The Debt

Religion and rituals are often synonymous with each other. Nowhere is that more true than in India. However, as time goes by many rituals associated with religion lose their meaning. Not theoretically, only that people don’t know why they do what they do. They end up blindly following priests as they dictate what needs to be done. I wonder why I never questioned anyone before, and what made me do that today. As we sat down for the prayer, and priest commenced by tying a red thread around our wrists as is customary, I asked my grandmother the significance of the same. She didn’t know the answer but urged me to ask the priest. I turned to the priest, and hesitantly asked him the same question. The priest told me that the Indian caste system required each “Hindu” –Brahmin (priests), Kshatriya (warriors) andVaishyas (merchants) but not Shudras  (the untouchables) to wear three threads – Janeuon their body to remind them of the debt they owe to the Rishis – the knowledge creators, the Gurus- the teachers and their parents. I was surprised to know that all castes were required to wear the thread, particularly since I thought only the Brahmins were supposed to adorn themselves with the thread. The priest continued to explain that when the Mughal emperors came to India, they were intent on exterminating the Hindus, consequently, they would look for people wearing the thread – the symbol of a devout Hindu and cut their heads off. As a resultHindus in North India, where the terror was profound, stopped wearing this holy thread. However, whenever they would sit for a prayer ceremony they would tie three threads around their wrists to remind them of the “Debt”.

Listening to the story, I felt a new found sense of faith in my religion, for all my skepticism about meaningless rituals, I had found one which made so much sense – eternal gratitude for knowledge, teachers and the people that gave you life. I am not sure if this is true or not, but this belief makes me feel positive and so I will stick to this world-view.

Disclaimer: I do not vouch for the accuracy of this rendition, as apparently the internet has several other explanations for what this thread might represent.