A Perspective on Certain Customs and Traditions

May the Almighty God illuminate our intellect to lead us along the right path.(Gist of the Gayathri Mantra)

Being born into an orthodox Iyer family, I have grown up among a plethora of customs and traditions.  Most of these traditions have been practiced from centuries and passed on from one generation to another.

As a young girl, I used to scorn at them, finding most of them irksome and inconvenient.  Often I rebelled, seeking explanations and scientific basis for their practice.  The reasons put forth were vague, unconvincing or absurd, leaving me utterly confused and more rebellious.

Today, looking back, I am able to understand that behind many of these practices, there  existed sound principles- scientific, social or environmental-keeping the betterment of mankind in mind.  Very often these practices were cloaked in myth or superstition - to make certain that they were practiced without default-   that they did not die or perish over a period of time.  Further, as an additional measure, dire consequences were pronounced/predicted for their non-conformance, or non-adherence. I hasten to add here that not all practices were for the good of mankind. There are a few rituals that are a blotch -a disgrace to humanity or to womanhood, and should be totally shunned.  And a few others that are antiquated and have no relevance in today’s world. Human beings are continuously evolving.  Many of the practices which were relevant in earlier times have no implications today.  It is important for us to discern, and imbibe the good - to separate the chaff from the grain, so to say –and improvise and adapt them to suit the changing environment and circumstances.

Let us now examine a few of the rituals or customs that are significant even today:

Offering of cooked rice to the crow before partaking of food:

Drawing of the Rangoli:

The dabbing of cow dung in the front yard and decorating it with ‘kolam’ or ‘rangoli’ (drawing of intricate geometric patterns with rice powder, limestone powder etc) is the prerogative of the women-folk of the house.  The cow dung ensures automatic disinfection while the ‘rangoli’ gives scope to the women to bring out their creative and artistic talents.

The Sandhyavandanam (the thrice a day ritual of worship and meditation), the Suryanamaskaram (the invocation of the blessings of the Sun God) and the Gayathri Mantra (Mother of the Vedas)

Besides their significance in worship and devotion, the aforesaid ritualistic discipline is an out and outthree-in-one health package.  The Pranayama or the breathing exercises performed during Sandhyavandanam is a wholesome therapy for de-stressing and relaxing the mind and activating the body.

As for Surya Namaskaram , it is a known fact how the sun’s rays have a rejuvenating effect on the body.

 The Gayathri Mantra said to be one of the most powerful mantra is chanted for energizing our physical health, our intellect and spiritual consciousness.

The chanting of the various Sanskrit slokas in the right intonation creates an aura of awareness, recharging the mind, body and soul thereby ensuring a disciplined and moralistic lifestyle.  Most of the mantras invoke the Almighty’s grace for universal good of mankind.

The sacred thread itself is a constant reminder to man to have control over the five vices – Kama (Passion), Krodha (Anger), Lobha (Greed), Moha (Attachments) and Ahankara (Ego).

Worshipping of the Tulsi Plant:

The Tulsi (meaning ‘the incomparable one) is a revered symbol of worship.  The women folk, in a ritualistic way, circumambulate the ‘Tulsi Madom’ and water the plant reverently.  The reason here is simple to comprehend – The Tulsi leaves or the Basil Plant has a number of medicinal properties and forms the base for most of the home remedies.

The Diet:

The simple diet of rice and pulses, tamarind, coriander, cumin seeds ,lentils, coconut and gingelly oil and of course the curds and the cow ghee effortlessly provides necessary nutrition for a normal human being .Another observation here is that the food is neither too bland nor too spicy so while it pampers the taste buds it does not titillate.  Here too the message is austerity and discipline and that one should not give way to excesses.  It can also be noticed that there is not much variance in the standard of the diet of a poor man as compared to a well-to-do person.

Partaking of food on the banana leaf:

This is both hygienic and eco-friendly.  The leaf is spread in such a way that its tip is in line with the person’s left hand and the base is to the person’s right.  There is ample space on the banana leaf for an elaborate meal. The serving of the dishes has a time-tested definite pattern.  Each dish has a specified place on the banana leaf and thus even a blind person can access to all the dishes he wants without assistance.  The Payasam or the Kheer is served in the lower right hand end of the leaf, while the pickles, the papad and chips find their place on the upper left hand end.     In short, the top half of the leaf occupies the various spicy and salt dishes, while the bottom half is reserved for the sweet dishes, with the centre allotted to ‘rice’.  To me, this arrangement is amazingly user-friendly (sorry! eater friendly). 

After the meal, the banana leaves are either relished by the cattle or find their place in a pit in the soil where they decompose and become compost,

Matching of horoscopes:

I even feel that matching of horoscopes must have evolved to reduce inequalities in income (the concept could have had a strong social significance). At least on the pretext of horoscope-matching, a poor girl stood the chance of marrying a rich or an educated man.  Otherwise, the rich would marry only the rich and continue to become richer while the poor would become poorer and poorer and finally perish

The celebration of the different Hindu festivals is a social stimulation and creates a zest for life.  The concept of fasting on certain days was necessary not only for cleansing the body buts also for disciplining the mind.

Hinduism is said  to be not a religion but a way of life.  Hence what I have mentioned in the aforesaid paragraphs can only be illustrative and not exhaustive.  There may be many more practices that directly or indirectly benefit mankind or enhance the quality of life.