Ronn Blankenship wrote: > IIRC there are some religions > which believe that the baby acquires a spirit or > whatever they call it when s/he takes his/her first breath > outside the womb.
>From what was said to me during my pregnancies, I think the Hindus [or at least the non-atheist/non-agnostic Hindus] believe something like this: The soul starts 'visiting' foetus at ~ 3 months, just looking in and getting acquainted. At the end of the second trimester, there is a ceremony to mark the beginning of the third trimester. Apparently, this [the beginning of the third trimester, not the ceremony] is the time the soul comes to 'stay' inside the womb, to get used to the trappings of a body once again. The ceremony thus is called, for the want of a better translation, a 'centring' ceremony. The expectant mother is told that her prime duty from this moment on is to maintain a balance in her life, thoughts, emotions, and actions, for any imbalance would be less than beneficial to the child. I think the above is essentially right - both the times I was told this, the babies were busy kicking the bladder and I had more immediate concerns, like politely excusing myself and finding a bathroom. Ritu _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
