Namaste means greetings, salutations (as in surya namaskar when we salute the sun) In the Vedas, (a large body of religious texts written in Vedic Sanskrit originating in ancient India) namaste was used as a salutation to a divinity. Today the use/meaning has evolved; among Hindi speakers throughout the world, namaste is a simple, respectful greeting.
Einstein was a huge admirer of Gandhi and asked him exactly what namaste meant to him.
Gandhi replied “Namaste means I honour the place in you where the entire Universe resides in you. I honour the place in you…where Light, Love, Truth, Peace and wisdom reside in you. When I am in this place and you are in that place, we are One. This place is the Heart. How often do you sit in your own Heart accessing these frequencies of Light, Love, Truth, Peace and Wisdom?”
Prayer hands are universally understood as a gesture of peace and good intent; prayer is a time when we focus inward and commune with our source. This positioning of the hands is called Anjali Mudra - anjali means “offering,” and mudra meaning “seal” or “sign.” Ending our practice with hands in Anjali Mudra and sealing it with “Namaste” brings an awareness of our centred state from our yoga practice and taking it out into our day.