Touching a Guru’s or teacher’s or respected elder’s feet is a practice that we are taught in our childhood. It is a way to show respect to the elders and to show them that we value their teachings.
Meaning of ‘Paduka’
Why worship the Padukas? What do we gain from it?
Ancient teachings show that a Guru is supposed to be a conduit of the universe’s energy for his students. The Guru is channelising the energy of the universe through his body. This power flows in through the guru’s crown and flows out through his feet. The feet or Padukas of a Guru thus represent wisdom, knowledge and energy. And also the Guru’s connection to the divine power. So, students often touch their Guru’s feet to imbibe some of this energy, which would help them imbibe the knowledge they seek.
It is also seen as a mark of respect for the Guru, as through this practice the student acknowledges the fact that his or her guru is in touch with something divine.
Another aspect is, worshiping of the feet or the Padukas represents humility. When we touch the feet of the elders or the Guru, or when we worship the Padukas, we bow down the highest part of the body (head) towards the lowest part (feet). The head is the symbol of ego and so, by worshiping the Padukas, we surrender. When a person becomes humble the person becomes very open, is ready to receive knowledge, does not have preconceived notions, is not arrogant about money, power, pleasure, body, beauty, fame; none of these. Such a person comes to know the Truth, is ready to do what it takes to know the Truth. In this way, the Padukas show the goal as well as the path, which is through humility.
When a puja is done, it is an expression of gratitude. We are grateful to the Lord that we have so many blessings in our lives. When gratitude comes into our life, our life becomes more fulfilled. The very fact that a Guru has come into our lives is a sign of the grace in our lives, as is the fact that we are able to study, understand and share that knowledge with others. Read about the importance of puja in our lives.
The world pampers our individuality and encourages us to think more and more about this individuality. It is only at the feet of the Guru that we realize, “I am not this.” All the pride just goes away. The Guru delivers this message with love and understanding, but also hits the ego with his words. He destroys our delusion with love. Thus, the Padukas represent the hard hittings of the Guru.
It is also said that, the right leg of the Guru represents Theta or Knowledge, while the left leg represents Beta or Love. It is thus no wonder that students strive hard to receive the Guru’s blessings.
“Just as a Shiva Linga represents Shiva and Shaligrama represents Vishnu, in the same way, the feet of the teacher represent to the students, not the feet, but the underlying concept. What we are invoking is Brahman, the Lord. But we cannot go directly to Him. We want a symbol. At this time, there is no symbol more sacred than the feet/Padukas of the teacher.” – Swami Chinmayananda
When we are away from our Guru but we will still need His blessings, we go to His Padukas, which represent the Guru’s feet and the strength of the knowledge he stands for. Placing these in your home or workplace ensures that knowledge and wisdom occupy that space and that you have your mentor with you wherever you go. For this reason we have a variety of Padukas available at Chinmaya Upahar. Some you can place in your temple at home for daily worship, while others you can carry even while traveling, so that His blessings are with you always.