Views of Menstruation in Religions and Cultures around the world
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Menstruation is a natural biological process that women undergo during a major period of their lives. In many a sense, menstruation, owing to its relationship with fertility and motherhood, is something which is closely associated with womanhood and which indicates how women as individuals are different from men at many levels. Hence, menstruation has always played an important role in how various societies and cultures across the world has perceived women, man-woman relationships, and the role of women in society as a whole.
In the recent times, menstruation has been in the middle of the controversy that is going around temple entry, gender equality, etc. These controversies have resulted in many people, both men and women, to question various accepted notions, traditions, and practices surrounding menstruation. In the light of this, this article seeks to examine briefly various menstruation practices present across the world.
In her paper, ‘Menstruation, Religion and Society’, Aru Bhartiya briefly examines the menstruation practices prevalent among major religions. Examining Christian menstruation practices, she writes:
“The history of menstrual taboo has been a major reason to keep women from positions of authority in Christianity. Just like in Judaism it’s the belief of many Catholics that woman should not have sexual intercourse during her menses.
“In the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, menstruation is considered unclean. Partaking of sacraments, especially communion, or touching holy items like Bible or religious icons are not allowed for menstruating women. This is not a universal practice, but it hasn’t gone away entirely.
“Russian Orthodox Christians believe in menstrual taboos. Menstruating women have to live in secluded huts during this time. They don’t attend church services, cannot have any contact with men, and may not touch raw or fresh food. A menstruating woman’s gaze is also thought to affect the weather negatively.
“While western Christian denominations are less extreme, some negative attitudes still remain.”
Similarly, Renee Pinkston in her article. “Menstrual Taboos – Anthropology of Gender”, writes: “Many menstrual taboos also exist in Christianity, although they are often overlooked or not thought of as taboos. One of the most well known ideas of menstrual taboo within Christianity is in the Catholic denomination. Within this sector of Christianity, women are not allowed to have any „high‟ standing within the church; women are in fact, excluded from the sanctuaries of many dioceses in the United States. Many sisters in the church believe that this is because women are seen a dirty and polluting due to their monthly menstrual cycle (Phipps 1980). In fact, many older documents on Christianity as well as the Bible itself states that women are seen as unclean, especially during their monthly menstruation period. According to a survey that the author of an article written about menstrual taboos in Judeo-Christian religion, it was stated that “[many Catholic] women tend to feel ritually unclean [during their menstrualcycle]” (Phipps 1980:301).”
Regarding the menstrual practices followed in Islam, Aru Bhartiya writes: “From what I gathered after interviewing a few people is, that in Islam menstruating women aren’t supposed to touch the Quran, enter the mosque, offer the ritual prayer or have sex with her husband for seven full days. The woman is exempted from rituals such as daily prayers and fasting, although she is not given the option of performing these rituals, even if she wants to.”
Expressing a similar view, M Guterman and others in their article “Menstrual Taboos Among Major Religions”, write: “In Muslim cultures, “impure” (i.e., menstruating) women are to be avoided by men (Whelan, 1975). These laws are derived from the Qur’an (2:222), which reads, “They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation. Say it is an illness so let women alone at such times and go not into them til they are cleansed. And when they have purified themselves, then go unto them as Allah hath enjoined upon you.”
They continue: “There are two main prohibitions placed upon the menstruating woman. First, she may not enter any shrine or mosque (Engineer, 1987; Fischer, 1978). In fact, she may not pray or fast during Ramadan while she is menstruating (Engineer, 1987). She may not touch the Qur’anic codex or even recite its contents (Fischer, 1978; Maghen, 1999; Whelan, 1975). Secondly, she is not allowed to have sexual intercourse for seven full days (beginning when the bleeding starts). She is “exempted” from rituals such as daily prayers and fasting, although she is not given the option of performing these rituals, even if she wants to (Azeem, 1995).
“In addition, the woman must complete a “ritual washing” before she becomes “clean” again (Fischer, 1978; Whelan, 1975). Following this washing she is able to perform prayers, fasting, and allowed to enter the mosque.”
Commenting on the Judaism’s view on menstruation, M Guterman and others state: “Jewish law expressly forbids literally any physical contact between males and females during the days of menstruation and for a week thereafter (Eider, 1999; Keshet-Orr, 2003). This includes passing objects between each other, sharing a bed (most couples have two separate beds, which can be pulled apart during Niddah), sitting together on the same cushion of a couch, eating directly from the wife’s leftovers, smelling her perfume, gazing upon her clothing (whether or not it has been worn), or listening to her sing (Steinberg, 1997). According to stipulated ritual, an Orthodox Jewish wife is responsible for immersing in the Mikvah, the ritual bath, following these 2 weeks. This entire period of time, from the beginning of the “bleeding days”, until the end of the 7 “clean days”, when the woman immerses herself in the ritual bath, is called the “Niddah (ritually unclean) period” (Guterman, 2006). “
Writing about the Buddhist view of menstruation, Aru Bharatiya notes that though it is considered a natural process, at many Buddhist temples, circumambulation of stupas are not allowed. She further notes that: “During menstruation women are thought to lose Qi (commonly spelled as chi, is believed to be part of everything that exists, as in ‘life force’, or spiritual energy.) There’s a Buddhist belief that ghosts eat blood. A menstruating woman is then thought to attract ghosts, and is therefore a threat to herself and others. An example cited by the Buddha Dharma Education Association says, that while fermenting rice, menstruating women are not allowed near the area or the rice will be spoilt.”
Robert Briffault, in his book ‘The mothers: a study of the origins of sentiments and institutions’, examines Menstruation practices prevalent in various cultures and societies across the world. He writes that among the Eskimos, separate huts are built for the use of menstruating women and special dietary regulations are prescribed for them. Further, the women use cups and utensils that are kept exclusively for their use. Similar isolation was also observed among the Tlingit, an indigenous group of people present in Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Tlingit women were not even allowed to lie down or chew their own foods. They had to sleep propped up with logs and masticated food was supplied to her. Pima Indian women, who are Native Americans who live in what is now central and southern Arizona, retire into the bushes for several days during menstruation. Among the Canadian tribes, menstruating women are not even allowed to travel the same path as men.
Thus, Robert writes: “The seclusion of women in a special hut or shelter during the period of their menstruation was practiced by all North American tribes.”
Similar practices could be observed among various indigenous people of South America as well. For example, tribes of Uaupe have separate menstrual huts for women. Ticunas go a step further and subject menstruating girls to flagellation and plucking of hairs along with seclusion. Araucanians of Chile debars women from visiting sick people and attending any public amusements.
Further, Menstruation restrictions could be observed in the indigenous tribes of Siberian region as well. Kamchatka, Yukaghir, Koryak, Somayeds, etc. all segrated menstruating. A Yukaghir woman was barred from touching fishing and hunting implements during menstruation. Somayed women were segregated into the inner chambers of the ‘yurta’ and had to fumigate with reindeer hair before they could be considered pure after menstruation. Similarly, various tribes in Africa, be it Bushmen, Bakongo, Baila, Akikuyu, etc. all place menstruation restrictions on their women.
Ancient Arabia was also not free of menstruation practices. Among other things, they also isolated menstruating women into special huts. Ancient Persia went a step further and believed that even the very glance of menstruating women was polluting. Regarding the restrictions placed in ancient Persia, Robert writes: “Women in ancient Persia were confined to an isolated portion of the house, known as ‘dashtanistan’, during menstruation, and had to remain there until twenty four hours after the cessation of the menses. No fire was to be kindled in the house during that period, and they were to remain at least fifteen paces away from any fire or any water; all wood was to be removed from the place and the floor strewn with dust. Her food had to be cooked separately; when it was handed to her, the attendant may not approach her closer than three paces, and before receiving it she was to wrap her hand in a cloth. After the period was over all the clothes, which she had been wearing must be destroyed, and she must be purified by being washed with bull’s urine.”
Now, coming to menstruation restrictions in China, Renee Pinkston writes: “The Chinese today see all body refuse as being dirty because it was rejected by the body and ejected from the body by natural and normal systems. Of all the dirty bodily refuse, menstrual blood is the worse because it is dirty and it is also polluting and the blood that flows out is associated with danger, pain, and death, which in some cases would be also seen as the unborn fetus. The Chinese also believe that during her menstrual period, a women is very unbalanced, or liminal. Among the Chinese, the menstrual taboos are rather general. Menstruating women are not to wash their clothes and their husband’s clothes together; they are not allowed to sit on a chair that a man will occupy. Menstruating women are not allowed to worship gods in public ceremonies, public temples or even ancestral halls; however they can worship the gods in private. Along the lines of public, they are also not allowed to attend weddings, funerals, birthday celebrations, or open houses. Sexual intercourse during menstruation is also taboo for the Chinese. It is believed that during sexual intercourse the man absorbs part of the woman essences and the woman does the opposite. If sexual intercourse occurs during menstruation then the man will absorb the polluting essences of the woman and he will become polluted which results in penis sores and a condition called crushing red which results in other diseases and even death.”
From the above, it is quite clear that menstruation is associated with impurity in one or the other form among most of the world’s religions and cultures. More importantly, menstruation practices always included some form of restrictions being imposed on women, though at times these restrictions bordered on taboo and excesses.
Thus, in almost all religions and cultures there appears to exist a notion of impurity attached to menstruation. From the organized Abrahamic religions to unorganized Dharmic traditions, from the Eskimos in the far West to the Siberian tribes in Far East, almost all cultures, tribes, and religions, share this notion to varying degree. In Hinduism, as we shall see in the next article, though menstruation is associated with Ashaucha (ritual impurity), it is taken beyond the notion of impurity and is celebrated as a purification process. Nonetheless, it is clear that in cultures throughout the world, menstruation had special significance in relation to sacred activities. It is worth studying if there exists some essence, some nuance, which was obvious to these cultures, but is completely missed or sometimes deliberately ignored by both the modern day feminists who completely discard these practices, and those orthodox people who practice these traditions mechanically and at times take it to the extreme.
At the same time, there are movements within Western feminism that are starting to explore this special significance. One such movement is the Red Tent Temple Movement, wherein women can spend their menstruating days in huts away from their family. Thus, women in the west are beginning to recognize that they need ‘self-time’ and rest during menstruation, without having to perform daily chores and away from their family. This is being celebrated as “women emancipation”, which, ironically, is quite similar to some of the Hindu notions and practices related to menstruation. It becomes vital that a serious examination of the Hindu view of menstruation is carried out so that “modern” Hindus learn about their own religion and practices. Such, an examination of the Hindu view of menstruation will be taken up in the next article.
Disclaimer: The facts and opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. IndiaFacts does not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article.
As a ‘modern day Western feminist’ with a medical degree from a British university, I cannot begin to tell you how damaging these practices are for women around the world. I respect religion and everyone’s right to believe what they want to believe, but anyone with a basic understanding of female anatomy and physiology can see that it’s a joke that menstruation is considered ‘unclean’. It’s all just superstition developed by men who were scared of women’s blood 1000s of years ago. The world has moved on, science and knowledge has moved on, and it amazes me that some people still follow these barbaric ”traditions”.
Citralekha Dasi you seem to have fallen into the trap of believing anything a man tells you – referencing a video from the sexist pig Milo Yiannopoulis who a) is a man and has never experienced menstruation in his life, and b) has actually been banned from universities across the world for promoting rape? Utterly disgraceful.
Women should have the right to choose what they want to do with their own bodies. If they feel weak and want time alone, then great, they can do that. If they want to continue their lives as normal, then they should also be allowed to do that!! Imagine if men spent half of their life as ‘unclean’ as women in the Jewish Orthodox Church have to do?! It just wouldn’t happen.
Nithin Sridhar I now speak to you. PLEASE RESEARCH THE MATERIAL FOR YOUR ARTICLES PROPERLY BEFORE YOU POST ABOUT IT ON A POPULAR BLOG ONLINE. Perhaps you should also take a look at why you feel a need to write such an extensive, inaccurate and biased piece about the subjugation of women for a completely natural bodily process, without mentioning any of the non-religious pro-menstrual cultures from around the world – the majority of people in the world are actually atheist or agnostic. I also despise your multiple uses of the phrase: ‘their women’ as if the women belong to the men of the tribes and should just do as they say. Truly disgusting.
what is science and logic behind these practiss.Practisest
What is the author trying to say? That we go back to the dark ages and uphold some stupid practices that denigrate women by isolating them? There is no scientific basis to isolating women. And yes, there is nothing impure in menstruation. Whoever told you that women need to rest from housework or any of their chores during menstruation. There is no physical weakness or even mood swings involved ; it is only a minority who feel pain and discomfort during menstruation. Neither my mother, nor me ever suffered during our periods. I have always felt energetic and lively during my periods. Yes, hygiene must be maintained. Hinduism, Islam and all other religions must have aimed at telling everyone so…unless the fear of God and religion is put into people, they may not maintain the rules of hygiene. This , in course of time, underwent some degradation, and took the shape of stupid practices. High time we realized what it really is! To think, that the author calls him an educated professional, and a CIVIL ENGINEER! For shame. INDIA FACTS- please do not publish such rubbish in future!
I think you are unnecessarily venting your ire on the author and India Facts.
He does not support or oppose segregating mensturating women during religious activities.. He has only compiled information on how different societies/religions treat the issue.
Feminists in India think that just because it was propagated to them that all pagan traditions are misogynist and oppressive, they have to condemn it, whether or not it makes sense to do so.
Look at her logic… I feel no physical weakness or mood swings and feel energetic during mensuration so the rule is stupid.
Really??
Did she even stop to consider that this rule is not for one off cases like hers but might have been made as per the lowest minimum denominator… the weakest woman. That the women who actually feel weak and may have too many chores or field work to do, may actually welcome this break?
She’s here ranting on her experiences where as each woman may have her own experience. Anecdotes do not make up for a lack of perspective, empathy or evidence. But feminists of our country fail to understand that. As a woman, and an educated one at that… I find that it amusing as well as exasperating.
Feminism means equal rights AND duties, especially financially as that is the source of most freedom today. I doubt you are against equal rights/inheritance/education for anyone!
You’re right. I’m not.
Equal rights means, we have to make sure the weak amongst us have the means and support.
So, in the present context, all I wanted to point out was that another woman may feel weak during her periods. Just because she or I do not feel weak, pulling out the sword of feminism and brandishing it in the name of liberty is unfair to the weak.
No woman feels weak .Only those anemic or ill might. In fact I feel ay my best then,and so do many others
Request you to see my comments above to Jitu and to Aditi. Reply/correction welcome!
Speak for yourself. Not the entire world.
And no… normal women do have mood swings and some even have cramps. For some it’s PMS and for many it’s while menstruating.
Dismissing it outright just because you do not have any issues is like saying… “What depression? I have never suffered depression all my life. So no one has.”
It displays your ignorance and arrogance more than your knowledge.
Ignorance and arrogance are what defines you, Jitu. It would be better for you to go by your own advice, and learn to speak for yourself; and not the world you do not know about. As for me dismissing it outright, better read my comment a lot more carefully.
Absolutely agree with Bharati_Shahida;in fact, yours is the medical view.
Now that you’ve finished defining me, maybe you should try and figure out yourself. A long hard look in the mirror or some deep introspection perhaps.
Naah! That’s too much to ask for from a pseudo-feminist. They’re much too wrapped up in themselves to bother about realities. They like to believe everyone besides they and their ilk are ignorant. Please carry on with delusions.
Bye.
Look who is talking!
Someone who’s not judging roughly 3.5 billion women in the world based on her personal experience as if all 3.5 are exact replicas of her. Someone not so delusional as to say… ‘Hey! It didn’t happen with me. So it never happens. And it is the truth… cause I said so.’
Good luck with your delusions.
You are depriving some village of an idiot.
Are you talking about yourself?
Since you can not understand the grammatical structure of a short English sentence, you have proven my case. QED Your village is missing you.
Village ? Look who’s talking. A person who has obviously never looked beyond the patriarchal mindset of a very backward village.
Oh. So you believe in the myth of the patriarchy. You must be a graduate of a gender studies program. (-:
Anything wrong with that? It is far better than feeding myself with the lies and untruths regarding feminism that have addled your brain!
As regards scriptures, please go beyond and try reading between the lines for the truth, before you go on to waste my time and yours on matters that you do not care to understand! Goodbye and good luck in ferreting out the truth!
You are living proof of the pernicious effects of gender studies. You have become a useful idiot of cultural Marxists, you hate your own culture and are a force for those who want to break India.
Put “gender studies” on your resume see how that will increase your salary. No wonder women make less than men.
Regarding scripture you have never read any, that was self-evident when you didn’t know what pramana was. And sastra is to be studied with a guru. It is not to be read between the lines, that is the way of cheaters who will twist it. But then what is the use of giving murkha upadesha.
Murkha Upadesha is what you are doling out. Whew! Really need a Krishna in this Kalayuga to enlighten someone like you! Menstruation is shunned only by the likes of you…not even all Hindus. As someone rightly pointed out in this forum, the Kamakhya temple in Assam actually celebrates menstruation. It is the sign of the Mother Goddess’ fertility!
And your point is what exactly?
Your menstruation and Durga’s is not the same is it. And does Durga actually menstruate? She is not a human and no such need. It was only human females who do as a result of taking 25% of Indra’s karma for brahma hatya.
You will do well to teach yourself before you indulge in your upadesa to others. Religion was created to bring in order to human society. Not create chaos. Hinduism is highly symbolic; it is through symbols that the truth is conveyed. When the goddess menstruation is celebrated, it is the celebration of Shakti. Not denigration! But if only you understood. No point wasting time on someone who keeps spouting Vedic verses and Sanskrit, without understanding the essence of Hinduism!
Religion and dharma are NOT the same. educate yourself.
The word “Hindu” is no where found in the Vedas. “Hindu” is a term used by foreigners to describe the people of Bharata. Specifically the ancient Persians could not pronounce “S” and instead would substitute “H” so “Sapta Sindu” became “Hapta Hindu” and the “Sindu” river became the “Hindu.” Thus they called all the people who lived East of the the “Hindu” as “Hindus” it was a geographical location not a philosophy. The Greeks who took over Persia and Bactria do not have the letter “H” in their alphabet and instead designate an aspiration (“H” sound) before a word by a small mark ‘ thus ‘ινδός = Hindus. Some Roman scribe when transliterating from Greek to Latin dropped the ‘ and got Indus, the modern name of the river. As a back formation later Greek authors like Arrianus and Strabo transliterated from Latin to Greek and got Ινδικα – Indika which eventually became “India.”
Reverting to my point, “Hinduism” doesn’t exist in the Vedas, followers of the Vedas call their religion Sanatana Dharma. And it is to be understood via the sastras. As it is said in Vedanta Sutras 1.1.3 sastra yonit vat – knowledge of God can only come via sastra.
To find out more about how the foreign word “Hindu” as applied by Muslim hegemons to their Indian subjects read the essay “For Whom Does Hinduism Speak” hint, it doesn’t speak for me.
http://www.utahkrishnas.org/for-whom-does-hinduism-speak
O daughter of a sudra who is posing as a brahmin. This is what the Bhagavatam says about dharma.
dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītaṁ
na vai vidur ṛṣayo nāpi devāḥ
na siddha-mukhyā asurā manuṣyāḥ
kuto nu vidyādhara-cāraṇādayaḥ
“Real religious principles are enacted by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Although fully situated in the mode of goodness, even the great
ṛṣis who occupy the topmost planets cannot ascertain the real religious
principles, nor can the demigods or the leaders of Siddhaloka, to say
nothing of the asuras, ordinary human beings, Vidyādharas and Cāraṇas.”
To read the tika on this verse go to https://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/6/3/19
I post this for the edification of others not you.
Yes trying to teach you is murkha upadesha trying to teach a fool. The result is that like Kali dasa sitting in the tree they only insult you back.
Reading between the lines should only be done by those who have thoroughly understood the scriptures. Not just anybody. Deconstructing the texts outside of contexts and cultures, with a foreign eye is a big problem within feminist studies. Post modernism in general
some insights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj7VgBnQNUc
You have posted this link 3 times. Why?
not sure if one posts that those it is not directed to, will be alerted as well.
http://shethepeople.tv/why-panch-kanya-or-the-five-virgins-stand-for-varying-paradigms-of-feminism/
Thanks for the link to “ShethePeople” Anything touched by feminism turns to stool. They always have an angle to bash men and divide society. It is a disease.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj7VgBnQNUc
What am I supposed to learn from this. A brief synopsis of its didactic merits please so I can determine if it is worth my while to watch it.
well, since posting this, I have watched some more videos of the guy. While I agree with some of his ideas, he is too busy promoting Christianity as the main universal religion, so have a difference of opinion. But in this video, he talks about the need for children for future happiness and how more women than men in college –happening now everywhere, means that women will have a hard time finding people to date….
I have since it and it is very good. I have no complaints if he is a Christian. He is a friend of God. All friends of God shoudl unite to fight the common enemy — atheists.
Agreed, but the problem is that he (or so it seems) upholds that on Christianity considers that each human being has a value or a divine spark. that is my only problem with Christianity, that they think they are the only correct ones.
He is a Western centric not knowing much about other cultures but after listening to several of his lectures he doesn’t seems to to be against other cultures just ignorant of them.
Agreed, that he may just be ignorant, but he is smart enough to at least let that information slip in. And no insist how only one way is the ‘most’ rational. I have encountered enough people with such ‘superlative’ thinking, and it is like a virus that spreads.
Rina, No, you are too wise and knowledgeable to get into this! If I may say so!
Thanks for saying this, Bharati_shahida. I also realize that it is futile wasting one’s time and energy to try enlightening those who prefer to wallow in the dark!
Equal rights to temple entry cannot mean ALL women are banned, whether they are weak or strong.
Well-nourished, exercised women with some recreation, (like similar men), have no problem or ill health. If a man/priest is weak, suffering from diarrhoea/eczema or has an unbrushed mouth, he can still pray, offer rites. So sanitary consideration may not be the issue.
Blood or organs from menstruating donors are used in hospitals worldwide…..
Banishing may be due to the inability to impregnate menstruating women easily and, (for the orthodox), sex should not be wasted. (Judaism seems to be very clear about this.)
AFAIK, banning seems Judaeo Christian, (both do not accept equality) and hence easily accepted by other religions in their neighborhood. British rulers were amazed at, say, Stree dhan and called it unnatural, and insisted on male heirs, as per their laws.
AFAIK, goddesses menstruate and are worshipped. But happy to be corrected.
The way I have observed and understood it… Hinduism works in duality. We have menstruating goddesses who women pray to. We also have bramhacharya (Celibate) gods whom men pray to.
If we take case by case… Aiyyappa is a god who practiced celibacy and refrained from touching women during his lifetime. The why is it such a big deal if his followers continue that custom?
1. No one is forcing the women to pray to that particular celibate god.
2. If you are a believer of that god… you believe in the customs he practiced too. Which means, the followers of Aiyyappa are fine with keeping his celibacy intact.
3. If you are not a follower of Aiyyappa…
A. You don’t have to pray to him so the question of entering his temple seems like nothing more than an ego exercise. I will not pray but you have to allow me to enter. That’s foolish. It’s a temple. Not a park. Even parks have rules.
B. If you are a non-believer/non-follower, who gives you ( or me as I am not a follower) a right to demand to be allowed to enter his temple? That’s like me sitting in my house and dictating that you allow someone else into your house.
Think about it… a guy has followed one custom all his life and the locals started respecting him for that austerity. They elevated him to the status of god. And out of respect for him, they follow his rules. A few hundred years later, someone who neither follows the rules, not believes in him as a God, demands entry into his temple.
Where is the sense in it?
In this case… the believers( women) are ok with following the rule laid down by Aiyyappa himself. So whoare non-believers to question the rule?
Not all celibate gods follow the same rule mind you. Hanunam is a celibate god. As the story goes, he was born with a angavastram ( loin-cloth) so that even his mother does not see him naked. Plausibility of such a birth aside… Hanuman is prayed to by both genders and more so by women.
So the rule to keep out women during their menstruating age( 14 – 50) is only for Aiyyappaswamy temple.
As to why menstruating women are not allowed into the temple while they are menstruating… it’s the same as drunk men not allowed to the temple. If A, B or C is menstruating and go to temple… no one actually check to see… does it. The whole idea that you should not go… is propagated to make sure women stay home and get rest.
Now… a woman in menstruating age has family to take care of. If she wants to take rest… she may not have that luxury. So to coerce the family into allowing the women to take rest… the no cooking, no worshipping rule was made.
Most people fear the wrath of god more than they care for their women. True for all over the world. So our ancestors came up with the idea that women should not be allowed to touch, thus forcing the family to give her rest.
As things stand now… no one stops a drunk man from entering unless he creates a ruckus. But any devout… if he is drunk… stays away from the temple… simply for the fear of god. The fear of god is a psychological tool used to enforce some basic rules. If there was no fine, people would be breaking traffic rules. In India they do. But outside India, the same Indians follow the traffic rules. Not because they suddenly grow consciousness like a pair of wings and turn into angels. But because they are afraid they’ll get caught, will be fined and that their driving record will be tarnished.
Saying that you are prohibited to enter the temple or do certain things under certain circumstance… is a similar psychological tactic.
Menstruating goddesses women and men pray to….
Don’t know details of Ayyappa so happy to learn.
I don’t know the name of the goddess. Will find out and post.
As far as Goddess is concerned… I learned a beautiful thing…
Apparently… and I say apparently… cause I have not been to too many famous temples… but our Goddess… the most powerful one… Durga, appears in many avatars. You could say all the various personas of a woman. The all powerful complete goddess, wife, deceased, lustful nymph, barbaric, bloodthirsty, gentle, motherly, elderly, weak, emancipated, beautiful and strong, pregnant, learned, jealous, angry… many more forms. Each form has a name and some even have their own temples.
Menstruating goddess is just one of them.
Each of these forms is worshipped, though not all are well known.
The earth is described as part of Kali’s menstruation. Pre-colonial Hindus had no problem with sexuality in all its many lovely, loving, funny, bizarre, peculiar variations and understood that humans range in form and behaviour from the extremely masculine to the ultra feminine. Most of us probably come somewhere in between!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj7VgBnQNUc
“The earth is described as part of Kali’s menstruation” please provide pramana for this?
Hi Citralekha
I saw this years ago. However there are refs to Kali’s and Kamakhya’s period being worshipped on the net.
By pramana I meant sastra pramana, a citation from a canonical text or “sthana purana.”
Bless You !
Thank you. 🙂
Do a search for “Feminism is cancer” and get an education. And while you are at it do another search for “Women against feminism”.
I do not know what you understand by feminism. If you were truly educated,( which I definitely doubt) you would never talk the way you do!
Too lazy to do a search on the terms I mentioned. Seems you are a bit behind the times and mean to stay that way.
Since you can’t seem to figure out how to use a search engine I will do
one for you. Try to get one of the kids next door to teach you so that you can do it yourself next time.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=women+against+feminism+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FlEiW1qjeo
reposting it here as well. Equal rights have always existed. Roles for men and women were based on different ways nature designed them. Equal does not mean same. I doubt you would disagree with that. Women can have children and work outside. Men can only have children. What should women do to continue a civilisation?? when women work at home, that is solid pay…a contribution towards society that cannot be taxed and be taken away by the government. The problem is when you see men and women as two separate units. they are one. then whatever they do contributes to the relationship and the society.
Just being able to read & write english is Neither an EVIDENCE ofbeing eduated nor ofbeing intelligent… although it is very ommon for the likes of you tobe the most brilliatn bulbs in the room in YOUR OWN MIND…That isOK… if it makes you feel good.. good for you…
Dear Plato
Somewhere you suggested women impregnate men…. Who knows some day that may happen! Also virgin births as per the Bible. Currently it does not look too likely! Anyway IMHO, anyone (M or F) who wants a kid should be willing and able to care for it for about 18 years as the human child seems to need that before it can stand on its own feet.
LOL… I don’t know… any thing is possible… whether possible or not, I don’t know, but it sure doesn’t hurt or cost to think it is… but what amuses me is that that is how I got my husband to agree having only 2 children. He said he wanted to have 14, because his father had 12,& he had to do “better than that.” I put the condition… I would have the first two. If he bore the 3rd one, I would have ALL THE REST of the 11. I know that was a joke on BOTH OF OUR PARTS. Knowing him, he wouldn’t have bothered me even for a 3rd one in case we had 2 of the same gender. And, something else, that goes to show that ONLY FEW understand the EQUALITY of genders/sex & gender roles… If there was 1 person, it was MY HUSBAND… He NEVER made me shoulder the responsibility preventing unwanted pregnancy. ALL the 20 years we were married, HE took the WHOLE RESPONSIBILITY 100%. Both the men & women today DO NOT UNDERSTAND IT… And He was the one who told me about these things, many of the things discussed in this youtube video. I too didn’t believe any of it as I was educated in european catholic schools. But him committing to take the burden of & the fear of unwanted pregnancy was something that made me listen to whathe had to say. And am I glad I listened to him. And together we had a GREAT LIFE, & now, when I am pushing 70, I am still waiting for the very first gynecological problem/issue that the women all over the world complain of throughout their lives at ALL stages of their life cycle. I laugh at these people because almost all who are giving their “expert opinion & JUDGEMENT” on topic THEY HAVE NO knowledge of it… have NEVER TRIED, tested or experienced… it is like all telling you that you are wrong & stupid when you say that the mango tasted sweet… and those telling you that l are wrong & ridiculous are al those who have NEVER eaten a mango & refuse toeat one… but they claim they are right . The people are ready to brelieve in the possibility of a man carrying a baby to term inside him,but are not willing to thinkabout the VERY SIMPLE SOLUTIONS thisman has found during his research. This is only because he is a Hindu who found this info in Hindu books of knowledge. Let a white christian come hear & tell them in his clipped orany foreign accent, or a muslim man with weird beard & dressed in his younger brother’s pyjamas & his taller brother’s tunic or a muslim women dressed in a portable black coffin tell thein their fake arabic accents the same thig, they will PAY THEM their life savings & lick their rear end, pledging loyalty till kingdom come.
Agreed: “now, when I am pushing 70, I am still waiting for the very first gynecological problem/issue that the women all over the world complain of throughout their lives at ALL stages of their life cycle”
Physical problems of any sort usually indicate poor nutrition, lack of time/ knowledge about proper exercise or time to oneself.
Does that no then mean that this man may have stumbled upon something in the ancient texts of Bharat? The problems related tomensturation were the same… I mean The basic cycle without the problems that the women face today. And even the leaders of today, the white west too has accepted the mind & body connection, the nutrition connection. there is definitely a connection between the food we eat & the hormones that the body produces.Why then is there so much opposition to what he is sayng? To me, based on my personal experience, based on what i have seen & heard from people over my life time across 3 continents & actually living there & not just going on at phoren trips organised by chhagan lal/jaimata di/singh travels) has made me understand along with my education & training in evaluating “scientific research” & seeing how it isACTUALLY done, that every time something is presented, it must be evaluated. And that is what, studying the epidemiology along with the “modern research”, ethnic anecdotes (although I wonder when the same experience is narrated by the people of different ethnicities over a period of time cannot be accepted as a form of evidence by science). We are seeing a whole lot of …up to 70% of what the west is calling its cutting edge developments i the fieldsof neuro sciences specially, & on many organic practices, is ALL taken from the Hindu/Buddhist/Jain practices, stripped of all the signs of its origins, patented in the names of those who stole it, & are now being remarked to us under phoren names at exhorbitant prices.
True. I do know that everything we eat/consume/live in, etc. has been produced, worked on, bought / sold by many menstruating women. Anyone healthy has no problem with menstruation, e.g. cramps are relieved almost immediately by adequate calcium. Many athletes on good vegan diets do not menstruate. They have had kids.
I tell all my young female pals who blithely say they are not feminists: But you enjoy all the privileges feminists fought so hard to get you like an education, earning and keeping your money, a bank account, your own name, driving, ability to marry or get divorced, to use contraception, to be lesbian, to actually walk in the street, etc. All these rights were achieved after great difficulty and suffering by women who cared enough for future females AND males. Like planting fruit trees…. Phyllis Schafly who disliked feminists was successfully voting, earning and keeping her money, working outside, driving, getting others to run her home: all while despising those who worked (and died) for these rights for decades.
clemans replied But today’s people don’t understand the past. My kids have grown up knowing they can do those things, they don’t know that their great-grandmother lived at a time when she was the first generation of female voters. Just like I grew up knowing that I could plug a lamp in and get light, or have a cold refrigerator. We all get comfortable in our own surroundings sometimes and forget how the past was different.
B: The present too for so many trapped.
And your point is? BTW see what happened at the Kibbutz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbutz#Gender_equality
As women enjoy all the things that men created by working hard and focussing on solving several problems, right?
AFAIK Every single invention /discovery women have participated in equally e.g, Ada Lovelace, Joan Fromm, Marie Skadovska, Zelda Fitzgerald, India’s independence innumerable females, China’s Empresses, Einstein’s wife, Dadasaheb Phalke’s wife was not only shooting the movies, she was feeding the crew, managing their housing, etc. A male Dr gets paid well and acknowledged, a mid wife Dr. /nurse doesn’t. Like being a chef or cooking at home for 50. Many women, like black US inventors, have not got any acknowledgement. According to me, most men could not have functioned really without the huge support/self sacrifice from women but you may feel differently! All Jewish women had to run homes, earn from businesses so the men were free to study the Torah. Anyway have it your way: no problem! Many men do think women are stupid, just like blacks/ whites whoever feel about ‘the other’. Once women start charging for their services, they get respect: money seems to be the criterion today. Anyway those who don’t like women (or men) or think women are terrible/ users/ etc. need not deal with them!
such strange way of thinking.
A Dr. and a nurse or midwife, do not have the same education and should not get paid the same, nor do they perform the same work. Both are needed. like a soldier and a general.
As for a chef and a woman who cooks at home. Two different situations. Chefs are performing a job. What woman does at home is much higher and cannot and should not be compared with money. There is love and respect and long term connections. No comparison.
In India women have been respected and not considered stupid. But this men-women war makes them feel like they are not valued, which is not true. This ‘charging’ is really interesting. Men and women become one when they are together, and work inside and outside the house combined their lives. See, if they did not work outside, they worked at home. They did not need to make money to live and take care of themselves. Men took pride in taking care of them. Isn’t that being loved and adored? Was working outside of home easier? Men were incharge of homes. With work and money today, they are slaves outside (working outside home does not make them free) —and stressed since it gets harder to keep a family together. You can do it your way. We know of several relationships where women are very happy being at home, and they live like queens at home. Some work, and yet understand that everything should not be measured in money. You cannot busy good relationships and families.
EQUAL work by well qualified women has not been recognized, leave alone paid equally, in most cases. hence many women simply work OUTSIDE the house and they get that good hard work treated as ‘She works because she is bored, wants to’, not that we both depend on it! Usually told your housework work has no price, hence you see really poor women. Male alcoholism, e.g, affects one out of every 5 humans: mainly women and kids.
Love and respect and long term connections? Women flee (if they can) when all they do is work with no love or respect, get beaten, etc. No comparison. Usually eat leftovers, do without new anything, never allowed to see own parents or give them a gift, meanwhile have to work on demand at all times and this is called LOVE/duty. I have seen this many times. NOBODY leaves even a half way good situation. This is reality unless women earn MONEY! Yes you can compensate IF you want a good relationships, with gifts, equal access to money/ rest/ friends/ etc. Those who do, usually have spouses and kids besides them…. However have it your way: you can believe women ‘s work has to be valued in love or whatever and men should be paid even if they both do the same work.
‘EQUAL work by well qualified women has not been recognized, leave alone paid equally, in most cases. ‘ conjecture, not proven.
Usually told your housework work has no price, hence you see really poor women. Male alcoholism, e.g, affects one out of every 5 humans: mainly women and kids.’ BLAME THIS ONE FEMINISM. Price is different from value. HOUSEWORK WAS ALWAYS VALUED. Modernity and feminism removed that. House work was valued as was motherhood and that is why, mothers have had such high status in India. but you want to borrow foreign theories on domestic problems….there will never be any solution in sight.
‘Love and respect and long term connections? Women flee (if they can) when all they do is work with no love or respect, get beaten, etc. – DO YOU THINK…that there have been no women who have taken advantage of men, used their wealth and disrespected the family of their husbands. I personally know two families where the young bride continued an affair with her boyfriend and then with false case, left with more more than her parents spent on the wedding. all within a year of marriage. So, this works both ways. and women being rude and mean that not make it equal. It just makes is worse. and no one takes responsibility. Both men and women should be held accountable.
‘However have it your way: you can believe women ‘s work has to be valued in love or whatever and men should be paid even if they both do the same work.’ MEASURING EVERYTHING WITH MONEY IS GOING TO END A CIVILIZATION. Can you place a value on love? on human relationships? should men and women who love each other measure everything? can you place a value on passion? here I mean passion for a anything, a job, to having a family, to being with a person.
Your upbringing has not been well, and may be you grew up in a family where women were not respected. Ours had that, and I have seen women being respected, so —-think differently.
Equal rights have always existed. Roles for men and women were based on different ways nature designed them. Equal does not mean same. I doubt you would disagree with that. Women can have children and work outside. Men can only have children. What should women do to continue a civilisation?? when women work at home, that is solid pay…a contribution towards society that cannot be taxed and be taken away by the government. The problem is when you see men and women as two separate units. they are one. then whatever they do contributes to the relationship and the society.
In a world where money is so essential, equality also has to mean equal access to keeping and earning money, property, custody of kids, etc.
remember once you are married, YOU ARE ONE. until that happens it is NOT MARRIAGE. It is the division between us and them, men and women that causes all issues. Marriage is also for the sake of society to create children, and to protect and raise them. Once they are born, entire work is dedicated to them. just those economically secure do not think much, but ideally, present generation lives to care for the previous, and raise the future. that is how a dharmic society functions.
I appreciate your thoughts. A large sum is not necessary for most of us. However it is essential that everyone learns to be independent, at whatever high/ low level where possible. I am sure you too know many destitute after the male earner dies or, too often, opts to leave the family (de facto even if still living there) and finds some one else. Families far too often throw out widows/ orphans or treat them shabbily even if ‘allowed’ to stay on if a man dies or disappears.
Males too should know basic housekeeping, at least survival cooking! Why have one pillar when you can have two supports?
Reality worldwide seems to be:
MONEY MATTERS – In a Gallup-Sharecare poll, 90% of people who manage finances well said close relationships were strong, but the number of happy relationships dropped when finances were cited as a sore point. Worrying about money was toxic to happiness at any income.
Again incomplete thought process. The most independent of person is dependent on many, whether or not they acknowledge it. Money and materials are a very small portion of a healthy human existence.
The root of the problem, making money more important than relationships.
In our world, without access to money, you remain unhealthy, uneducated, roofless, (and maybe ultimately without relationships!). Making/managing money, like bathing, is essential. It is not MORE or LESS important than relationships, it is a part of how we live as humans today. Every husband should help create a financially independent woman/wife, able to manage everything and not call it ‘love’ while ensuring her work is unpaid.
ha, ha…should have read this moronic response first, because it is all clear now….you can only measure in terms of money and your life will forever remain loveless.
‘In our world, without access to money, you remain unhealthy, uneducated, roofless, (and maybe ultimately without relationships!).’
NOT TRUE !! Did you start paying for yourself from the day you were born? you were born penniless, and your parents took care of you. there are many women who do not work outside of home and yet never have to worry about rent or electricity bill.
‘Making/managing money, like bathing, is essential. ‘
IN YOUR LIMITED WORLD…..YOUR SMALL, RESTRICTED WORLD. B EING A PART OF FAMILY MAKES YOU RICH, HAVING RELATIONSHIPS THAT YOU CAN COUNT ON IS MORE IMPORTANT.
‘It is not MORE or LESS important than relationships, it is a part of how we live as humans today. Every husband should help create a financially independent woman/wife, able to manage everything and not call it ‘love’ while ensuring her work is unpaid.”
STUPID IDEAS, BECAUSE YOU DO NOT REALIZE THE HAVOC THIS WILL UNLEASH ON WOMEN. If she gets paid for everything that means she does not get anything for free either. so every stage of her life she is running around taking care of herself. but hey suit yourself, how can argue with someone so hell bent on suicide.
I was referring to adults being responsible for themselves not to babies or the helpless. Of course relationships are important, we all have and care for pals/relatives who have nothing. Where possible, e.g. for adults, why not be responsible for yourself rather than dependent on someone’s possibly transitory feelings or whims? My eyes are sad from seeing unwanted kids/ mothers with nothing and little qualification where a little earning ability would have helped them. Anyway have it your way!
Your thought process is incomplete. remember family takes care of people –even when they are not that competent. and when you think of yourself as a part of a family, then we are responsible for each other…and every thing cannot be measured in money…
NO one has ever said ‘every thing can be measured in money’! Earlier even basic education, driving, bank accounts, votes, any inheritance, contraception. etc. were, and still are, denied to many .
However you, of course, are entitled to your vision of the world.
as are you, but as stated before, a very incomplete view. Always view people in terms of relationships. And remember no matter what your ideas, there is never a ‘level of utopia’ or ‘absolute equality’. Understand the concept of Karma. The best of the best fail and the not so good succeed. Many things are out of our hand. IN relationships that are interdependent, not everything can equal, some are good at giving love, others are good at giving finances, and others are better being alone. Yet, those who like being alone benefit by those who are attended to sacrifice and loving. Try to understand the world in a rigid ‘gross’ level, it does not work.
Hahahahaha ‘guest’ is this a joke?! Equal rights have always existed? You need to take a good hard look at the world and see the truth. Roles for men and women were not designed by nature, they were forced onto us by those in society, who like you, believe the men are superior to women. Truly disgusting – unless you need your genitals to perform a task, then it is not a gendered task. A married couple do not BECOME one, they are two separate people who WORK TOGETHER as one.
First, you believe men are superior than women, not I. Men and women in India never had separate roles. At independence both Men and women had voting rights. Men got the land, and women got the jewellery (mobile property, along with other materials to live a good life and all their life they got gifts from parents, and parents never took anything from their daughters. Ways of not only equalising the wealth were plenty. And we did not need regulating, our society knew it and took care of it. Until the British came and made dowry sound like an evil thing. And please look to the west where some european countries did not get voting rights until the 1970s. Women had to fight for their voting rights in many western countries. So, take your ignorance and prejudice somewhere else!! Actually use it, enlighten yourself —without bias. STOP READING THINGS LITERALLY. Men and women are spiritually one, their goals are one, to take care of the family that is created. That is the sole purpose of a married life. If it weren’t people would live alone.
Got it wrong buddy ! I don’t want to argue (I no its of no use !) whether MEN are superior to females but it is sure that females are inferior to MEN.
If you want to say anything negative; go and create your own Power, Cables, Computer, Operating System, Internet, Keyboard and comment platform (Disqus) and then “say whatever you want” !
Think this was meant for someone else…..not me. read my comments.
Yep ! I read your comments and I am not targeting you. I am damn sure that you are a fellow Hindustani MAN. what I said is in general, rather sarcastically ! (you can find that “tone” in the 2nd para of my comment).
I think its time for you to create an identity, instead of “guest”. Wish you the very best and have a great weekend.
Just that not sure if you comment directly to me whether or not the other person gets a notification to read it. Thanks, and the same good wishes to you as well.
LOL… Really? Coming from a BRITISH… really?
No point in replying to these kind of “filthy” creatures ! They shamelessly use everything; from Electricity/Power to Antibiotics to Telephone to Computer to Airplanes and still are “ungrateful” to MEN.
And you are shamelessly doing everything possible to use the women TO THE MAXIMUM… fooling them into believing that you are trying to get them equal rights…
Thank YOu. That is what people don’t get .. & ridicule those who make that choice… I guess, the new symbol of being successful is how good a dog orcat you can be… being what you are doesn’t cut it any more… & I am not going to join the “trend” of becoming a dog or a cat or whatever else , I’m VERY HAPPY & PROUD to be THE BEST I AM & DO THE BEST AT whatever I am needed to do… BY MY LIFE… not by the opinions of zombies & morons on the internet.
Femicuntism is not about “equal rights”, you retard ! Its all about the weak and pathetic females being “ungrateful” to MEN, while “basking” on MENs efforts & hard work.
Do you know anything about what you use in your daily life: ass wipes to tampon to the “keyboard” with which you typed your comment !? Ever heard about Mr. J. Marion Sims !? (father of GYNECOLOGY !!)
And you want “equality” with MEN !!
Thank your for your opinion.
LOL… That is what you think? weak women being ungrateful tomen? Hey pal… FYI… if a woman can bring you INTO this world, shi has the strenghth to throw you out too… Don’t be deceived by the fools YOU interact with
What a “pile of shit” you are !! Women can “bring” into the world ! Do you mean your mother “brought” you into this world without your Father “impregnating” and fertilizing her eggs !?? Or do you mean your mother is a “hermaphrodite” !??
Any d-a-m-n female in any d-a-m-n living specifies does the same thing ! What’s so great in it ! and it’s possible only when a MALE impregnates !! Why you are over-exaggerating and expecting undue credit for something that is: 100% NATURAL, MUNDANE and OBVIOUS !!
If you are t-w-a-t, did you create your own ovaries !? did you invent your own milk glands !? did you pioneered your own uterus !? females are NOT the creators, GOD is the creator.
But hey, MEN Invented, Innovated and Pioneered almost everything you use in your daily life; from a#@ wipes to tampon to toilet flush, antibiotics to antiseptics, radio/tv/telephone/smartphone/clock/battery, botany to zoology to GYNECOLOGY !! …the list never seems to end.
If you are not a female, then by your gibberish comment, I can conclude that you are a mang@na !!
It’s a waste ofmy time replying to some one whose thikinh machinery hangs between his legs. Go do what you do best… steam your sausage, do the barbecue, sit out with a can of beer & a remote & dictate into your smart appliance… for that’s the only smart you have… have a reat day… & life.
Then how about YOU EXERCISING YOUR RIGHT to screw a man & make HIM pregnant & HIM bearing the child?
Dear Plato
Re women impregnating men…. Who knows some day that may happen! Also virgin births as per the Bible. Currently it does not look too likely! Anyway IMHO, anyone (M or F) who wants a kid should be willing and able to care for it for about 18 years as the human child seems to need that before it can stand on its own feet.
The women of dogon tribes of Africa build menstrural huts outside the village and live there during their periods. It is not some male conspiracy as you would like to believe. There is no scientific basis for temples and Gods. So you are being a hypocrite when you pick science to enter a temple and abondon it when you pray to the Gods. So much for a scientific mind.
Request you to see my comments above.
AFAIK, the Kamakhya temple worships menstruation.
Sufferers often lack good, quality food, especially adequate magnesium and calcium, fibre and exercise and are often oppressed in various ways. Some sufferers have a physical illness, infection or are overworked. Solving these issues removes the pain,etc., usually immediately
You must be an atheist commie. Please do not come anywhere near our temple. If you think blood dripping out of your body is clean great. I don’t. Just like I don’t think a baby with diapers full of stool is clean. You do what ever you want but stay away from us.
Sorry to disappoint you. I am neither an atheist nor a Commie. I am a proud HIndu, and a Brahmin at that. Nobody in her right mind moves around with blood dripping around. Nor do babies like to continue wearing unclean diapers. We are not animals. You do not have to be irreligious to talk sense. I believe in religion, but am not enslaved by superstitions, that go by the name of religion. Unlike you, as clearly your name suggests!
You are not a Brahmin, you are just a woman. Women have no varna. And if your father got a pay check he was a sudra. He was a brahmana if he taught Vedas, or was a rtvik performing homas for others. Or living on donations. But considering the recent history of Bengal he didn’t do any of those things. He probably doesn’t even know what Veda his gotra belongs to and if he did, he would not know how to chant that Veda. So basically you are the daughter of a man whose distant fore fathers may have acted like brahmanas but have since become sudras. A wooden elephant, a paper tiger and and a brahmin who doesn’t study the Vedas have only the name.
Religion without philosophy is sentimental and/or fanatical. And philosophy without religion is speculation. Dharma is not made by man or woman it is made by God. Dharman tu saksat Bhagavn pranitam. It is not up to you to say what is or is not acceptable. We approach God on His terms not yours. You have no idea what religion is. “Religion is meant to change man; not man religion.”
Sruti smriti puranadi pancaratra vidimvina akantike harer bhakti utpayaaive kalpate
That Bhakti which is not according to the sruti, smritis, puranas, itihasas, and pancaratra etc is simply a disturbance to society.
You are a disturbance to society with you speculations that have no sastra pramana.
Do you understand what sastra pramana means? Scientific proof! But then SCIENCE is something you are too dismissive about!
The “sastra” in “sastra pramana” refers to a system of epistemology based on revealed scripture. In this case Vedas and their derivatives.
Pramana means what is of epistemic value. There are about 10 types of pramanas of which three are most important they are: pratyaksa – empiric evidence, anumana – logical inference, and then shabdha brahma – knowledge coming from Vedas. Shabhdha brahma is of highest epistemic value.
You DO NOT LIE TO US about science just because we call it by a different name & use DIFFERENT TOOLS, methodology & premises… you would have understood that the Bharat people were way ahead in this only if you has even a iota of your intellectual ability functional.
Calling yourself Plato does not make you knowledgeable either.Your post proves beyond doubt!
What difference does it make what I call myself? Calling myself Rina Mukherji will not INCREASE YOUR Intellectual prowess, although I may be mistaken to be the dunce to those who don’t know the fact about me… as for education… yours is pretty obvious from your post & your opinions…that you insiston calling science
It has nothing to do with appointing or disappointing “us” Ti has EVERYTHING to do with YOU suffering from the HEALTH consequences & then running from pillar topost, shelling out money to doctors, BRAGGING with GREAT PRIDE in the “sickness” you have… because YOUR BODY IS NOT FUNCTIONING normally… You would noit take a car needing servicing or repair.. but you do not allow your body the tome & space for its natural calls & cyces… The likes of you are the fools who are living in delusion that only what you “understand” is fact… whatever YOU DON’T understand… must be treated based on what your delusional brain calls “science & logic” … You lie abot all you DO NOT KNOW & do not understand by ranting about going back to the “dark ages”
Being a woman, I feel sad that a natural and biological process of Menstruation is considered impure by society. Very sad indeed. The future generations will come into being because God has given a woman, the opportunity of being a mother. We also call our planet Mother Earth. Why then stop women from going to temple during the menstrual cycle? From last 2 decades, I have not got a satisfactory answer to this question, so I continue going to temple even during menstruation. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has taken up this case as a violation of the Fundamental Rights of a woman – refer Sabrimala Case. I am eagerly waiting for its outcome.
So people like you want to break rules, because the answers aren’t to your satisfaction!! Temples are not your family property to treat them with this kind of contempt. If you don’t like the rules, why even go to temples?
Yes, we want to break rules that don’t make sense. It is in no way contempt. Sorry to say, Temple is no one’s family property. Everyone is free to go when they want. Please tell me where in the Vedas or Shastras, it is written that women who are menstruating cannot go. Also, it is all in the brain. Just to inform you, the brain releases the hormone that causes menstruation.
Actually… no. No one is free to go where they want. I cannot walk into a 5-star hotel naked like a blooming monkey just because I want to. Nor can i walk into the airport with a gun. Every public place has a set of rules made specifically for it and one must follow the rule if one wishes to visit it or use it.
I guess pseudo-feminists in India do not understand the difference between rules of a public place and forcing someone against will to do something. The latter is oppression, the former is not. Showing respect for other’s sentiments and abiding by a rule made for public place is a mark of dignified behavior.
I guess asking for respect and dignity from a pseudo-feminist is too much of an expectation. Like baser animals… they are incapable of empathy or understanding. Sigh!
Empathy or understanding can never be expected from arrogant proponents of a feudal patriarchal mindset either!
I’ve heard pompous self-aggrandiazing liberals say it often to feel good about themselves and hide their narrow-mindedness thinking behind it,
Keep it up.
Brain sends some signal for all kinds of excretion. What is the point. Something being natural does not make it good. Motherhood and mensturation are different. Mensturation happens because some ovum did not get impregnated. Science does not believe in a ‘atma’/ ‘soul’. It does not believe in a God too ? Are you not being a hypocrite by using science when it suits your fancies about mensturation and ignore it when you want to pray to God ? Something is not right just because it is new. Something is not wrong just because it is old. It is not that you disagree with few people. You disagree with entire framework of a temple when it does not suit your agenda. Who asked you to go to a temple ? Is there no God in your puja room ? Is that God not powerful ? The same rules that govern your temple have to be followed in your puja room as well. It has nothing to do with women’s rights. If a women does not mensturate, then nobody is bothered. Understood ?
Yes, they are not to my satisfaction. In fact, the brain releases the hormone that causes menstruation and its totally scientific, nothing to do with not going to temple. Also, there is no doubt that temple is not my family property, but I expect an educated person like yourself to analyse and introspect and ask questions and not just accept things the way they have been followed from centuries.
As an educated person, you should atleast respect others’ boundaries and not infringe on them. As i said, if you don’t like the rules temples impose, avoid going to them. Temples are community owned and run. Not your house to do as you please.
You are entitled to your opinion, so am I. I believe in ‘Live and let live’. It’s no point fighting because neither you nor me are wrong, just our ideologies are different, that is it. I don’t want to continue arguing with you.
Thank you so much for enlightening me. However, I believe in ‘Live and Let Live’. So you are entitled to your opinion and so am I since neither of us are wrong. I don’t want to argue anymore with you since it is pointless
If you believe in Live and Let Live, you wouldnt be proud of the fact that you break temple rules at will 🙂
Yes yes, I will continue to do so. Do what you want.
ofcourse, you turn out to be a hypocrite inspite of your high-sounding BS. No surprises there 🙂
Yes yes I am proud of doing what I did. Do what you want.
When the community imposes something that is inherently wrong, it must be opposed. If enlightened leaders and reformers had never opposed the wrongdoings of the 19th century communities, we would continue to confine women to purdah, burn widows, harass them, and treat Dalits as outcasts
Aditi
EVERYONE today eats food cooked /served in restaurants or prepared in small businesses/large factories by menstruating women, handled by farmers’ wives, vegetable/grain vendors, etc. and this is offered happily in all religious ceremonies.
An incontinent person and a baby with full diapers are comfortably accepted in temples by all religions! So where is the hygiene here?
AFAIK, the world is made from Kali’s menstruation. In Maharashtra, traditionally a young girl was offered a new saree and women sang to welcome her til very recently.
AFAIK, the Kamakhya temple worships the very idea of menstruation.
Menstruation possibly appeared when we started eating cooked and non vegan food. Olympic athletes who eat vegan food and exercise (like presumably humans originally used too), report menstruation disappears. They can become pregnant normally albeit without periods and have kids.
Plastic gloves for surgery are a very recent idea and alas, very polluting. Simple cleanliness and soap were usually used by medical practitioners, without anti bacterial medication for a long time.
I would be grateful if you could provide any kind of documented source for this claim of yours.
Yes menstruation is impure : But not women
Understand the science and logic :
Have you seen any doctor touching blood with bare hands ?
Even for small procedure they wear gloves to protect themselves. Why ?
Blood is a source of infection . It can spread the disease and also it can harbor microbes when kept uncleaned . Do you know microbiologist use blood culture (sheep blood) to grow microorganisms in labs?
Any human tissue blood or flesh is more dangerous to humans than other animal tissues because microbial preferences varies between human and animals.
Coming to menstruation : 1 Women need to maintain hygiene during menstruation as there is continuous exposure of blood which is a perfect media for microbes to grow. So they need fresh , clean sanitary pads and need to clean with fresh water regularly. –Now a days we have both hygienic disposable pads and availability of fresh water. Think some hundreds of years ago. When people seldom gets cloth to cover , how will they manage menstrual bleeds? That’s why they were advised to segregate in home from others , have regular baths . By segregation there is less chances of spilling blood in homes and especially community centers like worship places so that there is no spread of diseases and no harboring of microbes
2 Sex during menstruation is unhygienic and barbaric. a) Because as I told earlier there is need to prevent exposure of microbes or any impurities around genitals during menstruation as it will be perfect culture to grow. Blood vessels are exposed , tissues are shredding , so it will be easier for microbes to enter into blood stream of menstruating women leading to sepsis and no antibiotics available in those days. Sex is the one of way where they will be exposed .
b) Barbaric – Many women will have pain during menses . Pain varies from mild to very severe. U cant force women in pain to have sex . In order to prevent men from forcing women to have sex , some culture prohibits touching women during menstruation or gives separate room in well off families or prohibits entry into house in poor families
3 Don’t think books and papers were so cheaply and easily available in olden days . Books were precious . and precious books were holy books in temples or in houses ,not story books as we have and available now. Most of the people touches and uses a single or few available books. No one wants it to be soaked with blood stain and become culture media . No one wants infected book touched by many people (some may be carrier of infection ) and pass it on to menstruating women hands and further to her immune compromised genitals
4 Same above theory applies for community centers of that time where all types people gather is place of worship. No spreading of disease or receiving from other infected people.
Now time has changed . Better hygienic practices , sanitary pads and better antibiotics , pain killers , hormonal pills to post pone menses have changed the rules and so we can change the rules. But science remain the same .
We can change the old rules for temple entry , touching holy books , segregation , sex during menses etc. But we cant change the unscientific Journos like burr burr dutt who talks nonsense without knowing the scientific basis and basics.
In short, we need to move with the times. Right? So isn’t it high time we do away with these practices?
Have you also noticed the increased cases of all sorts of hormonal diseases, imbalances, infertilty, obesity, osteoporosis, breast, ovarian & uterine cancers, not to mention many emotional Y psychologicalailments i the women too? Of vcoyrse you won’t wany=t to look at the connection between them & the pills… The men are more interested in what is of y=use to them.
Please do a scientific analysis also as part of a 3rd part.
This is good article about a topic which has become Taboo because of the feminism. But once they understood the benefits even Feminist are supporting it.
In religious Hindus families
most people don’t keep cooked rice along with other food items and was hand if they touch it. and they also keep long shelf items like oils and ghee away from cooked item only to keep others getting spoiled if they come contact with cooked rice. Like wise a menstruating women in olden days (without the sanitary napkins) were kept isolated only to protect them and other from infections.
Though the reasons are scientific and just to keep the stupid mouths shut they must have given lot of religious tone.
Thanks for elaborately detailing the practices by different religions, groups, sects. The common ground that we make –
Not to read scriptures, touch holy books or enter prayer halls. Eat, sleep, rest .. not a bad idea at all!!