(Namaskaram)
People generally do namaskar (salutation) with folded hands when passing in front of a temple, as a matter of routine. As a matter of fact, the glory of God is in no way diminished if you do not do so. If you really wish to pay your obeisance to God, you have to stop there for a while, silently meditate upon Him for a few minutes and then offer your pranams, wholeheartedly. Today, the sadhanas of devotees appear to be artificial and as a matter of compulsion. There is no use of such sadhanas. Some people rotate the japamala all the twenty four hours, chanting, ‘Ram! Ram! mechanically. This goes on as a matter of routine irrespective of whether a person is awake or sleeping. The fingers move mechanically. This happens out of practice, but not out of a heart-felt desire to chant the divine name. On the other hand, even if the divine name is chanted once wholeheartedly, God responds. This was demonstrated by Sakkubai when she called, Oh! Lord Panduranga!’ from the depth of her heart. (Beacons of Divine Wisdom Part 2, p. 135)
The one Namaskaram you do, do with devotion. That is enough. You do not even do that; you do it so callously, so indifferently, so automatically. When you fold both your hands and bring them together, feel that you are offering at the Feet all the actions of the five Karmendriyas and the five Jnanendriyas as indicated by the ten fingers. Again the purpose of Namaskaram is to touch the Feet, to have sparshan of the Lord. The Negative pole, mayashakti and the positive pole, Mahashakti have to meet in order to produce a spiritual current that will flow through you. (SSS Vol.2, p. 84)
You may not have any material wealth; it is enough if you have self-confidence and self-respect. Respect everybody. Offer you Namaskar (Salutations) to elders wholeheartedly. What is the inner meaning of Namaskar? When you do your Namaskar, you join your palms and bring them close to your heart. The five fingers of each hand symbolize the five Karmendriyas (senses of action) and five Jnanendriyas (senses of perception). These ten should follow the dictates of your heart (conscience). That is true Namaskar. Some people do Namaskar in a mechanical way. They do not bring their two palms together. They say Namaskar and lift their hands, as if they are going to hit you. When you do Namaskar, bring the ten fingers together and keep the two thumbs close to your heart. (Here Bhagavan demonstrated on the stage how Namaskar should be done by keeping His joined thumbs on His chest). It means that you are doing it wholeheartedly. Thumb is the most important finger without which the hand becomes useless.
This is the way our ancient sages and seers did Namaskar. They led a sacred life and performed penance without any sense of fear in dense forests amidst wild animals and wicked demons. What was the source of their courage and strength? They had no Dehabhimana (body attachment). They had only Atmabhimana (attachment to the Self). What was the weapon they carried with them? They carried the weapon of self-confidence with them. That is why they could even tame wild animals like the lions and tigers and play with them. They had absolutely no sense of fear. It is from self-confidence that one gets courage. Today man is fear-stricken because he lacks self-confidence. Life has no meaning if lacks self-confidence. Modern youth have no faith in the Atma at all. They ask, ‘Where is the Atma?’ The atma is everywhere. Atmavat sarva-bhutani (see the same atma in all beings).
Sarvatah Pani-padam Tat Sarvato ksi-siro-mukham,
Sarvatah Srutimal loke Sarvam avrtya tishthati
(Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 13 verse 14)
(with hands, feet, eyes, hands, mouth and ears pervading everything. god permeates the entire universe).
Take for instance, air. It is present everywhere but you can neither see it with your eyes nor catch it with your hands. You cannot deny its existence because you cannot live without it. The same can be said of Atma too. The Atma is the life principle of all beings. That is why in temples a ritual called Prana Pratishtha (investing the principle) is performed to the idols. You cannot live without the Atma. Who is responsible for the breathing process? It is the Atma. (SSB 2002, pp. 9-10)
Man today advocates several good and sacred things, but, when it comes to practice, he backs out. That is the result of his past sins. When conflict arises between precept and practice, man should stand up to the situation with courage and make an effort to tread the sacred path. You will, in your day-to-day life, encounter several people with bad qualities and bad behaviour. Do not join their company. Offer them a Namaskar (salutation) and move away. Even Saint Tyagaraja prayed, ‘Oh Rama! For those who have faith in you, I offer my salutations.’ He offered salutations to both good and evil people. A question may arise here, as to why we should offer our salutations to the evil people. We salute the good people, not to lose their company. We salute the evil people with a request that they move away from us. We must join the company of the good people, cultivate good qualities and lead good life, sanctifying our life. (SSS Vol.35, p. 278)
Namaskar is defined as sa-ashta-anga Namaskar; the prostration done with eight limbs; one has to touch the earth or ground with eight ‘members’ to indicate total surrender. The eight members which must bend low are: 1) the knees, 2) the feet, 3) the palms, 4) the chest, 5) the intelligence (dhi), 6) the forehead, 7) the word (one must repeat the namah: not I but thou), 8) the sight (one must have his eyes directed upon the Master). This is to say, this is not a physical act involving some contortions or genuflections; it is an intellectual discipline, done with eyes open. The word dhi, that is used for intelligence, indicates that the surrender is to be performed after due discrimination and not in a fit of renunciation or despair. It is also called danda pranama or dandavat pranama, or simply dandavat – that is to say stick-prostration’, (falling like a stick) before the Master, signifying absolute surrender and denial of one’s particularity or individuality. It also means that the body which touches the earth will resolve itself into that earth ultimately, and the ‘I’ inside will continue to be ‘I’ alone.
Incidentally, this avoids the contact with the other body, and the embarrassing problem, how long and how vigorously to hold and shake the palm of another, which the ritual of shaking hands involves. When folded, the fingers come together, and so they represent the five Karmendriyas: the organs of action (the talking tongue, the hands, the feet, the organs of evacuation and reproduction), and the five organs of knowledge or perception, the Jnanendriyas (the eyes, the ears, the skin, the tasting tongue and the nose). All actions and all the means of knowledge and awareness are thus offered at the feet of the Master, before Whom one bows with folded palms; this is the meaning of the gesture. This is also signifies the Ekadasi (the vow of the eleventh Day) by way of surrendering the ten senses to the Eleventh One (the Lord in your Heart.
Take the simple rite of Namaskar, the folded palms with which you greet reverentially, elders and others. What does this gesture signify? The right palm is ‘Tat’ (the Unseen, Basic Universal Absolute, the Paramatma); the left palm is ‘Tattva’ (the seen, the particular, the limited, the wave, the image, the Atma in the Jiva, the Jivatma). When the two palms are brought together, and kept in contact, the Oneness of That and this, of Tat and Tattva (of all that is outside you and all that is inside you) is emphasized and demonstrated! The Namah + kara (Namaskara) is indeed the Mudra (gesture-symbol) of Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman; the Jivatma is Parmatma).
What greater, grander, and more meaningful greeting can human aspiration prescribe and practise, when two meet? The underlying truth of the Namah is: you greet the other with as much joy, as when greet yourself; that is to say, the maximum joy you are capable of; no man loves another more than himself; all are loved for the sake of the Self, as Yajnavalkya asserted and proved in the court of Emperor Janaka.
There is a shloka or verse which millions of people recite in India during the Namaskar to the Lord, which indicates the totality of the surrender as well as the identity of the devotee with the object of devotion. ‘You are my mother; You are my father; You are my kinsman; you are my friend; You are my trained intelligence; you are my wealth, strength, valour and power; You are my All, O god of gods!’
When the word Namah is uttered, this shloka and deepest undertones must reverberate in the mind. Then only can the Name sink in the subtle layers of the subconscious and purify the cavity of the heart. (NNSG Vol.7, pp. 33-35)