by Sunita Shah
The first part of namaste comes from "namaha," a Sanskrit verb that originally meant "to bend." Bending or bowing is a sign of showing respect. Over time, "namaha" went from meaning "to bend" to meaning "salutations" or "greetings. "The "te" in namaste means "to you,". Therefore namaste literally means "greetings to you." In the Vedas, namaste mostly occurs as a salutation to a divinity.
