My goal is to make sure second-generation Hindu teenagers have a strong connection to their religion so that Hinduism does not erode as time goes on. ‘Mission Bindi’ is an organization I have started to implement this goal of mine. I want to encourage and inspire young Hindus to wear the Bindi on a daily basis so that Hinduism lasts longer than we think. The Bindi looks like a mere dot on the forehead, but its incredible significance stretches beyond measures.
According to Hindu scriptures, millions of years ago, Lord Brahma, the cosmic God of creation, oralated the Rigveda to ancient rishis. In the Rigveda, Brahma talks about the areas of concentrated energies in our body. The highest concentrated energy in our body is located in the center of our forehead, a place where the Bindi/Tilakam/Vibuthi is applied. This location on the body, the center forehead location, is the third eye chakra. Our third eye, unlike our other two eyes that view the materialistic world, views the cosmic universe of the Self (Atman, which is clearly described by Lord Krishna in chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita). The Rigveda says that the Bindi, or Bindu, is a symbol/mark that represents and reminds the world of the Atman energies at the nerve point.
Over time, many Hindus have lost the tradition of wearing the Bindi, mainly because they are afraid they would look too ethnic, or they wanted to assimilate into Western cultures. This is seen in American Hindu teens, and Indian Hindu teens. Men have lost the tradition of wearing the Tilakam (which is a ‘Bindi’ that is worn by men. It was worn by Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, Lord Hanuman, and many more beings. Now, the existence of the Tilakam is completely gone). Women, similar to men, are close to losing this beautiful tradition of wearing the Bindi. The older generations, like your mother and grandmother, have a relatively strong connection to Hinduism and the Bindi. However, young Hindu teens, inspired by many external factors, have little or no connection to the Bindi or their religion. This will not only cause gradual erosion of Hinduism over time, but it will also cause young Hindus to never realize how wonderful their religion is. The regular human man does not even have the mental capacity to think/discover this knowledge of the Bindi and the ajna chakra. It is just fascinating how the knowledge of the Bindi has been given by cosmic beings, the four voices of Lord Brahma—and it is sad to see that many young Hindus today are completely unaware of this.
