By Vinodhinee T
(CHAKRA) The uniqueness of Hinduism lies in the fact that all the rituals and activities prescribed by the Vedas are to be performed by us to get us closer to the ultimate truth of life, Ishvara and myself. But this truth is not easily understood. It requires enormous amount of chitta shudhi (literally meaning purity of the mind i.e.mind with minimum likes and dislikes). The Vedas, as interested as they are in our understanding of our scriptures, are kind enough to give us an insight into how to attain that chita shudhi before plunging into the “knowledge”.
Traditional example of a Bindi (red dot)
As I had already mentioned, one aspect of understanding and assimilating this jnanam is understanding the concept of Ishwara (or god). In our Hindu culture the truth about god is “All that is here is just only God and nothing else”. As Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswathi, succinctly puts it “In our religion, we don’t have many gods, we don’t have one god, we have only god”.
Since EVERYTHING is manifestation of Ishwara including the body, we do alankara or decoration to the body.
Though I have always been a bindi wearer all my life, I never knew the real facts behind wearing the bindi until I had the good fortune of meeting Pujya Swamiji in mid 2011 along with a youth group. Pujya Swamiji was addressing how glorious our Hindu culture was and how small things made a huge impact on our living style.
In the beginning, the womens’ only form of bindis were kumkumam (vermillion powder). It added what we call Mangalam to the woman. Slowly, due to foreign influences, bindis were seen as fancy ornaments and started coming in various colours and shapes. Competitions were conducted for designing and colouring the bindi. The winning design was the one with the smallest size and the same colour as the skin! This became a hit among the young minds who started using it in various colours, sizes and designs thereby diluting the kumkumam and the entire mangalakaram concept. The colour bindis were a trend for years to come and there were many add-ons to the same.
Slowly this was further diluted by opining loudly that bindi was only a cosmetic and it became an OPTION whether to wear it or not (it was already too small, anyway). This became the fashion statement and has graduated into a habit which is now widely practiced and well known.
When Pujya Swamiji said this, I felt I had really been shaken awake from a deep sleep. I was shocked and proud at the same time. Shocked because of the manner in which our culture was disintegrating, and proud because of two things – (i) I am a part of this wonderful culture (ii) I have not been influenced by this so called “fashion statement” in anyway, and though I do not wear the traditional kumkumam, I am ALWAYS (I can vouch for it) with a red bindi on my forehead.
I hope this serves as an eye-opener for the delusion that girls of my age are under, and provides them even more reasons to be proud of our Sanatana Dharma.
Vinodhinee T is a 20 year old aspiring Chartered Accountant, and a student of traditional Advaita Vedanta under Swami Paramarthananda ji
Wonderful Article, Vinny
Many congratulations!
Good one vino:-)
very nice article da
congoo!!
Thank you for the education Vinodhinee!
What I take away from your article is that there are some ways in which this temple, our body, is to be artfully and auspiciously adorned. And the bindi is one of them. May I ask what it is meant by bindi “adding Mangalam to the woman”?
Another observation I make is that both women and men wore bindi during traditional Vedic times. I suppose the practice of men wearing bindi today has fallen largely out of use.
I had the good fortune of witnessing in person, recently, how beautiful the red kumkumam looks on Pujya Swami Dayanandaji
Poorly Substantiated … need some more clarity and connection with HINDU LIFE STYLE and the EFFECTS of putting a BINDI …. need some elaboration !!
Hi vino.. Great job dear..!!!! even i am one like u with always red bindhi on my forehead with kumkumam..!!! i am proud to be in this great culture and be ur friend.. also i am happy that my parents have grown me in such a way and blessed to be born in Bhagawan Sri Ramana Maharishi Family..!!!
There is no explanation in article about why wear bindi. There is no logic behind explanation given by you about bindi. There is logic hidden behind each and every ritual we do in Hinduism. Following is the reason for bindi.
1) Importance of Bindi/ Tilak :
Forehead is considered to be source of toughts knowledge. Our mind(Buddhi) is believed to be in forehead. So we do everything in our routine work by the command of Buddhi which lies in forehead.
We add Tilak/Bindi to show that we are worshipping divine element in Forehead which controls each and every thought eminating from it. We also consider that if there God controlling our mind then we naturraly avoid bad Karma(Pap) and try to make our buddhi shuddh(pure).
In Hinduism , it is also written in Geeta that Buddhi is either controlled by Self or Divine element inside body. We add Bindi or tilak to remind ourself that God is with us and I am following particular thoughts of God. So natually we avoid doing Paap when Tilak is in forehead.
Conclusion: Tilak/Bindi indicate Swami(Ruler) of my Buddhi(Mind) is GOD.
1) For Women, When she is married , she has to adopt the husband’s family and his thoughts. So sudden change in life may create confusion and sometimes ignorance which leads to attraction for other man as well. So to indicate “You are married or Your Swami is your husband”, woman add RED bindi and Sindur. So whenever she thinks, she thinks considering Good for husband, family and children.
So Bindi reminds her commitment towards her husband and his family.
Why on forehead? it is because forehead is symbol of Buddhi. So Swami of Woman’s buddhi is her husband. So she needs to obey her husband. It shows that.
I have over the years understood the bindi on the forhead of our devas and devis.In the forehead is our mind and intellect .Upon getting ready I give importance to the head which if intact all is well. I very well belive that if the bindi is understood and worn when performing religious duties and attending religious fuctions is enough.We living in the west are also Hindus but do not consider wearing a bindi all the time.My mother wore bindi all the time,I do on religious occasions but my daughter also a Hindu will only wear it occasionally.What to my knowledge is having respect and understanding the meaning behind the symbols which were given to us by our rishis.
HariH Om to all elders
though I’m extremely sorry for not having made it clear 
I have tried to explain only what Swamiji told us when I went for a camp. Being a VedAnta student, I was more interested in mentioning the chitha shudhi and the part where alankAra to the body is considered as alAnkara to the lord. Apparently I wanted to stress on that point alone (as Swamiji stressed on that alone)
@ Shilpa akka: Thank you akka ! Mangalam can be translated as “auspicious” or “fortunate”. In this context, though, what swamiji is that there is a special around a woman who wears a bindi.
@ shilpa : I meant a special AURA around a woman who wears the bindi
Hi dear Vinodhinee,
“RasA” comes to mind.
Thank you for the clarification. I personally very much like that alankara or adornment (my translation of the Sanskrit word) is a worthwhile effort – done with devotion and love. Beautifying done for purifying and sattvic aesthetics with love and respect is … beautiful
And I totally see the effect on woman once the bindi is worn – it gives her a beautiful look and personality.
Thanks again.
I have a few questions and i would be glad if you can answer them.. Why should only women wear it? and not the men? Also, What is the reason behind married women wearing it? Traditionally, as far as i have seen it, before marriage it is not worn..
Thanks in advcane.
Humans had society long before Vedic days. Across civilizations we have seen the expression of humans in terms of arts and crafts, including body ornaments and decorations. It is more likely that bindi came from Pre-Vedic times, and that the facial decorations evolved and was influenced by several factors, including religious.
Awesome article vinoooo :))))
” It is more likely that bindi came from Pre-Vedic times, and that the facial decorations evolved and was influenced by several factors, including religious.”
Can you substantiate the above claim? It is also likely that there is a teapot circling around the 5th largest moon of Jupiter. I can’t substantiate my claim either, and hence both these claims are equally ludicrous. If you have evidence, produce it. Otherwise you are simply opining, and nothing more.
At least there is some cultural value (in the least) in what the article says, and is importance in the preservation of one’s heritage, regardless of the origins of the Bindi.
Yes. … Now the debate is substantiated … the PICTURE is more CLEAR now for so many … who bother and … even for those who does not … My niece studies in a Christian Missionary School and the students there are not allowed to practice BINDI … 70% of the students belong to HINDU community and still not allowed to practice their CULTURE/ RELIGION … some JUDICIAL intervention needs in this matter … waiting for attempting for some RELIEF !!
hariH Om,
Yes, precisely. Hence regardless of what people say, women should wear the bindi at minimum on the basis of cultural identity. The spiritual and other significances are also added advantages
Why but why should Hindus (especially in foreign nations) should be different to other people.We boast and say One world One family (Vasudev kutumb) and yet we are happy being different .Also when we say that our head is where the mind and intelligence are and hence we put a bindi on and respect them,does the members of our families who do not wear a bindi have the mind and intellect?This was asked by a 11year old non-Hindu boy.We Hindus live in Harmony with all communities .Let us all be one and not mislead our younger generations.We have reverence for the whole creation in our hearts.
Culture starts from home. Only if you have a family. So understand for those who do not have one. The world is meaningless. Blessed are those who have.
Prashant: Mayans and Aztecs had their faces painted. The Polynesians had facial paintings too. Tattoos and decorations were common among Native American population too. So have different people. It is evident humans across civilization had similar practices, hence it is not unreasonable to speculate that humans during their evolution picked customs before they picked religion. Once the religions became organized, including the Vedic religion, they began to exert influence existing practices.