Namaste:

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.