"Deepak Chopra... says
namaste means 'the spirit in me honors the spirit in you' and 'the divine in me honors the divine in you.'... When you bow to another, you are honoring something sacred in them. You are acknowledging that they are worthy of respect and dignity.... Some claim that the greeting has been infused with a religious meaning that doesn’t exist in Indian culture.... Most Indian religions agree that there is something divine in all individuals.... Beginning in the 1830s and 1840s, the influential philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, in dialogue with a number of other thinkers, invented a form of spiritual practice that encouraged Americans to actively address the divine soul in others every time they spoke.... One need not be a Hindu, or a Buddhist, or a yoga teacher, to say
namaste.... What matters most [is]... Do you truly recognize them as a fellow human being worthy of dignity, bonded in shared suffering and capacity for transcendence?"
I thought the recommendation was going to hinge on the social distancing of bowing as opposed to a handshake or a hug, but it was about spiritual connection. That took me by surprise, and of course, I am delighted that it fits the "divinity" theme established on the blog (and the podcast) today.
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My preferred greeting is "Namaste, motherfucker"
You were telling us yoga as despicable cultural appropriation, and that’s just stretching. How can this not be criminal?
Emerson and Thoreau helped one of John Brown's men flee into Canada after he escaped arrest following the raid on Harper's Ferry. If they'd been caught, all three would have been tried and hanged. Namaste!
Divinity involves a fudge factor.
I would not be upset if we get out of this with no more handshakes and no more hugs.
Cultural appropriation - no can do.
Oh my God, these people and their “gee whillikers! have you heard of this ‘divine in me/divine in you’ idea!? wow that’s amazing!” ignorance.
can't believe you are now hawking a podcast. ugh.
I'm not sure if this is some ploy to pacify adults. I am aware Dr. Deepak Chopra did accumilate many 24 hr. hospital shifts fueled by coffee. I may have read some books. Met a lady who's niece was suicidal that has no relevance to Dr. Chopra. She adored books, especialy his, helped her calm her life mess. The literral, I'm not sure stems from a rumour I've heard of other Countries in different ages choping fingers, an arm or finally the head for a 3rd theft. For Inga Dr. Chopra may be a welcoming memory, like sunflowers from my youth in a Ukraine Village with my grandma.
Dr. may be dating Annie Lennox. Something about turning white men homosexual and pacifying the white ladies. He's a good guy though.
i'm here (since gosh, 2001?) for the writing. to each their own
I would be concerned using this greeting, that I would be accused of some kind of cultural appropriation. And then the mob would come for me and destroy my life.
Beginning in the 1830s and 1840s, the influential philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, in dialogue with a number of other thinkers,
While the study of the Eastern classics had been around in western philosophical circles since at least the mid-Enlightenment (e.g. Liebnitz discusses reading Chinese philosophy), who really put the Hindu classics & Indian philosophy on the Western map was Mr. Optimist himself (that's sarcasm), Arthur Schopenhauer.
Interesting. Ann was looking for the social distancing angle, and I was expecting someone to go off on it as "cultural appropriation."
Isn't Cultural Appropriation wrong?
I liked Salaam Namaste.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0456165/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Don't tell my employer but I attended a dinner out the other night with a couple of coworkers and a few folks from a channel partner firm. Upon arrival, in masks, natch, we greeted each other with elbow taps. At the conclusion of our meeting (protest?) we shook hands as we would pre-Covid. Not a one said "namaste", but, then, we're all a bunch of sales guys.
Other than sounding like a pretentious Berkeley prick I guess it's fine.
Speaking of Berkeley, I always thought a good emblem or logo for the town would be a silhouette of 'woman of a certain age' riding a bike with a yoga mat strapped over her shoulder.
Spend ten minutes there and you'll know why.
In Thailand the McDonald's restaurants have life-size statues of Ronald with his hands together in the 'peace' pose...the same one liberals use when thanking any Asian restaurant owner...
I think (as does my Japanese friend) that a big reason the 'Vids isn't so bad in Japan or Asia in general is that people are used to wearing masks, and that they almost never shake hands...
when a woman says "namaste" to me, I steer clear before she starts in about wanting me to go vegan and do yoga.
Live. Laugh. Love. Bwahahahah
THEOLDMAN
I prefer howz bayou
When bowing, kneeling, whatever, beware of the magic loogie. Diversity is real.
"Do you truly recognize them as a fellow human being worthy of dignity, bonded in shared suffering and capacity for transcendence?"
Yes, that's why I say "Howdy!"
And the reason one bows in India instead of shaking hands?
And the reason one eats in India only with the right hand, not the left?
Hygiene. One wipes one's backside with the left hand and water.
Cleanliness, Godliness, spark of divinity and all that, sure. But mostly E. coli.
This was explained to me by a coworker, an H1 from Bangalore, before I was sent there by my company. I respect him to this day for his fearless non-PC instruction of local cultural practices for my benefit.
I'm not sure. I get all my cultural cues from Greta Thunberg.
If cultural appropriation is wrong, then blacks and Latinos must cease wearing shoes, using electricity, and driving cars.
"No más! No más!!"
...when the divinity in them beats the crap out of the divinity in you
Oh, and the Japanese NEVER wear shoes in their house.
Keeps all the crap from the street out of the home environment.
They go so far as to wear certain slippers that are only for the bathroom.
And the toilet is almost never in the same place as the sink, shower, tub.
Not terrible ideas.
Cleanest people on the planet.
speaking of namaste...from Marianne Williamson
@marwilliamson
·
Hey guys, I deleted my tweet about Russia having put a bounty on American soldiers’ heads. It was an unproven story, which I didn’t realize.Thanks for the correction. I apologize.
---when a woman says "namaste" to me, I steer clear before she starts in about wanting me to go vegan and do yoga. [marcus]
These women might change your mind. Hello, Greetings!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFKteKPVU5E
Cultural appropriation?
So "namaste means 'the spirit in me honors the spirit in you' and 'the divine in me honors the divine in you.'... When you bow to another, you are honoring something sacred in them."
Wow, we sure need to go to exotic religions to find the idea that there's something sacred about every human being. We couldn't find that idea in traditional religions like Judaism or Christianity, which teach that "God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them."
I was taught that whenever you look into the face of another human being, you are looking into the face of God. Not an easy teaching. God bless.
Shucks. I jus been holding muh hand up bout head level, wagglin the fingers, and sayin "Wu Han handshake."
I like the bow. Works in Japan and has the kinds of subtlety that handshakes lack or are hard to detect.
It literally means “I bow to thee”. Everything else is stuff that new agers add while they laugh their way to the bank, as relatively wealthy Americans seek meaning.
It's a good greeting for committed liberals, SJWs, white suburban women and other risible figures.
I prefer, "S'up, Playuh? Watchoo fin ta do?"
BLM, Antifa, cowering behind a mask – it's all Zombie Transcendentalism.
Want to go to yoga class tomorrow morning at 6?
Namaste home and eat bacon.
'the divine in me honors the divine in you.'
Unless you are pregnant, in which case the "divine" is merely a clump of cells. How can one hold so many contradictions in one's head at the same time?!? No wonder the Left acts crazy.
It's on the order of "I'm not religious but I'm very spiritual" and another way for low IQ doofuses to be hip. When you are the arbiter of morality and right and wrong, you're tackling responsibility for which you aren't qualified. It's easy to live up to a moral code you write yourself and adjust according to your own actions, leaving you free to judge others because of your omniscience.
JAORE: did you steal thishis, or is this your own work?
Want to go to yoga class tomorrow morning at 6?
Namaste home and eat bacon.
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