The Indian traditions followed in various tasks are worth giving a thought. Respecting elders is one of the foremost ones that comes into our mind. The touching of feet of the elders is such a good sign of respect, that gives the recipient a sense of honor. It also conveys a sense of duty from the giver. This is a very good honorable act on the part of us and which if imbibed by our children will go a long way to show the richness of our tradition. Such humility os the scent of Indian culture, found in a very few places in the world, but the roots are from India
Recently we had two such incidents.
One was shown by Mra Bhai Channu of Manipur who won the silver medal in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. While training, she had to cover a long distance to the training centre from her home. Some lorry drivers took turns to give her a free ride to and fro. After winning the silver medal and when she was back home she made it a point to invite all these truck drivers for a treat. In this event, she touched the feet of each of these drivers and showered them with gifts and most importantly with an honor these drivers will never forget in their lives. This act will motivate the drivers to be always beneficial to the society. Such is the power of touching one's feet.
The other was shown by an Indian student in Illinois, USA. During the graduation ceremony, Gaurav Jhaveri, of Illinois Institute of Technology, touched the feet of the Dean as a mark of respect. Though the Dean being foreign to such acts of respect was both surprised and perplexed at this act the student showed the richness of Indian tradition on foireign shores much to the delight of other students. I am sure the Dean would have had a personal chat with Guarav to know more about this rich indian tradition.
Touching the feet of elders is an age-old practice in indian tradition. It has been in vogue since time immemorial. But it should be done with respect in our heart. If it is done out of fear in our hearts its purpose is lost. This act should not be treated as loss of self respect but it should be treated by the world as a sense of self respect. To tell the world about the same, the onus is on each of us Indians to spread the good message of our Indian tradition across the world. Possibly the Divine has this in kind and hence we see the widespread of Indian diaspora across the world. If each of us develop this feeling of belongingness to our great nation India and adhere to its rich tradition, we will be sowing the seeds of goodness and harmony in the young minds and hence make the future generations of the world more benevolent and peaceful.
Let's all take a pledge right now that we as Indians shall uphold the rich tradition of India wherever we placed in this world and in whatever position we are. Lets us Indians partake in the progress of peace in the world.
Jai Hind