Thus Spake the Divine - Namaskaram (Prostration)

Thus Spake the Divine

Namaskaram (Prostration)

Doing Namaskaram is in a way complete surrender to God. In this chpater, Poojyasri Maha Periyava says when we do Namaskaram without any ego, God liberates us from our worldly sorrows.

There is a verse in praise of Lord Shiva, which goes as follows: “Oh Lord Shiva! I plead you to pardon me for two of my faults! One fault is that I did not do namaskaram to you in my last birth. The second mistake is that I am not going to do namaskaram to you in the next birth. Do you wonder as to how I know that I did not do namaskaram in my last birth? It is obvious from the truth that I have taken this birth. Had I done namaskaram to you in my last birth, I would have got the Moksha.

I need not have taken this birth at all!

Do you know why I said that I will not do namaskaram to you in my next birth? I am doing namaskaram to you in this birth. Therefore you will not grant another birth to me! When I don’t have a birth, what is the need for me to do namaskaram to you? So, please pardon me for these two faults of mine of not doing namaskaram in the last birth and in the next birth!”

What do we infer from this verse? Once we wholeheartedly do namaskaram to God, He will liberate us from the cycle of birth and death. He will alleviate all our sins and grant Moksha. Namaskaram is also known as “dhandam samarpithal”. Dhandam means stick that cannot stand on its own. The same

attribute holds good for namaskaram in which we prostrate with our body along the ground, with the strong conviction that our body belongs to God! At that point in time, the ego is totally nullified.

Namaskaram means complete surrender to God. The mind of an individual generally “stands erect” like a stick. It is because of the hold of ego. If the body is released from this hold, it becomes humble. Such humble state enables it to experience absolute bliss. Lowering the body in performing namaskaram symbolises nullification of the ego from mind.

At least in front of the God we should prostrate our body along the floor and do namaskaram. This symbolically says, “I have completely disowned all my responsibilities and transferred them to You”. Remember, if we intend to retain some portion of responsibility as ours, then, God would, to that extent, reduce His role. There is no place for ‘half’ in this at all. Whether good or bad, all is His and this thought is symbolised by stretching your body on the ground in the form of namaskaram. If we do so, God will take all our burdens on to Him and bless us with his absolute grace and benevolence!

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.