Leadership from the essence of Namaste

COACHINGLEADERSHIP

Oct 30

Woman in a yellow saree with her eyes closed in a bow, hands held in Namaste

Hindus often greet with the phrase- Namaste- it is a phrase that you might have heard at the end of a yoga class, but it’s meaning is significance and a beautiful concept for regenerative, human leadership.

(It is also Diwali today so I am feel especially spiritual!)

Pranish Shrestha @pranisx — I honour the place in you, that is the same as it is in me

Namaste is an invitation to break from duality.

Duality is seeing ourselves as seperate. When the world and other people are complicated, difficult to understand, threatening and out of our control, we seek to make sense of it.

Duality is easier.

Unfortunately, when we see ourselves as distinctly different or other from others, we are less connected to others and the world around us.

Namaste as a greeting serves as a reminder that we are made of the same stuff.

No matter how different we may be in background, experiences, ways of thinking, education, gender, abilities, preferences… this one word reminds us that:

We are the same at our core. And we are whole.

There is a deeper message, that there is a beautiful human essence in every living thing in the universe- a light. A fragment of something greater than ourselves. That light is our nature, the absolute essence of you.

We can give our selves a break, because Hinduism also teaches that as humans, it is in our nature to forget that we have this incredible connection.

Leadership Lesson

Namaste serves to firstly remind us that we are so valuable, and therefore so are all others.

We are so much more than all the material things- What job title we hold, what car we drive, the roles we play, who we are with, the experiences we have had.

I am more and I am whole.

When we are caught in these definitions we have of ourselves we fall into the trap of feeling less than or better than others, separate from others and different from others.

You might not be a Hindu; but I would like to connect with you on a level of sameness rather than difference, and share this these ideas about leadership and relationships.

Here are some questions to help you reflect:

I invite you to think about how whole you feel? When people say- ‘bring your whole self to work’ how possible is that?
How much do you appreciate the awesomeness and light in you? Versus how much time you find yourself in self critique?
Do you feel seen as whole by others? Do you see others as whole?
Do you feel connected to others? Do you feel interconnected to others?
Is it easier to feel connected to people who are like you?
Can you see what is the same about someone who might appear to very be different to you?

What sameness and connectedness does is invite us to have compassion for others, to be able to explore and hold the perspectives of others.

I believe that this can help us to hold a space for others, listen better, be curious and compassionate. And lead in a more human way.