Temple bells: Where science meets faith  

You have most likely seen a bell in every temple you have visited. Even if you haven’t visited one, you must have seen famous movie scenes or songs with a temple bell. Even churches have one! Everyone, adults or children, ring the bell at least once when they visit. You must have also done the same. Have you ever thought about why bells are so closely connected with worship? Is there a scientific or mythological explanation to this? Let’s find out. 

Bells in various cultures 
Bells have significant cultural importance in Hindu culture. They are always used in rituals, whether at home or in temples. Bells are also an important element of the Christian faith. Older churches often have bell towers. Even today, some churches ring the bell before daytime services. Bell is referred to as ‘ghant’ or ‘ghanti’ in Sanskrit and is an essential element of Hindu pujas. When rung, they produce the sacred ‘Om’ sound that is believed to invoke the gods and goddesses. Ringing a bell is also believed to spread healing frequencies and vibrations throughout the surroundings. 

 Why do we ring bells? 
According to Hindu mythology, bell is considered gods’ and goddesses’ spiritual home. The bell’s body represents ‘ananta’, which means infinity, and its tongue represents ‘Goddess Saraswati’, the goddess of knowledge. The handle, on the other hand, represents the vital life force or ‘chakra’. The sound of the bell is believed to repel demonic energies while protecting godly principles. It is also believed to remove negativity from the body, including negative thoughts. According to Hindu faith, ringing a bell helps you become one with the ‘divine’ and connect with your inner self, putting you in a state of awareness so that you can briefly lose yourself in the mantras or chants and gain spiritual benefits. It also preps you up for the prayer you are going to start. Ringing a bell creates a meditative state that will elevate worship and peace. 

What does science say? 
A bell is made from several metals, including cadmium, copper, zinc, nickel, lead, chromium and manganese, in a fixed ratio. All bells are designed such that our brain’s left and right sides unite in harmony when they ring. If you carefully notice, the sound of a bell lasts for 7 seconds, and this duration is sufficient to activate our body’s healing centres (seven chakras as defined in yoga). It takes a minute on each healing centre to completely relax our body, clearing our minds of all thoughts and allowing us to enter an extremely focussed state. In this state, we can maintain a high level of concentration. The main purpose of ringing the temple bell is to awaken and make you aware of yourself before you enter the temple. Simply put, the bell aims to wake you up. So, next time, you might want to ring a bell before you begin studying!