Acharya Prashant critiques the common practice of bowing and touching feet, arguing that it is rarely an act of genuine devotion or seeing divinity in others. He challenges the claim that people bow because they see God in everyone, pointing out that if this were true, they would equally bow to animals, the suffering, or even filth. Instead, he asserts that most social gestures like 'Namaste' are driven by fear, social conditioning, and hypocrisy. People often bow to family members or influential figures out of habit or to avoid social conflict, while remaining indifferent to the suffering of strangers or those outside their immediate circle. He emphasizes that true divinity is not selective; if one claims to see God in a husband or a relative but not in a suffering dog or a victim of injustice, it is a delusion born of attachment and social norms. He categorizes bowing into three types. The first is a genuine surrender of the heart to the Truth or to one who leads to the Truth. The second is a deceptive social performance used to avoid trouble or satisfy the ego of others, which he strongly discourages as it reinforces ignorance. The third is a compassionate gesture, where one bows like a physician to maintain a connection with someone in order to eventually help or heal them. Acharya Prashant advises that spirituality is not about following social etiquette or artificial politeness. Instead, it is about radical honesty and compassion. He suggests that if one truly cares for another, they should speak the truth about the person's condition rather than offering a fake gesture of respect that only inflates the other's ego. Ultimately, he encourages standing firm in the truth and bowing only out of genuine love or to provide support, rather than out of fear or selfishness.
