Atithi Devo Bhava

Atithi Devo Bhava, also spelt Atithidevo Bhava (Sanskrit: अतिथिदेवो भव), English translation: A guest is akin to God, prescribes a dynamic of the host-guest relationship, which embodies the traditional Indian Hindu-Buddhist philosophy of revering guests with the same respect as a god. This concept of going out of the way to treat guests with reverence goes even beyond the traditional Hindu-Buddhist common greeting of namaste (I bow to the divinity in you) used for everyone.

The mantras are from the Taittiriya Upanishad, Shikshavalli I.11.2, which says: matrudevo bhava, mitradevo bhava, pitrudevo bhava, putradevo bhava, acharyadevo bhava, atithidevo bhava. It literally means "be one for whom the Mother is God, be one for whom the Friend is God, be one for whom the Father is God, be one for whom the Child is God, be one for whom the Teacher is God, and be one for whom the Guest is God". Matrudevah, mitradevah, pitrudevah, putradevah, acharyadevah, and atithidevah are one word each, and each one is a Bahuvrihi samasta-pada.