SPIRTUALITY
Mystery ofMudra
• BY PATRICK MARSOLEK F
or centuries yogis, martial artists, and spiritual seekers have used ritual hand gestures as part of their spiritual practice. Their belief is that these positions help them attain the mental and physical discipline or spiritual transformation they seek. We all use common gestures to reinforce certain ways of feeling and thinking. What do you feel if you cross your arms across your chest when you are in conversation with someone? What hap- pens if you open your arms and hold your hands out in front of you with your palms facing up? The first posture may show psychological closing off, suspicion, and even possibly defensiveness. The second posture is more open, accepting, and vulnerable. In India, the palms pressed flat together in front of the chest is used with the greeting “Namaste.” One translation of Namaste is “the divine within me sa- lutes the divine within you.” It is thought that if you practice this palms gesture, you will see the divine more readily. Are there such connections between our physical bodies and our inner mental or spiritual terrain?
These gestures—or to use the Sanskrit word—mudras are an im- portant part of many different spiritual disciplines. Yogis claim that mudras possess healing and transformational powers and can even activate paranormal abilities. They are gestures of delight, meaning a ‘mark’ or a ‘seal’ of an inner transformation. If you were sitting and you had your palms open on your knees, then closed your thumbs to touch your forefingers, you’d be doing a form of the Jnana Mudra. This posture has been used for thousands of years by meditators to heighten concentration. The use of mudras such as this one has evolved into a complex form of language that transmits esoteric con- cepts and embodies spiritual ideals. The tradition of using gestures as a way of sacred expression is not limited to Indian traditions. Egyp- tian priests used mudras to communicate with their gods. The Greeks, Indians, and Chinese used them as part of the elaborate cho- reographies of their religious plays.
If you look at sacred art from all over the world, you can see fig- ures expressing specific gestures. Jesus is often depicted with his right hand in Prithvi Mudra, with his palm facing outward and the tips of the thumb and ring finger joined. Prithvi mudra is said to pro- vide stability and cure weaknesses of the body and mind. Mary is often depicted in the orans prayer posture, a female standing with the hands outstretched sideways with the palms up. Many think this pos- ture was used to signify the departing feminine soul. The Buddha is also pictured in works of art expressing a variety of different mudras in his hands.
Some scholars believe that mudras may have originated from See Our Great 8-page Catalog Beginning on Page 74
Christ is often painted with His right hand in prithvi mudra.
primitive Shamanistic expressions or dances, in which a Shaman was in contact with and expressing the spirit of an animal or a spirit. In this trance, the Shaman would spontaneously adopt a certain hand position, or even an entire body posture, as an expression of the en- ergy of that spirit. The assumed posture would help the Shaman channel the powers of that spirit for healing or divination. Other scholars think that the first mudras evolved spontaneously as medita- tors chanted the earliest recorded vedas, the early Hindu scriptures. The mudras are thought to have spontaneously begun with the reali- zation of the states described in the scriptures. Some researchers go further to suggest that the all of the physical postures or asanas in yoga also evolved from simple hand gestures into the complex system of full body practices that we know today.
Some indigenous Shamanistic practices today still involve a kind of spirit possession. In an African trance dance for example, a person or even a whole group of people will start expressing different pos- tures and movements. The specific spirit can be identified by the pos- tures and movements the person makes. The elders watching over the trance dance will know from their cultural experience how to properly engage with each spirit.
Continued on Page 71 Number 85 • ATLANTIS RISING 45 The
Is There Hidden Meaning in the Gestures of the Saints?
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84