An Excerpt from a Talk of Swami Vishwananda:
'In Hinduism, the feet are a great symbol. When you go to any temple, what do you do? When you go to a Master, what do you do? The first thing that you do, you bow down to the feet.
You touch the feet because in the feet there is everything. This ancient tradition, of course, Christ also knew about it. Jesus knew that the feet symbolise the wholeness. That’s why when you go to the Master you touch the feet.
But before touching the feet you ask permission if you can touch the feet of the Master or not. If you just touch like that nothing happens, but when the Master gives you the blessing that you can touch the feet of the Master, it releases the energy; it lets the energy from him to you.
That’s why you can’t just touch the feet of a Master just like that.'
Sri Swami Vishwananda (Excerpt 'Just Love 3')