Namaste'

Embrace the meaning

Namaste is a word heard in yoga classes all over and in India as a greeting, a respectful recognition from one person to another. But what does it mean exactly? The dictionary defines it as “a respectful greeting said when giving a namaskar” Okay so that is about as clear as mud to be perfectly honest. So now the question is what is a namaskar? I’m a Grand Master of Yoga, a lifelong practitioner of the science of yoga and that answer makes me scratch MY head a bit, to be honest. Now let’s face it, I own and operate a yoga studio and school, I have practiced yoga throughout my 54 years on this planet, and I DO know the meaning behind the word, (I have for decades honestly) which we will get to in a moment here, and I do know what the gesture namaskar is. But! if I was a novice and had zero clue and maybe heard the word for the first time in my first yoga class and went looking, or rather Googling and read that? I’d be just as lost in trying to discover the answer if not more so! Before we go any further then, let’s see what the dictionary says about Namaskar. It is defined as “ a traditional Indian greeting or gesture of respect, made by bringing the palms together before the face or chest and bowing” Okay! Well, that at least explains things a bit better. Let’s think about our yoga novice here again for a moment, more than likely they’d have put their hands together in a prayer position bowed as they said Namaste’ in their yoga class. You still don’t know the meaning of the word Namaste’ but at least they have an understanding of the concept of what was done in class. Still confused but a bit closer to understanding at least. Just a bit, however.

First of all, let’s explain that Namaste’ is a word written in Sanskrit, this ancient Indo-European language is one of the original seed languages found on the planet. According to known history, it’s been spoken on the planet since 5000 years before Christ walked on the Earth! Let’s just digest that for a second! There’s a WOW! moment that needs a pause and a little reflection, considering the current year is 2023 CE. At approximately 5000-8000 years old it is considered by some sources to be the world’s oldest language! By others the mother of all languages, older than Latin, Hebrew, and Greek. These sources only state Sumerian is older. Another moment to pause and process here. So the language of this greeting is VERY ancient. And I do believe it is important to understand this fact to better understand this and any other “foreign” word. It helps to change your filter and perspectives when considering its meaning. We more often than not filter everything through our unique perspectives and do not consider any background or deeper understanding of things. This leads to judgments and misunderstandings of things, words, and whatnot. More on this in a moment.

So now we know what language it is and the fact that the language is VERY ancient and that fact needs to be considered as we go further so as to NOT look at it through the filter of our 2023 minds. So back to what is the true meaning of Namaste’. As I said previously, I was introduced to the word many decades ago. I believe I was around the age of 12 when I first heard it and my parents were the ones to introduce it to me. I still recall asking what does it mean and being told, the Divine in me honors the Divine in you. Okay, keep in mind I was 12. I’m not entirely sure at that age I completely understood what that meant. I was told it was a respectful greeting and it meant we were recognizing that we were all human and that at the heart of it all were were all made up of the same “stuffs”. Today when I introduce the word to children I always put it as under the skin there are bones, blood, organs, a heart, etc that essentially look and work the same way….so essentially we are all the same and when we say Namaste’ we are saying thank you to each other and recognizing these aspects of each other that are the same. I’m certain some of this comes from my own introduction to the word.

In my yoga studio, there hangs a banner that states, “Namaste. , "I honor the place in you that is the same in me. I honor the place in you where the whole universe resides. I honor the place in you, of love, of light, of peace, and of truth. I honor the place in you that is the same in me. There is but one Namaste." After reading this you can further understand the namaskar gesture that accompanies saying namaste’. It’s an honor when we bow slightly to one another. When we recognize the unity we have as humans…for we are all humans first and foremost its everything else that divides us. and it is this meaning that we should all be focused on in the modern world. A world that seeks to divide us based on race, religion, politics, and much more. Judgements are rampant these days…don’t think so? Turn on the news, or the radio, or the TV in general and pay attention…don’t just mindlessly watch and you can see it.

Unfortunately in recent memory, this has even spilled over into the use of the word Namaste’ in yoga studios, etc. Instead of seeing it for what it is and being accepting there has been a recent movement that has almost demonized those of us who use it in our yoga classes because as they state it’s colonizing of yoga, it’s taking away from the original meaning and yoga etc etc etc. in doing this aren’t we in essence being judgemental and labeling the word itself as something other than it truly is? Let’s go back to how the word translates here for a moment….the Divine in me, honors the Divine in you. Shouldn’t that be the all-prevailing energies we dwell on? If we apply the thinking behind this movement, which comes out of the sterilization of history and the world there are many, many, many other words we should ALL stop using in our daily lives because those words came out of “colonization” as well.

In a day when we live in a world that does NOT know peace, in a world where there is war and conflict between peoples…over race, gender, religion, and politics…maybe we should focus on the beautiful meaning of the greeting, the meaning of the word. the gesture that goes along with it. You and I are the same…we may look different on the outside, and we may come from different cultures backgrounds beliefs, etc. But inside our bodies, our minds at the very core are all made up of the same stuff and I will honor that, I will recognize that and say thank you for sharing your space with me even if it is just a passing moment in time. Imagine that world! what a thought!