Namaste is a composite of Sanskrit words: Namah and Te. Namah means “to bow” while te means “you”. So, the word means “I bow to you”. The word Namah itself can be broken down into Na which means “No” and Mah which represents “I”. It thus means “not mine”. It has a spiritual significance of negating or reducing one’s ego in the presence of another. It also implies that there is nothing that the individual soul can claim as its own.

Hindu people greet each other by saying namaste and also offer the same obeisance when greeting the temple deity or a holy person. Thus they offer respect to the soul within and also to the omnipresent God.

This method of greeting has three-fold effect: mental, physical and verbal.

The effect of Namaste at the mental level is that it is accompanied by a rejection of “I” and thus a sense of selflessness, recognition of the equality of all, and honouring everyone’s sacredness.

The commonly prevalent problem of stress these days is, in large part, due to our cynical mindsets that lead us to constantly think about ourselves alone. This greeting elevates us from this type of thinking and subtly leads us into believing in the worth of each individual and inculcating a considerate feeling for others.

At the physical level, this greeting has several symbolisms. The five fingers of the left hand are said to represent the five senses of karma, while the other five of the right hand symbolize the five senses of knowledge. It is therefore a representation of the fact that our action should be governed by true knowledge.

The other symbolism associated with Namaste is that both hands are joined together making a total of ten fingers. The number “ten”, in all ancient traditions, is considered to be a symbol of perfection and unity e.g. the number of commandments in the Bible is ten, so is the number of rules of the Arya Samaj; Pythagorean system considered ten to be a symbol of the whole of creation while in the Ancient Chinese culture, ten was taken to be a perfectly balanced number.

According to another theory, Namaste identifies with the duality that exists in nature and suggests an effort on our part to bring these two forces together, ultimately leading to a state of Oneness, a condition of unity.

At the verbal level, the utterance of the word Namaste is equivalent to the chanting of a mantra. The sonority of the sanctifying sound of the word is believed to have a kind of a miraculous effect, by causing a change in the energy vibrations. The goal of the change is to fuse in harmony and become one with the cosmos itself.

The greeting Namaste is usually considered to be an identifier of the Indian culture and reflects its hospitality, spirituality and graceful consciousness. It is also representative of paying homage to the Lord and showing our humility and gratitude for giving us this supreme human birth, unlike some other types of greetings which are merely physical acknowledgement of others’ presence.