Today lets combine fashion with energy. Leather! Leather is an extremely important tool in your energy kit. I have always loved wearing leather, but in India have been limited to leather shoes. I am a Marathi so the Kolhapuri chappals are a part of my traditional wear, very comfortable, classy and I am grounded all the time.

Different animal leathers give off different energies and have been a part of Indian culture for ages and ages. In other ancient and modern cultures too, leather is always present as a fashion accessory. But for those who can understand and use it, it is actually an energy tool. I mean our ancestors wore it, our Gods wear it, shamans everywhere wear it. There must be something that they understood and which we are missing out. But then, today in the age of animal cruelty and NGO’s, even saying something like, leather is necessary, will be inviting brick-bats. But, never the less, let just see what this natural product has in terms of energy. To wear or not to wear, ultimately is a decision between you and your conscience.

Our Gods use leather as a robe! Shivshankar wears a tiger skin. Indian culture is replete with leather symbology and use. Here the tiger skin is symbolic for the Yogi’s complete control over the base animal nature. It has other tantric uses too. In ancient times when there were real Ashrams in the forests where real Maha-Rishis lived, they used animal skins in their spiritual activities, mainly in the asaan. The deer, whose skins were used, were the naturally dead ones found in the forests. You cannot use the skin of an animal who has been killed by butchery or hunting, for spiritual activity. Such a leather will retain all its physical characteristics which can be used for other purposes, but it retains a mild impression of the agony of the animal being killed, so is of no use for doing spiritual sadhana. Maharishis or realised sages are shown to be sitting on a tiger or leopard skin, but for aspirants deer skin was used in the asaan. Asan is the multilayered mat you sit on while you do your spiritual practice. Today’s shamans also continue wearing their traditional robes of leather in all the cultures, world over.

Our bodies are electromagnetic in nature not bio-chemical. We function best when our skin is in direct contact with the soil, the water, the air and the sun. So you see Indian sages often are often seen semi-naked or even fully naked. Their mantra-fortified bodies are continually drawing vital energy/pran from the environment directly. They are using their skin just as its supposed to be used. But we all cannot be going about like these sages but the next best option of being in continuous connection with the electrical energies/pran of the environment is to use leather as apparel.

Commercially available leather or furs are sourced from animals like sheep /goats /bovines /reptiles etc who are not naturally dead but butchered. So there does exist a taint of the animal’s death agony imprinted in it. So when you buy a new leather apparel or shoes, do a small cleansing over it. Sprinkle sea-salt over it then collect the salt and dissolve it in the drain. Keep it in the sun for a few hours. Waft the smell /smoke of loban/myrrh over it. Brush it with peacock feathers. Roll a lemon in it and leave it for a few hours and then carefully cut the lemon and dispose it outside the house in the trash. Do any of these cleansing methods, with a strong intention and a thought of gratefulness to the animal who had it first.

I would recommend everyone to wear at least these 2 leather items if your Conscience approves of it.

1. Item number 1 – World over, leather shoes were worn by our ancestors till even a few decades back, for a reason, ‘grounding’. These leather shoes were leather all through including the sole and both men and women wore them. We Indians wear them even now, they are available in several designs, formal as well as semi-formal styles. If you can, buy such shoes, wear everyday or at least a few days a week. If everyone wore such shoes there wouldn’t be any need of intentionally grounding yourself as I wrote in my previous post here. Leather is the perfect conductor of energy, and when you wear such shoes you are in contact with the energies of the earth at all times. We are electromagnetic beings and we need to ground ourselves. The negative emotions and destructive energies of stress are neutralized by contact with the earth. You live a healthier and more balanced life. In fact, there are several products like grounding mats, copper infused shoes and what not selling at quite high prices in the market. Instead of spending money on these go out and buy yourself beautiful Indian hand-made leather Kolhapuri chappas and mojadi shoes. So if you feel like it, at least buy leather soled shoes, wear them, be grounded all time and live a healthier life.
2. Item number 2 is a leather jacket, but this cannot be worn by everyone, everywhere. In hot humid weather it will be unbearable to wear and will get spoilt very fast. But if you live in a place where you can wear this apparel, it would allow your body to breathe, electrically. It would, in energy terms, allow you to keep in contact with the energies of the sun and wind. The chakras/energy vertices, which are located along our back-bone would be more connected to the environment. You may feel the difference too, a feeling of ‘lightness’.

And now for some music. A leather post needs drums! This is the small, double sided, handheld drum which you simply have to buy, it costs just Rs. 250/- or so. The Damaru played by Shivshankar. It is very easy to use, even children play it, and when played properly created binaural beats. It can put you in a light trance, very enjoyable. Sound is energy, use it! Binaural beats are the next up-coming trend in the spirituality market. The two sides of the drum beat at slightly different frequencies which somehow get sorted out by our ears and our brain to generate the frequency of OM. We cannot hear it but we feel it. And you all, try it!

So if you feel drawn to leather, sub-consciously we all are, because we feel its electrical properties, do buy at least the shoes, it will be a very significant step forward for your health!