Rationalizing Hinduism - Theertha & Arathi

I grew up believing and sometimes blindly following a lot of Hindu rituals. Some of them I just took it for granted. Some, I wondered but not enough to dig deeper and find a satisfactory answer. Life, they say, is a wonderful teacher. Experience, they say, gives a better perspective. So, over the years I have begun to rationalize a lot of things in Hinduism. These are reasonings and conclusions that I have deduced. I welcome your comments and corrections with an open mind.

What Hinduism has is empirical data, and that it has in abundance. With an unbroken civilization dating back to at least 5000 years ago it has the wisdom of experience on its side. And it has a lot of data from these very many centuries. What it has lacked is the ability to form a scientific proof. So while it is easier to believe a proven concept, always relying on centuries old empirical data seems anachronistic.

For example, take the very same people you know today and turn the clock back to some 5 centuries ago. Except for the technological advancements, nothing would be much different from a social and civilization aspect. Some people would still be indifferent to the rituals, and some would still follow it because that is how it has always been. But most don't question because that would be tantamount to questioning the very existence of God !

This has been the modus operandi of most religions, Hinduism as the oldest being no exception. Bind every shastra (community law) and ritual to the religion and you'll have people following it blindly for the fear of God. You may believe in God but by questioning the purported God-given law (shastra) or the God-proscribed ritual, you are questioning the Supreme authority. How dare you ?

However empirical data and experience suggests that some rituals are indeed beneficial. In this blog I'll try to make sense out of the most common of our everyday religious rite - the mangalarthi and theertha.

ಮಂಗಳಾರತಿ ತೊಗೊಂಡರೆ ಉಷ್ಣ ; ತೀರ್ಥ ತೊಗೊಂಡರೆ ಶೀತ.
While the above proverb is a hyperbole depicting an extremely delicate constitution of a person, I have reasons to believe that mangalarati and teertha actually make and keep a person very healthy.

Temples of yore had a very dark sanctum sanctorum. To show the deity to the visiting devotees the priest would have show a lamp. So the mangalarthi served a very practical purpose of illuminating the deity in a dark sanctum sanctorum. However what about the ritual of "taking the arathi" ? What about the ritual of "taking the teertha" ?

Have you woken up on a morning with a cold and stuffy nose ? The cold and cogestion causes early morning cough. According to Ayurveda, Kapha (phlegm) is one of the 3 main doshas (regulatory principles) that govern the human body. Cold, stuffy nose and cough are all associated with accumulation of phlegm.

Try adding a few drops of Vicks VapoSteam to your vaporizer or warm-steam humidifier. You'll wake up without the cold, stuffy nose and cough. What's in the VapoSteam liquid ? Camphor. Camphor is an active ingredient (along with menthol) in vapor-steam products, such as Vicks VapoRub, and it is effective as a cough suppressant. This must have been the very idea behind these every day rituals. By "taking the mangalarathi " every morning you inhale the fumes of a burning camphor. Crushed camphor along with Tulsi is added to the theertha. By taking the teertha, you are small quantities of camphor.

Camphor is readily absorbed through the skin and produces a feeling of cooling similar to that of menthol and acts as slight local anesthetic and antimicrobial substance. It may also be administered orally in small quantities (50 mg) for minor heart symptoms and fatigue.

Tulsi (Holy Basil) is undisputably a medicinal plant. It's healing properties are endless. So I'll just point you to an external link. Along with camphor, Tulsi also decreases phlegm and thus is an effective remedy for coughs and cold.

Thus a daily regimen of taking the mangalarthi and theertha seems like a good prescription for a healthy and long life.