Question to Radhanath Swami: It is said that one should be eager to offer all respects to others. But what does that mean in practical life?
Radhanath Swami: That means to be in the spirit of servant. Prabhupäda, our guru, explains that a devotee addresses all others as prabhu, master; that means we take a humble position. In India, people fold their hands and say “namaskär,” but like so many other things, rarely do people understand what it really means. The Indian culture is so deep and so rich and every little detail of it is so meaningful if we actually understand it as it is. “Namaste” means that we bow our head down, we prostrate ourselves. It is an act of worship, is it not? And who are we bowing down to? We are bowing down to the Lord within the heart of that person. Even an insignificant ant, if we are actually conscious, we would offer respects to it in our heart, because we are identifying the presence of God and the presence of a part of God within even that ant. Wherever there is life, there is the presence of a part of God. So when we say namaste, we are actually offering our obeisance. We are offering our worship to the Lord within the heart of that person. That is the greatest respect, that is culture; to not only do it, but to also feel it.
