Satsang Why do we do Namaste???

Om Shree Ganeshaya Namah
Om Sai Ram
This is a request to all who are reading this-- kindly forward
this message to your children and grand children.It will give
them a basic knowledge of some hindu customs and the
reasons behind why we practice them..
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Why do we do Namaste?
Indians greet each other with namaste. The two palms are
placed together in 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, those older than
friends, even strangers and us.
There are five forms of formal traditional greeting enjoined
in the shaastras of which namaskaram is one. This is
understood as prostration but it actually refers to paying
homage as we do today when we greet each other with a
namaste. Namaste could be just a casual or formal greeting,
a cultural convention or an act of worship. However there is
much more to it than meets the eye. In Sanskrit namah + te
= namaste. It means -I bow to you -my greetings, salutations
or prostration to you.
Namaha can also be literally interpreted as "na ma" (not mine).
It has a spiritual significance of negating or reducing one’s ego
in the presence of another. The real meeting between people is
the meeting of their minds. When we greet another, we do so
with namaste, which means, "may our minds meet," indicated
by the folded palms placed before the chest. The bowing down
of the head is a gracious form of extending friendship in love
and humility. The spiritual meaning is even deeper. The life
force, the divinity, the Self or the Lord in me is the same in all.
Recognizing this oneness with the meeting of the palms, we
salute with head bowed the Divinity in the person we meet.
That is why sometimes, we close our eyes as we do namaste
to a revered person or the Lord – as if to look within. The
gesture is often accompanied by words like "Ram Ram",
"Jai Shri Krishna", "Namo Narayana", "Jai Siya Ram", "Om
Shanti" etc -indicating the recognition of this divinity. When
we know this significance, our greeting does not remain just a
superficial gesture or word but paves the way for a deeper
communion with another in an atmosphere of love and respect.