People washing their feet before entering a place of worship….
Namaste is just the beginning… Some of these hygienic practices go way back to Indus civilization and spread to most of asian countries too.
Wearing of footwear
In India, Japan and many other asian countries walking into the house with footwear is not acceptable. On the outside, it looks like it is a good practice because there is dirt on them and you don’t want to drag it into the house. It is much more than that…. even if you haven’t set your foot on the ground, even if they are brand new, still they don’t bring them inside the house.
In Indian scriptures there is reference to footwear.. in Ramanyana and other epic books. Rama’s brother Bharatha took back Rama’s “Padukas” (Footwear) back to the kindom during Rama’s exile and kept them on the throne. At that time, footwear were made of wood, leather and other natural material. They would sweat or have other residues that will stick to feet and hence, you had to leave them outside and……
WASH YOUR FEET!!
Yes, all religious places, big gatherings and homes used to or still have water at the entrance. You had to remove your footwear and wash your feet to enter the house or place of worship. It is the “cleansing” of body and mind. Feet are supposedly one of the most sensitive parts of your body and washing them awakens parts of your brain to be attentive. So they used to visit places of worship right after bathing or even with wet clothes!!
Now, with the advent of socks and shoes, many don’t wash their feet even after getting out of their footwear, some think it is an orthodox practice, but still follow it at places of worship as religions tells them to do so.
The next evolution of this practice is washing someone’s else’s feet… You probably saw/heard of this practice.. Jesus, Pope, Prime Minister of India and other prominent dignitaries washed others feet. In every traditional Indian wedding the father of the bride washes the bridegroom’s feet. This is done out of respect, humbleness and ensuring the purity of soul.
In this new world… Namaste will replace handshake and people will wash their hands more but they should also do the same for their feet!!
BE SAFE!!
Global Namaste! 