Many customs and rituals followed by older generation are followed only on occassions. Otherwise, our daily life is divorced from any sort of religious restriction or requirements.
Ladies were the guards of dharma in earlier generation. With the men folk abandoning Sandhyavandanam and other nithya karmas and running behind money, women still held on to sastram.
They considered kitchen as a divine place. Definitely it was place of worship. Entry without bath was a strict no no. Previous days left over were carefully kept in a corner, removing them from fresh items. Provisions and oils were separated from cooked food. Food was never tasted while cooking.
Also women observed three days of seclusion during their periods. Now this practice is often discouraged by all parents. While a muslim woman happily wears a parda, a hindu finds it backward to follow these injunctions.
These nithya karmas and sasthram followed by men and women had an adhrishta palan. It lays the basic step for spiritual cleansing. Because, these duties are not transactional in nature. Other dharmic rituals like shrardham, marriage etc are transactional and with some purpose and expectation. But with nithyakarmas, we do not attach any such expectation. Tberefore, they are purer and takes us closer to God.
These customs along with daily pooja to chosen deity, increases the quality of a human being. Makes us more sharper and clearer. When we leave all these rituals, quality of our offsprings will decline invariably.
Hindu religion is not for individuals with only materialistic ambitions. It is for those who want to go closer to God. There is no meaning to our religion if these subtle practices are lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment