The Tilak
The Brahma Puran states that all our charitable acts like gifting cows, offerings to the fire or reading and reciting the holy texts are worthless if we do not have the tilak mark on our foreheads while doing so.
During the Rig Vedic age too, the priests used to apply a tilak mark, using the ash and ghee of the sacrificial ladle, on a person before and after he performed a yagna. Even today priests apply the tilak on 12 parts of our body to enable us to seek the blessings of the specific god that resides in that part of our body.
The priests use different fingers to apply these tilak marks. They use the thumb, middle finger and ring finger to bless us with sound health, longevity, wealth and the index finger to set us free from our worldly bonds.
Urdhvapundra, Tripundra, Ardhachandra and Partal
Vedic texts say that four kinds of tilaks were used for the four varnas. Initially, only two vertical lines were drawn on the forehead. But over the years the tilak evolved into a U shape called the urdhvapundra. Only Brahmins applied this tilak. The Kshatriyas applied the tripundra, the three wide upward lines with a circular spot below it. The Vaishya’s applied the Ardha Chandra or half-moon with a bindi drawn at the centre. And the Sudras had a partal which was a large circular mark on the forehead. Over years, the Vaishnavs started applying the urdhapundra and the Shaivites wore the tripundra meant for the Kshatriyas.
The three vertical lines in the Urdhvapundra tilak represent the three Vedas ( Rig, Yajur and Sama), the three worlds( Bhu, Bhuva and Svar), the three syllables of Om( A, U and M), the three states of consciousness( awake, dream sleep and deep sleep), the three realities( Maya, Brahman and Atman) and the three bodies( Sthula, Sukshma and Karana).
The Harimandira Tilak
Some people call the Vaishnavite tilak the Harimandira – which means the abode of God. The two sidelines represent Brahma and Shiva and the open space represents Vishnu. The Harimandira tilak differs from family to family and from region to region. Often the tilaks vary in size and colour as well.
For instance, the Rudra Sampradaya followers of Vallabhacharya believe that the “U” of the tilak represents Krishna’s lotus feet. The Madhva Sampradaya followers use Gopichandan to apply the tilak. And though the followers of Nimbarka Sampradaya use gopi Chandan to apply the tilak they also apply a black dot in the centre to represent Barsana, the birthplace of Radha. And the Gaudiya Vaishnavs use the mud of Vrindavan to apply the tilak which also has a tulsi leaf below it.
Nowadays, highly evolved souls apply the tilak with reverence. For them, a tilak is an act of worship and a way of life that symbolises their spiritual orientation.
The various forms of Naman
The nine forms of bhakti are Sravan ( listening to ancient texts), kirtan( praying or singing songs in praise of Krishna), smaran( contemplating on the teachings in ancient texts), pada sevan( worshipping Krishna’s lotus feet), archana ( worshipping or paying homage to Krishna), namaskar or naman/vandan (bowing to Krishna’s divinity), dasya ( serving Krishna), sakhyatva( befriending Krishna) and atma nivedan ( surrendering to Krishna).
We all evolve spiritually at our own pace. While we may know that bhakti has a deep intangible impact on us and transforms our lives for the better, we realize that concepts like bhakti need to be nurtured over years. We find it difficult to take this arduous solo journey.
So we will begin by saying Pranam, Namaskar, Namaste or Jai Shree Krishna and practise Charansparsh or Naman –all of which are the easiest forms of bowing to a higher force. We are content with making even fleeting connections with God. The subtle symbolic differences between all these forms of worship are worth knowing.
Pranam
When we offer our ‘pranams’ to our parents, elders, teachers or grandparents we are actually saying “I prostrate before you because I revere your wisdom, experience, knowledge, beliefs and timeless values. I invite them to flow into my soul and I am ready to expand my mind, heart and soul.”
The Six Types Of Pranams
The “Sashtanga” pranam is also known as the “Dandakara” namaskar or the “Sharanagati”. The word can be split as – Sa – Ashta – Anga. We show our reverence to a senior or a deity by ensuring that 8 parts of our body – our feet, thighs, hands, chest, knees, head, mind and speech touch the floor. It is an external expression of telling the lord that we are mere puppets in his hand, absolutely helpless and willing to surrender to him.
In the ‘Panch – Anga Pranam’ we offer our obeisance to a senior or a deity with 5 parts of our body – our knees, chest, chin, temple and forehead. We bow down to God or to the God that resides within the other with humility.
Dandavat pranam means we offer our respects to a senior or a deity by bowing our forehead and touching the ground.
Namaskar
Namaskar is a common form of salutation in which we bow our head and touch our forehead with folded hands to salute the God that resides within the other. When our thumbs touch our forehead several times, we are symbolically touching the third eye between our eyebrows to show our respect for the other person. Namaskar and Naman are often used interchangeably.
Namaste
Namaste is an informal greeting used to greet familiar people with whom we share an intimate bond. It means, “I bow to the divinity that resides within you.”
Jai Shree Krishna
When we join our hands, bow down our heads and utter the words “Jai Shree Krishna”, we hail the essence of Krishna that resides within the other.
“Jai Shree Krishna” means, “I may have my fair share of differences with you. But I am willing to set aside my differences for a brief span of time. And allow the Krishna within me to reign supreme in my heart. And I hope you too will do the same.”
These verbal expressions may be external and physical but they do bring about an intangible internal transformation within us.
Charansparsh
Charansparsh means we bow down and touch the feet of a senior person as a mark of respect.
Naman
Mahaprabhuji uses the word ‘naman’ at the very beginning of the Yamunashtak for a very valid reason. He says, “There is no greater shakti in life than the power of ‘naman.’ We nurture ‘daas’ bhav in naman. All our pride and egoistic tendencies melt away when we bow down with humility. We then acknowledge that we are mere instruments in Krishna’s hands. During naman, we unconsciously nurture all these emotions and steer our heart in the right direction. Naman transforms our heart, mind and body too. It purifies our senses and fills us with divine positive energy. We become worthy of receiving Krishna’s grace and are able to connect our heart to His heart.
During naman we get the shakti to let go. We stop trying to control situations in our lives. And we learn to accept the fact that we do not have the wherewithal to cope with our worldly challenges. So we learn to surrender completely to Krishna when we realize that His will alone prevails through the cosmos. Always.
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