Namaste & Namaskar

[Guest guest]

Namaskar Rajesh,

 

The definitions for both Namaste and Namaskar are below :

 

The traditional form of greeting in India is based on a profound

philosophy of non-arrogance or negation of ego.

 

NAMASKAR is made of three words:

 

NAMAH + OM + KAR = NAMASKAR

 

NAMAH literally translated means NOT ME. It is a negation of one's

identity and hence of one's ego or arrogance.

 

OM is the sound of life. It is believed that to begin with there was

only the sound of OM and the whole world evolved from it. OM is used

often in meditation. The whole cosmos is summed up in word OM.

 

KAR means shape/form of or manifestation of. OMKAR hence means

manifestation of OM. OMKAR means the whole of UNIVERSE / COSMOS. The

totality of the Universe is like a System taken as a whole without

dividing it into divisions and sub-divisions. OMKAR can be called by

various names such as BRAHMA, SHIVA etc. In a way, OMKAR is similar

but not identical to GOD. OMKAR is omnipresent and omnipotent. Though

OMKAR may take a human form but OMKAR is not necessarily human.

 

The above interpretation of NAMASKAR as NAMAH + OMKAR has been

questioned by some experts on the ground that the disappearance of

the sound of O is inexplicable. Grammatically speaking, the objection

seems tenable, even though the above interpretation is popularly

accepted. In view of this objection, the following interpretation is

proposed.

 

NAMASKAR is made of three words:

 

NAM + AS + KAR = NAMASKAR

 

NAM is the root form of NAMAH and has the same meaning as NAMAH - NOT

ME.

 

AS means " To Be " or " To Exist " . Another word derived from the same

root is Astitva which means existence.

 

KAR means doer or one who makes or creates. For example, KAR can be

seen in the words Kalakar, Chitrakar, Karmkar, Charmkar. In the above

words, the suffix kar leads to the meaning of one who creates art or

painting or work or leather.

 

ASKAR would hence mean the the creator of all that exists or the one

who causes the property of being or existence.

 

 

NAMASTE is also used as a greeting.

-

Namaste is made of two words: NAMAH + TE = NAMASTE

 

In Sanskrit, Te means they. The literal meaning of NAMASTE hence

is " Not me, they " . The word they refers to all the Gods. NAMASTE is

hence a philosophical statement affirming that the doer of everything

is not me but the Gods.

 

In Oriental culture a greeting is an affirmation of one's belief and

is a recitation of the name of the Lord, as one sees Him. The

utterance of the name of the Lord is said to be sufficient to make

the day / morning / evening good for both the persons - the person

conveying greetings and the person receiving greetings. Some examples

are as follows:

 

RAM-RAM or JAI SHRI KRISHNA or HARE KRISHNA or JAI SHRI RAM or JAI

SIYA RAM are some of the common greetings in Hindus. All of them have

name of a deity and either proclaim the victory of the said deity or

declare the said deity to be GOD.

 

Sikhs say SAT SHRI AKAL, which means that Truth is the God and is

timeless. Sikhs also say WAHE GURUJI KA KHALSA, WAHE GURUJI KI FATEH.

This is a declaration that the ultimate victory will be of the Guru

and his followers.

 

Muslims say KHUDA HAFIZ, which means Khuda is the Protector.

 

In all the above Oriental Greetings, persons exchanging greetings,

invoke a principle or thought or belief, which forms a bondage

between the persons. In no case, does one make a direct wish to the

other. Both persons start with a common premise which is generally a

negation of their own egos and identities. Their individual egos and

identities are submerged in the identity of Larger than Life Reality

which both persons accept as sacred. Being a part of the same larger

than Life Reality, gives a sense of oneness and is the beginning of a

harmonious relationship.

 

While wishing you NAMASKAR, Samarth Bharat proclaims a complete

absence of arrogance. We accept that we are virtually nobodies while

the Cosmos is the Ultimate Being. We see ourself in mathematical

terms as " Limit tending to Zero " while the Cosmos is all pervading

and is infinite. We see ourself as a part of this Infinite. The

reality is this infinity and role of each one of us is only a small

beep on this time-space continuum.

 

Om Namah Shivaya

 

 

,

ethnicindiaimpex wrote:

>

> Namaste

>

> After reading your definition of namaste I have stopped saying

namaskar.

>

> Please guide me is there a difference?

>

> Namaste

>

> Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone Essar

>

>