WHY DO WE DO 'NAMASTE'

Indians greet each other with 'namaste'. It could be just a casual or formal greeting, a cultural convention or an act of worship. The gesture is often accompanied by words like 'Ram Ram', 'Jai Shri Krishna', 'Namo Narayana', 'Jai Siya Ram', 'Om Shanti'.

In Sanskrit 'namah' + 'te' ='namaste'.

It means - I bow to you - my greetings.

'Namah' can also be literally interpreted as 'na aham' - not I. This is spiritually significant as it negates or reduces one's ego, in the presence of another.

~Folded palms placed before the chest symbolize 'may our minds meet'. And the real meeting between people is the meeting of their minds.

~The bowing down of the head is a gracious form of extending friendship in love and humility.

~The spiritual significance of 'namaste'~

The Life Force, the Divinity, the Self or the Lord in me is the same in all. With the meeting of palms we recognise this oneness. Our bowed head is a salute to the divinity in the person we meet.

~We close our eyes as we do 'namaste' to a revered person or the Lord. This signifies - Look within and recognise this Divinity.