Sunday, March 10, 2024

CHARAN-SPARSH OR TOUCHING FEET OF ELDERS / SAINTS/ TEACHERS IN INDIAN CULTURE


                                        
      ( Infosys Chairman touching feet of Ratan Tata)
  ( PM Modi touching feet of his mother )


( Sukhbir Badal touching feet of Balbir Singh )

( Actor Rajnikant touching  feet of Yogi Adityanath ) 

CHARAN-SPARSH OR TOUCHING FEET OF ELDERS / SAINTS/ TEACHERS   IN  INDIAN CULTURE .


“Matru devo bhava, Pitru devo bhava, Acharya devo bhava, Atithi devo bhava”. 

“May you be the one who worships mother, father, teachers and guests as God”......

(Taittiriya Upanishad)


As children , we were taught Charan Sparash or touching the  feet of   our elders or saints or teachers or  people with rich worldly experience  . I remember as and when I went to some saint or some temple with mother  , she would repeatedly remind me about it  in Kashmiri saying , " paran pezi ta aahi mangizeus " or " " you must bow and  seek blessings " . 


In India, touching  feet of elders is a common gesture.  It is done to give  respect to elders and seek their blessings. Known as Charan-Sparsh, it is practised  in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh cultural  traditions. Falling in Pranam ( pra means forward anam means bending in Sanskrit ) , it is a form of greeting our   elders. Like Namaste ,  it is another popular form of greeting elders  , saints,  and worldly experienced people .


Charan -Sparsh finds clear mention in the dialogue between Yaksha and Yudhishthira in Mahabharata . Yaksha went on asking him questions on various concepts of Dharma and Yudhishthira answered  successfully and revived his brothers . The Yaksha then revealed that he was none other than Lord Yama .At this,  Yudhishthira bowed and touched the feet of Dharam-Raja or  Lord Yama.


The Atharva-Veda says that when you touch the feet of the elders ,  you are respecting their knowledge and promising  to carry  forward their teachings to the next generation . It  also says that the process of learning is incomplete until you start it with touching the feet of the teacher and also  end it by touching the feet of the teacher or the Guru.


Even in Ramayana,  one finds  Sri Rama touching the feet of his mother and father and sages he meets. We also see  Sita touching the feet of sage Valmiki.During  Navratras , as Hindus perform Kanya -Pujan, they  touch the feet of little girls worshipping them as goddess durga full of positive energy .According to the Bhagavad Gita, one needs to pay obeisance or touch the feet of superiors like father ,mother, spiritual teachers, saintly people, divine bodies  and or all  the above.(BG 17.14)

In cultural terms, it means "respectful salutation" or "reverential bowing" , usually elders or teachers or someone  highly  respected for his knowledge ,wisdom or wordly experience. In Hindu scriptures, there are stories of many Rishis having performed   Shiva's Charan Sparsh at Mount Kailasha . Accordingly,  Charansparsh in Kailash Mansarovar Yatra means touching the feet of the lord Shiva. To do that, countless individuals have made every effort to reach the summit of this peak, and they have yet to succeed.


In Sikh scriptures the feet of the Guru are considered sacred. Like Hindu scriptures,  they are comparable to a lotus flower and often referred to as 'Guru Ke  Charan Kamal '. In all forms of Buddhist belief, prostration is an accepted norm to show respect and regard to an enlightened   teachers and Avalokiteshvara , the earthly manifestation of the self-born eternal Buddha Amitabha.


Charan-Sparsha is also  practised by Shishyas ( students ) in Guru -Shishya parampara of learning  . I have seen many musicians performing it.  Sitar maestro , Pandit Ravi Shankar  has been often seen touching the feet of  Baba Allaudin Khan , his Guru .I have also seen videos of  Infosys Chairman Sri Narayan Murti   bowing and touching feet of Ratan Tata, PM Narendra Modi touching the feet of his mother or L K Advani  and almost every disciple touching the feet of Shehnai player Ustad Bismillah Khan. I have also seen photographs of actor Rajnikant touching feet of Yogi  Adityanath   or Sukhbir Badal touching feet of elderly  Balbir Singh , eminent hockey player of the country. 

 

In Indian culture, children from a small age are taught to touch the feet of their elders that includes  parents ,grandparents and elderly relations or acquaintances . A spirit of humility, surrender and respect for elders is taught to them right from teenage.  I have also  noticed that before commencing any job or leaving for work, people touch the feet of elders to seek their good wishes and blessings .It is believed that when a person bows down to touch the feet of elders, his ego vanishes . This vanishing ego has twin effects. It brings smile on the face of the elder and also  gives a unique pleasure and humility  to the person who is  bending to touch the feet . The smile on the face of the elder is nothing but a bouquet of blessings  coming from the depths of his heart . Consequently , a transfer of positive energy and positive vibrations takes place that does good to the both : the receiver and the giver. One certainly receives positive  energy from a person who is on higher vibration  like a saint or an elder who is more evolved .

This is certainly an amazing practice, specially to show our gratitude to our parents. They feel  immensely respected . This humble gesture demonstrates a sincere    gratitude to them . In Indian culture , the elders also respond  lovingly  and place  their palm on the head of the young ones. By placing their palm, they intend to bless them with positive vibes as well as wish them  joy and long life.Usually, elderly people can be heard saying, ' Jeete Raho  ' to males and' Jeeti  Raho ' to females. The phrase means “have a long and satisfying life.”


( Avtar Mota)


PS

See this link also 

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/bvE7Rbszu1tquvnL/?mibextid=oFDknk


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CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
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