Blavatsky on Krishna – signs of respect

It has been said that Blavatsky’s work started out with a Western approach. Her book ‘Isis Unveiled’ has been described as ‘Egyptian’. From a theosophical standpoint this is preposterous – and anyone who has looked at index will have to agree.

One early reference to Indian spirituality is this one: Blavatsky refers to the washing of feet that Christ did for his disciples. She notes that The ceremony was first performed by the Hindoo Christna (or Krishna), who washed the feet of the Brahmins, as an example of humility, many thousand years anterior to the Christian era.

I could add that in India the feet are very important. There are even pictures of feet to worship: because if you worship (or touch, or wash) someone’s feet – you are obviously respecting the rest of that person even more. It’s also a form of religious reversal. In India cleanliness and purity are of immense spiritual importance. The feet – touching the ground regularly in a country where shoes are still not all that common – are dirty. So if you respect those dirty feet – it’s the ultimate sign of respect.