Namaste..Means...I bow to You...( A sign of Respect and Humility

As Alice in Wonderland said..”when I use a word, it means exactly what I mean it to say, neither more, nor less”.

However, that is not the case in the case of more than one person…It means what the generally
accepted meaning of that word is.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do…(that is a generally accepted truism).

However, unless I am much mistaken, I am not in India, where this saying originates.

Therefore I felt it necessary to put the brief explanation of what Namaste means in the title.



                         
more, nor less”.

Re: Namaste..Means...I bow to You...( A sign of Respect and Humil

Thankyou for the explanation -how is it pronounced.
I usually sign off with the word peace -but many here
use Namaste -
and I too bow to everyone -and am very fond of the
“Mad Hatter's Tea Party” in Alice of Wonderland !
It's all a bit surreal really -isn't it !

Re: Namaste..Means...I bow to You...( A sign of Respect and Humil

In India we pronounce namaste  this way:
“num” as in number;
“us”
“tay”–with a soft “t”.

More in our Gaia Networking pod, where someone had asked this question!

Re: Namaste..Means...I bow to You...( A sign of Respect and Humil

I thankyou for your;e explanation of the pronunciation .
I guess ,although it is used in other groups I belong to ,
I haven't just got used to using it myself yet.
Is it insulting not to reply in same -as I have always just
used peace or peace and love ?
That is my warmth and I do feel strange with using Namaste -
I think I would feel more comfortable using the term .
“I bow to You ”

Re: Namaste..Means...I bow to You...( A sign of Respect and Humil

The funny thing is, Sandy, that in India, we have almost stopped using this word, except to greet older people. As I had once blogged, it seems as if namaste is used more online and in yoga classes abroad, than in India, where we have many other ways of greeting, including the more common [among the educated townies] -Hi!.

To me, that shows that it is used spontaneously, as an expression of something each person wants to convey. Not like a convention or tradition. So, if you are not comfortable with it, I don't think anyone will mind if you use your own words.

BTW, people  here often pronounce this as “NAAM-us-tay” and though it is not he Sanskrit/HIndi way, I guess..to each his or her own!