Hindu Traditions and Science

by Smt. Susmita Devi

Since my coming to India 32 years ago I have often wondered about a number of traditions regularly fol-lowed by common people – especially women.  Many of these traditions have their roots in religion.  The ones mentioned below are actually based on scientific theories.

 

When greeting someone, the Indian custom is to join one’s palms (Namaskar). Apart from being a greeting, the gesture also ensures the individual balance of energy between the left and the right side of the body and brain as a gentle pressure occurs when the fingertips meet which helps memory and, last but not least, one helps avoid cross-contamination of germs by not touching the other person as may happen in handshakes.

 

Toe-rings, worn by many Indian women, are usually worn on the second toe, which in acupressure therapy connects to the reproductive organs and heart. Toe-rings are usually made of silver, as are anklets, because silver is an excellent conductor for polar energies from the earth to the body. In olden days queens had the right to wear gold on the feet.

 

A point between the eyebrows (Ajnya-chakra), where the tradition requires a ‘red dot’ (tilak or bindi) has direct connection to two important hormone glands, the Pituitary and the Pineal. These glands are activated when the dot is applied (whether a readymade one or a sindoor one).  Widows, by the way, are allowed only sandal paste dots, which are supposed to cool down thoughts. It is customary to apply the dot with the 4th finger (commonly called the ring finger) of the right hand as it usually is less used than other fingers and because it carries positive energies and thus help to control concentration and the blood supply to the facial muscles.

 

A part of the Hindu marriage ceremony involves that the groom applying vermillion powder (sindur) on the middle parting of the hair of his bride - who from that day till eventual widowhood, will apply it daily as a sign of her status as a married woman.  Sindur is prepared by mixing turmeric, lime and a tiny amount of mercury. Its intrinsic properties help in controlling blood pressure and also activate sexual drive (which ex-plains why widows are not allowed to wear sindur!).  The vermillion should be applied generously over the whole parting, up to the soft triangular spot on the top of the head (the fontanel), but now-a-days it is just a token small line which need not be in the middle, as the scientific benefits have been forgotten.  The fontanel is quite visibly throbbing on babies, but become smaller with age. The pulse can be felt there quite easily and it is said that when a person dies, the spirit (Atma) leaves the body from there. Mercury is known to remove stress and strain when used scientifically, and it is said a new bride in India generally experience stress as she must migrate from the parental house to the house of the in-laws. The vermillion line has, furthermore, the property to attract much needed cosmic energy.

 

The Sacred Holy Basil (Tulsi) plant not only represents a mother goddess (because of which it is wor-shipped), it is also very medicinally important. Tulsi is a remarkable antibiotic used to disinfect the inner or-gans when infused and drunk as hot infusion. Chewed and mixed with honey and a couple of pepper corns, it lightens the severity and duration of a common cold.  Crushed and applied on a sore, it prevents further infection. Having a Tulsi plant in the house or in front of the entrance, minimises the nuisance of insects – especially mosquitoes. Snakes are often kept away by a Tulsi plant near the entrance.

 

The scientific reason behind the use of temple bells is that their sounds clear the mind and help one in staying mentally sharp.  One is therefore able to stay fully focussed on devotional matters.  The scientific aspect of tolling bells is that the sound produced creates a unity between the left and right parts of our brains. Temple bells are made in such a way that they produce a sharp and enduring sound, which lasts for approximately 7 seconds. The echo activates the seven healing centres in a human body and helps to eliminate negative thoughts from the mind.

 

A few traditions were obvious to me like bowing before a Guru/deity and even touching the feet of an eld-erly or respected individual, thereby acknowledge their superior age and eventually knowledge.  The gesture of bowing low is meant to curb and thus reduced the ego.  Positive thoughts and energy (karuna), which may reach you through their hands and toes is therefore a valid blessing. It allows the flow of energy and allows a connection between two minds and hearts. It may also happen spontaneously the moment one is faced with someone whose vibration level is above the average – as it did for me the first time I saw Sri Sri Babathakur.  To bow down is, apart from tradition, rooted in science because the very act helps the spine to be flexible, stretches the backside muscles and compresses the abdominal ones, which has noticeable health benefits like moving the bowels and minimise back pain. A very devoted individual may also lie flat on the ground (floor) face down, which represents total submission to the Guru/deity. That gesture is medically helpful, as all the muscles on both front and back of the body are used as well as the shoulder joints, given the arms are stretched over the head and joined at the palms.

 

Change of seasons happens 6 times a year in India, with the two major ones being celebrated as Holi (spring) and Navratras (autumn).  Deepawali/Diwali (celebrated during the early autumn) is also the time when people repair their houses after the rains and clean it thoroughly. Navaratras (nava ratra = nine nights) last for nine days and people observe them so as to cleanse the body and mind and to prepare them for change.  The followers of Sanathana Dharm generally observe food rituals during that time to bring in positive energy and thus increase self-confidence. To avoid certain food items (partial fast) or total fast in which only water is allowed, increases will power and determination (which all need regularly!). Full or partial fasts are commonly observed for one or two days a week as per religious injunctions.  Accumulation of toxic residues in the digestive system may promote many diseases and mood-swings. Regular full or partial fasts reduce the risks of serious disturbances such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, immune disorders etc.

 

Every community has some rules for intake of food.  In India as a whole, with its vast variety of communi-ties and beliefs, the ancient sages prescribed that the beginning of the meal should be reasonably spicy, and the end be sweet. The spicy start activates the digestive juices and acids to flow, and the sweetness at the end reduces the speed of the digestion so that the food remains longer in the system and the hunger pangs therefore take longer to manifest.

 

Amongst the various energy sensitive spots on the body, a well defined spot on the top of the head, a bit behind the fontanel, is the meeting point of ascending nerves from the body and the brain. Religious minded males often sport a ‘sikha’ to protect and help boost the subtle energies.

 

In most villages of India, one can find a massive Peepal tree at the meeting point. I have relaxed under such trees during my travels all over rural India. The special quality of the Peepal tree is that, it generates oxygen even at night.  So to take rest under it is actually regenerating.  It is however also associated with religious connotations due to the above mentioned quality.

 

Mehndi (henna) is first and foremost a medicinal plant. Many use henna on the hair to strengthen it and to cover up grey hairs. Henna cools down the nervous system and thus the body. This is the reason why mehndi is applied on the hands and feet, which house nerve endings of the body. To colour hand and feet of the bride with intricate designs of mehndi is one of the rituals during marriage, which serve to control bridal stress. Even the female guests have mehndi applied as part of a pre-marriage ritual.

 

Alta is a red lac-dye that women in India apply on their feet during marriages and religious festivals. For Hindus, this has been a sacred dye known in Sanskrit as lakshya rasa. Alta is, however, also used as medicine when applied on the heels and sides of the feet to avoid or mitigate cracked skin. Alta is com-monly used not only during winter time, where walking bare feet causes cracks in the skin, but round the year for beautification. When I was a new bride, I used to apply the alta in a decorative way.  When I asked Guruji about the non-medical use of it, he jokingly said that in India, a man was not supposed to look at the face of a woman.  So using alta on the feet would draw his eyes towards the feet instead of the face like bulls are attracted to the red cloth of the toreador.  I laughed heartily at that explanation.

 

In villages, food is taken sitting on the floor, but in the cities, tables and chairs are most often used. Peo-ple have become used to the ease of using such props, and have forgotten the reasons for sitting on the floor. Sitting in the yogic “Sukhasan” position (cross-legged) helps improving digestion as the circulatory system can focus solely upon digestion and not on our legs dangling from a chair or on supporting the body while we are standing at receptions. It is definitely also more practical to make people sit in rows on the floor and eat from banana leaves if several people have to be fed at various social functions.

 

When I first came to India, I didn’t know that the sleeping direction had consequences. I was told to sleep with the head towards the south or east. To scare people the tale goes that Yama, the God of death, comes from the North. The scientific reason is that the human body has its own magnetic field and that the earth is a giant magnet. If the head is resting towards the north, the direction of earth’s energy is against it, and be-cause the body has a significant amount of iron, this may lead to blood pressure problems.  The heart would also be working more intensely to overcome the opposition in response to the magnetic poles and thus create pressure on the brain, leading to mental diseases, high blood pressure, and other ailments.

 

People living in tropical or sub-tropical climates have a tendency to become less physically active during the day due to climatic conditions. To counteract that, the Sages urged people to make it a habit of performing Surya Namaskar (greeting of the sun) very early in the morning. To look at the sun and salute it in specific yogic ways at dawn is leads to having increased levels of energy for the remainder of the day.  Also, the combination of movements undertaken while performing Surya Namaskar  will keep the body flexible for longer years than if one is just ‘sitting around’.

 

Indian physicians using natural remedies believe that piercing the ear lobes helps in the development of intellect, reasoning power and decision making faculties. It is also said to help reduce impertinent behaviour and keep the ear channels free from disorders. Ear piercing is, furthermore, used medically in acupuncture because the whole body is represented in a series of points. I myself had piercings done in the upper part of the earlobe cartilage as help for correct posture and back ache.

 

When I first experienced people worshipping an idol in the form of a monkey, an elephant, phallic symbol or some mythological figure, I was taken aback. Yet, there is a scientific reason for do so.  A person will shape the thoughts as per what is seen for the purpose of increasing concentration during prayers and thus enable himself/herself to absorb spiritual energy.

 

The friction caused by bangles worn by most Indian women enhances blood circulation and the electricity passing through the skin is again reverted to the body.  Thus it isn’t merely for beautification purpose that bangles are worn.  Even men from some communities use bangles of steel. In West Bengal, a married woman is urged to wear three bangles, a red, a white and a steel one (at least for some time after the wed-ding).  Those bangles have symbolic meanings.  The red one gives energy to pursue the multiple demands of a daughter-in-law, a wife and a mother. The white one reminds the woman to remain pure in thoughts and deeds and helps in regulating the water flow of the body.  Finally, the iron one signifies that the marriage should be as difficult to break as iron and because many women suffer from anaemia.

 

All of the above represent but tiny examples of the innumerable traditions currently followed in India. The inclusion of all the traditions regularly followed in, for example within West Bengal could fill several volumes. Traditions are mostly handed down orally from one generation to the next (but rarely with the scientific explanations) and some of them may even include superstitions.