NAMASKARA

By Shri Kesava Rao Tadipatri

Too many concepts have been merged and the scope for confusion is high here. This is Long reply so please read in installments and multiple times.

Quote
antha avarege namaskara madodagali athava gourava kodadagali yake madabeku.
because these days namage ellaralli dosha kanstade.(obviuosly, no one is perfect.)
navu yaranna ondu role model thara madkobeku without doshas andre only hari ,vayu.
Unquote

Q1. There is a question about Namaskara

Q2. There is question about giving Gaurava

Q3. There is a question about whether (Q1.) or (Q2.) above need to have the prerequisite of perfection.
If so no one is perfect except Sri Hari. Even LakShmi has apurNatA doSha. Vayu has apurNata and deha nAsha.

Q4. If a role model is needed only Hari is role models if (3.) above is to be accepted. Vayu can be taken by relaxing some rules.

Note (Q1.) implies (Q2.) also unless that namaskara is just a pretense.

(Q2.) need not imply (Q1.). For ex. in the work place you give gaurava to your boss, but you may not do namaskara (or may depending on situation).

The approach of (Q3.) itself is wrong as even Rudra devaru is not perfect  -

Note: Sri Sri Vadirajaru's Shobhane song about gods -

"oMdoMdu guNagalu iddAvu ivaralli
saMdaNisive bahu doSha"

So, will we stop worshipping all thes gods including Rudra devaru and Ganesha ?

Acharya has mandated that we have to worship those gods as per tAratamya (parivAratayA grAhyAH api heyA pradhAnataH).

The thought that inhibits one from doing namaskara is one's ahankAra. So, the consequent questions that boil down are

C1. What does namaskAra mean?

C2. Whom do we do namaskara ?

C3. Why do we do Namaskara?

C4. What should be our thinking while doing namaskara ?

C5. Why there are so many types of namaskara ?

Answer to (C1.)

Namaskara - the act of saying, feeling and doing "namaH"
What is namaH ? (Saying and feeling "not mine" and doing an act to indicate that feeling and then another important aspect for which I will come later on).

What ever I have achieved or accomplished is God's grace and God has acted in many ways and I acknowledge that you are also one of the important tools for me to achieve that. There  is no greatness of mine and so I surrender my ahankAra.

Answer to (C2.)

vittaM baMdhurvayaH karma vidyA chaiva tu paMchamI |
EtAni mAnyasthAnAni garIyO hyuttarOttaram.h ||

as mentioned by Acharya in GitabhAshya.

Well this talks about (Q2) giving respect - does not talk about Namaskara (Q1).

Well - this is where a common sense and proper guidance from a proper guru, etc matter.

After one determines, who are all respectable, we must make a decision as to whom to do namaskara.

Answer to (C3.)

We do namaskara for multiple reasons - Some reasons have been discussed in Answer to C1. Somemore will come in C4.

Answer to (C4.) - 

When we do namaskara to a person, we must think that we are bowing in secondary sense to the person, but primarily the namaskara goes thru the ladder of various tatvAbhimAni devatas to Lord Sri Hari -

We have to remember "sarva deva namaskAraH keshavaM pratigachchhati"

Note that God is present every where. That is "vyApti of BhagavAn". Then God is present in propitious form (called sannidhAna). This varies from place to place substance to substance and person to person. Then VibhUti is the special abilities the Lord bestows to various people as per their yogyata.

Our namana along with ahankAra damana, should have the gamana (awareness) that it ultimately reaches the pUrNa svatatntra sarva swAmy LakShmI Ramana.

Then the person who receives the namaskara must also have the anusandhAna that he is not the real receiver of the namaskara, but like a tube is just passing on the namaskara thru the tAtvika devatas to BharatIramaNa mukhya prAna antargata LakShmI Narayana.

Answer to (C5.)

Different occasions demand different kinds of namaskara. some guidelines here. For example "the rolling namaskara" is not recommended especially for women. The woman's chest portion should never touch the Earth while doing namaskara. Thus "sAshTAnga namaskara" is also forbidden for women. Simple namaskara can be done when in doubt. Just bow down and do namaskara. Or kneel down and do namaskara.

Many people who receive namaskara say "Narayana" indicating that it is for the Lord and then bless indicating that the person receiving namaskara invokes it from the Lord.

Some more points.

When you meet a total stranger, you need not have to do namaskara, right away. Wait and judge and then do. Some guidelines there -

From surrounding people gather information about the person. If a friend or close relative, whom you place at a higher pedestal in being a proper judge, that person's info and approach will be a good guideline for your action. In the absence of that, you cause some techniques that are appropriate to the situation and that make you comfortable.

Common sense and presence of mind will surely give you lot of scope to do what is comfortable for you. Suppose, you meet a person, who you think is a yogya jIva, but from whom you have not received any benefit. Remember you live in a society. That person may have helped some around you in their sAdhane. You interact with those people, who have been helped by that person. You may get the feeling that in future you may be helped by that person. Or even in the absence of all that, the very fact that the person is yogya, bowing to him in a simple way, with the anusandhAna that you are bowing to the devatas and Lord inside him and he is a good adhishThAna, will make you feel good.

The question of anusandhAna comes only after you determine if that person is yogya. If you can not determine right away, you can wait until you come to the conclusion. If you are not sure, there is no need to rush and do namaskara. Always refrain from doing indiscriminate namaskara. But at the same time don't slide back into doing namaskra only to parashuklatrayaru.

Acharya himself mandated -

"parivAratayA grAhyAH api heyAH pradhAnataH"

We have to worship all the gods - irrespective of their doshas. They are much much higher than us and much above our kakSha itself. When it comes doing namaskara to manuShyas, we have to determine if they are capable of blessing us. All the discussions provide the guidelines and only common sense/experience/judgement power go long way. It is lot more individualistic.

The following things should not touch the ground -

viprasya gudam shankha taruNistana maNDalam |
retogranthim cha viprendra na bhUH dhArayitum kShamA ||

विप्रस्य गुदम् शन्ख तरुणिस्तन मण्डलम्।
रेतोग्रन्थिम् च विप्रेन्द्र न भूः धारयितुम् क्षमा॥

The seating bottom of vipra, the shankha and the breast part and the stomach part of the woman - these things are unbearable to the Earth.
So, we should not put Shankha on the ground. It should always be put on Kurmasana. The vipra should sit on proper Asana. The woman should bow without making her chest and stomach touch the ground.


Shri KrishNArpaNamastu !