SMRITI - urday.in

Gautam's Smriti not only contains the preaching pertaining to the duties of a man in all the four stages of his life (Varnashram), prevention of his sins and atonement for them but they are also more logical as compared to Manu Smriti. He has also described about the duties of a man during distress time and decreased the number of consecrations from sixteen to fourteen.

For the benefit of the common man, the supreme jurist Gautam has described about the following in his Smriti-

Right conduct. (achar dharm)
Celibacy (Brahmacharya Dharm)
Duties of a householder (Grihasthya Dharm)
Duties during distress time. (Apad Dharm)
Description of various consecrations (Sanskar Varnan)
Duties ( Kartavya Vidhan)
Occupations of different castes (Jaati Vritti)
Duties of the king (Raj Dharm)
Various types of impurities (Ashouch pratipadan)
Certain time when the scripture cannot be studied (Anadhyaya)
Atonement of sins and its methods (Chandrayan Vrata)
Distribution of wealth among the sons (Sampatti Vibhag).

The preceptor Gautam has made it clear in the very beginning of his Smriti that with the due passage of time, the following of the virtues had been laxed during the creation period of the Smriti as compared to the period when Vedas were created.

CODES OF CONDUCT:

Just like in the Manu Smriti, the religious text of the Satya Yuga that is the codes of conduct have been given due importance in Gautam Smriti.
1. TONSURE CEREMONY:
  
  According to this Smriti the tonsure ceremony in Treta Yuga was to be done as per the instructions given in the Vedas. It says:
2. SACRED THREAD CEREMONY OF A BRAHMIN CHILD:
  " The sacred thread ceremony of a Brahmin child should be done in his first,fifth, eighth oor ninth year inclusive of conception period." The performance of this ceremony is like a second birth for a Brahmin. His initiation with the sacred thread makes him a preceptor later on in his life.
3. TONSURE CEREMONY AND SACRED THREAD CEREMONY OF A KSHATRIYA AND VAISHYA:
  
  According to the Gautam Smriti, the thread ceremony for the Kshatriyas and Vaishyas should be performed in the eleventh and twelfth year of the child respectively.
  Regarding the bestowal of Savitri mantra which is chanted during the performance of the sacred thread ceremony Sage Gautam says: " If the sacred thread ceremony of the Brahmin is not performed before the age of sixteen, that of Kshatriyas before the age of twenty two and that of Vaishyas little more than that, the bestowal of 'Savitri mantra' becomes impure and as a result meaningless."
CELIBACY (BRAHMACHARA) :
Shedding light on the importance of celibacy, Gautam says- " A celibate should maintain his chastity, collect fuel for fire, ask for alms, speak the truth and rinse his mouth with water before the commencement of every religious ceremony."
HOUSEHOLDER'S DUTIES :
Describing about the importance of householder's life, Gautam has established many easy and at the same time some tough advises. He says: " A householder should indulge himself in the study of the Vedas doing oblations to the deities (Devayagya), deceased ancestors (pitra yagya), be hospitable to people (manushya yagya), feed the inferior creatures and animals (bhoot yagya) and perform oblations to deceased sages (Rishi Yagya) daily.

It is well known that a man makes his life successful by satisfying the deities with the help of worships etc, the deceased ancestors with the help of 'Tarpan', the living beings by feeding them, the people by being hospitable to them and the sages by conducting himself as per the instructions of the Vedas.

Keeping in mind the laxity on the part of the householder in following the above mentioned oblations, Gautam had given relaxation to him by allowing him to perform only four of the six oblations. He says: " Out of all the six oblations (yagya), a householder should perform 'deva', 'pitra', 'manushya' and 'swadhyaya'."

Gautam has allowed the householder to select the following people for feeding in the given order- " First of all a visitor should be fed, then a child, a patient, a pregnant woman, a married woman, an old man and at last the servants respectively."
1. DUTIES OF HOUSEHOLDER:
  Some of the duties of a householder, mentioned in Gautam Smriti are as follows-
  - To show respect to the teacher.
  - It has also been advised to show respect to the relatives of his teacher.
  - Regarding the mode of making salutation to the superiors, Gautam says a householder should get up from his seat as soon as he sees a superior person arriving. An ascetic, father-in-law, uncle, maternal uncle etc. are all superior. Even an elder person belonging to a low caste should be given due respect.
2. BASIC ELEMENTS OF A HOUSEHOLDER'S LIFE:
  Describing about the basic elements of a householder's life, Gautam says: " Wealth, relatives (brothers etc), occupation, caste, knowledge and life-span (age) are the basic elements important in a householder's life, the former being less important than the latter in the respective order.
DUTIES DURING DISTRESS :
Gautam has allowed a householder some laxity regarding his adherence to his own religion in distress. He says- " If the situation demands, Brahmin should follow the religion (duties) of a Kshatriya and, if this change has not been beneficial, he may even try to follow the occupation a Vaishya."

But while allowing the Brahmins to do business during distress time he also put some condition- "Taste (grain, vegetable etc.) should be bartered with taste and animal should be exchanged with animal but he should never deal in the business of salt, sesame and food (grains) which are unworthy of eating". But if the situation is so grave that his survival is threatened, there is no binding on him, he may do what he deems fit.
CONSECRATONS AND CEREMONIES :

According to sage Gautam, the human welfare depends upon the appropriate 'karmas' of all the four castes. Sage Gautam has mentioned about the fourteen consecrations in place of originally sixteen ones. "
Naming the fourteen consecrations, he says-

1) Conception. (garbhandhan)
2) Milk ceremony performed on the third month. (Punsawan)
3) Vedic rites performed in the sixth month of pregnancy. (Seemantonayan)
4) Ceremony performed on the birth of a child. (Jaat Karm)
5) Naming ceremony. (Naam karan)
6) The ceremony of giving a child cooked food for the first time. (Annaprashan)
7) Tonsure ceremony. (Mundan)
8) Sacred thread ceremony. (Upanayan)
9) Study of the four Vedas.
10) Marriage ceremony.
11) Five oblations (Deities, dead ancestors, human beings, living creatures (animals) and revered sages.
12) Eight Parvan Shraadhs. (Shravani, Agrahayani chaitra etc)
13) Seven types of Havi (things offered to the fire) oblation like Agnihotra darsh etc.
14) Seven types of Soma-yagya like agnishtoma etc.

Besides these fourteen consecrations, sage Gautam believes that eight self-qualities are most essential for a man. He says-

EIGHT SELF-QUALITIES :
According to sage Gautam, the eight natural qualities of a man are as follows: : " Kindness, not to be envious of other's success, not to find faults in other's qualities, purity, neutrality, good wishes for others, magnanimous and not being greedy are the eight natural self qualities of a man."

'Gautam' stresses upon the importance of these self-qualities by saying that even if a man has accomplished all the fourteen consecrations but if he does not possess these eight self-qualities, he will not be ale to attain unification with the supreme almighty.
DUTIES
1. DAILY BATH :
  Gautam has instructed the householder to maintain purity and cleanliness in his life as far as possible because he feels that a man who is pure and clean represents God. He says- " The householder, after having intercourse with his wife must take a bath and then observe the different austerities and resolutions according to the instructions given in the scriptures of ethics. He should be clean and pure, apply fragrance on his body everyday and if money is no problem, he should not wear dirty and old clothes."
2. GROWING BEARD :
  Sage Gautam has left the choice of growing a beard to the householder.
3. RESPECT TO THE DEITIES:
  Gautam Smriti prohibits spreading one's legs towards the deities. According to Gautam, a man should never excrete in front of the following deities- Vayu, Surya, Agni, Brahmin, jal (water) and cow.
4. PURITY:
  Sage Gautam is of the opinion that "One should not waste time to purify him after copulation." He also says- "One should not have intercourse with a weak or non-desirous woman, a man should also not have intercourse with a woman who is in her periods and not even embrace her."
5. TRAVELS AND VOYAGES:
  Regarding travels and voyages Gautam says- "If there is any doubt in his mind, a man should not board a boat. Here sage Gautam tries to point out the importance of life and feels that it should be protected by all means.
6. RULES REGARDING EXCRETION:
  Gautam Smriti instructs about the directions which a man should face while excreting- "A man should excrete facing north during the day time and during dawn, dusk and night he should squat facing the south."
7. NOT TO ASPIRE FOR DESIGNATIONS:
  Sage Gautam has advised against having any kind of aspiration for designations, authority and power. He says- "A man should not aspire for designations and authority."
8. INSTRUCTIONS FOR DINING:
  Gautam Smriti sheds light on the correct methods of dining. He says- "A man must not eat by keeping the food stuffs on his lap. By all means, one should sit comfortably while dining."
9. SEEKING HELP FROM VIRTUOUS PERSON:
  According to sage Gautam, a man should only go to a virtuous person to seek help to overcome his destitution and for the protection of the wealth.
10. NATURE AND QUALITIES OF A HOUSEHOLDER :
  Describing about the qualities of an ideal householder sage Gautam says that he is always engaged in virtuosity and treads on the path of truth, follows the character of virtuous people, is civilized by the accomplishment of consecrations always engaged in self-study of the scriptures (Vedas), always remains immersed in the study of the Vedas.
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