Namaste (नमस्ते) is the most common practice of greeting people in Hinduism since ancient times. Namaste (नमस्ते) is not only practiced in Hinduism but also in other religions like Buddhism and Jainism. Namaste (नमस्ते) is the most common, customary courtesy greeting to begin with & to end it. Whenever Hindus meet people, before starting any conversation or just to greet people we join our palms & say Namaste (नमस्ते). Namaste is not just a greeting, but it can also be used as a way of saying goodbye or expressing gratitude.

     In western culture, people greet each other by shaking hands and by saying hi, hello or hey & end the conversation by saying bye; just like that, Hindus greet people with Namaste & end the conversation with Namaste. But unfortunately, modernism has taken up our mind in such a way that we have started greeting people with hi, hello, hey & bye. But we should understand that there is no meaning of hi, hello or hey & bye, and it is just a way of greeting. But in Hinduism, Namaste (नमस्ते) has its wonderful meaning.

     Namaste is a way of showing respect & that you are equal to one another. It is used by all people one meets, from young & old to friends & strangers. Though it has its origins in India, Namaste is now known & used throughout the world. Much of this has been due to its use in yoga & Namaste (नमस्ते) became the most common gesture worldwide since Covid-19.

Picture Courtesy- www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org

Picture Courtesy- www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org

Correct way to do Namaste (नमस्ते) –

Namaste is more than a word we say, it has its own hand gesture or mudra. The hand gesture of Namaste is known as Anjali Mudra. With a deep long breath, both hands are pressed & folded together & placed near the heart, fingers are straight upwards. The thumb is placed close to the heart, this mudra is called Anjali Mudra. Let us learn the correct way to do Namaste.

• Press your palms together in front of your chest. Centre your palms in the middle of your body with your elbows out. Both of your arms should be a perfect mirror of one another.
• Press your thumbs & press each finger & palm, do not keep space in between fingers, thumbs, or palms. Hold your fingers together rather than spreading them apart as you touch your palms together. Your palms should be near your chest.
• Bend slightly from the waist, dipping your head. Pause for 1 second when you bend, this is an act of showing respect.
• Say Namaste while bending. Some cultures simply bow without saying Namaste, but it is not considered disrespectful to say it if you are unsure. Namaste is often spoken in a calm & peaceful voice. Namaste indicates that you see them as your equal, or more precisely, that they are one with you.

This is the correct way of doing Namaste and greeting others. Namaste can be a casual or formal greeting, a cultural convention, or an act of worship.

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Significance of greeting with Namaste (नमस्ते) –

     Namaste or namaskar is the Hindu way of greeting each other since Vedic period. Excavations for Indus civilization have revealed many terracotta figures of male & female in Namaste posture. These archaeological findings are dated to be between 3000 BC to 2000 BC.

     Namaste (नमस्ते) has its common variants like namaskar, pranam or namo namaha, & it is one of the various forms of formal traditional greeting mentioned in the Vedas. Although the common meaning of Namaste or its variants is paying homage or showing respect to one another. Namaste (नमस्ते) is a Sanskrit the word which has the combination of two words नमः (Namaha) & ते (Te) where the word "नमः" (Namaha) means to bow & ते (Te) means you so, together Namaste (नमस्ते) means “I bow to you”, which means greetings or salutations. It can also be literally interpreted as 'न' (Na) 'मः' (Mah) which means "not mine".

     The reason for using Namaste (नमस्ते) has a deeper spiritual significance as well. It has a spiritual significance of negating (neutralizing) or reducing one's ego in the presence of another. The spiritual meaning of Namaste is "the light within me honours the light within you", this shows that Hindus believe that each & every person has the divinity of God within. It recognizes the belief that the life force, the divinity, the Self, or the God in me is the same in all. The gesture of Namaste also represents the union of the individual soul with the divine soul hence, when you say Namaste to someone, you are acknowledging the divine within them, which creates a spiritual bond between you & that person. It is a way of expressing your love & respect towards them.

     Namaste (नमस्ते) is a way of creating a spiritual connection between two souls. The gesture creates a bridge between two people, connecting them on a deeper level beyond words or physical touch. Namaste is not just a physical gesture; it creates a soul-to-soul connection between two people. The gesture promotes a sense of unity & harmony, spreading love & positivity to those around us.

     Also, Namaste (नमस्ते) is not just a way of showing friendship, love or respect; but when we join our palm, the cosmic energies which are on our palm will connect to each other & create a positive energy within & around us. Doing Namaste also increases the spiritual path. And of course, we do not want to give our cosmic energy to others, that is why we do not shake hands. This namaste or namaskar is also used during puja rituals & that namaskar is in the context of worshipping, respecting & getting spiritually connected to God.

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Why we should not shake hands or do hi5?

     The reason behind not shaking hands with others is that, our hands contain cosmic energies & those energies contain some amount of positive energy & some amount of negative energy. These energies are divided in 3 parts, 1. Sattva (सत्व) energy (the quality of goodness) 2. Rajas (रजस्) energy (the quality of passion) & 3. Tamas (तमस्) energy (quality of ignorance). Every individual has different portions & different ratios of these 3 energies. When we shake our hands with others, our energy enters into another person's hands & that other person's energy enters our hands, now we do not know what kind of energies they have & what kind of energies we have. So, not mixing other's energies with our energy & keeping our energy with ourselves will activate more & more positive energy inside us which leads us towards the path of spiritualism.

     Understanding this according to science is, during a handshake the person comes in direct contact with the other person & the hand itself is the medium that contains most of the viruses. If one person shakes hands with the other person, the viruses are transferred & it will keep on moving from one body to another. During CoronaVirus, we have seen that doctors too advised not to shake hands as it transfers viruses faster & so Namaste (नमस्ते) was globally adopted since then. Apart from this, it is due to the current situation, but in Hindu culture, the practice of Namaste instead of the handshake is always prevalent.

     The importance of energy in the human body is very important, that is why the tradition of doing Namaste (नमस्ते) to flow its energy inside one's own body helps to generate more cosmic energy which is suitable to one’s body, so Namaste is considered suitable in Hindu culture.

Scientific reasons of greeting with Namaste (नमस्ते) –

      Hindu Scriptures are always connected to religious as well as scientific reasons. Whatever we do in our day-to-day life or other such rituals, each & every ritual is connected to science. Greeting each other with Namaste (नमस्ते) is also connected with science. Also, several scientific studies have shown the benefits of Namaste on our physical & mental health.

     Let us understand the scientific reasons of doing Namaste (नमस्ते);

• Namaste posture brings balance & calmness to the mind & body. While joining palms, the pressure points in the fingers get activated & get linked to different areas of the brain which helps the mind to balance & focus.
• Namaste posture helps in reducing stress levels & promotes relaxation & also helps in boosting our immune system.
• Namaste posture affects positively on our emotional well-being, boosting positive emotions such as love, gratitude, joy, etc.
• This posture also helps to balance & soothe the nerves (nadis) which helps to reduce stress & anxiety levels in the body.
• The folding of hands near the chest brings focus inward & helps to connect with one's inner self.
• Joining both hands ensures touching the tips of all the fingers together, which are linked to pressure points of the eyes, ears & mind. Pressing them together, it gets activated & helps us remember that person for a long time.
• According to Ayurveda, practicing Namaste posture helps in improving cognitive function which helps the person to gain excellence in perception, memory, learning, attention, decision making, & language abilities.
• According to the Ayurveda, the human fingers are associated with the five elements (panch tatvam) (पञ्च तत्त्वम्) that make up the entire creation. Thumb is the Space (Aakash) (आकाशः), the index finger is the Air (Vaayu) (वायुः), middle finger is Fire (Agni) (अग्निः), the ring finger is the Water (Jalam) (जलम्) & the little finger is the Earth (Pruthvi) (पृथ्वी). When we bring the hands together in Anjali Mudra, we also activate the five elements in our bodies. When practiced regularly, these elements and all the tissues & organs associated with them also come in a balanced state.

     Thus, it is a wonder that a gesture so simple could have such deep significance & impact on our body-mind complex. But, just a few minutes of daily practice of Anjali Mudra can have far-reaching subtle & gross benefits for you. Also, saying Namaste has tremendous positive benefits unlike shaking hands or saying hi, hello etc. It is better to hold on to our deep-rooted cultural customary with pride than to mock western culture which does not have any benefits or meaning of doing it.

Namaste

फाल्गुनः कृष्णपक्षे १४, २०७६

अस्तु।