The "Centenary Men"

We stated with  identifying "Five Milestones in LIFE" and crossed "First and Second Milestones".  We took a view of  "The 1000th FULL Moon".  We saw the arrival of the great grandson in "Welcome, Great Grand Son". (Please click on the respective titles to read them).  That brings us to the ultimate peak, a life completing the full period of 100 years for the physical body.

There were innumerable stalwarts and great people who achieved a lot at a young age.  They did not live long but the society and mankind remembers them even today for their tremendous contributions in various fields.  Living for 100 years is not the only achievement.  But it is an incredible achievement; a successful test of endurance and a sign of life lived well over a long period of time.  Only a very small percentage of people reach this level.   Some of these "Centenary Men" have made notable achievements during their life time and every single day of their life is a testimony to a fruitful life.  They combined longevity with hard work and discipline in their lives.  Of course, there may have been a few who lived for 100 years and had nothing to show except that their heart pumped without a break for that length of time.  Even that is no mean achievement, to maintain the physical body in working condition that long.  But there were many who were known for their long lives as well as a matching lengthy list of achievements.  Let us celebrate the memory of such great personalities and draw inspiration from their lives.

As regards the shanti karmas after crossing this milestone, the usual rituals done in most of the earlier levels hold good.  The Presiding deity and other deities are invoked in the kalashas and worshiped in the prescribed manner.  Special mention is made of the Centenary at appropriate stages.  Sprinkling of holy water is done with golden flowers or ornaments in a sieve.  There will be the long queue of relatives and friends waiting for their turn to prostrate before the "Centenary Man" and seek his blessings.  The usual sumptuous feast will always be there.  The atmosphere reverberates with a feeling of achievement; not just the achievement of one man, but of everyone around!  An achievement of being able to be present and participate in such a rare and unique function.  Participation in a function about which one can take pride and remember for a long long time.

There are many lessons that could be drawn from the lives of the Centenarians.  A common thread in the lives of all these people is "Discipline".  Discipline in their food habits, activity levels and keeping the body and mind in shape and together.  These people have proved by practice and showed in reality that our vedic blessings like "Shatamaanam bhavati....." and  spiritual expectations of "Jeevema Sharadh Shatam, Pashyema Sharadh Shatam....." are not mere slogans or wishful thinking.  They are based on successful past experience and sound logic.  The mere fact that a majority of humans are unable to reach this level does not invalidate the very goal itself.  But achieving this goal is not a matter of chance.  It needs dedicated efforts.  For this one reason at least, they deserve our thanks and gratitude.  Our thanks and gratitude is also due to the family members of all Centenarians, sometimes and often of three generations, who have traveled with them on the long path for different lengths and at different times.  Some of them would not be physically present at the grand finale.  But they are to be remembered for their contributions.  Proper care, especially at advanced age, is very crucial and those who provided this basic requirement are indeed a key to such celebrations.      

There can be a question now.  Is there any other milestone thereafter?  We have to respect the laws of nature and the limitations of the physical body.  It would already have been pushed to its limits by this time.  We do hear that some people have lived longer than 100 years.  Many of these claims are difficult to verify as there were no proper birth records a hundred years ago.  There is an Organization by name "Gerontology Research Group" which verifies longevity claims and authenticates them.  Guinness book of World Records also verifies such claims before accepting them.  They maintain a list of such people called "Super-centenarians".  One Jeanne Calment of France lived for 122 years and 164 days!  There were authentic records in her native city, Arles in France.  Technically speaking, if some shanti karma is to be celebrated in our area as per the practice discussed in these blog posts, it should be at 120 years when the person enters the third sixty year cycle of the Lunar years.  That is more academic than in practice.

One friend of our family was blessed with a great grand son some years ago.  All her friends arranged a function  near Bangalore to celebrate the event in the form of a social gathering.  I was asked to speak about the significance of these celebrations.  I spoke for sometime on these five milestones and in the end asked them whether it is possible to cross all those milestones and whether they actually knew somebody who crossed all these five milestones.  There was a unanimous shout that it is not possible.  When I mentioned that there was one person who did so and that I was also present at the celebration, they were all excited.  When the name was mentioned, they all said they knew the person very well.  Justice Nittoor Srinivasa Rao,  former Chief justice of Karnataka High Court and India's first Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) was one such rare example.  When his centenary was celebrated he was surrounded by innumerable relatives and friends.  I was also one among the fortunate ones to be present.   His was an example of successfully crossing all the five milestones including the rare "Prapoutra darshana".   

Welcome, Great Grandson!

After identifying the "Five Milestones in LIFE", we embarked on a journey of life through "First and Second Milestones"  and  "The 1000th FULL Moon" (Click on the respective titles to read these three blogs).  After these three important stages, the fourth milestone of "Prapoutra Darshana" or "Arrival of Great Grandson" is due to be scaled now.  I am using the word scaling instead of crossing, deliberately.  The next two milestones are like going uphill and they are nothing short of scaling peaks of mountains.

This milestone "Prapoutra darshana" is different from the other four milestones and hence it is indeed special.  Why is it different and how is it special?  Some explanation is required to understand its specialty and specific significance of this milestone.  There are two basic reasons making this special and distinct.  First reason is the order of its occurrence.  Second reason is the practical difficulty in reaching it.

The other four identified milestones are arithmetical possibilities and occur at specific time intervals which is automatically  fixed at the time of the birth of the child itself.  When the child is born, for example say in February 2012, the four events occur in 2072 (60 years), 2082 (70 years), 2094 (82nd year) and 2112 (100th year).  Further, all these four milestones have to occur one after the other in the same order for everyone.  But "Prapoutra Darshana" or the arrival of "Great Grandson" may sneak in between any of them or it may never happen at all during the life time of a person even though he may live for 101 years.  If a person gets married very early and has a son, and the same continues for the son as well as grand son, great grandson may arrive even before the otherwise first milestone of 60 years!  Marriage at 18, a son at 19, grandson at 38 and a great grandson at 57 or 58 is a define probability, though it may not happen in the present day situation of late marriages where arrival of the grand son before the end of their life's journey itself is a doubtful case for many.  But this was a definite possibility in yesteryear.

I have myself seen five generations of women in one place in my childhood, when girls were married at 12 to 14 years, though five generations of men eluded me.  The photograph given alongside picked up from one of our family albums was taken in the year 1981.  This photograph shows five generation of women; from L to R: great great grandmother, great grand mother, grand mother and mother holding the daughter of one year plus.  I have heard from my father that he had indeed seen such cases of five generation of men during his lifetime.  This makes it not just prapoutra (great grandson) darshana, but prapoutrasya putra (grandson of grandson) darshana!

A reasonable good health and some luck would possibly ensure achievement of the other four milestones at 60, 70, 82 and 100 years.  It is somewhat like a individual event in Athletics or Tennis Singles matches.  The crossing of these four milestones depends on the person himself.  Arrival of great grandson is like a team game.  Having a child is reasonably in the hands of the couples themselves, except in rare exceptions for various reasons.  It is expected to happen in the normal course unless too much of control is imposed and natural happenings are deliberately avoided.  But having a grand child is not in the hands of the couple and it is the prerogative of the children.  Arrival of a great grandson depends on the grandchildren.  Thus this milestone can be crossed only when the team of three generation of couples desire and succeed in having at least a child.  The chain can be broken at any of the three levels rendering the crossing of the milestone impossible.

The first two issues of  order of occurrence and requirement of team work in achieving this distinction are  physical and realistic events and cannot be disputed.   There is a third and emotional dimension also attached to this.  This is a question of belief and applied logic.  Nobody knows for sure the existence of another world or life after death.  Atheists like Charvakas even say,  "Bhasmeebhootasya dehasya punaraagamanm kutaha?" meaning "How is it possible for a body burnt down to ashes coming back?".  But there are many shraddalu people (who believe in God and the next world as well as rebirth) who believe in one's kriya-karma after death.  Some of these people believe in pinda pradana, offerings to dead people by their successors like sons, grandsons, great grandsons etc.  Each dead person waits in the queue for proceeding to the next world and the living member of a family makes offering of pindas to his earlier three generations - father, grand father and great grand father - every year.  Thus there is a line of three generations waiting to be promoted and proceeding to heaven.   When the present son performing this kriya dies, he joins the queue and his great grand father who is at the top of the queue is released from waiting and proceeds to heaven.  For this purpose, a special ritual called "Sapindeekarana" is performed on the 12th day from death of a person.  During this ritual the three pindsa for the elders is prepared and a long pinda in the shape of cucumber is prepared for the son who has recently died.  The cucumber pinda is trifurcated and merged with the other three and the eldest is given "Swarga Patheya",  a packet of items for use during his further journey to heaven.  Birth of a "Prapoutra" means the great grand father is able to see,  in physical form and during his life time, the one who will ultimately ensure his own release from the queue  in due course, through his son.  This whole concept may look absurd for those who do not believe in this theory, but for shraddalu people this is ultimate success of their life.

As far as the function itself is concerned, the rituals are almost the same except for the small addition of mention of the arrival of great grandson at appropriate situations.  Deities are invoked in kalashas and pooja offered as in other functions mentioned earlier.  The holy water is sprinkled on the great grand father using a sieve to protect gold items from being washed away or misplaced.  The sprinkling is done with the newly arrived great grandson in the lead.  It is advisable to wait for two or three years after the birth of the child to enable the child to actively participate in the sprinkling part to enhance the happiness of the occasion.  If, however, the health of the great grandfather is a cause of concern, the function can be conducted even earlier.

This brings us to the last milestone; the one of the "Centenary Man".  I have not lived for 100 years.  Not yet.  Hence I cannot celebrate the event.  But this is my 100th blog post.  Crossing this milestone of 100 blog posts allows me the privilege of a blog post on "Centenary Men" as the 101st.  After all, 100 blog posts in 150 days gives a strike rate of 66.66 which is better than that of the "Wall".

The 1000th FULL Moon

After crossing the "First and Second Milestones" (Click here to read), the next journey in life is towards the third milestone, the one of sighting of the 1000th Full Moon.  After crossing this "Sahasra Chandra Darshana" it is time to celebrate the occasion by performing the "Sahasra Chandra Darshana Shanti".  The first milestone at 60 years is crossed by many and they celebrate "Ugra Ratha Shanti", but only some of them remain on the path of life to cross the next stage of 70 years to celebrate "Bhima Ratha Shanti".  The more fortunate ones with good health and a proper environment to lead an active life reach the next milestone of sighting the 1000th full moon.

All physical items are measured using different yardsticks for the purpose of comparison and accurately dealing with them.  In fact, the word "yardstick" used so frequently is itself a measure of length or distance.  In the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London,  metal pieces measuring a yard (3 feet), 2 feet, one foot and six inches are displayed on the wall.  One yard is equal to 0.9144 meters.  Similar measures are used for measuring weight, volume etc.  Such a unit of measurement is also required to measure another important dimension, the "time".  The best resource available to man for measuring time is the movement of the Earth, Sun and Moon.  Time between one Sunrise to the next Sunrise is considered a "day".  Movement of the moon provides another important source to measure time.  Unlike Sun, the shape and size of Moon which changes each day and is clearly visible to a man on the earth provides an excellent measure to define a month.  A full moon night to a new moon night is a fortnight and a new moon night to another full moon night is another fortnight.   In other words, a full moon night to another full moon night, which is easily visible to the naked eye from the earth,  is a Lunar month.  A Lunar month has 29.53 days and a 12 month Lunar year thus has 354 days.  In comparison a Solar year, which is the time covered by sun to complete a cycle of 12 houses of the Zodiac, has 365 days.  In order to reconcile the difference between the 354-day Lunar year and 365-day Solar year, an extra month is added to the Lunar calender once in 33 months.  This is similar to the leap year when February has 29 days.  The difference of 11 days is thus covered by the "Leap Month" called "Adhika Maasa"or "Mala Maasa".  This is also called as Mala Maasa, mala meaning impurity or sin, as this month is believed to be excellent for doing good deeds to wash off all impurities and sins.  "Purushottama" is considered as the "Maasaniyamaka" for this month.  It is believed that any daana (offerings) made or good deed done during this month gives additional (adhika) punya and hence the saying "Adhikasya Adhikam Phalam".  As there is no "Sankramana" in this leap month, it is not considered for other auspicious functions like marriage etc.  Sankramana is the time during which Sun moves from one house in the Zodiac to another house.  The entire leap lunar month falls between two sankramanas or when the Sun stays in one house.  With the concept of leap month in place, a Lunar calender synchronizes completely with the Solar calender once in sixty years.

When a person reaches 80 years of age, he would have seen 960 (80x12) plus 29 full moons due to leap months, thus making an aggregate of 989 full moons.  The 1000th Full Moon would have been sighted in the 81st year.  A leap month actually arrives sometimes in 29 months and sometimes gets extended up to 35 months.  In order to provide for such contingency, this milestone is deemed to have been crossed after completion of 81 years.  As per the saying, to err on the right side.  In all Panchaangas (Lunar calenders especially) on the padya or bidige (first or second day of the fortnight cycle after new moon day) of shukla paksha, notation of "Chandra Darshanam" will be made to indicate sighting of the moon after the preceding new moon day.  Whether the person has actually seen the full moons or not, he has lived the time span covering 1000 full moons when he crosses 81 years. Hence "Sahasra Chandra Darshana Shanti" is conducted  one or two months after the completion of 81 years.  After the milestones of 60 years and 70 years, the next natural and logical milestone ought to have been 80 years.  But sighting of 1000th Full Moon is so close to 80 years and also a much better occasion to celebrate and hence has received wide acceptance.

All other aspects of this celebration are the same as being done when crossing the first and second milestones.  Invitations are made out in the name of the sons or daughters of the person crossing the milestone.  The concept and details of the functions and the shanti karmas are the same.  Mrutyunjaya and other deities are invoked in the kalashas and worshiped in the same manner.  Holy water from the kalashas is sprinkled on the person crossing the milestone and his immediate family members.  Sieve is again used to protect the gold items from being washed away or misplaced and also to ensure proper and longer sprinkling of holy water.  The usual sumptuous feast brings the climax.  Cultural programmes are arranged in the afternoon sessions to enable friends and relatives to enjoy the occasion for a longer duration of time.  To seek the blessings of a person crossing such a milestone is considered as a rare privilege for younger members of the family and community.  A person is said to have become "Vruddha" or "" Elder" on two counts; one by age and another by the level of  knowledge or wisdom.  "Vayo vruddha" for being elder by age and "Jnana vruddha" for being elder by knowledge or wisdom.  A person reaching this level is naturally Vayovruddha and he is expected to be a Jnanavruddha also.  Such functions have now become rare as arranging such functions in the family requires dedication and commitment from the younger generation.  Those who have participated in such functions know the dignity of the occasion as well as the pleasure derived by participating in them.  Sighting 1000 moons is no mean achievement and it requires good health, a sound mind and contribution of many from the family and society.


There can be the usual question about the celebration for women when they reach this stage.  There should be no bar and the logic of celebrating for men should be equally applicable for women.  If both partners among the elderly couple are alive, they sit together for the rituals.  Otherwise one of the other available couple in the family perform the rituals.  Maarjana or sprinkling is done with the persons crossing the milestone in the center and other members of the family around him. 

There are two more milestones to be covered.  The fourth one is "Prapoutra (Great grand son) Darshana" and then finally, the "Centenary".  These stages also have some finer aspects and special significance.  They are to be covered in the next two steps.

Five Milestones in LIFE

We often talk of reaching or crossing "Milestones" in one's life.  Someone crossing a milestone is applauded and congratulated by the near and dear ones.  Such events are often celebrated and many times in large scale by arranging a function and inviting extended family members and friends.  Gifts are given and received at such functions.  Such celebrations are sometimes accompanied with prayers and religious ceremonies.

What are these milestones?  "Life is a journey from the cradle to the grave", says a proverb.  The true milestones start with the birth of the child and ends with the last breath.  There may be stones after death also.  Tombstone for an example.  There may be busts, statues and monumental stones for some personalities.  Or even one stone for many as we see in "War Memorials" or for those killed in natural calamities.  Memorials are also there for those killed in man made events like "Jalianwala bagh massacre" or "Hiroshima atom bomb victims".  There may be a stone statue in every town and village for some, generally lying uncared for and being home for birds and worms.  Or remembered twice in a year, on birthday and death anniversary, by the so called followers of these great personalities.  Followers who mercilessly kill their principles and philosophy throughout the year but never forget to swear by their names.  "Let not a stone tell where I lie", said Alexander Pope in his "Ode to solitude", not desiring a tombstone.  Thomas Grey in his famous 1750-51 poem "Elegy written in a Country Churchyard" for the poet Richard West, stretching to as many as 128 lines, has left a memorial in words remembered even today.  But all such stones, in any form, are to be excluded for this discussion on "Milestones in Life", because there is no contribution by the concerned persons for these stones.

There could be arguments that a child's movement or kicking a mother's womb when taking shape there before birth is also a milestone, being an earliest sign of life.  It is indeed a significant stage and a milestone, not for the child but for the mother.  Not to be considered a milestone for the unborn child because it has no existence of its own then and it is still an integral part of the mother.  The first cry of the child immediately after being born is indeed the first milestone.  The child has entered the playground of life and taken its guard.  Celebrations now are in order as this is not only the first milestone, but also the bed rock of its life.  One can count on many milestones now on.  The child's first smile, first time turning on its back, first voluntary movement forward, crossing the threshold of the door as well.  In some families coconuts are broken on the threshold and sweets are prepared using it to celebrate this occasion.  The child's first time standing on its own and the first step; its first word and so on...  There are parents who record each such step in their camera or videos for future reference.  This is possible in the present era when parents have mostly one child or some exceptions with two.  Five or six decades ago these were not observed with such importance because families had as many as six, eight or even more than a dozen children.  In fact there were days in such families where several milestones were crossed on the same day, the youngest one being born, penultimate one standing up for the first time, one more going to the school for the first time and probably the eldest one getting her first degree after some years in college!

While all these stages are indeed milestones, many of them are normally expected of any human being, save for rare exceptions of unfortunate ones born with some deficiency.  Many of them are stages of the natural process of growing up and there is no real achievement in reaching those stages.  There can be other milestones like securing the first job, earning the first promotion, buying the first cycle, scooter or car, housewarming of the first house or flat, birth of the first or only child, birth of the second and last child and so on.   First medal for a sportsman, first poem or book for a writer and first elected post for someone in public life.  There can be the milestone of clearing the first mortgage as well.  I am told that there is a practice in some countries to have a big bash for celebrating such an event and the documents of mortgage or a photocopy thereof is burnt down to signify clearing a debt.  As one advances in life there can be events like marriage of the first child, arrival of the first grand child and distinctions secured by one's children and grand children.  Some of these milestones are crossed not by one's own efforts, but as a collective effort or contributory effort of other members of the family or the society.

Human life span is expected to be 100 years.  Vedic blessings always say "Shatamaanam bhavati...".  Prayers say "Pashyeema Sharadah shatam,  Jeevema sharadah shatam...". (Let us see 100 Autumns (Fall seasons), let us live to see 100 autumns  etc).  Living  a useful life for 100 years is the expectation.  Useful life for oneself as well as for the society.  Not the life of a vegetable or in coma, but an active and healthy life.  Though the expectation is the same for all humans born, a very small number actually reach the goal of 100 years.  Some may lead a long life but one of illness and suffering.  Most of the people do not cross 70 or 80 years.  Governments and organisations believe that 60 years is the active period and pack off employees around that age on retirement.  We wish you well, but we had enough of you!  It is the time for eyesight to fail, hearing level going down and reflexes becoming slow.  There are many who lead an extremely fruitful and active life even after these years but their number is low.

In the background of all these discussions one has to ponder over as to what are the acknowledged milestones in our life.  In our part of the world, five milestones are generally accepted as the milestones that call for a full celebration:

1. Crossing 60 years in the Life's cycle - Shashtabdha or Ugraratha Shanti
2. Crossing 70 years in the life's cycle - Bhimaratha Shanti
3. Sighting of 1000 full moons - Sahasrachandra darshana Shanti
4. Birth of great grand son - Prapoutra darshana Shanti
5. Full 100 years of life - Shatamana Shanti

What is the significance of these milestones and why they are celebrated?  That is for another day.