Most of our customs have a scientific base and cannot be looked down upon. One such spiritual ceremony is ear piercing, which normally is carried out on the odd years of the child. It is also conducted on the child’s 10th, 12th or 16th day right after its birth but it may not be the best time for the function as the development of neck muscles is in its early stages and head control is wobbly.
There are two main reasons behind hosting the function. The superficial part of the external ear houses several important acupuncture and acupressure points which are known to be closely linked to diseases like asthma. These acupuncture points can help boost immunity against asthma when pierced. It is for this reason that our ancestors, irrespective of their gender, used to wear earrings. You could have observed this trend in Indian movies of the previous generation too. Some people also carry forward this practice into the present decade.
In fact, ear piercing is considered complete only when a earring lends beauty to the ear rather leaving behind a hole in it paving way for others to question. Whenever we think of our glorious culture, we think of Gold. The holes bored in the ears tend to become invisible as the child grows up leaving sweet memories behind. Hence a gold earring may be inserted in the holes to prevent them from closing in cases where the presentation of earring is deferred to a later stage.
This ceremony is popularly also known as Karnavedha in some cultures. The child is made to sit on its father’s lap facing east. Ear piercing happens before noon and usually ends in a feast. While it is advisable to do ear piercing by a doctor to ensure that the activity does not introduce any infections, it is usually done by a goldsmith.
The ceremony also intends to open the concealed inner ear for better reception of sacred sounds. The striking of the child’s ear drum by sacred sounds may be compared to its falling in a lake. The child gets drenched in water even if it slips unwillingly into the water body. Similarly divine sounds like ‘Om’ produce a positive effect even when the child hearing it is completely unaware of its meaning or the spiritual and materialistic benefits it confers upon the recipient. It is needless to say that it also absolves the person of the sins committed in unknown births.
