--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, grate.swan <no_re...@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "do.rflex" <do.rflex@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, grate.swan <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > Another thought on this. > > > > > > We live in a pluralistic society and laudably multi-culturalism and the > > > appreciation of diversity in other culture is increasingly celebrated. > > > Where I work, a large company, the daily e-mail newsletter celebrates and > > > explains every major religions and cultural holiday. Hindu, islamic, > > > jewish, ... Thats a cool thing IMO. it does not make my company a > > > religious advocate nor does it have some hidden agenda. Its educating us > > > all, and making us sensitive to, other cultures. > > > > > > > > > In that light, teaching TM in the traditional way, is giving a nod to, > > > and adding to the texture of a multicultural society. Its preserving a > > > heritage enabling all to see a type of ceremony that they would not > > > normally see. In that light, the TMO should be given thanks for not > > > coping out and sanitizing the way they teach TM. They teach it in the > > > traditional way. They provide a micro museum tour of an ancient culture. > > > I rather like that. That doesn't make me Hindu or religious. It reflects > > > that I am multi-cultural and live in a diverse society of tolerance and > > > appreciation of all traditions. > > > > > > You don't have a true multi-cultural society if you sanitize all > > > traditions and strip out references to God or whatever. > > > > > > That's what the TMO has apparently attempted to do in order to get TM > > accepted wholesale into public schools. > > > > > > > That would be a sham and a shame. You have a multi-cultural society > > > > when things with religious roots can be shared and appreciated as > > > part of diverse cultures -- not phobiacized. > > > > > > That appears to be a pitch to teach TM with its full religious implications > > I am not pitching TM. I could give a rats ass if its TM, buddhist-rooted > meditation, Catholic-rooted mediation, hindu based yoga asanas, > catholic-rooted philosophical tools, religions-roooted must or art. My point > is that so many things of value in society have religious roots. Why the > secular fruit of such cannot be taught in schools is mind boggling as if that > is teaching religion. > > > and let it join others in the diverse variety of what's available. But at > > the same time you can't promote a specific traditional religious teaching > > in a public school. > > Sure. Don't teach religion in public schools. How is teaching a secular > meditation technique teaching religion.
I'm a TM teacher trained by Maharishi. Whether you say it is or not, TM is not a secular meditation technique. To pretend that it is is blatantly dishonest. > Give a test on hinduism to any 1000 TM practicioners. They will > fail miserably. Probably most people in the general population claiming to be of Hindu background would likely fail the same test just as miserably. Very much like, for example, Catholics I know haven't a clue about the details of Catholicism. Most TM teachers on the other hand, having been trained by Maharishi, are necessarily quite familiar with the primary Hindu concepts. Since Sanatana Dharma and its religious 'Holy Tradition' is the central life basis of the whole thing, you simply cannot honestly pass TM off as a strictly secular meditation technique. IT. IS. NOT. To intentionally leave out the whole basis of TM and to try to pawn it off as a strictly secular meditation technique AND to try to wholesale introduce it into the public school system - is glaringly unethical, dishonest and deceptive. Any religious body who saw that attempt would rightly be justified in screaming bloody murder to see TM included as part of the curriculum of a public school. A separate, off-campus non-taxpayer funded club might be acceptable. But not as part and parcel of the public education system. In that regard, the TMO comes off here like the crackpot fundamentalist creationist movement who try to pass off their bullshit 'intelligent design' as legitimate science into the public school system. > They know nothing about hinduism. If TM is teaching > religion, its doing a piss poor job. The TMO *is* doing a piss poor job pretending that TM is secular. It is NOT a secular meditation technique.
