Namaste

One generally delivers the greeting of 'Namaste' with the hands in prayer position at the heart. It is done in salutation of the God that resides in each of us, as well as an acknowledgement that there is a Spirit that connects all of us in an essential and universal way.

Ram Dass, the well-known Western Buddhist, and 60's activist, describes the meaning of Namaste below. This is one of the most practiced readings in Western yoga classes today:

I honor the place in you
in which the entire universe dwells.
I honor the place in you
which is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace.
I honor the place in you where,
if you are in that place in you,
and I am in that place in me,
there is only one of us.

Namastè

Leo Buscaglia, author of the book "Love" describes 'Namaste' as:

I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. I honor the place in you, where lies your love, your light, your truth and your beauty. I honor the place in you, where...if you are in that place in you... and I am in that place in me...then there is only one of us.

Deepak Chopra defines 'Namaste' the following way:

Namastè is an Indian expression used as a greeting or upon parting, by putting the palms of the hands together in prayer position. It means, “I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me.” This, of course, is also a way of saying, “I recognize that we are all equal."

Paul Ferrini further describes the meaning of the word:

Namastè. I accept you humanness and mine. And I also bow to the divinity in each of us. I accept our absolute spiritual equality as beings. And I also accept that we each forget who we are.

I celebrate the fact that we are waking up together, and I appreciate the fact that, as each of us pushes up against our fear, we nod off to sleep.

I acknowledge both the absolute and the relative, for both are present here. The gentle voice of God and the passionate cries of the wounded child commingle here, in this mind, in this world. Joy and sadness commingle. Strength and tears, beauty and betrayal, silence and cacophony interpenetrate.

It is a simple world, breathing in and breathing out, approaching the divine and moving away. And it is also complex in its near infinite variety of forms.

Each self is the unqualified presence, yet each must approach God in its own unique way. Within oneness, paradox abounds.

Here we dwell together, my brother and sister. Here in the silence, each of us with our unique heartbeat, our own dance, our own call for love and truth.

Yet despite the division into bodies, despite the fragmentation of the mind, only one heart opens here. And that heart includes yours and mine and that of all beings who have ever lived in time and space. That heart belongs to God. His patient heart. Her infinite blessing on us all. My wish for you is a simple one. May you find that Heart in your heart. May you find your voice in that silence. May you awaken to the truth of who you are.