Greetings

All over the world, people from different cultures use some short and popular phrases to greet one another.

In India also, there are some common, but very beautiful and meaningful phrases used for greeting each other.
But, unfortunately, we use those words or phrases simply as a ritual - a tradition - without any feelings from the heart- without even knowing their meaning.

Although some people simply greet each other by saying glory to the deities of their faith, the most common greetings all over India is 'Namastay or Namaskaar.

                                    Namastay - Namaskar
The broken-down version of the Sanskrit word Namastay is Namah +Tay.
In Sanskrit, when you put two words together, a letter such as R or S is added between the two words to join them together and make it one word. 
So, when we put Namah and Tay together, it becomes Namastay.

Here, H is replaced by S.
Namah means to bow down - as in respect and Tay (or Tu) means 'you.
So, the literal meaning of Namastay is - I bow down to you.
Similarly, Namaskaar or Namaskaarm is made up of Namah+kara - literally meaning I do bow down (to you).

However, since both these words are used to greet everyone - not just to elders or people above or higher than us - but to anyone - to older or younger - teachers or students - higher or lower - rich or poor - regardless of their age, rank, or social status. Therefore, the deeper meaning of both the words is I bow to you out of respect - not out of fear of your position or strength or wealth - but to your qualities - to your inner soul.

It's a beautiful way of greeting. 

A sign of humbleness - acknowledging and respecting the goodness in others and putting them above ourselves.
But how many of us say it with these feelings?
Over the centuries it seems to have lost its meaning and simply became a matter of greetings - a meaningless word without any feelings.

                                          Sat Sri Akaal
Perhaps the second-most common greeting, especially in north India is Sat Sri Akaal which comes from the Sikh faith.
Sat means Truth, Sri means honorable (used for honor and respect) and Akaal means eternal, immortal.
As we can see, the literal meaning is - (I) honor Sat (God, the Truth) which is Eternal.
But again, how many say it with such deep feelings?
Leave aside the meaning, many don't even know the exact words and the right pronunciation. 

No disrespect to anyone, I have seen and heard many people just saying 'Sasrikaal' - without knowing the real phrase or what it stands for.
Only when we know the exact phrase and its meaning, then we see the beauty of it.

                                            Dhan Nirankar
The word Dhan comes from Dhanya - meaning - Great, Worthy, Auspicious, and Thankfulness.
Nirankar means the Formless - Almighty God with no form - which can not be defined by any form, image, or words and concepts.
By saying Dhan Nirankar, one acknowledges the glory and greatness of the one true Eternal God and personal gratitude and gratefulness towards the Almighty.

Instead of repeating these words and phrases simply as ritualistic greetings, if we try to understand and remember the meaning behind them, then we will start seeing the beauty of them.
So, next time when we greet someone with such phrases, let's do it with a feeling - that we actually mean it.

                                    ' Rajan Sachdeva '