Could It Be Disrespectful To Use “Namaste” As A Greeting?

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You’ve probably heard the word spoken on The Simpsons and The Good Place and by world leaders; you’ve probably seen it emblazoned on t-shirts, yoga mats, water bottles, and bumper stickers. A common greeting in much of India and Southeast Asia, “namaste” —“I bow to you,” or “the divine in me bows to the divine in you” — is today closely associated with contemporary global spirituality, including yoga.

Yoga’s popularity has been growing steadily since the 1990s. In 2020, the last year for which there are reliable statistics, over 36 million Americans practiced yoga; it’s almost certainly several more million now. In many yoga classes, it is a ritual to end practice by saying namaste. Imagine the number of people on any given day, in America and around the world, who are repeating a word that has the potential to heal the feelings of loneliness and division that haunt so many people today by building a culture of connection.

When you think about it, it makes sense that we end our yoga classes by contemplating how to greet other people once we return to our daily lives. Spoken mindfully, with understanding and intention, namaste is more than just a word; it is a practice of great power that builds community, connection, and peace in a fractured world. Namaste is a practice that can change your life and set you on a path toward transforming the world.

But, Is It Cultural Appropriation?

I want to examine the question of cultural appropriation, and how I have come to understand it, as a culturally sensitive person, with regard to saying, and living, namaste. Most of the yoga teachers and practitioners I know are kindhearted folks who want to do what is right and good. I know they are concerned about participating in acts of cultural appropriation. This charge has great emotional power — it’s like a gut punch for sensitive, well-meaning people, that leads to sinking feelings.

Generally, cultural appropriation is defined as when people from a dominant culture adopt or exploit a cultural practice that is treasured by another culture without properly understanding the history or context of that practice, and when they do so in a way that disrespects, stereotypes, or materially harms the original culture. (This definition of cultural appropriation builds on Barataki, “What Isthe Difference,” and Baitmangalkar, “How We Can Work Together.”)

Like all things, namaste has its fundamentalists. There are some who contend that only Indians can say the word, or that it can only be pronounced one particular way. The Indian comedian Akaash Singh has a routine called “White People Can’t Pronounce Namaste” (heads up: it’s not safe for kids). Some critics say that anytime a white person or a Westerner says the word it is an example of insensitivity. The people who voice this opinion tend to do so loudly, so it can seem like truth.

If you are committed to living the word, then it’s okay to say it. In fact, if you understand and really mean it, then it’s good to say namaste.

But there are many other voices sharing other perspectives about this question. To me, saying namaste does not warrant the red flag of cultural appropriation. I base this conclusion on my own extensive academic scholarship investigating the history of yoga and meditation, as well as the many conversations I had while traveling through India for research, training, and spiritual pilgrimage. I recognize that others feel differently, so let me clearly lay out my reasoning.

Namaste is not the name of a deity, and it is not a sacred word spoken in carefully guarded religious rituals that occur behind closed temple doors. If it was, I think I’d agree that it’s cultural appropriation for Westerners to use this word outside of its original context. Namaste is not an ancient word of religious power in Hinduism or Buddhism or Jainism or any other religion. It’s an everyday greeting, and its global popularity is recent.

Indeed, a quick Google Books search shows that its usage exploded in the 1990s, driven by the global popularity of yoga. Yogis do use words that have great reverence for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and devotees of other religions, and these words should be used with respect and understanding. Though it is just as ubiquitous as namaste, I think here of OM or AUM or ॐ. For many Hindus this word is the pranava, the original word of power, and it is considered in many religious circles as nada-shabda, the source-syllable of all sound. As such, I think OM warrants more care than it generally receives.

What Do The Elders Say?

I asked Swami Tattwamayananda, the head of the Vedanta Society of Northern California in San Francisco and one of the world’s leading authorities on Indian ritual and scripture if it is okay for Westerners to say namaste. He responded with an emphatic and unequivocal “Yes. It is perfectly appropriate for everyone, including Westerners like yourself, to say ‘namaste’ at the end of your yoga classes.” He reiterated that namaste means “I bow down to you” in the sense that I bow to the divine in you from the place of divinity in me.

I also asked my dear friend Shantum Seth, the philanthropist, social activist, dharma teacher, and senior lay student of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, about namaste. Shantum told me that he loves namaste, and considers it a beautiful, universal gesture. It’s a respectful greeting and parting recognized throughout the subcontinent. He said that it would be great if more people around the world adopted it as a daily practice.

Namaste Has A Wide Range Of Uses And Modifications

The four times I’ve traveled to India, and the two times I’ve journeyed to Nepal, I found namaste to be a versatile greeting, with a range of uses and modifications.

In India, if you’re greeting someone far away, the arms can be extended overhead in prayer pose so that your gesture is more visible.

If you’re greeting someone you respect, you can bow a little deeper.

In moments of great reverence, like when you’re bowing  to the earth or to your ancestors, your namaste can become a full prostration on the ground.

If you’re holding something in your left hand, you can give a one-handed namaste with just your right hand and vice versa.

You can say namaste without bringing the hands into prayer, and you can make the gesture of hands at heart center and a little bow of the head without saying anything.

You can namaste while in motion or standing still or sitting or speeding by in a rickshaw.

You can say namaste as a greeting, and at the end of a conversation to mean goodbye.

The Full Effect Of Namaste Is In The Intention

Shantum told me that the only thing that bothers him about namaste is when people get too fussy or precious about it. For instance, some yoga teachers teach anjali mudra — hands at heart center in prayer pose — with great specificity, arguing that the knuckles must line up perfectly, and the bottom of the hands must be centered at the heart chakra for the gesture to have full effect.

Some yoga teachers also say that namaste must be pronounced in a particular way. None of this matters, Shantum reiterated. People who live in different regions of India speak with diverse accents, so the pronunciation of namaste varies, too.

What matters is the intention behind the word. Every time you say namaste, you must ask yourself: Do you truly recognize the divine in yourself and in the person you are addressing? Do you see them as a being worthy of dignity and respect? When you bow to another, are you really bowing to them with all your being, or are you just going through the motions? If you are committed to living the word, then it’s okay to say it. In fact, if you understand and really mean it, then it’s good to say namaste.

Today, people all over the world say namaste. There is nothing strange about that. People all over the world say hello, too, and ciao. Namaste is a multicultural word of greeting and parting recognized in many languages. It’s commonly said throughout Southeast Asia, and even in the United States. I’ve had people greet me with a namaste on five different continents. Namaste is a global word, and we would be better off if it was a global aspiration, too.

Reprinted with permission from  Living Namaste: A Practical Guide to Mindfulness, Yoga, and Building Community by Jeremy Engels  (June 2026, Inner Traditions)

Jeremy Engels is a Liberal Arts Endowed Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences at Penn State University, a co-founder of Yoga Lab, and the author of seven books, including his forthcoming work Living Namaste: A Practical Guide to Mindfulness, Yoga, and Building Community.

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