“Namskara” went a lady walking past a pourakarmika thereby communicating through that one phrase a world of meaning. In Sanskrit, the word “namskaram’’ likewise means “I bow to the Divine in you…”
When we go down the ages, there are countless great men who essay that before we decide to lead we need to first be good followers.
Is it any wonder that in those countless students in the ancient Indic hermitages spent many years serving their gurus, or seers, with absolute humility, who taught them to subjugate their ego before all else?
Unless and until the guru was satisfied with his shishya, or student, and convinced that the pupil was ready, he was not taken to the next level.
At this point of time, we are given to wonder at the manner in which Hindus genuflect before their gods, with special reference to Ganesha or the Vignaharta, one who takes away from us all our vignas or obstacles. When we worship this most unique of gods, who is ever so gentle by nature, we find that this kindly elephant-headed god accepts any and every offering from all his Bhaktas or devotees.
By bowing to Him in reverence and thereby humbling ourselves, we not only cut asunder our ego but eventually attain salvation.
Likewise, when we peruse other religious texts, the Bible quotes, “…they (meek) shall inherit the earth”. And the Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.”
The quality of humility is praised even in Lord Buddha, who underwent untold suffering till He attained Nirvana.
Never once does he let his emotion show itself upon his serene visage, through all his trials and tribulations. As for the Sikh Gurus, every single one of them silently withstood unspeakable agony, at the hands of their tormentors, standing tall as brave epitomes of all that is beautiful in humanity.
As an aside, famed English playwright, Oliver Goldsmith, in his creatively named piece, “She stoops to conquer” shows us how by leaving the ego somewhere beyond our reach, we can make friends of indifferent people. Not surprisingly, humility wins accolades over all else cutting across regions and religions.
We can wind up here with a rumination from the Gita which says that all of us are mere instruments in the hands of the Divine, something that finds an echo in St. Francis’ hymn, “Make me a channel of thy peace …”