We may wonder why it is important to wear religious symbols on our forehead, like sacred ash, or the urdhva pundra. These are to control our minds and to help us develop bhakti. A man, who usually dresses in modern clothes, may on a special occasion wear sacred ash, or rudraksha beads, or a garland made of tulsi seeds. When he is so dressed, wearing something of religious significance, he hesitates to do wrong, out of respect for the symbol. So then the symbol goes beyond the position of being a mere symbol, and becomes an instrument to keep us in check and to make us God's devotees. And when we wear religious symbols, we command the respect of others, said Damodara Dikshitar.
Seraman Perumal Nayanar, who was a Chera King and a great devotee of Lord Siva, had the practice of honouring those who worshipped Siva. One day, as the king came round the city on the back of the royal elephant, he saw a washerman, who was carting a sackload of a special kind of sand used to wash clothes. The sand had a grayish hue, and since a lot of the sand had covered the body of the washerman, it seemed as if he had smeared sacred ash on his body. The king, immediately alighted from his elephant, and fell at the feet of the washerman. The washerman, realizing that the king had mistaken him for a Siva bhakta, said, “I am a washerman.”
The King explained that the washerman had looked like a Siva bhakta, who had smeared sacred ash all over his body, and hence the respect shown to him. The washerman had not even worn sacred ash. His body was only covered with something that resembled sacred ash. And yet, even this had earned for him the respect of a king. So one can imagine how much more respect would be shown to one who actually wears religious symbols.
We do not have to resort to anything difficult to please God. Once we wear religious symbols, we begin to acquire discipline. And this will in course of time lead to bhakti. And this bhakti too can be shown in many ways, most of them being very simple ways. We can string flowers for the Lord. We can sing of Him. We can tend a temple garden. True devotion will bring us liberation.
