The (im)purity of having your period...I just don't get it

Is Leviticus the earliest source of attributing 'unclean' to menstrual cycle? If the ancient Egyptians revered matrix of birth and used the 'blood' for its medicinal properties there is a inflection point somewhere in history where it changed. Post exodus, wandering in the desert, when the purity laws were formulated - sourced from where ?

 

In Sikhism there is no such thing as considering women impure in periods.
You can normally do all your work and go to gurudwara and pray. No one in the family asks you or isolates you.

In earlier times , the women were discriminated but gurunank strongly opposed it ,in guru granth sahib on page no 472 , gurunanak Dev ji has clearly criticized those think menstruation was impure and has written a verse whose English translation would be
If one accepts concept of impurity then impurity is every where.
In cowdung and wood there are worms,
As many as are the grains of corn none is without life,
First there is life in water by which everything else is made green,
How can it be protected from impurity, it touches our kitchen
O Nanak impurity cant be removed in this way, it can be washed only by spiritual wisdom.
Thus for Sikhs pollution is in heart and mind of person and not in natural process of body.being clean applies to both men and women and it is cleanliness in heart and mind and not this.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji declared in Asa Ki Vaar

As a woman has her periods, month after month, so does falsehood dwell in the mouth of the false; they suffer forever, again and again. They are not called pure, who sit down after merely washing their bodies. Only they are pure, O Nanak, within whose minds Vaheguru abides. || 2 || (page-472: Mehla-1)
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Even the concept that women are impure after childbirth and should be isolated is criticized

The Guru Granth Sahib (p.1013) states, ​

“By coming together of mother and father are we created, by union of the mother’s blood and the father’s semen is the body made. To the Lord is the creature devoted, when hanging head downwards in the womb; He whom he contemplates, for him provides.”

the menstruation cycle is an essential, God given biological process anf Guru ji rejects such superstitious ideas and says that those who are impure from within are the truly impure ones. The only important thing is meditating on the Name of God. Whether your clothes are blood stained or not (including clothes stained from menstrual blood) is not of spiritual significance. Thus, there are no restrictions placed on a woman during her menstruation cycle.​

 

Its part of a(any/all) wife's duty to support husband's [any/all legit] activities...and vice versa

 

And no one has been struck down by lightning? :spin
Hmmmmmmm ....

Thanks very much for the reference Cutemonster!!! I always meant to look it up, but never did!

 

I read somewhere in my HR page, if your periods are an issue or need days off during that time, report to medical Dept. Not sure, anyone reported as an issue for them.

 

No, even the Indian tradition is at least 500 to a thousand years older still.
The unrecorded oral Jewish tradition may be just as old - the date attributed to Leviticus is for the actual text.
Don't forget, even in India both the positive and negative aspects are acknowledged. Until recently, at least in South India, menarche was celebrated openly with a ceremony. The disappearance of this rite of passage is interesting in itself. Moreover, the red 'sindhoor' and the red 'aarti' water in southern India are fertility symbols.

 

Hi op
This topic has been going on and off in my in laws house . Thanks to your thread , I read some really good posts after a long time , specially by shanvy.
I grew up in a house where no rules are imposed in the name of tradition.
And I am not sorry to be blunt but I have no patience for people who insult and demean women in the name of tradition and yeah for the so called well being of women only!! I mean come on, I can never buy it that women were suppose to rest in periods and that's why they were isolated, if rest was the reason women would be given good bed, mattress and allowed to sleep all day and eat good food or whatever they want and relax but throwing them in one corner and worst putting them out side the house and making them sleep on floor on mat and giving them food after everybody has eaten is not giving them "rest"!!
I loved the post by gauri , this whole thing that super powers and cosmic rays and blah blah has no scientific explanation.
In every religion I feel , the ultimate offering to god is our love and humbleness , so if we are thinking of a person made by god and natural phenomena as impure we are thinking of something done by god as impure so are we saying we know better than god??
I am against all such practices and in my in-laws house I had to face initial resentment but I am one person who can't tolerate any nonsense in the name of being traditional. my in-laws understood and have never asked me , though their daughters follow all such tradition and sadly are even imposing on their daughters , even after being so highly educated !My sil had big puberty function and my inlaws got gifts and were OK with the isolation of the little girl but I did not like it. It was the first time I saw any such thing and told my husband then only that when I have daughter I won't do any such nonsense.
I had wrote about this in another thread where I had said u don't understand the concept of having a party and throwing a bash and telling the whole world that your girl has attained puberty and then isolating the girls and treating them like untouchables month after month.
Govt should definitely bring a law to ban this!

 

I recently saw a poster of the girl who was having this ceremony on prominent places around,because a political person was coming for the same..seriously we still do have such functions. in some communities they have it done so openly and grandly because of the amount of gifts the girl gets. it is almost a mini marriage...

 

REmember reading it..
here you go for those who have not http://www.health.am/gyneco/more/risk_of_knee_injury_varies_during_menstrual_cycle/
no idea of the consensus, but i feel the possiblity will be on a higher side utts..not just for menstrual cyle but on a regular basis. i find this generation of kids having weaker bones. i know kids who have broken bones for simple reason as hitting a wall, picking a discuss..seriously.

I worry about kids who have very early menarche at 8 and menopause by 28/30.. nature spreading its cruel fangs, in revenge????

 

Ha ha , in fact my family members were struck by lighting when I told them that my highly educated, working sil was doing this and imposing it on her twelve year old daughter! It was shocking for them that how you can you think of your own family member as impure ,and that too in natural phenomena.
I have a book by jagbir jhutti johal, called sikhism today , from that only I came to know about the page and specially saw it in guru granth sahib to read what exactly was written there. Had read this thread yesterday only but did not want to post before I had verified what is Sikhism's stand on this.