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| Prince (now King) Charles in Namaste pose |
While greeting face to face, bowing or slightly bending one's body forward in front of other person is almost common in many Asian countries and cultures. Lifting a hat or touching its brim by one hand in front of other person is common in many countries and cultures. Both rituals have exactly the same purpose i. e. show respect for other person by lowering one's apparent height for a second or two.
During Covid-19 pandemic, Namaste pose or posture was made almost global by many leaders and politicians for a single reason only. Unlike a hand-shake, Namaste pose is a non-contact form of greeting. This kind of greeting ensures that the infection isn't spread across while the respect is being shown. Hence, it was a conscious step taken for promoting the public health safety.
What Namaste pose exactly conveys? Is Namaste pose religious or spiritual in nature? Does Namaste pose share the exact same purpose with the similar looking pose that is adapted during Yoga exercises? Let's try to find out the answers of these questions, one after another.
A) Purpose of the pose: First of all, let's look at what 'Namaste' exactly means. It's a Sanskrit word made up of two different words - 'Namahā' (नमः) and 'Te' (ते). Word 'Namahā' means 'bow' and 'te' means 'you'. So 'Namaste' literally means "(I'm) bowing to you" or "(I) bow to you" to show respect. Actually, uttering 'Namaste' (num-hus-the) isn't mandatory because the pose conveys the respect than the word itself.
Namaste pose is considered as completed only when a person clasps the open palms of her both hands, holds them in front of her chest or face and bows her head or drops her chin slightly towards the other person. Most importantly, all fingers of both hands should point at the same person for whom the respect is being expressed by the person standing or sitting in Namaste pose.
B) Nature of the pose: In the context of Yoga, meditation and classical dances; word 'Mudrā' (मुद्रा) means "a symbolic or ritual gesture or a pose/posture". Some of the mudrās involve only hands and/or fingers. Basically, clasping the open palms of both hands and holding them forth is called as Añjali Mudrā (अंजली मुद्रा) in the ancient Indian tradition. Word 'Anjali' means "divine offering" or "a gesture of reverence". Añjali Mudrā (अंजली मुद्रा) was described in the ancient Indian scriptures, some of them dating back to 200 BCE.
While widely being used in Indian subcontinent, south Asia and other parts of Asia as a greeting ritual since many centuries; Namaste pose wasn't invented by or rooted in any particular religion at all. Basically, word 'Namaste' extendedly translates to "I bow to the divine in you" so it's a very high level of ritual to recognize and respect the commonly shared divinity. Namaste pose is entirely spiritual in nature.
Añjali Mudrā (अंजली मुद्रा) is also known as Hrudayānjali Mudrā (हृदयांजली मुद्रा) which expresses "reverence to heart" and Ātmānjali Mudrā (आत्मांजली मुद्रा) which expresses "reverence to soul".
C) Connection with Yoga: There's a slight difference between how the fingers are held in Namaste pose and the other pose which is widely used in Yoga. In some Yoga exercises, the thumbs of both hands are held perpendicular to other four fingers while pointing back to the chest (or the heart) of a person. Hence, it's a slightly different posture or position of fingers with an entirely different purpose, specifically in the context of Yoga.
Unlike Namaste pose, some Yoga exercises, workouts or postures don't involve bowing. However, the second posture (B) is considered very beneficial for Yoga exercises or workouts. Among many benefits of it is helping in alleviating the mental stress and anxiety. Hence, it's purposefully or consciously used by Yoga practitioners in achieving the focus and reaching the meditative state.
[#Special Mention: Similar to more than 1,500 years old Yoga tradition in India, Egypt has its own Yoga tradition. It's called as Kemetic Yoga which was developed in 1970s by yoga professionals Asar Hapi and Yirser Ra Hotep after taking inspiration from different postures depicted in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.]
During Covid-19 pandemic, Namaste pose or posture was made almost global by many leaders and politicians for a single reason only. Unlike a hand-shake, Namaste pose is a non-contact form of greeting. This kind of greeting ensures that the infection isn't spread across while the respect is being shown. Hence, it was a conscious step taken for promoting the public health safety.
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| Former Irish Prime minister Leo Varadkar teaching Donald Trump how to pose Namaste |
What Namaste pose exactly conveys? Is Namaste pose religious or spiritual in nature? Does Namaste pose share the exact same purpose with the similar looking pose that is adapted during Yoga exercises? Let's try to find out the answers of these questions, one after another.
A) Purpose of the pose: First of all, let's look at what 'Namaste' exactly means. It's a Sanskrit word made up of two different words - 'Namahā' (नमः) and 'Te' (ते). Word 'Namahā' means 'bow' and 'te' means 'you'. So 'Namaste' literally means "(I'm) bowing to you" or "(I) bow to you" to show respect. Actually, uttering 'Namaste' (num-hus-the) isn't mandatory because the pose conveys the respect than the word itself.
Namaste pose is considered as completed only when a person clasps the open palms of her both hands, holds them in front of her chest or face and bows her head or drops her chin slightly towards the other person. Most importantly, all fingers of both hands should point at the same person for whom the respect is being expressed by the person standing or sitting in Namaste pose.
B) Nature of the pose: In the context of Yoga, meditation and classical dances; word 'Mudrā' (मुद्रा) means "a symbolic or ritual gesture or a pose/posture". Some of the mudrās involve only hands and/or fingers. Basically, clasping the open palms of both hands and holding them forth is called as Añjali Mudrā (अंजली मुद्रा) in the ancient Indian tradition. Word 'Anjali' means "divine offering" or "a gesture of reverence". Añjali Mudrā (अंजली मुद्रा) was described in the ancient Indian scriptures, some of them dating back to 200 BCE.
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| Italian Prime minister Georgia Meloni greeting Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz during G7 summit |
While widely being used in Indian subcontinent, south Asia and other parts of Asia as a greeting ritual since many centuries; Namaste pose wasn't invented by or rooted in any particular religion at all. Basically, word 'Namaste' extendedly translates to "I bow to the divine in you" so it's a very high level of ritual to recognize and respect the commonly shared divinity. Namaste pose is entirely spiritual in nature.
Añjali Mudrā (अंजली मुद्रा) is also known as Hrudayānjali Mudrā (हृदयांजली मुद्रा) which expresses "reverence to heart" and Ātmānjali Mudrā (आत्मांजली मुद्रा) which expresses "reverence to soul".
C) Connection with Yoga: There's a slight difference between how the fingers are held in Namaste pose and the other pose which is widely used in Yoga. In some Yoga exercises, the thumbs of both hands are held perpendicular to other four fingers while pointing back to the chest (or the heart) of a person. Hence, it's a slightly different posture or position of fingers with an entirely different purpose, specifically in the context of Yoga.
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| Positions of thumbs in A) Namaste pose and B) Yoga exercises |
Unlike Namaste pose, some Yoga exercises, workouts or postures don't involve bowing. However, the second posture (B) is considered very beneficial for Yoga exercises or workouts. Among many benefits of it is helping in alleviating the mental stress and anxiety. Hence, it's purposefully or consciously used by Yoga practitioners in achieving the focus and reaching the meditative state.
[#Special Mention: Similar to more than 1,500 years old Yoga tradition in India, Egypt has its own Yoga tradition. It's called as Kemetic Yoga which was developed in 1970s by yoga professionals Asar Hapi and Yirser Ra Hotep after taking inspiration from different postures depicted in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.]
Great piece! Always enjoy reading your insights.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Mark Bowden
TRUTHPLANE
As always a great read and deeply educational.
ReplyDelete