Do you say "Namaste"?

A few days back, my daughter was walking down the lobby to get to the lift where a foreigner was already waiting. As it was early, my daughter greeted him, the usual "Good Morning!" to which he polited replied the same. But on seeing me, he said "Namaste!" I smiled & said "Good Morning!"

I began wondering why I did that & till now haven't been able to figure it out. I do respect my country & culture, but never ever was I greeted in such manner before. It really touched me. Don't get me wrong... I do say "Namaste", but to the elders only... not to peer groups. My daughter would say Namaste to everyone earlier, but as she's grown, it's all changed to "Hi"... or "Hello"... The "Yo" has not yet come

But this incident has made me decide to say "Namaste" to the Indians I meet & in hearing so, may be we'll be able to get as many "Namaste"s as we can, by Indians & others as well.

Will update you all on how it's going on..... All the best to me!

PS: Do you "Namaste"?

Yes, I too say a Hi or Hello to people of my age group...And to elders, it is either namaste or Vanakkam(Tamil) to elders...

But regarding, Hi, hello, it has become more commom....yesterday , while shopping, my DH introduced me to a senior colleague of his, who happens to be from our state....I very sincerely bowed and said vanakkam....but his response was a Hello..

So, I think now only the gesture matters.....But yes, I too would love to "Namaste" more....

So, a big namaste to you now

My HR head often says Namaste to me..he's an American...:) he asked me a whole lot about the reason behind folding our hands etc...so now whenever we meet, he gives me a deep bow and says namaste... and smile and say the same to him..

Other times, whenever I meet elderly people, I definitely make it a point to say Namaste to them...when its my friends parents who have come from India, I always touch their feet also...

I guess its just whatever seems right to us...

love,
Aarushi

Hello there J, I see this often that foreigners say ‘Namaste’ on recognizing that we are from India and I smile and say a quick namaste with a slight bow. Before I used to treat it as another form of Racism/Racial Discrimination, but now who cares. I am from India and I understand the meaning of ‘Namaste’. If someone bows to my soul, I will return the respect by bowing to his or her atman too. Simple!

Namaste Friends,

I do Namaste all the time, of course to the peers who know the meaning of it.
Now due to the media publicity, most of the foreigners do know that Namaste is a way of saying hello among Hindus. So don't feel shy. Be proud of it.

Regards
Shantha

Namaste to all!

I've have been saying Namaste for quite some days now. But the response is a little low. In fact, some people don't even realise that I've not greeted them with the usual. Honestly, it's quite disappointing to not receive a Namaste back, but I'm going to keep on saying it.... Let the ball roll...

I've insited my daughter to say Namaste as well.... but she needs to be prompted. Surprisingly, she doesn't hesistate to touch elderly people's feet... Every time she does that I feel so proud of her I have had times when my own aunts would tell me that it's not nice for us to force kids to touch others feet.... & trust me when I say that I've never forced her.... But if we want something to be followed, mustn't we nag a little for it to be done?

Hope you all have a great week.... Namaste!