Date: 11 Feb 2013 21:35:38 -0000
From: "K Lingappa"
To: AM-GLOBAL
Subject: Simple But Most Misunderstood Point In Our Day to Day Life
Baba
This entire email is composed of 3 parts:
(1) Prabhat Samgiita #1111;
(2) Posting: Simple But Most Misunderstood Point...;
(3) Trailer Quote: Ananda Margiis, Apes & Casteism
Each section is demarcated by asterisks (*).
****Here begins the Prabhat Samgiita.
"Saba'r saunge tumi a'cho, tumi a'cho, Prabhu tumi a'cho..." (PS 1111)
Purport:
O' Parama Purusa, my Lord, You so gracious, You are with all; O' Prabhu, You are with everyone always. You know not any barriers of relativity. You always remain with everyone. Baba, by showering Your infinite love & compassion, You have graciously captivated and attracted my mind. Baba You are ever present - ever present.
O' Divine Entity, in the fast, ferocious winds and strong storms of the cyclone, in the deadly grip and deathly noose of the cobra, when the god of death comes near, or when in the jaws of the enemy, in all these terrifying circumstances You shower Your sweet grace by smiling and dancing. O' my Lord, even in the fire of the unbearable inferno, You shower Your causeless grace and turn everything into the cool balm of sandalwood. Baba, You are ever-gracious.
Baba, O' Parama Purusa, You are present eternally. Even before anything existed and before there was even the hint of creation, You were present then also. You are the Creator. You are the origin; You are omnipresent. Even when there were no seconds, minutes, hours, days, dates, months, or years, and no one was there to count the time, and time itself was non-existent, then also You were present. O' Parama Purusa, in that moment, You were alone. There was no divine play of the hope and hopelessness between the Lord and His devotees; just You were all alone. Baba, today You are ever-present along with Your creation. You are vibrating in Your liila'rasa, dancing with divine ecstasy in the bond of love, showering Your grace to all the jiivas, and attracting everyone close to you. Baba, You existed and You are still present; You are ever-present, omnipotent. O' Parama Purusa, You love all and You seek the love and affection of all. Your liila is unfathomable.
Baba, You are the beginning and You are the only desideratum, the Goal. O' Parama Purusa, please shower Your ahetuki krpa...
**** End of Prabhat Samgiita and start of the first letter ****
Note: This letter is a reminder about the great import of one of our most fundamental practices. It is not a small point as it represents our entire outlook in life.
Namaskar,
In our Ananda Marga, our entire outlook and life is spiritually based - focused completely on Parama Purusa, revolving only around Baba. Our each and every thought, word, and action is aimed towards Him.
From morning till night, our existence is centered around the Divine Entity: When we awaken, we meditate on Him; when we serve others or feed a beggar, we feel that we are serving or feeding Him. When we receive anything from anyone, we feel we have gotten a gift from Parama Purusa.
When we talk to our children, we feel that Parama Purusa is expressing Himself in the form of these children, i.e. that He is in front of us in the form of these young boys and girls.
In this beautiful way the day passes - ensconced in His thought & ideation.
And our namaskar salutation is part and parcel of this flow: It is one of our daily activities that is related with Parama Purusa.
Because as we all know, when we do namaskar we are not saluting any particular individual like Ram, Shyam, Tom, Dick, or Harry, but rather recognizing the presence of the Infinite Supreme Consciousness within that person.
Our namaskar salutation, therefore, is to be done to all. Because it has nothing to do with one's seniority, social stature, post, age, or any other relative factor.
Because when we do our namaskar mudra we are not bowing down to any individual per se. Rather we are paying salutation to the presence of the Divine within that person.
Baba says, "Namaska'ra...It can be done to all regardless of their age, because this mode of salutation is used with the ideation that everyone is the manifestation of the Supreme Being." (1)
Thus part and parcel of our namaskar practice is seeing the Divine within all. That is the essence of doing namaskar. For that reason even the senior-most people in society should do namaskar to little babies, and top-level workers should do namaskar to newly initiated persons. And fellow classmates should do namaskar to each other.
So namaskar is to be done by one and all to one and all.
There should not be any shyness or feelings of superiority that inhibits this process. Because the sweet ideation behind it all is that when doing namaskar we are honoring the presence of the Supreme within that individual.
Hence, we should always be ready to do namaskar to anyone.
Secondly, side by side Baba's guidelines is that we should be the first to do namaskar.
Baba says, "You should always make an effort to do namaskar to others first." (2)
So these are two of Baba's fundamental teachings about Namaskar: (a) That it is to be done to all, and (b) that one should be enthusiastic to do namaskar first.
These are two fundamentals aspects of our namaskar practice.
Reason being that namaskar is an acknowledgement or salutation to Parama Purusa in the form of that human being. It is not the act of bowing down to a particular individual. So we should readily do namaskar to everyone-- first.
According to Baba, there are numerous benefits to always doing namaskar first. And Baba furthermore guides us that He always does namaskar first in order to teach others.
Baba says, "As ideal human beings you should not wait to do namaskar after another has greeted you: you should rather take the first opportunity to greet others. When someone greets you, it is merely common courtesy for you to salute back; you do not become an ideal human being thereby. Rather one who seizes the first opportunity to salute others is the ideal. So you should always make an effort to do namaskar to others first: you should not care whether the person whom you greet will greet you in return or not. (When people come to me during personal contact, I greet them first whether they salute me or not.) By giving honour to others you will not be belittled, you will rather enhance your prestige." (3)
By Baba's above guideline we can understand that those who do namaskar first are better than those who wait to do namaskar in response. Unfortunately, those who are unaware about this do not do namaskar first, they think they should wait for namaskar. But by this way they just cheat themselves and deprive themselves of becoming ideal human beings. That is Baba's specific teaching.
Unfortunately, some have forgotten this divine formula. And for that reason certain dogmatic ideas about the meaning of namaskar have crept into our Marga.
Chiefly, some have the wrong idea that when doing namaskar they are saluting another human being. When in fact the truth is we are saluting the Divinity within that human being. But due to their dogmatic understanding, some big Dadas are hesitant to do namaskar to those who are their juniors. Those Dadas think that, 'I am more senior and more respected than him, so why should I salute or bow down to such & such person'. Hence with their dogmatic understanding, those big Dadas refrain from doing namaskar when seeing others. This is the common occurrence, especially at retreats.
At the same time, Baba guides us that we should always to namaskar to others first. And if those Dadas understood that by doing namaskar they are honoring the Supreme and not bowing down to some human being, then they would surely follow Baba's guideline: They would be the first to do namaskar.
But since they have the dogmatic view that by doing namaskar they are bowing down to some human being, then they do not like to do namaskar. And that is exactly what happens when big Dadas go to any public gathering or retreat. They expect the entire campus to do namaskar to them, but unto others they refrain, or at best do namaskar in reply. But again, this entire situation can be averted if everyone becomes more aware about the real nature of our namaskar practice.
Here following then is Baba's special explanation about the meaning of namaskar.
In various discourses, Baba has explained that:
(a) The prefix 'namah' means 'I salute';
(b) The root 'kr' means 'do'; and,
(c) 'Ghain' is simply a standard Sanskrit suffix.
(d) So: Namah - kr + ghain = Namaska'r
Hence the full meaning of 'namaskar' is 'I salute'.
So the term 'namaskar' is grammatically vague: It does not literally qualify to whom one is saluting. It just means 'I salute' or 'I pay my salutations'. Beyond that it has no further literal meaning.
Why is it like that? Why did the rs'is of old create the word in that way? Because by this way 'namaskar' indirectly refers to Parama Purusa.
That is why it is fitting to use the term 'namaskar' when addressing other jiivas-- other human beings. Because the term 'namaskar' recognises those humans as being expressions of Cosmic Consciousness.
We should not forget that no human being should salute any other human being. Ours is not like that of the military or some dogmatic regime.
Rather one should always salute Parama Purusa. Because why should we bow down to any human being? That is the spirit and this is the uniqueness of our Ananda Marga philosophy. In the various religions this supreme idea is wholly absent.
They salute human beings, but we don't.
So 'namaskar' means: O' Mr Ramesh or O' Mr Manoranjain, I salute the Divine which is residing within you. That is the true spirit of doing namaskar.
But if Ramesh or Manoranjan is ignorant and foolish, they will think that they are being saluted. And if the one doing namaskar is foolish, he will think that he is saluting Ramesh or Manoranjain etc. Those who do namaskar in this misguided way, they commit a mistake which is commonly done in the general society - and unfortunately in our Marga as well. That is why we say the is a simple but often misunderstood point in our day to day life. Essentially, this false and ignorant manner should be stopped.
In the real sense, with the term 'namaskar' (literally meaning 'I salute'), we are paying our salutations to the Divine in an indirect way. Because we seeing 'Ramesh' or 'Manoranjan' or 'Tom', 'Dick', or 'Harry', as being manifestations of the Supreme. Thus the word 'namaskar' recognises the Divine within them; it is an indirect reference to Parama Purusa.
That is the way it works.
Thus none should get confused and think that by saying 'namaskar' we are saluting another human being or that someone else is saluting us. It is not like that.
CONFUSION ABOUT NAMASKAR IN OUR MARGA
Unfortunately, here again let it be said that some in AMPS are confused and they think that by saying namaskar they are saluting another human being.
That is why you might have seen how some Dadas do not like to say namaskar to juniors or new margiis etc. Because they think that they themselves are someone high, worthy of respect, and that it would be unfitting to address someone younger or less senior with the term namaskar. But unto them, those same Dadas want all to quickly come and say namaskar. Because they think by this way they are getting the respect and praise of others.
So their misunderstanding works in two faulty directions. Certain top Dadas do not want to say namaskar to others as they think it diminishes their own stature. That is the first half of their dogma. Secondly, they think by having others say namaskar to them then they are getting huge honor and respect. And that is the second half of their dogma.
They do not know they are saluting the Divine when they do namaskar to others, and they do not know that the next persons is saluting God by doing namaskar to them. So that is their blindness.
This type of misdealing is all due to their misunderstanding of the term namaskar. Theirs is a dogmatic type of meaning that is wrongly based on social status and prestige. That is why some top Dadas do not like to address others by saying 'namaskar' and that is why they want the entire world to come to them and say 'namaskar'.
Such is the confusion and deep rooted dogma that has infested their minds. And that is why they cannot get the spiritual benefit of using the namaskar term-- because they fail to realise that by saying namaskar they are indirectly paying their respects to Baba as they have come in form of next.
For this reason one should always be zealous to do namaskar to others first. But in general, mostly people do not know this secret so they desire that others should do namaskar to them first.
Lastly, any discussion about namaskar would be incomplete if one fails to discuss the accompanying mudra as well.
As we all know, when we say namaskar, first we raise our palms together and touch the trikuti point with our thumbs. By this we are recognising the center of the mind which is at the ajina cakra. And then we lower our palms to the heart or the anahata cakra. By this way we are acknowledging the feeling of heart, which is one of the subcenters of the mind as it is responsible for feelings of love, affection, dedication, and respect.
So when we do namaskar, we are paying our deepest salutations to Parama Purusa with the totality of our mind and heart. And when doing the mudra we say, 'namaskar'. This everybody understands.
By this manner we are saluting the Divine Entity inside the next person and by this way our entire mind & heart gets spiritualised. Because doing the mudra is very helpful for inculcating the proper ideation.
It is just like if you try doing sastaunga pranam from a standing position then it does not work nearly as well as when you do sastaunga pranam while lying on the ground in the proper mudra. Here the whole point is that the mudra supports the ideational flow in the mind since when we do any mudra then it brings the mind and body into one parallel position, which ultimately reinforces the idea in the mind.
That is the specialty of our namaskar mudra.
We can see that throughout this entire world there are hundreds of ways to salute someone, but the way in AM is unique and divine. That is why we must propagate this unique practice all around. All should understand the true meaning of this salutation and follow it-- in body, heart, and mind.
"Namaskára: Namaskára is done by bringing the palms together and touching the ájiṋá cakra [the mid-point of the eyebrows] with the thumbs, without bowing. It can be done to all regardless of their age, because this mode of salutation is used with the ideation that everyone is the manifestation of the Supreme Being."
Do not shake hands with anyone, because it is unhygienic, and do not do kurnish [a kind of court salute signifying submission to one's authority] to anyone, as you are not anyone's slave. Kurnish is a symbol of slavery, so as a form of salutation it is strictly forbidden." (4)
"Tadekam jagatsákśiirúpam namámah. “If there is anyone to whom spiritual aspirants should surrender, if there is anyone to whom they should pay salutations, it is Parama Puruśa.” The system behind salutations is to look for the Supreme Being that is the inner essence of a person, and to pay salutations to that Parama Puruśa. The generally-accepted rule is that one should say namaskára to a human being or a god or goddess, but one should say namaste or namastubhyam only to Parama Puruśa, not to any other entity." (5)
"Tadekam jagatsákśiirupam namámah – “If I am to pay respect to anybody, I am to pay respect to You only.” Because all other objects of this universe are expressions of that very Parama Puruśa. So I pay respect to the Nucleus who created all these great personalities, all these little and big ones."
"As per yoga and Tantra, to Parama Puruśa one is to do namaste. Namah plus te – “I pay respect to You” – namaste. And namaskára means, “I am paying my respects.” And that is why you may use the word namaste only for Parama Puruśa, but namaskára for both Parama Puruśa and the jiiva [unit being]. Tadekaḿ jagatsákśiirupaḿ namámah – “If I am to pay respect to anybody, I am to pay respect to You only.”" (6)
"If I ever salute anyone, I will salute only the Supreme One and no one else.” The rule is, if you pay salutations to a human being, you should say “Namaskár”, but if you pay salutations to Parama Puruśa, you must say “Namaste.” Namaste means “I salute Thee.” Human beings are greeted with the word “Namaskár” because they are considered to be the expressions of the Supreme Being. They should not be greeted with “Namaste.” In the case of Parama Puruśa either “Namaste” or “Namaskár” is permissible." (7)
"How to pay salutations to Parama Puruśa? Namastubhyam or namaste. Namah plus tubhyam make up namastubhyam, and namah plus te make up namaste – “We do namah to You.” To jiivas [unit beings], it is namaskára – short for Namah karomi – “I greet, I salute.” Here there is no tubhyam or te, that is, “you”. To jiivas, namaste or namastubhyam should not to be said; namaskára should be said. But to Parama Puruśa you can say anything you like – namaste, namastubhyam, namaskára. And if you do not wish to say either namaste or namaskára, it does not matter. After all He is only a member of your own family." (8)
"A person who is always engaged in the thought of his or her pratiśt́há must learn how to care about the respect and prestige of others. Such a person must never forget that respect begets respect, and that he or she should always honour those who are not honoured by anyone. A constant practice of this type will remove the evil effects of the desire for pratiśt́há. One easy way to do this is that you always do namaskára first and do not create a situation in which you may have to do prati-namaskára." (9)
"We say, Namaskár. That is, “I pay respect to the Supreme Entity residing within you.” You should remember this. “I concentrate all the good feelings of my mind here in the trikut́i [between the eyebrows].”...So many thoughts are in your mind. But you should concentrate all your thoughts at a particular point, here – that is, with all the strength and goodwill of your mind you are doing this – you are touching these two palms here [trikut́i]. That is, you are concentrating all your goodwill here, because you are paying respect to Parama Puruśa residing within this body; this body; this body; this body [pointing to different people]. First do this."
"And not only mental concentration, you are human beings, you have got so many sentiments also. Human sentiment, you know? When you feel much joy you burst into tears, when much sorrow you burst into tears. These are sentiments. And human beings are guided by sentiment, more by sentiment than by logic, you must not forget it – more by sentiment than by logic. So your sentiment is also there, so with all the concentration of your mind and with all the sweetness of your sentiment, from the very core of your heart, you are paying respect to Parama Puruśa residing within human structure. So you do this [palms together at mid-point of chest], and say, Namaskár."
"I think you have understood it? A very sweet idea. So it is my opinion, my desire, that human society [be] one, indivisible; it is an expressed form, a sweet expression, of Parama Puruśa, to whom you should always pay respect by doing namaskár." (10)
Baba has graciously blessed as with a salutation system that brings one closer to Him. Because when we do namaskar we are not saluting any human being, rather we are distinctly paying our salutations to Him-- drawing ourselves closer to Him, by His grace. That is one special aspect of doing namaskar.
Baba says, "The only goal of living beings is to attain Parama Purus´a. This singular goal should permeate the major portion of the activities of ideal human beings. You should always remember that from the moment you get up until the moment you go to sleep, Parama Purus´a is your supreme Goal. Whatever you do, you should do keeping your vision fixed on that Goal." (11)
Namaskar,
in Him,
Karun
As we all now know, the term namaskar is derived from the root 'namah' meaning 'I salute - 'kr' meaning 'do' + 'ghain', which is one of the many traditional suffixes in Sanskrit. For those interested, on page 1413 of Baba's Sanskrit Grammar Book, He outlines many words that employ
the suffix ghain:
yuinj + ghain = yoga
div + ghain = deva
rainj + ghain = ra'ga
kr + ghain= ka'r
So ghain is a commonly used suffix in Sanskrit and is also used in the formation of the term 'namaskar'. For more about this linguistic science or to learn more about the use of the ghain suffix, then please refer to Baba's Sanskrit Grammar Book.
REFERENCES:
1. Caryacarya - 1, Chapter 7
2. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 11
3. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 11
4. Caryacarya - 1, Methods of Salutation
5. Subhasita Samgraha - 11, The Intuitional Science of Tantra
6. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 12, What Are You?
7. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 11, Relativity and the Supreme Entity
8. Subhasita Samgraha - 21, Náma and Námii
9. Subhasita Samgraha - 21, Náma and Námii
10. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 30
11. Subhasita Samgraha - 12
"Ananda Margiis have no caste or gotra. I have said before also that the division of humanity into Káshyapagotra, Bharadvájagotra, etc., is nonsensical. This is just to mislead people. If we look back in [anthropology] we will see that the forefathers of the present-day humans were apes or ape-men. So if people are very particular about their gotras, I will say to their faces, “Boys and girls! You belong to the ape gotra.”"
"We have all descended from our common ancestors, the apes. The same is true in relation to the castes. [One might try to argue that] the forefathers of the Bráhmańas were the ape-Bráhmańas and the forefathers of the Kśatriyas were the ape-Kśatriyas; but that just isn’t so. As apes do not have any particular caste, the present-day caste differences are all hypocrisy and maliciousness. You should remove even the least vestige of these nonsensical notions. You must not give credence to such things." (Ananda Vacanamrtam - 7, Bhaerava and Bhaeravii)
From: "K Lingappa"
To: AM-GLOBAL
Subject: Simple But Most Misunderstood Point In Our Day to Day Life
Baba
This entire email is composed of 3 parts:
(1) Prabhat Samgiita #1111;
(2) Posting: Simple But Most Misunderstood Point...;
(3) Trailer Quote: Ananda Margiis, Apes & Casteism
Each section is demarcated by asterisks (*).
****Here begins the Prabhat Samgiita.
"Saba'r saunge tumi a'cho, tumi a'cho, Prabhu tumi a'cho..." (PS 1111)
Purport:
O' Parama Purusa, my Lord, You so gracious, You are with all; O' Prabhu, You are with everyone always. You know not any barriers of relativity. You always remain with everyone. Baba, by showering Your infinite love & compassion, You have graciously captivated and attracted my mind. Baba You are ever present - ever present.
O' Divine Entity, in the fast, ferocious winds and strong storms of the cyclone, in the deadly grip and deathly noose of the cobra, when the god of death comes near, or when in the jaws of the enemy, in all these terrifying circumstances You shower Your sweet grace by smiling and dancing. O' my Lord, even in the fire of the unbearable inferno, You shower Your causeless grace and turn everything into the cool balm of sandalwood. Baba, You are ever-gracious.
Baba, O' Parama Purusa, You are present eternally. Even before anything existed and before there was even the hint of creation, You were present then also. You are the Creator. You are the origin; You are omnipresent. Even when there were no seconds, minutes, hours, days, dates, months, or years, and no one was there to count the time, and time itself was non-existent, then also You were present. O' Parama Purusa, in that moment, You were alone. There was no divine play of the hope and hopelessness between the Lord and His devotees; just You were all alone. Baba, today You are ever-present along with Your creation. You are vibrating in Your liila'rasa, dancing with divine ecstasy in the bond of love, showering Your grace to all the jiivas, and attracting everyone close to you. Baba, You existed and You are still present; You are ever-present, omnipotent. O' Parama Purusa, You love all and You seek the love and affection of all. Your liila is unfathomable.
Baba, You are the beginning and You are the only desideratum, the Goal. O' Parama Purusa, please shower Your ahetuki krpa...
**** End of Prabhat Samgiita and start of the first letter ****
== SIMPLE BUT MOST MISUNDERSTOOD POINT IN OUR DAY TO DAY LIFE ==
Note: This letter is a reminder about the great import of one of our most fundamental practices. It is not a small point as it represents our entire outlook in life.
Namaskar,
In our Ananda Marga, our entire outlook and life is spiritually based - focused completely on Parama Purusa, revolving only around Baba. Our each and every thought, word, and action is aimed towards Him.
From morning till night, our existence is centered around the Divine Entity: When we awaken, we meditate on Him; when we serve others or feed a beggar, we feel that we are serving or feeding Him. When we receive anything from anyone, we feel we have gotten a gift from Parama Purusa.
When we talk to our children, we feel that Parama Purusa is expressing Himself in the form of these children, i.e. that He is in front of us in the form of these young boys and girls.
In this beautiful way the day passes - ensconced in His thought & ideation.
And our namaskar salutation is part and parcel of this flow: It is one of our daily activities that is related with Parama Purusa.
Because as we all know, when we do namaskar we are not saluting any particular individual like Ram, Shyam, Tom, Dick, or Harry, but rather recognizing the presence of the Infinite Supreme Consciousness within that person.
NAMASKAR IS TO BE DONE TO ALL
Our namaskar salutation, therefore, is to be done to all. Because it has nothing to do with one's seniority, social stature, post, age, or any other relative factor.
Because when we do our namaskar mudra we are not bowing down to any individual per se. Rather we are paying salutation to the presence of the Divine within that person.
Baba says, "Namaska'ra...It can be done to all regardless of their age, because this mode of salutation is used with the ideation that everyone is the manifestation of the Supreme Being." (1)
Thus part and parcel of our namaskar practice is seeing the Divine within all. That is the essence of doing namaskar. For that reason even the senior-most people in society should do namaskar to little babies, and top-level workers should do namaskar to newly initiated persons. And fellow classmates should do namaskar to each other.
So namaskar is to be done by one and all to one and all.
There should not be any shyness or feelings of superiority that inhibits this process. Because the sweet ideation behind it all is that when doing namaskar we are honoring the presence of the Supreme within that individual.
Hence, we should always be ready to do namaskar to anyone.
BE THE FIRST TO DO NAMASKAR
Secondly, side by side Baba's guidelines is that we should be the first to do namaskar.
Baba says, "You should always make an effort to do namaskar to others first." (2)
So these are two of Baba's fundamental teachings about Namaskar: (a) That it is to be done to all, and (b) that one should be enthusiastic to do namaskar first.
These are two fundamentals aspects of our namaskar practice.
Reason being that namaskar is an acknowledgement or salutation to Parama Purusa in the form of that human being. It is not the act of bowing down to a particular individual. So we should readily do namaskar to everyone-- first.
WE SHOULD ALWAYS SAY NAMASKAR FIRST
According to Baba, there are numerous benefits to always doing namaskar first. And Baba furthermore guides us that He always does namaskar first in order to teach others.
Baba says, "As ideal human beings you should not wait to do namaskar after another has greeted you: you should rather take the first opportunity to greet others. When someone greets you, it is merely common courtesy for you to salute back; you do not become an ideal human being thereby. Rather one who seizes the first opportunity to salute others is the ideal. So you should always make an effort to do namaskar to others first: you should not care whether the person whom you greet will greet you in return or not. (When people come to me during personal contact, I greet them first whether they salute me or not.) By giving honour to others you will not be belittled, you will rather enhance your prestige." (3)
By Baba's above guideline we can understand that those who do namaskar first are better than those who wait to do namaskar in response. Unfortunately, those who are unaware about this do not do namaskar first, they think they should wait for namaskar. But by this way they just cheat themselves and deprive themselves of becoming ideal human beings. That is Baba's specific teaching.
TRUE ANANDA MARGIIS NEVER DO NAMASKAR TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING
Unfortunately, some have forgotten this divine formula. And for that reason certain dogmatic ideas about the meaning of namaskar have crept into our Marga.
Chiefly, some have the wrong idea that when doing namaskar they are saluting another human being. When in fact the truth is we are saluting the Divinity within that human being. But due to their dogmatic understanding, some big Dadas are hesitant to do namaskar to those who are their juniors. Those Dadas think that, 'I am more senior and more respected than him, so why should I salute or bow down to such & such person'. Hence with their dogmatic understanding, those big Dadas refrain from doing namaskar when seeing others. This is the common occurrence, especially at retreats.
At the same time, Baba guides us that we should always to namaskar to others first. And if those Dadas understood that by doing namaskar they are honoring the Supreme and not bowing down to some human being, then they would surely follow Baba's guideline: They would be the first to do namaskar.
But since they have the dogmatic view that by doing namaskar they are bowing down to some human being, then they do not like to do namaskar. And that is exactly what happens when big Dadas go to any public gathering or retreat. They expect the entire campus to do namaskar to them, but unto others they refrain, or at best do namaskar in reply. But again, this entire situation can be averted if everyone becomes more aware about the real nature of our namaskar practice.
NAMASKAR: MEANING OF THE TERM
Here following then is Baba's special explanation about the meaning of namaskar.
In various discourses, Baba has explained that:
(a) The prefix 'namah' means 'I salute';
(b) The root 'kr' means 'do'; and,
(c) 'Ghain' is simply a standard Sanskrit suffix.
(d) So: Namah - kr + ghain = Namaska'r
Hence the full meaning of 'namaskar' is 'I salute'.
So the term 'namaskar' is grammatically vague: It does not literally qualify to whom one is saluting. It just means 'I salute' or 'I pay my salutations'. Beyond that it has no further literal meaning.
Why is it like that? Why did the rs'is of old create the word in that way? Because by this way 'namaskar' indirectly refers to Parama Purusa.
That is why it is fitting to use the term 'namaskar' when addressing other jiivas-- other human beings. Because the term 'namaskar' recognises those humans as being expressions of Cosmic Consciousness.
NOT A SALUTATION TO OTHER HUMAN BEINGS
We should not forget that no human being should salute any other human being. Ours is not like that of the military or some dogmatic regime.
Rather one should always salute Parama Purusa. Because why should we bow down to any human being? That is the spirit and this is the uniqueness of our Ananda Marga philosophy. In the various religions this supreme idea is wholly absent.
They salute human beings, but we don't.
REAL MEANING OF NAMASKAR (REVISITED)
So 'namaskar' means: O' Mr Ramesh or O' Mr Manoranjain, I salute the Divine which is residing within you. That is the true spirit of doing namaskar.
But if Ramesh or Manoranjan is ignorant and foolish, they will think that they are being saluted. And if the one doing namaskar is foolish, he will think that he is saluting Ramesh or Manoranjain etc. Those who do namaskar in this misguided way, they commit a mistake which is commonly done in the general society - and unfortunately in our Marga as well. That is why we say the is a simple but often misunderstood point in our day to day life. Essentially, this false and ignorant manner should be stopped.
In the real sense, with the term 'namaskar' (literally meaning 'I salute'), we are paying our salutations to the Divine in an indirect way. Because we seeing 'Ramesh' or 'Manoranjan' or 'Tom', 'Dick', or 'Harry', as being manifestations of the Supreme. Thus the word 'namaskar' recognises the Divine within them; it is an indirect reference to Parama Purusa.
That is the way it works.
Thus none should get confused and think that by saying 'namaskar' we are saluting another human being or that someone else is saluting us. It is not like that.
CONFUSION ABOUT NAMASKAR IN OUR MARGA
Unfortunately, here again let it be said that some in AMPS are confused and they think that by saying namaskar they are saluting another human being.
That is why you might have seen how some Dadas do not like to say namaskar to juniors or new margiis etc. Because they think that they themselves are someone high, worthy of respect, and that it would be unfitting to address someone younger or less senior with the term namaskar. But unto them, those same Dadas want all to quickly come and say namaskar. Because they think by this way they are getting the respect and praise of others.
So their misunderstanding works in two faulty directions. Certain top Dadas do not want to say namaskar to others as they think it diminishes their own stature. That is the first half of their dogma. Secondly, they think by having others say namaskar to them then they are getting huge honor and respect. And that is the second half of their dogma.
They do not know they are saluting the Divine when they do namaskar to others, and they do not know that the next persons is saluting God by doing namaskar to them. So that is their blindness.
This type of misdealing is all due to their misunderstanding of the term namaskar. Theirs is a dogmatic type of meaning that is wrongly based on social status and prestige. That is why some top Dadas do not like to address others by saying 'namaskar' and that is why they want the entire world to come to them and say 'namaskar'.
Such is the confusion and deep rooted dogma that has infested their minds. And that is why they cannot get the spiritual benefit of using the namaskar term-- because they fail to realise that by saying namaskar they are indirectly paying their respects to Baba as they have come in form of next.
For this reason one should always be zealous to do namaskar to others first. But in general, mostly people do not know this secret so they desire that others should do namaskar to them first.
MEANING OF THE MUDRA
Lastly, any discussion about namaskar would be incomplete if one fails to discuss the accompanying mudra as well.
As we all know, when we say namaskar, first we raise our palms together and touch the trikuti point with our thumbs. By this we are recognising the center of the mind which is at the ajina cakra. And then we lower our palms to the heart or the anahata cakra. By this way we are acknowledging the feeling of heart, which is one of the subcenters of the mind as it is responsible for feelings of love, affection, dedication, and respect.
So when we do namaskar, we are paying our deepest salutations to Parama Purusa with the totality of our mind and heart. And when doing the mudra we say, 'namaskar'. This everybody understands.
By this manner we are saluting the Divine Entity inside the next person and by this way our entire mind & heart gets spiritualised. Because doing the mudra is very helpful for inculcating the proper ideation.
It is just like if you try doing sastaunga pranam from a standing position then it does not work nearly as well as when you do sastaunga pranam while lying on the ground in the proper mudra. Here the whole point is that the mudra supports the ideational flow in the mind since when we do any mudra then it brings the mind and body into one parallel position, which ultimately reinforces the idea in the mind.
That is the specialty of our namaskar mudra.
SUMMARY: OUR NAMASKAR IS UNIQUE
We can see that throughout this entire world there are hundreds of ways to salute someone, but the way in AM is unique and divine. That is why we must propagate this unique practice all around. All should understand the true meaning of this salutation and follow it-- in body, heart, and mind.
BABA'S RELATED TEACHINGS
"Namaskára: Namaskára is done by bringing the palms together and touching the ájiṋá cakra [the mid-point of the eyebrows] with the thumbs, without bowing. It can be done to all regardless of their age, because this mode of salutation is used with the ideation that everyone is the manifestation of the Supreme Being."
Do not shake hands with anyone, because it is unhygienic, and do not do kurnish [a kind of court salute signifying submission to one's authority] to anyone, as you are not anyone's slave. Kurnish is a symbol of slavery, so as a form of salutation it is strictly forbidden." (4)
"Tadekam jagatsákśiirúpam namámah. “If there is anyone to whom spiritual aspirants should surrender, if there is anyone to whom they should pay salutations, it is Parama Puruśa.” The system behind salutations is to look for the Supreme Being that is the inner essence of a person, and to pay salutations to that Parama Puruśa. The generally-accepted rule is that one should say namaskára to a human being or a god or goddess, but one should say namaste or namastubhyam only to Parama Puruśa, not to any other entity." (5)
"Tadekam jagatsákśiirupam namámah – “If I am to pay respect to anybody, I am to pay respect to You only.” Because all other objects of this universe are expressions of that very Parama Puruśa. So I pay respect to the Nucleus who created all these great personalities, all these little and big ones."
"As per yoga and Tantra, to Parama Puruśa one is to do namaste. Namah plus te – “I pay respect to You” – namaste. And namaskára means, “I am paying my respects.” And that is why you may use the word namaste only for Parama Puruśa, but namaskára for both Parama Puruśa and the jiiva [unit being]. Tadekaḿ jagatsákśiirupaḿ namámah – “If I am to pay respect to anybody, I am to pay respect to You only.”" (6)
"If I ever salute anyone, I will salute only the Supreme One and no one else.” The rule is, if you pay salutations to a human being, you should say “Namaskár”, but if you pay salutations to Parama Puruśa, you must say “Namaste.” Namaste means “I salute Thee.” Human beings are greeted with the word “Namaskár” because they are considered to be the expressions of the Supreme Being. They should not be greeted with “Namaste.” In the case of Parama Puruśa either “Namaste” or “Namaskár” is permissible." (7)
"How to pay salutations to Parama Puruśa? Namastubhyam or namaste. Namah plus tubhyam make up namastubhyam, and namah plus te make up namaste – “We do namah to You.” To jiivas [unit beings], it is namaskára – short for Namah karomi – “I greet, I salute.” Here there is no tubhyam or te, that is, “you”. To jiivas, namaste or namastubhyam should not to be said; namaskára should be said. But to Parama Puruśa you can say anything you like – namaste, namastubhyam, namaskára. And if you do not wish to say either namaste or namaskára, it does not matter. After all He is only a member of your own family." (8)
"A person who is always engaged in the thought of his or her pratiśt́há must learn how to care about the respect and prestige of others. Such a person must never forget that respect begets respect, and that he or she should always honour those who are not honoured by anyone. A constant practice of this type will remove the evil effects of the desire for pratiśt́há. One easy way to do this is that you always do namaskára first and do not create a situation in which you may have to do prati-namaskára." (9)
"We say, Namaskár. That is, “I pay respect to the Supreme Entity residing within you.” You should remember this. “I concentrate all the good feelings of my mind here in the trikut́i [between the eyebrows].”...So many thoughts are in your mind. But you should concentrate all your thoughts at a particular point, here – that is, with all the strength and goodwill of your mind you are doing this – you are touching these two palms here [trikut́i]. That is, you are concentrating all your goodwill here, because you are paying respect to Parama Puruśa residing within this body; this body; this body; this body [pointing to different people]. First do this."
"And not only mental concentration, you are human beings, you have got so many sentiments also. Human sentiment, you know? When you feel much joy you burst into tears, when much sorrow you burst into tears. These are sentiments. And human beings are guided by sentiment, more by sentiment than by logic, you must not forget it – more by sentiment than by logic. So your sentiment is also there, so with all the concentration of your mind and with all the sweetness of your sentiment, from the very core of your heart, you are paying respect to Parama Puruśa residing within human structure. So you do this [palms together at mid-point of chest], and say, Namaskár."
"I think you have understood it? A very sweet idea. So it is my opinion, my desire, that human society [be] one, indivisible; it is an expressed form, a sweet expression, of Parama Puruśa, to whom you should always pay respect by doing namaskár." (10)
BABA'S BLESSING
Baba has graciously blessed as with a salutation system that brings one closer to Him. Because when we do namaskar we are not saluting any human being, rather we are distinctly paying our salutations to Him-- drawing ourselves closer to Him, by His grace. That is one special aspect of doing namaskar.
Baba says, "The only goal of living beings is to attain Parama Purus´a. This singular goal should permeate the major portion of the activities of ideal human beings. You should always remember that from the moment you get up until the moment you go to sleep, Parama Purus´a is your supreme Goal. Whatever you do, you should do keeping your vision fixed on that Goal." (11)
Namaskar,
in Him,
Karun
Note 1: ABOUT THE SUFFIX GHAIN
As we all now know, the term namaskar is derived from the root 'namah' meaning 'I salute - 'kr' meaning 'do' + 'ghain', which is one of the many traditional suffixes in Sanskrit. For those interested, on page 1413 of Baba's Sanskrit Grammar Book, He outlines many words that employ
the suffix ghain:
yuinj + ghain = yoga
div + ghain = deva
rainj + ghain = ra'ga
kr + ghain= ka'r
So ghain is a commonly used suffix in Sanskrit and is also used in the formation of the term 'namaskar'. For more about this linguistic science or to learn more about the use of the ghain suffix, then please refer to Baba's Sanskrit Grammar Book.
REFERENCES:
1. Caryacarya - 1, Chapter 7
2. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 11
3. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 11
4. Caryacarya - 1, Methods of Salutation
5. Subhasita Samgraha - 11, The Intuitional Science of Tantra
6. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 12, What Are You?
7. Ananda Marga Ideology and Way of Life - 11, Relativity and the Supreme Entity
8. Subhasita Samgraha - 21, Náma and Námii
9. Subhasita Samgraha - 21, Náma and Námii
10. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 30
11. Subhasita Samgraha - 12
The section below demarcated by asterisks is
an entirely different topic,
completely unrelated to the above letter. It stands on its own as a point of interest.
completely unrelated to the above letter. It stands on its own as a point of interest.
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Ananda Margiis, Apes & Casteism
Ananda Margiis, Apes & Casteism
"Ananda Margiis have no caste or gotra. I have said before also that the division of humanity into Káshyapagotra, Bharadvájagotra, etc., is nonsensical. This is just to mislead people. If we look back in [anthropology] we will see that the forefathers of the present-day humans were apes or ape-men. So if people are very particular about their gotras, I will say to their faces, “Boys and girls! You belong to the ape gotra.”"
"We have all descended from our common ancestors, the apes. The same is true in relation to the castes. [One might try to argue that] the forefathers of the Bráhmańas were the ape-Bráhmańas and the forefathers of the Kśatriyas were the ape-Kśatriyas; but that just isn’t so. As apes do not have any particular caste, the present-day caste differences are all hypocrisy and maliciousness. You should remove even the least vestige of these nonsensical notions. You must not give credence to such things." (Ananda Vacanamrtam - 7, Bhaerava and Bhaeravii)
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