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Thread: niṣṭhīva - spitting

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    niṣṭhīva - spitting

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namast

    niṣṭhīva - spitting, spitting out

    As of late I have been seeing more people ( men mostly) spitting. For some reason this bothers me more and more. From my point of view it indicates little appreciation ( or respect) for one's surroundings and this good earth. As I see it and it suggests ' I spit on you ', the earth, that sustains this entire planet. For me there could be no lower disregard for one's environment.

    I hold my tongue to these people as I cannot think of a way to voice my disdain for this schmegeggy habit.

    praṇām
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: niṣṭhīva - spitting

    i watched it here especially in sports fields more than in India , I dont know if it has something to do with culture. The sports idol does it on a regular basis in the broad view of millions of fans, yuck!! I must quickly add that the pawn spitting happens only in south asia.

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    Re: niṣṭhīva - spitting

    It's disgusting. Use a tissue or handkerchief! I'll be looking in some direction, and all of a sudden I see some guy spit. I usually say or think to myself "I didn't need to see that".
    śivasya hridayam viṣṇur viṣṇoscha hridayam śivaḥ

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    Re: niṣṭhīva - spitting

    It happens here very often, and I too feel a disrespect in the action, though I try to consider otherwise...There are folks with medical conditions that make controlling secretions difficult or impossible. More the point, we do stomp our feet on our mother Earth, shed sweat and hair everywhere, spread ugly suffocating concrete all over her, and it's not surprising that people would use her as a spittoon when the whole culture treats her as an inferior to be controlled.

    It still gets on my nerves, though, and my first, instinctive reaction, before the brain kicks in, is "EWWWWWW."

    Yajvan, I have never seen or heard the word "schmegeggy" before and now feel the urge to incorporate it into my conversations.

    Indraneela
    ===
    Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
    Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

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    Re: niṣṭhīva - spitting

    Quote Originally Posted by Indraneela View Post
    I have never seen or heard the word "schmegeggy" before and now feel the urge to incorporate it into my conversations.

    Indraneela
    ===
    Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
    Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.
    Whaat!? so you never watched The Nanny on TV? Fran Drescher. Schmegeggy is a Yiddish word that means something like a fool or a jerk... "Oy! I'm such a schmegeggy!"
    śivasya hridayam viṣṇur viṣṇoscha hridayam śivaḥ

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    Re: niṣṭhīva - spitting

    namaste.

    Some other habits that are detested (even chided) in orthodox South Indian brahmin families, even today, for reasons of health, hygiene and insulting the divinity include:

    • Biting the nails, inserting a finger into the mouth, and other forms of smearing body parts with saliva.

    • Using the left hand to pick up and eat food.

    ‣ Most Hindus use their left hand and wash with water after passing stools, instead of toilet paper.
    ‣ Ayurveda recommends some good amount of gargling after a toilet session, even if it is only urinating.
    ‣ Incidentally, squatting is the best position for passing stools as it expands and looses anus and rectum muscles, and quickens bowel movement.

    • Not brushing the teeth in the morning on waking up (even if it is in addition to doing it at night).

    • Using a bath tub: bathing is an activity, not a form of relaxation.
    ‣ Not using cold water for bath as far as possible.

    ‣ Incidentally, kaupInam--loin cloth, was the underwear for boys and men until some decades back. In Kerala, brahmins initiated into upanayanam wear it even today. Seems this traditional undergarment is likely to make a come back:
    http://expressbuzz.com/topic/city-st...nt/280966.html

    • Not washing the hands or gargling before and specially after a dining session.

    ‣ Sitting on the floor in the sukhAsana position is best for a meal session.
    ‣ Eating in a standing position or walking is frowned upon.

    ‣ Talking during a meal session, which should be silent, with concentration on the joyful experience of eating. Using a spoon or fork instead of hands, for eating.

    ‣ Sipping the water with lips pressed to the cup--instead the cup must be lifted and water poured into the mouth.

    ‣ Spitting near the plate to eject unwated food morsels is strictly prohibited; instead, the finger should be used to retrieve drop it.

    • Scattering paper on the floor, tearing up paper unnecessarily, treading on paper, keeping the books and magazines in a shabby condition, reading a book by reclining on bed, letting dust gather on books and papers, are considered as insulting Goddess SarasvatI.

    • Reading story books and comics on getting up in the morning, instead of some form of study, is disapproved. I remember reading during my college days in G.O.Trevelyan's
    Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay
    , that reading poetry and novels during daytime was considered in their family as "drinking drams in the morning."

    • Going late to bed (beyond 9 pm) and getting up late (beyond 6 am) were also considered nasty habits. Waking up into late night hours and getting up late (say after 7 am) are still considered as unhealthy, avoidable habits.

    Methinks we can try to avoid some of these negative habits if we have them, and train our children to acquire their positives, for good.
    रत्नाकरधौतपदां हिमालयकिरीटिनीम् ।
    ब्रह्मराजर्षिररत्नाढ्यां वन्दे भारतमातरम् ॥

    To her whose feet are washed by the ocean, who wears the Himalayas as her crown, and is adorned with the gems of rishis and kings, to Mother India, do I bow down in respect.

    --viShNu purANam

  7. #7

    Re: niṣṭhīva - spitting

    Namaste,

    When I was a little boy I used to spit a lot. I never did it for any real reason, as I would just be outside and salivia would form in my mouth and I would just spit it out, much to the dislike of my parents. As I grew up, I stopped that dirty habit.

    However, I never thought of it as insulting to Mother Earth. That's a very interesting point of view. It would be a major major insult to spit upon another person, so why should we do that to Mother Earth? Humans already do so much damage to the sacred earth, and we should try our best to at least not engage in very preventable offenses like spitting.

    Jai Sri Ram
    Sanatana Dharma ki Jai!
    Jai Hanuman

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    Re: niṣṭhīva - spitting

    It is popular in sports, the football players do it all the time, and the boys at school mimicked them. It was popluar when I was about 13 too, I think it was considered reckless.

    It is cultural, I have heard it can be worse in China, where it is/was acceptable as a way of being clean. Allegedly they are now fining for it: http://www.china.org.cn/english/China/64853.htm.

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    Re: niṣṭhīva - spitting

    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namasté



    Quote Originally Posted by saidevo View Post
    • Biting the nails, inserting a finger into the mouth, and other forms of smearing body parts with saliva.
    The mahābhārata , aṇusāsana¹parva ( some like to write parvan) section 104, informs us of the following:

    He who always breaks little clods of earth, or tears up the grass that grows under his feet, or cuts off his nails with his teeth, or is always impure, or very restless, never succeeds in acquiring a long life .

    One should wake up from sleep at the hour known as the brāhma-muhūrta¹ and then think of both religion and profit ( or dharma and artha). Getting up from bed, one should then wash one's face and mouth, and joining one's hands in an attitude of reverence, say the morning prayers. In this way, one should when evening comes, say one's evening prayers also, restraining speech with other people the while.
    - - - - - - -
    Yet one must ask , what question is being asked? It is yudhiṣṭhira-ji posing a question to bhīṣma (beesh-mah).
    He asks,

    Why then, O grandsire (bhīṣma), do human beings die even when they are very young? By what does a man become endued with longevity, and by what is his life shortened? Through what does a man acquire the fame that rests upon great achievements? Through what does one attain to wealth and prosperity?

    I extracted just a portion of the answer... bhīṣma-ji elaborates more, and it can be read in the section aforementioned above.


    praṇām

    words


    • aṇusāsana - The brilliance of this word aṇusāsana parvan shows the great command of the language by vyāsa-ji ( also known as Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana ).
    This word can be seen in a few ways:
      • aṇu+sā+sana : aṇu = finer +sā =knowledge + sana = presenting, gain, acquisition. Hence the section (parva) presenting finer knowledge.
      • anu + śasana : anu = after or afterwords + śasana = killing. Hence the section (prava) after the war
    • This time before sunrise is called brāhma-muhūrta. ( also written brāhmamuhūrta).
      • brāhma-muhūrta = 96 minutes = 2 muhūrta. 1 muhūrta equaling 48 minutes x 2 = 96 minutes
    यतस्त्वं शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṁ śivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: niṣṭhīva - spitting

    Quote Originally Posted by yajvan View Post
    hari o
    ~~~~~~

    namasté

    niṣṭhīva - spitting, spitting out

    As of late I have been seeing more people ( men mostly) spitting. For some reason this bothers me more and more. From my point of view it indicates little appreciation ( or respect) for one's surroundings and this good earth. As I see it and it suggests ' I spit on you ', the earth, that sustains this entire planet. For me there could be no lower disregard for one's environment.

    I hold my tongue to these people as I cannot think of a way to voice my disdain for this schmegeggy habit.

    praṇām

    I have noticed this also. If I feel the urge to spit, which doesn't happen often, I try to at least do it on concrete or some other type of ground unfit for vegetative life. I picked this up from Buddhism somewhere.

    I was at a gathering last night celebrating a graduation. I'd say that out of the 6 or 7 guys there, 5 of them were constantly spitting. I think this is a habit from chewing tobacco.
    Last edited by arjunah; 02 July 2011 at 10:26 AM.

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