Namaste, a Hindi word used for greetings and goodbyes.
Namaste, a theological statement. A statement that, in my opinion, is as beautiful as any in existence.
Literally, it means "I bow to you", but it is interpreted as meaning "the Divine in me recognizes and honors the Divine in you". You can replace "Divine" with "God", "Light", "Spirit", and several other congruent ideas.
Namaste is an ancient Sanskrit understanding that says, "I respect the place in you that is of love, of truth and of Light. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me then we are one."
Leo Buscaglia, a professor known for his work pertaining to love, understood namaste to mean, "I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. I honor the place in you, where lies your love, your light, your truth and your beauty. I honor the place in you, where...if you are in that place in you ... and I am in that place in me...then there is only one of us."
"Namaste is an East Indian greeting which means 'the light within me bows to the light within you.' In other words, beyond our achy bones, our tired feet and our multi-colored real life soap operas, lurks a dimension that is more than the body, the persona, the ego and all the 'trappings and the suits of woe' as Hamlet would say---a dimension where there isn't a 'you' and 'me' but rather a synergy that is more than all that, a space for the eternal to rest within the temporal."
So whats with this "spiritual" jumbo you ask? Its simple. Namaste runs much of my life. Namaste is the reason Jake Salley is my best friend. The reason why I admire my mother. The reason why I cherish my father. The reason why I fall in love.
St. Germain interpreted namaste to mean:
The God I AM of my soul salutes, forever,
the God I AM within your being.
Read that again.
To me, namaste expresses the acknowledgment of the presence of God in each others' lives. Namaste honors the way He works in you. In me. Namaste smiles and gives a hug to the Lord's presence.
I strongly believe that my God works through each of us. That He has a completely unique manifestation in everyone. This is why Jake is my best friend. No one communicates God to me in the exact way he does. I love how God expresses himself through Jake. His wit, intentionality, care, and creativity. This is why I admire my mother. God has chosen her to express His patience, compassion, humility, strength, and beauty. This is why I cherish my father. God has chosen him to express His intellect, humor, selflessness, and faithfulness. This is why I am attracted to certain girls. God chooses to express His passion, humor, goodness, compassion, and integrity through them.
So namaste. To you, and to me. For yes, the God in me, and in you, needs to take time to acknowledge itself. How often do I fail to recognize your hand in my life? How often do I fail to understand where I end and you begin? Thank you for how you express your creativity, comprehension, care, and love through me.
Now go, practice namaste. Tell your roommate how God expressed his beautiful self to you through him or her. Tell your parents how you see God's light in them. Tell yourself how you see God express elements of his character through you. Tell me how God did something for you through me.
Namaste. I love you.
