I enjoy watching curious people and I wait for them to go ahead and ask even if they may not get a satisfying answer, I feel thats one way to learn about things around you.....Ask.
One of the questions that I get asked most often is "Does that dot on your forehead mean anything?" Yes it sure does. I didnt bother to find out what it meant until I came to the USA and realized that although I wore it everyday, I didnt know what it meant. So I tried to find out, and here is the information I have about the the dot on my forehead
It is called the Bindi, Sindoor,Theeka or Tilak depending on which Indian you ask. Bindi is derived from the Sanskrit word "Bindu" or a drop. It is a symbol of auspiciousness. To a Hindu, the Bindi is a sacred symbol. It symbolizes the cosmic sound of OM and hence reminds us of our connection to all that is part of the Universe. In the earlier days Bindi or Tilak was worn by Indian Men and women for spiritual reasons. In the present world, only those men who are traditional wear it, while most women continue to follow it, for they are the bearers of traditions.
According to Hinduism, there are energy centers within our body, which can be awakened via meditation, yoga and other disciplines. The area between the eyebrows is the energy center of latent wisdom, called the "Agna Chakra" (6th chakra), meaning "command center". By wearing the Bindi, one is reminded of his/her capacity for wisdom and knowledge. Tantric tradition has it that during meditation, the "kundalini" - the latent energy that lies at the base of the spine is awakened and rises to the point of sahasrara (7th chakra) situated at our crown. The central point, the bindu, becomes therefore a possible outlet for this potent energy. It is believed that the red Bindi(kumkum) is placed between the eyebrows to retain this energy in the human body. The practice of using Bindi/kumkum on foreheads is mentioned in many ancient texts - the Puranas, Lalitha Sahasranamam, Soundarya Lahhari to name a few.
Most ancient societies have ways of communicating without having to use words. Usually this is done by some form of symbolism. Everything from the colour to the finger used to apply and the precise spot at which the Tilak is applied assumes importance. Black mark signifies peace, red for strength/courage, yellow for wealth/prosperity and white for Nirvana or spiritual liberation. The tilak worn using the thumb imparts strength, the forefinger- freedom, the middle finger-longevity, the ring-finger-sustenance. People in the Indian sub-continent use the Tilak(mostly worn by the male) to identify their different sectarian ties or for good luck. We have four major sects, Shaivas, Vaishnavas, Saktas and Smartas. Each sect apply the Tilak in different ways. The shivas use ash and draw 3 horizontal lines. The vishnavas, use sandalwood paste and draw 3 vertical lines. The Shaktas use the Kumkum.
For a woman, the colour of the bindi signifies her marital status. Any colour other than Red is used by unmarried girls. In Northern India a girl is not required to wear a bindi while in the south India, it is not so. Red coloured dots are used by those who are married. Those who are widows, do not wear a bindi. In some regions of India, when someone in the family dies, the women in the family do not wear a bindi for the period of mourning.
Bindi, is called Pottu/Bottu or Tilaka depending on the region in India. Different materials are used for this marking. The most common ones are sindoor, kumkum(a red plant dye mixed with turmeric powder), turmeric, aguru(a herb), kasturi(musk, from the deer), Gandha(Sandalwood), and Ash. In ancient times, women would grind saffron together with the kusumbha flower to create a paste to use on their foreheads. Red represents Shakti (the goddess of strength). The red colour, some believe, symbolizes the far more ancient practice of offering blood sacrifices to propitiate the Gods - particularly the Goddess Shakti. In time, communities put an end to actual sacrifices and offered gifts instead, but the colour red remained. The yellow of the turmeric has the power to influence the intellect. That is why the red kumkum and the yellow turmeric are placed side by side in temples or in any homes during a celebration. Both are offered to women at the time of taking leave in certain parts of the country. This is to express goodwill and the hosts' prayers for the guests' continued good fortune.
Both Sindoor and kumkum are Auspicious. Both stand for good fortune and signs of "Soubhagya(the fortune of having a husband)" in the case of a married woman. The Sindoor is usually worn in the parting of the hair on the head to signify the Status of being Married. Men wore the vermilion dot as a mark of spiritual intelligence. The forehead dot known as the "urna" is found on the 2nd and 3rd century AD sculptures of Lord Buddha. Today, most men wear kumkum specifically during worship or religious ceremonies.
Some scholars have seen the red colour as a symbolism for blood. We are told that in ancient times, in Indian societies, a groom used to apply his blood, on his bride's forehead as recognition of wedlock. The existing practice among Indian women of applying a round shaped red Bindiya or Kumkum could be a survival of this.
The bridegroom's make-up is incomplete without the Tilaka. The decked North Indian bride steps over the threshold of her married home, resplendent with the red bindi on her forehead. The red color is supposed to augur prosperity for the home she is entering. The mark makes her the preserver of the family's welfare, honour and progeny.
Today, the Bindi and the Kumkum has become a fashion statement around the world. To keep up the demand in the fashion industry, the kumkum, is being replaced by the "sticker-bindi". Made of felt, with glue on one side, this is an ingenious easy-to-use substitute. The sticker-bindi comes in all colours and design, sequinned, dusted with gold powder, studded with beads and glittering stones and in different sizes. They have become expressions of art and fashion.
The bindi is an adornment that lights up your face and gives it a focal point. Bindi, on the beloved's forehead is supposed to mesmerise her lover. Poets, through ages have composed couplets on the beautiful bindiya of the damsel. The bindi still attracts a lot of attention, as it is the first thing that catches our eye. The bindi carries with it a wealth of meaning and is an on-going link with a very ancient spiritual tradition.
6 comments:
Its all very interesting, on the one hand the powerful spiritual association that the married woman, now accessing the power to create other beings has entered into, its like an initiation, if men weren't originally a party to it one would say it was a tilak of the Goddess. Maybe it is anyway. On the other hand, there is the strangeness of its possible association with blood. I remember visiting a Kali temple in the Himmalayas where an animal sacrifice had just taken place, and the red bindi was put on my forehead, which I could never be sure was that the blood of the animal or something else! It is thought that in ancient times the blood the woman naturally loses each month had a fearsome power. When the mans blood was put upon his new wife, I am tempted to think the blood ceremony may originally have been from the woman herself and symbolised her power now unleashed in her leaving her girlhood behind. A lot of old goddess practice, as in new religious developments like Christianity, is said to have been taken and transformed by males and male priests and wiped out from the memory of what it was before. The womans own bleeding became then became a dirty word by which to label her inferior, rather than symbolic of both her amazing creative and destructive power, Hope this doesn't sound all too strange!!! But its the response in me your write up is stimulating!
Thank you for leaving comments.. yes, there is a lot of speculation about whether or not it signifies blood.. I have heard that when the husband puts his "blood" in the parting of the wife's hair, it is done with a cut in the Thumb - which signifies Strength, implying that from then on his wife will be his consort adding to their strength...
"The womans own bleeding became then became a dirty word by which to label her inferior, rather than symbolic of both her amazing creative and destructive power"
-- It used to be about Power, cause during this time the woman is most intuitive therefore most susceptible to Influence/Power. It used to be the time for introspection and meditation 'cause of the insight the comes forth during the time.. guess, times change perception and hence the way people live.
Stimulating was a very good way to put this background to such a longheld tradition, one I knew of only by the recognized 'third eye' mark between the eyes, as I, and friends clumsily called it.
A profound thought evolves through this discussion however, at least to my thinking. Your stating times can change perception (history definitely shows this too) and with time's passage, traditions keep some of the early roots along with much change amended to suit more current times. It would seem in some way, that perception will not grasp something in it's core, unaltering naked form from which everything was part of everything else.
This was very stimulating and informative and it's the very first time I've actually sat down and read anything about the dot between the eyes and it's rich culture behind it.
Thank you Curt for the comments.. Glad you enjoyed this read.
It is tough to put away the influences of the times we live in and reach out to the the original meaning of what was and now changed... I feel(therefore not logical or scientifically emperical) that if we looked into what we call "Superstition" and Myths and Legends today there would be a profound reason as to why it came to be so. It has to be considered in Context of the Time it came into existence.
hi i just wanted to say that i absolutely love the bindi even though m not hindu. it is such a beautiful thing. my love for it is solely because it adds immense beauty to the face. I make it a point to almost continuously wear it. I think it's a sign of womanhood. A woman can't be complete without a bindi on her forhead. I think all women, no matter what race or religion, should wear a bindi. I can't imagine life without a bindi. Once i was going someplace in my car and suddenly realised i forgot to wear a bindi. I turned around, rushed back home, and quickly placed a silver bindi between my eyebrows. Mindsnomad, do you only wear a red dot everyday or other shapes too (not talking about special occassions)?
just droped in to see you
Iam also a dreamer but my dreams are not resembling
have anice wonderfull new year
shiv
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