Radhey Radhey

The traditional greeting in India is Namaste; it is said while placing your hands in prayer position at heart center and bowing your head slightly. It translates to “the divine inside me recognizes the divine inside you”. It has gained popularity in the West thanks to Yoga centers adopting this greeting; it warms my heart to see divine energy making its way back into life in the West. Once you begin using Namaste, Hello feels a little impersonal. People began using the word hello as a starter in telephone conversations. Hello is a salutation nothing more, while Namaste feels to me a little more intimate and a beautiful reminder of our own divine nature as well as the inter-connectedness of us all. It helps us to instantly connect with others on a Spiritual level.

Throughout different parts of India there is an array of popular greetings according to who is worshiped in the area. Namaste encompasses all of Gods energy so you are always safe to use this. In Pushkar for instance the greeting is “Ram Ram” or “Jai Siya Ram” after Lord Rama who was also an avatar like Krishna of source energy. In Kolkatta “Jai Kaliki” for Goddess Kali and in Rishikesh it is customary to greet one another using “Jai Bhole Sankar Ke” to recognize Shiva’s power in all beings.

Whenever people greet each other with the name of Gods or Goddesses they are not all only invoking that energy but they blessing you with that energy. They understand that this powerful force we know as the creator sits in the souls of each of us. Being raised in a Christian society I think about when and where and even how often I hear the name of Jesus. Sadly it’s not usually said with a pure heart or clear mind, it is often only spoken by people when they are angry, frustrated or sad.

Here in Vrindaban there are a number of greetings but only two names will be uttered, Krishna or Radha. “Hare Krishna” is often called out to foreigners by the locals because they assume you are a member of ISKCON, but I haven’t heard them use this one with each other. “Jai Sri Krishna” and “Radhey Krishna” are both quite popular. “Radhey Sham” or “Shree Radhey” can be heard but the most popular is simply “Radhey Radhey”; taken from the name of Shree Radha Rani, who was known as the great love of Lord Krishna’s life. We recognize Radha’s unwavering faith and love of Krishna, and call out her name in hopes of obtaining this same devoutness. She herself was elevated to Goddess status for evolving past the human meanderings of love, she embodied perfect devotion. They say when Krishna was in her presence he recognized that all of his power was derived from her love.  It is also said that the love between Krishna, who is the beloved, and Radha, the lover, is the divine origin of all love.