Sasti-abda-poorthi

Socio-Religious Graduageing

Turning sixty is a social-religious event in India especially in south. Shashtiabdapoorthi is a family event , when a 'remarriage 'of the couple, is performed .This unusual custom marked by rituals, reverberating with the 'mantras ' is spiritually and mentally rejuvenating for a couple who are 'graduageing' .Witnessed by the next generation, it is a social event that reflects continuity.

The social, religious and spiritual connotations of this function

When a man turns sixty it is not just another birthday that is to be celebrated with usual greetings,,gifts,cards,flowers,cake and candles. While it may include all that ,it also calls for no less than a sacred Vedic celebration called Shshtiabdapoorti:'Shasti' being 60,'Abdam' the year, with Poorti signifying the completion of 60 years in a man's lifetime. It is also a happy event that reinforces the existing bond between the man and his wife and is expressed in the unusual custom of a remarriage of the couple watched fondly by a retinue of children grandchildren ,relations and friends.

At sixty ,man had crossed only 50% of his life because the actual span of his life is 120 years according to Vedas. A sixtieth year, which is just half the span of time originally given to man is considered a critical period .According to the science of Hindu numerology ,6 happens to be an uneasy number and therefore 60 is a time when the ruling planet of a person may have an adverse effect on a man's life; He performs a religious Shanti, a measure undertaken to ensure good health, peace and longevity.

How does it feel to be sixty? For most of us it is conscious ageing, an increasing awareness that though the body is ephemeral the spirit on the contrary ,can soar! It can take us through hitherto unexplored paths, for sixty is certainly a time when man pauses to take stock of the life gone by and to begin a new chapter in life, unfettered by professional commitments. Now he is free to answer his own inner calling for things beyond the material domain. In this frame of mind, he is equipped to combat the physical fatigue that sets in with age, to counter a certain slowness and exhaustion which overtakes those who are prepared to comprehend the implications of age . For the mentally alert, it is a time for thinking about the new options in life , a wonderful chance of using one's freedom from the daily grind in office for pleasurable and spiritually nourishing activities.