Who should one not do Namaskar to?

Meaning: Namaskar should not be done to one who has applied oil to his body (and has not had a bath), who has not washed his hands and mouth after eating, who is clad in wet clothes, who is ill, who has entered the ocean, who is in despair, who is carrying a load, who is engaged in worship through sacrificial fires, who is engaged in sexual activity, who is playing with a child, and who holds a flower and darbha (a type of sacred grass used in religious rites) in his hand. – Padma Purana

The science in all this is given below, corresponding to the respective individuals and situations.

One who has oil on his body: A person who has applied oil to his body; and has not taken bath has a high raja component in his body.

One who has not washed his hands and mouth after eating: As the act of eating has just been performed and the hands and mouth are not washed as yet, his raja component is in an increased state.

One who is clad in wet clothes: Less sattva frequencies are emitted from such a person.

One who is ill: The raja and tama components in an ill person increase due to the illness.

One who has entered the ocean: A person who has entered the ocean is perpetually in danger. By doing Namaskar to him we may also face the same danger.

One in despair: By doing Namaskar to a person in despair, our mind can also be distracted and we may also experience despair. Also it is generally incorrect to do Namaskar to a person in despair.

One carrying a load: The raja component is predominant in a person carrying a load. Also doing Namaskar to him will amount to keeping his (unnecessary) role model of carrying a load.

One engaged in worship through sacrificial fires:

1. A person performing worship through sacrificial fires (yadnya) is aiming at obtaining specific benefits. By doing Namaskarto such a person, a part of the benefit that accrues to him will be obtained by the one doing Namaskar. Consequently the person performing the worship will not obtain complete benefits.

2. Also his Kundalini energy is activated to a large extent. By doing Namaskar to him there is a possibility of distracting him and disturbing his spiritual practice.

3. By doing Namaskar to a person engaged in such worship, there is a possibility of increasing his ego, which will reduce his spiritual emotion.

4. If the spiritual level of the one doing Namaskar is lower than the person engaged in the worship, then he will not be able to tolerate the energy of the person engaged in the worship and may consequently suffer.

One engaged in sexual activity: Increased desires in the person engaged in sexual activity, increases the raja and tama components in him/her. By doing Namaskarto such a person not only the raja and tama components in us will increase, but also the thoughts about sexual desires will increase in us.

One who is playing with a child: A person playing with a child is experiencing happiness, hence, there is a very minimal possibility of activation of his Kundalini. (Frequencies of Bliss are transmitted from a person whose Kundalini is activated. As the energy of the Kundalini is the exact replica of Divine Energy, activation of this Energy gives experience of Bliss.) By doing Namaskar to such a person we will not be able to derive complete benefits from it.

One with a flower and darbha in his hand:

1. The spiritual emotion of a person carrying a flower and darbha is usually awakened and his Kundalini is activated too. By doing Namaskar to such a person his spiritual emotion may reduce.

2. If the level of the person who is doing Namaskaris low, then he will not be able to tolerate this energy and he may even experience distress.

Along with the individuals referred above, Namaskar should also not be done to the following individuals:

One facing the South: Yama frequencies are mostly emitted from the Southern direction. An individual facing South generally comes in the range of such frequencies and also in the region of attraction boundary, and hence a whirlpool of these frequencies gets formed around him. By doing Namaskar to such an individual, the transmission of Yama frequencies starts circulating in the body of the embodied soul doing Namaskar. Due to the rapid circulation of these frequencies in the body, the flow of five vital energies is reduced and the flow of energies located in the lower region accelerates. This may cause distress to the embodied soul and that is why if possible, one should not do Namaskarto a person facing South direction.

A sleeping person: Since a sleeping person is parallel to the ground, the distressing frequencies emitting from the ground get attracted towards his body and it gets charged with distressing frequencies. The flow of five vital energies and the blood circulation is always at low pace while in the sleeping state. In such a state, sub-vital energies from the body start gaining speed and the wasteful gases start circulating and moving downwards. This leads to polluting the area around the body due to gaining momentum of the raja and tama emitted from his body. If one does Namaskar to such an individual whose body emits the raja-tama predominant frequencies, then it can cause distress to the individual doing Namaskar. That is why one should avoid doing Namaskarto a sleeping person.