Why do we do Namaste?

JAY SHREE POOJYASHREE SHREE AMMA
JAY MAHAN BRAHMASHREE GOPALAVALLIDASAR
JAY SHREE RADHEKRISHNA SATHSANG

Dear Readers,

Radhekrishna!

We took up the third question in our previous post on 6th which was “Why do we do Namaste?” Lets continue the discussion in this post.

Namaste can have various forms. Namaste could be just a casual or formal greeting, a cultural convention or an act of worship. However there is much more to it than meets the eye.

In Sanskrit namah + te = namaste. It means - I bow to you - my greetings, salutations or prostration to you. Namaha can also be literally interpreted as "na ma" (not mine). It has a spiritual significance of negating or reducing one’s ego in the presence of another.

The real meeting between people is the meeting of their minds. When we greet another, we do so with namaste, which means, "may our minds meet," indicated by the folded palms placed before the chest. The bowing down of the head is a gracious form of extending friendship in love and humility.

The spiritual meaning is even deeper. The life force, the divinity, the Self or the Lord in me is the same in all. Recognizing this oneness with the meeting of the palms, we salute with head bowed the Divinity in the person we meet. That is why sometimes, we close our eyes as we do namaste to a revered person or the Lord – as if to look within. The gesture is often accompanied by words like "Ram Ram,” "Jai Shri Krishna", "Namo Narayana", "Jai Siya Ram", "Om Shanti" etc - indicating the recognition of this divinity.

When we know this significance, our greeting does not remain just a superficial gesture or word but paves the way for a deeper communion with another in an atmosphere of love and respect.

Section II: Information about Indian herbs

In this post let us look at the herb named Gurmar Booti, Gymnema Sylvesire in Latin.

1. As the Hindi name signifies, it is a killer of sweet taste
2. A few leaves of the herb chewed would leave a bitter taste in the mouth and then even sweet things wont taste sweet
3. It is very effective in dealing with diabetes as it reduces the amount of urine passed
4. It is also an antidote for snake poison
5. Some physicians recommend it for cholera

That concludes our article for the fortnight. Till the next posting, Radhekrishna!

Sarvam Guruvaarpanam