Why am I not allowed to visit a
temple during my period
www.mythrispeaks.org
“Why am I not allowed to
visit a temple during my period?”
“Will the pickle really spoil if I touched it during
menstruation?”
My thoughts play hide and seek in my mind as I try to answer
these questions from young girls. One
that I should help them understand that these restrictions are not because they
become impure or polluted during menstruation. Two, that I should never, ever,
hurt their religious or cultural sentiments because I have neither the
knowledge nor the right to make that judgement. The latter makes it difficult
to do the former, and so round and round I go in my explanations, at best being
able to tell them that these practices have been in place for ages to ensure
women get some rest during their period. And leave them with the thought that
it is their personal choice to follow these or not.
It is not once or twice that I have come across these questions
as an educator on menstrual hygiene for adolescent girls. It is every single
time. After having addressed more than 6000 adolescent girls from rural
backgrounds over the last 4 years, you’d think that I’d have tried to come up
with better explanations by now! The wake-up call to find right answers to
these questions came when I recently read what a well -known
educator/organization working on this issue had to say about such questions –
the answers were a rude dismissal of such practices calling it superstition and
unscientific, having no place in today’s time.
My first thought was – With what right do we dismiss someone
else’s belief when we neither know the origin of such practices, nor its
significance in the practitioner’s family?
My second, more interesting thought was – What if there was
indeed some ancient story of menstrual magic hidden in these rituals, which we
would lose out on in our arrogance of rubbishing these questions? Surely,
something as natural as menstruation could not always have been looked down
upon?
The urge to be able to talk to girls and women, especially from
rural backgrounds, in their own language and way of thinking and give them back
the meaning of their rituals, started me on this journey.
Please
note that I have no scientific way of proving the validity of following content
and my intention in this exploration is to understand what might have been the
original reasons behind the rituals and taboo on menstruation.
Understanding the power of menstrual cycles
Today, while most women and young girls in India are being told
that menstruation is an impure, inconvenient, sad fate to be put up with, the
Western world has gone a step ahead and invented pills that would help women no
longer menstruate! Unlike what is now thought by most people, menstruation was
originally considered a highly sacred process, equipping women with strong
powers which could be life-giving (hence worshipping women) or dangerous (hence
secluding menstruating women). Herein lies the beauty and the contradiction. To
understand how this came about, we need to know how menstrual cycles are linked
to moon cycles, and what changes each phase in the cycle brings.
Menstruation and the moon
To someone hearing this for the first time (like me), it is
strange to think that the moon could affect what goes on in my body!
For those who want a scientific reason, here is what one study
explains: Did you know that the menstrual cycle and the lunar (moon cycle) are
of 28 days and
all women apparently menstruated at the same time as with the
new moon in ancient days? Charting your menstrual period according to the moon
is one of the oldest forms of menstrual calendars. In fact, it is believed that
the first calendars were based upon women’s charts of their menstrual cycles
and the moon cycles.
In the days before electricity and living exclusively indoors, women’s cycles
were influenced by natural moonlight. The principle is guided by the theory
that moonlight provided an important synchronizing signal (scientists call
these “zeitgebers”) for menstrual cycles that is now lost in our modern
environment. Clinical studies performed by researchers at Harvard University,
the U.S. Air Force, and the University of California, San Diego Sleep Center
have shown that women’s menstrual cycles can become more regular after the
women were exposed to a certain dosage of artificial light while they slept.
(Source http://www.regularcycles.com/the-science-of-light-therapy/)
Significance of each phase in the cycle
A woman’s body goes through 4 stages
in one menstrual cycle, just as we go through 4 seasons in a year. I found the
explanation quiet fascinating and could actually relate to much
of what I read, although I was never consciously aware of these changes in my
body. (The information presented below is a combination of content I borrowed
from different sources mentioned at the end of this blog.)
Week 1: Menstruation (Days 1-7) – Begins with the first day of
bleeding (it should ideally be a new moon). Within hours of starting your
period, your estrogen levels will slowly begin to rise and you will tend to
feel a shift from the heaviness or ‘PMS’ of the days before. This is considered
a process of cleansing and removal of all negative thoughts and emotions. Many
women, including me, have noticed that on the first few days of our periods, we
feel an urge to suddenly clean our homes and remove all the clutter from our
closets- and our lives. Our natural biological cleansing is accompanied by a
psychological cleansing as well.
This is the time when women feel the need to go inward and be
silent and contemplative. The rituals around seclusion during menstruation were
partly meant to serve this purpose.
Week 2: Pre-Ovulation (Days 7-14) – This is the phase soon after
the period when most women feel at their energetic best. The steady increase in
estrogen boosts your brain’s serotonin levels, which leads to an increase in
energy, enthusiasm and a more upbeat feeling overall. This phase is considered
ideal to kick off new projects or creative work.
Week 3: Ovulation (Days 14 – 21) – This is the phase of
Ovulation, where women are apparently more physically attractive than on other
days, and are more attracted to others. This is the time in our cycle when we
need to be connecting to people and relaxing in our outside world. It can also
be a time of vulnerability, and it is important that we keep ourselves grounded
and be mindful about our actions.
Week 4: Pre-menstruation (Days 21 – 28) – On the other side of
ovulation, you’ll feel the effects of decreasing estrogen and testosterone and
increasing progesterone. Progesterone is the ‘ebb’ to estrogen’s ‘flow’. It
will increase your desire to move inward, like the waning moon. Research shows
greater activity in the right hemisphere of the brain – the part associated
with intuitive knowing – in weeks 3 and 4 of your cycle. Always trust your
intuition. But pay especially close attention to it in the second half of your
cycle!
Alternative explanation for Pre-Menstrual
Syndrome (PMS)
A number of girls and women suffer from aches, pains and mood
fluctuations just before their period. Here are some fascinating explanations
for this mentioned in different websites.
The
Pre-Menstrual phase (week 4) consists of the final days before you begin a new
cycle. Progesterone continues to rise until just before the end of this phase
when estrogen, testosterone and progesterone all plummet to their lowest
levels. If you deny the natural need you have to slow down and turn inward,
feelings of resentment, frustration and anger find a way to surface.
(Source http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/anea-bogue/women-menstruation-_b_3957384.html#slide=more195539)
The crankiness, impatience or annoyance so infamously called
Premenstrual Syndrome, that we may experience in the last two weeks of our
cycle, is really more about the feelings you have because you are not flowing
with what your body really wants you to
do – that is slow down, withdraw from the busyness of the outside world and
look after yourself, not everybody else. (Sourcehttp://www.moonsong.com.au/spiritualmenstruation.html)
“The premenstrual phase is therefore a time when we have greater
access to our magic—our ability to recognize and transform the more difficult
and painful areas of our lives. Premenstrual, we are quite naturally more in
tune with what is most meaningful in our lives. We’re more apt to cry—but our
tears are always related to something that holds meaning for us. Years of
personal and clinical experience have taught me that the painful or
uncomfortable issues that arise premenstrual are always real and must be
addressed.” –
Dr. Christiane. Northup http://www.drnorthrup.com/about/index.php
So next time, instead of dismissing the depressive or disturbing
thoughts that occur to us during the pre-menstrual days, an effort to
understand it and address the reason would be much more helpful. Women have all
the natural magical tools to deal with life – if only we were more aware of it!
The significance of rituals
I was quite surprised to read that the rituals around
menstruation have been the same across the globe, be it Native America, Europe,
Africa, Australia or Asia. The same practices of seclusion during menstruation,
similar taboos related to touching food, not entering religious place, etc.
have been documented world over. Perhaps, it is only in parts of Asia such as
India, where we still see many women who follow the rituals even now, and
therefore most of us wrongly conclude that it is only in developing countries
like India that such “superstitions” still exist. I have tried to read up and
gather information from as many different sources as possible, to throw light
upon how the rituals might have come into being. Here are a few rituals, taboos
and thoughts around menstruation I was able to decode to some extent
“Menstruating women have to remain in seclusion until the
period is over”
Often,
the reason given in today’s time is that menstruating women are impure, unclean
or dirty and hence need to be kept aside. In the book Blood, Bread and Roses,
by Judy Grahn, she offers fascinating explanations for this.
Menstruating women were considered to be having special powers
during menstruation, which if not used properly could cause harm to others. In
addition, practical reasons of predatory animals smelling the blood in ancient
times and coming for the kill, would have led to these women being kept in
separate huts to protect the community. Since most ancestral women menstruated
at the same time with the new moon, the seclusion huts (also called moon huts)
were filled with women with special powers who together performed sacred
rituals for the good of the community. Women who came out of the seclusion hut
were revered for their visions and wisdom gained during this time, and often
guided the community as to where to go for hunting, etc.
This in fact led to men coming up with similar rituals for
adolescent boys, so that they do not feel left out. Thus emerged the ancient
rituals (still practiced among some tribal) of young boys beating themselves
and cutting their skin so that it bleeds resembling menstruation, and stinging
themselves with bees and ants to drive themselves into a hallucination, to
resemble the visions women had during menstruation. Poor boys!
“Menstrual blood is impure, bad blood”
All blood, even that in men, has originated from menstrual
blood. Menstrual blood in ancient times was considered highly powerful and
potent. It was used in many rituals and especially in making magic potions.
Even today, anything that is red in color used in ceremonies is apparently
indicative of the ancient ritual of using menstrual blood. One study said that
the red mark on the forehead of Hindu women was originally menstrual blood.
Similarly, the symbol of Blood of Christ in Christianity is also indicative of
menstrual blood. It is also said that the color red which is widely used in
women’s lipstick and other cosmetics today, indicative of seduction and power,
had its origin in menstrual blood used by our ancestors to make themselves more
attractive.
“Menstruating women should not enter temples or
participate in religious ceremonies”
This is one taboo which perhaps hurts the sentiments of most
religious women and young girls. The thought keeps cropping up – “Am I so dirty
during my period that even God would want me to stay away?”
Unfortunately, no one, including the elite women who practice
this, had thus far been able to give me any explanation for this restriction,
which was not negative. After much digging and research, I have found few
explanations which are actually meant to protect women, rather than distance
them.
It is believed that during menstruation, women are constantly
dissipating energy from their bodies. Most religious chants are meant to
balance out the energies in our body. However, this would interfere with the
natural losing of energy that must happen in menstruating women to prevent
excessive energy build-up. Hence, menstruating women are told to keep away
during such occasions, so that their natural processes are not tampered with.
The other reason I came across was that menstruating women
become open to receiving and absorbing energy during this time. This means,
they can easily absorb other’s energies, including negative energies. Hence,
they are asked to stay away from crowds and gatherings.
Another document said that menstruating women are so powerful,
that their offering to God drowns out the offerings of everyone else present in
the room. Hence, they are told to stay away from places of worship during
menstruation.
These explanations might also be valid for the taboos around
touching others and touching certain types of food during menstruation, since
touching involves transfer of energy.
The website of Maya Tiwari, a spiritual practitioner, had a good explanation
http://mayatiwari.org/womenpower.php
Gifting the stories to the next generation
As someone who has taken the responsibility of educating young
girls on menstruation, I take it upon myself to share these explanations of the
rituals and taboos with them, so that they can appreciate the spirit behind the
ancient wisdom, whether or not they chose to follow it.
But even otherwise, I think there are important messages in
these ancient traditions for all of us. These traditions have their roots at a
time were women were worshiped and considered as beings capable of divinity;
where the wisdom of women was relied upon by the whole community. Today, when
we talk of increasing crimes on women, we often talk and think in terms of
feminism or the newer concept of gender equality. But, let us not forget that
we are largely a religious country and majority of us do not speak the elite
language of feminism and gender equality. Perhaps, it will be these stories
that would plant a seed of change in men and women about their attitudes and
treatment of women.
Lastly, following any of the above rituals or practices is a
personal choice. There is a tendency to dismiss these rituals as superstitions
without investigating enough the knowledge or wisdom behind these practices. As
educators, we have the responsibility to make an extra effort to understand the
knowledge behind these rituals and the way they were conceived. Let us act
responsibly about what we tell the next generation.
– Sinu Joseph
If you found this article interesting, you will find my next
blog even more informative – Unearthing Menstrual Wisdom: Why we don’t go to the
temple, and other practices. This new blog
was written a year after researching such practices across rural India,
following the article you just read.
P.S. My exploration on this front will be an ongoing one. I
request you to please share with me any such positive stories or explanations
around menstruation that you have heard, and help me connect with people who
might know more about such stories.
Sources:
http://naturalshaman.blogspot.in/2012/06/magic-of-menstrual-cycle.html
http://www.moonsong.com.au/spiritualmenstruation.html
http://www.drnorthrup.com/womenshealth/healthcenter/topic_details.php?topic_id=138
http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/wstudies/grahn/01toc.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/anea-bogue/women-menstruation-_b_3957384.html#slide=more195539
I had read the scientific explanation in a local newspaper once.
Do not remember the source. But it explained it very scientifically. The theory
said that there are 6 types of air motions in our body to perform different
functions. 3 types of air flow upwards and 3 of them flow downwards. When we
urinate, menstruate and pass stool, the downwards airs help us in these
activities. This is the same reason we feel depressed and low during menses
which is due to loss of hormones which is created to facilitate the proper
blood flow at that time. On the contrary, when we pray, love and express our
feelings, our upwards airs are in action. So if during periods, girls visit
temples and experience spiritual connection with God and themselves, their
upwards airs activate and they interfere with the proper flow of the menses.
Unearthing menstrual wisdom: Why we don’t go to the
temple, and other practices
Sinu Joseph
This piece is republished with
express permission of the author. It originally appeared on mythrispeaks.wordpress.com.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author,
and not necessarily to the Hindu American Foundation.
On the second year of the World
Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28th, I write this blog. I write it as I read
articles, posters and materials dismissing cultural practices around
menstruation, calling them Menstrual Taboos. I write it as I read about
organizations deciding for Indian women based on what they think is
superstitious beliefs which need to be uprooted. I write, for all the women
across India, who follow menstrual rituals and have asked me what these
practices signify. I write for the men who have never known what to make of
menstrual practices – to support them or to dismiss it. I write because I feel
responsible for reviving what has been lost. I write with the learning and the
realization that none of these practices were originally meant to suppress
women.
Over the last one year, my team has
traveled to eight states across India to learn the origin of menstrual
practices and their impact on women in rural India. The biggest surprise was
that every time we dug deeper, it always revealed a positive side of the story
and it became obvious that none of the menstrual practices came into being
because women are impure or unholy.
Many of us get stuck in trying to prove
whether or not these practices are scientific. Yet, during my interactions
across rural India, I realized that most women who follow menstrual rituals are
not concerned with modern science’s outlook. For most women, it is reverence to
an age old belief system that they want to be keepers of.
Therefore, I tried to consciously stay
away from validating cultural practices scientifically. Instead, I wanted to
focus on the spirit behind these practices, which is what influences attitudes
towards menstruation. However, my explorations took me in a roundabout way to
science itself. A different level of science though.
The
core of explanations around menstrual practices
Many a time, it seemed that each culture has a whole new explanation of the same menstrual practice such as not going to the temple. At one point, I even thought that we need to accept that each culture has its unique “menstrual history” and generalizing the origin of these practices should be avoided. However, as I tried to consolidate all that I learnt over the last one year, I realized that most practices arise from a common ground – Ancient Indian science, which includes Ayurveda, yoga, meditation, mantra and astrology. The science of mudra, a part of yoga, is also important in this understanding.
The ancient Vedic seers, recognized a
principle of “energy” that gives movement, velocity, direction, animation and
motivation. This energy of life is called prana, meaning
primal breath or life-force. Western allopathic medicine which is a few
centuries old is based on external medication and intervention. Whereas
Ayurveda which is at least 7000 years old, is a science of life and a natural
healing system, with a deep understanding of the human body and its relation to
nature. Ayurveda is based on the principles of three primary life-forces in the
body, called the three doshas. Doshas are the bio-energies that make up every
individual, and help in performing different physiological functions in the
body. The three types of doshas are vata, pitta and kapha, which correspond to
the elements of air, fire and water respectively. Each dosha has a primary
function in the body. Vata (element, air) is the moving force responsible for
communication, perception and cognition; Pitta (element, fire) is the force of
assimilation and is responsible for metabolism; and Kapha (element, water) is
the force of stability.
According to Ayurveda, menstruation is
closely linked to the functions of the doshas. Menstruation is regarded in
Ayurveda as a special opportunity enjoyed by women for monthly cleansing of
excess doshas; it is this monthly cleansing that accounts for female longevity.
There is a build-up of energy in the days leading to menstruation as the body
prepares for pregnancy. If pregnancy does not take place and menstruation
starts, this built up energy gets dissipated from the body during menstruation.
During menstruation, vata is the predominant dosha. Apana vayu, one of the elemental air functions of the
vata dosha, is responsible for the downward flow of menstruation. Therefore,
any activity that interferes with this necessary downward flow of energy during
menstruation should be avoided. During menstruation, women are more likely to
absorb other energies in their environment. This forms the basis of most of the
cultural practices around menstruation in India.
With this in mind, let us look at some
of the common menstrual practices and the explanations that I have come across
during my travels and study. In this write-up, I have covered the following
cultural practices around menstruation:
·
Not attending religious functions,
visiting the temple and not touching menstruating women
·
Avoiding cooking and eating with others
during menstruation
·
Avoiding sex during menstruation
·
Avoid swimming or washing the hair
during menstruation
·
Avoid eating certain types of food
during menstruation
·
Believing that menstrual blood is
impure
·
Taking time off during menstruation
·
Restricting menstruating women to
seclusion huts
In addition to the above, I have also
written about my personal experiences so far in experiencing some effects of
what menstruation can do.
Not
attending religious functions, visiting temples and not touching menstruating
women
Some months ago, I received an email
from across the globe, sent by a woman who experienced severe pain after being
present at a chanting session during her period, organized by her Indian
friends. She later asked about why this happens and this is what she learnt.
She wrote: “the energy during menstruation goes downwards into the earth,
(at the puja table, offerings, altar, the energy is going upwards.) This can
bring discomfort in the body”.
In
conversation with Guruji
As Guruji said, asking menstruating
women to not attend a temple has nothing whatsoever to do with a woman being
impure. So next time someone says that a menstruating woman should not enter a
temple because she is impure, we should let her know the explanation behind
this practice, instead of simply dismissing it a taboo. And let her decide
whether or not she wants to follow these practices.
Avoiding
cooking and eating with others during menstruation
As told to us by a pranic/energy
healer, eating was considered as a spiritual activity. Many orthodox Brahmins
even today chant as they cook to ensure that the food has higher and positive
energy in it. During the process of eating food, the lower chakras (read
explanation at the end of this paragraph) of our body are highly active. It is
to change this, that Buddhist monasteries have a practice of reciting the
scriptures during meal hours, so that the monks are focused on higher chakras.
So while eating, people expel negative energy all around. In the normal course
of things, we would not feel it. But if a menstruating woman who is sensitive
to absorb all types of energies around her is in the middle of a group that is
eating, she can get affected by the lower energies (as opposed to higher or
spiritual energies, which are beneficial). This is probably the reason why
menstruating women were told to stay away from others and eat separately.
As explained by spiritual and Ayurveda
teacher Maya Tiwari, in her book Women’s Power to Heal: Through
Inner Medicine:
“Asking women to avoid gardening or
cooking during menstruation is not due to the irrational thinking that our
menstrual blood is unclean, unhygienic or toxic. The cosmic memory of food –
that which is derived only from plant life according to the Vedas – is imbued with prana, a rising energy flowing up from the earth
towards the sun and the sky. Conversely, our menstrual blood is instilled
with apana vayu, the downward flowing, bodily air pulled
down from the body by the magnetic forces of the earth. These two powerful sadhanas do not go hand in hand. Plant-derived
food is also kapha in nature, full of youth giving energy that nourishes the
body; menstrual blood is dominated by pitta and vata, which fosters the
cleansing of the spirit. It is most unwise to introduce the rising, energizing
nature of our food into our blood, or to mix the downward flowing, cleansing
energy of blood into our sustenance, either by preparing food during
menstruation, or by slaughtering animals and eating them.”
Avoiding
sex during menstruation
One of the cultural practices
surrounding menstruation is the restriction on sexual activity. On one hand,
the conversation in the west is shifting to talking about “period sex” as being
more pleasurable due to the extra lubrication that blood offers, and also
because women are more sensitive during menstruation. However, the Indian
thought process behind saying that sex during menstruation should be avoided
has to do with the way in which the energy flow affects menstruating women
during sex.
During sexual intercourse, women absorb
the male energy and men release energy into the woman during ejaculation. So
imagine a menstruating woman who is meant to release her own energy, and is
instead having to absorb her partner’s energy. Also, if she has sex with
multiple partners or with partners having negative energy, it would affect her
adversely. Therefore, sex during menstruation was believed to affect a woman’s
natural energy flow, and was thus prohibited for her own good.
Avoid
swimming or washing the hair during the menstrual cycle
Maya Tiwari, offers a Vedic explanation
for this practice. In her book Women’s Power to Heal: Through Inner Medicine,
she writes
“At the psycho-energetic level, we need
to safeguard the body against the persuasive rhythm of the water element. Water
is one of the five powerful elements used to bless, cure, heal, nourish,
nurture, and revive the body, mind and spirit… Unlike the mundane
understanding of cleansing we have, the ancients knew that water is sacred and
powerful, and like all the elements has its own cosmic energy and memory.
Water, guided by its cosmic memory, can influence the flow of the menstrual
cycle to its own strong beat – exactly what we do not want happening during
menses. Conversely, we want the fire element, which is the dominant memory of
the blood, to flow in tempo with its own rhythm and tune.”
Avoid
eating certain type of food during menstruation
In most cultures in India where
menstruation is celebrated, it accompanies food restrictions and preference for
specific types of food during menstruation. We met girls in Assam who told us
that when they reached menarche (first period) they were given only fruits and
water to consume for 3 days. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, specific food
like ragi, drumstick leaf, fenugreek, jaggery, etc is given.
Ayurveda clearly mentions certain types
of food that affect women during menstruation. Any food that generates heat
such as animal and dairy products should be avoided. Some women also have
stomach upsets or loose motions during menstruation. Therefore, food that is
easy to digest, and food that is rich in iron and calcium such as ragi,
drumstick leaf, etc help menstruating girls and reduce cramps.
I personally know women who usually
suffer from severe cramps and vomiting on the first day of menstruation, but
find relief when they go on the right diet a week before and during
menstruation. Ancient practices came from an understanding of the influence of
food on menstruating women and were created with the intention of helping
relieve menstrual discomfort through the right diet. Traditional practices
around menstruation follow these food restrictions even now. This is probably
why I have come across fewer girls and women in tribal areas who experience
cramps during menstruation. The influence of food on menstruation is something
that any menstruating woman who has severe menstrual cramps can try and
experience herself.
Note: Each person has a different
constituency and accordingly each one will have variation in the three doshas.
Therefore, not every person is affected similarly by specific types of food.
Ideally, getting yourself checked by a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner and
then following specific diet for menstrual pain should be preferred.
To know more about Ayurvedic approaches
to women's health and how food affects menstruation, read the links at the end
of this write-up
Believing
that menstrual blood is impure
Perhaps, the most common notion of all
is that menstrual blood is impure and that it makes women impure.
Interestingly, in some Indian cultures, the menstrual blood itself is revered
and thought of as having potent power.
In Manipur, we interacted with a doctor
who narrated to us the story of the rituals practiced during a woman’s first
period. Here, when a girl first bleeds, the cloth into which she bleeds is
safely kept aside by her mother and gifted back to her when she gets married.
This cloth is believed to be so powerful that it will protect the girl and her
family from poor health and other ills.
We also met elderly women in Manipur
who told us that they had tasted a drop of their first menstrual blood, as part
of a traditional practice. This blood was considered to be very powerful and
believed to keep them in good health when consumed.
On the other hand, the same potent
power of menstruation was interpreted negatively in Jharkhand, where people
were afraid of finding a menstrual cloth strewn around. It is believed in
Jharkhand that menstrual blood is very powerful and can be used for black magic
and therefore, women should be very careful about destroying this cloth after
use. Every year, around 400 women in Jharkhand are murdered in the name of
being witches. The locals tell us that it has become an excuse to accuse single
women of being witches, murder them and then take over their property. And
women’s menstrual blood plays a part in the belief that woman have special
powers.
Regardless of whether the menstrual
blood was considered to provide good health or used in black magic, there is no
denying the fact that it was believed to be very powerful.
Taking
time off during menstruation
In Dakshina Kannada (Karnataka state),
we came across a woman who explained to us the relevance of the Tulu festival
called Keddasa. This festival is celebrated in the month of January or February
for 3 days. This is a celebration of the beginning of mother earth’s fertility
cycle which they believe is similar to the woman’s fertility cycle. During
these 3 days, mother earth is given rest and no digging or harvesting happens
during this time. On the fourth day, some oil and turmeric is sprinkled on the
earth and then begins the process of sowing seeds.
Similarly, it is believed that women
who are menstruating should also not be disturbed during her period, and her
natural cleansing and downward flow of energy should be allowed, before her
next fertile phase begins. Thus, these cultures saw a close connect with the
cyclical nature of the earth and women’s cycles.
We also visited the temple of the
Bhagwathi in Chengannur (Kerala) and the temple of Kamakhya Devi (Assam) where
the Goddess too was believed to menstruate and followed similar rituals of
menstrual seclusion, closing the temple for 3 days and then celebrating the end
of her menstruation. In both these temples, the menstrual cloth is considered
highly auspicious and is distributed among devotees. The idea of resting and
not disturbing menstruating women, including a Goddess, does not arise from any
superstitious belief. It is because of the thought that menstruation and the
release of energy during this time should not be interrupted in any way. It is
a natural cleansing process which helps women remain healthy, and should not be
affected by external influences.
If these menstrual rituals were meant
to suppress women, surely we would not be doing the same with the Goddess.
Here is some more information shared
with me by Jayant Kalawar, (author of "The Advaita Life Practice",
and an advisor to our Trust), when I wrote to him about why my menstrual cycle
suddenly shifted by 13 days in the month of November 2014 and began on Nov 18th
instead of Nov 6th. He writes:
“The fertility cycle on earth begins
with each new moon: each of the first nine nights (nava-ratra, the nine nights
of the Devi) after the occurrence of the new moon have a specific significance
in what happens and what action needs to be done. This is connected intimately
with when to sow seeds in the ground, when to add fertilizers and when to water
the seeds etc. Ground water comes up to nourish the seeds / plants the most in
the days between the end of the nava-ratra and full moon (approx 5 days /
nights). This agri / framing / plants cycle needs to be re-discovered and
reinstated through careful empirical study.
For women (i.e. human females), the
fertility cycle comes to an end in the last four days / nights leading to the
new moon. Hence the ideal menstruation period, which heralds the end of the
fertility cycle, should be the last four days / nights leading to the
occurrence of the new moon.
So if you started your menstruation
period 4 days before the new moon (new moon in Bangalore in November 2014 is
occurring at about 12 noon on the 22nd) i.e. on Tuesday Nov. 18th, it would be
in alignment with the moon-earth-fertility cycle – according the hypotheses articulated
above.”
More about this can be read in his
blog Menstrual
Health and quest for Economic Freedom within the Moon-Earth Fertility cycle.
Cultural practices believed that it is
necessary for a woman to align her cycles with that of the moon in order to
ensure that her menstrual cycle and overall health is in balance. For women
with menstrual problems, one of the corrective measures offered by traditional
healers is to help them align their cycles with the moon cycle.
Restricting
menstruating women to seclusion huts
Not all menstrual practices have their
root in Ayurveda or the knowledge of energy flow during menstruation. Some were
for practical reasons, such as the concept of menstrual seclusion huts.
In October 2014, the local media
created much noise about the Golla (shepherd) community’s menstrual practices,
in particular the practice of secluding menstruating and pregnant women in
separate huts.
We met and interacted with over 300
Gollas across 7 Hattis (hamlets) in Hassan and Chitradurga districts in
Karnataka to understand the reason behind these practices. Here is what we
learnt:
·
In one Gollarahatti in Arasikere
(Hassan), the panchayat president informed
us that the Gollas live in small houses with multiple families, and also have
the sheep under the same roof. Under such circumstances, a menstruating woman
has little privacy and space to manage her period. They believed that
menstruating women have lesser immunity and are more likely to contract the
diseases of the sheep which live under the same roof. At the same time, they do
not have the means to provide separate rooms in their homes for the comfort of
menstruating women. Therefore, the community decided to build a separate hut
(menstrual hut) where menstruating women could comfortably and privately manage
their period. Traditionally, these huts were built out of herbal trees such as
the neem and lined with medicinal plants which kept the women warm and
prevented poisonous insects and snakes from entering.
·
wWhile interacting with a village elder,
he revealed some interesting aspects of why the menstrual seclusion practice
began. He said that the Gollas, being shepherds, were primarily nomadic in
nature. The men travelled with the sheep, sometimes for months together, in
search of work, and food for the sheep. When they returned, they were naturally
eager to have sex with the women, without a thought about the woman’s current
condition (whether she was menstruating or pregnant). Therefore, in order to
give women the needed rest during menstruation or pregnancy (especially since
contraceptives were unavailable) and to make men more sensitive towards woman’s
condition, the community decided to have menstrual seclusion huts. So when the
men returned after months, and if his woman was in the menstrual hut, he would
know what state she was in.
·
While visiting a slum in Chitradurga,
the women informed us that due to the latest media attention and the focus on getting
rid of menstrual huts, they were facing serious challenges. Since the women
were not willing to let go of this practice and since the government was
discouraging the use of menstrual huts, menstruating women were forced to be
out on the streets. They had to bathe, change their menstrual cloth and do all
ablutions out in the open. The women clearly said that even if the men in the
community tell them to discontinue the practice, they will not let it go – such
was their strong belief. They pleaded us to help them build menstrual huts.
Here, we need to realize that these practices had a cultural relevance for this
particular community. Forcing the community to discontinue the practice might
cause more harm than good. A better way of approaching the problem would
involve helping the community economically progress, through which they
automatically let go of whatever is not relevant for them in the present times.
Personal
experiences
While I began exploring the origin
behind menstrual practices and the understanding of it as per Ayurveda, I also
began experimenting with my own menstrual cycle. I learnt about mudras from the
book Mudras
and Health Perspectives written by Suman K. Chiplunkar, and
got interested in the process of healing oneself without medication and through
Mudras. Mudras are considered as a developed version of yoga and are mainly
performed as gestures by the fingers, hand positions and also in combination
with asanas, pranayama, bandha and techniques involving eye movement. The type
of mudra you do, depends on the problem you are trying to fix.
A month into practicing mudras, I noticed that my menstrual cycle had suddenly shifted by about 13 days (very unusual for me), and I later realized that it synced perfectly with the earth and moon cycle. I felt healthier overall and my discomfort around menstruation had reduced. Since then, every month, I begin menstruating few days before the new moon and thus in sync with the earth’s cycle. I also notice how I end up affecting everything around me when I have my period. Recently, when I had my last period, my team was involved in a physically tiring activity. I noticed that along with me everybody else had also slowed down. It felt as if everyone was moving in slow motion, with no energy left to work. Looking back, I think it is because I sucked up everybody else’s energy like a vacuum cleaner! The only person not affected by it was my friend who just finished her period.
The theory of menstruating women losing
their energy and absorbing everyone and everything else’s energy can be applied
to all the menstrual restrictions we know of. Whether it is the withering of a
Tulsi plant (Indian Basil, considered as a holy plant), the spoiling of curd,
pickle or other sensitive processes like silkworm rearing, it can be explained
when we consider that menstruating women have a tendency to absorb energies
around them. This affects the menstruating women as it interferes with her
natural process of having to dissipate energy, and it also impacts the person
or thing (plant or other biological process) by depleting it of its vital
energy. This also explains the reason behind practicing untouchability and
menstrual seclusion.
However, not all menstruating women can
affect living processes. The reason I am assuming is because not all women have
their cycles in sync with nature and therefore, their energies are not as
pronounced. So while some women swear that the Tulsi plant they touched
withered away, other women rubbish it saying it is superstition. Whereas, in
the ancient times, it was said that all women menstruated with the moon’s
cycle, and so the menstrual practices would have become a general rule for all
women.
Menstrual
practices influences attitudes
In India, attitudes on menstruation are
strongly influenced by cultural practices. At the core of the problem around
menstrual health, lies a woman’s attitude towards her period. If she doesn’t
feel good about it, she will not consider herself worthy of care and necessary
hygiene during menstruation.
We need to remember that these cultural
practices came into being when ancient Indians were more in touch with their
body, nature and our indigenous sciences. It is likely that application of such
knowledge would have been commonplace, before the advent of western allopathic
medicine.
As someone who has been working on
building positive attitudes towards menstruation, I clearly see the importance
of understanding the meaning behind these ancient rituals. Whether or not one
decides to believe in these is immaterial. What matters is that none of them
were invented to suppress women, and it was never with the belief that
menstruation is impure.
How
do we move forward?
Many of you, especially those among you
who would be unwillingly following menstrual practices, might now wonder if the
above explanations are justifications to continue practicing what you have not
been comfortable with. You might want to ask me “So am I supposed to continue
being treated like an untouchable during my period, now that you have given
reasons for these practices?”
The answer is No.
The intention of this write-up is to
let you know that there were valid reasons and ancient science behind menstrual
practices. These practices were relevant and suitable for the time in which
they were conceived. They may not be suitable to the current times. But that
does not mean that the underlying reason and the energy flow during
menstruation itself is not valid.
So, it's time that those of us who find
this information relevant, go deeper to understand these sciences ourselves and
even experience some of them. Then, I suggest that we engage with our
family/community in conversations regarding what is relevant for us in today’s
times. If we feel that some of the practices no longer hold value, then we
could challenge them, and adopt whatever works for us. But this needs to be
done with our and our family’s understanding of the underlying science behind
these practices.
This process of understanding the
relevance of the ancient sciences surrounding menstruation, while adopting
newer methods to practice them, has been beautifully explained in this blog by
Jayant Kalawar, an advisor to our Trust – Menstrual
Practices for today’s times.
If you are looking for more
information about the science behind menstrual practices, don’t miss Sibu’s
latest TEDx talk – The Super Science Behind
Menstrual Practices
Sources
Inner Medicine: Women’s
Power to Heal, through Inner Medicine – By Maya Tiwari
Mudras: Mudras
and Health Perspectives, an Indian Approach – By Suman K.
Chiplunkar
Ayurveda: Ayurvedic Healing, a comprehensive guide – By
David Frawley
Advaital Life Coaching,
by Jayant Kalawar
Ayurvedic approaches to women’s health
http://www.ayurvedicsolutions.com/media/ayurvedic_approaches_women’s_health.pdf
http://www.mapi.com/ayurvedic-self-care/learn-menstrual-cycle-self-care.html
Menstrual practices for today’s times
On the question of how we need to move forward
and deal with ancient cultural practices around menstruation, Jayant Kalawar
has the following thoughts to share:
1. Traditional knowledge gives us access to
certain core principles of what drives and connects our lives with the universe
around us. These principles tell us that there are subtle energies which are at
play and each one of us in on this grid, so to speak. These insights were
developed over thousands of years by women and men in our traditions and
recorded both orally and in texts.
2. Certain methods were developed to reflect
these core insights into cultural practices so that people could be taught to
go about their lives and navigate more easily on this interconnected subtle
energy grid. In modern terminology you could call the core insights basic
science and the cultural practices that evolved as applied science or
technology (just as for example you have the basic science of the physics of
what happens to electrons in a semi-conductor, which is less than a particle of
sand – upon which core insight a whole range of technology was built beginning
with transistor radios to now smart phones for use in better / easier
communications among people over the last 60 years).
3. Over time, the core insights do not change,
but the technology being applied can and does become obsolete. Even the cell
phones of a few years ago are now going obsolete with emergence of smartphones
and so forth. In the same way the cultural practices around menstrual cycles
which were developed over time may have become obsolete. That does not mean the
core insights / principles about energy flows experienced in menstrual cycles
have become obsolete. They can and should be used to develop cultural practices
that can adapt and are useful to today.
4. Thus many of the cultural practices which
were designed for a different time, when for example agriculture in isolated
rural subsistence communities where joint families were most prevalent, have
become obsolete in the modern industrial and increasingly telecomm / internet
driven economy, where individuals (this is true in the USA now – it will likely
get to India in two generations), or nuclear families (increasingly true of
India now), are becoming the basic social unit.
5. Given that there has been a break in the
traditional Indian knowledge systems over the last at least few hundred years,
there is a lack of intellectual resource required to develop new technology
based on the core insights on energy flows in the menstrual cycles (an example is
Guruji from Devipuram, an ex-nuclear physicist from TIFR who understands
science and tradition) that should be the broader project to undertake in
India: which would drive the renaissance in India, just the way Europe came out
of its dark ages through its renaissance in the arts and science
beginning about the 16th century.
6. To those who have questions regarding
continuation of traditional menstrual practices, I will say this:
– be open to challenging the technology that
may be obsolete in the cultural practices, while at the same time insisting on
maintaining the use of the core insights, the basic science (you cannot have a
better smartphone without understanding how the electron works in a
semi-conductor particle of sand, even if you are ready and already have thrown
out your transistor radio – similarly you cannot reject the core insights of
subtle energy flows in the menstrual cycles).
– this challenging of what may be current obsolete
practices should be done carefully in conversation with the people who are
practicing it, talking to them about the core insights, helping them have
conversations within their own communities on how to evolve their current
cultural practices by once again using the core insights but now in the modern
context. In effect they, the practicing communities, have to do it themselves –
and questions about continuing these practices give an opening to begin the
process.
7. This way we will begin to bring the
traditional knowledge systems into play alongside the modern knowledge systems.
8. Thus the overall response to those who are wondering if they
should continue menstrual practices in the traditional way is that women
and men have to begin conversations first by understanding the core insights,
actually practicing them, then developing them into practices which individuals
and families can adapt as their choice.
Why Is Menstruation
Considered Impure?
Menstruation is a phenomenon that is unique to women. It
starts with the onset of puberty and ends when she is 45-50.
Let’s first see, what is menstruation? Menstruation is a
biological phenomenon that results in shedding of blood and vessels from the
vagina. This is often called ‘periods’.They typically last for 2-5 days and
varies for the individual.
Commonly called ‘periods’, it arrives at the age of 10-16 for
girls and brings hundreds of taboos and myths to her life and excludes her from
being free to make and live her life.
The first restriction to that little girl is to hide her menses
from her family and the external world. From the same day she starts
menstruating, she is made to keep it a big secret to everyone, especially
males, that she is bleeding,’ don’t know why’.
At many houses, menstruating girls are restricted from various
activities, such as visiting religious places, entering kitchens, touching
something or someone. Just think of her self esteem when her menses are
welcomed in such a manner every month. That period would definitely be no less
than a nightmare, where she is disrespected so brutally.
At many interior areas, girls have to survive just on water and
no food is given to her. At many interior places in the world, women are not
even allowed to stay in houses. They have to stay with cattle in the shed every
month for 4-5 days. She is considered impure and is prohibited from touching
holy and religious books. Also, the food she prepares is considered
contaminated and impure.
At many places, she has to wash all her clothes, bedsheet and
other products she used during her menstrual times even if they are not
bloodstained. The biggest of all taboos is, menstruation is a woman’s personal
issue, that should not be discussed publicly. However, it should be known to
all that menstruation is a human issue that each and every person living on
this land should be aware of.
Menstruating women and her products are considered impure, and
she is just made to sit in a single room for full 4-5 days, isolated from the
whole world. It is considered that menstruation limits the physical and mental
abilities of a woman. In short, she is considered to be weaker after she starts
menstruating. This stupid idea of society and disregarding comments about
menses badly affects the physical and emotional state of a woman, excluding her
from certain roles and positions of leadership.
Many places lack sanitation facilities,
and women use old rags to manage their blood flow. The women are even not
allowed to dry that bloodstained rags in the sunshine. Hence they hide it wet
after washing. After multiple washes, the rags get coarse and often cause rashes
and infection in the uterus lining of women.
Many rural girls have to leave their schooling just because they
start menstruating and lack sanitary infrastructure in schools. This means,
something as natural as breathing impacts the whole life of a girl so brutally.
A girl in a community in ‘Pune’ was asked, in which school does
she go? She replied, “I don’t go to a school as I am cursed by the god.” When
her father was asked the same question, he replied, “In our community, girls
are not sent to the school after they start menstruating, because they are
cursed.” This is such a sick idea and needs to be changed.
In Rajasthan, 15 years old Priyanka Meena sleeps outside her
home, covered by a saree, when she has her periods. She wears the same clothes
and uses the same utensils when she menstruates; her clothes and utensils are
considered unclean and are not accepted inside the house even if her periods
are over. This is the biggest misfortune of our world that most people involved
in following such taboos are older women. The older women make the young girls
follow such stupid rules, that make no sense in today’s world.
Menstruation is still considered impure. Something as simple as
breathing is termed as impure, but why? If menstruation, out of which the whole
human race is born, is considered impure, then the whole human race impure.
Menstruation is healthy and not at all impure. It is also the process of
purification of toxins from a female body. Hence, it is absolutely good to
menstruate, without following stupid myths and taboos of society.
As the young people of the nation, we have the responsibility
and ability to remove such myths from our society. We all know the scientific
reason for menstruation is related to the biological changes occurring during
puberty. As literate youngsters can change such stupid myths, taboos, and
beliefs about menstruation. No matter if you are a boy or a girl, you should be
aware of a female’s menstrual cycle. We are the only one who can transform this
society full of taboos and myths to a logical and female respecting community.
We have to build up a society where every woman feels free and
comfortable to talk!
--Sakshi Joshi
http://nrsrini.blogspot.com/2022/02/why-am-i-not-allowed-to-visit-temple.html
