namasté

Namasté... “The pure goodness within me honors the pure goodness within you.” Namasté is a mantra with a subtly powerful energetic effect. It is spoken with the gesture of hands together in front of the chest & the head slightly bowed. This signifies not only the gesture but also an attitude of humility, love & compassion as well as transparent awareness. It internalizes the mind unlike a handshake, which focuses energy outward. It balances our left & right hemispheres of our brain & our masculine & feminine aspects. Namasté is a practice of yoga: union, of the soul, mind & body. The body performs & speaks the sacred word. The mind reflects on its meaning. The soul unites with the infinite soul of the other person with universal awareness. This word is derived from 2 Sanskrit words, Nama & Te. Te means you & Nama means to bow to another in submission & humility. In essence this is a greeting of equality & complete humility; "I am neither above nor below you." The word Nama when split into 2 once again becomes Na, meaning negation & Ma meaning mine. Thus the meaning becomes "not mine." This meaning combined with the rest of the word is a rejection of personal ego. Thus it is a greeting based on 3 levels; mental, physical & the verbal.