Orhodoxy in Hinduism and beliefs 01

  For several centuries, the orthodox Hindus have followed numerous customs, which may appear strange to a modern mind.  Such practices may have an iota of superstition, however, such time-tested customs have considerable relevance, scientifically speaking,  and may not be set aside as useless or just trash. Given below are some facts that may interest you. 

01. Chanting mantras before getting up from the bed:
Those who suffer from sleepiness are unfortunate. while sleeping, after a hectic day's schedule, our worries, commits, etc., get frozen and without our knowledge our mind takes refuge in our soul. During that time our blood circulation, pulse. etc  go to the minimum level, giving rest to heart,  In the morning when we get up from state of lethargy or sleepiness, it will take a while for our body - heart, etc to get used to change of body position. When one jumps from the bed, his cardiac conditions will be different. By chanting mantras, if one gets up  from the bed slowly it will help one restore  blood circulation, etc  at normal level.

02. It will be good to brush your teeth, wash your face, clean your mouth, etc after finishing natures' call so that the stomach will be clear of every thing, including bad smells,and micro organisms in the intestines, stomach, etc., that cause  diseases

03. Walking barefoot: we are living in a world where people eat in a hotel  with the  footwear on.

.Hillbilly! girl walking barefootwww.clipartguide.com

 Nowadays it has become a necessity to walk with a pair of foot wears on. Status can be judged based ones shoes, etc. If you don't wear proper footwear, people may look down upon you!!

Hindu devotees on padayatra-walking barefoot to a temple in S.India navrangindia.blogspot.com

Walking barefoot is good for the health, improves strength in the lower part of foot, legs, cardiac functions such as good blood circulations, etc. When walking on the rugged, metaled road,or unpolished granite or some other  rough stones we experience various pressures in the lower part of our feet, nerves, veins, etc., Those parts have direct connection with other vital part of  our body, particularly our heel. So our overall health can show considerable improvements. It gives certain amount of flexibility to our mobility.  That is the reason we  go round the temple Prakara - walk path round the temple, barefoot. In temples such as Palani, Thiruthani, TN, Thiumala, AP etc., ardent devotees climb the rough granite steps barefoot to go uphill for prayer and darshan of God.

4. Taking a long walk before  bath is good for your physical well-being. Because while walking our blood circulation improves, lungs become stronger and more oxygen gets to the brain. In the villages in India decades ago people used to go the rivers or temple tanks for bathing after along walk. Taking bath in the cold water  reduces excess calories in the body because of change of body temperature.

5. In the ancient days, when brushing teeth facing the sun, we get enough vitamin D and it is good for our skin. Further, people used Neem twigs or slim stump to clean the teeth. The bitterness in the Neem removes bad breath and makes dentition stronger.

6. Oil bath: Decades ago taking oil bath twice a day was observed. Nowadays only old timers  follow this ancient custom. For this 
 purpose Gingelly oil is widely used. In Kerala people use  mainly coconut oil because coconut groves are in plenty there. The advantages are many. You daub/rub oil firmly through out your body in particular  knee joints, chest, back and neck. Massaging the body before bath is good. A few spoonfuls of oil is rubbed on the center of our head or scalp is widely emphasized. Consequently skin, knee joints,  thigh face, head and every part gets benefits. Further, it will reduce the body heat. In a tropical country like India, where the summer heat is a menace,  regular oil bath is good for maintaining good physical health  and skin care.

Such practices have come down because of introduction of highly - scented oil shampoos which is nothing but a concoction of chemicals  adulteration in oils and exorbitant cost of oil.

7. After taking a good bath, rubbing oil over  the body or doing massage is a wrong approach. This will add pressure on the pores in the skin and will affect sweating.

8. In the winter, it is advisable to take bath  from the well water  where the evaporation is different, while in the rivers chillness will be more due to direct evaporation. In the summer it is a good idea to take bath in the rivers  and it is comfortable for people. Taking bath twice a day is good particularly in the morning and  after 8 pm at night and this help us improve our sleep pattern.

9. Since the earth rotates bout its axis from west to east, taking bath toward east is good for you because of the prevalence and circulation  of magnetic currents in our body that circulate correspondingly.

10. After bathing, it is advisable to clean the back first,   because in our body lives both  Moo Devi (bad demi-goddess)) and Sri Devi(good demi-goddess). Upon bathing these two vie with each other to enter our cleaned body, and ultimately Moo Devi will succeed.  As for face, etc  when you clean them later Sri Devi 'll enter your body through such parts. It means you will be fresh and every  positive things will happen.    
                            (parts 2,3 an4 will follow)

               (Minor corrections made March 05, 2016)