can ask those who know acupuncture. This is done around the fifth year of age, not before. The tenth saṃskāra is called upanayana, performed in the seventh year. Through the Satgurū and sacred ceremonies, one receives the sacred thread. The eleventh saṃskāra, either on the same day or one year later, is vedārambha, the beginning of studies. On that day, the child begins to learn; the first day going to school, Gurukul, should begin with the first chanting of the Gāyatrī Mantra. Before that, there should be no pendling between house and cinema, nightclub, and disco. The tenth saṃskāra (upanayana) is traditionally for boys, who receive the sacred thread. For girls, they receive a bracelet. The thirteenth saṃskāra is marriage. One must search and find a good partner using astrology and constellations, considering not just beauty but all guṇas and habits. You will only be happy in life if you find such a partner. There is such a partner waiting, but people cannot wait; they are slaves of the senses, attracted by senses, not by the ātmā. The saṃskāra that comes to you is the one meant for you. If it is not meant for you, no matter how many times you fall in love or marry, you will still suffer and be alone. The fourteenth saṃskāra is called vanaprastha, retirement. After fifty years, when you have children and have educated them, you give everything to your children and prepare yourself, turning from pravṛtti to nivṛtti, to meditate and pray. The fifteenth saṃskāra is called sannyāsa. You become a sannyāsī after the age of sixty, sixty-five, seventy-five, or eighty-five. Sannyāsa is complete; you stay above all attachments. You become jitendriya, victorious, mastering all your senses. Desires cannot trouble you. No attachment, no sorrow, no anger, no jealousy, no hate. Then your sannyāsa life will be successful; otherwise, it will be worse. The last and final, sixteenth saṃskāra, is called antyeṣṭi, the funeral ceremony. For some things, we are too late. Our parents did not know. But still, we have at least two or three steps; many still have the study, brahmacharya, marriage, and vanaprastha. And definitely one is left—that is for sure. What the ṛṣis, the greats, have written is science. Recording location: Hungary, Vep, Yogateacher Seminar