Namaskar,

Generally, I will either open or close my letters and comments with
"namaskar". It is a common, age-old greeting used in India as well as
within many yogic communities.

A day or two ago, within hours of one another,  two people in our
Community - in two totally separate interactions - asked me, "What is
the difference between namaskar & namaste - what does namaskar mean?"

Under normal conditions, I would have said, "Oh namaskar means the same
thing as namaste - they are both the same."

Giving such a reply is easy, non-controversial, and relaxing. The only
problem is that it is not true, at least according to some great yogis.

As I value both the philosophical inquiry and commitment to yoga that
are pillars of this community, here is a short (hopefully!?!) reply
about the basic difference between namaskar and namaste, as well as why
the difference is meaningful.

This is for your consideration and reflection. Yogis have explained the
following to me and I merely pass it on to you.

There is a lot of information below - I tried to make the writing style
as casual as possible. If any sentence comes off as preachy, judgmental,
or otherwise, it is due to my own limitation in expression and does not
reflect my inner feeling nor the integrity of the topic. Thanks for
your understanding ahead of time.

In brief, namaskar is composed of three aspects

(a) The prefix 'namah' means 'I salute';
(b) The root 'kr' means 'do'; and,
(c) 'Ghain' is simply a standard Sanskrit suffix.

So: Namah - kr + ghain = Namaska'r

Namaskar means: "I pay my salutations" and it is understood that the
object of the address is the Supreme Consciousness that lies within.

Thus when we combine this oral greeting with the mudra of touching the
trikuti point (between the eyebrows) with both thumbs and then lowering
the palms to the heart, the overall meaning is: "I pay my salutations to
the Supreme Consciousness that lies within you with all the charms of my
mind and all the love and cordiality of my heart."

Hence in namaskar, we are not greeting a human being per se but rather
the Oneness within. We are acknowledging that person as being a
beautiful manifestation of the consciousness that unites us all.
Specifically, "I salute the Supreme Consciousness that resides within."

Namaste is different.

Namah = Pay Salutations, Te = You; the meaning then is I salute You.

And the "You" refers to the Supreme Consciousness - not a human being.
That is why in various yogic traditions, namaste is only meant to be
done to the Divine Entity, whereas namaskar is for paying salutations to
the Supreme within another person.

We have to remember in yoga, everyone's existential value is the
same. No one is higher and no one is lower.

The reason it is the same and to be honored is because all are
expressions of the One. We do not salute or bow down to any human being
- doing so would be to accept a difference in existential value from one
to another.

I am aware that in the contemporary yoga movement, students commonly bow
down to the teacher and the teacher bows down to the students before or
after class, but I do not feel this is the real spirit of the term,
namaste.

Yet it gets used in this way but in the due course this may be
reconsidered.

(Note: Yes there is a tradition of touching the feet of the guru in
India, but that is a different conversation from this one which only is
focused on namaskar and namaste.)

Once again, in yogic traditions, as a general greeting, we do not salute
or bow down to any human being - doing so would be to accept a
difference in existential value from one to another.

And part of the aim of yoga is to see and view oneness in this world so we can
create a human society based on mutual respect, integrity, and existential
equality.

Yet the very unfortunate history is that to date, each and every
community and country has suffered from horrible racism or casteism or
tribalism or communalism or some type of exploitative sentiment wherein
one people totally asserts its will over another, proclaiming them to be
better than others.

Lots of specific historical references can be given in this regard.

And the misconception of the term - namaste (I bow to you) - plays into
that. One community may proclaim, you must do namaste to me, but I will
not do that to you.

One may think that this will never happen - but it already has happened.

Various groups have always demanded such respect from others and in
return they treat that person as someone lower. Hence the terms: Sir,
Master, Lord, The Honorable, Revered, etc. All sorts of titles have been
imposed to differentiate between the value of one human to the next.

This has even happened with the term namaste.

People mistakenly think the "you" refers to another human and since they
feel they are better than that person then they do not want to "pay
salutations" to them. This happens due to one's own sense of prestige
due to age, seniority, wealth, educational attainment, social status,
race, birth etc. In India and Nepal - where such a greeting is regularly
used in the general soceity- you will see many cases where one person
will refrain from using the namaste greeting since they feel they are better
than the other person. Yet they expect that same person to greet them using
namaste.

Whereas with the term namaskar, there is no "you" value, just it is a
salutation to the Great Consciousness within. This then makes it easier
to create a universal human society where all are eager and willing to
greet one another with the same salutation - seeing and feeling all as one.

Yogic philosophy categorically rejects all forms of exploitation &
differentiation. And the way to honor everyone - not viewing anyone as
higher or lower - is to see all as an expression of the One, rather than
paying salutations of an individual per se.

Here is a bit of a summary:

Since the suffix -Te is attached to Namas, then there is a direct
salutation involved, i.e. "you". In that case Namaste is to be used only to
directly address the Supreme or Cosmic Consciousness, and not any
manifestation thereof - not any human being.

Whereas Namaskar - which has no reference to You - is a salutation to
the Supreme in the form of that human being.

So both namaskar and namaste are the acknowledgment of the Supreme
Consciousness, the first as that flow of consciousness within a human
being, the later directly to the Divine such as in one's meditation or
belief system.

That then is the difference between namaskar and namaste, as it has been
explained to me.

I understand that many of you have been using "namaste" as a greeting
since you began your yoga practice and I also understand that namaste is
used quite pervasively in the contemporary yoga movement.

My intention is merely to offer information for consideration,
not impose a new system.

Our human society is a work in progress and I see the above application
of the usage of namaskar and namaste as both a logical and beneficial
piece to the puzzle in building a unified human society where all are
treated and greeted with love, respect, honor, and compassion.

Thanks for your consideration. A pleasure to be here with all of you.

Namaskar 
Satyam