By: Bharat Dungerwal

“Namaste” A delightful word which we hear around us every day, it is said while welcoming or saying  good bye in India. People of different countries have different styles of greeting each other when they meet. In western countries especially English speaking people say hi or hello and shake-hand. In Japan they bow three times, but in India the most common way to say hello is Namaste.

Namaste means putting hand together like a knife so that people may cut through all differences that may exist and immediately get to share ground that is common to all. It is said that NAMASTE is a great equalizer. Namaste involves joining palms and fingers of our hands. The fingers of left hand represent five senses of “Karma”, and those of right, the five organs of knowledge. It signifies that our karma or action must be in harmony with and governed by rightful knowledge, promoting us to think and act carefully.

NAMASTE as a word can be broken into three parts “NAM” which means bowing or submitting, “NAMAS” is a reverent greeting or solution and “TE” simply means ‘it’s you.

It is an expression of happiness. It is comprised of the activities of the hands (mudras), the mouth (mantras) and the mind     (yoga). Thus namaste in essence is equivalent to meditation that depends upon the relationship between these three. Namaste could just be casual or formal greeting, a cultural convention or an act of worship. Namaste means a declaration of submission.

Thus Namaste is not just a word, but it is a feeling and expression in one’s heart. NAMASTE!!

About the Author: This article is written by Bharat Dungerwal, he is a 1 ^st year student of Electronics and Communication Engineering in Singhania University, Udaipur. Bharat likes to play computer games and love to surf internet.