Namaste

What are we actually bowing to when we bow and say "Namaste"?

It took me awhile to really internalize the sanctity of this greeting. The first time I ever heard the word was in a yoga class. At the end of every class, the instructors would bow and say "Namaste". I thought it was cool and liked saying it. It had a certain respect and peacefulness to it, but I didn't even know what it meant. Then some years later, I was a bodyworker and had many elite athletes and dancers come to me with their aches and pains and injuries. One day I got a call from an Indian Kathak Classical Dance Company wanting to schedule an appointment for their Guru. They happened to have their offices in the same building as me and someone else in the building referred them to me. This Guru was famous worldwide for his Classical Dance skills and teachings. He was a small framed man in his mid 70's still dancing like a wild man. He was so young at heart and booming with life. When he walked into my studio, he was escorted by 3 women all wearing beautiful Sari's. They entered my studio with this Royal presence and energy, yet full of reverence. In perfect synchronicity, they all bowed to me at the same time and said "Namaste". I suddenly felt uncomfortable and I know I blushed, not knowing how to respond. I had never been greeted with such reverence and respect in all my life. Of course, I immediately bowed and said "Namaste" back to all of them and welcomed them to my studio. When the women left and it was just me and Chitresh (I only reveal his name because he has since passed on), he obviously sensed my discomfort and asked me if I knew what "Namaste" meant... I said, "I just know it's a greeting but nothing about it's true meaning". That's when he told me, "it means The Divine within me greets the Divine within you". "How beautiful!", I thought. In that moment, "Namaste" touched my heart like it never had before. Well that was about 9 years ago. I worked with Chitresh, his wife and the dance company every week for about 3 years before he suddenly passed away and the whole company went into disarray for a few years. During these 3 years I became part of their family. I was invited to their get togethers and events , not to do bodywork but as a member of their family. I was always the only white person there, other than Chitresh's wife, which always helped me feel more comfortable. I learned so much about their culture and their spiritual concepts. All of their dance performances were based on their spiritual symbology, like Shiva and Krishna. It was truly a blessing to have spent that much time in their presence and I was honored at how they made me part of their family. Even the day he suddenly died at home, they called me immediately and asked me to come to the house. In the video above, you will see on the back of my chair a scarf he brought back from India for me as a gift; I didn't realize it was there until I started writing this email and noticed it was there. Since those days, my spiritual and material life have transformed in ways I could have never imagined. I have often wondered what significance that period of time and connection with my Indian family would continue to bring about in my life. I'm sure the significance runs deeper than I still even realize today, but what I know so far, is that it opened my mind and heart to receive the eastern ideas of spirituality that acknowledge God as all life, that God lives inside of us and that to find God, we must look inside rather than looking outside of ourselves. Eastern philosophy has always recognized that The Christ lives inside each and every one of us. They recognize that Yeshua came to show us how to bring the Christ forth, whereas western religion teaches us to separate ourselves from the Christ within by believing the only Christ was Yeshua, and that we are not worthy and that's why he died for us. Yeshua was crucified for blasphemy, because he claimed to be "One with the Father", and today much of western religion still thinks anyone who claims to be "One with the Father" is blasphemous. He did not die for us salvation. He died so that we could realize that when we die to our selves (the ego self), we are resurrected and ascend into our immortal, highest, divine self, as Yeshua did. I thank God for the integration of eastern philosophy and spirituality into the western world because many of us westerners are waking up to the truth of who and what we really are, pure light and love, one with the Father. We don't earn our way to being "One With The Father", we already are if we will drop our beliefs that we are just dirty sinners. I know this is deeply imbedded into us, especially if you grew up in a religious environment, but slowly and together, we can wake up to the Truth. It wasn't that long ago that I was in meditation, and it came over me the deeper meaning behind "Namaste" and what we are vowing each time we say it, which I share in the video above. I'm sure there may even be deeper meanings than I express in this video, and one day they will be revealed to me, but this new revelation has softened my heart and my interactions with all of humanity in such a beautiful way, that I felt compelled to share it. I hope it touches your heart as it has mine.

Love,

Jennifer