The intro to the poll received many interesting and varied comments. Do read them first over here.
The poll ran from September 15th until October 3rd (18 days). A total of 175 response was elicited, with a majority saying they do wear such religious marks (67%). 9% do so on special occasions, while 7% do not wear such marks as they don’t believe in it. 6% wear such a mark if they remember while 4% feel uncomfortable doing so. 3% each voted for reasons “not praying” and “divisive mark”, while only 1% cited health reason.
[poll id=12]
As usual, this poll is just a general indication and is not representative of any segment/group of the population. The demographics of the voters are unknown, and as such, its relevance is limited to being a topic for discussion.
The earlier article received comments saying that its a personal choice and that no necessary need to wear marks on the forehead (not necessarily vibuthi only, can be thilak, or kungkumum, santhanam etc. too).
It is possible that many people wear such marks without knowing the benefit or use to one’s self and community. Some argue its a personal choice or a tradition/culture (which is possible as Hinduism is firmly entrenched in Indian culture).
I hope the poll did trigger readers to investigate further and learn something about putting religious marks on their foreheads.
- Is it merely culture/fashion/symbolic or is it actually beneficial in some scientific/medical way?
- Do we actually know why need to wear such marks on our forehead? Is there a valid reason acceptable to us?
- Do we forsake the culture/fashion/symbol (if that’s what it is) due to the environment we work/live in or do we educate those around us to appreciate the diversity?
- Does wearing such mark indicate one’s “holiness”? Many will agree that its a big “NO”.
- Is wearing such marks considered creating friction by highlighting the differences between “you” and ‘others”?
- Does wearing such marks indicate one’s backwardness or unprofessionalism or “stuck in certain mentality” type?