Customs and Rituals in Hindu Dharma

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Customs and Rituals in Hindu Dharma

What is the definition of a Hindu : Aa sindho: sinduparyantham yasya

bhaaratha bhoomikaa maathru bhoo: pithru bhoo (punya) schaiva sa vai

Hindu iti smruthaa: whomsoever, is considering the land between the

sapta sindu ( Indus valley river) upto Indian ocean as the

motherland/ fatherland and holy land, is known as Hindu. This land is

known as Hindustanam which is defined as follows: Himaalayam

samaarabhya yaavath hindu sarovaram tham deva nirmitham desam

hindustaanam prachakshate. The land created by god himself and which

is lying between Himalayas and Indian ocean is known as Hindustanam .

Unlike other religions, Hindu dharma has many specialties. This is

not known as a religion, it is known as the dharma. Either Hindu

dharma or sanaathana dharama. Sanathana means according to bhagavath

geetha, which cannot be destroyed by fire, weapons, water, air, and

which is present in all living and non living being. Dharma means,

the way of life which is the `total of all aachaaraasas or customs

and rituals'. The aachaaraas which are to be performed by the mother

is known as mathru dharma, those of father is known as pitru dharma.

Similarly there are putra dharma ( dharma of son) aachaarya dharma

(dharma of teacher), as a continuation we can say bhraathru (brother)

dharma, bhagini (sister) dharma, poura (citizen) dharma, raja (king)

dharma and so on. All these dharmas have been described in detail

giving the specific importance in the dharma saastra and smruthies.

There is no specific English word for dharma, but it is the sum of

the duties + responsibilities + privileges of that individual. Then

what is the sanathana/ Hindu dharma ? It is the total of mathru

dharma + pitru dharma + putra dharma + putree dharma + acharya dharma

+ poura dharma + …+…etc. Hence we say Hinduism is not a religion but

the way of life.

One should always remember that in each and every aachaaraas / dharma

there will be a component of spirituality in it. Without

spirituality, nothing exists in Hindu dharma. Almost everyone carries

a wrong impression that this spirituality is religion. No !

spirituality is different in Hindu dharma, where the question a

religion does not exist at all, because Hindu dharma was not created

by one individual/prophet/incarnation/…. Hence it is not a religion.

Spirituality is a part of every Hindu custom in the life of a Hindu.

What are the rules to be followed while practicing the Hindu customs

and rituals (aachaaraas) ?. This question has to be scientifically

analyzed. Whatever may the aachaaraas we are practicing in our life,

it has been told that saakshaath anubhavairdhrushto na srutho na guru

darsitha lokaanaam upakaaraaya ethath sarvam pradarsitham. Aachaaraas

are to be followed based on their merits available from the self

experience, one need not blindly follow a teacher or someone who

gives advise without reasoning. All these aachaaraas are mentioned

for the prosperity of the human beings and it should be the prime

focus for practicing the Hindu aachaaraas.

Achaaryaath paadam aadatthe paadam sishya swamedhayaa paadam sa

brahmachaaribhya sesham kaala kramena cha is another important advice

given in smruthies. It means one can get one quarter of the knowledge

from the teacher, one quarter by analyzing oneself, one quarter by

discussing with others and the last quarter one can get during the

process of living by the method addition, deletion, correction and

modification of already known aachaaraas/ new aachaaraas.

It is mentioned that we have to take one quarter from the teacher/

guru. Now, what is the definition of a guru or teacher. Aachinothi

cha saastraarthaan sishyaan saadhayate sudhee swayam aacharti chaiva

sa aacharya iti smruthaa: who is knowing the scientific meaning of

the purpose of the aachaaraas, who can teach the student very

systematically and who is following (all what is taught to the

students) in ones own life, that person is fit to be called as the

teacher/guru. Here, one can see the qualification of a teacher who

can define and explain about the aachaaraas.

Can we practice the aachaaraas at all times with the same level of

devotion ? This is a common question asked. The answer is also given

in our smruthies. Swagraame poornam aaachaaraasasm anya graame

thadardhakam pattane tu thath paadam yaatre baalaad

aaachaaraasastheth. In one's own village, practice all the

aachaaraas, in other villages (while travelling or staying) practice

one half of the aachaaraas, in the cities/ towns follow atleast a

minimum of one quarter of them and while traveling, like a child one

need not practice any of the aachaaraas.

Should we practice the aachaaraas blindly saying that those

aachaaraas were followed by my father or forefathers.? Thaathasya

koopoyam iti bruvaana kaa purusha kshaarajalam pibathi. Saying that

this well was dug by my father ( and for showing respect to him) one

need not drink the salt water (if it is present) in the well.

Aachaaraas need not be the same in Kerala and Kashmir, similarly for

a Hindu the same customs cannot be practiced in America and Rajastan

desert. Hence depending upon the place , time, season, age,

availability of the materials, financial position of the individuals,

the aachaaraas can be duly modified.

The same principles one can see in bhagavath geetha also. Lord

Krishna told Arjuna in the end of Bhagavath geetha, that vimrusya

ethath aseshena yathaa icchasi thathaa kuru: Hey Arjuna all those

whatever I have told you, critically analyze, and the option for

accepting or rejecting is yours.

These are the rules one should follow while analyzing and practicing

the aachaaraas in Hindu dharma. There are many words of guidance

given in dharma saastra book. Saastram pramaanam : scientific results

are the first basis, aapta vaakyam pramaanam : guidance to be taken

from the scholars is the (next ) basis, prathyaksham pramaanam : the

direct experience is the next basis, anumaanam pramanam guessing the

consequences/results, if none of the above parameters is available.

These are the steps one should select for the analyses of the

aachaaraas.

What are the purposes of practicing the aachaaraas ? It has been

described in the smruthies ( which are also known as

dharmasaastras) : aachaaraath labhathehyaayu: aachaaraath

dhanamakshayam achaaraath labhathe suprajaa aachaaro ahanthya

lakshanam . By following the aachaaraas one gets health and

longevity, it leads to prosperity, it gives social relations and

friends, and the followers of achaaras are considered as the

embodiment of nobility. Aachaara heenam na punanthu vedaa: The person

who does not have the habit of practicing the good achaaraas, cannot

even be purified by Vedas.

What are the achaaraas ? those customs and rituals which are

irrelevant in the modern times are known as anaachaaraas, those which

leads to negatives/ non deleterious results are known as

duraachaaraas and those achaaraas which give very positive and useful

results are known are sadaachaaraas or generally known as aachaaraas.

The sadaachaaraas are followed for any one or more of the following

purposes in the Hindu dharma. The aachaaraas are those give

psychological. physiological, family relation and bondage, social

relations and bondage and national integration based positive

results. Focusing on the above five points one can analyze very

systematically all these aachaaraas.

Psychologically beneficial aachaaraas/ customs and rituals: Few

examples are selected for explaining these type of aachaaraas The

morning and evening prayer, the positive songs and keerthans, the

Vedic mantras which produce psycho linguistic and neuro linguistic

effects, etc are psychologically useful aachaaraas. They give

extremely good response in the brain cells by way of producing

curative hormones. The blessings of the elders and parents, the

encouragement given to the children and also to those who are

desperately struggling in the life, the words of consolation, the

blessings like vijayee bhava, the aachaaraas in social gathering and

family functions, etc give psychologically positive results. ( I wish

you will remember that all these aachaaraas are also spiritually

connected, is the Hindu way)

More examples: Reading a puraana gives the messages of ups and downs/

failures and success/ pains and pleasures in the life. The stories of

Sri Rama in Ramayana and that of Pandavas in Mahabharatha inform us

that there are sufferings in the life and everyone should face them

boldly. Reading Bhagavath geetha is for mentally preparing to face

any type of consequences and without failure practicing the

swadharama (ones own duty). Through puranic story telling for the

children , value based messages are given in the form of story

capsules to remain in the memory for many years and to get the

reminder whenever the abnormal pathway is opted to in their life.

Visiting elders on festive occasions is for getting value and

experience based advise from their life. Respecting teachers and

elders, is for keeping the values in ones life and in society for the

learned people who continue to guide the society. Auspicious time

selection for visits and performing ceremonies, is to take extra

mental precaution to see that everything is carefully /

systematically programmed and planned . Consulting a good astrologers

is to see that things are meticulously planned and the blessings of

the Vedic devathaas are assured for an optimism in ones endeavor

(however this should not go to the level of superstition and should

be carefully monitored). Performing pooja is mainly to see that good

will come if good is practiced . And to give the feeling that rest is

left to the divine mercy/ blessings. This blessing is directly

assured (at least we feel so) by conducting poojas in presence of

family and relatives (hence gives an opportunity for the family

members to come together also). Worshiping the idols/ images having

smiling faces (prasanna vadanam) gives a psychological positive

feeling of confidence ( avoid the worship of weeping/ bleeding/ cruel

images as it gives a negative influence in the mind). Chant positive

manthra/ keerthan/ bhajan for positive effect (neurolinguistic and

psycholinguistic) and never chant crying or weeping songs which also

influence the mind negatively

Physiologically beneficial customs and rituals. You can also analyze

these customs and rituals yourself on the scientific base. The soorya

namaskaara / sun salutation performed in the morning is a combination

of 7 yogaasaanaas practiced in ten steps, which give smooth exercise

for all the movable skeletal joints in the body and hence this is

also known as ` the king of the exercises'. Morning prayer karaagre

vasathe lakshmi karamadhye saraswathi karamoole sthithaa gouri

prabhaathe karadarsanam: Sitting in the same bed where you sleep

everyday, without cleaning the teeth-face-body, why this manthra is

chanted, because the body was horizontal for the whole night while

sleeping and it is going to become vertical ( suddenly) when you get

up. In the vertical position of the body the force exerted by the

heart for pumping the blood is more, hence the change of position of

the body from horizontal to vertical level should be slow and steady.

Hence we are instructed to sit on the bed for few seconds ( it has

been statistically estimated that 23% of the heart attack deaths take

place in the heart patients when they suddenly get up and stand/walk

from the lying position ). Similarly with a mantra we touch the floor

samudra vasane devi parvatha sthana mandale Vishnu patnee

namasthubhyam paada sparsam kshamaswa me. The bio static electricity

in the body gets earthed through the fingers instead of the feet,

reducing the chance of arthritis and many other nervous based

disorders. Before taking the food, few second prayer is a Hindu

aachaaraas. during this prayer time and while looking to the food the

flow of saliva in the mouth takes place and this liquid activates the

generation of other digestive enzymes also, thus activating the

process of digestion ( a layer of saliva and digestive enzymes in the

bottom of the stomach before the food comes to the stomach is a

biochemistry). Fasting leads to cleaning of the intestine, certain

fasting (partial) in which change of food is instructed in the

custom, which leads to getting variety of micro nutrients from

different types of food sources. Choodaakarna the ceremony connected

with wearing of the ear ring is just like giving the first

vaccination and annapraasana the first food giving ceremony is like

the first inoculation to the baby through the hands of different

people (the ear ring in the former and food in the latter carries

little dirt/germs which leads to augmenting the immunity in the body

of the baby). These are only very few among thousands of aachaaraas

practiced by Hindus, for physiological benefit

More examples: Do not keep the direction of the head towards north

because the magnetic meridian of the earth retards the blood flow

through brain capillaries and affect the functioning of brain cells.

Avoid taking bed coffee to prevent the obnoxious decomposed materials

generated by microorganism in the mouth ( in the night ) going to the

stomach to avoid the chance of stomach cancer. Wake up early morning,

because the brain is perfectly active during that time. Take a bath

in the morning itself so that all the decomposed products/ salts/

urea etc present on the surface of the body gets cleaned which

prevents the skin diseases significantly. The cold water/ hot water

bath activates the biological process of the body cells to maintain

the body temperature when cold/ hot water bath is taken. Dhyaana /

meditation activates brain cells. Praanaayaama activates the lungs

cells and functioning. Taking thulasi water/ theertha gives the

medicinal property of the plant in it. Using sandal wood paste in the

forehead gives the chance of absorbing the medicinal components in

the chandan through the most sensitive part of the body. Visiting a

temple ( in Hindu worship, the temples are not merely prayer halls,

they are quantum healing centers) gives energy to the body if pancha

suddhee is maintained. Doing pradakshina to aswatha gives an

atmosphere/ air through which traces of ozone produced by the tree

goes to the lungs and purifies the lungs. Attending and participating

temple festivals give the opportunity for leadership qualities,

social gathering, entertainment and hence variety of merits including

spiritual benefits.

Customs and rituals beneficial for strengthening the family bondage:

When we look for integrated development of the society, the family

relation becomes the first step in the social life. There are

hundreds of aachaaraasasas in the Hindu life which are exclusively

aimed at strengthening the family relations and bondage. Every

spiritual and family based customs are to be practiced by the wife

and husband together, This strengthen the family relationship. The

message that maathru devo bhava, pitru devo bhava : Let the mother

and father be divine to me ( gods to me) convey a strong relation

thread between the children and parents. The death anniversary

functions known as sraardha are mainly performed to give the

demonstration of the relationship between the parents and children.

The demonstration from generation after generations.

In all the rituals, the individual is expected to tell the gotra

(clan) and sootra (thread of connection) which again show the

connection with the forefathers. During festivals, the parents were

saluted/prostrated as mathru/ pithru namaskaara, to get the feeling

for the children that ( whatever may be their age) their

relationship, with the parents is not merely that of people living

together in a house. This gives the message that in younger days

children were looked after by the parents and in the old age, the

parents should be looked after by the children with due respect and

care. Similarly the relationship between the wife and husband is not

merely the relation for sex, but for building a family with culture

and values in the life. Through 16 sacraments known as samskaaraas (

samskaara means refining or purification) the life of the baby is

getting enriched by the values of the life. During the construction

of the house the ground breaking , stone laying , the door fixing and

house warming ceremonies are all connected with the star of birth of

the wife, thus giving importance to the wife in the family. Without

the husband or wife, the other (among the couple) alone cannot

perform any of the household achaaras, which again makes it

compulsory to build the strong family bondage. The marriage is

performed by tying the thread- putting the garland- holding the right

palm ( paanigrahana)- presentation of the cloths or exchanging the

rings- and by sirodhaara, these five rituals in presence of hundreds

of invited guests/ and agni/fire give the feeling of strong wife –

husband bondage. It is said that the marriage is conducted as agni

saakshi. Thus one can analyze the customs to understand the impact of

the family relations.

More examples: If properly performed matching a horoscope before

marriage gives an opportunity for understanding the personality of

the individuals who are getting married and suitable corrective

measures can be adopted. Inviting relatives and guests for marriage

gives an opportunity to share the joy among relatives and social and

family relations get strengthened. After marriage ceremonies are

aimed at getting a healthy baby and giving the feeling of love and

affection among the couples. The jaatja karma of the baby is

performed to record scientifically the position of the celestial body

when the baby was born. It is the bound privilege of the parents to

give the name for their baby and hence the name of their choice

through naamakarana, is given as a part of the samskaaraas. Dhampati

pooja/ couple pooja is performed by other family members to remind

their respect and appreciation on strengthening the bondage between

the couples. Birthday celebrations are conducted to inform the duty

and responsibility of the individuals when they grow and to remind

them that the society and relatives are with them for undertaking the

responsibility. Celebration of the 60th birth anniversary

(shashtipoorti), to remind the time for doing more good for the

society using the experience gained for the last 60 years of life,

when the period of rest starts.

Customs and rituals beneficial for the social bondage: Inviting

guests for family functions like birthday, marriage, during the death

and after death rituals, getting together during the festival seasons

like holi-deepavali-krishnaashtamai-ramanavami- celebrations etc.

temple festivals, village festivals, are all aimed at building social

bondage . Through these social relation building mechanisms the

cultural relationship among Indians was built up for the last many

millennia . Many spiritual and religious activities as samooha pooja,

samooha bhajan, mantra aalapan etc are all done in groups with the

leadership of the common Hindus themselves, not through appointed

priests , which lead to the cultural integration of the social

bondage in the Hindu society.

More examples: Family visits during happy and unhappy occasion by

relatives and friends ( even without taking appointments) is to

confirm the family members that during happy and unhappy incidents in

ones life we , the relatives and friends will be with them. Get

together during festival occasions is for strengthening social

bondage among the society members. Kumbha mela, vaisaaki, and many

other festival is for sharing the joy and forgetting the negatives of

the past and to build better relations ship among the members in the

society . Group pilgrimage to long distance is to share the joy and

difficulties together in the spiritual way to strengthen social

bondage…

Customs and rituals beneficial for national integration: There are

many customs which are followed exclusively for getting the feeling

of patriotism among the Indians. The morning prayer ( praathasmarana)

we chant the names of seven holy rivers from Indian continent … gange

cha yamune chaiva… and seven mountains.. mahendro malaya sahyo… the

great women of India… ahalya droupadi seetha… the great men

aswathaama bali vyaaso…. Seven major cities of India ayodhya mathuraa

maaya…. and so on. These stanzas were written three or four thousand

years ago. This informs and reminds us that India was culturally one

for the last many thousand years The pilgrimage to north India by the

south Indians and to south India by the north Indians are fine

example of national integration. The customs followed in the

immersion of the ashes (obtained after cremation) in kaasi /

varanaasi triveni sangam by the south Indians and in kanyakumari

triveni sangam by the north Indians lead to this national integration

through visits and experiences of direct contact among south and

north Indians ( where the languages/ food/ dressing/ cultural traits

etc differ).

It is also important to note a very interesting fact, that for making

any curries (food items) in south India , north Indian spices are

required and for north Indian curries, south Indians spices are

inevitable. Thus even in kitchen of Hindu family, the national

integration can be seen. Learning of Sanskrit language, chanting of

Vedas and related literature, the story of Ramayana and Mahabharatha

are all finally aims at integrating the people of India and give the

message of unity in diversity .

More examples: A deep analyses of the holy places, rivers, mountains

and asramas given in Ramayana and Mahabharatha when Sri Rama ( in

Ramayana) and Pandavas ( in Mahabharata) visited during vanavaasa ,

gives familiarity of the nation through itihasas and puraanaas.

Puranic stories do influence the national integration. Pilgrimage to

Asrams, Gangotri, Haridwaar, Kailash, Kanyakumari, etc integrates the

mind of all Indians towards the nation. The concept of athithi devo

bhava to serve the people who visits our home without taking

appointment gives the opportunity to know and help others. During the

age old customs anyone who is on pilgrimage has to depend for the

food and shelter upon the unknown people . People traveling from

north to south and south to north of India, for the pilgrimage could

take the shelter in the athithi devo bhava concept. Bharath maatha (

mother Bharath) concept of the nation gives the relation among

Indians as the children of the country. In mahasankalpa names of

different kshetra in India are given ( as parasurama kshetra (

Keralam) - Sri Rama kshetra ( Tamil Nadu) - Sreenivasa kshetra (

Andra) - Jagannatha kshetra ( Orrissa) - Bhaskara kshetra (

Karnataka) and so on, which informs us that we are part of the great

nation Bharath. Like this there are hundreds of the aachaaraas aimed

at national integration.

Thus the aachaaraas are directly connected with the day to day life

of Hindus. Even the spiritual rituals also compels us to pray saha

naa vavathu, saha now bhunakthu saha veeryam karavaavahe

thejaswinaavadheethamstu maa vidvisha vahai aano bhadraa . Let us

exist together, share the results of the work together, work

together, thorough that path way let us enlighten ourselves, let us

not have hatred towards anyone , let noble thoughts come from all

over the world. Hindus always prayed lokaa: samasthaa: sukhino

bhavanthu . let everyone become happy. Hindus never prayed haindavaa:

samasthaa: sukhino bhavathu Let (only) Hindus become happy. Hindus

never said their pathway is the only correct one for attaining god.

They always allowed other thoughts also to penetrate/integrate into

the minds of the people, if those pathways can also fetch good

results. Hindus are the only people who prayed sarve bhavanthu

sukhina: sarve santhu niraamaya sarve bhdraani pasyanthu maa kaschit

dukhabaag bhveth. Let sarve- all become happy and glorious, free from

pains and sorrow. Here too Hindus never said only let Hindus get all

the benefit

Say that all Indians are proud Hindus whether they follow lord Siva,

Krishna, Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed, if their blood is Hindu

blood then they are Hindus. In India there are only two categories of

people who are Hindus and who were Hindus. Those, who are following

the sanathana dharama, even though born and brought up under

different culture anywhere in the world, are also Hindus

Deep Pranams to all Of You.

GIRISH.G.S

E MAIL COORDINATOR

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE