Namaste? Or not?

noflylist · May 1st, 2007, 07:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajiveanand

Are probably some of the nicest people you'll meet in India; they've always been helpful to me...

Totally agree with you about niceness!

kristinm · May 1st, 2007, 07:55

They are some of the nicest people I've met in Australia too!

robotvoice · May 1st, 2007, 08:30

c

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajiveanand

...they've always been helpful to me... but maybe that's because I have long hair too!

agree with the hair thing. The sikh man that makes vegetarian food in downtown portland told me he admired my beard, then one day i came in with it shaved and he was devestated! He cried out, "oh, why have you done this?"

rajiveanand · May 1st, 2007, 08:43

Sorry, maybe this is

but I felt it needed to be addressed... I grew a long ghari (beard) before going to India for 9 months on a Fulbright grant in '97... got respect from evryone (Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and so on) because of it... but I prefer being clean-shaven, so I got rid of it after 6 months in Jaipur and evryone was shocked! Anyway, after that point, my Hindi had progressed enough, so I didn't need it anymore- I could greet people in other ways besides 'Namaste', which brings us back to our topic!

R.

vir · May 1st, 2007, 11:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by noflylist

for Sikhs, 'Wahe Guru' will provide for!

Jains? Jai Mahavir?

Sikhs - Sat Sri Akal
Jains - Jai Jinendra

Thoughtcrimes · May 1st, 2007, 13:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by machadinha

It annoys the hell out of us here even when reading slowly... What ever happened to full stops. Are you talking kids in Florida or India btw?

India...I moderate a tennis community on Orkut for Roger Federer. ABout 60,000 people on it and most of them Indians. Most of them speak English just fine but I suppose are trying too hard to be "kewl."

AvidTrekker · May 2nd, 2007, 00:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by kristinm

I thought it was a bit more than 'I bow to you' and although an agnostic by nature and (as you may have gathered from other posts) not a hippy! I do love that recognition that we are all one.. it' such a nice place from which to begin!

Its in sanskrit and a combination of three words

न मः ते na maH te

na = not
maH = mine
te = yours

In effect meaning that "this body is not mine, is yours for me to serve or... "I am at your service".

The gesture of two hands joined together is called the

अञ्जलि मुद्रा anjali mudraa

Which symbolizes that "you and I are ONE [we are not different]" [you = rt hand ; me = left hand ; joining = ONE ]

This same anjali mudraa is used before a temple diety to show the same "you and I are ONE [ = GOD]"

Nowadays, since people have lost usage of the original language, it is loosely translated as "I bow down to you" which may be the case; but is certainly not the essence of the phrase.

Different phrases in different regions [that i've heard]

Maharashtra = raam raam
Gujaraat = jai shree krshna
Himaachal, Uttaranchal, Delhi and around = namaste
M. P. and around = namaste
Punjaab [sikhs] = sat sri akaal
Punjaab [hindu] = jai maataa di or namaste
Nepal = raamro
U. P. [hindu] = jai shree raam or namaste
U. P. [muslim] salaam aaleikoom answered by waaleikoom us salaam
Karnataka and A. P. [?] = namaskaaraa [A.P. not sure]
Tamilnaadu = namaskaaram or vaNakkam

Followers of Bhimrao Ambedkar = jai bheem

Bengal should be nomoshkaar but i.ve not heard it meself. Heard some Bangaalii friends wish me duggaa duggaa [durgaa durgaa] before a trek [for good luck]

This is some of what I've heard. By tomorrow I'll ask about A. P. and Orissa

crvlvr · May 2nd, 2007, 04:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by AvidTrekker

The gesture of two hands joined together is called the

अञ्जलि मुद्रा anjali mudraa

Which symbolizes that "you and I are ONE [we are not different]"

AT, hanks for breaking it down in detail. The "me and you are one" comes from Advaita philisophy which is part of hinduism. hence, my previous post.

rajiveanand · May 2nd, 2007, 05:56

"You Are It"...

TAG!!!

R.

May 1st, 2007, 08:43	#64
rajiveanand RAJIVE SADA ANAND, MFA Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bronx, NY, USA Posts: 199	"why have you done this?!" Sorry, maybe this is but I felt it needed to be addressed... I grew a long ghari (beard) before going to India for 9 months on a Fulbright grant in '97... got respect from evryone (Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, and so on) because of it... but I prefer being clean-shaven, so I got rid of it after 6 months in Jaipur and evryone was shocked! Anyway, after that point, my Hindi had progressed enough, so I didn't need it anymore- I could greet people in other ways besides 'Namaste', which brings us back to our topic! R. __________________ www.rajiveanand.com

May 2nd, 2007, 05:56	#69
rajiveanand RAJIVE SADA ANAND, MFA Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bronx, NY, USA Posts: 199	Tat Vam Asi "You Are It"... TAG!!! R.

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May 1st, 2007, 07:55	#62
kristinm Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Beautiful Bondi (not Bundi!) Posts: 1,407	They are some of the nicest people I've met in Australia too!

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