#IndianCustoms - (Part -2 of 3) - Some more details of Bindi or Tilak in Indian Customs - TravellerG

[TravellerG]

Photo -1; Caption: An Indian (heritage) bronze statue with two bindis (One oval & another round between the eyebrows).

Hello, my dear friends,

I hope you have read & enjoyed Part -1 (Here)

Now, if we go a step further…there are different views on this concept:

It is believed that between 3300 to 1300 BCE (during Harappan civilisation) women started wearing Sindur, denoting the lady is married, and not to be persuaded by other males.

Photo -2; Caption: The full statue of the Cover Photo.

According to the sages, we have three eyes; the two physical eyes for seeing the external world, and the third eye focusing inward towards God within us (Aham Brahmasmi - unity of ‘Individual Self’ with the ‘Absolute’ - “I am Divine”; we can go in detail if needed). The Bindi, located on the third eye, constantly reminds us to keep God at the centre of our thoughts always.

Photo -3; Caption: Readymade Red Sticker Bindis with black rim (from my wife’s collection).

Another view:

The ancient Indians believed that "the human body has seven vortices of energy, called “Chakras” - ie. 7 Chakras. The Chakras begin at the base of the spine and end at the top of the head. The third eye (Angya Chakra), located between the two eyebrows, is the sixth Chakra which spiritually connects us with the Almighty.

Photo -4; Caption: Imitation - Gold plated Bindis.

Bindi in this modern world:

Bindi has become so popular that it has become a part of the beauty mark; irrespective of religion, you can find girls/women wearing different types of Bindis. Starting from simple sticker Bindis, the range goes to Bindis made of precious stones like platinum, gold, etc. - of course, precious stones are also used in Bindis. One can buy numerous types of Bindis in the market.

The world-famous rapper Lil Uzi Vert debuted a $24 million pink diamond bindi in February 2021 (source Wiki).

Photo -5; Caption: Lord Krishna with “U” type Bindi - (you might have noticed this on ‘Hare Krishna’ devotees)

Many Hindu men wear Kumkum or Sandal Paste or a combination of both for festivals or as a daily ritual. A Black Bindi is worn as the Prasad (offering) after “Homa” (a Hindu ritual where the offerings are burnt in flames). The “white” marks are of “Bhasma” (usually, ‘Ash’ of cow dung) mainly worn by Shaivaites (followers of Lord Shiva); some ‘Brahmins’ (priest class) wear a combination of all these (especially Brahmins from Kerala).

Photo -6; Caption: A Kerala Brahmin Priest wearing the combinations of different Bindis (Marks).

Continued & Concluded in Part -3 (Here)

**@renata1 @PattyBlack @Tushar_Suradkar @RosyKohli @Gurukrishnapriya @Ewaade_3A @ajitthite @CAAG1959 @AZ_2021 @Stephanie_OWL **

[TravellerG]

Hello, LG friends who have responded to Part -1, here is Part -2; kindly give your feedback:
@plavarda @Tejal @DENIT33 @PriyankaU @MohammadPalash @porkgoldzhuzhu @CreativeCreature @SanjayBDLG @Shrut19 @shahinurime

Thanks in advance for your support.

Warm Regards

[P_LAVARDA]

Interesting my dear @TravellerG , it corresponds to what I would like to see more often on Connect, thanks! You know well that I am passionate about meditation and the awakening of the Chakras is part of the daily practice of the person who meditates. As it is easy to understand, we Westerners will never be able to reach the spiritual peaks of the Indian people, most likely we are also talking about DNA, this practice is now linked to the genome of the Indian people, as art can be for Italians people. But if you don’t continue to take care of these qualities, they will gradually be lost and this due to the devastating global cultural flattening that proposes a single model of technological civilization which, if abused, will lead to the inevitable loss of traditions and the arts. A strong hug.

Paolo

[MohammadPalash]

হ্যালো @TravellerG আমাকে মেনশন করার জন্য কৃতজ্ঞতা।

তৃতীয় চক্ষু বা অন্তর চক্ষু হ্যা আমিও এই অংশ তে একমত। দেখতে পাওয়া দুই চোখ দিয়ে তো আমরা বাহিরের জগত দেখি কিন্তু নিজের সৃষ্টিকর্তাকে দেখতে চাইলে অন্তর চক্ষু ছাড়া উপায় নেই।

আর ধ্যান নিয়ে আমিও @plavarda এর সাথে একমত।

[CAAG1959]

Hola @TravellerG como siempre nos tienes acostumbrados otra excelente publicación, gracias por compartirla. Cuanto más podemos aprender a través de una persona, que como dice, nuestro común amigo @plavarda , llevan en sus genes su religión ancestral. Es un placer leer sobre religión cuando se escribe de esta manera. Y agrego a lo dice dice Pablo, que no solamente por ser occidentales nunca vamos a llegar a ese nivel espiritual y la frivolidad del mundo virtual y globalizado, si no que también, por miles de inescrupulosos, que aprovechando la necesidad de la humanidad de “CREER” mal utilizan y muchas veces en su propio beneficio (hasta económico) las doctrinas orientales que podrían hacer crecer a nuestro ser interior comunicándolo con el Ser Superior. Mucho menos que alguna seamos “YO SOY”.

Gracias a ti por la publicación y a Pablo por el complemento a la misma.

Ambas exquisitas publicaciones.

Saludos desde Uruguay

[Stephanie_OWL]

@TravellerG

Danke, dass du mich für diesen 2ten Teil markiert hast!

Über die 7 Chakren weiß ich nur wenig, aber vielleicht ein winziges bisschen mehr als die breite Masse.

Während meiner Arbeit als Erzieherin bin ich mit Reiki in Kontakt gekommen.

Energiearbeit durch Handauflegen.

Im westlichen Reiki gibt es 3-4 Grade, der erste Grad öffnet den Reiki Kanal.

Danach geht es weiter bis zum Meister und dann Lehrer.

Über den ersten Grad bin ich nicht hinaus gekommen und MEIN Wissen ist durch die vergangenen Jahre verschüttet.

Aber die Erwähnung der Chakren durch sich riefen mir dies in Erinnerung.

[PattyBlack]

Grazie @TravellerG per tutti i dettagli. È un mondo a me sconosciuto perché non ho mai avuto modo di approfondire l’argomento. Con questi tuoi post stai sicuramente accrescendo la mia curiosità. Grazie di nuovo. Attendo con ansia di leggere il seguito e dovrò ritornare sull’argomento quando il tempo me lo permetterà Grande guida

[Ddimitra]

hi @TravellerG

easy to read and understand.

Thank you for sharing the knowledge my dear friend

[TravellerG]

Yes, I fully agree with you for all the points except the one:

To me, there a few masters who have dedicated their life & picked up Meditation and Yoga to the top level. I know a few of them practicing “Eka Paada Pranamaasana” on daily basis.

I do agree that the DNA has a lot to contribute & the ancestral value too is very important.

“… they will gradually be lost and this due to the devastating global cultural flattening…”

This situation is more complicated - more dangerous than the Atom Bomb.

And

“… technological civilization which, if abused…”

Some time, this may call for the end of our planet.

Thank you very much for your fully involved response, my dearest friend @plavarda

[TravellerG]

Yes, dear friend @MohammadPalash ,

You got the point fully.

Thanks for your quick & prompt response.

Best regards

[TravellerG]

Very well conceived and presented response, my dear friend @CAAG1959 .

Excellently expressed…

“… BELIEVE” misuse… "

This is really a big challenge even in India; but, to my surprise, the younger generation is more careful and the" GOOD BELIEVERS" are in the increase…

Westerners and the Spiritual level, I have already responded in the response to our dear @plavarda (Here).

The Other Important point: “I AM” - yes, this is doing the maximum damage to our planet - even the EGO of the country heads are killing thousands of people… Very sad situation.

I believe that our friend @Stephanie_OWL also may like to read this response?

Loving regards and a strong hug to each one of you.

[TravellerG]

Hello dear @DeniGu ,

Is this topic is of your interest?

If not, kindly pardon me for tagging you.

Best wishes for a happy Xmas and New Year.

Greetings with prayers.

[TravellerG]

Hello dear friends @ErmesT and @LuigiZ

I just thought that you might be interested in this topic, as you are interested in Global Culture.

If not pardon me for tagging you.

With best wishes for a Happy Xmas and Prosperous New Year.

Greetings from India,

[TravellerG]

Hello dear friend @Stephanie_OWL ,

Thanks for your detailed response…

Reiki is not very popular in India.

Heard about the Reiki Degrees, but not very familiar to me.

Happy to read that the post was informative and helpful to you.

Thanks is also for inviting this topic through me.

Best wishes.

[TravellerG]

Most sincerely thank you for your kind words and support, dear @PattyBlack

Yes, there is a large gap in heritage and culture.

It is told that the Indian Civilization dates back to 2600 BCE.

Very happy that the post was informative and helpful to you.

Best regards

[DeniGu]

Hi @TravellerG ,

I do find the topic of bindi interesting! And I really appreciate you sharing about the meaning and different varieties (wow, a $24 million bindi!!!) here on Connect.

My only experience, if I can describe it like that, with bindi has been during yoga classes. When the instructor asks us to bring our attention to the spot between the eyebrows and imagine a burning candle there as a way to awaken the “God within us,” as you also explained. I find these moments really calming - even thinking about that burning candle now makes me feel at peace. So thank you for bringing peace to my day and this element of Indian customs to everyone here on Connect!

[TravellerG]

Firstly, I’m so much thankful for your detailed response to my humble post, dear friend @DeniGu - I know, you are quite busy - still you made it up.

“… So thank you for bringing peace to my day…”

You are most welcome…

Have you also visited the Part - 1 of this post (Here), of course if your time permits - it is about the importance of Bindi in Indian culture.

Thank you, once again.

Wish you blessed Xmas and a Happy New Year.

Greetings from India.

[LuigiZ]

Hi @TravellerG ,

thank you for the tag and I do find indeed interesting discovering more about the Bindi and Tilak in your local culture. To be honest I didn’t know all those details and I always love to learn more about local cultures which makes us different and special.

Thank you once again and Happy Holiday season (Merry Christmas if you do celebrate it today)!

[Gurukrishnapriya]

A very informative and interesting post @TravellerG Sir. As you mentioned there are many ways of wearing bindis, the purpose is same. I have experienced the coolness when wearing the sandal paste. Really there is truth behind it. Controlling the inner self requires to control our emotions and face the challenges. There are some practices (kriyas) when done properly is good for our well-being, physically and emotionally. Looking forward to your next post Sir.

My husband wearing Thilak (sreechurnam) on his forehead.

[AZ_2021]

Nicely written @TravellerG Yet another fun article to learn new things.

Now I understand more what is meant in yoga when they say chakra and 3rd eye. I love to see as well how a rapper wore a bindi; it just goes to show how it’s a small world after all.