Namaste - An Explanation of a Very Old Greeting

The first time I read this beautiful explanation of the greeting "Namaste" in artist PattyMara Gourley's blog, I knew I was destined to re-post an excerpt of it on The Mind Body Spirit Odyssey.  Thank you for sharing Patty!  To read more wonderful words by PattyMara and experience all her fabulous creative work, you can visit her at her shop on Etsy!

                                                                                                      ~ diane fergurson


                                                                       

NAMASTE represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture acknowledges the soul in one by the soul in another. Pronounced nah-mah-stay', it is a traditional Sanskrit greeting translated loosely as "The divine within me greets the divine within you"
NAMA means bow
AS means I
TE means you.

Namaste literally means "bow me you" or "I bow to You." To perform Namaste, place the hands together at the heart chakra, close the eyes, and bow the head. It can also be done by placing the hands together in front of the third eye, bowing the head, and then bringing the hands down to the heart. This is an especially deep form of respect. Although in the West the word "Namaste" is usually spoken in conjunction with the gesture, in India, it is understood that the gesture itself signifies Namaste, and therefore, it is unnecessary to say the word while bowing.

We bring the hands together at the heart chakra to increase the flow of Divine love. Bowing the head and closing the eyes helps the mind surrender to the Divine in the heart. One can do Namaste to oneself as a meditation technique to go deeper inside the heart chakra; when done with someone else, it is also a beautiful, albeit quick, meditation.

Namaste allows two individuals to come together energetically to a place of connection and timelessness, free from the bonds of ego-connection. If it is done with deep feeling in the heart and with the mind surrendered, a deep union of spirits can blossom.

I've made painted clay Namaste tiles for the past ten years. They hang in homes, offices, meditation centers and yoga studios. I've created a new Namaste Painted Clay Collection
I make them now with white mica clay from New Mexico, and they shimmer with luminous sparkle and shine, a perfect reflection of two hearts connected.

 PattyMara's Etsy Shop!  Take a look!

Related Posts:

The Lotus

Mudras:  Gestures of a Different Kind

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Serenity of Trees

Just recently one very kind and considerate soul (yes, you Manny) sent me a copy of a poem by Cedric Wright. One particular passage reads:

A tree, a rock, has no pretense, only a real growth out of itself, in close communion with the

universal spirit.

A tree retains a deep serenity.

There is no shortage of mythological and religious resource that enriches our experience of trees. From Yaggdrasil to the bodhi tree to the entire Celtic calendar, trees have played an integral role in our conception of the universe. Our human experience has been enriched with sacred groves, trees of knowledge, and the trees of life. And for many of us, the personal experience is there, proving that this reverence is warranted.

And yet, as much as we impose our wondrous conception of trees upon them, “a tree retains a deep serenity” with “no pretense.” The tree is just being. The tree never strives to be anything other than a tree and this is it’s greatest lesson. As Thich Nhat Hanh calls it in his book "Being Peace", here are some excerpts: this is the lesson of “not talking, not teaching, just being.” And this is Dharmakaya, the teaching of Buddha that can be found within all things. The lesson is to be ourselves, to just be human, wherever it is that you are. For most of us, the hard part is to even recognize what that is. What does it mean to just be? For myself, it is to strip away the desires and endless mental stories of “what if” and “if only.” It entails a long exploration of what actions help me be happy and what actions are led by false concepts. It is discovering truth and living by it. And it is always to smile from that place of serenity. Even when my ego tells me it is better to not smile.

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We'd like to thank Indig Woodworks (Mat) for this beautiful blog post.

The exquisite photo "The Tree - A Memory", which accompanies Mat's post, is courtesy of Jude McConkey.

Thank you both very much!

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Namaste- An Explanation of a Very Old Greeting