Bindi Love

BINDI = Hindi: बिंदी, from Sanskrit bindu, meaning "a drop, small particle, dot".

Not one day passes that someone doesn't ask me what is on my forehead.  Some ask if I have a tattoo, many wonder if I've drawn something on my forehead, other more in-tune souls ask if I'm Hindu, Buddhist or Indian.  

Bindis and Spiritual Connection

Bindis are placed at the sixth chakra, ajna, aka. the third eye chakra, in between one's eyebrows, also considered the “seat of concealed wisdom”, representing the third eye.  Scientifically speaking, this is the place where the pituitary gland is located, considered the “seat of the mind”, a hub for frontal lobe regulation of emotional thoughts (ie. poetry, music).

According to some Hindus, the 3^rd eye chakra is exit for kundalini energy, and bindis help to retain energy and strengthens concentration in this area.  Bindi’s are also said to protect against demons or bad luck.  

Traditional Bindi’s

- Red/ maroon in color

- Cosmetic mark worn to enhance beauty

- Used in meditation where one focuses dristhi (eye gaze) to improve concentration

- Application of sandalwood paste applied on ajna chakra out of respect for one’s inner Guru in order to receive authority or approval to move to the crown chakra and self-actualization.

Red Rose Bindi, Diamond Bindis on Eyes

Modern Bindis

Diamond-esque Bindis, Modern Style

In modern times the Bindi is a welcome addition to fashion in all aspects of Indian culture from day to day wear, special occasion, temple wear, weddings, to countries and cultures outside of India. 

Bindi’s have become decorative pieces available in different sizes, shapes and colors. They’re available in sticky form for daily use (self-adhesive bindi’s), in any corner shop in India or little India around South Asia.   Everything from simple traditional red rose bindi’s to fancy diamond-encrusted 3” long wedding bindi’s are available.

Worn mainly throughout South Asia, the Bindi is no longer restricted to any class, culture, race, sex or society.  Men, women, girls, boys, Nepalese, Indians, Malay, Sri Lankans, and people from many societies take part in Bindi Wearing culture today. 

My Bindi Love Story

2009, Mysore, India

I was living in Mysore, learning Ashtanga yoga.  Upon arrival in India 4 months prior I was a typical, cynical, judgmental American.  I didn’t get it, couldn’t understand it, there was nothing about the beautiful, colorful silks and materials sculpted into magnificent outfits which resonated with me. 

I smirked at the White guy meditating on the stairs of the Ghats in Varanasi, cringed at the foreigner wailing excitedly as she swam in the highly polluted Ma Ganga in a bikini.  Some of the sights were simply unorthodox and out of context for me at the time.  They would have been completely acceptable behaviors in other situations, my pre-opened mind observed.  Bathe in the Ganges at a less populated area of the river in a sari, meditate on your rooftop, temple, shala, or mountaintop - anywhere but the area 1 million people are parading by for daily circus. 

Then there’s the ongoing love, my bindi story.  I witnessed foreigners wearing local Indian garb and bindis but was not attracted to the look in the least when arriving in India.  There was no way you would catch me dead or alive as one of those Westerners wearing a bindi.  It felt foreign and unnatural for me at the time.

The longer I remained in India, the more her culture, people, and exotic, beautiful rituals became more endearing.  Immersing myself further into the yoga practice, other aspects of Hindu and Indian culture seeped into my soul. 

As everything softened, Ma India worked here magic.  One day on my way home from yoga practice I stopped in a small shop for shampoo but next thing I knew I walked out having purchased about 5 packets of sparkly new bindi’s; diamond colored ones, colored ones, different shapes, plain ones, small ones, larger ones.  I had never worn them before so I wasn’t sure what type would resonate.  What do you know?  Arriving home in our hot pink shared psychidellic apartment, Sri Ramakrishna, my roommate Shelly had also opened her heart to Bindi wearing that same exact day.  From then on, both her and I wore bindi’s every single day without fail. 

To this day it is ritual, tradition, love and reminiscent of home, Ma India, when I choose my bindi of the day and place it on my 3^rd eye chakra every morning.  Every year when I leave India I am sure to stock up so I will not run out and I ration my bindi stock when it runs low.  I am so very blessed to have annual trips to the motherland or friends visit to be sure I can remain connected to her culture in this fun, beautiful, creative way.

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