Namaste!

I often use the word "Namaste" at the end of my writings and posts. Words are a funny thing... they stand for a thought and that thought can have many meanings. Ultimately they have the meaning that each individual assigns to it.

Let me inspire you to honor each other.

What is Namaste? It is a manner of greeting used by many Hindu, Taoist and Buddhist as a form of reverence to those we greet. Commonly written "Namaste", it is pronounced as "Namastay" with the first two "a's" as the first "a" in "America" and the "ay" as in "stay", but with the "t" pronounced soft with the area just behind the tip of the tongue pressing against the upper-front teeth with no air passing (as the t in "tamasha").

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The greeting "Namaste" is the divine spark in one person recognizing the divine spark in another.

"Nama" means bow, "as" means I, and "te" means you. Therefore, Namaste literally means "I bow to you."

To perform Namaste, we place the hands together at the heart charka, close the eyes, and bow the head.

This is an especially deep expression of respect. Often the word "Namaste" is spoken along with the gesture.

One can do Namaste to oneself as a quick meditation technique, to remind one of the divine spark within. Also, if you keep icons or holy images on your altar or in your meditation space, you may greet these images with Namaste as well.
 

The Sanskrit word Namaste means 'I bow to the divine in you.'

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"I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. I honor the place in you, where lies your love, your light, your truth and your beauty. I honor the place in you, where...if you are in that place in you ... and I am in that place in me...then there is only one of us" ... Leo Buscaglia	Namaste is an ancient Sanskrit understanding that says, "I respect the place in you that is of love, of truth and of Light. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me then we are one."
. NAMASTE ~ "The Spirit in me greets the spirit in you." "The spirit within me bows to the spirit within you." ......
Namaste is an Indian expression used as a greeting or upon parting, by putting the palms of the hands together in prayer position. It means, “I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me.” This, of course, is also a way of saying, “I recognize that we are all equal.” - Deepak Chopra  The Divine in me recognizes and honors, the Divine in you. St. Germain's Translation:  The God I AM of my soul salutes, forever,  the God I AM within your being.  Note: I AM refers to the Biblical name of God  "Namaste, the God in me Salutes the God in you."  'Namaste' is an East Indian greeting which means 'the light within me bows to the light within you.' In other words, beyond our achy bones, our tired feet and our multi-colored real life soap operas, lurks a dimension that is more than the body, the persona, the ego and all the 'trappings and the suits of woe' as Hamlet would say---a dimension where there isn't a 'you' and 'me' but rather a synergy that is more than all that, a space for the eternal to rest within the temporal.
I would like to list as many different definitions for Namaste as I can find.  If you have one that is worded differently, please send it to me so I can add it to this list. :) E-Mail serenity@namastecafe.com .. Site  Index Serenity's Spiritual Creations