So Says Sai --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upanayanam, the Sanskrit word for the Indian thread ceremony of initiation, stands for the conferment of another eye. Your two eyes cannot reveal to you the magnificence and the majesty of the realm of the spirit. They are focused towards the objective world and its transient attractions. So, the 'Gayatri Mantra' has been given to you as a third eye to reveal to you that inner vision by which you may realize Brahman. The word Upanayanam literally means 'near' (Upa) and 'sight' (nayanam). Nayanam, meaning 'eye', also signifies here the opening of the inner eye, the Divine eye of man. The three strands (of the sacred thread) represent three worlds: Bhur, the earth we live on; Bhuvaha, the atmosphere; and Suvaha, the heavens. They also denote trikalam (the three time stages), the past, the present and the future, and trigunam (the three attributes of man), sathva, rajas and tamas. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Necklace of Nine Sai Gems, Vol. VII. P. 68. __._,_.___
