Namaske

In 1964, Bob Dylan wrote and released The Times They Are a-Changin, as an anthem for the American Civil Rights Movement. It was a time of great upheaval in the U.S.A., and great hope - that the upheaval would lead us to a more unbiased and unprejudiced society. It was a tumultuous, transitionary time.

The times seem to always be a-changin - yet some times are especially worthy of historical notation - like “the ‘60s”. Like… now. The world pandemic we’re now living in will most likely be referred back to as the beginning of a new era in human history.

I don’t think we’re going back to the lifestyle we knew before the COVID-19 pandemic started. I think we will muddle our way through this tumultuous transition, and land in a very different future than the one we’d thought our trajectory had been leading us to.

(Note: If you’re feeling this post may lead you into a deep and heavy rabbit hole, don’t worry. I’m not leading you there. I’m leading you to something lighter: a giggle, maybe… a joke I heard on Friday.)

(Back to where we left off)…

Large lifestyle chunks will change. Small changes will happen, too. Take the greeting Namaste. ‘Namaste’ has an interesting etiology. The meaning has morphed through the ages. And now, Ima think the word is really gonna change.

Wikipedia states that the term namas is made from two words: na meaning “not” and mamah meaning “I” or “mine”. Namas, therefore, means: “not I” or “not mine”. Using a greeting that begins with Namas accords respect to the other while maintaining self respect for oneself.   

Namas-krita and related terms appear in Hindu scripture to mean "worship” and “adore". Namas-kara appears in Vedic literature as an expression of veneration, worship, reverence, an "offering of homage" and "adoration". The phrase Namas-te appears in many early Hindu texts with this meaning as well.

In the contemporary era, Namaḥ means 'bow', 'obeisance', 'reverential salutation' or 'adoration' and te means 'to you'. Therefore, Namaste literally means "bowing to you". In Hinduism, Namaste also has a spiritual import reflecting the belief that "the divine and self (soul) is the same in you and me", and connotes "I bow to the divine in you". According to sociologist Holly Oxhandler, Namaste is a Hindu term which means, "the sacred in me recognizes the sacred in you".

So, here we are, in the COVID-19 era of 20-second handwashing-with-soap, 6-10 foot social distancing, and… face-masks.

(Here’s the joke)…