Namaste: Reverence on Three Levels

by Ram

The Soul of the Rose by John William Waterhouse

According to what I learned in India from my grandfather and other Sanskrit scholars, “namaste” is a revered Sanskrit word with a deep and profound meaning. It’s not a simple act of bringing your hands into Anjali mudra and muttering the word under your breath. It’s also not just a general greeting, like “hello” or “good morning.” You have to mean it when you are saying it because words like namaste have deep effects on the body, mind, and intellect as they can transform an individual. 

This seven letter Sanskrit word is made of two words: namas + te:

Nama = bow, obeisance, deference, awe, salutation, acknowledgment, adoration, worship, respect, adulation, esteem, appreciation.

Te (do not stress on the Te as in Tea, instead think of the name Theo and say Te similarly such that it rhymes with They). Depending on the context, preceding or the succeeding word, Te could mean = you, they, that. 

The appearance of “s” letter has to do with Sanskrit phonetics and grammar that is not relevant to this post. 

If you have an individual saying Namaste to another individual or to a group, it therefore would literally mean: saluting you/you all, obeisance to you/you all, acknowledging you/you all, worshipping you/you all, adoring you/you all. 

Namo vaḥ and Namo vam, are enclitic words and confined to Sanskrit grammar. It is rarely used in regular Sanskrit conversation and represent shortened versions of Namas + Te (Namo vaḥ and Namo vam are akin to the English enclitic words “can’t” and “won’t”). 

If someone addresses you with a “namaste” and you are generous with your blessings and wish that the addressee (individual or a group) receives twice the benediction/adoration, you reply “Namo Namah.” Namo Namah is Namas Namas (of Namaste) repeated twice for emphasis and simultaneously doubling the blessing. Once again, the use of Namo Namah and not Namas Namas is solely due to Sanskrit grammar and word conjunction. 

“Namaskar” is “namaste” in the Hindi language. In South Indian language namaste takes the form as “namaskara” or “namaskaram.”  

When you tell someone, “Thanks, I appreciate it,” do you really mean every word or do you say it loosely? Words are not just elements to utter or write, they carry energy and travel through space as vibrations that can impact the receiver both negatively and positively. Notice our feelings and our state when we hear certain pleasing words or violent words. Pleasing words calm and de-stress us while spiteful/vicious words ruffle us and disrupt our calm demeanor. Namaste is a pleasant sounding, harmonious, and revered word that has its energetic effects on body, mind and intellect. And unlike what some fanatics profess, namaste is not bound by religion. Its effect and meaning is beyond any religious connotation.

In The Koshas: A Yoga Model for Healthy Aging, Beth Gibbs alluded to the five layer koshas encompassed by the three bodies namely physical, subtle and causal/karmic, which need to be completely integrated and functioning in harmony to achieve wellness and wholeness. For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to the three bodies Physical, Subtle and Causal/Karmic as Body, Mind, and Intellect. This is relevant because when “namaste” is uttered consciously, we wish that the energy associated with this term positively affects one or all three aspects of individuality: Body, Mind and Intellect.

Body. It may sound as a customary greeting similar to hello and is often used in yoga and Ayurveda classes ,where the teacher may utter the word in the beginning or end of the class. It is also a customary greeting among Hindus before initiating a conversation and is used with all people, young, old, friends, and strangers. While it may not carry any significance for the addressee or the addressers, in reality it is extending a warm welcome to each other and showing respect that you are equal to one another. The utterance of this word strikes an instant connection, clears away any doubts or discordance, and removes any barriers of resistance. Acknowledging the oneness and equality paves the way for an animated conversation. It also marks the beginning or ending of a conversation. There is no customary rule that it has to be said in a yoga class. I do it at the end of my yoga class: to thank the participants for having attended my class, to thank the participants for a meaningful session, and to acknowledge the studio for providing me the space to teach. Just one word to give thanks to everyone involved in the event! In the Ayurveda classes that I teach each month (each class is eight hours long with multiple breaks), we say “namaste” when we take breaks and resume the classes. I do it for the same reasons as mentioned above. 

Mind. When you say namaste, at the level of the mind you are the recognizing the divinity in yourself and acknowledging the divinity in others. As a teacher of any subject, you want to see the best of your students and you get an utmost pleasure if your students inculcate and practice your teachings. In a yoga class setting, by saying namaste, you are acknowledging mentally that your students gravitate towards the yogic lifestyle (following the yamas and niyamas and gaining expertise over asanas and pranayama) and to successfully building and strengthening the connection between the body and the mind. Additionally, namaste serves as a blessing that their mind is set free of materialistic desires so as to prepare the intellect for contemplation.

Intellect. At the level of the intellect, by saying namaste you are acknowledging the “true you” (purusha) and the true self in others. You recognize that the true you is the same in all others as well. In a yoga class, you are also letting go of your ego as a yoga teacher. No matter how famous and skillful you may be in your asana practice, you continue to be humble, ready to teach, and learn from others, inculcating in your students positive feelings and experiences, transforming all negative experiences, having no judgement, giving and receiving blessings, and viewing all individuals as a manifestation of that supreme divinity. 

Thus, at the highest level namaste is not a loose word but a revered greeting. There is no specific time, venue, or event when this can be said. The argument that it need not be said in yoga class since it is not followed in yoga centers in India does not hold good, since there is other yoga-relevant stuff that happens in the West (dog yoga, aqua yoga, couples yoga, tantra yoga, yogalates, etc) that is not followed in India. To use this word, you need to be open hearted and generous with your good wishes and blessings to others and to society. Say “namaste” and let go of your ego and personality, feel open, grounded, and calm. And experience oneness with your true self and see everyone and everything else as an embodiment of that true self: “the oneness”. You also have a choice of directing the vibrations of this word to just one level or all three levels of individuality—body, mind and intellect. After saying it, notice if you are experiencing contentment and a sense of accomplishment. It’s a great positive spiral and it results in true happiness. 

Now you may understand why I sign off all my mails to Nina with “Namaste.” Thanks to this divine soul, I am able to pen my thoughts and communicate with you all through this blog.

Namaste!

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Why We Say "Namaste" in Yoga Classes and Some Alternatives

by Nina

West Meets East by Arvind Ramanathan

Richard Rosen emailed me after he read my post "Namaste" and the Anjali Mudra, in which I discussed among other things, how to use and pronounce “namaste” as well as what it meant, based partly on information on got from his book Yoga FAQ. He started out by saying I was correct in the way I recommended pronouncing “namaste.” Whew! That was a relief. 

You’re correct about the pronunciation being more like nuh-muh-stay. That’s because the first two a’s are short and so pronounced like “uh” (say the “a”’s in “America”). And yes, final “e” is pronounced like the “ay” in “stay” (say the “a” in “gate”). 

Then he went on to answer the question that I was left with after reading his section on “namaste” in his book, which was why do some teachers say this in yoga classes? I liked his explanation so I asked him if I could share it with you. Here’s what he wrote:

It’s really not much of a mystery why we end classes with namaste. Like much of what we do in modern Western yoga, the Sanskrit reassures us that we’re actually practicing yoga, when in fact many classes are simply exercise workouts (though there's nothing wrong with that) with only the most tenuous connections to the tradition. Similarly that’s why many classes begin and end with OM, or the Patanjali invocation, or why many modern asanas, like the splits (aka Hanumanasana), are given Sanskrit names. These things tend to “yoga-cize” the class, while at most we’re practicing what should properly be called Modern Western Exercise-influenced Asana. 

I think that if your class includes only asanas (and not meditation, breath practices, and/or philosophy) the idea of reminding people that they are taking a yoga class and not just doing a simple workout is compelling one. But Richard then surprised me by making some recommendations for other ways to end a yoga class:

I think it’s probably best to end the class with a simple “Thanks for coming, I really appreciate your presence,” or if you have a passable Porky Pig imitation, “T-T-T-That’s all, folks.” If you want to use Sanskrit, which is a complicated but beautiful language, and that acknowledges (as we should) yoga’s Indian origins, I recommend, “shanti, shanti, shanti-hee,” which in English can be rendered as the “peace which passeth understanding.”

A reason why you might want to consider an alternative to "namaste" is that some people from India living in the West find the practice of saying "namaste" at the end of a yoga class rather funny. For example, a reader directed me to this NPR article A Ga. School Bans The Greeting 'Namaste.' Do They Know What It Means?, which I recommend reading. The author, Deepak Singh, described how he used the word growing up to mean "hello" and said that when he hears Westerners use the word he finds it "funny and cute":

I got the feeling that they didn't think of it just as a greeting, but it had a spiritual connotation — a Hindu mantra, a divine chant, a yoga salutation. Using namaste in India never made me feel spiritual in any way. Even in the yoga classes I took in India, the teachers never uttered a namaste.

And my friend Arvind Ramanathan—who created the original cartoon for us above—goes on to say:

People say Namaste when they just meet you, and not usually not while leaving. It would be like an English speaker going to some class in India where the teacher ends the class by saying 'greetings' or' hello'. That would be so odd Ha Ha.

Thank you for reading this blog, y’all! I really appreciate your presence.

Shanti shanti shanti



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For information about Nina's upcoming book signings and other activities, see Nina's Workshops, Book Signings, and Books.

"Namaste" and the Anjali Mudra

by Nina

Photo by Sarit Z Rogers

Several of my yoga teachers throughout my many years of taking classes have ended their classes by instructing the class to take the Anjali mudra (or as some of them call it, “Bringing Your Hands Together in Namaste”) and say the word “namaste.” But I noticed that Donald Moyer and Richard Rosen never did this. Then I also noticed that YFHA staff member Ram Rao, who grew up in India, often signs off on his emails to me with “Namaste, Ram.” Naturally, although it was not exactly a burning question, this did make me wonder what the deal was with this “namaste” thing.

I also know that when this topic came up in the class I took for a while with Richard Rosen, Richard explained that the student can say “namaste” but it is incorrect for the teacher to do it. That’s because “namaste” is “singular “and should only be used for greeting a single person. Then he said what the teacher should say to greet a group of students, but I immediately forgot the word. And since he never used it himself, I never heard it again. But that discussion gave me the uncomfortable feeling that that there might be more to learn about the use of this word and that way of ending a yoga class. Fortunately, as I discovered last night, this is one of the very questions that Richard Rosen addresses in his book Yoga FAQ. So, I thought today I’d share what I learned about it from you. 

First of all, the word is a compound word that includes the word “namas,” which means to “bow to, salute reverentially, to adore” and the word “te,” which means “you” (in the singular form). Put together, these two words mean “I bow to you” or “I salute you.” Although Richard did not say this, I’ve also read that the “you” in this case is “real” you, not your body-mind but your atman or Self (pursa), which we have discussed in Spiritual Ignorance and Richard Rosen Clarifies the Meaning of Avidya. So that leads us to another translation of namaste as “the divine in me bows to the divine in you.” This is actually the translation that I originally learned back in the day so that’s what I’ve been thinking it meant all these years. 

That being said, I’ve also read that “namaste” is the most common way to say “hello” (kind of like “Salutations!”) in India and Nepal and is sometimes used to express deep gratitude as well. Hmm, I will have to ask Ram what he means when he ends his emails to me that way! And I guess it’s up to you to decide how to interpret what you’re saying when you say this to your yoga teacher or anyone else. 

I’ve also learned that many of us who pronounce the word as “nah-mah-stay” are mispronouncing it. The first two syllables should be pronounced more like "nuh" and "muh." Trip Advisor, which encourages you to use this word when greeting people in India and Nepal, says think of "num" to begin the word and "the rest will flow." Yeah, that works. And it fits with how Richard says to pronounce the salutation to a group.

According to Richard, to address a group of students (or even two students) correctly, the teacher should say, “namo vaha” which is pronounced “nuh-mo-vuy-huh.” Basically, this means “I bow to you all,” or “y’all” as they say in Texas, where my daughter lives.

Now about the hand position used along with this word. Richard says that is the Anjali mudra, which most people position in front of the sternum. But I’ve noticed that some students either don’t put their hands on the sternum and place them elsewhere or, more commonly, move from sternum to forehead to overhead. You might want to be careful with that! Richard says:

“For the teacher the hands are brought opposite the sternum, before the face for a respected elder, and above the head for a deity.”

By the way, I’ve also seen this hand position called Pranamasana (with the same word being used for the starting position of a Sun Salutation). Perhaps that is because when you’re saying “hello” to someone in India, although you include the hand gesture, you’re not really practicing a mudra. Or, perhaps this is just another name for the hand position (something I see frequently with Sanskrit names for poses and such), just as, it turns out, "namaste" can also be said as “namaskar.”

Unfortunately, Richard really only answered part of the question that was asked of him, which also left me still wondering. The question in the book actually was: “Why do we say “namaste” at the end of yoga class? What does it mean?” While Richard answered in some detail about the word and the hand gesture mean, he never said why it is often used at the end of yoga classes. So, at this point I still have no idea why many yoga teachers do this and who started it. Certainly not all schools of yoga do this. Jivana reports that in Integral Yoga classes they end class with "Jai Sri Satguru Maharaja Ki! Jai." And my friend Iyengar teacher Jarvis Chen, who has studied extensively in India, reports that they don't end classes in Pune that way, either. In fact, he says that at the end of the class, "Often Guruji would just say, 'That's enough for today." Yet in The Meaning of "Namaste" in Yoga Journal, Aadil Palkhivala, who was trained by Iyengar, discusses how to use the word and hand gesture at the beginning and end of a yoga class as a symbol of "gratitude and respect." For now, it's a mystery. If you know something about this, do tell!

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook and Twitter ° To order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being, go to Amazon, Shambhala, Indie Bound or your local bookstore.

For information about Nina's upcoming book signings and other activities, see Nina's Workshops, Book Signings, and Books.