Super-Mom, Elizabeth Rovere

My Daughter’s name is Anjali. She is 1 ½ years old.

Anjali Mudra is hands in prayer or namaste hands. The palms of the hand are brought together in front of the heart. Anjali comes from the root “anj” in sanskrit which means to “honor” or “celebrate the divine”.  Mudra is a hand gesture. Anjali mudra is translated as either a divine offering or a divine gift. In many parts of Asia, anjali mudra is accompanied by the words Namaste which means I bow to you. It is a symbol of greeting and respect- a kind of “Sacred Hello”, essentially, I honor and acknowledge the spirit in you that is also in me.”  The Namaste salutation was transmitted from ancient India to the countries of South-east Asia, and  has now become a universal symbol of offering and prayer.

In the yogic tradition, bringing our hands together at the heart center unites the right and left sides of the brain, and is symbolic of uniting masculine and feminine energies. The right hand represents the divine
self; the left hand represents matter and earth. Prayer hands unite the spirit and matter inherent in us all.: “The light in me bows to the light in you”.

While pregnant, my husband and I pondered many names, seeking one that combined self-assuredness, spirituality, and love. Our search for a name took us down a number of paths. I was drawn to the name Isis. Brian liked Attila, claiming that it was a powerful name and that he wouldn’t have to worry about her prom date with a name like that. We both liked Grace, but couldnt commit to it. With two months left in the pregnancy, we were still debating names.

One day, while sitting in yoga class together, we began a meditation with hands in Anjali Mudra. The teacher said a few words about Anjali Mudra and its connection to divine gift/offering and something clicked. I remembered the first time I heard the Legend of Patanjali, on the yoga retreat where my husband and I first met. The legend of Patanjali is the origin of the prayer hands, Anjali Mudra. It is a  moving story and offers a most beautiful sense of what it means to be mother, and also child.

The Vedic Legend of Patanjali ( Patanjali is “father of yogic philosophy” and the author of the Yoga Sutra from the 3rd Century BCE)

According to legend, Lord Vishnu’s serpent god, Adisesa wished to be incarnated in human form so as to learn to dance to please the gods. Vishnu was very honored and told Adisesa, the serpent god, that soon he would be incarnated so that he could  both shower humanity with knowledge and blessings and also fulfill his desire to master dance. Adisesa immediately began to ponder on the question of who his mother would be. At the same time a virtuous woman named Gonika, who was totally devoted to yoga, was praying and seeking for someone to be a worthy son to her. She wanted to pass on the knowledge and understanding she had gained through yoga. Gonika prostrated herself before the Sun, the earthly manifestation of the light and presence of God. She scooped up the only gift she could find—a handful of water—and beseeched him to bestow her with a son. She then meditated upon the Sun and prepared herself to present her simple but sincere offering. On seeing all this Adisesa, the serpent god, knew that he had found the mother he was looking for. Just as Gonika was about to offer her handful of water to the Sun, she glanced down at her hands and was astonished to see a tiny serpent. She was even more astonished when, within a few moments, that serpent had assumed a human form. It was Adisesa, who then turned and prostrated before Gonika and pleaded with her to accept him as her son. She called him Patanjali, which in Sanskrit means “that which has fallen into reverent hands”. Pata means “graceful fall”, and anjali, “prayer hands”.

The story of Patanjali is about the the spirit seeking human form and about a human seeking spirit. Adisesa seeks an enlightened human form to teach and spread blessings ( and to dance!!). Gonika his mother prays for a soul or spirit to come for her to give birth to a child. In both instances there is a union of spirit and matter.

As I sat on the yoga mat, pregnant, the name Anjali began to resound in my head. And I liked the idea of a baby as a “divine gift”, a soul gracefully falling into one’s hands- one’s life.

Anjali would be my child’s name.

Today, Anjali is 18 months old and has fulfilled the promise of her name. She has brought love, joy, and happiness into our home, and every morning at six AM (if we are lucky) we begin our day with her.

Namaste  “The light in me bows to the light in you.”