Science behind Anjali Mudra or Namaste
Recognising the divine soul within all of us
Every now and then we hear about great power or God within all of us. We are all energies. Ancient India was well aware of the fact and the customs from that time reveal the same. NAMASTE is such a popular world across the world now. There is a science behind the gesture and it is a mudra too.
Going through the literal meaning, “Nama” means bow, “as” means I, and “te” means you. Hence, Namaste means ‘I bow to you’. It is like respecting to the soul or energy within me to that in you. It is performed by bringing both palms together i.e. in Anjali Mudra near your Heart / Anahata Chakra. Heart Chakra is all about love, compassion and kindness. So, Namaste is a compassionate , kind and full of love greeting.
When we do same mudra by bringing our hands near our Third Eye / Ajna Chakra , it is like respecting and greeting through our soul to someone very superior , for example, we greet God in temples by joining our palms together and bringing that to our head and bowing our head little bit down. Ajna Chakra is about what is beyond the five senses and the material world.
Anjali Mudra in Yoga and Dance
While learning any classical dance form in India, it is a common custom followed everywhere that we start our dance with Bhoomi Pranam which means taking blessings of Goddess Earth to give us energy and asking her to forgive us as we are going to stamp on her while dancing. Bhoomi Pranam starts and ends with Anjali Mudra. Also, after we are done with our dance practice, we again do Bhoomi Pranam to thank Goddess Earth to support us all over while practising the dance. Isn’t this a beautiful thing? This practice calms our mind both at the beginning and at the end of dance and gives us a sense of fulfilment and energy.
Anjali Mudra is tremendously used in yoga and meditation. Yogas like Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutation, Vrakshasana or Tree Pose , Tadasana or Mountain Pose, etc.
When we bring both our palms together, it is like bringing your left and right brains together , logic and intuition together, bringing your whole together and then bow down in respect to person in front. Such is the enrichness of Indian dance and culture.