Namaste And Osama Bin Laden
By Mary Hamer
09 August, 2011
Countercurrents.org
*PURPOSE: The purpose of this essay is: To apply the concept of Namaste to the relationship between the West & the Middle East , specifically between the United States & Osama bin Laden. Namaste means: “I bow to the divine in you”. “Namaste is typically said with the hands pressed together & held near the heart, with the head bowed”. Namaste is a sign of deep Respect & it promotes Unity between 2 parties. (1) In this paper I will examine Namaste as it pertains to: #1. America 's Celebration of the Killing of Osama bin Laden. #2. bin Laden's offer of a Truce with America . #3. Osama bin Laden's comments on Hiroshima & Nagasaki . #4. bin Laden's expressions of Middle East Humiliation.
*Philosophical Question: Do we humans have the courage to respect & bow to the divine spirit in our enemy -- such as Osama bin Laden?
I. CELEBRATING The KILLING of OSAMA bin LADEN:
*If America lived in the spirit of Namaste, then America would not have celebrated the killing of the unarmed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on 5/1/11 . A Namaste enlightened person would not celebrate the use of deadly force to fire upon & blow the brains out of an unarmed enemy. (2)
II. NEGOTIATING with The ENEMY:
*Should we negotiate with the enemy or “terrorists”? A Namaste enlightened person would negotiate with a terrorist such as Osama bin Laden; A Namaste mindful person honors the sacred in other people -- even in an enemy; A Namaste aware person acknowledges the divine in & seeks dialogue with an opposing force. Other logical reasons to negotiate with the enemy include: “A refusal to negotiate (with terrorists) indicates rejection of the other side & rejection creates serious … obstacles to problem-solving -- because it prevents clear communication from taking place & it guarantees defensiveness & resistance to change”. (3)
* Note: A Namaste enlightened person would not stereotype the enemy with the dysphemism: “terrorist” & would avoid this name-calling label & generalization; A Namaste aware person would use the neutral word: rebel to describe bin Laden.
* HAS Either The WEST or the MIDDLE LEAST sought NAMASTE UNITY?
*BIN LADEN Offered AMERICA a TRUCE in 2006: In 2006 Osama bin Laden offered America a truce. Bin Laden said: “We do not mind offering you ( America ) a long-term truce with fair conditions that we adhere to. We are a nation that God has forbidden to lie & cheat. So both sides can enjoy security & stability under this truce so we can build Iraq & Afghanistan , which have been destroyed in this war. … There is no shame in this solution, which prevents the wasting of billions of dollars”. Bin Laden also said that the United States could avoid another Sept. 11 attack if it stops threatening the security of Muslims. (4) So Osama bin Laden acknowledged his enemy America & offered us peace. Bin Laden was seeking the Namaste concept of Unity.
*AMERICA REJECTED BIN LADEN'S TRUCE OFFER: America 's White House spokesperson Scott McClellan said in response to bin Laden's offer of a truce: “We do not negotiate with terrorists. We put them out of business”. So America rejected bin Laden's offer of peace & responded with aggression. (5) Question: Why did the United States reject an offer of unity with the Middle East ?
III . NAMASTE HONOR for the TRUTH: e.g. HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI :
*Namaste speaks of honor for the truth: “I honor the place in you which is of … truth”. (6) Even our enemies know partial truths – A reason to have Namaste respect for these enemies. Osama bin Laden said in his letter to the Americans on October 6, 2002 : “You dropped a nuclear bomb on Japan , even though Japan was ready to negotiate an end to the war”. Of Note: “Several high-ranking U.S. military commanders, including Eisenhower & MacArthur … felt that there was no military justification for the bombings. In a 1946 report, the United States Strategic Bombing Survey noted that Japan would in all probability have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped”. (7) Bin Laden challenged America regarding the truth about Hiroshima & Nagasaki . Is America capable of acknowledging the partial truths of it's enemies? Does American have the courage to honor the truth about WWII & Hiroshima & Nagasaki?
IV. DISRESPECT & HUMILIATION in the Middle East –vs- NAMASTE.
*Namaste is “Deep form of respect” for others (8) – as opposed to the dishonorable relationship between the West & the Middle East .
*DISRESPECT Definition: Lack of courtesy; To hold in contempt; Discounting or challenging the worth, stature or dominance of another. (9)
*HUMILIATION: Definition: Lindner states: To be humiliated is to be placed against your will & often in a deeply hurtful way … It often involves acts of force. At it's heart is the idea of pinning down, putting down or holding to the ground … Made helpless”. (10)
*MIDDLE EAST: Where is the Namaste respect of the West for the Middle East ? Osama bin Laden said in his letter to the American on October 6, 2002 : “Under your supervision, consent & orders, the governments of our countries … attack us on a daily basis; … These governments give us a taste of humiliation & place us in a great prison of fear & subjugation”. … “You steal our wealth & oil” … “Your forces occupy our countries”. (11) Also, bin Laden said in his Declaration of Jihad against the U.S. “Death is better than life in humiliation”. (12) Osama bin Laden expressed his feelings of Arab humiliation in these statements -- made on 2 different occasions, six years apart. bin Laden was voicing the West's lack of Namaste respect for the Middle East .
*TERRORISM & HUMILIATION:
*TERRORISM: Jessica Stern has studied people who join terrorist groups & she has observed that “They start out feeling humiliated, enraged that they are viewed by some Other as second class”. Stern explains regarding the causes of terrorism: “The variable that came up most frequently was not poverty or human rights abuses but perceived humiliation”. (13) (14) Brea reviews Argo's work which shows: “Data that strongly suggests (that) terrorism is not born of madrassas & radical clerics, but the experience of alienation & political oppression”. (15) The Namaste spirit treats others as equals (16) -- not as second class people; Therefore, the Namaste spirit does not humiliate, alienate or oppress others.
V. CONCLUSION: *PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS
Regarding NAMASTE, The WEST & The MIDDLE EAST:
*If the West does a Socratic self-examination: Has the West shown a true Namaste respect for the Middle East, it's people, it's governments, it's culture, it's natural resources & it's sovereignty? Has the West bowed to the sacred spirit of the Middle East ? Has the West sought Namaste unity & equality with the Middle East ? What responsibility does the West have in creating Middle East humiliation, alienation & oppression? What responsibility does the West have for the consequences of Arab humiliation -- i.e. terrorism, including the 9/11 terror attacks? Does the West have the courage to bow to the divine in our enemies such as Osama bin Laden?
Namaste. Thank you. Respectfully, Mary Hamer
REFERENCES:
1. Hamer, Mary. Namaste: I Honor the Divine in You. www.countercurrents.org . 8/3/11 . Referencing: #1. www.livingwordsofwisdom.com . Definition of Namaste. #2. en.wikipedia.org. Namaste Definition. & #3. www.jogajournal.org . The Meaning of Namaste. By Aadil Palkhivala.
2. Hamer, Mary. Celebrating the Killing of Osama bin Laden. www.countercurrents.org . 5/9/11 .
3. www.mediate.com: Should We Negotiate with Terrorists? By Cris Currie. June 2002.
4. www.breitbart.com. Bin laden Warns of Attacks, Offers Truce. By Lee Keath. AP writer. 1/19/2006 .
5. edition.cnn.com. U.S. Rejects bin laden Tape's ‘Truce' Offer. 1/20/6 .
6. www.namastetruckee.com. Namaste Defined.
7. Messages to the World. The Statements of Osama bin laden. Edited by Bruce Lawrence. Translated by James Howarth. Verso Publishing. C. 2005. Chapter #16. Letter to the Americans 10/6/2 .
8. www.yogajournal.com. The Meaning of Namaste. By Aadil Palkhivala.
9. www.google.com. Referencing: wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn & www.emotionalcompetency.com/glossary.htm.
10. www.humiliationstudies.org: Humiliation at Columbine High School by Daryn Morgenstein Referencing Lindner, Evelin: What Every Negotiator Ought to Know: Understanding Humiliation. Oslo . Submission: 2000.
11. Messages to the World. The Statements of Osama bin laden. Edited by Bruce Lawrence. Translated by James Howarth. Verso Publishing. C. 2005. Chapter #16. Letter to the Americans 10/6/2 .
12. www.terrorismfiles.org. Declaration of Jihad by Osama Bin Laden against the U.S. August 23, 1996 .
13. Stern, Jessica. Terror in the Name of God. Harper Collins. C 2003. Pg 281-282.
14. www.belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu: Stern, Jessica. Terrorism's New Mecca. Boston Globe, Op-Ed. 11/28/2003 .
15. cache.zoominfo.com: Jennifer Brea's review of: What Makes a Suicide Bomber? By Nichole Argo in the Australian. 4/14/5 .
16. healing.about.com. Namaste. By Phylameana Lila. Desy's Holistic Healing Glossary.
Comments are not moderated. Please be responsible and civil in your postings and stay within the topic discussed in the article too. If you find inappropriate comments, just Flag (Report) them and they will move into moderation que.
