The significance of saying NAMASKAR (नमस्कार)

 

One of the single contributions of Hinduism to the world to solve problems which trouble various nations is the weapon termed “Namaskar” a method to express the view that God resides in the heart of every person. Folding the palms and bowing the head can help us to ford across linguistic and other barriers. Namaskar diminishes our selfishness and induces in us the desire to help others and cooperate with them to fetch peace.

In religious parlance this step of displaying our utter humility is also termed “Anjali.” The significance behind this demonstration of one’s modesty is the acceptance of the theory that the obeisance shown is to the Almighty who has taken a birth in every heart. There is the presence of the Divine in all souls. This noble concept has been given to the world of culture by the Hindu religion.

Saying “Namaste” or doing the “Pranam” प्रणाम. Removes from us, the feeling of enmity, jealously and selfishness, it makes us forget the differences between the higher and the low. In the present day, people tend to give up their faith in God by monstrously constricting their hearts. Resorting to the offering of salutations to even those who may hate us can change the situation.

The classic example of invoking divine help in times of peril is that of Draupadi mentioned in our Scripture. When even her husband’s could not help, she gave an open acknowledgement of her surrender through this gesture and God’s help was instantaneous. So did the innocent maiden of the village where the Lord resided during His incarnation as Shri Krishna in His youngest days. The scriptures beckon us to accept that God who has created us has also taken a place in our hearts.

The scriptures create an awakening in us that all are but the children of God. Behind this concept lies the tradition of doing the Pranam  and prostrating by even aged men before sages, saints, Godly men and divine personalities though they may be young because they are messengers of God.    

 

PHILOSOPHY OF NAMASTE (नम: स्ते) :- The main point of all Indian Spiritual practices is to raise the Kundalini Shakti (The agent of soul expansion) from the Muldhara Chakra in the perineum to the Sahasara Chakra in the head, thereby enlarging knowledge and insight and opening up the world of higher consciousness. All the exercise found in our various systems of Yoga, namely, Bhakti, (Devotion,) Karma (action), and Jnana, (Knowledge), are based on Dharma (Righteousness) and are complementary in the process which is evolutionary in nature. This is the concept of Ardhanaareesware (Shiva   and Shakti   in one cosmic form).

Shiva is the Lord of Yoga in our tradition and the Shakti is Bio-Energy that is Creative power in us to realize the highest goal in life. Ardhanaareeswara is the one cosmic Form in which both the matter and spirit are perfectly united and integrated. We are reminded of this highest philosophy of life as and when we do NAMASTE in our day to day life because the wise people who introduced this Namaste in our culture knew that in this practice alone lays our real happiness. 

The literary meaning of Namaste is (नम: + स्ते) I bow my head in front of you. The simple act on the part of a person of bringing the left hand and right hand together. Just over the breast is accepted as a humble greeting and reciprocated accordingly knowing or unknowingly, however helped themselves to make any progress in their lives and in the lives of the others did it in tune with the spirit of Namaste. Where ever the humility is absent and not expressed in any human forms of matter and spirit, whether it is in the relationship between employer and the employed, Student and teacher, rich and poor, man and woman etc. there remain tension and frustration in the life of man and woman and nation.

We do many things, which include criticizing and fault finding without knowing why and for what we are doing them. These actions produce no meaningful result compared to those of a man who acts with proper understanding. The gesture of Namaste embodies the efforts to know and act properly. The spirit of this simple practice does produce better understanding and genuine interest in human welfare, not only in our country but also in the whole world.

Namaste is part and partial of the system of self-culture of this land, which has been revived recently by Saints like Ramana Maharshi, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobind, and others. Therefore in addition to cultivating a life according to its great philosophy, Namaste helps us to work out life in harmony with the progress of our evolutionary process. 

We can find in India millions of religious minded people doing Namaste to various deities in our temples, but many people now a days, do it quite mechanically without knowing its significance. That they are not sincere to the philosophy of Namaste may be due to their not knowing about it.

The purity that develops in us is based on the right understanding of two aspects of life symbolized by the folded hands in Namaste. The folded hands are always drawn towards the breast and placed right in front of the heart. What is the reason for this?

The body is a combination of chemical elements. Indian Rishis knew this fact thousands of years ago and it was clarified and taught by Kapila Maharishi through Sankhya Yoga. This was long before the discoveries of modern science in this line. He explained that all the forms are a combination of Earth (Solid), Water (Liquid), Fire (Gas), Air (Oxygen), and Ether (Subatomic Matter). Tantric School of Yoga without it no form can ever exist also recognized the source of Bio-Energy on which all these elements depend as Kundalini Shakti.

In the Kundalini Yoga system and tantric practice, stage of understanding have been linked with the knowledge of the chemical combination of this world and the spirit that keeps it going. The location of these centers of consciousness had been made on the Torso. A man can still live when both the legs and hands are amputated. But none can survive when the torso is cut apart. This proves the correct location of Bio-energy of Kundalini Shakti in connection with the special cord in living beings.

The energy of spirit is that which is important in man and it is to be maintained in harmony with the form. In this alone lies hope for progress in human evolution. This harmony is the basic theme of Namaste in our culture. This is also the cream of the teachings of various yoga systems. The sum total of this energy or spirit is called self or GOD and is one and the same to everyone in this world. It is so because the principles of functioning of the form and spirit are common to all mankinds.

The spiritual heart in man is recognized in Yoga systems as Anahata Chakra or air element. Consider the working of a turbo-generator. It though the co-operation of the solid form of the engine with the suitable steam form boiling water that results are achieved and work is done, Similar is the case with the body. It works because we take solid and liquid food and convert it to energy by digesting it with the aid of digestive fire, this stirs the heart to life and the relationship between cause and abstaining from food for a few days can test effect here.

The spiritual heat, which is made of the air-element, is the seat of feeling in us. To start with, it is this little feeling that helps us to expand emotionally and intellectually in thought, word, and deed. Therefore the simple silent Namaste remind us to recognize the important center of our life principle and communicate the feeling of welcome and friendship to the person when we wish it.

Now we can well imagine how significant is Namaste in our culture and how it can help us to attain cordial relations with one and all in this world. This Namaste creates a feeling of belonging, friendliness, and brotherhood among people and establishes a true welfare society where there is no dearth of basic necessities of life for common man. At the same time it makes us ponder our matter and spirit, life and death in humanity with feeling that keeps on expanding in every one of us in tune with nature.

Namaste is the cultivation of a new trend in our personality and integrated approach to life. It is like the negative and positive terminals that help to generate light. It cannot be cultivated by indulging in any one thing without any inhibitions.

Purity is the backbone of four spiritual progresses. Purity of body and mind are essential to make any progress in the field of higher consciousness or even to transcend our subconscious. Consciousness is ever pure and limitless and purity in life identifies us with it. We are neither sure of the existence of this nor do we have any knowledge of it as a thing in itself because our bodies and minds are not pure. But Namaste can helps us here, objective study can guide us to subjective understanding but it is practice and discipline which leads to reduction of impurity. This cannot be achieved through any kind of indulgence.

In Namaste we are integrated with purity of thought into oneness and with the proper understanding of matter and spirit embodied in the joined hands and humanity expressed by the bowed head, we attune ourselves to the unknown power consciousness with us.

Namaste is distinct from all other forms of greeting, such as the handshake, in that it helps us to transcend the self-imposed physical and mental limitations. Two people must be involved in the handshake for each to be satisfied. This imposes limitations and it become physically impossible to deal with large number of people, as in an assembly, but in Namaste one man can greet thousands of people. And simultaneously thousands in the audience respond with Namaste.

We also find our artists doing it as and when they come on the stage. This, no doubt, brings individual satisfaction to all. Namaste mentally takes shape in the heart and transcends beyond it, until it enables us to achieve unity in diversity is expended consciousness. Therefore Namaste helps to establish report with people without any inhibition or limitations. What so ever.

Repetition of our action establishes strong tendencies and from character and conduct. This process operates both for good and for evil. Therefore, if a custom like greeting with Namaste is done by us in our daily lives sincerely and humbly. After us in our daily lives sincerely and humbly, after knowing its philosophy and significance, it is bound to help us to mould our lives in tune with the true spirit of Namaste.

It is customary to do Namaste to one’s deity, parents, teachers, guests, friends, and holy men. This helps a man to extend it to all human beings who comes in contact with him. Gradually this practice even helps him to do Namaste to all living beings as all the living beings are considered to be within the family of one God, who is the real creator. Soon after the Aarti or showing of the light made of wicks of chamfer to the deity is over, it is customary for all the participants to do Namaste to the presiding deity. This is done to remind the devotees who take part in such congregations to surrender themselves to the source of life without any reservation. It is also a reminder to the people of the Namaste Philosophy. Many sculptures and paintings in our temples and museums indicate that this practice was prevalent in ancient India.

Self-surrender is the essence of devotion and faith and this faith develops out of the repeated performance of Namaste before any form of deity. In the matter of self-surrender, most people do it half-heartedly.

The self-surrender demanded by the practice of Namaste should not be mistaken for the surrender of the ego of a person to the ego of another person. It is surrender to the self or Bio-energy in both. It is the feeling of the unity in diversity that is achieved by the element of humility and surrender in Namaste.

When persons inimical to each other do Namaste in proper attitude, it is bound to reduce tension in mind and animate and help them to achieve cordially and friendship.

Though simple and easy Namaste is the higher form of Sadhana or spiritual practice containing the cream of selfless service, devotion, dedication and self-surrender for attaining the wisdom of unity in diversity. It helps a man to cultivate spirit of selfless service; devotion to God, dedication to noble causes self –surrender to divinity and a feeling or oneness and brotherhood of humanity in his relation to fellow beings in tune with Reality.  

A man is transformed into this attitude by doing Namste in it’s to spirit. But Namaste, if practiced sincerely, will definitely lead a person day by day nearer to the final goal while helping to maintain a harmonious relation with his surroundings and contact. Sincerely and humility in our daily practice of Namaste build-up honest in life.

Whenever any one succeeded in any undertaking material or spiritual, we find that he was always sincere, humble, and honest to his establishment or ideas. In the same manner, when ever we see the downfall of a powerful person who was pretending to be trying that he was lacking in these qualities.

Let us now discuss how this simple Namaste  is practiced. The Mantra in this Sadhana is, of course, Namaste. The Mudra or pose is the joining of the palms and drawing them towards the breast while bowing the head in humility. In this we are to generate the feeling in our hearts that we are encountering God in the other person. We should be sincere in our thought. “I see God in you” while doing Namaste. This produces prosperity and progress in our material and spiritual life. Once we are introduced to its philosophy our life becomes smooth and happy.

In fact our ego melts in Namaste when we make up our mind to feel that there are many more universes yet to be discovered by us. The spirit of integrating elements in Namaste helps a millionaire to understand the plight of a poor man to appreciate the position of a rich man. Namaste, in fact, practically, helps us to integrate these two aspects in all walks of life. No methods however cleverly, logically and scientifically planned and designed for propaganda can ultimately produce better results if the Namaste spirit of integrating matter and spirit based on the minimum of qualifications needed for its practice is absent in our day to day life.