Hi I hv grown up in a traditional hindu iyer atmosphere and we used to see acharams at home. We never used to enter kitchen or pooja room on the specific three days of the month. Now i have recently settled in US, i found it is a very tougher task.My husband and his family do not follow these rituals. I do pooja and have belief in our traditions but often confused I think there should be an alternate for this regulation. Can any of you tell me : 1. why did we have this 3 days acharam in iyer traditions in olden days(i do not know about other communities) ? Is there any reason behind it ? 2)How do people who used to do this practice manage currently ? 3)Is there any specific way to do the purification ? Pl. guide me. thanks Akila
It is not just iyers but many hindu families used to have it. Before any openions of mine, I would put the following questions: Why only three days? what is different after 3 days when the periods continue? Why can you enter kitchen then? In those three days does one not stand on the same ground as others or touch a tap or a broom or use the same toilet and bathroom? Does one not go to school /college and touch the books and other things and continue using the same books even after the periods? Does a working woman not go to office and do everything that she regularly does? Do the nurses not touch patients in hospitals? Where can one expect life to stop? What all will you purify if any thing religious exists? My understanding is because people in olden days did not understand scientific reasons, they were made to do things giving religious beliefs which in due course have taken a stringent and rigid shape. The basic reasons in those 3 days, laborious work should not be done. But in olden days women used to carry pots of water, grind wheat, wash heavy clothes like bed sheets- which is not good in periods. So very intelligent people gave it a religious shape so that no woman was forced to work hard whether by herself or by the elders in the house. Now that the time has changed,life stye has changed, one must change the mindset also. The most important thing is take care of the hygiene and avoid exertion. This is my point of view. May anyone with religious beliefs not take this otherwise.
