in bharat (india) the tradition is to touch the feet of elders or spiritual saints or gurus to take their blessings. this is done on all auspicious occasions like marriage or on religious festivals or any time when you want blessings of elders. in some families which still follow the santhan dharma way of living, the children touch the feet of their parents in early morning and then they start their daily activities. this custom is still highly revered in bharat.
science behindย touching feet of elders and spiritual gurus:
in human body, we lose energy from sharp points like fingers, toes etc and from round/circular areas we gain and preserve energy. scientifically also we know circle conserve energy as there is no point for leakage of energy.
so when you touch the feet of elders and they bless you by touching your head with their hand. then you gain energy in your head (whichย is circular). the energy gained by you is released from the fingers (sharp points)ย of your elders.
the mostย important aspect in this exchange of energy is that this process should not be robotic and emotionless. the elders should be filled with love and care while blessing the children. otherwise not much givingย of blessing (energy) will happen. because you need to have something with you to give it to someone else. so your parents should be full of love and also present here now (in present moment) while blessing you. because if while giving blessing your parents attention is somewhere else then whatever they are thinking you might get little percentage of it.
secondly, the children should also be open and humble whileย receivingย blessing. then only they will be able to receive energy. if touching the feet is just out of formality then you will not be able to gain much psychic energy because your ego will block the blessings. thats how things work in psychic dimension. one should be humble, receptive and not full of ego while touching the feet of elders.
apart from gaining psychic energy, it helps you to become humble and more respectful towards elders. being humble is an important quality of a religious person or of a good human being. its important that your children are taught this quality very early in life. they should not be disrespectful or insulting to servants or to poor people. every body should be treated with respect irrespective of their age, caste or financial status.
many spiritual gurus don’t allow anyone to touch their feet or even their body. because they don’t want to leak their energy as they are still doing the sadhana/spiritual practice. moreover few of them are only interested in sharing their energies with right candidates.
tip: the same principle is behind covering your head with a scarf or pagdi, while visiting temple or doing meditation. so that you conserve energy around your head which you have gained after a meditation session or which you have received while visiting the temple.