My Namaste Sermon again

The folks in the astrology forum suggested I post this in GD.

Thought I'd share a sermon I gave this past Sunday at our Unitarian Universalist church in Germantown, MD. I'm not a minister, just a lay leader and member of the Sunday services committee. Thanks to DU'er IndyOp for leading me to the story about the Cambodian monk and giving me a link to the story's author - LibE

Namaste – Recognizing the Divine Spark Within
Sermon delivered on November 25, 2007, by LiberalEsto

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the Unitarian Universalist First Principle of “inherent dignity and worth” in all people. Before you all immediately fall asleep … let’s talk about something else. Do all people have a spark of something special – holiness, divinity, god, or inner light, inside them? Can I see a show of hands if you believe something of this sort?

Now, let’s take this thought further. Does George Bush have this spark? Does Osama bin Laden? If I were in a room alone with one of them, what could I say to them in an effort to connect with this spark, if they have one?

Would I say to them, that I recognize the divine spark of humanity within them? They would think I was nuts, of course. So what would be the best approach – the best words – with which to say this? How can I achieve the ability to reach past a person’s façade and touch that mark of inner light that resides within another person? Or is this a skill reserved only for prophets and saints?

I think the first step is to believe that such a spark exists in all of us. And then the challenge is to find it. I have a lot of questions about this, as most of us do.

I got on this mental track a couple of months ago when I saw a group of hecklers insulting a group of elderly Quakers in Olney who were holding a silent vigil against the Iraq war. I joined the Quaker vigil, and later I wrote a sarcastic commentary on the incident for a liberal web site. In it I described the pro-war crowd as right wing nuts and a few other choice things. I was going to forward it to one of the Quakers, but then I re-read it, and was ashamed of what I had written.

I realized I wasn’t acting on the Unitarian Universalist First Principle by name-calling and dehumanizing the pro-war people. And I began thinking I wasn’t behaving as a good Unitarian.

Now, guilt and sin are things Unitarians generally don’t deal with, and I think that’s healthy. But in this case I starting thinking and realized I should at least be trying to recognize the individual dignity and worth of the pro-war people, as well as the people I agreed with.

Had I considered them more respectfully, and acted on it, could that have changed the dynamic between us?

The Sanskrit word “Namaste” –literally means “I bow to you”. But it can also mean “I recognize the divine spirit in you”. It is a common greeting in India and Nepal, accompanied by putting the palms of the hands together in front of the heart chakra – like this – and bowing over them slightly. It’s a lovely concept, and I think it’s closely related to the Unitarian Universalist principle of inherent dignity and worth. The Quakers call it Inner Light, some Christians call it the Holy Spirit, and some pagans call it the Goddess Within. There are many names for this concept, in many different faiths and cultures.

Here is a story I read on DemocraticUnderground.com that moved me greatly. It was posted by a Democratic Underground member named IndyOp on October 1, and was written by Wayne Muller, an author, social activist and minister.

“Maha Ghosananda, a respected Cambodian monk, went into the refugee camps where thousands of Cambodians had fled the terrible holocaust conducted by Pol Pot. Every family had lost children, spouses, and parents to the ravages of genocide, and their homes and temples had been destroyed. Maha Ghosananda announced that there would be a Buddhist ceremony the next day, and all who wished to come would be welcome.

The next day, over ten thousand refugees converged at the meeting place. Maha Ghosananda sat for some time in silence in front of the crowd. Then he began chanting the invocations that begin the Buddhist ceremony, and people started weeping. They had been through so much sorrow, so much difficulty, that just to hear the sound of those familiar words again was precious.

Some wondered what Maha Ghosananda would say. What could one possibly say to this group of people? What he did next, in the company of thousands of refugees, was begin to repeat the verse from the Dhammapada, a sacred Buddhist scripture.

Hatred never ceases by hatred;
But by love alone is healed.
This is an ancient and eternal law.

Over and over again he chanted this verse. These were people who had as much cause to hate as anyone on earth. Yet as he sat there, repeating this verse over and over, one by one, thousands of voices joined together in unison: "Hatred never ceases by hatred: but by love alone is healed.
This is an ancient and eternal law."

Out of the mouths of people who had been wounded, oppressed, made homeless, aggrieved, and crushed by the pain of war, came a prayer proclaiming the ancient truth about love, a truth that was greater than all the sorrows they had seen and felt.

Hatred never ceases by hatred;
But by love alone is healed.
This is an ancient and eternal law.”

I read elsewhere that Maha Ghosananda’s entire family was massacred by the Khmer Rouge. In 1992, he led a nation-wide peace pilgrimage, across Cambodia in an effort to begin restoring the hope and spirit of the Cambodian people.

Speaking about this pilgrimage, he said:
It is a law of the universe that retaliation, hatred, and revenge only continue the cycle and never stop it...Reconciliation does not mean that we surrender rights and conditions, but rather that we use love. Our wisdom and our compassion must walk together. Having one without the other is like walking on one foot; you will fall. Balancing the two, you will walk very well, step by step.

He has been called "the Gandhi of Cambodia," and he died earlier this year in Northhampton, Massachusetts.

Can we as Unitarian Universalists work toward recognizing the divine spirit, or at least the inherent worth, in one another, and then spread this word in our own communities?

Can we learn to refrain from hurting one another, in the sense that by hurting others, we are also harming ourselves? We hurt others when we do not believe in the divine spark in them, recognize it, or honor it. Only by recognizing others as being as holy or special or worthy as we ourselves, can we shed the un-evolved human behavior of causing hurt.

A Hitler or a Stalin or a mass murderer doesn’t perceive the divine spark in others. For them, others exist as toys, tools, pawns, props, cattle, or victims. If I could figure out how some individuals become this way, I might win a Nobel Prize. But of course I don’t have a clue. What made them incapable of perceiving the humanity of others? Was it many generations of abusive parenting? Were these people abused from early on? Were they born with brain damage? Was it something genetic? A flaw in brain chemistry?

If I were in a room alone with one of these people, what would I say to them? I don’t know that I am capable of pushing past my own fear and anger and disgust to reach out to them. I wish I were.

Can we as humans work evolve ourselves to the point that we can meet an enemy, and look in the enemy’s eyes, and find words to touch that enemy’s inner spark of divinity? To say Namaste, I respect the divine spirit within you, even though you are pointing a weapon at me? To say Namaste to a torturer? To a murderer?

As military training teaches people to dehumanize others, can we some day train people to personalize and humanize others? Could we some day raise non-armies to ramble forth and spread our message of Namaste and inherent worth to the world?

***

Those thoughts have occurred to me from time to time, but are usually drowned out by frustration and contempt the next I read the news.

Thanks for posting this gentle reminder. :)

was, as well, a very practical person and did not actively encourage throwing 'pearls before swine', rather he continued over the years to draw a response from those who were seeking to touch and express their divine spark - this kind of true 'seeking' is rarely desired nor active in 'the mass' of humanity, however, in my opinion, there is a substantial increase of light and desire for 'some kind of soulic enlightenment'of sorts that is occuring in the mass of humanity-even though the so termed darkside is making quite a grand show these days or perhaps as the light of truth seeking, love and generally speaking... peaceful 'intent' increases it is penetrating the shadows....? whatever, it's all very interesting.

is the only antidote I can imagine for this rampant bigotry, hatred, shadow projection, and intolerance.

On December 11th at 2:26 PM EST consider saying this or something similar.

Though I tend to tweak the prayers closer to the timing of events. here are a couple rough drafts of it. . .

“We are creating with spirit a collective evolutionary leap in consciousness, conscientiousness, and clarity. We are creating with spirit that all those who are open to it, experience a paradigm shift in their awareness, gain greater enlightenment and discernment in their perceptions, and strength and wisdom in their souls to effect progressive change.

We are creating with spirit the manifestation of leadership representative of the many rather than the few, resulting in of greater harmony, fairness, and infinite kindness.

We are creating with spirit honesty in our media.

We are creating with spirit a lasting peace on earth.”

An addendum for those who are more politically oriented. . .

We are creating with spirit, restoration of habeas corpus, the rule of law, the fairness doctrine, the 4th amendment, transparency and accountability in our elections and in our government, a truly representative leadership, true campaign finance reform, as well as checks and balances.

We are creating with spirit, that deceit be eclipsed by truth, tyranny be eclipsed by justice, bigotry be eclipsed by real compassion, greed be eclipsed by generosity, and that fear and hatred be eclipsed by unconditional love."

Though it transcends logic, many in the spiritual community feel that if a mere 144,000 people focus on a shared intent simultaneously for a minute or two, we will experience a global ameliorations very quickly.

I figure this lively experiment is worth a moment or two.

I just don't feel our current situation will be remedied by linear conventionally traditional means alone.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom and kindness.

astrologically? Or in some other way?

Your prayer is beautiful.

But such references are not allowed in GD so I'll 'splain it in the astro forum closer to the date.

Suffice it to say that it's the 7th anniversary of when * v Gore was argued before the SCOTUS and has corollaries to the Boston Tea Party, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation.

Thanks again and I've still got to streamline the prayer.

As we used to say in high school,
"Be there, or be square"

or round pegs in square holes. . .?

I'm confused. Kidding.

That question might just be rhetorical.

LOL

Great thread.

one thought..

for those, who associate the word "spirit" with organized religion may resonate better with another term.

but then again, you can not please everyone..

Without a dream, your dream cannot come true.

If you never ask, the answer is always no.


Where there is vision, where people exercise their free will and choose a healthy vision and ask in unison for it to be realized, there is a basic goodness.

Dec. 11 sounds like a wonderful opportunity to make a contribution of song and thought and intention and prayer, Stella. Thanks for letting us know about this opportunity.

this is sorely needed.

;-)

This is just brilliant: "As military training teaches people to dehumanize others, can we some day train people to personalize and humanize others? Could we some day raise non-armies to ramble forth and spread our message of Namaste and inherent worth to the world?"

on dialogue and mediation some time in the next few months. Linda, a fellow lay leader who handled the musical part of Sunday's service, has a master's degree in mediation.

Our intention for this service was helping people discover their divine spark. We led a guided meditation for the congregation.

The next step will explore what to do with the divine spark, once you believe it exists. That will be the dialogue sermon.


Thank you for your kind words! :blush:

May I suggest looking into Marshall Rosenberg's Center for Nonviolent Communication? Until quite recently, I was on track to UU ministry, with an emphasis on social justice. This work, around compassionate communication, is spurring a lot of clergy in our District as a new way to engage the world in working for peace and social justice.

I loved this sermon, LiberalEsto! I have also talked about the divine spark in "evil" people, using not only the first principle, but also the second source. That is, evil does not exist in a vacuum, concentrated in one person, but only exists within systems, involving many people, both the witting and the unwitting. Cheney and Bush could do nothing in Iraq, for instance, without the consent and participation of the military, the media, etc. I wrote about it in the sermon I posted a few years back, Evil and Prophecy and Transformation: A Sermon in Three Acts.

K&R, obviously. If all UUs were as enlightened as you, I'd still be pursuing the ministry. :hug:

I will check them out this evening.

Such lovely words to live by. Thank you for sharing.

K&R

is because they don't feel the other is worthy, what do you do as a pragmatic matter of dealing with them? Sorry, but the only thing that consistently stops people who are evil (or out of touch with their source, or whatever) is force of some kind. And retribution. People need to pay for what they have done or they will feel free to do it again. Or conditions will exist where someone else looks at it and thinks, well the risk of getting caught is worth it. That's why evolution put the sensation of revenge and hate and anger into us. It exists for a reason, too. Yes, it needs to be tempered. It needs to be a precise instrument rather than a blunt force.

A company can pollute with impunity when it decides that getting caught will only be a fine, it then factors this into the cost of doing business. How do you pray that away? I don't think you can. You hit them hard. Incrementally mounting losses for each fine till their business license or corporate charter is revoked, and the polluters are in a hardcore prison. You need both a carrot and a stick. You're only offering a carrot. And many people who are evil don't respond to calls to their higher nature.

Further, on another pragmatic matter, the nation that brought the concept of Namaste also brought the concept of caste. Where people to this day are still treated sub human.

I do wish enlightenment for all, which includes realization from within at their own pace.

Vis a vis example company they will ultimately create their own reality of poisoning their own, losing business as more and more people will reject them, and or as you say, resulting in tighter regulations and perhaps prison time.

However, the odd thing is, that along the way they make others realize, what needs to change for the benefit of all.

We are all mostly far too painfully aware of the presumed impunity, in the face of laws long established.

The big stick policies of bellicosity void of true diplomacy have resulted in so much animosity.

Just because the concept of caste was related to the culture that created the concept of Namaste, does not predicate a "baby with the bath water" situation.

I think more carrots, fewer sticks might be far more appropriate.

The etymological root of "evil" is unripe (i.e. requiring more sunlight aka consciousness.)

Violence and incarceration and such a plethora of so much recidivism, the system clearly is broken.

Have a proactive day.

in say, stopping a serial rapist? Would you administer any punishment after they were caught or chalk it up to a learning experience?

As far as the Namaste origin, 'by their fruits, they shall be known.' I'm not interested in how highly developed a culture may be intellectually or spiritually, if when the rubber meets the road it doesn't translate into reality. Like the Buddhist saying goes, 'understanding without action, isn't really understanding.'

I have heard various reports on the efficacy of testosterone inhibitor patches in those cases but am unsure of the results.

Maybe Martial arts or consensual partners might help or something. Who knows. . . ?

I think there is a challenge to us all to ground a spirituality of tolerance is all.

No one is suggesting inaction.

Just is better to use both hemisphere's of one's crania for starters.

Organic carrots instead of acute militarism and torture is my preference and will remain so.

I never mentioned acute militarism or torture either. This sort of mindless, reflexive desire for revenge* is what's gotten us into the mess Iraq in the first place.

I am all for the possibility of reform, but am not tolerant of the actions of those who would do harm.

* On the part of the public, this administration had other motives for going into Iraq planned long before 9/11.

peace

It is about changing how *I* react to things so I don't emit more useless rage and fear into the world and act upon those emotions. Rage and fear led many Americans into mindlessly supporting the soulsucking quagmire that is the war on Iraq. Taking a step back, a deep breath and actually contemplating the situation so that the majority reacted with Justice instead of vengeance and blood thirst.

BTW if people rejected every good spiritual and/or ethical practice because the group it originated amongst had people who didn't walk the talk we wouldn't have any rules at all. For examples greeks invented democracy yet practiced slavery and women were property. Pragmatically I take what is good and reject the rest.

to getting over or past or beyond that which causes our problems. So simple and yet so difficult to do. Namaste.

going on that are equal to your own. how many times do we demonize people and are surprised when they express things we express? too
many times.

as we all struggle with this, your sermon so eloquently expresses what we strive for - peace and harmony.

We just have to work on evolving. It takes a long time to evolve, but eventually the majority of us will get there. The first step is to recognize that evolution is possible.

Some teachers like Maha Ghosananda and Mahatma Gandhi have evolved, and they point the way for the rest of us.

I hope some day there will be a world in which it is unthinkable to hit or otherwise harm a child... where sexual abuse is unknown... where hatemaking is not done ... where wars are considered unspeakable ancient history.

Namaste!

K and R

in which you begin with yourself and gradually extend love to ALL, enemy or foe.It is not practical or pragmatic per se. It is only healing, and it sets your heart on what I consider to be the right path.

I have wondered on occasion what it would be live to sit with Osama bin Laden, to ask him about his concerns, his feelings. I think he might just shoot me. But it's an interesting exercise of the mind.

I have often wanted to comment on the hate and name-calling that goes on on DU (long before I officially joined). It saddens me. The least likely way to change the politics of our nation is with hate. And name-calling is kind of pathetic; as I tell my kids, it shows a lack of language skills!

Shanti (peace)

In the end I say that we all have a responsibility to not forget that that spark is in us. When people lose sight of that we sometimes feel that we have a right to be angry with them. Like Barbara Bush's "beautiful" mind. I am so angered by that kind of flagrant irresponsibility. And sometimes I feel we have a right to be angry. But there is something about being bigger. Being bigger. I think this is universal. It transcends all. It's at the very essence of what that spark is. By being bigger we not only recognize the spark but we become the spark.

A few years ago, just after Bush got into office, I met an old man. He had the finest tomatoes I've ever had. And what he would do is he would have a bag of these tomatoes hanging from his fence in the front yard. And another bag where you could put money. And he trusted. Finally I met him one day. We talked about war and peace and Bush. And he said this- Love is reflected in Love. I'll always remember him. And always feel good when I think of him. The tiny, wrinkled, loving man of trust.

this thread. It is easy to anger. More difficult is understanding.

Oops.

:rofl:

Truth is always practical as well as beautiful.

There is no responsibility, without freedom;
No freedom, without power;
No power, without knowledge;
No knowledge, without love.

Very thoughtful, simple, and spirit-filled. It's something I need to ponder, as do all of us who are consumed with anger and bitterness from the past seven years. I'm thinking about becoming a UU minister and can learn a lot from your basic, honest humanity expressed in this sermon.

Namaste.

And btw, I live across the Bay from you, on the Eastern Shore, where I attend the UU Fellowship at Easton. My family and I used to live in Gaithersburg and Frederick back in the '90s. Perhaps our paths will cross. :hi:

I am truly thrilled that this message resonated with so many people, both within our congregation, and here on DU.

As I mentioned, it started with the Quakers having a weekly silent peace vigil in Olney. Just 9 elderly Quakers standing firm in their wordless call for peace, despite an endless stream of loud insults delivered by bullhorn from hecklers across the road.

I wrote a sarcastic post about the hecklers here on DU. Then I realized the post was too rude and angry to show to these quiet peacemakers. By not being sarcastic or angry back at the pro-war people, the Quakers taught me a great lesson. They caused me to realize that I wasn't living up to the UU first principle of believing that every person had inherent worth and dignity.

The next step will be learning how to get to the point that someday I could walk across the road and begin a dialogue with the pro-war people. I'm not at that point yet. I'm not particularly self-confident, and I do have a hasty temper. But I want very much to educate myself to some day become the kind of person who can cross that street and reach out to those types of people.

If you're ever in the area, come to one of our SCUU services. It's the friendliest congregation I have ever been in.

Namaste!