Science behind cultural “why”s - Part 3

Chitvish · Nov 11, 2010

Why did people walk to the river, early in the morning to have a bath?

It is now becoming increasingly popular in cities to go for walks, to the beach, park etc. In olden days, the daily exercise was, walking briskly to the river in the early morning. The pollution is least in the atmosphere at that time and breathing fresh air was possible. The scientific explanation of the awareness of ozone layer at its peak in the morning was accepted by them.

Dipping in the river and taking a bath gives the benefit of doing pranayamam and that too, in the mornings.

They used to walk bare footed, to the river. The path would be rough and not smooth. It is today explained as acupressure and we wear special sandals for the same!
In an Ashram in Anakatti, there is a patch laid with pebbles for people to walk barefooted and get benefitted. What was naturally followed as a daily routine in olden days is done by us, on a ‘special prescription’ as though!! The blockages in the flow of energy to the various parts of our body like kidney, heart, brain etc are released by this simple natural massage therapy. By this, the body opens its own recuperative and restorative powers. Various minor health problems are eliminated.

Thus the deep breathing and acupressure in the morning when the atmosphere is still un polluted, strengthen the immune system and give us immense benefits. But today we do not walk without sandals even if the floor is smooth, inside the house!

It was customary to bathe in the river in summer and in the well in the house during winter. This is because in winter river water is more chill than well water. Thus the temperature of the body is not affected much, thereby preventing cough, cold etc.
Good health was preserved by observing natural methods!!

radhikrish · Nov 11, 2010

Dear chitra mami,

Nice explanation and logic about acupuncture and ozone layer. I remember hardly once or twice I have bathed in river water in my fathers home town at Tiruvattar (in kanya kumari district). Of course apart from that, I have taken dip in ganga at Haridwar few times during the 2-3 days we stayed there. But that is a unique experience in itself.

Mami, I didnt know the difference in the well water vs river water earlier. :hide:

Chitvish · Nov 11, 2010

Dear Radhi,
Thanks for such a quick Fb!:thumbsup
My maternal grandfather also hails from Thiruvattar & later settled down in Thiruvananthapuram. This time, when I was in Mdu, amma was explaining to me that the postures of Sri Ananthapadmanabhaswami in Tvm & Sri Adi Kesava swami in Thiruvattar are different. Strange that you should mention about Thiruvattar in your FB!!
I am also learning a lot, while collecting points for these posts!!
Love,
C.

radhikrish · Nov 12, 2010

Oh mami, I am so happy to hear that you too have tiruvattar and thiruvananthapuram connection. In fact the Adi kesave perumal at tiruvattar temple is considered the elder brother of Padmanabhaswamy at thiruvananthapuram and they face each other in the sayana posture. ie padmanabhaswamy rests on his right side and faces east, whereas adi kesave perumal rest on his left side facing west, so that see each other . But sadly, Adikesava perumal temple is not that much well maintained when I visited last time, due to scarcity of funds, where as Padmanabhawamy temple still is the family temple of the royal lineage and they contribute a lot.

feeling nostalgic after writing the above and would love to visit both the temples once again soon.

SriVidya75 · Nov 30, 2010

chithra amma

I remember I heard the above from my dad all the time..my dad makes fun of the new tech. advances he says that we kids complicate things and in the name of vacation, we go to places where there is village atmosphere why cant we actually go to villages instead of resorts with village kind of setup....anyways he has such kind of several points for me all the time and I enjoy listening to him

Thank you for sharing this info with us......

Chitvish · Nov 30, 2010

Dear Sri,
Your dad cannot be more correct!!
Anything that comes free has no value for us, sadly!
Love,
C

Aarthibhuvan · Dec 8, 2010

Dear Chitra Mam,

Thank you very much for your valuable contributions . I saw this thread only today and have read all the 4 parts.

I need to mention here definitely that , after reading your threads on slokas , puja etc, i have started doing many pujas, in addition to it our family have started reciting the slokas given by you - on daily basis. It is definitely because of you that we have started discovered a religious side of ours. Many Many thanks for your service to all the members of IL.

I am surethat all the members, who are regular visitors of your threads will accept my views about your contribution.

Thank you once again and please continue to give your contributions to IL.

regards,
Aarthi

Chitvish · Dec 9, 2010

Dear Aarthi,
Thanks a ton for your FB.
Somewhere along the line in life, we miss to give importance to the religious side of our lives because we think, God will not question our lapses!!
I am happy that your interest is renewed by my posts. This is exactly what I want!!
Love,
C

vjbunny · Dec 9, 2010

Hi Amma,
You are teaching us the old world truths day by day my respect for Hindu culture is increasing thank You........

Chitvish · Dec 9, 2010

Dear bunny,
Very often what we dismiss as 'superstiion' is actually not so!!
Our culture is so rich that if we make a little effort, beauty unfolds as our heritage!
Love,
C

Now I am posting Vishnu Sahasranamam in tamil & everyday I type in tamil, I think of you & thank you mentally for introducing Baraha pad to me!!