NAMASTE PEOPLE!

What is your favorite way of greeting people? You may say hi, hey or hello. Some of us may like to greet people in the traditional way. Namaste or namaskar is an Indian way of greeting people where a person folds his or her hands by bring both palms together and then bringing the hands close to the chest.

By this gesture, people exchange warm greetings. This is known to all. But do you know what this gesture really means? There are many answers to this question. Let us understand them one by one. The first meaning is an understanding of the term in Sanskrit. Namaste comes from splitting of the term which gives us nama + te. Here nama means not mine. So the person saying namaste by word or gesture is indicating that this self [ego] is not mine but yours. There’s an other meaning that emerges when you split the word. Nama means ‘’ I bow’’ and te means ‘’ to you.’’

Another meaning associated with this gesture gives importance to the meeting of minds of two people. When someone says Namaste he is indicating that meeting of the minds is more important than meeting of the eyes so let our minds meet. A namaste is sometimes a combination of the gesture and utterance of the word and at other times the just the gesture is sufficient. This entirely depends on the people greeting each other. There is no particular rule to be followed.

Similarly, the gesture of folding hands indicates that you are bowing to god that resides in the soul of the person before you. This is especially true with guests because in the Hindu belief system a guest is equal to god.

Now you may ask if bowing down to god with folded hands means the same. No, it doesn’t. This gesture holds an entirely different meaning when it comes to prayers. During prayer, the Namaskar gesture is accompanied by closing of the eyes indicating a meditative state. By this act, one means to say that you are trying to see god with the eyes of your mind. To avoid any distractions one closes his or her eyes.

The usage of this gesture is not restricted to age or gender. Anyone can express humility to anyone else through a Namaste or Namaskar. It was also a popular way of starting or ending a formal letter in ancient India. How often do you use this gesture or word?
 

-Kruti Beesam

వడపప్పు, పానకం, విసనకర్రల ఎందుకు పంచుతారు

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