Indians greet each other with namaste.
The two palms are placed together in front of the chest and the head
bows whilst saying the word namaste. This greeting is for all – people
younger than us, of our own age, those older than friends, even
strangers and us.There are five forms of formal traditional greeting
enjoined in the shaastras of which namaskaram is one. This is understood
as prostration but it actually refers to paying homage as we do today
when we greet each other with a namaste.
Namaste could be just a casual or formal greeting, a cultural
convention or an act of worship. However there is much more to it than
meets the eye. In Sanskrit namah + te = namaste. It means – I bow to you
– my greetings, salutations or prostration to you. Namaha can also be
literally interpreted as “na ma” (not mine). It has a spiritual
significance of negating or reducing one’s ego in the presence of
another.
The real meeting between people is the meeting of their minds. When
we greet another, we do so with namaste, which means, “may our minds
meet,” indicated by the folded palms placed before the chest. The bowing
down of the head is a gracious form of extending friendship in love and
humility .
The spiritual meaning is even deeper. The life force, the divinity,
the Self or the Lord in me is the same in all. Recognizing this oneness
with the meeting of the palms, we salute with head bowed the Divinity in
the person we meet. That is why sometimes, we close our eyes as we do
namaste to a revered person or the Lord – as if to look within. The
gesture is often accompanied by words like “Ram Ram,” “Jai Shri
Krishna”, “Namo Narayana”, “Jai Siya Ram”, “Om Shanti” etc – indicating
the recognition of this divinity.
When we know this significance, our greeting does not remain just a
superficial gesture or word but paves the way for a deeper communion
with another in an atmosphere of love and respect.
No comments:
Post a Comment