What Does “Namaste” Truly Mean?

The Divine in me bows to the Divine in you. Namaste.

Do we truly think about the meaning of the Sanskrit word, “Namaste”?

You hear it in TV commercials, you see it on the tank shirt worn by the lithe, beautiful yoginis in yoga class, and your Yoga teacher says it at the end of class.

So what does it mean?

Namaste literally means, “I bow to you”.

The mudra (hand gesture) for Namaste symbolizes the idea that there is a Divine spark within each one of us that resides in the heart center. The gesture and word are an acknowledgement of one soul by another soul.

The gesture (prayer hands together at the heart center, eyes closed, head bowed, or prayer hands at the third eye center, eyes closed, head bowed, then moving hands down to the heart center) is a deep show of respect.

So we often translate the word and gesture (often combined with a bow) as “The Divine in me bows to the Divine in you.”

Such a beautiful thought, word, and action.

I’m a huge fan. How about you?