Why do we do Namaste?

Indians greet each other with namaste. The two palms are placed togetherin front of the chest and the head bows whilst saying the word namaste.This greeting is for all - people younger than us, of our own age, thoseolder than friends, even strangers and us.There are five forms of formal traditional greeting enjoined in theshaastras of which namaskaram is one. This is understood as prostrationbut it actually refers to paying homage as we do today when we greeteach other with a namaste.Namaste could be just a casual or formal greeting, a cultural conventionor an act of worship. However there is much more to it than meets theeye. In Sanskrit namah + te = namaste. It means - I bow to you - mygreetings, salutations or prostration to you. Namaha can also beliterally interpreted as "na ma" (not mine). It has a spiritualsignificance of negating or reducing one's ego in the presence ofanother.The real meeting between people is the meeting of their minds. When wegreet another, we do so with namaste, which means, "may our minds meet,"indicated by the folded palms placed before the chest. The bowing downof the head is a gracious form of extending friendship in love andhumilityThe spiritual meaning is even deeper. The life force, the divinity, theSelf or the Lord in me is the same in all. Recognizing this oneness withthe meeting of the palms, we salute with head bowed the Divinity in theperson we meet. That is why sometimes, we close our eyes as we donamaste to a revered person or the Lord – as if to look within. Thegesture is often accompanied by words like "Ram Ram," "Jai ShriKrishna", "Namo Narayana", "Jai Siya Ram", "Om Shanti" etc - indicatingthe recognition of this divinity.When we know this significance, our greeting does not remain just asuperficial gesture or word but paves the way for a deeper communionwith another in an atmosphere of love and respect.