PADA SHASTRA
(THE POWER OF YOUR FEET)
IN INDIA, IT IS A TRADITION TO BOW DOWN AT THE FEET OF REALISED BEING OR A GURU. IS THERE ANY SIGNIFICANCE BEHIND THIS?
ANS : IN YOGA, THERE IS SOMETHING CALLED PADA SHASTRA. "PADA" MEANS "THE FOOT", PARTICULARLY THE SOLES OF THE FEET. IN MANY WAYS, ALL THE SWITCHES TO TURN ON ALMOST EVERYTHING IN YOU ARE THERE IN YOUR FEET, IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IT.
WHEN I COMES TO RECEIVING, YOUR HANDS ARE POWERFUL INSTRUMENTS, IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE, IF YOU TOUCH ANYTHING WITH YOUR HANDS, YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY KNOW WHAT IT IS. IF YOU TOUCH IT WITH YOUR SHOULDER OR YOUR BACK OR THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD, YOU WILL NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT IF YOU TOUCH IT WITH YOUR HAND, YOU WILL KNOW WHAT IT IS IMMEDIATELY, NOT JUST IN TERMS OF FEELING AND SENSATION - MUCH DEEPER PERCEPTION HAPPENS WITH YOUR HANDS.
BUT IF YOU WANT TO GIVE YOUR ENERGIES TO SOMETHING, FEET ARE VERY POWERFUL INSTRUMENTS. AT ONE TIME, WE WERE TEACHING PEOPLE HOW TO MANIPULATE THE FEET TO CREATE DIFFERENT STATES OF EXPERIENCE - WHERE TO PRESS IF YOU WANT TO RELAX SOMEBODY, IF YOU WANT TO MAKE SOMEBODY BLISSFUL , IF YOU WANT TO MAKE SOMEBODY LOVING. ALL THE SEVEN DIFFERENT CHAKRAS ARE MANIFEST IN YOUR FEET. IF YOU KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THE FEET, YOU CAN DO MANY THINGS WITH THE WHOLE SYSTEM. TODAY, THEY CALL THIS REFLEXOLOGY, BUT THEY ARE TALKING ONLY ABOUT HEALTH. BECAUSE WE ARE INTERESTED IN LIFE, WE TALK IN TERMS OF EXPERIENCE.
ABOUT TOUCHING OR HOLDING FEET, FIRST OF ALL, THE ONE WHOSE FEET YOU ARE TOUCHING SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE, THEY SHOULD BE IN A CERTAIN LEVEL OF ENERGY. IF YOU ASK A PAPER FOR A LOAN. IT IS NO GOOD. IF YOU WANT TO ASK FOR A LOAN, YOU MUST ASK SOMEBODY WHO HAS CASH TO DISPENSE. IF YOU GO AND ASK FOR A LOAN FROM A BANKRUPT OR A KANJOOS, THERE IS NO POINT. YOU KNOW WHAT A KANJOOS MEANS? LESS "JUICE". YOU DON'T ASK SOMEBODY WHO IS JUICELESS OR SOMEBODY WHO IS STINGY. YOU ONLY ASK SOMEBODY WHO IS PLENTIFUL AND WILLING TO GIVE.
YOU DON'T GO AND HOLD SOMEBODY'S FEET WHEN HE HIMSELF IS BANKRUPT. IF HE IS BURSTING WITH ENERGIES AND HE IS WILLING TO SHARE, THERE IS A CERTAIN WAY TO CONNECT, LIKE A PLUG POINT. PLUG POINTS COME IN DIFFERENT WAYS. IF YOU WANT TO CONNECT TO THAT PARTICULAR PLUG POINT, YOU NEED A PARTICULAR KING OF PLUG.
IN MANY HOMES, YOU HAVE A TRAITION OR HABIT OF TOUCHING THE FEET OF YOUR ELDERS. PROBABLY IN SOUTH INDIA IT IS GONE, BUT IN NORTH INDIA IT IS STILL VERY MUCH THERE BECAUSE OF THE VEDIC CULTURE. WHEN THEY SEE A FATHER, A MOTHER , UNCLE, OR AYBODY ELDER TO THEM. THE FIRST THING THEY DO IS TOUCH THEIR FEET. THAT IS ONLY TO OFFFER YOUR RESPECTS TO THEM, NOT TO RECEIVE YOUR UNCLE'S ENERGY! WHEN YOU SEE A DEITY, THERE IS ANOTHER WAY OF DOINT IT. IF YOU DO NAMASKAR OR PROSTRATION TO A POWERFUL BEING, NOT SPIRITUALLY EVOLVED BUT POWERFUL IN HIS OWN WAY, THERE IS ANOTHER WAY OF DOING IT. I DON'T WANT TO GO INTO THESE TECHNOLOGIES. I CAN TELL YOU THE OTHER THREE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO TELL YOU HOW TO BOW DOWN TO A GURU. WHICHEVER WAY YOU FEEL, YOU DO IT THAT WAY BECAUSE I DON'T WANT MY LEGS PULLED AND HELD ALL THE TIME!.
