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Namaste -
The Significance of a Yogic Greeting
“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:
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To bend
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To bow
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To sink
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To incline
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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.
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 too
thought of 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 crate 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.”
Namaste - The Significance of
a Yogic Greeting
http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/namaste
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