They look strange, superstitious and totally irrational.
So are some problems in Life.
For instance, Children, especially below the age of Four,when they can not articulate things.
The child would be Healthy in all respects.
But it would refuse to eat food.
You may try anything to make the child eat, but it would still refuse.
You consult a Doctor.
He tells you that he child is alright and it would take food on its own.
Some go even further and tell you to feed the child if it cries and, any way as an organism the child would seek food when it needs it!
The problem is that as a parent or a Grandparent you just can not await the child to demand foo or let it cry incessantly.
There are some practices to rectify this problem and these worked for my children and work for my grand children.
When you attempt to feed the child, some food would remain.
Take this and place it on the road where a Dog can eat.
Do not feed the child in front of others or in Public.
If you have to feed in a Milk Bottle, keep the Milk Bottle covered, ready-made covers are available .
To prevent the child waking up in the middle of the night crying, keep a New Broomstick underneath your cot.
Some times you may find the children crying for no reason, despite being fit.
In these circumstances, take two red chilliness,little Crystal Salt in your right Palm close your palms, let the child face The East , keep your close Palm in the other , rotate clockwise , anti clock wise, up and down( each thrice) in front of the child’s Face and leave the chilies and Salt on the road.
There is also this practice of throwing this mixture in Coal Embers at Home or in the Flames of a kerosene stove instead of throwing the mixture on the road.
Normally this mixture dropped in Fire or Embers should make you choke.
Some time it would not.
That, my mother used to say, that evil eye has been cast and been removed.
Another practice is to have the person or the child spit on this mixture after rotating and throwing ti away,Brahmin households do not follow this.
As soon as the child completes its first birthday the practice among Brahmins in Tamil Nadu is to tie a small piece of Acorus calamusor Vasambu in the hip around the waist of the child in a Black thread(Araignyan)
This, it is believed to prevent diseases and ward off evil-eye.
Yet another practice is place Camphor in a small plate, light, show it in front the child facing East or North, rotate this clockwise , anticlockwise ,up and down in front of the Face thrice and keeping it in front of the house, closing the door after placing the Aarti plate out.
I do this for my Grand children every day.
There is also the practice of applying a black dot on the Cheek of the child.
I have seen Rationality does not work always with children but these do, especially when it concerns their Health
Hinduism, as a part of Forty Samskaras, lays down certain Procedures for Annaprasanam.
Annaprasanam is the First feeding of the child with solids.
This function is held at Home normally, excepting in cases when there is a vow to have it done at a Temple.
In Kerala, it is a practice to perform Annaprasana at Guruvayur.
Normally Rice is fed to the child.
The Procedure for Annaprasana.
1.Fix an auspicious date, this should be on the Waxing period of the Moon,
2.After Vigneswara Puja and Sankalpa, Kangana Dharana is to done for the child (the ceremony of tying sacred thread on the left for the Female child and on the right for the Male child.
Annaprasana,First feeding of the Child.
3.Perform Prathisara bantham*.
4.Nandi Sradham(Abyudhayam)
5.Punyahavachanam and Prokshanam to the Child.
5.Navagraha Mantras.
9.Recite Gothra, Name, Nakshatra and Rasi and pray that you are feeding the child.
Keep cooked rice in a Gold/Silver vessel, add Ghee Honey(no Salt/or spices) and recite
Naming a newly born child is given priority in Hinduism.It is one of the most important of the Basic 40 Duties-Samskaras.
Who and When?
All Varnas(loosely called as Caste now)-for explanation of this concept please read my blog ‘Caste’ ,filed under Hinduism.-20th Day from the date of Birth of The Child.
This , generally, is performed for the Kumbabhishekam for Kalasa Pooja.
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The pratisara-bandha is a procedure that precedes any major saṁskāra. It is basically the point at which the saṁskāra itself begins. It consists of infusing a cotton bracelet with various mantras, following which this amulet is tied to the wrist of the yajamāna. Once this is performed, āśouca etc do not afflict the yajamāna. This procedure is detailed in the bodhāyana-śeṣa-sūtra-s (1.15). It is performed on the same day as the nāndi-mukha (abhyudaya-śrāddha), in the evening, at the end of the pradośa-kāla. (karma-s without homa like the annaprāśana are exceptions.)
Each pratisara cord is made up of 9 strands (three strands, each of which is also made of 3 twined strands are intertwined into a single pratisara cord). These prepared cords are then anointed with turmeric.
A kalaśa is established on some rice, and to its north, a copper vessel containing rice is placed. The pratisara cords, bhasma, and tāmbūla are placed in this vessel. 4 brahmins are then invited and asked to infuse its waters with mantras. They sit on the 4 sides of the kalaśa, and recite the following mantra-s:
vedādīn
rākṣoghnam
āpyam (agne yaśasvin)
(dadhikrāvaṇṇo, āpo hi ṣṭhā)
hiraṇyavarṇīyāḥ
pavamānam
varuṇa-sūktam
rudra-sūktam
brahma-sūktam
viṣṇu-sūktam
durgā-sūktam
śrī-sūktam
paridhānīyā (namo brahmaṇe)
The pratisaram is infused with these mantra-s (with prokṣaṇa). dhyāna of vāsuki is performed in the cords, and using the thumb and ring-finger, the cord is thrice rubbed with bhasma (vibhūti) with the mṛtyuñjaya-mantra. It is then given to the yajamāna with the chanting of the 5 “agnirāyūṣmān” mantra-s, and is tied with the bṛhat-sāma mantra. The pratisaram is tied on the right hand of men, and left hand of women. After chanting the ghṛta-sūkta (yo brahmā brahmaḥ), the bhasma is given to the yajamāna and applied on the forehead.
This pratisaram remains tied for the duration of the saṁskāra. Once it is complete, and the sāyaṁ-saṁdhyā is perfomed, the pratisaram is untied with the chanting of the vyāhṛti-s, and is disposed off in a body of water, like a river or sea.
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