Namaste Namaste Guru Mahaaraaj
Sadguru Sri Sathya Sai Mahaaraaj
Sharanam Sharanam Sri Saishaa
Shastaanga Sharanam Sarveshaa
Baba Saashtaanga Sharanam Sarveshaa
[Namaste Namaste Guru Mahaaraaj]
Meaning:
O my Beloved Supreme Divine Master, I bow down and offer my Salutations to Thee. Thou art The Supreme Divine Sovereign. O Lord Sri Sathya Sai, Thou art our Almighty Lord and Supreme Divine Master and we seek Refuge in Thee. O Beloved Divine Lord Sri Sai Baba, we offer our Shashtanga Pranam to Thee, by touching to the ground our eight body parts. (Saashtaang is ‘Sa’ ‘Ashta’ ‘Anga’ i.e. eight parts of the body are in contact with the ground. The eight parts are – Forehead, Two Shoulders, Two Hands, Torso, Two Legs. It is mentioned in the Shastras that Namaskar should be done by men, by lowering the body prostrate on the ground, eschewing every thought of self importance and finding the lowest level with the ground. Women do not do Namaskar in this way. In their case it is called ‘Panchanga Namaskar’. It is also mentioned that the part of the body which sustains the growth of the foetus during pregnancy and the part that creates within itself the nourishment for the new born and feeds it should not be allowed to come in contact with the ground. That is why woman’s torso and shoulders have been excluded, so that the Namaskar can be performed conveniently. Thus when these three Angas are excluded it becomes ‘Panchang’. Hence women bow down and do Namaskar, whereas men sometimes use only their hand instead of lowering the body. Women always do Sarvaanga Namaskar. The Sashtanga and Panchanga Namaskars are a Great Aid for nurturing and heightening our inner quality of utter humility. In a crowd, one can do the Namaskar mentally and that is called Maanaskaara. Baba says, “The real meaning of Namaskar is the Dissolving of the mind.”)
