Charan Sparsh (Touching of Feet)

Since time immemorial, it has been a tradition to touch the feet of one’s father and mother, teachers and elders. The person touching their feet by placing their hand on or over the prostrating person's head. Prostration is done daily while meeting with elders, particularly on important occasions like the beginning of a new task, birthdays, festivals, etc. It is called Charan Sparsh or Padasparsam.

As per Cambridge Dictionary, culture is the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time. All societies have some traditions social practices or belief systems.

As per Indian scholars, there are three ways of touching feet. The first one is the basic way of bending forward and touching the feet. The second is to sit on your knees and then touch the feet of the other person. The third and last one requires you to lie down on your stomach, with your forehead touching the ground, which is also known as the Sashtanga Pranama generally practiced by devotees in Hindu temples. While bending forward to touch your feet, your back and waist are stretched. When you sit on your knees and then touch the feet of an elder, your knees are bent and all of the joints in your body are stretched, which relieves you from joint pain. When engaging in Sashtanga pranama, your entire body stretches and body pain is relieved.

Tradition: The persons greet elders, wise, pious, or revered persons of society by touching their feet to pay respect to them.

Physiological Benefits: The physical effort involved provides useful exercise and promotes vigor, enthusiasm, and concern for others, rids tension, and is motivating. Positive thoughts and energy are emitted by the person whose feet are touched which brings positivity in minds and hearts.

Spiritual reasons: This promotes humility and respect for others and reduces the ego of the person touching the feet.

Scientific Explanations: The nerves that start from our brain spread across our body. These nerves or wires end in the fingertips of your hand and feet. When you join the fingertips of your hand to those of their opposite feet, a circuit is immediately formed and the energies of two bodies are connected. Your fingers and palms become the ‘receptor’ of energy and the feet of the other person become the ‘giver’ of energy.

In the Atharva Veda, great importance has been given to the way a person greets others when meeting them. Through “charan sparsh”, an individual exhibits the respect one holds for the elderly, the wise, and those with ideals and an outstanding contribution to society. It is a way of accepting their superiority. This promotes humility in an individual and also makes the other person feel important. Thereby a person learns to be humble, courteous, and respectful. The physical effort involved provides useful exercise, promotes vigor, enthusiasm, and concern for others, rids tension, and is motivating.

In the Mahabharata, the Yaksha asked Yudhishthir, “How can a person become great and powerful?”. Yudhishthir responded, “By devotedly touching the feet of the mother and father, teachers and elders, and by serving them until they are content to give blessings that make a person great and powerful."

Immediately preceding the war, the Pandavas sought the blessings of Bhishma, their elders, and their teachers.

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** ( Material collected from Hindu- blogs, Vedic times, etc )