Formidable remnants from a typical ritual!

[vsdprasad]

Can we believe in 'nazar utarna', a famous custom in India.

In the middle of some roads in India (esp rural areas, towns and even in parts of some cities) we find some lemons, chillies, small pieces of cloth, etc with vermillion & turmeric.

I heard these are very dangerous and one shud avoid stepping on these materials. Is there any philosophy behind such things?

I heard that people who step on these things will catch the disease of the person on whom the ritual is taken and the remnants are placed in the middle of the roads. What is the plight of a person who unknowingly steps on these things?

 

-Prasad.

[Guest guest]

Yes. You will catch disease due to infection.

[theist]

Sounds like voodoo.Subtle negative energy transfered through ritual.Hmmm...Maybe.

 

One more reason to watch where we step and to keep the Name on our lips.

 

 

[vsdprasad]

 

Yes. You will catch disease due to infection.

 

 

you will catch the disease due to infection if u you are stepping bare footed.

I want to know the philosophy behind this ritual. How can the karma be transfered indirectly in this fashion to a pure person ?

 

 

One more reason to watch where we step and to keep the Name on our lips.

 

 

If devotees who keep name on their lips unknowingly step on this, will they still catch the karma?

 

-Prasad.

[theist]

Prasad,

 

I was thinking that this world is full of dangers at every step,but if we are always careful and engaged in remembering Krsna He will protect us.

 

I am also curious about the metaphysics of this and other similar rituals.Perhaps someone will explain it more fully.

[Gauracandra]

Never heard of this before. But the feet seemt to be some sort of conductor for good/bad karma. So if these items are contaminated, I guess the feet more readily absorbes their negative energy. So my question is 'whats the deal with feet?' Why do they absorb positive/negative energy?

[Gauracandra]

This might or might not be related. But I believe that the feet from a medical standpoint are one of the major heat centers of the body. When a person has a stroke, or has exhaustion for instance, I believe you are suppose to take off the shoes and socks as it helps the body cool down very quickly. The heat leaves the feet. So perhaps there is some connection there? Just a guess.

[atma]

I saw in many doors in the houses in India this string of lemons and chilies, even I made one for my door when I came to this new house. Just for the superstitious in heart to avoid the evil eye. My guest were always impressed by it, I took it out when the lemons became very old. I have to make another one, we don't need bad energies in the house.

 

I saw it in the streets in India too I never step on it.Just following the local customs and continue the tradition here.

 

A little story here about something that happened to me in one of my trips. Once in Costa Rica a guy wanted to married me, I told him no and he got very upset. While in sankirtan he came into my room and stole a passport picture of me. I knew that was him because a mataji saw him going into the room that evening (why she never stopped him, I still wonder). He left that weekend for the coast, on Monday inmediately after leaving the temple I step on wood with rusty nails that went through my shoes and cut my foot. Got tetanus injection, after few days I was so sick with flu like symtomps, I hardly could move. I recovered and while collecting for my first trip to India many bad things happened to me. A little bit down, I went to a nice psychic lady who told me about a guy that took my picture and went to the ocean to do 'macumba' the brazilean version of vodoo to destroy me.

Knowing that she was right, I took shelter of the Lord and did extra pujas, chanting of mantras and lots of baths with something special. Within a week I felt like new again.

 

After a while I had the chance to go with a friend to this guy's house and when he went out for something we searched for my picture. To our surprise we found my nice smilie color picture /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif almost completely faded, the colors were gone and the image was a blur. I never told him anything but I never saw him again. Actually he is dead now, nasty Brazilian. BTW, he died because of his bad habits. Vodoo, macumba, black magic, more or less all the same thing.

 

I also feel the feet are an important part of the body, you can get to many points of your body pressing the right spots in the soles. When I go for a walk in the beach I try to walk barefeet to get good energy from the ocean.

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

 

I want to know the philosophy behind this ritual. How can the karma be transfered indirectly in this fashion to a pure person ?

 

 

If one is actually a pure person then one is simply an instrument of the Lord 100%. For such a person, there is no personal karma, for the Lord is the owner of everything. The Vedanta sutra states that a liberated soul creates no new karmic reactions, for they slip off of him like oil.

 

For the rest of us, we should be careful of all actions we perform.

[gimmegames]

http://www.indiancultureonline.com/Mystica/html/nazar_urtarana.htm

 

'The ridding of the effects of the evil eye' is a very popular practice. It is commonly believed that all kinds of illnesses, pains, epileptic fits and handicaps are caused by the 'evil eye', or because one is possessed by an evil spirit Bhuta, Preta, Pishacha. Unless this is nullified, the effects are said to stay. In such cases, no medication is believed to help the patient, therefore other 'remedies' have developed.

 

A person is said to possess the evil eye if whatever he or she looks upon is harmed. A person with an evil eye need not necessarily be wicked; usually the effect of the evil eye is unintentional. Such people do not have any distinguishing physical feature to set them apart from the rest. However, one or two 'incriminating' incidents from everyday life may doom a person to the detested category of those with the 'eye'. All those believed to be witches, wizards, and beggars are so castigated. If these people look upon any desirable object, it is believed to get ruined.

 

If a person falls under an evil spell, there are many ways through which it can be broken. Waving a whole chilli over the person and throwing it in fire is another way. If the smoke smells of the chilli, the illness is not attributed to the evil eye or nazar. However, if the smoke does not smell of chillies, it is believed that the person was afflicted by the evil eye, whose spell has now been broken.

 

Nazar utarna of a more elaborate kind is performed by astrologers or professionals who do it with the help of secret and mystic rites. At times, a lemon with four or five chillies tied together, or a piece of stale unleavened bread (roti) are used for the purpose. With the help of mantras, the effects of the evil eye are. They are then either thrown away or left at a crossroad. Therefore, most people are very particular about avoiding these objects when they spot them lying at a crossroad, for fear of catching the eye if they step over them. At times these chillies are also hung on the front door to shield the house from the evil eye.

 

Good-looking children, young boys and girls, brides and grooms, are considered most susceptible to the eye. Small children are generally made to wear special, protective charms and lockets. Eyeliner (see Kajal) is applied to their eyes and a small black dot (kala tika) to their foreheads. This is believed to mar their beauty and make them unappealing to the evil eye. Charms like bits of pottery from a burial ground, the dried foot of a tortoise, the tooth of a crocodile, a bristle from the tail of an elephant, a tiger's claw, or a talisman with magic mantras inscribed on it are all popular. Some people even give ugly names Namakarana to their children

 

Nazar Utarnaas a pre-emptive measure against nazar. When a north Indian bridegroom leaves for his bride's house, his face is always covered with a screen of flowers, as a camouflage against the evil eye. When he arrives at the bride's house, the mother of the bride performs a ritual for the groom Arati to nullify the effects of any nazar acquired on the way. So too, a bride's mother-in-law performs the same ritual for her when she first enters her in-laws' house.

 

Nazar is also said to affect healthy domestic animals, trees in blossom, a good harvest or fine houses. Stone slabs inscribed and engraved with letters, characters and figures are often set up at the village boundary to safeguard the inhabitants and their cattle and crops against sickness, epidemic and disease caused by nazar. To protect their homes from the eye, women often draw mystical designs on the threshold. Black mud pots with fierce faces drawn on them are also hung on the door of It is believed that if the malefic effect of the first look is neutralized, subsequent glances will have no effect. All these devices are believed to catch the effect of the evil eye before it affects the crops, the building, or the beings they protect. It is believed that only the first look is deadly, and once its effect is neutralized, subsequent glances will have no effect. Dhrishtamani (eye beads) are used as an indicator of the evil eye. These beads are strung together and worn by children. It is believed that if the child falls under an evil spell, the necklace breaks or the beads change colour. Rudraksha beads are also used as charms, either strung into a necklace or tied on a thread and worn on the body.

 

[Gauracandra]

Speaking of black magic, I recall many, many years ago a friend telling me that his wife had an attack in India. Apparently she had a hair cut, an just threw the hair in the garbage. The witch took her hair for a ceremony and caused her a lot of physical ailments. I don't recall the details that well as it was over 20 years ago. I just remember the person took her hair I guess as a link to cause the effects. So maybe when in India, dispose of your hair carefully /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif

[gHari]

Lotus Feet ?

 

Passing of karma through the touch of the feet: I have read Prabhupada to have said that we should not let people outside of ISKCON touch our feet; touching gurus' lotus feet is auspicious.

 

I remember in 1979 getting very upset with some old guy grabbing my feet every time I offered obeisances to the Deities. He followed me around the temple like a little puppy as I chanted japa. I hid throughout of temple, but he eventually saved me from the dark days, so all is well. I thought he was a homo, but now I guess he thought I was a sadhu. Both wrong.

[Guest guest]

Many swamijis prevent the general mass from touching their feet (maybe to prevent the e-transfer of karma:) ). They encourage if people try to pay their obeisances without touching their feet and swamijis give them flying blessings /images/graemlins/smile.gif