Namah is the sound of surrender and the sound of connection. It has seven different layers of meaning, resonance, and embodiment. As the ending of of most Sanskrit mantras, namah sends energy to the aspect of the Divine that one is connecting with by fully opening yourself to, and surrendering to it. Namah within a mantra is the sound of surrender to the Shakti, the energy of the quality of Divine, and the life flow that animates and enlivens the mantra.
Namah is correctly pronounced with the “ah” at the end of the word having a sibilant out-breath that sends life force out into silence, into the gap between thoughts where manifestation of the Divine occurs.
The first layer of meaning of namah is the most commonly known: to bow down to God. The second meaning is to pay your dues to God, in the hopes of dissolving karmas and attaining more humility. The third is to offer sometimes, or to desire something from God in hope of attaining something of material or egoic benefit. The fourth level is to open up to God, humbly and in reverence, from the soul. The fifth level is to surrender your soul to God’s will, to allow the Shakti to flow as it wishes beyond your control and conscious awareness and desire. The sixth level meaning of namah is to open up and surrender your soul without limits; na= without, mah= limits. Without wanting for self, or needing to gain anything for self, simply offering oneself as a conduit through which the Divine can act for the highest benefit.
The ego is working on the first three levels of namah. The soul takes over on the next two levels. God itself is the sixth and seventh levels of namah, where the soul surrenders its identity or higher self into God. Within namah is the basis of the spiritual path. As one journeys through life, working, and healing, the ego starts to become the servant of the soul. At this point, selfless service, love, and joy become the foundations of your life. As you move forward, the soul becomes more dissolved in deeper states of peace that require a deeper effort to attain, for the soul is now happy to reside in itself. The soul can get stuck at this time, and it takes a great effort to move beyond this point of soul contentment, which is still not enlightenment. As the soul moves deeper into peace, the mind that is part of the soul gets dismantled so that so that breath of Shakati can dissolve it completely. In truth, the ego is a servant of God, designed to accomplish organizational, linear and mundane tasks as an automatic response.
The seventh resonance of namah is to become Shakti, the breath of the Divine, to embody Shakti and transmit its divine qualities.