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What is MADI? And Why Brahmins follow it?
In Simple Term Madi means :Clean cloth dipped in water, dried and kept separately without touching any old unwashed cloth and not touched by anyone without a bath.
Brahmins follow elaborate purification rituals, both of self and the house. Men are forbidden from performing their "sixteen duties" while Women are forbidden from cooking food without having a purificatory bath in the morning. Food is to be consumed only after making an offering to the deities.
The bathing was considered sufficiently purifying only if it confirmed to the rules of madi. The word 'madi' is used by Tamil Brahmins to indicate that a person is bodily pure. In order to practice madi, the Brahmin had to wear only clothes which had been recently washed and dried, and the clothes should remain untouched by any person who was not madi. Only after taking bath in water, and after wearing such clothes, would the person be in a state of madi. This practice of madi is followed by Brahmins even in modern times, before participating in any kind of religious ceremony.
Madi is a sort of personal hygiene before worshipping God. God is everywhere. When a human body lies down for hours together in scriptures it is considered as good as dead body, and science says the toxins released during the wee hours are good to be washed off to start a healthy fresh day!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyer and other sites
In Simple Term Madi means :Clean cloth dipped in water, dried and kept separately without touching any old unwashed cloth and not touched by anyone without a bath.
Brahmins follow elaborate purification rituals, both of self and the house. Men are forbidden from performing their "sixteen duties" while Women are forbidden from cooking food without having a purificatory bath in the morning. Food is to be consumed only after making an offering to the deities.
The bathing was considered sufficiently purifying only if it confirmed to the rules of madi. The word 'madi' is used by Tamil Brahmins to indicate that a person is bodily pure. In order to practice madi, the Brahmin had to wear only clothes which had been recently washed and dried, and the clothes should remain untouched by any person who was not madi. Only after taking bath in water, and after wearing such clothes, would the person be in a state of madi. This practice of madi is followed by Brahmins even in modern times, before participating in any kind of religious ceremony.
Madi is a sort of personal hygiene before worshipping God. God is everywhere. When a human body lies down for hours together in scriptures it is considered as good as dead body, and science says the toxins released during the wee hours are good to be washed off to start a healthy fresh day!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iyer and other sites