this is the word of the day. namaste. say it with me. nah. mah. stay. look up from where you are sitting and say it to the next person that passes. namaste. see what kind of reaction you get. most likely, something along the lines of a sidelong look or a puzzled “what?” that stops halfway through its execution — wha..? then it is up to you to decide whether or not not reveal your sources, to explain your new word. and it is a good word too. i have known it for a couple of months now and i could have sworn that i shared it earlier, but i have poured over my archives and i come up with nothing. so, to continue with this intermittent series featuring occasional scraps of found enlightenment, let me introduce you to this new word.
namaste. a hindu word that can be used in greeting or in departure. like aloha, only not nearly as much of a verbal caricature. it is used to describe a means of contact between two people, something like a handshake involving the clasping of hands close to the heart and a slight bowing of the head. it acknowledges both humanity and something greater. the word itself is variably translated, but even loosely its meaning is striking, and it is this meaning that i most admire:
“I salute the Almighty within you.”
if this seems a bit too “within you without you” for your tastes, then just think of it as a simple acknowledgement that the person before you is more than the sum weight of their flesh and blood, that there is a mind in that skull beyond the nerves and synapses contained, that there is a heart in their chest greater than its four chambers, that there is a soul inhabiting that body that makes them more than just a base-model human.
another translation:
“The Great Perfection within me honors the Great Perfection within you.”
and though the word namaste is based in indian philosophy, the sentiment is echoed in western thought with temet nosce. a latin phrase, far more familiar in english. know thyself. it seems self-centered in comparison, but by examining the self, we acknowledge the importance of the individual which should then carry over into our dealings with others. each one of us an individual of worth.
(and yes, it is on the sign in the oracle‘s kitchen in the matrix. you have to love pop culture…)
so there you have it. a new word for the day. namaste.
