Sunday, December 26, 2021

Namaste ..."The light within"


The first time that I became aware of the word NAMASTE and learned of it’s significance was in the 1990’s when my friend Douglas and I visited a dear friend who was married to an Indian man named Praveen.

She was American by birth but spent 8 years living in India when she and her husband first married. Although the bulk of their married life had been in the United States they still retained their Indian way of life. I had gotten to know her very well and was used to taking my shoes off whenever I was at her house. I had also enjoyed many an evening sampling delicious Indian fare and learning how to eat “Indian style”.

However, when I visited with Douglas I was intrigued to see that both he and our host, Praveen, put their hands together, made a small bow to each other and murmured “namaste”. When we were alone I asked Douglas about it and he said it is a salutation used in the Hindu religion. Evidently it can mean many things but to Douglas it meant “I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me”.

Now all three have passed on but every time I see a person using the namaste greeting it reminds me of them and it reminds me that it is just one more example of how life’s experiences have taught me that we are all different … but, at the core we are all the same.


6 Comments:

Blogger Anvilcloud said...

Namaste, Ginnie.

3:16 AM  
Blogger Marie Smith said...

So true! Namaste, Ginnie.

7:28 AM  
Blogger Arkansas Patti said...

How many times I have seen that and wondered. Thank you for the explanation which is wonderful.

7:56 AM  
Blogger Bonnie Jacobs said...

Our little exercise group that met once a week to exercise on our own (without a teacher, in other words) would always end with "Namaste" and bowing our heads to one another. One woman in a wheelchair liked it so much, that I would turn it over to her. She would have us breathe in while raising our hands/arms in a circle over our heads, then breathe out while bringing our hands (palms touching) to our chests, saying, "Namaste" to each other as we bowed our heads. That all went on hiatus in March 2020 with our first lockdown here. Our fitness center has still not re-opened, and all of us from our little group still mourn our loss, which we share when we happen to pass in the halls where we live. Oh, I forgot to mention that all of us in the group of friends are Jewish or Christian. I knew about "Namaste" because I taught "Religions of the World" at a community college for years. Namaste, Ginny.

8:51 AM  
Blogger Goldendaze-Ginnie said...

My preference is historical Fiction too, Bonnie.

5:33 AM  
Blogger Linda P. said...

Namaste! I first heard and participated in this greeting in a yoga class years ago.

6:03 AM  

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