Amid corona virus scare, world leaders've adopted to Indian style ''Namesthe'' greeting

Corona virus and world leaders' precaution. www.businesstoday.in

corona virus twitter com in

The entire world is in the grip of  growing corona virus  and the anxiety and fear factor of corona virus is  on the increase with  every passing day. In India,  both the center and state govts  have begun taking precautionary measures  to  retard the spread of this disease that has now become pandemic.  In the wake of media reports on the virus attack in Kerala state, God's own country where lots of foreign tourists visit to relax in the  serene back waters that are lined on both sides with  breath-taking  thick palm and coconut groves, two  Malayalam channels had been closed by the central govt.  because in places like Delhi and elsewhere the news on virus produced a lot of hallucination  among the public upon reports from Kerala. The hype, it is said, created  panic in many places.

The health authorities  issued many  precautionary measures  and one among them being  avoiding  direct physical contact with others. The western-style greeting with hello followed by  a hand shake,  Modi-style full body embrace  which PM Sri Modiji developed on his frequent overseas trips  and a sort of bear-hug for which some foreign leaders are famous,  are not encouraged in this hour of panic and anxiety.  Health authorities say that greeting styles mentioned above may facilitate the danger of catching infection because of body contact if it is present on other person’s hands, etc. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is promoting namaste at this crucial juncture,  as greeting without physical contact  is a safe way to interact with others  to keep the friendship and cooperation warm.

Prince Charles greeting people with"namaste"economictimes.indiatimes.com

In India,  tradition has been that we greet others by saying Namasthe  or namaskar (in Hindi) or vanakkam (in Tamil) . This is  done by joining  both hands  and fingers together facing upward and both thumbs partly pointing toward  heart.  In the places of worship,  Hindus do namasthe by holding hands in supplication, a request  for help as part of prayer or simply  just a prayer.  Positively, namasthe  saves you from direct physical contact.

What is quite interesting is in the wake of Corona virus attack across the globe,  responsible world leaders do not want to take any chances and shun western-style greetings and a warm handshake.  The leaders and other people in public now  follow what  Indians in the Indian subcontinent have been practicing for several centuries,  ''Namasthe'',  a  common way of greeting  gestured by natives across India.

Modi in London. www.flickr.com

''Namesthe or Namaskar and Namaskaram, is a customary Hindu greeting  and in the contemporary era, it is found on the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and among the Indian diaspora worldwide. The gesture (but not the term namaste for it) is widely used in the parts of Southeast Asia where Indian religions are strong. It is used both for greeting and leave-taking.  Namaste is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. This gesture is called Añjali Mudrā; the standing posture incorporating it is Pranamasana''. (vide: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste).  
In Hinduism, it means "I bow to the divine in you".  Namaste may also be spoken without the gesture, or the gesture may be performed wordlessly.  The word is a combination of two Sanskrit words - Nama, meaning bow and te, meaning you. Namaste is basically a gesture of saying that “I honor the spirit in you which is also in me”. Namaste an important  part of Surya Namaskar, an essential  asana that  helps lose weight, ensures regular menstrual cycle, helps your body detox and has many other benefits.

 The subtle  act of Namaste  is  it is about  joining both  hands together, finger to finger. This in total, involves ten fingers.   The number ten is said to be a number of perfection and it inspires a sense of spiritual mystery of completion and unity. It isn’t just Hinduism alone and  most of the ancient traditions of many religions  gave importance to  the mystical value of  number ten, which is achieved when namaste is done.

If you want to define it  from a divine angle to namaste, it is said that the world nama indicates the term ‘not mine’ which means that the soul of each human being is controlled by one Supreme Soul. The action of namaste helps recognize the divine glimmer in another person. The message behind namaste is “The God in me greets the God in you. The spirit in me meets the spirit in you...............  (”https://www.shethepeople.tv/blog/coronavirus-namaste-world-leaders-greet).
 Of late  the US President Donald Trump tweeted how he greeted the PM of Ireland with a namaste. President of France, Emmanuel Macron decided to greet all his counterparts with a namaste too. In line with him is Prince Charles, who was seen greeting people with a namaste, following a precautionary measure against corona virus. So it’s no more ‘hello’, but ‘namaste’. US President Donald Trump and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar greeted each other in the traditional Indian way of ''namaste'' and bowed to each other at the Oval Office on Thursday while saying they can't afford to shake hands amid corona virus outbreak.  The ''namasthe'' greeting of
 US President Donald Trump and Prince Charles hogged the lime light and had gone viral.
https://www.shethepeople.tv/blog/coronavirus-namaste-world-leaders-greet
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-india-51854798/coronavirus-indian-greeting-namaste-goes-global
 'Namaste'