Namaste: The Significance of a Yogic Greeting

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Namaste,

 

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Namaste: The Significance of a Yogic Greeting

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In a well-known episode it so transpired that the great lover god

Krishna made away with the clothes of unmarried maidens, fourteen

to seventeen years of age, bathing in the river Yamuna. Their

fervent entreaties to him proved of no avail. It was only after

they performed before him the eternal gesture of namaste was he

satisfied, and agreed to hand back their garments so that they

could recover their modesty.

 

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The gesture (or mudra) of namaste is a simple act made by

bringing together both palms of the hands before the heart, and

lightly bowing the head. In the simplest of terms it is accepted

as a humble greeting straight from the heart and reciprocated

accordingly.

 

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Namaste is a composite of the two Sanskrit words, nama, and te.

Te means you, and nama has the following connotations:

 

1). To bend

 

2). To bow

 

3). To sink

 

4). To incline

 

5). To stoop

 

All these suggestions point to a sense of submitting oneself to

another, with complete humility. Significantly the word 'nama'

has parallels in other ancient languages also. It is cognate with

the Greek nemo, nemos and nosmos; to the Latin nemus, the Old

Saxon niman, and the German neman and nehman. All these

expressions have the general sense of obeisance, homage and

veneration. Also important here is to note that the root 'nama'

is a neuter one, the significance of which will be elaborated

upon later.

 

The word nama is split into two, na and ma. Na signifies negation

and ma represents mine. The meaning would then be 'not mine'. The

import being that the individual soul belongs entirely to the

Supreme soul, which is identified as residing in the individual

towards whom the namaste is directed. Indeed there is nothing

that the soul can claim as its own. Namaste is thus the

necessary rejection of 'I' and the associated phenomena of

egotism. It is said that 'ma' in nama means death (spiritual),

and when this is negated (na-ma), it signifies immortality.

 

The whole action of namaste unfolds itself at three levels:

mental, physical, and verbal.

 

It starts with a mental submission. This submission is in the

spirit of total surrender of the self. This is parallel to the

devotion one expresses before a chosen deity, also known as

bhakti. The devotee who thus venerates with complete

self-surrender is believed to partake the merits or qualities of

the person or deity before whom he performs this submission.

There is a prescription in the ancient texts known as Agamas that

the worshipper of a deity must first become divine himself, for

otherwise worship as a transaction would become invalid. A

transaction can only be between equals, between individuals who

share some details in common. Hence by performing namaste before

an individual we recognize the divine spark in him. Further by

facilitating our partaking of these divine qualities, namaste

makes us aware of these very characteristics residing within our

own selves. Simply put, namaste intimates the following:

 

'The God in me greets the God in you

The Spirit in me meets the same Spirit in you'

 

In other words, it recognizes the equality of all, and pays honor

to the sacredness of all.

 

Translated into a bodily act, namaste is deeply rich in

symbolism. Firstly the proper performance of namaste requires

that we blend the five fingers of the left hand exactly with the

fingers of the right hand. The significance behind this simple

act in fact governs the entire gamut of our active life. The five

fingers of the left hand represent the five senses of karma, and

those of the right hand the five organs of knowledge. Hence it

signifies that our karma or action must be in harmony, and

governed by rightful knowledge, prompting us to think and act

correctly.

 

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By combining the five fingers of each hand, a total of ten is

achieved. The number ten is a symbol of perfection, and the

mystical number of completion and unity. It is true for all

ancient traditions. Ten is the number of the Commandments

revealed to Moses by God. In the Pythagorean system, ten was a

symbol of the whole of creation. Ancient Chinese thought also

regarded ten as the perfectly balanced number.

 

Another significant identification of namaste is with the

institution of marriage, which represents a new beginning, and

the conjoining of the male and female elements in nature.

Marriage is a semi-divine state of wholeness - a union between

the opposite principles of male and female necessary to create and

protect new life. The idea of human divine association was often

expressed in terms of marriage, as in the description of nuns as

"brides of Christ". Thus in the exhaustive marriage rituals of

India, after the elaborate ceremonies have been completed, the

new husband and wife team perform namaste to each other. Wedding

customs, full of symbolic meanings, attempt to ensure that

marriages are binding, hence fruitful and happy. Namaste is one

such binding symbolic ritual. The reconciliation, interaction and

union of opposites is amply reflected in this spiritual gesture.

It is hoped that the husband and wife team too would remain

united, as are the hands joined in namaste. By physically

bringing together the two hands, namaste is metaphorically

reconciling the duality inherent in nature and of which the

marriage of two humans is an earthly manifestation, a harmonious

resolution of conflicting tensions. Thus namaste, which

symbolizes the secret of this unity, holds the key to maintaining

the equilibrium of life and entering the area where health,

harmony, peace and happiness are available in plenty.

 

In this context, namaste is equated with the image of

Ardhanarishvara, the hermaphrodite form symbolizing the marriage

of Shiva and Parvati, or the coming together of the parents of

the universe, for the purpose of creation. In this form Shiva has

his beloved spouse engrafted in his body. It is conjectured that

by wresting from her husband one half of his body as her own, and

herself commingling in his physical frame, Parvati has obtained

an ideal, archetypal union with her husband. Indeed which couple

could be more devoted than the one which finds completion only by

merging into each other? By merging her creative aspect with him,

Parvati balances Shiva's destructive urge. Similarly when

Ardhanarishvara dances, the dance step is itself believed to be a

combination of two principal and antagonistic styles of dance.

'Tandava', the fierce, violent dance, fired by an explosive,

sweeping energy, is a delirious outburst, precipitating havoc. On

the other hand is 'lasya', the gentle, lyrical dance, full of

sweetness, and representing the emotions of tenderness and love.

It is in the lasya of the goddess that death is annihilated and

turned into transformation and rejuvenation, rebirth and

creation. The image of Ardhanarishvara is thus the perfect master

of the two contrary elements in the manifested universe. Such an

ideal, perfect marriage is the message of namaste. Thus is

'nama', the root of namaste, of neuter gender, as is

Ardhanarishvara, the androgyne.

 

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Namaste recognizes the duality that has ever existed in this

world and suggests an effort on our part to bring these two

forces together, ultimately leading to a higher unity and

non-dual state of Oneness. Some of these dual elements which the

gesture of namaste marries together and unifies as one are:

 

God and Goddess

 

Priest and Priestess

 

King and Queen

 

Man and Woman.

 

Heaven and Earth

 

Sun and Moon

 

Solar bull and Lunar cow

 

Sulfur and Quicksilver (Alchemy)

 

Theory and Practice

 

Wisdom and Method

 

Pleasure and Pain

 

Astral body (consciousness) and Etheric body (sensation)

 

Mind and body

 

Pneuma (spirit) and Psyche (mind)

 

Hun (spiritual soul) and p'o (material soul) (Chinese)

 

Conscious and Unconscious

 

Animus (unconscious male element in woman) and Anima (unconscious

female element in man) (Jung)

 

Objectivity and Subjectivity

 

Extraversion and Introversion

 

Intellect and Instinct

 

Reason and Emotion

 

Thought and Feeling

 

Inference and Intuition

 

Argument and Experience

 

Talent and Genius

 

Silence and Cacophony

 

Word and Meaning

 

Schizophrenia and Epilepsy

 

Depression and Mania

 

Sexuality and Anxiety

 

Katabolism (breaking up) and Anabolism (building up)

 

Ontogeny (individual evolution) and Phylogeny (race evolution)

 

Right side of body (warm) and Left side (cool)

 

Front side of body (positive) and Rear side of body (negative)

 

Brain and Heart

 

Sahasara Chakra and Kundalini

 

Insulin and Adrenalin

 

Pingala (yellow solar channel in body) and Ida (white lunar

channel)

 

Hot breath and Cold breath (Yoga)

 

Exhalation and Inhalation (Yoga)

 

Linga and Yoni

 

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There is indeed no sphere of our existence untouched by the

symbolic significance of namaste.

 

Finally, the gesture of namaste is unique also in the sense that

its physical performance is accompanied by a verbal utterance of

the word "namaste." This practice is equivalent to the chanting

of a mantra. The sonority of the sacred sound 'namaste' is

believed to have a quasi-magical value, corresponding to a

creative energy change. This transformation is that of aligning

oneself in harmony with the vibration of the cosmos itself.

 

At its most general namaste is a social transaction. It is usual

for individuals to greet when they meet each other. It is not

only a sign of recognition but also an expression of happiness at

each other's sight. This initial conviviality sets the positive

tone for the further development of a harmonious relationship.

Namaste as a greeting thus is a mosaic of movements and words

constituting an intimation of affirmative thoughts and

sentiments. In human society it is an approach mechanism,

brimming with social, emotional and spiritual significance. In

fact it is said that in namaste the hands are put together like a

knife so that people may cut through all differences that may

exist, and immediately get to the shared ground that is common to

all peoples of all cultures.

 

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In this context, a comparison with the widely prevalent

'handshake' is inevitable. Though shaking hands is an extremely

intimate gesture, namaste scores over it in some ways. Primarily

is the one that namaste is a great equalizer. You do namaste with

God (and not shake hands!). A king or president cannot shake

hands with the large multitude they are addressing. But namaste

serves the purpose. It is the same gesture one would have

exchanged with a king when with him alone. So no incongruity

arises. In the absence of namaste, those facing a large audience

will have to make do with a wave of the hands, a much less

congenial greeting, and indeed which does not state the essential

equality of all people, but highlights the difference even more.

But on a parallel level it has been conjectured that both the

namaste and the handshake developed out of a desire on the part

of both the parties to show themselves to be unarmed and devoid

of malicious intention. The outstretched hand, and the palms

joined together, both establish the proponents as disarmed and

show that they come in peace.

 

Conclusion:

 

As much as yoga is an exercise to bring all levels of our

existence, including the physical and intellectual, in complete

harmony with the rhythms of nature, the gesture of namaste is an

yoga in itself. Thus it is not surprising that any yogic activity

begins with the performance of this deeply spiritual gesture. The

Buddhists went further and gave it the status of a mudra, that

is, a gesture displayed by deities, where it was known as the

Anjali mudra. The word Anjali itself is derived from the root

Anj, meaning "to adorn, honor, celebrate or anoint."

 

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According to Indologist Renov "Meditation depends upon the

relationship between the hands (mudras), the mouth (mantras) and

the mind (yoga)". The performance of namaste is comprised of all

these three activities. Thus namaste is in essence equivalent to

meditation, which is the language of our spirit in conversation

with god, and the perfect vehicle for bathing us in

the rivers of divine pleasure.

 

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References and Further Reading:

 

Cooper, J.C. An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols:

London, 1999.

 

Nambiar, A.K. Krishna. Namaste; It's Philosophy and Significance

in Indian Culture: New Delhi, 1979.

 

Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. Krishna The Supreme

Personality of Godhead: Mumbai, 1996.

 

Rao, S.K. Ramachandra. Bharatiya Pranama Paddhati (Respectful

Salutations in India): Bangalore, 1997.

 

Sivaramamurti, C. Nataraja in Art, Thought and Literature: New

Delhi, 1994.

 

Sudhi, Padma. Symbols of Art, Religion and Philosophy: New Delhi,

1988.

 

Tresidder, Jack. The Hutchinson Dictionary of Symbols: Oxford,

1997.

 

Walker, Benjamin. Encyclopedia of Esoteric Man: London, 1977.

 

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Nitin G.