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Meaning of Namaste
Namaste is an ancient Sanskrit blessing. The “yogic prayer” which is frequently heart during a yoga class. One version goes like this:
"I honor the place in you where Spirit lives
I honor the place in you which is
of Love, of Truth, of Light, of Peace,
when you are in that place in you,
and I am in that place in me,
then we are One."
For Hindu(s), "Namaste" is a greeting. The two hands pressed together, held vertically near the heart with the head gently bowed as you say, “Namaste”. Thus, Namaste is BOTH a spoken greeting and a gesture. Using the lingo it is both a Mantra and a Mudra.
The prayerful hand position is the Mudra known as Anjali, from the root Anj: "to adorn, honor, celebrate or anoint." The hands held together in union signify the oneness of our apparently dual cosmos. Joining spirit and matter together. The right hand represents our higher nature. That which is divine in us. And the left hand represents the lower, worldly nature.
Namaste, by Bill Eager
