GUIDANCE FROM GURU

SWAMI DAYANANDA SARASWATI
GUIDANCE
FROM GURU

“Namaste or Namaskara is very beautiful way of greeting each other. In every culture, there is a way of greeting. When you say Namaste, you are offering you salutation to Bhagavan. The person is front of you is Bhagavan!’’
Greeting with Namaste
Namaste of Namaskara is a very beautiful way of greeting each other. In every culture, there is a way of greeting. For example, some people say “hi” and “bye”. We can call this a “hi -bye culture.” “Hi” you greet and “bye” you go. And there is also a shake-hand culture, in which we hold the other’s hand, which is nice. “Hi-bye” is more simple and modern. When shaking hands, camaraderie and friendship are exchanged. And it also signifies “how do you do” and warmth in cold countries. In this, as we shake hands, the two become one.
Salam aleikum is also nice. With the greeting, Salam aleikum, you hug. This hug is wonderful; it is not just a simple South American hug. Salam aleikum is a little more than that and may have some additional meaning. Then we have namaste, which is something different. In the other forms of greetings, the two persons, the greeter and the greeted and accepted; and then the two try to express their warmth by an action. Here, in Namaste, the two are said to be one. I am here and you are there, still we can be friends, Namaste is made up of two words, namah and Te. Namah means (my) salutations, and Te means to you. So Namaste means “my salutations to you”.
In yoga, there is Surya-namaskara. Namaskara means doing namah-offering you salutations, your namaskara, your Namaste. In this word Namaste, the person is transcended, like when you say, “Touch wood” and touch the nearest wooden table. Here the transcending is not physical, because even though the table may have a table-cloth, still you touch it. You transcend the table-cloth and transcend the table to touch the wood. So when you say, “touch wood,” you do not go out to touch a log of wood. Suppose one fellow says, “Thank God I was not laid off, touch wood.” This is an often used American expression. One Friday passed and there was no layoff letter (pink slip) given to him? So, “thank God I am not laid off, touch wood.” That is all he said. Then I was waiting for what he was going to say next, but went out. When he returned ten minutes later, I asked him, “Where did you go?” He replied, “I went to touch wood, because there was no wood anywhere. So in order to touch wood, I went out to touch a log of wood. No one would do this. One would touch the nearest table or chair available. One transcends the table, transcends the chair and touches wood. In fact in “touch wood,” there is so much Vedanta. In takes a Swami to point it out. Sometimes they say “touch wood” and touch their own head, when nothing else is available. They transcend the head and discover what is inside the head, I think, to touch wood.
So irrespective of whom the person in front of you is, still you do Namaste, and you transcend the person. Even if you know this person does not deserve your salutation, still you offer salutation. To whom? To Bhagavan, when you say Namaste, you are offering you salutation to Bhagavan. The person in front of you is Bhagavan!