NB: My knowledge of Indian and Hindu rituals is practically nonexistent, and this post contains more introspection than information. All information in this article is there merely to explain my own actions, and does not constitute anything but fragments of the rituals and customs I am alluding to.
Scene 1: Sitting beside X and talking to him. Moving my legs a little and accidentally brushing his leg(or his shoe) with my foot. Instinctively touching my fingers to forehead and chest... then wondering why.
Explanation: To Hindus, the feet are something dirty.
Sitting with one's feet facing a senior is considered disrespectful. Lying down with feet facing eastwards is considered inauspicious, the east being the direction of the sunrise. Touching the feet of an elder, then touching one's hands to the head and the chest is a traditional gesture of respect - implying that one is blessed by the dust from the elder's feet. In my interpretation, it is a gesture that means "Even the dirtiest, most unworthy part of you commands my respect".
Conversely, having one's feet touch another person by accident demands an apology, no matter how clean the feet were. If the "offender" is older than the other party, he/she gets away with a smile and an apology. But if younger, he/she has to touch the feet of the older person in return (I wonder what happened when ancient couples had sex O_o). In these "modern" times, most of us reflexively perform a shorter version of this - we murmur an apology, touch our fingers to our foreheads and then our chests... conveniently omitting the foot-touching.
I'm not sure what I find more fucked up - the fact that feet are regarded as unclean, or the ritual of touching someone's feet to convey respect. I'm not even going into the question of whether age(or "age rank" in the family) makes one worthy of respect or not... or of why respect has to be conveyed by treating the unworthy parts of a person with respect.
But I still catch myself touching my forehead when I accidentally brush someone older with my feet. I clearly have a long way to go before I completely embrace atheism.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
A few footsteps towards atheism
Labels:
Indian stuff,
Letting go
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18 Response(s):
it is completely automatic. I have to remind myself not to do it. but well, i do it more often than not.
@lost_poet: Isn't that what happens to all of us? We internalize things and do them automatically, never realizing what's behind them, and thus never being able to correct them?
What I'm trying to say is - Is "automatic" a valid justification for doing these things?
Stumbled upon your blog some time back, and had been lurking around for a while. :)
Reading this, I HAD to shun my invisibility..
I used to think on similar lines not long ago. And then I realized that any religion, or the conventions it prescribes have very little to do with the question of belief.
A theist may choose not to adhere to a particular organized religion. Conversely, an atheist may like to visit churches occasionally, just because they are beautiful, quiet and peaceful.
Also, you are absolutely right about what the custom of touching a persons feet is meant to signify. But I also think that the matter is a social one, as opposed to religious. Something on the lines of shaking hands in a professional setup, air-kisses in Europe and bowing in the Orient. Don't you think?
@My Evil Self: Thanks for delurking, I appreciate it!
To reply to your comment - one of the many issues this post does NOT touch on ;) is the fact that I want to let go of the concept of God. Irrespective of religion.
When we talk about religion, though, where do we draw the line between "form of worship" and "way of living life"? Isn't religion one of the conditioning forces of society?
when i was a kid my parents tried every possible measure to make me go through the ritual of "pronaam"s after the Pujas... but they failed.. i still do not offer pronaams to anyone unless am caught up in an awkward situation where everyone is bending down in front of an older person and i am the only one left...
but u r right.. even I find my hand shooting up to my head every time i accidentally hit someone with one or both of my feet :P
@Riya: I used to be a much "better" kid than you, lol. These days, if I really dislike the people I'll politely declare that I'm atheist.
I wish it were that easy to stop that reflexive hand gesture, heh.
I don't get it too... but its become second nature... haven't touched anybody's feet, girls in my family don't...
@Imp's Mom: Whoah, where did that tradition come from? Any clue?
The daughters of my family, are worshiped... for the longest time, a grand mother of mine would not let us touch the footwear( u knw... sometimes just moving it , cleaning and clearing ) used utensils( yea... no carrying anybody's plate form teh dining table...) it was all done by the daughter in law's of the family or the hired help(were many in those times). When another grandfather passed away, his granddaughter who was just 2 years old then maybe, was made to touch his hands with her feet, apparently the first thing he would do in the morning was to touch her feet! Of ocurse with time, its all faded...but we still dont touch the feet of any of the elder's in our family...its only for the men and the DIL's.
Dont knw where this tradition came about from... the boy is of course wanted but the girls are treasured. Yet... the freedom... sadly mising, though again with time its changing..
sorry abt the mini post!
@Imp's Mom: Wow, this is fascinating.
Just a question, but - what happens after the daughters get married? Do they have to completely conform to the in-laws' codes of conduct? In short - how long does this royal treatment last?
Once married, they have to comply with the traditions of the in laws... and when they are back at their parents home, its royal treatment again!
way too many double standards babe...that's where that post of mine came about
@Imp's Mom: :sigh:. Bloody patriarchy. Let's all turn lesbian.
yeah i knw... but turning lesbians?? lol..sigh... wouldn't life be so much simpler then?
@Imp's Mom: I suppose it would be WAY more complicated(think - both halves of the couple having emotional and hormonal lives), but so much more rewarding for most women!
That, I agree, is a very valid dilemma.
I personally spent years swinging between atheism, agnosticism, and pantheism. That was after trying to get myself to understand Hinduism. I failed, because nothing would satisfy me. But in my efforts, I did manage to separate religion from faith, and the need to be told "how to live life".
Once one comes to the point where morality is not based in belief, ethics are built upon judgment and not norms, and we wrap our head around the fact that the world, is indeed, surviving on "chaos is balance".. we learn to let go of it. And we start believing that we ourselves are the only ones responsible for making things happen.
I believe different paradigms satisfy different people. But that's what worked for me. :)
@Sherry: Thanks for the reply. I do agree that different paradigms satisfy different people. Ultimately, I guess religion is nothing but a primitive form of psychotherapy.
For me, the final solution has been a life based on the words "Eat your dasein", an oversimplification of which would be "Take responsibility". So I guess ultimately, God prefers a heretic :P
Agreed completely..
Cheers on that!
We have (had) the same tradition that Imp's Mom's family has. Girls do not even move footwear, let alone touch feet... the daughters in law touch feet.
But I find myself touching my forehead if I have stepped on a book, because books must be respected. Most kids in my school did this, I learnt from them, not at home.
Can't say I approve... I have never let anybody touch my feet, though I am not sure I mind the custom...(undecided).
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