“A forehead without a Tilak, a woman without a husband, a Mantra the meaning of which is not known while doing Japa (recitation), the head that does not bend before holy personages, a heart without mercy, a body devoid of health, a custom without purity,… – all these are worthy of condemnation. They exist for name’s sake only.”

 Our holy scriptures have mentioned the vitality of ‘Tilak’ or ‘Bindi’ applied between the space between two eyebrows. According to varied traditions, different types of Tilaks are applied using different materials.

• The red kumkum tilak symbolise power, valour and dynamism indicating the devotees of Goddess Shakti or Durga.
• The U shaped tilak of sandalwood paste symbolise purity, calmness and tranquillity indicating the devotees of Lord Vishnu.
• The three horizontal lines (tripundra) of Vibhuti or yagna ash signifying wealth, fortune and devotion of the Shaiva group of worshippers.
• The three horizontal lines of holy ashes, with or without a red dot symbolise the worshippers of Lord Shiva.

Significance of applying Tilak: Our human body is a source of energy and it continuously emits electromagnetic waves through certain special points. The Aajna Chakra or brow chakra connects to the Bhramanadi i.e. the main spot of wisdom, memory and thinking.

• The point soothes the inner soul and leads to the awakening of third eye of consciousness
• It provides the cooling effect to the body that prevents the emission of energy
• Being a major acupressure point, it relieves headaches through stabilising the nerves
• The center point is connected to the eye muscle that reduces the probability of vision defects due to tilak
• It keeps one away from the evil energies and prevents the chance of hypnotism
• Regular application of tilak helps in maintaining the immunity level
• As per Ayurveda, the spot calms the stress and fatigue to solve the problem of insomnia

Nowadays the scientific and religious relevance have lost its true essence in the society and is replaced by the artificial and fancy decorative stick bindis, which is just an object of show off and fulfils no other purpose. Instead abide by the nature and its beneficial products and apply tilak with the prayer – “May I remember the Lord. May this pious feeling pervade all my activities. May I be righteous in my deeds.” Contributed By: Meenakshi Ahuja