We pray with folded hands and closed eyed while visiting temples and in front of images of deities. We even fold our hands even to show respect to people. However, only a few people understand the science behind the gesture.
According mythology, the pray gesture was taught by none other than Lord Shiva. Also known as Nataraja (King of dance), the Hindu Gold is said to have taught the gesture to sage Bharata, the master of dance. The pose suggests that the interests and wishes of whomsoever it is shown to coincided with those of the poser.
While praying in temples, hold the palms of both hands together in the shape of a lotus and in such a way that that it is at the level of the chest. The hands should not be held in front of the neck or stomach.
Prayers should not be conducted with the fingers of both hands clasped together. Also avoid raising the hands above your head - this pose can be adopted only by priests who conduct the rituals.
In order to make a temple visit fruitful, the hands should be held together properly and prayers in praise of God chanted. The praying pose makes a person realize that we are nobody before God as well as others. ‘Na’ of ‘namasthe’ - the praying posture - means ‘No’ and ‘Ma’ translates as ‘I’.
