The Importance of a Bindi: Demonstrated

“You like all these things now, but when you grow up you won’t wear any bangles, bindis or plaits, you’ll all forget your culture”. I was in sixth grade when a teacher said this, and I thought she was talking nonsense. But sure enough, I became one of them. I hated Indian clothing, loved jeans and skirts, and absolutely hated the bindi – I wouldn’t wear it even with ethnic-wear, much to the chagrin of my mother. That I was allergic to the glue in sticker bindis didn’t help matters.

Years into my work as a therapist, I started to see the difference a bindi made. Since I like wearing sarees, it started as an accessory during my Reiki classes. Then one day as I sat down to teach, I felt an intense vibration in my third eye region. As I touched it, I realised that I had forgotten my bindi – I use the liquid kind. I excused myself from the class for a moment and put it on – the vibration stopped immediately. This is now routine. Whenever I forget my bindi, I know it the instant the client/s arrive. My third eye starts vibrating.

Why Bindis

The third eye is a very sensitive chakra, and also a very important one. From the physical perspective, this connects directly to the pineal gland – THE gland that controls and directs all others. But being sensitive, it receives as well as dissipates energy very quickly. Applying a bindi stops this leakage of energy, and one finds much less fatigue in the midst of a crowd, if at all. ‘Energy-suckers’ affect you less. The ingredients in all bindis (not the stickers) contain cooling elements like ash, sandalwood, turmeric, etc, which strengthen the lower chakras and bring stability. Placing them on the third eye, especially after the morning bath & puja – which is the tradition, ensures we charge up the third eye through prayers and then seal the energy in with a bindi.

Here’s How it Works

When we apply the bindi in liquid form on our forehead, it causes a slight contraction of the skin on the forehead, closing the third eye. Being allergic to the glue in sticker bindis anyway, I didn’t believe at all in their efficacy. It was this argument that led my mother to test the effect of a bindi out, using a pendulum. Guess what – sticker bindis work too. It remains to be seen whether they are as effective as liquid bindis, but they do work. The difference was so stellar that I wanted this on video. When a Puerto-Rican student Olga visited me this weekend, I asked her if she’d volunteer for a video and she graciously replies ‘yes! And you know what, I happen to have vibhooti with me today!’ Although the difference is barely visible in the video, we actually found (to my surprise) the vibhooti more effective than the liquid bindi. Maybe because it is blessed?

The Options

Traditionally, Brahmins (priests and academicians) wore a tilak of white sandalwood paste. This helped with their work , which involved very less physical labour and required a cool, calm mind with lots of retention power. The use of sandalwood which is associated with the root chakra, enhances these things without increasing the heat in the body.

Kshatriyas (warriors & administrators) wore vermilion tilak because their work involved aggression and intense physical exertion. Married women are also supposed to wear red bindis, because in many traditional Indian households, a woman might be on her feet all day. Vermillion increases the heat in the body, so the mind of a person wearing this will be cool, but buzzing with activity. Administrators and women both multi-task extensively, and red being the color of the root chakra, provides ample grounding to help remain in touch with all the demands placed on them. The heat will bring in the required aggression for warriors/ administrators, and will strengthen the libido for women.

Vaishyas (businessmen) wore a yellow tilak. Yellow is the color of the solar plexus, which is related to ambition, prosperity and anger-management. All very useful in business!

Sudras (service class) and widows wore black tilaks as they were exposed to the dirtiest of all energies, and black is the strongest protector. The same is also recommended for babies, because infants tend to naturally attract all the negative energies around them, and adults in India tend to pick up children without any concern for their feelings, ‘use’ them for a few moments of joy, and leave them with their negativity. A black tilak helps tremendously to protect from these situations.

More…

Sindoor, applied by married women in North India, isn’t exactly the same as kumkum, which is simply a mixture of turmeric and lime. Sindoor also contains mercury, which acts as a catalyst that helps to ease stress and strain. It also helps in keeping the brain active and alert. Other than this, mercury also helps in controlling blood pressure, activating sexual drive and libidinal energy. This is why, a widows or unmarried women are forbidden from applying sindoor.

Also, we’ve been told by our grandmothers never to step out of the house with the hair open. This has very strong reasons, and the flagrant violation of this is causing several health problems in women today. Read more here.

Ashwita Goel

Author of ‘Healing Through Reiki’, Ashwita learned Reiki in 1997, and started teaching it in 2006. She now incorporates other forms of energy healing, as well as hypnotherapy and past life therapy in her work. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, crafts, reading and painting.

Buy her book at

amazon.com/dp/B01442HDZE/