By MADHU AGRAWAL
The reported sermon by Swami Krushnaswarup of Swaminarayan Temple of Bhuj wherein the seer said that menstruating women cooking food will be reborn in next birth as female dogs, while men consuming food cooked by menstruating women will be born as bullocks.
If it would hasve been so, then population of non-Hindus not adopting this practice would be declining fast. It is noteworthy that it is the same Swaminarayan Temple which runs Shree Sahjanand Girls Institute (SSGI) where 66 girl-students were allegedly made to strip to check if they were menstruating.
Such statements by Hindu religious seers are totally unrealistic, and tend to defame Hindu religion. Rather such self-acclaimed preachers of Hindu religion are totally unaware of real facts about Hindu religion and its practices including like not cooking food by menstruating women. Practices of ancient-most Hindu religion of the world are based on basic principles of life, and are made religious rituals so that these may be adopted by people voluntarily and mandatorily.
Practice of menstruating women not cooking food was in fact adopted because women during this period are physically weak and require resting apart from hygienic aspects. If this practice would have been explained in such realistic manner, perhaps people of other religions would also have appreciated Hindu religion.
There are many other such practices like fasting etc on certain occasions which are good for health. In ancient times, people especially children from trains used to thrown coins in rivers while the train crossing the river because coins usually used to of copper at those times, and combination of copper with clean water used to further purify water. But this practice is now of no use because coins are not of copper, and river-water is as dirty as sewer-water.
MADHU AGRAWAL is freelance writer