The rites, rituals, initiations, dances and spiritual disciplines of Oriental religions and traditions are replete with multifold forms of hand gestures with symbolic meanings and empowering virtues. In Sanskrit these gestures are called mudra, which means "seal," or "symbol."

The word has various connotations or definitions in Yogic, Tantric and Buddhist philosophies. In Hatha yoga, mudras are special physical asanas, or body-postures; they are also certain exercises or processes that arouse into activity one’s innate energies.

Hindu Tantrism has a different understanding of mudras. To the practitioners of Tantra, the term mudra refers to a shakti, a human female participant in the maithuna, or sexual rites. Shaktis are called “mudras” because, in the process of ritualistic and yogic coitus, they have an effect similar to body and hand mudras.

Mudras awaken dormant psychophysical centres and purify certain subtle channels, allowing for the circulation of energies to take place. Mudras facilitate concentration, and are a powerful means of communing with the forces and divinities lying within man’s inner nature.

The Kagyu sect of Vajrayana Buddhism uses the suffix “maha” meaning “great” in association with the term “mudra.” Thus, the conjoined word mahamudra means “the Great Seal,” or “the Great Symbol.” In this context, the word refers to a state of direct realization and experience of the ultimate nature of the Mind or Reality, where all dualities and sense of separateness from all that is are transcended.

Putting aside complexities, the definition of mudra is simply “symbolic gesture.” Chogyam Trungpa in his book, “Mudra,” defines the word as, “a symbol in the wider sense of gesture or action. It is the inspiring colour of phenomena. Also it is a symbol expressed with the hands to state for oneself and others the quality of different moments of meditation, such as touching the earth with the right hand as a witness to Buddha’s freedom from emotional and mental frivolousness.”

It is not quite known when or where systematized and stylised gestures originated. Almost all ancient cultures made use of hand signs in one form or another. Hand Signs were employed even in earliest times in religion, in the rhetoric art, in social intercourse, in builders’ and trade guilds, etc.

The operative Masons -the Comacines, the builders of Europe’s finest cathedrals, and the hoary trade guild known as the Dionysiac Artificers -who were responsible for the construction of ancient buildings and structures- all made use of hand signs as a system of communication and protection of their conclaves or secret meetings against unauthorized entry.

In Hinduism, as well as Buddhism, hundreds of mudras were formed for yogic purposes, for ceremonies, drama and dance. Most of these were symbolic in nature; others, however, had metaphysical virtues. There are literally hundreds of mudra-gestures formed by the ancient yogis and sages. However, they are all based on four basic hand positions: the open palm, the hollowed palm, the closed fist, and the hand with fingertips together.

In the Occident, the study of hand gestures in ritual and its spontaneous movements is called cheironomy. It particularly relates to gestures used in esoteric symbolism and certain forms or signs used in religious ritual. In occultism, each hand gesture has certain significance as well as embodying a certain force. Ritual gestures were an important part of religious ceremonies in most ancient cultures. They were said to have the power to call upon the gods, to unfold powers and to affect the surroundings in various ways.

The ancient Egyptians regarded the hand poses of their god-incarnate pharaohs as highly potent, even if they were just part of a pictorial representation. While depicting these pharaohs in murals or while forming statues of them, artists were careful not to misrepresent the mudras assumed by their sovereign, for fear that it would evoke an unwanted force.

The hands when used systematically in mudra exercises result in a wealth of benefit for the practitioner. Not only does this practice improve one’s health, the mudras also generate the energies that will empower one to live a dignified life as a child of God. Specific hand gestures assist the unfoldment of one’s divined potential, or inner divinity, lying dormant within one’s being.

Mudras facilitate the awareness of our inner nature, the reality of Spirit, the oneness of the Cosmos. They arouse the spiritual heart to expand and express itself with effulgent radiance. Through love, selfless love, unconditional love, divine love, it is possible to conquer all things. It is with love that we approach God, not through fear; fear will never take us to the divine throne. To express love is the beginning of wisdom.

By practicing hand gestures we eventually find ourselves communicating with Nature, for some of her esoteric languages are signs and symbols. Mudras generate structured magnetic fields with forms that resemble computer fractuals and images. Abstract forms reach the higher planes of life where angelic forces reside. Thus, by performing mudras, we may eventually find ourselves socializing with cherubim and seraphim.

According to scientists we use about 10% of our brain potential. Mudra practices may change all that, for the energies that they awaken clear all of the vessels -physical and non-physical- of obstructions and blockages that prevent the brain from being nourished and developed. New synapses between neurons are formed when the brain receives a good supply of chi or prana.

An increase in I.Q., strong memory retention, improved learning ability and mental alertness is some of the results of cleared energy channels. When empowered, the brain forms new connections with the etheric brain. These connections resemble and function as a miniature sutratma, which is the link between the lower quaternary of the microcosm and the higher components that we normally refer to as “the Spirit” of man. The more links between the etheric and physical brain, the more powerful and intelligent the brain becomes.

Mudras awaken the power of the hands to act therapeutically and magically. The psychic centers in the palms and fingertips are activated to their optimal level by the consistent application of mudras. This eventually facilitates the free outflow and influx of cosmic forces that may be utilized for various occult purposes. With such power, even a mere touch may mesmerize, enchant, fascinate or quicken the “dead.” Hands with such power can definitely be an asset not only to the metaphysical practitioner, but also to those involved in social and business affairs.

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