The Science Behind Indian Culture: India is known as the most ethnically diverse country which is profoundly known for its deep-rooted traditional culture and religious societies. India is also popular as the birthplace of two largely followed religions, Hinduism and Buddhism. Religion plays a vital role in the lives of people; Indian households have various scientifically proven cultural and religious practices that are followed in day to day life.
These practices have several elements of Indian customs and culture which are ultimately designed for a better and disciplined well-being of humans. Here we will be talking about five day to day Indian practices that are scientifically proven but usually labelled as blind superstition.
Table of Contents
Sleeping in the right direction
A lot of us have scoffed at elders when they told us not to place our head in the North direction while sleeping, guess what is a scientific reason for that! Researchers have devoted time to understand the correlation between the engineering of the human body and the magnetic fields of the planet Earth.
Related Article: 5 Amazing Things that India is Famous For.
Keeping these facts in mind it has been advised by elders not to put your head towards North direction while sleeping, as the iron in our blood and magnetic pull of the Earth creates unnecessary pressure on the brain. If your head is placed towards the North and stays in the same position for 6-7 hours while sleeping it may cause several health issues and disturbed sleep due to the magnetic pull.
Science of Mudras
Have you ever wondered why there is so much emphasis on the hand gestures in Indian culture, gestures that are typically known as ‘Mudras’. We have seen the involvement of mudras almost everywhere in Indian culture; deities in the temples, classical dance forms, Indian paintings, statues in the historical monuments and they have become so common for eyes that we never thought of noticing them closely. Well, mudras have logic behind them! Mudras and hands are considered as the control panel of the human body, our hands have the capability to control everything that we decide upon.
The best example to quote here is practicing yoga, it tells about the subtle science of mudras and importance of how holding a certain hand position can pinpoint your energy in a right direction and towards the right cell. Yoga teaches us that how just a simple re-positioning of your palm can alter the functional system of your body, this whole science is derived from the geometry and circuitry of the body.
Charan Sparsh
Another most important tradition of Indian culture is to touch the feet of the elderly. It is said that when you touch the feet of elder people their body and heart especially emit positive energy which is transmitted through their hands and toes. This complete circuit empowers the cosmic energy and increases the flow of positive energy which sparks a quick connection between two hearts and minds.
This practice enables the elderly feet as the ‘energy giver’ and hands or fingers of the younger ones as the ‘receptor’ of that energy. Also, charansparsh reflect strong family ties which is one of the most enduring strengths of Indian culture.
Throwing coins into the river
Since childhood, we have believed that throwing coins in the river will bring us good luck, without ruining the childhood memories let’s seek a scientific reason behind it! The currency used in ancient time was majorly made out of copper, unlike the stainless ones we use today. It is a fact that copper is an important metal for the human body which is not synthesized on its own and requires the supply from outside.
Rivers, lakes and ponds were the only sources of drinking water back then so throwing copper currencies in water bodies were one of the ways our forefathers adopted to ensure the sufficient intake of copper on daily basis. Another reason for throwing copper coin was that it settled the dust particles at the bottom and made the drinking water available at the top.
Sitting on floor and eating
The traditional practice of sitting on the floor and eating together has a great significance in Indian culture.It is believed that eating together with the family improves the bond and the posture relaxes the body and helps to have a merry time together.
The old Indian way of sitting on the floor with crossed legs is also known as a yoga position called ‘Sukhasana or Padmasana’. So, when you sit and eat in Sukhasana it calms your mind and the pressure applied to the lower spine facilitates relaxation. Also, the back and forth movements while eating help the abdominal muscles to secrete digestive juices and help the proper and quick digestion of food.
To conclude, the facts about Indian cultural practices conjoined with science we must understand the importance of our heritage. We should nurture our beliefs, not because of emotional devotion but to believe in the fact that they have a scientific process. It would have taken thousands of years to establish and develop these practices that constantly drive human liberation.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to get more updates related to Sachi Shiksha – The Famous Spiritual Magazine in India. Also Read Our Hindi and Punjabi Editions.
