{{short description|Customary Hindu greeting}} {{for|the Better Call Saul episode|Namaste (Better Call Saul)}} {{Italic title}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Use Indian English|date=January 2022}} [[File:An Oberoi Hotel employee doing Namaste, New Delhi.jpg|thumb |upright |Pressing hands together with a smile to greet ''namaste'' – a common cultural gesture in India]]
'''''Namaste''''' ({{IPA|sa|nɐmɐsteː}},<ref>{{Cite OED |namaste}}. The British pronunciation is either {{IPA|/ˈnaməsteɪ/}} or {{IPA|/naməˈsteɪ/}}, and the American is {{IPA|/ˈˌnɑməˈˌsteɪ/}}.</ref> [[Devanagari]]: नमस्ते), sometimes called '''''namaskār''''' and '''''namaskāram''''', is a customary [[Hindus|Hindu]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-history-of-namaste |access-date=2021-08-18 |website=www.merriam-webster.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-10-01 |title=Why 'namaste' has become the perfect pandemic greeting |url=https://religionnews.com/2020/10/01/why-namaste-has-become-the-perfect-pandemic-greeting/ |access-date=2021-08-18 |website=Religion News Service}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-03-23 |title=Here's the history behind these no-touch greetings |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/ways-people-around-world-say-hello-without-touching-coronavirus |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413010919/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/ways-people-around-world-say-hello-without-touching-coronavirus |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |access-date=2021-08-18 |website=Travel}}</ref> manner of respectfully [[greeting]] and honouring a person or group, used at any time of day.<ref name=kvsingh>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=K. V. |title=Hindu Rites and Rituals: Origins and Meanings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzoHCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT123 |year=2015 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0143425106 |pages=123–124 |access-date=2017-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217193907/https://books.google.com/books?id=uzoHCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT123 |archive-date=2019-12-17 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is used by people of the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions. ''Namaste'' is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. This gesture is ''[[Añjali Mudrā]]''; the standing [[yoga as exercise|posture in modern yoga]] that incorporates it is '''''pranāmāsana'''''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chatterjee |first=Gautam |year=2001 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ0XQHEkuIcC |title=Sacred Hindu Symbols |pages=47–48 |isbn=9788170173977 |access-date=2017-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170111165355/https://books.google.com/books?id=NQ0XQHEkuIcC |archive-date=2017-01-11 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Etymology, meaning and origins ==
''Namaste'' (''Namas'' + ''te'') is derived from [[Sanskrit]] and is a combination of the word ''namas'' and the second person [[dative]] pronoun in its [[enclitic]] form, ''[[Sanskrit pronouns and determiners#First- and second-person pronouns|te]]''.<ref name=fm>Burrow, Thomas . ''The Sanskrit Language'', pp. 263–268</ref> The word ''namaḥ'' takes the [[sandhi|form]] ''namas'' before the sound ''te''.<ref name=fn>Burrow, Thomas ''The Sanskrit Language'', pp. 100–102</ref><ref>[http://sanskritdictionary.org/namah Namah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827185125/http://sanskritdictionary.org/namah |date=2014-08-27 }} Sanskrit Dictionary</ref>
It is found in the Vedic literature. ''Namas-krita'' and related terms appear in the Hindu scripture ''[[Rigveda]]'' such as in the ''Vivaha Sukta'', verse 10.85.22<ref>"उदीर्ष्वातो विश्वावसो '''नमसेळा महे त्वा''' । अन्यामिच्छ प्रफर्व्यं सं जायां पत्या सृज [https://sa.wikisource.org/s/139l ॥२२॥], Griffith translates it as, "Rise up from hence, Visvavasu, '''with reverence we worship thee'''. Seek thou another willing maid, and with her husband leave the bride; [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rig_Veda/Mandala_10/Hymn_85 RV, Griffith, Wikisource] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105034457/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Rig_Veda/Mandala_10/Hymn_85 |date=2020-01-05 }}; other instances include RV 9.11.6 and many other Vedic texts; for a detailed list, see Maurice Bloomfield, [https://archive.org/stream/vedicconcordance00bloouoft#page/532/mode/2up Vedic Concordance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331215229/https://archive.org/stream/vedicconcordance00bloouoft#page/532/mode/2up |date=2019-03-31 }}, Harvard University Press</ref> in the sense of "worship, adore", while ''Namaskara'' appears in the sense of "exclamatory adoration, homage, salutation and worship" in the ''[[Atharvaveda]]'', the ''Taittiriya Samhita'', and the ''Aitareya Brahmana''. It is an expression of veneration, worship, reverence, an "offering of homage" and "adoration" in the Vedic literature and post-Vedic texts such as the ''Mahabharata''.<ref>Monier-Williams, Monier. [http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2014/web/webtc/servepdf.php?page=528 Sanskrit-English Dictionary with Etymology Namas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518095046/https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2014/web/webtc/servepdf.php?page=528 |date=2019-05-18 }}, Oxford University Press, p. 528</ref><ref>[http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2014/web/webtc/indexcaller.php?input=HK&output=SktRomanUnicode&citation=caraka namas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006195739/http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2014/web/webtc/indexcaller.php?input=HK&output=SktRomanUnicode&citation=caraka |date=2018-10-06 }}, Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary 1899 edition], Harvard University update (2008)</ref> The phrase ''Namas-te'' appears with this meaning in ''Rigveda'' 8.75.10,<ref>[https://sa.wikisource.org/s/13ky RV 8.75.10, Wikisource]:<br /> '''नमस्ते''' अग्न ओजसे गृणन्ति देव कृष्टयः ।<br />Translation: "'''Homage to''' your power, Agni! The separate peoples hymn you, o god."<br />Translators: Stephanie Jamison & Joel Brereton (2014), ''The Rigveda'', Volume 2 of three, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-01-99363-780}}, p. 1172</ref> ''Atharvaveda'' verse 6.13.2, ''Taittirya Samhita'' 2.6.11.2 and in numerous other instances in many early Hindu texts.<ref>Maurice Bloomfield, [https://archive.org/stream/vedicconcordance00bloouoft#page/532/mode/2up Vedic Concordance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331215229/https://archive.org/stream/vedicconcordance00bloouoft#page/532/mode/2up |date=2019-03-31 }}, [[Harvard University Press]], pp. 532–533</ref> It is also found in numerous ancient and medieval era sculpture and ''mandapa'' relief artwork in [[Hindu temple]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nambiar |first=A. K. Krishna |title=Namaste: Its Philosophy and Significance in Indian Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vOwtAAAAMAAJ |year=1979 |oclc=654838066 |pages=vii–viii with listed pages |access-date=2018-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101062638/https://books.google.com/books?id=vOwtAAAAMAAJ |archive-date=2020-01-01 |url-status=live}}</ref>
According to the Indologist Stephen Phillips, the terms "''te'' and ''tvam''" are an informal, familiar form of "you" in Sanskrit, and it is typically not used for unfamiliar adults. It is reserved for someone familiar, intimate, divine or a child.<ref name=phillips2009p272/><ref>This is similar to ''[[T–V distinction|tu / vous]]'' of French and Romance languages in Europe, states the Indologist [[Patrick Olivelle]], see: {{cite book |last=Olivelle |first=Patrick |title=Manu's Code of Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnHo02RtONMC |year=2005 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-517146-4 |pages=346 note 11.205}}</ref> By using the dative form of ''tvam'' in the greeting ''Namas-te'', there is an embedded secondary, metaphorical sense in the word. This is the basis of the pragmatic meaning of ''Namas-te'', that is "salutations to the (divine) child (in your heart)", states Phillips.<ref name=phillips2009p272>{{cite book |last=Phillips |first=Stephen H. |title=Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cRg2AAAAQBAJ |year=2009 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-51947-2 |page=272 note 26}}</ref>
In the contemporary era, ''namaḥ'' means 'bow', 'obeisance', 'reverential salutation' or 'adoration'<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/tamil/recherche?dictionary=mwd&st=namas&prst=exact&en=&pren=exact&maxhits=50 | contribution=Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon |type=search results |title=Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries | publisher=[[University of Cologne]] |access-date=March 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925085740/http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/tamil/recherche?dictionary=mwd&st=namas&prst=exact&en=&pren=exact&maxhits=50 |archive-date=September 25, 2013 |url-status=dead }}.</ref> and ''te'' means 'to you' (singular [[dative case]] of 'tvam'). Therefore, ''namaste'' literally means "bowing to you".<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=namaste&searchmode=none Namaste] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302231046/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=namaste&searchmode=none |date=2014-03-02 }} Douglas Harper, Etymology Dictionary</ref> In [[Hinduism]], it also has a spiritual import reflecting the belief that "the divine and self ([[Atman (Hinduism)|atman]], Self) is same in you and me", and connotes "I bow to the divine in you".<ref name=ying>Ying, Y. W., Coombs, M., & Lee, P. A. (1999), "Family intergenerational relationship of Asian American adolescents", ''Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology'', 5(4), pp. 350–363</ref><ref name=kvsingh/><ref>Lawrence, J. D. (2007), "The Boundaries of Faith: A Journey in India", ''Homily Service'', 41(2), pp. 1–3</ref> According to the sociologist Holly Oxhandler, it is a Hindu term which means "the sacred in me recognizes the sacred in you".<ref name="Oxhandlerp168">{{cite journal |last=Oxhandler |first=Holly |title=Namaste Theory: A Quantitative Grounded Theory on Religion and Spirituality in Mental Health Treatment |journal=Religions |volume=8 |issue=9 |year=2017 |doi=10.3390/rel8090168 |page=168 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
A less common variant is used in the case of three or more people being addressed namely ''Namo vaḥ'' which is a combination of ''namaḥ'' and the enclitic second person plural pronoun ''vaḥ''.<ref name="fm"/> The word ''namaḥ'' takes the [[sandhi]] form ''namo'' before the sound ''v''.<ref name="fn"/> An even less common variant is used in the case of two people being addressed, namely, ''Namo vām'', which is a combination of ''namaḥ'' and the enclitic second person [[dual (grammatical number)|dual]] pronoun ''vām''.<ref name="fm"/>
Excavations at [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] sites have found male and female terracotta figures in a posture like Añjali Mudrā.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sharma |first1=Deo Prakash |last2=Sharma |first2=Madhuri |title=Panorama of Harappan Civilization |publisher=Devangana Prakashan |publication-place=Noida |date=2003 |isbn=978-81-7479-057-6 |page=129}}</ref><ref>[http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2007/4-6/pdf/Hinduism-Today_Apr-May-Jun_2007.pdf "Origins of Hinduism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226231134/http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2007/4-6/pdf/Hinduism-Today_Apr-May-Jun_2007.pdf |date=2014-02-26 }}. ''[[Hinduism Today]]'', Volume 7, Issue 2 (April/May/June), Chapter 1, p. 3</ref> These archaeological findings are dated to the [[Periodisation of the Indus Valley civilisation|Mature Harappan]].<ref>[http://nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/prodCollections.asp?pid=36&id=1&lk=dp1 Seated Male in Namaskar pose] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223014905/http://nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/prodCollections.asp?pid=36&id=1&lk=dp1 |date=2014-02-23 }} [[National Museum of India]] (2012)</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kalyanaraman |first=Srinivasan |title=Indus Script Cipher |publisher=Srinivasan Kalyanaraman |date=2010 |isbn=978-0-9828971-0-2 |pages=234–236}}</ref>
<gallery class="center" mode="nolines" widths="180" heights="180" caption="Añjali Mudrā in historic Hindu temple reliefs"> File:Kubera Namaste, 13th century Keshava temple Somanathpur.jpg|Hindu god Kubera on the left with a person in [[Añjali Mudrā]] (13th century [[Chennakesava Temple, Somanathapura]], [[Karnataka]]). File:A Namaste relief at Thirunelli Maha Vishnu temple Kerala India.jpg|Entrance pillar relief ([[Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple]], [[Kerala]]). </gallery>
==Anjali mudra==
{{main |Añjali Mudrā}}
The gesture of folding hands during a namaste is called the ''[[Añjali Mudrā]]''.<ref name="YJ meaning of namaste">{{cite web |last=Geno |first=Rita |title=The Meaning of Namaste |url=https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/beginners/the-meaning-of-namaste/ |website=Yoga Journal |date=24 March 2024<!--updated--> |orig-date=14 June 2021 |access-date=30 March 2026}}</ref> In addition to ''namaste'', this ''mudra'' is one of the postures found in Indian classical dance such as [[Bharatanatyam]],<ref name="Anami Bhandage31021–31040">{{cite journal |last1=Anami |first1=Basavaraj S. |last2=Bhandage |first2=Venkatesh A. |title=A vertical-horizontal-intersections feature based method for identification of bharatanatyam double hand mudra images |journal=Multimedia Tools and Applications |publisher=Springer Science |volume=77 |issue=23 |date=2018-06-04 |doi=10.1007/s11042-018-6223-y |pages=31021–31040 |s2cid=46968377 }}</ref> and in yoga practice.<ref name="CarrollCarroll2012">{{cite book |last1=Carroll |first1=C. |last2=Carroll |first2=R. |title=Mudras of India: A Comprehensive Guide to the Hand Gestures of Yoga and Indian Dance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fn_c9wbLIeAC&pg=PA44 |year=2012 |publisher=SD Publishers |isbn=978-0-85701-067-4 |pages=44–46}}</ref> It is widely found in Indian temple reliefs and sculpture in mandapam, at entrances and iconography such as the Lingobhavamurti of [[Shaivism]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Barrett |first=Douglas |title=An Early Cola Lingodbhavamurti |journal =[[British Museum Quarterly |The British Museum Quarterly]] |volume=28 |number=1/2 (Summer) |year=1964 |pages=32–39 |jstor=4422848}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Kramrisch |first=Stella |title=Indian Sculpture Newly Acquired |journal=[[Philadelphia Museum of Art]] Bulletin |year=1957 |volume=52 |number=252 |pages=30–38 with Figures 2 and 3 |doi=10.2307/3795036 |jstor=379036}}</ref> The Anjali mudra differs from namaste by being a non-verbal gesture, while namaste can be said with or without any gesture. According to Bhaumik and Govil, the Anjali mudra and Namaskara mudra are very similar but have a subtle difference. The back of the thumbs in Anjali mudra face the chest and are perpendicular to other fingers, while the thumbs in Namaskara mudra are aligned with the other fingers.<ref name="BhaumikGovil2020">{{cite book |last1=Bhaumik |first1=Gopa |last2=Govil |first2=Mahesh Chandra |title=Communications in Computer and Information Science |chapter=Buddhist Hasta Mudra Recognition Using Morphological Features |publisher=Springer Singapore |publication-place=Singapore |year=2020 |isbn=978-981-15-6314-0 |issn=1865-0929 |doi=10.1007/978-981-15-6315-7_29 |pages=356–364 |s2cid=225349190 }}</ref>
Anjali mudra is described in Sanskrit texts such as in verse 9.127–128 of the ''[[Natya Shastra]]'' (200 BCE – 200 CE), in temple architecture texts dated after the sixth-century CE such as in verse 5.67 of the ''Devata murti prakarana'' and those on painting called the ''Citrasutras''. The ''Natya Shastra'', a classical Indian dance text, describes it to be a posture where the two hands are folded together in a reverential state and that this is used to pray before a deity, receive any person one reveres and also to greet friends. The ''Natya Shastra'' further states that for prayers inside a temple, the Anjali mudra should be placed near one's head or above, while meeting someone venerable it is placed in front of one's face or chin, and for friends near one's chest.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nardi |first=Isabella |title=The Theory of Indian Painting: the Citrasutras, their Uses and Interpretations |year=2003 |publisher=SOAS, University of London |pages=132–134, 273 Figure 67}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Brandon |first=James R. |title=Theatre in Southeast Asia |year=2009 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0674028746 |pages=137–139}}</ref>
== Uses ==
=== Greeting ===
Añjali Mudrā is widely used throughout the Indian subcontinent, parts of Asia and beyond where people of South and Southeast Asian origins have migrated.<ref name=ying/> ''Namaste'' is a respectful form of greeting, acknowledging and welcoming a relative, guest or stranger.<ref name="jonesryan">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Jones |first1=Constance |last2=Ryan |first2=James D. |entry=Namaste |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |isbn=978-0-8160-5458-9 |page=302}}</ref> In some contexts, ''namaste'' is used by one person to express gratitude for assistance offered or given, and to thank the other person for their generous kindness.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shaules |first=Joseph |year=2007 |title=Deep Culture: The Hidden Challenges of Global Living |isbn=978-1847690166 |pages=68–70}}</ref>
Since namaste is a non-contact form of greeting, some world leaders adopted the gesture as an alternative to hand shaking during the [[COVID-19 pandemic|2020 Coronavirus pandemic]] as a means to prevent the spread of the virus.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 13, 2020 |title=Coronavirus: Indian greeting namaste goes global |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-india-51854798 |work=BBC |access-date=October 13, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/greet-the-indian-way-israeli-pm-urges-citizens-to-adopt-namaste-instead-of-handshakes-to-avoid-covid/561118|title=Greet the Indian way: Israeli PM urges citizens to adopt 'Namaste' instead of handshakes to avoid COVID-19 |website=www.timesnownews.com |date=5 March 2020 |access-date=2020-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312033101/https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/greet-the-indian-way-israeli-pm-urges-citizens-to-adopt-namaste-instead-of-handshakes-to-avoid-covid/561118 |archive-date=2020-03-12 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<gallery class="center" mode="nolines" widths="180" heights="180" caption="World leaders adopting Namaste during [[COVID-19]]"> File:Joko Widodo greets Emmanuel Macron at the 2021 G20 Rome Summit.jpg File:The Prince of Wales meeting the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in Glasgow, Scotland on November 01, 2021 (1).jpg </gallery>
=== Hindu veneration practice ===
''Namaskara'' is one of the 16 ''[[upachara]]s'' (veneration practices) used in temples and places of formal [[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] (worship).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Viswanatha |first=S. V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ufOAAAAAQBAJ&dq=namaskara+upachara&pg=PA209 |title=Racial Synthesis in Hindu Culture |date=2013-08-21 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-38420-2 |pages=209 |language=en}}</ref> ''Namaste'' in the context of deity worship, scholars conclude,<ref>Lochtefeld, James. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 2, {{ISBN|0-8239-2287-1}}, 720 pp.</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Fuller |first=C. J. |year=2004 |title=The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India |place=Princeton, New Jersey |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=978-0-691-12048-5 |pages=66–70}}</ref> has the same function as in greeting a guest or anyone else. It expresses politeness, courtesy, honor, and hospitality from one person to the other. It is used in goodbyes as well. This is sometimes expressed, in ancient Hindu scriptures such as [[Taittiriya Upanishad]], as [[Atithi Devo Bhava]] (literally, treat the guest like a god).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kelkar |first=Mayuresh |title=SERVDIV: A Vedic Approach to Measurement of Service Quality |journal=Services Marketing Quarterly |volume=31 |issue=4 |date=30 September 2010 |issn=1533-2969 |doi=10.1080/15332969.2010.510722 |pages=420–433}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=de Nobili |first=Roberto |title=Preaching Wisdom to the Wise |publisher=Institute of Jesuit Sources |publication-place=Saint Louis, Missouri |date=2000 |isbn=978-1-880810-37-8 |page=132}}</ref> ''Namaskara'' is one of the six forms of [[pranāma]], and in parts of India these terms are used synonymously.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mehrotra |first=R. R. |year=1995 |title=How to be polite in Indian English |journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language |volume=116 |issue=1 |pages=99–110}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Chatterjee |first=G. |title=Sacred Hindu Symbols |year=2003 |publisher=[[Abhinav Publications]] |isbn=978-8170173977 |pages=47–49}}</ref>
<gallery class="center" mode="nolines" widths="180" heights="180"> File:Namaste to the rising sun, Hindu culture religion rites rituals sights.jpg|A Hindu man making the Añjali Mudrā File:1500-1200 BCE, Vivaha sukta, Rigveda 10.85.16-27, Sanskrit, Devanagari, manuscript page.jpg|The ninth line from the top, last word in the ''Rigveda'' manuscript above is ''namas'' in the sense of "reverential worship" File:Thai wai.jpg|''Wai'' gesture in a Thai temple File:Yakshi on elephant.Bharhut.Bharat Kala Bhavan.jpg|''Yakshi salabhanjika'', {{circa}} 100 BCE, Satna, [[Madhya Pradesh]] File:1 namaste greeting statue in Bali Indonesia.jpg|Statue in Bali, Indonesia </gallery>
=== In modern yoga ===
{{further|Yoga and cultural appropriation}}
{{blockquote|It's the end of a typical yoga class. The teacher sits cross-legged, takes their hands in a prayer position, and reverently intones ''namaste''. Dutiful students whisper ''namaste'' in unison in return without understanding the meaning of namaste.<ref name="YJ meaning of namaste"/> }}
'Namaste' has been adopted in modern [[yoga as exercise]] as a respectful word, spoken in unison at the end of a class, or by a solitary practitioner as a personal meditation; from there, it has become a T-shirt slogan.<ref name="YJ meaning of namaste"/> The Indian-born journalist Neha Tandon writes that nobody "buys a 'Namaste in bed' shirt with ill intentions", though in her view that does not excuse what she considers to be the evident [[yoga and cultural appropriation|cultural appropriation]].<ref name="Tandon 2022">{{cite web |last=Tandon |first=Neha |title=You Can Have A Profound, Spiritual Yoga Practice *Without* Culturally Appropriating It. Here's How |url=https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a39879689/cultural-appropriation-yoga/ |publisher=[[Women's Health (magazine)|Women's Health]] |access-date=15 December 2022 |date=27 May 2022}}</ref> The British Pakistani yoga teacher Nadia Gilani writes that the western pronunciation "nama-stay" is incorrect; South Asians pronounce it "num us teh", while the association of 'namaste' with yoga is a modern western invention.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gilani |first=Nadia |title=Yoga Manifesto: how Yoga Helped Me and Why it Needs to Save Itself |publisher=Bluebird |date=2022 |isbn=978-1-5290-6510-7 |oclc=1284981202 |pages=254–256}}</ref> Rita Geno, writing in ''[[Yoga Journal]]'', calls the usage "at the very least, puzzling"; it quotes the Indian [[Yoga as therapy|yoga therapist]] Susanna Barkataki as saying it's a "rather formal" greeting, reserved for teachers and elders; it is not used to at a parting. Geno suggests that usage may be changing, quoting the author Deepak Singh as saying that the greeting was given to "every tourist" when he visited Rajasthan.<ref name="YJ meaning of namaste"/> On the other hand, T-shirt puns like "Nama'stay in bed" or "Namaslay" are, Geno writes, straightforwardly offensive, misusing a "respectful and spiritually resonant" term.<ref name="YJ meaning of namaste"/> As for use in a yoga class, the Indian American yoga teacher Aadil Palkhivala suggests that Namaste and Añjali Mudrā could be used both at the start, as a respectful greeting, and at the end, in gratitude and connection.<ref name="YJ meaning of namaste"/>
<gallery class="center" mode="nolines" widths="180" heights="180" caption="In modern [[yoga as exercise]]"> File:Sharon namaste Guzman 280.jpg|The modern yoga guru [[Sharon Gannon]], co-founder of [[Jivamukti Yoga]], making the Añjali Mudrā File:Namaste in bed.jpg|'Namaste' has been adopted in modern [[yoga as exercise]] as a respectful word, and less appropriately as a T-shirt slogan.<ref name="YJ meaning of namaste"/> </gallery>
==See also==
* [[Culture of India]] * [[Buddhist terms and concepts#G|Gassho]] * [[Sampeah]] * [[Sat Sri Akal]] * [[Sembah]] * [[Thai greeting|Wai]]
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category}} {{Wiktionary}} * [http://www.yogajournal.com/article/beginners/the-meaning-of-quot-namaste-quot/ The Meaning of Namaste] ''Yoga Journal'' * [https://proreaders.in/bye-full-form/ ''Saying goodbye in different languages- Namaste''] * [http://iils.org/pdf/ModesofGreetings.pdf Modes of Greetings in Kashmiri], Indian Institute of Language Studies * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071226125638/http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/fall97/2chd.htm Ancient Indus Valley Seal print showing Namaste/anjali mudra], CSU Chico {{Gestures|state=expanded}} {{Hindudharma}}
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[[Category:Bowing]] [[Category:Cultural conventions]] [[Category:Greetings]] [[Category:Gestures of respect]] [[Category:Greeting words and phrases]] [[Category:Greeting words and phrases of India]] [[Category:Greeting words and phrases of Nepal]] [[Category:Hand gestures]] [[Category:Human communication]] [[Category:Indian traditions]] [[Category:Mudras]] [[Category:Phrases]] [[Category:Parting phrases]] [[Category:Salutes]] [[Category:Traditions]] [[Category:Nepali words and phrases]] [[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]