The Foreign Self: Part XIV to XVI-B - Page 6

Originally posted by: armana

BTW, did you know that the Kamakshi temple in Guwahati belongs to a deity who "menstruates?" And for this reason, male preists are not allowed into the inner-most sanctum?

...the goddess Kali's body broke into a thousand pieces and fell on earth. Every place onto which the parts fell are believed to be exceptionally powerful sites and temples were built on those sites. eg her tongue fell in Kolkata..Her uterus landed in Guwahati and the Kamakhya temple is an intensely powerful site of worship. It is also a temple of fertility, where childless couples would come to pray ..

Originally posted by: voxy

...the goddess Kali's body broke into a thousand pieces and fell on earth. Every place onto which the parts fell are believed to be exceptionally powerful sites and temples were built on those sites. eg her tongue fell in Kolkata..Her uterus landed in Guwahati and the Kamakhya temple is an intensely powerful site of worship. It is also a temple of fertility, where childless couples would come to pray ..

Interesting.... but why did Kali's body break???

hey armana!!!
im reading it soo far and loving it!!!
but dont have time to finish it coz of the awards show... 😆 😆 😆
but i will be back to comment fully!!!
thanks!!!
rooj

Discussion on period/religious views has become a great teaching/learning topic. Just want to say that like breathing, sweating, peeing etc are bodily functions created to remove waste from our bodies. We do those everyday but that does not stop us from doing puja, praying etc. What one does in one's own home should not be imposed on someone else if they do not hold that belief. i believe in the South of India in some places when the girl starts her period they do a big celebration and their was an interesting movies shown at a film festival few years back called Maya with regards to this.

Originally posted by: Sheena_Row

Armana,

I concur with you absolutely, I was told that this was a custom simply made to give a woman break from the day to day chores, because everything was physical in the old days...The other scientific reason (my conjecture) may be that women get a little emotional during this five days, and hence the temples and religious places didn't want anything but tranquility in their premises...may or may not apply to all women and may be this is a stupid theory....For me, it's more the reason for wanting to be in a serene and tranquil place.

God doesn't want any woman to abstain from praying simply because he/she gave us a mechanism to menstruate...

Sorry if my sentiments offend anyone also....I am going to quote a favorite saying of mine by Eric Hoffer - it's about change....

in a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.

..The world has changed or changing somewhat, one aspect of religion is praying god, the other aspect is the 'How to pray God' - this is where a lot of questions come up (For me) - for Moksha, there are many ways to reach god, many paths to salvation and for me, you need the purity of mind and purity of soul, (not the purity in the physical sense, lot of people consider, that the menstruation period to be impure.

Sorry, again this is just my POV - no disrespect for any one with different views...

i agree

I am born a Hindu & proud to be one(which by the way is a misnomer,Hindu dharma is actually the Sanatana Dharma the eternal law. This springs from the ingrained faith of the Hindus that all creation- animate and inanimate-is one family.)Almost every ritualistic belief & practice had their roots in logical, scientific knowledge of their times and over the ages has been manipulated beyond recognition by individuals with vested interests. Just adding to this interesting back & forth going on,a bit I came across on the net .

"In the Hindu community a girl, after she reaches puberty. Is barred from entering the prayer room or performing any religious prayers during her menstruation. The only reason mentioned in our scriptures is that she is (ashudha) unclean during that period.

Let us go back to where this custom started from. During those days ladies would have their bath either in the river, pond or near the well. During the time when the girl would be menstruating, it would be awkward to bathe together with the rest of the ladies as you would probably 'pollute' the water.

Since the ladies did not bathe and there were no bathroom facilities for the rest of the day during the menstruating period, they would naturally be termed 'unclean' during that time. Hence, their being barred from the clean' places in the house, namely the prayer room or the kitchen.

This is, as far as the physical aspect of being (ashudha) unclean, goes.

However, when the scriptures spoke of 'ashudha' they may have not only meant the physical aspect but the mental aspect as well.

Science talks of the menstrual syndrome, i.e., a woman is more irritable during those days because of a hormonal imbalance. Psychics claim that there is a different aura around a menstruating woman, maybe again a chemical reaction. Segregating to pray requires a positive attitude and people tend to respond to the negative vibrations of a person standing with you; maybe that was the reason why a woman was barred from public places of prayer during these days.

Whatever the reason, the ladies who used to work so hard during the month would get a well-earned rest during that period of time."

Hey Armana
Point well made, dear. I'm not a Hindu so cannot comment correctly on what the customs are re women not doing pooja when they have their periods. I do remember though that when I made a visit to temples in South India, there were notices forbidding women from entering the temple when they are menstruating.
Personally I think this is very small minded and petty….I cannot believe that God would be so discriminating that he would frown upon women worshipping him whilst experiencing what is a normal body function. What next, forbid people that are ill from praying because they are not physically perfect? These rules are made by men, not God and I for one have never let them stop me…my religion is between me and my Maker, I don't let anyone else make the rules.
Apologies in advance if this offends anyone, its simply my pov.

Love the part Armana!!!
So finally Jai and Bani are discovering their true love...but haven't admitted or confessed to themselves yet...i hope Jai realize this and well love Bani for this...
and then soon it would be like real couple...
Love the whole meeting...especially of Bani's and Pushkar's
Bani's and the boys 😆 that was too cute...
As for Jai...love the lover boy!!!
please continue soon
rooj

commenting on this part somehow this time you had some Jai moments thrown in. I really liked the way Jai is transformed into a normal human. somehow I feel that Jai behaves his normal self only with bani around. He seems to know that Bani is imp in his life but somehow just does not seem to realize the extent of her importance. Typical human reaction. If something does not happen the way you expect it to happen you tend to introspect and try to read between the lines. I am mentioning about Jai's thinking on Bani's apparent non reaction to his views on marriage. and of course the list continues....am not going to ask you how you are going to fit in angel and Roshni into the story plus the reason for Push & co re introduction. Let me savour the surprise while the story goes on.

Swathi

Hey Armana, nice part and here is what your JB are for me,

Like a ghost dont need a key,Your best friend I have come to be,Please don't think of getting up for me,You don't even need to speak,When I've been here for just one day,You'll already miss me if I go away,So close the blinds and shut the door,You won't need other friends anymore,I arrived when you were weak,I'll make you weaker, like a child,Now all your love you give to me,When your heart is all I need,Oh how quiet, quiet the world can be,When it's just you and little me
Everything is clear and everything is new,So you won't be leaving will you,

The feelings that Nachiket and Ranveer are going through are the ones that I shamelessly enjoyed as a child being all inquisitive about my cousins attention to their newly wedded spouses(three of them and all more than decade old to me). I loved poking and irritating the hell out of them but I was only a child then and now feel terribly embarrassed by those memories.

They talked about Pia comfortably like old friends, are you indicating towards Pushky and BAni, if yes then I did not sensed that . I sensed tension and discomfort on sudden their meeting out of the blues at their airport and Pushky's surprise at the knowledge that PP are both working for someone who is really close to their boss. If you werec talking about Rano and B then why like old friends. Did they lost being in touch somewhere?

Pls. explain