A Day in the Life of Nish Dhruba

        I bet you all are wondering what I actually do in a day? Well, I will tell you, along with the technical names, but those will be explained. How many of think it is very easy to do every single day? It is not, but it gets easier. Here it goes.

        I begin with waking up two hours before sunrise. How many of you wake up that early? I have to. After getting up, I brush my teeth thoroughly, bathe in cold water, and perform Japa, which is a ceremony that involves mediation and repetition. Next, is agnihotra, the Vedic prayer and worship. Then, I have a daily chanting and studying of the Vedas, which are extremely important. This is called Brahmayajna. The first part of the day is now over.

        The next part of the day is time for me to teach my disciples the Vedas, which is called adhyapana. After the teaching I must gather flowers so I can perform puja, which is a type of worship. In order to get my food and materials needed to perform rituals, I must beg for all of these. I do have the right to beg, but I can only take what is needed, no more. I am allowed to receive gifts and give them.

        After the second part of the day and a portion of the third day, I have to bathe again and then perform madhyahnika, which is a Buddhist tradition. Continuing on, I do pitr-tarpana, which is that I offer libations to the fathers, followed by homa (fire worship) and puja, which I mentioned earlier. By now, it has been the fourth part of the day, which means midday.

        There are two of the five great sacrifices. The first one is Manusyayajna, which is honoring and feeding the guests. The last one is Bhutayajna, which is feeding the poor and the creatures. Rice is offered in the sacrificial fire. Guests are entertained, the technical name is Atithya. Only then is he allowed to eat, but a very light meal. Then, I have to read the Puranas. After that, I have the fabulous duty of teaching other caste members their vocation, arts and crafts. 

        Finally, for the evening stuff. I must bathe again; perform sandhyavandana, sacrifices, and japa. All of those I explained earlier. I am able to have another meal, but again it is light. I am then able to go to bed, to wake up around four AM tomorrow morning. This day to day thing is very hard, but over time, becomes easier. I chose this life for all the things that are important to me, not because I wanted a life that was not easy and not comfortable.