Namaḥ
By Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur
Question: What is the meaning of the word namaḥ in our mantras?
Answer: The word namaḥ means to renounce one’s pride, or independence, and bow down in heartfelt surrender. “O Gurudeva! O Kṛṣṇa! From today, I am Your servant and You are my only shelter. Please be merciful to me and guide me; engage me in Your service. From today onward I have renounced my pride and my ahaṅkāra — my false, egoistic conception that I am the active agent. My only prayer is that from now on Your instructions, and Your advice and direction be my only focus — the Pole Star and governing element of my life.”
‘Namaskāra’ means to renounce all material ego, all pride in our delusion that ‘I am the active agent’, ‘I am the enjoyer’, ‘I am the seer’, ‘I am the maintainer’. When the corruption of our intelligence — the misconception that ‘I am the active agent’ — is finally removed by the mercy of Śrīla Gurudeva, then alone do we attain true dīkṣā, or transcendent knowledge.
As long as Śrīla Gurudeva, the beloved of Śrī Kṛṣṇa (kṛṣṇa-preṣṭha), is physically manifest, it is wise to render intimate service to him, and thereby attain perfection. But if we are not able to attain perfection because we have failed to develop attachment to him, attachment wherein we consider him to be the lord of our heart; if we have failed to serve him by giving him our full heart in complete sincerity and selflessness, then we have certainly been deprived… we have certainly been deprived.
Although I had my only saviour, the only deliverer of my soul — my only unconditional, true friend — so close to me, due to my bad fortune I lost him. Such is my misfortune! After coming to the bank of the celestial river to collect water, I turned away and headed towards the desert. Even after I discovered a mine of precious jewels, I again became allured by a glass shop, glittering with imitation jewels. What a piteous disaster! Those who are alert and intelligent should be totally determined to live a life of complete surrender to the lotus feet of Śrīla Gurudeva, devoid of duplicity and any type of separate interest, lest they shall certainly be deprived.
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