I thought so too IGH, based on the indian movies I have seen

Challenge the pandit to show or tell you where in Hindu books it's written: "not to bring down the SINDOOR, since this means her husband was giving her permission to re-marry". There are no rituals and it is not required.

This was challenged and demonstrated in a movie with Amita Bachan and his very young Bhabi where he sided with her to re-marry.

gosh, these old customs is really something else.

he dead, how he can give permission or not? Them pandit also like to change up things to suit themselves.

I know a pandit who does drop off his clothes to them widows to wash and drop by later when dem chirren sleeping ... and I am not talking about Pt. Nehru.  

Rituals and sheer madness.

Pandit needs to be shot on sight.

Guys, Thanks for all the answers...

Many intelligent Hindus are converting to Christianity.

that doesn't make any sense. They didn't convert to Christianity because them smart.

Intelligent hindus like me know better than to believe the nonsense them pandits preach. Just follow the holy book and you aight!

College and University Grads are not buying   your line of thinking,  they are looking for more. They are in search of genuine and intelligent support in good times and in crisis.  They want someone who can make sense at their wedding, at the time when their child is born and more so to counsel them when   things do not go so good in life.

As per you and others the current crop of Pandits are not doing  that they are saying anything that come  OUT OF THEIR MOUTH.

 What is the purpose of the Sindoor and what  does the scipture says about how it should apply?

I was going to ask Amral to delete this thread, but I think I will let it stay...

I would love to see D2's response to Chief...

I saw a complete different scene at a mandir I recently visited. I was so impressed with the amount of young adults involved in the ceremony, the singing groups, playing the musical instruments, their ethnic dressing.

They must not be too bright

I wonder why they choose Christianity over Islam? Is it because they are intelligent?

The intelligence you speak of is Academic Intelligence. Lord Krishna, in the Bhagvad Gita speaks of Spiritual Intelligence, wisdom, Intellect....

Swami Prabhupada:

Gita wisdom asks us not to give up the intelligence, but to go beyond the intelligence. Giving up one’s intelligence is required for those dogmatic beliefs that can’t stand a keen intellectual scrutiny. Going beyond the intelligence is required for those experiential systems of spiritual practice that offer us deep experiences that the intellect can’t reach. The trajectory of the Gita’s message goes as far as our intellect goes, meaning that its wisdom stands sustained intellectual scrutiny. But then the Gita’s trajectory surpasses the farthest reach of the intellect – and goes further into the realm of individualized experience.

Analysis is the forte of the head and experience, the forte of the heart. When we offer our heart to Krishna,our spiritual vision gradually awakens, thereby offering us experiential realization about how the seeming inconsistencies actually point to majestic higher-level truths.

Thus, instead of asking us to give up our head to reach our heart, as do many belief systems, Gita wisdom goes through our head to reach our heart.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18 Text 63

“Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.”

Amendment: Many Hindu-born intelligent people are converting to Christianity.

Intelligent Hindus don't forsake their religion. They recognize that Hinduism has certain imperfections and that thru the ages influential brahmans have decreed social injustices in the name of religion for their own selfish caste interests.

But intelligent Hindus fully embrace the moral and ethical tenets of their faith.

Thankfully, too, Hinduism is a dynamic religion that has benefited by reforms especially during the last 400 years.

In my humble opinion, fewer Hindus would flee to other religions if only they take the time to read and study the scriptures by themselves instead of relying on interpretations by pandits as their sole guide.

With excellent English-language translations available, Hindu scriptures and related literature are not difficult to read and understand.

I have observed throughout the years that when Hindus become Christians they willingly make time to read the Holy Bible, whereas before conversion they hardly read the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Upanishads, etc.

Muslims, on the other hand, are generally abiding readers, memorizers and reciters of the Holy Qur'an. Hence, only a handful of Muslims convert to Christianity.

Good point Gilly. I don't know why the Chiefster would make such a broad-based statement. Bad idea Chief. I think that the conversion of Hindus to Christianity is mostly attributable to the aggressive campaigns of Christian Missionaries. But your observation seem spot on that many Hindus don't habitually read their scriptures. They rely too much on their Pandits who seem to make things up as they go along. They would do better if they can dedicate some time to understanding their scriptures. My guess is that many Pandits would prefer they don't so that they can keep the gravy flowing.

Question for Mitwah: Why is the sindoor only reserved for the first marriage? I always thought that the sindoor signifies that a woman is married. Why is her second or later marriage not accompanied by the application of the sindoor?

good for them! It also comes from their upbringing. You teach them and show them the right path and they will stay.

I have a unique design of an OM I'm seriously considering too

Chief think he slick

It is all too much janjhat wid age old rites you really can't tell if they necessary.

Okay, okay don't beat me up.

I love all the responses and it do show  me the other  side of the coin.

Still waiting on an explanation about the significance of sindoor.

The tradition of application of sindoor in the parting of hair by married Hindu women is considered extremely auspicious and is being carried on since centuries. Sindoor is applied for the first time to a Hindu woman during the marriage ceremony when the bridegroom himself adorns her with it.
Sindooor or vermilion holds lot of importance in Indian society. The tradition of application of sindoor in the parting of hair by married Hindu women is considered extremely auspicious and is being carried on since centuries. Sindoor is applied for the first time to a Hindu woman during the marriage ceremony when the bridegroom himself adorns her with it. The ceremony is called Sindoor-Dana and is very much in vogue even in present times. The tradition of wearing Sindoor by married women has been explained with the help of mythology. Scholars say that red is the color of power while vermilion is a symbol of the female energy of Parvati and Sati(one of the Hindu godess). Hindu mythological legends regard Sati as the ideal wife who gave her life for her husband s honor. Every Hindu wife is supposed to emulate her. Hindus believe that Goddess Parvati protects all those men whose wives apply vermilion to their parting of hair.
Tradition of wearing Sindoor or vermillion is said to have traveled through more than 5,000 years of Hindu culture. Female figurines excavated at Mehrgarh, Baluchistan, show that sindoor was applied to the partition of women s hair even in early Harappan times. Besides, legends says that Radha, the consort of Lord Krishna, turned the kumkum into a flame like design on her forehead. In the famous epic Mahabharata, Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, is believed to have wiped her sindoor in disgust and despair. Use of Sindoor has also been mentioned in The Puranas, Lalitha Sahasranamam and Soundarya Lahharis.
It is interesting to note that that the application of sindoor by married women carries physiological significance too. This is so because Sindoor is prepared by mixing turmeric-lime and the metal mercury. Due to its intrinsic properties, mercury, besides controlling blood pressure also activates sexual drive. This also explains why Sindoor is prohibited for the widows. For best results, Sindoor should be applied right upto the pituitary gland where all our feelings are centered.. 

Source:

Chief here is one significance:

We have a “Adivasi beauty” Mala Kishoendajal telling the world in her novel “Dame Blanche” about Sindoor as follows :

QUOTE:  In the Middle Ages Muslims kidnapped Hindu girls and raped them. As a mark of this rape they applied sindoor in the partition of hair of the victims. Somewhere in the 13^th century, a clever Brahmin got a bright idea to mislead the Muslims.  From their birth  the sindoor was applied at the partition of the hair of the girls.  This way it was not  possible for the Muslims to find out who was raped and who was not : UNQUOTE

Historically, it was the Untouchables and Scheduled castes that converted to Christianity. The Brahmins and the Warrior caste, sedom converted-because persecution was not their karma. Unfortunately, the converted christians lost all privilizes after India's independence when Mahatma Gandhi made special arrangement for the Harijans to have special status. They were not considered to be Untouchables anymore. And as Christians, they were a free ppl in the spirit. However, after British departed, the Upper Castes resumed thier attacks on the  Christians-slaughter, rape, burning of churches, killing of pastors, etc, etc all in the hope of having them returned to servitude. I think Krsna goan deal wid the Upper castes when satnd in his presence.     

Mitwah from what you posted Sindoor is about tradidtion. So if a Hindu want to break away from this tradition is anything wrong with that? 

Mitwah will answer this question.

I wish to answer it too.

Nothing is wrong if a Hindu woman wants to break from the sindoor tradition, just as nothing is wrong if a Muslim woman wants to break from the hijab-niqab-burka traditions.

Hold your horse there Gili. The covering of the head by Muslim women is not tradition. It is prescribed by the Lord.

Budhism, Jainism resulted from the break away from Hindu traditions. Some opt for the simple Jaimala wedding ceremony. Sindoor is symbolic; marriage is not.

Kinda busy....I am off for the long week -end...

Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph.D said that theHijab (head cover) for Muslim women is not mandated in the Qur’an. If it is, it is  only the subjective interpretation of an ayah (verse) on the part of the  reader.

I agree. The hijab as prescribed in the Qur'an is not for the covering of the head. It is actually for the covering of the body. There are narrations where Umar complained to the Prophet that some of his wives were not covering their heads in public. If it was a Qur'anic injunction, those wives would not have had their heads uncovered. I don't like the niqab either and think it is too extreme.

Does this mean that a divorced woman would be able to use the sindoor again while a widowed wouldn't?

Ksazma, from what I was taught  only one time SINDUR can be rub or Brought up... and that is at your first marriage...

Just imagine, you are divorced, re- married 3 times at the time of your death which husband or wife  will bring the SINDUR down.

Chiefy, I suppose that when you say "Lord", you are referring to Prophet Mohammed. I'd like to get your input on why the Prophet prescribed covering of the head for Muslim women. It's for my education.

Gilly, I have observed that any person who converts to another religion fully immerses himself in the scriptures, rituals, and traditions. Some of them even go a little overboard and become fanatical.

If I were to ask a "born HIndu" what is the meaning of the gayatri mantra he might not know, but someone who wants to embrace Hinduism might know it or find a way of learning it. Likewise, if I were to ask a "born Muslim", "who is a Muslim"? he might might not have a simple, straightforward answer. If I were to ask a "born Christian", what is the purpose of taking the communion, that person might not have a definitive response.

Just my 2 cents

Several years ago, I was at a puja  hosted by intelligent/educated Hindus. The pandit gave the murti a "milk bath" and the host dressed the murti in new clothing. The pandit gave no explanation. Later, I asked the son (university student) about the purpose of that part of the ceremony and he was baffled. He didn't know; he was just following along with what the pandit said. 

Mir long time no see.

When I say the Lord I mean God and not a Prophet.  

Chiefy, I am here- checking in now and then. 

Okay, you've established that the Lord is God and not Prophet Mohammed. You still need to address my question.

So to clarify, when the woman gets married for the first time, her husband pull up her sindoor. She then reapply it as needed. If she dies, her husband brings down her sindoor. If her husband dies, she brings it down and can never pull it up again even if she remarries. Can this make her appear to be unmarried when she is not?

While I understand the argument if she gets a divorce, doesn't that scenario also make her appear to be unmarried when she is not?