Indian Customs and their Scientific Relevance

India is known as the land of extremely rich cultural heritage all over the world. The population of India comprises of people from various diverse backgrounds and each one offering their own infinite customs and beliefs. But as the time passed by many people started questioning those age old customs that were practiced. Here with this article I shall try to bring forward some of the common customs prevalent in Indian society and the scientific reason that govern them. 

Indian Customs and their Scientific Relevance

1. We do namaskara by joining the palms ?

As our sense organs like ear,nose,eyes,etc has their acupressure points at tip of fingers. So we join both palms and get the acupressure points stimulated and it will stimulate the sense organs (Indriyas) while greeting the opposite person. We are pleased physically and mentally to accept he/she

2. Why we should wash the feet before going to bed ?

Its just to clean your feet and not to get dust into bed, where we sleep. If not we may get allergic problems. The other thing is when we pour cold water on feet, we get urge to pass urine. So we will not wake up in between sleep

(Note: Just pour cold water on feet n wait for few minutes. Sure you will have urge for urinals. Try It). Also washing feet soothens mind and we will get good sleep.

3. Why should girls pierce nose and wear nose ring or nose stud ?

Ayurvedic text Sushruta Samhita (Chikitsa Sthana Chapter 19 ) its explained that by piercing the nose girl can have less pain during menstruation and also this helps for the fertility of ovaries due to reflexes. In Jyothishya shastra also its said , those who are not conceiving , should pierce the nose as a solution (UPAYA). Nose piercing  also helps to reduce mood swinging caused due to harmonal imbalance.

4. Why do women apply turmeric paste to their foot and legs ?

Women in earlier days performed the daily chores of house like cooking, washing clothes, bringing water from river or well, cleaning the house with water and many more which involved interaction of skin with water. Turmeric is regarded as the best antiseptic since centuries, therefore turmeric was applied on legs to stop any bacterial or fungal infection since centuries on women’s feet.

5. Why do elders rotate crystal salt, lemon around head ?

Rotating of crystal salt is one of the long practiced Indian custom to protect a person from evil eye, which can result into bad health and mental instability. So to cure a person elders rotated crystal salt around the head. The reason for doing so is that salt is considered as an antibiotic, and for that matter any salty or acidic substance would curb the excessive magnetic field. Thus, rotating lemon and crystal salt balances the magnetic fields and also an aura of antibiotic around the effected person and kill the germs and bacteria prevailing around.

6. Why all sages and saint stay in Himalayas ?

As we do meditation our kundalini shakthi will move from Muladhara Chakra (one of the seven primary chakras according to Hindu tantrism) to upward direction and makes the body warm especially the head. So to keep body on normal temperature mediatators like saints, sages stay in Himalayas where external temperature is cold .

This I observed when I visited to one Ashram at Dehradun (Uttarakhand, India), the temperature was 9 degree Celsius and the meditator was sweating during meditation.

These were some of the Indian Customs and their scientific reasons. I will keep on updating on such customs more in future. Do share your thoughts and let us know your opinion.