The Meaning of Namaste

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Good Morning!

 

The Meaning of Namaste

 

" I honor the place in you

in which the entire universe dwells.

I honor the place in you which is

of love, of peace, of light, and of truth.

When you are in that place in you,

and I am in that place in me, We are One. "

 

Namaste: The Significance of a Yogic Greeting

 

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.

 

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. "

 

 

Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac

http://www.peacefulmind.com

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