The word 'worship' is indeed Bob's. My understanding, from many Indian sources is that 'namaste' means simply, "I *greet* or *recognize* the divine or eternal in you." 'Worship' is another thing entirely, and not connoted at all.
Another aspect of 'namah,' which I remember Maharishi talking about, and have certainly heard other teachers speaking about, has also to do less with 'worship' than it does *recognition*. There is a certain value placed on *recognizing* the eternal in the ephemeral, the value coming from *identification* with the eternal. If one cannot *identify* with that with eternal and timeless, one cannot ever live it in the form of enlightenment. The idea of 'worship,' if it perpetuates the notion that there is a *difference* between the eternal and one's self, is actually counterproductive to enlight- enment in the view of many traditions. Unc > > My intention is to understand and > > discuss. Not attack or make wrong, but understand. Bob B in an > > early post used the word "worship" when responding to my inquiry. > > ******* > > You have completely misunderstood and misrepresented what I said in a > previous post. What I said is that Indians, in their gesture of > greeting "namaste" (namah plus te, "you" in sanskrit) which means > something like I worship the divine in you. In TM, with advanced > techniques or not, we are "worshipping" the infinite divine within by > transcending, and on the way to transcending, we greet the subtle > levels of creation on the way, which has a harmonizing influence on > the meditator and on the creation: > > When people meet in India, they bow and say "namaste," which is about > the same as what is done in advanced techniques: > > http://www.namastecafe.com/library/trans.htm > > So, it's traditional in Hindu culture to bow down to the divine in > everybody, so it's not really an unusual sort of worship to employ > namah in TM advanced techniques, since one in TM is on the path to > the universal soul, the transcendental reality which is the divine > nature. > > The purpose of the additional syllables (namah and so on) is to slow > down transcendence, so that one gains more familiarity with the > subtle and powerful levels of creation, in order to have a fuller > experience of Cosmic Consciousness. > > Hindus properly practicing advanced TM techniques, as well as those > practicing basic TM, are instructed to regard the mantras, advanced > or not, as meaningless sounds during the period of meditation. > Outside of meditation, Hindus assign values that non-Hindus who > practise TM do not. But, whether Hindu or not, people who are > properly practicing TM and its advanced techniques are not thinking > about gods (or impulses of creative intelligence, or angels, or > whatever one regards as more powerful, subtle, or celestial levels of > existence) or bowing down to gods. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
