Eps 1621: Namaste
— The too lazy to register an account podcast
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Elaine Freeman
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It helps that the word namaste comes from Hindi. Recently, a spark has been created for a debate about whether it is appropriate to use namaste during yoga classes, or in general, in the Western world.
In the South Asian region, especially in India and Nepal, Namaste is a greeting used to refer to people of profound respect, authority, elders, teachers, gurus, or otherwise honourable persons. In South Asian cultures, Namaste is more commonly used as a deeply respectful greeting reserved for older people, teachers, or other honorable persons.
A traditional Indian greeting, it translates literally to I bow down before you . Namaste is derived from Sanskrit, and literally means bow to you, or I bow to you, used as a greeting. Namaste is typically said in a small bow, and with both hands held close, palms facing up, fingers pointed up, and thumbs near the chest.
The hand gesture of Namaste, or anjali mudra, is done by clasping palms of hands in front of the heart, with head bowed slightly. In India, the Anjali mudra gesture does not just go along with Namaste, it is synonymous with it. To execute the gesture associated with Namaste, one closes their hands, fingers touching and facing upwards, thumb on breastbone.
The Natya Shastra describes Anjali Mudra as the position of folding both hands in reverent position, and it is used for praying to deities, receiving anyone revered, as well as greeting friends. Namaste brings the essence of unity and an understanding of the real essence of reality. The term Namaste is rooted deep within the culture of Hinduism and India, which influences the ultimate meaning of this well-known expression.
The word dates all the way back to ancient Sanskrit, found in the Vedas . The word has also been transliterated in the past as na-mas-tay, as well as namasthe, with namaste becoming standard by the middle of the 20th century.
Namaste is from Sanskrit, combining the word namas with the second-person dative pronoun, te, in its enclitic form. The cognate did not gain currency in English, and today, the two-word phrases namaste posture, namaste gesture, and namaste pose are widely attested. Some experts say that one should use namaskar when greeting a lot of people, while using namaste when greeting just one person.
Most people say that namaste is meant to be used to say thanks to a teacher, or used as a sign of relief after a lesson is over. For those of you who have taken yoga classes, you will know that at the end, the teacher usually faces the class, puts his hands together in his palms, fingers pointed up, brings them down, and says namaste while bowing. Often, the yoga teacher will say, namaste, my friends, to students at the end of the practice, and will take a small break while pressing down on their hands with an anjali mudra.
When you bow and say namaste at the end of your yoga session, there is an opportunity for more than just marking the end of a session. There is a very familiar saying that you are likely to encounter at the end of every yoga session: namaste. One of the first articles I read, written by Suzanne Barkataki, was on the topic of whether or not you should use the word Namaste at the end of your yoga class.
More importantly, I had not done sufficient research on the word namaste, its connection with the traditions of yoga, and the negative effects of improperly using the word and misappropriating it for culture. As Yoga Journal points out, because the word is used as a greeting, using it at the end of a yoga class is somewhat confusing. Once Namaste became popular in Western countries, people started using it more often as a greeting at the end of a yoga class, or just before.
In India, you are just as likely to hear Namaste when entering a store or a restaurant as you are to hear it at a yoga studio. It is frequently used in more formal situations, such as addressing an older person or one whom you do not know very well. It is the term I use when an occasional stranger, often a white person, says namaste to you without any apparent reason other than the way you look.
This can happen because of namaste returning to the east into the mouths of enthralled Western tourists. With all of its mock gravitas, it is easy to see how the yoga-commercial industry has turned this word into a buzzword.
If namaste is used in a yoga context, Palkhivala says that it can be done at both the start and the end of the class. Treat Namaste respectfully, just like how you would treat someone who is being saluted by that divine expression.