Namaste, Youmaste, Weallmaste

[Jayhawker Soule]

Saol fada chugat. Why would people greet someone, particularly someone new, with a phrase that can be reasonably presumed unknown to them? Is that not a strange way to express (or exemplify) "honor to thee"? Just curious.

 

[Green Gaia]

I dunno Deut... it just sounds nice? Besides they usually ask what it means, if the don't know, and are happy for the greeting when they find out it's meaning. And because it a little nicer than just saying "Hey.. "

 

[michel]

Saol fada chugat. Why would people greet someone, particularly someone new, with a phrase that can be reasonably presumed unknown to them? Is that not a strange way to express (or exemplify) "honor to thee"? Just curious.

Ah, Deut! a common Gaelic greeting, thank you.
Namaste means a bit more than 'honour to thee';
The whole action of namaste unfolds itself at three levels: mental, physical, and verbal.

It starts with a mental submission. This submission is in the spirit of total surrender of the self. This is parallel to the devotion one expresses before a chosen deity, also known as bhakti. The devotee who thus venerates with complete self-surrender is believed to partake the merits or qualities of the person or deity before whom he performs this submission. There is a prescription in the ancient texts known as Agamas that the worshipper of a deity must first become divine himself, for otherwise worship as a transaction would become invalid. A transaction can only be between equals, between individuals who share some details in common. Hence by performing namaste before an individual we recognize the divine spark in him. Further by facilitating our partaking of these divine qualities, namaste makes us aware of these very characteristics residing within our own selves. Simply put, namaste intimates the following:

'The God in me greets the God in you
The Spirit in me meets the same Spirit in you'

In other words, it recognizes the equality of all, and pays honor to the sacredness of all.

 

[Saint Xtreme]

Cool, thanks for explaining that. Honestly it sounds like a very Eastern tradition to me.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

'The God in me greets the God in you
The Spirit in me meets the same Spirit in you'

Nice, but irrelevant.

I had the most marvelous experience once of attending a Sikh wedding. It would be hard, if not impossible, to imagine a more thoughtful and caring group of people, and yet I felt just slightly nervous when the very ornate and very Indian parents of the groom approached me. Just as I started to bring the palms of my hands together, the father reached out, shook my hand with his right hand as he grasped my shoulder with his left, and greeted me as a well appreciated friend of his son's new wife. Throughout the wedding he, his wife, and a number of family members casually explained, almost in passing, the various rituals and interchanges, insuring that I never had to ask.

And that, it seems to me, is a thoughtful and caring way to honor a guest.

 

[Green Gaia]

That's beautiful, Deut.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

That's beautiful, Deut.

As is "namaste" and, for that matter, my wise friend Maize.