Offering Pranams

[Prashant Parikh]

Puṣpadanta laments to Lord Śiva that he has committed two aparādhas (offences).

He says:

“The first aparādha I committed is that I did not offer praṇāmas to You through all these lifetimes.

The second aparādha is that now that I have offered praṇāmas, I will no longer be able to offer any further praṇāmas.”

The implication is clear: having offered praṇāma with complete surrender, there will be no rebirth.

Therefore, at the deepest level, a praṇāma is the same as a mahāvākya.

Whenever one offers praṇāma, there is a praṇāmya and a praṇāmatā—the one to whom the praṇāma is offered and the one who offers it. With the understanding of one’s svarūpa, a praṇāma becomes a physical representation of jīva–īśvara aikyam.

At the vyāvahārika level, however, there are clear stipulations.

Praṇāmas must never be offered by a person of higher adhikāra to a person of lower adhikāra. This is why, when we see someone offering namaskāra to a sādhu or to Bhagavān, one must never cross their path during that act. One should either wait until the namaskāra is completed or go around the person—never cut through.

Śāstra states that if a person of higher adhikāra offers praṇāma to one of lower adhikāra, it leads to anartha—great harm—for the latter.

There was once a great paṇḍit, highly accomplished in sādhana, and a certain sannyāsī who, incidentally, was of lower adhikāra. By rules driven purely by vastram (external appearance) and not by inner qualification, the paṇḍit was expected to offer praṇāmas to the sannyāsī. But he never did.

One day, out of maryādā, the sannyāsī questioned him. The paṇḍit replied, “I do offer praṇāmas, but through ātmabhāva.”

The sannyāsī asked, “But what about physically?”

The paṇḍit replied, “That I cannot do. But if you insist, I will offer praṇāma to your daṇḍa. Please step aside.”

Saying so, he performed namaskāra. The daṇḍa immediately turned to ash.

There is also an event in the Mahābhārata after the Kurukṣetra yuddha. The Kauravas have been vanquished, and the last man standing is Duryodhana.

The rules of warfare were such that a king fought a king, a soldier fought a soldier, and so on. Taking advantage of this rule, Duryodhana challenged Yudhiṣṭhira to battle.

It is well known that Duryodhana was a master gadādhara. Only three people could defeat him: his teacher Baladeva, Bhīṣma, and Bhīma. Yudhiṣṭhira did not stand a chance.

Bhīma offered to fight in Yudhiṣṭhira’s stead, but this was not permitted.

 Duryodhana then taunted that Bhīma could fight only if Yudhiṣṭhira first offered namaskāra to Bhīma—thereby effectively declaring him king.

This led to another predicament.

Yudhiṣṭhira was not only elder but also vastly superior in dharma-niṣṭhā, statecraft, and leadership. He was Dharmaputra.

Kṛṣṇa, being Kṛṣṇa, had a solution.

He told Yudhiṣṭhira, “Go ahead. Offer praṇāma to Bhīma.”

Bhīma turned white with fear.

Trusting Kṛṣṇa completely, Yudhiṣṭhira bent down before Bhīma. Just as he did, Kṛṣṇa stepped in between them and absorbed the namaskāra Himself.

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If you found this helpful, it is entirely derived from the teachings of my Guru Swami Divyānanda Purī ji, as conveyed in this pravacana. Note that the teachings of Swamiji are in Hindi. You may find more pravachans on his channel here. 

This was the pravachan I excepted these thoughts from: 

https://youtu.be/5j1MnnXF1es?si=MUqkQLznc4vapskZ