To the editor:
The word "namaste" (used in a photo caption on Page 1D of Monday's Journal-World) does not mean thank you or bless you. It is a form of greeting widely used in India, especially by Hindus, which means, "The divine in me greets the divine in you."
Surendra Bhana,
Lawrence
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kansaskev61 (anonymous) says…
Close enough for me! Thank you or bless you or my divine greets your devine, it's all positive and that should be the message! The real surprise is that a writer at the Journal World even knew the word and could use it in a sentence!
larryki (anonymous) says…
To the Editor Lawrence-Journal World
August 12, 2005
Apologies and thanks to Surendra Bhana who provided a correction for the meaning of the word Namaste as I used it in a caption with a photo in the August 8 edition of the LJ-W. I know its full and literal meaning and had no intention of misrepresenting it. The world would be a better place if we all used this beautiful word with intuitive understanding of its full meaning and behaved accordingly. I captioned the photo as I did to give a flavor of its broad everyday usage that I encountered while in India. Many people used the word in many different interactions with me. And, certainly, its literal meaning "the divine in me greets the divine in you" would always fit. Perhaps it was just my Americocentrism unconsciously at work, but in these everyday interactions I took Namaste to mean, in practical terms, "thank you", "bless you", "hello", "goodbye" (with a flavor of "go well"), etc., depending on the circumstance in which it was used. The photo with the caption is a good example. I took it as I was waving and saying goodbye to the boy and his mother. Putting his hands together and nodding his head, the boy said Namaste as I departed.