Whether you call it a bindi, pottu, thilak, bottu or bindu, this dot that adorns the foreheads of Indian women is what I am pondering over today; especially after seeing how it was being distributed, among others, and worn even by muslims with their burqa, in Seattle City Council, just to vote against CAA - I felt it to be a cheap act. May be this was distributed and worn by the ladies, to make them feel Indian?
Have you ever seen them? Do you know who wears it and what is it's significance?
Many know of the pottu as an Indian fashion accessory, thanks to pop stars like Madonna, Gwen Stefani or Selena Gomez who brought this to spot light internationally.
A red pottu is something special and it identifies you as a married Hindu woman. It’s worn between the eyes as this point is said to be the most important pressure point, which is known as the Ajna chakra – the spiritual eye or third eye that is the place of wisdom and the center point of concentration. It is also said that the energy emerges from the base of the spine while meditating and moves to the head. Ajna chakra is the point where the energy is released. The pottu is believed to cool the forehead and prevent energy loss. Some consider it has the ability to ward off bad luck. The colour red signifies Goddess Shakthi and love. Traditionally, pottu has been applied with kungumam, a red powder made of saffron or turmeric, something which is said to give many benefits. There are various sticker versions available now which may not give the same noted benefits. Regardless, the red colour of the pottu indicates the marital status of women. In addition to the bindi, in India, a vermilion mark in the parting of the hair just above the forehead is worn by married women as commitment to long-life and well-being of their husbands. During all Hindu marriage ceremonies, the groom applies sindoor in the part in the bride's hair and ties a mangalsutra around her neck. (Had a separate post on Mangalsutra a couple of years ago)
If you compare this to the wedding ring, anyone can wear a ring on any of their fingers. But wearing your engagement ring or wedding band on the left ring finger is considered special and indicates your marital status to the rest of the world. It’s not very common for women to wear an engagement ring or wedding band as a fashion statement. Then how is it that we don’t give the red pottu the same amount of respect instead of using it as a mere fashion statement? After all, just as the engagement ring is considered to be a Western symbol of marriage, the red pottu is a part of our culture. A black Pottu is never adorned by a married woman as this is considered inauspicious; though unmarried girls use it.
Pottu, Tilak or the like are kept by both men and women in India, in the middle of their forehead since time immemorial. In earlier times, the four castes (based on varna or colour) – Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra – applied marks differently. The brahmin applied a white chandan mark signifying purity, as his profession was of a priestly or academic nature. The kshatriya applied a red kumkum mark signifying valour as he belonged to the warrior races. The vaishya wore a yellow kesar or turmeric mark signifying prosperity as he was a businessman or trader devoted to creation of wealth. The sudra applied a black bhasma, kasturi or charcoal mark signifying service as he supported the work of the other three divisions. Also Vishnu worshippers apply a chandan tilak of the shape of “U”, Shiva worshippers a tripundra of bhasma, Devi worshippers a red dot of kumkum and so on. The tilak is applied with the prayer – “May I remember the Lord. May this pious feeling pervade all my activities. May I be righteous in my deeds.” The tilak and pottu cools the forehead, protects us and prevents energy loss. Sometimes the entire forehead is covered with chandan or bhasma. From a health point of view, the Bindi is worn between the eyebrows where the pineal gland lies. This is an important nerve center and applying sandalwood or ash keeps the nerves cool and so keeps you cool and conserves energy. Using plastic reusable “stick bindis” is not very beneficial, even though it serves the purpose of decoration. Modern accessories, can even cause skin cancer.
Why on Forehead? - In the Kundalini system (7 'chakraas' or 7 nodes/junctions in the human body starting from area between anus and the genitals to the area of the crown of the head), the 'Ajna' chakra (I call it the Agnyaana or Gnyaana chakra) is in the area behind the region between the eyes on the forehead. Modern science showed that the Pineal gland & Pituitary gland reside there, and we know that the function these two glands serve in our body are highly important. The ancient Vedic folk believed that this region emanates significantly powerful waves of energy, which if prevented from going outside the body benefit the body internally greatly. That is why that region is covered (hence the dot with the red powder - a mixture of limestone and turmeric). Modern experiments also showed that meditation impacts the functioning of the pineal gland somehow. Vedic folk realized that the area in the brain directly behind the region between the eyes on the forehead has to do with memory, concentration and mental clarity. Accordingly, this region heats up throughout the day as we use our brain, and hence the white sandalwood power or the red powder cools and nurtures that part of our body somehow (a good thesis subject for a modern Phd student).
We do have so much of policing around, I am not a pottu or a traditional police, nor particular about these, but for last few months, it has been an important part of my life. With one year of rituals after the death of my Mother-In-Law; it has been a practice that we should not wear Sindoor at the beginning of the pooja, can wear a turmeric tikka (as there should be something on the forehead always), and half way through, Wadyar would ask us to go apply sindoor and come, both on forehead and in the parting of hair just above forehead. My father was very keen of always having a tilak on his forehead - mostly white and yellow, and at times read. We did have an interesting discussion, when he went to the US visa interview with it. He was determined, in case that be the cause for rejection, so be it. He would say 'Kulchial thodathavane, thottal kulikanam' - meaning - If you do not apply something on your forehead after your bath, anyone touching you will have to bath again.
In India, bindis are widely worn by women from many different religious and cultural communities, including Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists and Catholics, today basically as a fashion accessory. But if you go to church - especially the orthodox/Jacobite the father would ask us to remove the pottu (it has happened to me). Wearing a bindi or mangalsutra signifies a lack of faith in Almighty God, our Creator, who is the best to protect. In India too, these days few hindu married women too do not wear this out of fashion, or as we become secular, it has always been part of the culture, and is even shown in movies. That is why people always wonder, why Rekha always moves around with Sindoor.
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