Sanatana Dharma: Namaskāram – in Variations Apart from the benefits and reasons explained below, Hindus also believe that all the human beings are endowed with certain unseen spiritual potential. By virtue of this, they leave certain impressions that are material but in a subtle form. In the case of great souls or enlightened beings, the impressions that are cast are most beneficial to everyone. Even in the case of ordinary human beings, everyone visits the temples with a single purpose of communication with the Divine. This produces positive impressions in the atmosphere in and around the temples. Further the sanctum sanctorum and the gateways are sanctified with certain set of sacraments and mystic sounds. To partake in these spiritually beneficial impressions, people visit saints, touch the gateways on the ground while entering the temples and also do Namaskāra to the gopurams or temple towers. These and other related beliefs have produced numerous and varied practices of salutations. The most popular of those practices is Sarvāṅga Pradakṣiṇa or rolling around the sanctum sanctorum of a temple or around the temple or a mountain or any sacred object, circularly and in a clockwise direction. In this, a devotee first prostrates in front of the object of circumambulation, and then rolls the whole body sideways around the object, with hands stretched above the head and palms joined. There are also people who undertake this way of worship from one’s home town to a pilgrimage centre covering hundreds of kilometers in several months. Sarvāṅga Pradakṣiṇa is undertaken as a vow, penance, as an expression of devotion and also as an act of following traditions. There are thousands of families in India who have undertaken this mode of worship for centuries without a break. Another practice that is very similar to Sarvanga Pradakshina is Saṣtāṅga Pradakṣiṇa. In this, a devotee prostrates completely or does an Aṣtāṅga Namaskāram, gets up stretches his hands above the head with the palms joined facing the object of circumambulation, utters a sacred syllable, then repeats this cycle till he completes the circumambulation. Then there is a Pradakṣiṇa that is called as Aḍi Pradakṣiṇa in Tamil Nadu. In this, the devotee circumambulates the sacred object by covering for each pace, the length of his/her own foot with hands folded in the namaskāram posture. This is normally done inside the temples but also observed in the practice of circumambulating sacred hills. It is a common practice for people to do namaskāram at each step of the temple in case there are stairs or each gateway in case there are no stairs in the temple. People do namaskāram at each step or gate way, bend down, touch the ground with both the hands and then place the hands on their head or eyes before proceeding. Upasaṁgrahaṇa: Upasaṁgrahaṇa is clasping the feet of the elders, one’s teacher and a guru. It is more akin to Abhivādana, a formal salutation to one’s guru and teacher. While doing a namaskāram in the form of prostration one should say ‘I salute’ and also one’s name and gotra and while doing prostration; that person should also clasp the feet of the teacher or guru or elders. While so clasping, one should place one’s head on the feet of those who are being saluted. The modern practice of slightly bending and touching the feet or knee of the elder is not recommended by Hindu scriptures. All the more a highly irreverent practice of touching the feet with the left hand. To the guru and the teacher, Upasaṁgrahaṇa should be performed once daily. There are divergent views on whether this form of showing respect should be done multiple times. The clasping should be done with the crossed hands. That is, guru’s right foot should be grasped by right hand of the disciple and left foot by left hand. There is also a tradition where both the ankle and the foot are grasped by the person who is saluting. One should not fall down and clasp the feet while the person who is being saluted is seated or walking on the road or sleeping or injured or engaged in any work or is not clean. Among the persons to whom Upasaṁgrahaṇa should be done, apart from the guru and the teacher, are one’s parents, maternal and paternal uncles, elder brother and those persons who are venerated by the guru. Abhivādana: (Please note that exact Abhivādana and Pratyabhivāda are not given here. They vary from tradition to tradition. Those who are interested in knowing what is applicable for oneself should learn from the elders of the tradition) Abhivādana is the most formal salutation extended to one’s guru, upādhyāya or teacher or a very aged and learned Brahmin. Abhivādana is done by stretching one’s vertically folded hands to the level of one’s ears, then declaring one’s name, gotra, the recenssion to which he belongs and finally by bending and touching the feet of the guru or upādhyāya with crossed hands. There are highly divergent views on the procedure of Abhivādana. There is a tradition where one takes only one’s right hand to the right ear and not both the hands. Also there are traditions that advocate only touching the ground with crossed hands while yet others that indicate touching of one’s own feet. Traditions of northern parts of India do not support the existence of Abhivādana as part of Sandhyā worship while those in the south establish it as an essential part of Sandhyā worship. The argument for the former is that there is a rule that Abhivādana should not be done to God while Sandhyā worship is essentially a worship of Lord Sūrya Nārāyaṇa. Abhivādana is of three kinds, nitya or daily, naimittika or on certain occasions and kāmya or done with the desire to obtain something. Nitya Abhivādana or daily salutation should be done to guru or teacher early in the morning before sunrise. Naimittika Abhivādana is done on certain occasions like return from the journey. Kāmya Abhivādana or one done with the desire for a particular end can be performed any number of times. For instance those who desire a long life can do Abhivādana any number of times whenever they see an elderly, respected and learned Brahmin. Abhivādana should not be done in public or in assembly. It should not be done to Saṁnyāsins and women. One should not be seated or wear shoes and do abhivādana. One who is being saluted also should not be seated or be wearing shoes when one does abhivādana. There is an interesting observation and debate in the śāstras, that has got relevance to modern times, regarding doing Abhivādana to those who do not know how to return the salute, women, and certain other classes of people. In such cases one should merely utter ‘abhivādaye aham’ (Kane, II. I. 336-343; Manu II.123 & 126; Vas.Dh.Su. 13.45; Ap.Dh.Su. I.4.14.20). There is also a tradition of keeping one’s hands on the thighs while so uttering. In the modern lifestyle, it is inevitable that one would come across people who are superior to us in any one of the criteria mentioned above. So, at such times, it would be beneficial for one to merely to utter or whisper ‘abhivādaye aham’ so that one would not be guilty of either doing abhivādana in public or not saluting the superior person properly.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 09:50:06 +0000
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