Sanatana Dharma: Benefits of Namaskāram over handshaking and hugging Namaskāram, as a mode of greeting, promotes good health and preserves mental balance of a person. While greeting a person, handshake and hugging are discouraged and instead a person is encouraged to greet another with hands folded and palms joined. In Hindu philosophy, it is believed that any physical contact with another creates a series of sense impressions that in turn lead to the disturbance in the equilibrium of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas – three gunas or qualities that each person possesses and the ones that provide basic structure for a personality of a human being. Avoidance of disturbance to this equilibrium preserves mental balance of the human beings. So, the performance of Namaskāram (greeting with folded hands) is viewed as a beneficial mode of greeting while hand shake and hugging are seen as inferior. In Hindu traditions, touching a person who is above twelve years of age is generally avoided. Though āliṅgana or hugging is part of certain Bhakti traditions and the case of Lord Rāma hugging Guha and Hanumān is cited as example of existence of hugging in Hindu traditions, it is generally accepted that Hindu traditions discourage unnecessary physical contact between two persons. Personal hygienic principles such as avoidance of catching up unnecessary infections and certain rigorous socio-religious principles such as avoidance of contact with unclean persons or persons who carried out unclean professions are seen as the basis for widespread acceptance and practice of this deterrent principle. Benefit of doing Namaskāram to Guru’s feet: From ancient times Hindus believe that worship of Guru’s feet brings Grace in abundance and also destroys one’s sins. The scriptures eulogize the feet of a realized person as exuding God’s Grace. All prayers, all religious and spiritual practices have one single aim – of being in communication with the Divine or Ultimate. Touching or placing one’s head at the feet of the Guru is the most physical expression of that aim. Washing and worshipping Guru’s feet is spoken of as more beneficial than hundreds of years of austerity and spiritual practice. One namaskāram to Guru’s feet is capable of destroying and removing densest of ignorance and darkness. For, “…the totality of the satguru is contained within his feet. All nerve currents terminate there. The vital points of every organ of his bodies – inner astral, inner mental and soul – are there. Touch the feet and we touch the spiritual master. … big toe on the left foot exudes the most grace. The left leg is the revealing grace, and the big toe of that leg connects to the guru’s pituitary gland, the entrance to the door of Brahman, deep within the sahasrāra cakra where, in contemplation, he merges with Śiva.” By doing namaskāram or bowing down to the holy feet with head touching the left foot, “Devotees worship the feet of the guru as the feet of God Śiva, the attainable attainment, seeking to partake of, absorb into themselves, the vibration of their guru, ultimately to become like their guru, who has realized his oneness with God Śiva.” So, namaskāram to the Holy feet of Guru is not only the gesture of surrender but also an important part of the spiritual sādhana or practice where such worship leads to liberation. Benefit of prostrating in front of an image of Deity: Prostration on the ground is done in front of elders, respected people, guru and the images of deities and God. When done to God or Guru, it is the external manifestation of complete surrender that one makes. It is a physical action expressing the recognition that Guru or God to whom one is surrendering is superior to oneself in all qualities and in every way. It is also viewed as an act of sacrifice on the part of devotee. But why should anyone prostrate in this manner at all and what is it that he/she is sacrificing? Absolute prostration in front of a Guru or God is one of the most important spiritual practices. “… prostrating before God, Gods and guru, full body, face down, arms and hands outstretched, and in that act, total giving up, giving up, giving up, giving up. What are these devoted ones giving up? By this act they are giving the lower energies to the higher energies. It is a merger, a blending.” “It is transmuting, changing the form of, the base energies which breed conflict and resistance, ‘mine and yours’ and ‘you and me’ division, insecurity and separateness, into the spiritual energies of ‘us and we,’ amalgamation, security, togetherness. Once the giving up of the lower is total – body and face on the ground, hands outstretched before the image of God, Gods or guru – those energies are surrendered into the higher chakras within the devotee, and it is a blissful moment, into the consciousness of ‘us and ours’, ‘we and oneness’ and inseparable love, thus claiming their individuality, not as a separate thing, but as a shared oneness with all. Thereafter, these devoted ones, having been transformed, are able to uplift others, to harmonize forces around them that they work with day after day after day, year after year after year.” Thus prostration, when properly understood and performed with devotion, transforms the individual.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 10:00:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015