Indian Culture and Traditions - 2






































Indian Culture and Traditions






What Does Your BINDI Say About You
By Ram Lingam





“ Woman’s beauty is multiplied 1000 times when she wears a Bindi ”  - Indian Proverb



When an Indian woman decorates her forehead with sindoor or bindi, she  is just following a tradition that goes back atleast 5,000 years. Wear a bindi  or a decorative mark on your forehead and you will get noticed everywhere. It  is no wonder that bindi has found its way to the international fashion world. In  fact globally, the Bindi is one of India’s best recognized symbols. If you wear  a bindi what does it say about you? Is it merely a decoration or is there more  to it?
An Indian  proverb says "A woman's beauty is multiplied 1,000 times when she wears a  bindi". For many Indian women, getting dressed for a special occasion is  incomplete without the bindi. When a woman grooms herself in a lavish Indian  way, she gives special importance to decorating her forehead with a bindi. However,  modern day bindi stickers have made it easy and bindi is used more for  decoration today.

For generations, bindi has been the most  visually attractive of all forms of body decoration. In fact, in the 16  decorations for personal grooming (solah-shrungār), bindi is the first shrungaar  and has a strong religious implication.
But first - what  does the word ‘bindi’ mean? Like the various aspects of authentic Indian  culture, the bindi carries with it a wealth of meaning. Bindi is derived from the sanskrut word ‘bindu’, which means  dot. Bindi is also known as 'sindoor', 'tilaka', ‘tilak’, 'tilakam' 'tika' or  'pottu'. But kumkum and sindoor are not synonymous as unmarried women use  kumkum but not sindoor. The ancient name for bindi is tilaka and teeka or tikka  is its distorted form.
In ancient times, small decorative leaves were used (which  were made by cutting them into different shapes) and then pasted upon the  forehead. The decorative leaves (patra) were also known by various names  --'Patralekhā', Patramanjari', 'Patrachhedya' or 'Patrabhanga'.
Authentic kumkum  is of special significance and an essential item in all religious rituals,  hence auspicious. The turmeric is dried and powdered with a lime/lemon to give  the rich red colored kumkum. Every deity and every altar in Sanāthana dharma has  red kumkum. It is red in colour as red is a known colour of power.
Is the practice of bindi really  ancient? A cursory look at the ancient paintings, murals from the  antiquated Ajantā or Ellora caves, Rājasthani paintings or even sculptures from  the ancient temples of India, shows that the forehead of the Indian women is  always found decorated with ornaments and also bindi. Cave 16 at the Ajanta  caves has a mural where a princess and her lady-attendant are with a tray both  wearing the bindi. Female figurines excavated in Baluchistan seem to imply  application of sindoor to the partition of women's hair in Harappā culture.
Personal decoration practices also  go back to the times of Rāmāyana, the Māhābhārata and the Vedic period and till  today they haven’t changed because it still looks “cool”. In the Māhābhārata,  the Pāndava queen Draupadi wiped her 'kumkum' off the forehead in anguish at  Hastināpur.
The practice of using 'kumkum' on foreheads is also mentioned  in Vedic texts, many ancient texts (Purānas), the Lalitha Sahasranāma and Ādi  Shankara’s Soundarya Lahiri. In the famous eight verses (astakam) on the symbol  of Lord Shiva called the ‘Lingashtakam’ the composer says “Kumkuma chandana  lepitha lingam..” meaning “I bow before that symbol (lingam), which represents  the eternal Lord Shiva, adorned by sandal paste and kumkum”. Tilaka has been  mentioned in Sanskrit plays of Mahākavi Kālidasa and other works like  Panchatantra. Sant Tulsidās mentions it in his Rāmcharitmānas at the time of  the marriage between Lord Ram and Sitā.
Kumkum is also showered as an offering (kumkuma archana) during  the abhisheka of a deity. In the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom till today  makes a 'tilaka' mark on the bride's forehead as a sign of wedlock. It is  called the "Sindoor Dana" ceremony and married women adorn the  sindoor thereafter. Along with Indian traditions and rituals, the personal attire  and grooming (alankaar, shrungaar) also finds a permanent place in Indian  lifestyle. 
Is there a mystic element to bindi? The area where the bindi  is positioned is said to be the location of the Āgnya Chakra  (the subtle spiritual eye) in the language of yoga which is said to be the  major nerve center in the human body. To the spiritual seeker, the tilaka made  of sandalwood paste serves as a reminder of a seeker's ultimate goal i.e. enlightenment.  The tilak is applied with the prayer - "May I remember the Lord. May this  pious feeling pervade all my activities. May I be righteous in my deeds! "
Bindi is certainly a part of the detailed  Indian shrungār. In many communities, it is enjoined upon married women to  sport a kumkum mark on their foreheads at all times. In these changing times  bindis are sported by unmarried women as well. Many women in the Indian  sub-continent and Southeast Asia sport a bindi even though they are not followers  of Dharma. These days even women from Western cultures adorn a bindi.
“The entire body emanates energy  in the form of electromagnetic waves – the forehead and the subtle spot between  the eyebrows especially so. That is why worry generates heat and causes a  headache. The tilak cools the forehead, protects us and prevents energy loss.  Using plastic reusable ‘stick bindis’ is not very beneficial, even though it  serves the purpose of decoration.”
So what does  your Bindi say about you? Does it mean your culture, your ethnic identity, your  marital status or is it just for decoration? It could be ‘any of the above’, ‘some  of the above’ or even ‘all of the above’. Can ‘none of the above’ be an option?





























Coconut - Fruit Of Lustre In Indian Culture
By Vimla Patil,



In every ritual or sacrament, the coconut is omnipresent in Indian culture. It is called Shrifal or fruit of prosperity because the tree yields not only the fruit with refreshing water and tasty kernel which is eaten fresh or dried and as well as for extracting oil, but also because every part of the tree is used for some purpose or the other in India. A coconut tree is often called the Kalpavriksha or the tree that grants all blessings...
One of the first trees to be cultivated by mankind, the coconut palm plays a significant role in the religious, cultural and social life of Indians.  Indeed, as the Kalpavriksha or the tree which fulfils all desires of mankind, a coconut palm plays a very prominent role in Indian community life.  For instance, in religious rituals, the coconut or ‘nariyal’ is used on all auspicious and religious occasions be it birth, marriage, buying a new house or car or at the opening ceremony of a new company or firm.  It signifies prosperity and auspicious events and is offered in every temple as a symbol of the completeness of life. It is always seen in the symbol of the Poornakumbh or the pot of nectar which the Gods obtained from the churning of the cosmic ocean. The pot, with the swastika (symbol of the sun’s energy), mango leaves and a coconut placed in the centre of the leaves is the symbol of immortality and divinity in Indian culture.
According to a myth, in bygone ages, all the seers or Rishis used to sacrifice a goat in order to ward off evil forces during their religious rituals.  As time passed, this practice of animal sacrifice became obsolete and religious rituals became peaceful and non-violent.  The coconut replaced the sacrifice and ever since, the coconut, called Shrifal or fruit of lustre, became an ever present motif in India’s cultural life.  Legend also decrees that the coconut is the primary fruit of the earth.  It is likened to the head of Brahma, the creator of the universe.  Thus Brahma and the coconut are considered primary to creation.
The coconut is a favourite fruit of all deities and is seen in all temple or home worship rituals as an ever present cultural motif.  As an auspicious symbol, the coconut plays a role in many festivals and sacraments.  During the naming ceremony of a child on the twelfth day after its birth, coconuts are given to all the women present.  The guests also put a coconut each in the lap of the new mother with a blessing that her progeny should be healthy and prosperous.  During weddings, coconuts are exchanged by both sides and are often distributed to all guests.  When elders, scholars, teachers, gurus or parents are honoured, a coconut and a shawl symbolise the respect shown to them.  In India, even governmental institutions, art and science academies and universities use the coconut as a motif in honouring scholars and researchers for their achievements in the pursuit of knowledge.
Diwali, Dussera, Ganesh Puja, Durga Puja, Holi - all these festivals mean a gigantic number of coconuts offered to the gods and to guests.  But the day which celebrates the coconut unfailingly is Nariyal Purnima in the Hindu month of Shravan.  Officially, the full moon of this month is the close of the monsoon and the rains begin to abate from that day.  Along the west coast of India, fisher folk offer thousands of coconuts to the sea before setting out in their trawlers to resume their fishing operations.  The offering of the coconut is their prayer for safe sailing and prosperity.
The coconut is imbued with medicinal qualities too.  It is called Arogya Vardhak or health enhancer.  Coconut water is called amrit or nectar. A glass of this sweet water each day cures many ailments and washes out all toxins. The white kernel is grated or ground and used in a variety of luscious curries and vegetable delights. Dry or fresh, coconut kernels make excellent chutneys.
Prasad or holy food is made of coconut chips and distributed to devotees at the end of a worship or festive function.  Dried kernels are used for extracting oil which is used as a cooking medium or for making hair or massage oils. Soaps and candles are also made from the oil.
The coconut palm is called the wish fulfilling tree because each part of it is useful.  Its leaves, dried and woven into a tapestry like design, are used for covering huts and cottages in Indian villages.  The trunk is used for making supports for the huts or as fuel.  The coir taken from the outer covering of the coconut is used in stuffing pillows or mattresses as well as for making ropes.  The shell is cleaned and made into cups or spoons with a handle.  Many handicrafts are created from the leaves of the tree and the shell of the fruit. 
With these myriad uses, the coconut participates actively in every aspect of India’s cultural life!









Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued...) 









(My humble salutations to  Sri Ramalingam ji, Vimla Patil ji and hindu samskrit dot com  for the collection)

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