Bindi is more than just a dot

WRITTEN BY: SABITHA PATEL

One of the most eye-catching and ubiquitous adornments for any Indian woman is the dot on her forehead. For an Indian woman getting dressed for any occasion festive or casual is incomplete without that dot on the forehead. This dot on the forehead or between the eyes is called the “bindi.

The term bindi originates from the Sanskrit word “bindu” which means drop, point, or particle. India is a land of many languages and dialects and therefore the bindi is known by different names like kumkum, bottu, sindoor,tikli, teep etc – all meaning the same. The dot worn on the forehead means that the person is either a Hindu or Jain. Even though today it is mostly the women who are wearing the Bindi, in the olden days men also wore it commonly.

Culturally the bindi, especially a red-colored one, symbolizes the auspicious sign of marriage. The red dot or sindoor is believed to usher prosperity and grant the woman a place in her husband’s family a new guardian. When a woman is widowed, she gives up the red bindi and other decorations that symbolize marriage. Instead, she wears a smaller black dot on the forehead.

The wearing of bindi apart from being a cultural symbol, has a much deeper spiritual significance. According to ancient vedic knowledge, human body consists of seven areas of concentrated energy called chakras. These chakras run along the center of the body and numbered from bottom to top. The sixth chakra called the “Ajna” or “the third eye-chakra” is exactly where the bindi is placed. This third eye is considered a seat for intellect and intuition. Hindu tradition holds that all people have a third inner eye. The two physical eyes are used for seeing the external world, while the third focuses inward toward God. As such, the red dot signifies piety as well as serving as a constant reminder to keep God at the center of one’s thoughts.

In modern days the bindi comes in all shapes and colors and serves as an essential beauty accessory. Many celebrities in America like Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Gwen Stefani, etc. have started wearing bindi as a fashion statement. Some may call this cultural appropriation and others may view it as an attempt to embrace Indian culture. It doesn’t matter, as long as the person wearing it understands the profound cultural and spiritual meaning behind the adornment.

The Bindi is probably one of the most fascinating and internationally known adornments and has been a symbol with deep significance in India for thousands of years. It is therefore proven that the bindi is not just a fashion statement and much more than just a dot!

Sabitha Patel

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A N I N S P I R A T I O N T O H I N D U W O M E N

The eyes of the whole world are now turned towards this land of India for spiritual food; and India has to provide it for all the races. Here alone is the best ideal for mankind; and western scholars are now striving to understand this ideal which is enshrined in our Sanskrit literature and philosophy, and which has been the characteristic of India all through the ages. — Swami Vivekananda