Womens are considered ‘maila’ or impure during their monthly periods.They are typically encouraged not to cook or to perform puja.
There is no restriction on Lingayat women who follow the teachings of Basaveshwara, perform pujas and chant vedas even during their periods. There is no restriction on mleccha or foreign women who chant vedas whenever they believe it is right.
Therefore this discussion mainly concerns those women who want to perform puja and chant vedas everyday.
In our olden days, women had to fetch water from wells. They had to work the chakki (can’t remember right now what’s the English word for it) to make flour. Basic lifestyle required more physical strain than today. plus, the normal furnishings in the houses used to be silk & velvet etc. And with no dry cleaners or sanitary pads, this practice made perfect sense, both from the rest point of view, as well as for the materialistic benefit.
The vedas are embodiments of the devas. When I can see Surya Deva and His rays can touch my face, why can I not chant a mantram in which he is embodied?
When Vayu Deva, enters and exits my lungs freely as prAna and apAna, why cannot I chant a mantram which embodies Vayu using my lungs and voice box?
When Varuna resides in me as 70% of my body weight and when I can drink water and sweat it out, why cannot I chant a mantra that embodies Varuna?
When Agni resides in my stomach as Vaiswanara, Jatara Agni and digests all the food I eat, why cannot I chant a mantram that embodies Agni?
Conclusion : It is my view that as long as a brahmin woman stays clean and takes adequate rest, and as long as she is not distressing herself emotionally and physically, as long as she can focus her mind on brahman and not on other people’s minds, she should be fine, performing puja visiting temples and chanting vedas. No Sin will Accrue to Her.
Out of respect for the feelings of elders at home, if you choose to stay out that is fine… because then you are practicing ahimsa. If you yourself feel unclean, and would like to stay at home away from temples, that is also fine. But be gentle with yourself. If the situation requires that you participate on some religious function and so forth, remember that no sin will accrue to you.
There is no restriction on Lingayat women who follow the teachings of Basaveshwara, perform pujas and chant vedas even during their periods. There is no restriction on mleccha or foreign women who chant vedas whenever they believe it is right.
Therefore this discussion mainly concerns those women who want to perform puja and chant vedas everyday.
In our olden days, women had to fetch water from wells. They had to work the chakki (can’t remember right now what’s the English word for it) to make flour. Basic lifestyle required more physical strain than today. plus, the normal furnishings in the houses used to be silk & velvet etc. And with no dry cleaners or sanitary pads, this practice made perfect sense, both from the rest point of view, as well as for the materialistic benefit.
The vedas are embodiments of the devas. When I can see Surya Deva and His rays can touch my face, why can I not chant a mantram in which he is embodied?
When Vayu Deva, enters and exits my lungs freely as prAna and apAna, why cannot I chant a mantram which embodies Vayu using my lungs and voice box?
When Varuna resides in me as 70% of my body weight and when I can drink water and sweat it out, why cannot I chant a mantra that embodies Varuna?
When Agni resides in my stomach as Vaiswanara, Jatara Agni and digests all the food I eat, why cannot I chant a mantram that embodies Agni?
Conclusion : It is my view that as long as a brahmin woman stays clean and takes adequate rest, and as long as she is not distressing herself emotionally and physically, as long as she can focus her mind on brahman and not on other people’s minds, she should be fine, performing puja visiting temples and chanting vedas. No Sin will Accrue to Her.
Out of respect for the feelings of elders at home, if you choose to stay out that is fine… because then you are practicing ahimsa. If you yourself feel unclean, and would like to stay at home away from temples, that is also fine. But be gentle with yourself. If the situation requires that you participate on some religious function and so forth, remember that no sin will accrue to you.
