I see you.
At the end of each yoga class, the teacher bows with prayer hands and says "Namaste" to the students. Then the students bow back with prayer hands and say "Namaste" to the teacher. Namaste is a Sanskrit greeting, meaning, "The divine in me sees and honors the divine in you.”
For many years, I felt like that routine was a silly, pretentious, and uncomfortable ritual. Like all such rituals, it was used to sell something, such as the teacher’s bona fides, if nothing else. While Namaste could have a rich and important cultural meaning (it does), it felt like a pompous script, appropriated for a glorified stretching class in an American gym.
Over time, with the influence of many wise teachers, my opinion softened. Namaste became a genuine expression of gratitude to the teacher and to myself. But I still didn’t fully understand it.
Now, Namaste governs me as I move through life as a social human being interacting in a social world.
First, a short story. One drunken night at the seediest bar in town (during a particularly long and painful custom-made crisis of my own making), I had an alcohol-infused conversation with a young, homeless, alcoholic drug addict. Despite his troubles, he was a sweet, genuine, and beautiful person, broken though he was. The topic of Namaste came up. He said he liked to think of the meaning as, "I see you and you see me." The wisdom stunned me. Brilliant, simple, complete. But I still didn’t recognize the full significance of such words, nor the perfection of this particular teacher.
Which leads me to the next story. A big, strong friend of mine shared that he had been walking through a downtown park with his family. He felt threatened by a bigger man who seemed to be suffering from severe mental illness. His instinct was to shepherd his family past the man, to protect them from possible danger. The man took offense to this evident insult and became verbally aggressive and physically threatening. My friend managed to de-escalate the situation, but it led us to the topic of Namaste: The benefits of acknowledging and validating the people we encounter. Seeing them and letting them see us.
The yogic journey is one of opening, surrendering, allowing, flowing and liberating. Or trying like hell, in any event. To open, we must study everything that closes. And it’s always fear that closes, in all its sneaky forms. Fear oppresses us, and those with whom we interact. Fear makes us avert our eyes from the people we pass, if we perceive a threat. We clutch our bags, contract our hearts, and prepare for danger. All that is broadcast to the person, but to what end?
How different it is to raise the eyes in kindness, in courage, in peace, and simply say, “Hey.” In so doing, we communicate that there is nothing to hide. We are the same. All is well. I see you and you can see me if you like. And so, I practice Namaste everywhere, when I’m able and at my best. Not just on the street, but in a contentious work meeting or anywhere else I'm inclined to defensiveness. Eye-to-eye contact, acknowledgement of the person, and validation of our shared humanity.
On the street, people may ask me for money, to which I respond in the same fashion: eye-to-eye, kindness, courage, and peace. And life still happens, like when a suffering woman screamed at me one chilly winter morning, “Cheesecake Factory Whore!” (true story, which did not happen at the Cheesecake Factory.) Regardless, this positive practice has increased my courage, confidence, and satisfaction. It heals my deeply held fears, and I hope it heals the other person in some small way.
Many saviors and prophets teach us to love one another. The powerful practice of courage, compassion, and awareness works wonders towards that intention.
Namaste.
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