DAY 39: WHAT DOES THE HINDU GREETING “NAMASTE” MEAN AND SHOULD CHRISTIANS SAY IT? Here is a thorough explanation: “The word namaste, pronounced ‘NUHM-uh-stay,’ is a common [Hindu greeting in India,] often used in conjunction with a small bow and with the palms of one’s hands placed together, fingers up, in front of the chest.... With some aspects of the Hindu/Indian culture becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the world, yoga for example, the use of namaste is increasingly popular as well. “A Christian should not say or do anything that originates from a different religion without first examining its meaning and origin... The word itself literally means ‘I bow to you’; culturally, it has come to mean, ‘I bow to the god in you,’ and more fully, ‘the god in me bows to the god in you.’; “The saying of namaste is incompatible with the Christian faith. Human beings are not gods. There is only one God, and He does not share His glory (Isaiah 42:8). Bowing to or showing any sort of respect to any false god is idolatry [Ten Commandments.] Depending on the version of Hinduism, Hindu beliefs and practices are polytheistic [many gods] or pantheistic [all is god] or a mixture of both. Namaste seems to come from the more pantheistic forms of Hinduism that see everything and everyone as god. Whether you actually intend to communicate the literal meaning of namaste is irrelevant. Would you say, ‘You are a god; I bow to you’ to someone in English? Neither should you say a word that means precisely that in Hindi, Nepali, or any other language.”