The practice of taking a vow to smash a Coconut, this is different from breaking the Coconut in the Temple, here the Coconut is thrown at a Stone in the Temple in front of the Idol, in many Temples there are enclosures for this and the broken pieces are picked up by the people around.
This custom has been there in most of the Tamil Brahmin Homes.
This is not restricted to retrieving the lost objects alone,
This practice is followed for success in any endeavour or for successful completion of any major event like Marriage and even for a safe journey.
My mother used to follow this custom so regularly I use to remark that In Lord Shiva‘s House every one will suffer from dsentery because of the Number of Coconuts e break for Ganesha.!(Those ho collect the smashed pieces either eat them ra and many use this for preparing Coconut Chutney)
May be it is irrational to perform this, but this works for us, and for many more irrational people like me,
So long something works for me it is fine.
I do not look into the rationality behind it.
After all Life itself is irrational.
We use the same technic with Garuda for additional support!
A coconut sits on the beach in this undated Getty file photo. Authorities in the Maldives recently arrested a coconut on suspicion of it having tampered with the presidential election there.
There have been instances of bizarre law Enforcement.
We had a Goat being arrested for escaping the Police turning a Goat from being Man ,a Bird arrested in the Middle East on charges of spying, Summons issued to Lord Rama in India on the Babar Masjid case.
Read al this under ‘interesting and Funny’
Now add this to your collection.
Police in the Maldives have detained a young, husky and possibly cursed suspect for potentially rigging the vote in a critical election. So far, a police interrogation has revealed only one thing: The suspect is a hard nut to crack.
That’s because the perp is a coconut.
Minivan News, a Maldives newspaper, reports a young coconut was taken into custody Tuesday after police received reports that the suspicious fruit was loitering near the Guraidhoo Island School, a polling station to be used in the Sept. 7 presidential election.
Islanders fear the coconut may have been associated with black magic or been imbued with a spell to influence the election.
“The four-inch coconut had a ‘Sura‘ [Quranic verse] written in Arabic and was lying on the ground near the school, easy for the public to see,” a source with knowledge of the incident told Minivan News. Authorities brought in a “ruqyah,” or benevolent magician, who determined the coconut was fake and therefore posed no threat.
Black magic and sorcery are often accused of having undue influence on the island nation. In July, school administrators refused to let elections officials place a ballot box in the building, fearing it would attract black magic and make students ill. CNM News reports that the school assented only after the government agreed to be responsible for anyone who was “struck by a spell or [fell] ill.”
In Hindu Temples the Deities are offereds as Naivaedyam(refer my post on how to offer Naivedyam) various things.
Most important are the betel Leaves, Nuts and Plantains.
The was a post in Facebook yesterday that while Muslims carry The Koran, The Christians The Bible, the Hindus take Coconuts and fruits because Hindus always think of Food, even in Temples.
Nothing can be farther from The Truth.
Hinduism is not a crowd puller not does it seek popularity and does not need external expressions of Piety, in fact this is condemned by Lord Krishna in The Bhagavad Gita as’ Hypocrisy”Aashadabhooti.
Then why these the things are taken to temples and offered?
Coconut has three Eyes , as it were.
Coconuts.
Hinduism,more specifically Saiva Siddhartha , lists three Impediments to Spiritual Evolution.
Here Pathi is Siva in Saiva Siddhanta, (corresponds to Brahman),Pasu (Jivatman) and Paasam(Bondage)
Once the chain in transcended one becomes the One of which he is a part(rather he reverts to the Original State)
Betel Leaves.
Look at the shape of the Betel leaves,
Betel
It represents the Female principle, The Potent and Latent One(Prakruthi, loosely translated as Nature )
Nuts represent Experience , the taste a mixture of sweet and bitterness.
Betel,Plantaisn,Nuts.
When Nature is is expended by one by experiences he is released from Bondage.
Plantains or any Fruit , according to Indian Philosophy, represents Fruition or completion of any Effort.
These representative offerings are to remind One of the Impermanence of Life and the need to realize Self or Godhood.
This is what is behind the offerings of these to Deities in Temples.
As to carrying Religious Books like the Koran or The Bible, to Temples, it is to be noted that Hinduism advocates Religion as Purely Personal and no Public worship is sanctioned in the Vedas.
Building Temples and collective worship is a later development by Agama System( refer my blog on Agama and Vedas)
I shall post some blogs on the type of offerings and their meanings later.
I agree that people should know Thevaaram Tiruvaasakam or Slokas by-heart and Pray at the Temple.
It should be from the heart not by referring to Books.
Please try, it is easy.
This post is not against Mr.Ilangkumaraar’s views, I understand his anguish, but to inform people that our offerings at the Temples and other practices are not illogical.
To begin with at least Switch off the Mobile Phones in the Temples.
சாட்டை அடி “கடந்த ஞாயிறன்று என் சகோதரி, திரு.இளங்குமரனார் அவர்களின் “சால்பியம்” வகுப்பில் அவர் கேட்ட கேள்வியால் சாட்டையால் அடித்ததைப் போல் உணர்ந்தேன் என்றாள். அதை என்னிடம் சொல்ல நானும் அதையே உணர்ந்தேன். கேள்வி இதுதான்: திரு.இளங்குமரனார்: தாங்கள் கோயிலுக்கு செல்லும்போது எதை எடுத்து செல்வீர்கள்?
மாணவர்கள் : தேங்காய், பழம் – அர்ச்சனைக்கு
திரு.இளங்குமரனார்: கிறித்துவர்கள்?
மாணவர்கள் : பைபிள்
திரு.இளங்குமரனார்: முகமதியர்கள்?
மாணவர்கள் : திருக்குரான்
திரு.இளங்குமரனார்: நாம் எப்போதும் சாப்பாடு பற்றி நினைப்பதால் இது போல் தேங்காய், பழம் எடுத்து செல்கிறோம். அவர்கள் அந்த நேரமும் இறைவன் நினைப்போடு இருக்க பைபிள் மற்றும் திருக்குரான் எடுத்து செல்கிறாற்கள்.
நாம் எப்போது தேவாரம், திருவாசகம் கோயிலுக்கு எடுத்து செல்லப்போகிறோமோ தெரியவில்லை. அன்று தான் இறைவனின் முழு அருளைப் பெறுவோம்.
3 days ago my doctor’s assistant calls me, tells me I have high LDL and total cholesterol and he’s going to put me on a statin. I say HELL NO and what about diet & exercise? To which she pauses, sounds flummoxed, and says she’ll check. A day later she calls me back and says OK, that’s fine – do it for three months.
So, aside from the complete WTF of this situation (get your secretary to call me and tell me you’re writing a script for a drug you’re not going to bother to discuss with me?? no thanks), now I’m looking for ways to help out the “diet” part of the equation. I already eat oat bran porridge for breakfast, blueberries and walnuts. Am trying to like red wine. I’m quitting chips (my big downfall) and don’t drink soda or eat meat (much). I tried niacin a while back and it gave me terrible stomach problems, so no go on that.
So now I’m looking out for more foods to add to the repertoire, in part to keep myself from being bored to tears by steamed vegetables. And I keep coming across coconut water being touted as some kind of miracle cholesterol-lowering agent, based on (as far as I can tell) one rat study. I’m confused by this, since I’d always thought coconut was Terribly Evil. So, what now? How do I separate out reputable claims for food & cholesterol reduction from cheesy new age claims?.
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