Though this thought or the idea
is not limited to symbols, in a similar way, an idea can be flown across from
one mind to another, in the form of pictures, signs, and
even subliminally.
Anyways, not to bore the
visitors of my first blog post, I would like to start with what I have already
started with. Namaste!
We go on living our
lives practicing certain customs, follow certain traditions without
even knowing or wanting to know the reason or the logic behind them. For me,
every tradition or a custom has a reason, and though knowing it won’t stop me
from doing it, or won’t force me into doing it, but certainly worth knowing
what the inceptor of that tradition had in mind. Now, we all do a hand-folded
Namaste whenever we meet someone elder, or when someone would visit our home.
Ever thought why we do it? Anyone?
While there are various
theories related to folded hands and the reasoning, each one of pretty much
denote the same thing, respect.
Symbolically, one hand
represents the soul of the bearer- or jeevatma, as it is called. The other hand
represents param-atma, or the divine power. So, folding of hands is actually a
Mudra, which symbolizes the union of jeevatma with Paramatma. The act denotes
total surrender before the divine lord, and thus while praying, denotes total
devotion to the lord. The Mudra is also known as 'Anjali Mudra'.
In cosmic terms, both the hands
symbolically denote left forces and the right forces. While it would be wrong
to term those as negative and positive forces, they in a way, can be termed two
sides of the same coin. Folding hands denotes fusion of both the energies,
where we are perfectly balanced between the two extreme forces while offering
our prayers to the lord.
Literally, Namaste can be
broken down into Namah and Te, which would mean I bow to you. Nama itself could
be broken down to Na-Ma, where Na means negation and Ma means mine, Nama
meaning 'not mine'. This symbolizes complete devotion to the Lord. The body,
the soul, the entire existence is not mine. Ma also means death, Nama thus
symbolizing immortality.
Physically, the act is much
richer in symbolism. We touch all the five fingers of one hand, with the other.
While the fingers of left hand denote the five senses of Karma, those on the
right denote five organs of knowledge. As mentioned in the Bhagvad
Gita, knowledge without action is incomplete, and action without
knowledge is meaningless, the Namaste denotes completion of the union of
knowledge and actions.
In some ways, Namaste is also
equivalent to the Ardha-Narishwara form of Shiva. Two distinct forces unified
by one symbol.
Now, in Hinduism, a guest is
considered equivalent to God, so doing Namaste, in a way is symbolic of our
respect for our guest. By doing a simple gesture, we not only demonstrate sheer
respect, the entire setup of folding hands and uttering 'Namaste' is equivalent
to chanting a Vedic Mantra.
Now, how does Namaste score
over the more famous hand-shakes? Firstly, you never shake hands with God, you
fold hands in front of him, and so Namaste symbolizes respect for the person.
Moreover, a leader or a CEO won’t be able to shake hands with all his audience,
or all his employees. A better way is to either wave his hands or fold them in
a 'Namaste'. And now if you ask me, no one can write all the symbols or
advantages of waving hands, when compared to Namaste.
So, go on, go along...meet new
people, welcome new guests and do a Namaste......
Coming up with a book based on Indian history/mythology.
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