Life Force

In this 21^st Century we are speaking about women empowerment but, are we in the right track? According to me we are not. We are now adopting globalization and following the culture of other countries rather than our own culture and customs. All our traditions are framed with a scientific reason, as years passed on the scientific reasons are projected to be superstitious. Most of the historical practices were designed for women empowerment but most of us are not aware of the exact scientific reason behind it. And so we say that women are/were dominated through these practices.

 

In this post, I am going to highlight few points about why women are not allowed to attend religious functions, to visit the temple and to touch menstruating women.  

 

Our Vedas identified a principle of “energy” that gives movement, velocity, direction and motivation to the human body. This energy of life is named as Prana – primal breath or life force. Now-a-days we follow allopathic medicine which is just few years old which deals with external medication or treatment. Our ancestors led a healthy life by following the Ayurvedic medicine which is approximately 7000 years old it is a science of life and natural healing system with a deep knowledge of the relation between human body and nature. The three doshas, the three primary life-forces are considered to be the basic principle in which Ayurveda is built.  Doshas are the bio-energies that make up every individual, and also helps in performing different physiological functions in the body. The three types of Doshas are Vata, Pitta and Kapha corresponds to the elements of air, fire and water respectively. Each dosha has a primary function in the body. Vata (air) is the moving force responsible for communication, perception and cognition; Pitta (fire) is the force of assimilation and is responsible for metabolism; and Kapha (water) is the force for stability.

According to Ayurveda, menstruation is closely linked to the functions of the doshas. Menstruation is coined in Ayurveda as a special advantage enjoyed by women for monthly cleansing of excess doshas; it is this monthly cleansing that accounts for female longevity.  There is a buildup of energy in the days leading to menstruation as the body prepares for pregnancy. If pregnancy does not take place and menstruation starts, the energy which is produced by our body gets dissipated during menstruation. During menstruation, Vata is the predominant dosha. Apana vayu, one of the elemental air functions of the Vata Dosha, it is responsible for the downward flow of menstruation. Therefore, any activity that interferes with this necessary downward flow of energy during menstruation should be avoided. During menstruation, women are more likely to absorb other energies from their environment. This forms the basis of most of the cultural practices during menstruation in India. The energy during menstruation goes downwards into the earth, at the puja table, offerings, altar the energy is goes upwards. This can bring discomfort in the body. This is the reason why girls are not allowed to enter temple during their menstrual time.

 

According to Sri Amritananda Natha Saraswati (Guruji), founder of Devipuram, a temple in Andhra Pradesh, “What is pure, we don’t touch. And what we don’t touch, we call it a Taboo. She (a menstruating woman) was so pure, that she was worshipped as a Goddess. The reason for not having a woman go into a temple is precisely this. She was a living Goddess at that time. The energy of the God or Goddess which is there in the murthi (idol) will move over to her, and that (the idol) becomes lifeless, while this (the menstruating woman) is life. So that’s why they were prevented from entering into the temple. So it is exactly the opposite of what we think. Asking menstruating women to not attend a temple has nothing whatsoever to do with a woman being impure. So next time when someone says that a menstruating woman should not enter a temple because she is impure, we should let her know the explanation behind this practice, instead of simply dismissing it as taboo. And let her decide whether or not she wants to follow these practices.

Chakras are energy centres in the spinal column. There are seven chakras in the human body. The lower chakras are involved in bodily functions while the higher chakras are connected to the higher centres in the brain. During the process of eating food, the lower chakras of our body are highly active. So while eating, people expel negative energy all around. In the normal course of things, we would not feel it. But if a menstruating woman, who is sensitive to absorb all types of energies around her who is eating in the middle of a group, she can get affected by the negative energies. This is probably the reason why menstruating women were told to stay away from others and eat separately.



As explained by spiritual and Ayurveda teacher Maya Tiwari, in her book Women’s Power to Heal: Through Inner Medicine:
“Asking women to avoid gardening or cooking during menstruation is not due to the irrational thinking that our menstrual blood is unclean, unhygienic or toxic. The cosmic memory of food – which is derived only from plant life according to the Vedas – is imbued with prana, a rising energy flow up from the earth towards the sun and the sky. Conversely, our menstrual blood is instilled with apana vayu, the downward flow, bodily air pulled down from the body by the magnetic forces of the earth. These two powerful sadhanas do not go hand in hand. Plant-derived food is also kapha in nature, full of youth giving energy that nourishes the body; menstrual blood is dominated by Pitta and Vata, which fosters the cleansing of the spirit. It is most unwise to introduce the rising, energizing nature of our food into our blood, or to mix the downward flowing, cleansing energy of blood into our sustenance, either by preparing food during menstruation, or by slaughtering animals and eating them.”
 

We need to remember that these cultural practices came into act when ancient Indians were more in touch with their nature, body and our indigenous sciences. It is likely that those applications of such knowledge would have been common, before the advent of western allopathic medicine.