Giving, Receiving, and Eating With My Hands

I have never thought about my hands as much as I have been since arriving in India!  There is so much they can do and so much they can symbolize here!  As I don't want to offend anyone with my hands, I have been trying to learn all I can about them.  One simple area to begin with is eating-- how to eat!

Guidelines for eating with your hands:

1. Use your right hand (trust me... I'm a leftie... choose your right hand for this!)
2. Stick finger tips in food
3. Begin pinching/scooping food together until you have a good lump of it
4. Scoop lumps onto 4 fingers
5. Raise food to your mouth
6. Use the thumb to push the food into your mouth
7. Appreciate the moment
8. Start over
9. Wash hand(s) when finished

I really didn't think I'd like eating with my hands has much as I do!  It's so efficient and fun!  I can feel the textures of the food before I even put it in my mouth!

Aside from eating, the hands in India can symbolize many beautiful things.  Here a couple gestures that I like most:

• Añjali Mudrā (Sanskrit: अञ्जलि मुद्रा) or praṇāmāsana (Sanskrit: प्रणामासन)--  This common gesture is performed with the palms touching, fingers pointed upward, and the thumbs near the chest.  It is used as a sign of respect and as a greeting.  It is often used with the phrase"namaste", a common greeting in the Hindu culture which means "I bow to the divine in you."
• Giving and Receiving-- In a lot of Hindu depictions of the gods, it is common to see the hands positioned in such a way where one hand is placed to be facing downward or simply outward-- this hand represents giving, as it is positioned in such a way to give blessings--, and the other is held with the palm facing upward-- this hand represents receiving, as it is positioned in such a way to receive blessings.   You can see these hands in the image at the beginning of my post.  This is an image of the Ganesha-- the hindu god of new beginnings; the remover of obstacles.  (Look for these hands in other hindu works of art!)  I love this image of giving and receiving with the hands as it suggest some sort of balance-- that we must be capable of giving and receiving in order to lead a balanced and fulfilling life.  I particularly like this hand gesture as we use it in the Promethean Spark Methodology here.

I've always thought that hands are a beautiful part of the body as they can accomplish so much.  There is so much more I could say about the hands, but I will save some of that for later.  I hope that my hands will achieve good things during my time in India-- that I will be adequate at giving what I have to offer, and receiving any blessings that God would have me receive here-- and that I can eat well without offending anyone, haha.

On that note, have a happy Monday, and maybe try eating something with your hands that you don't usually eat with your hands!  Or look for the ways that you can give and receive in order to seek a more balanced life.

Namaste.