NAMASTE MLK

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader in removing division within our nation but that was just one step in his larger vision of a world in which we all recognize the deep spiritual truth that “we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny, an inescapable network of mutuality.”  As a reverend he understood that there is an Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent and all-encompassing luminous Presence of Divinity that envelopes ALL life everywhere.  It is through this spiritual lens that he viewed the social facts of racial and economic inequality.

When people look at the world as consisting of a bunch of disconnected people and nations they are not seeing the Truth.  The Truth is that when you begin to examine very small subatomic particles, such as photons and electrons you see that we are made of one divine, interconnected energy.   

Because we all come from the same universal energy WE ARE ALL ONE. Therefore, when we hate ANYONE it is the same as hating ourselves. When we are prejudiced or discriminate against someone because of the color of his or her skin, or his or her religion, nationality, culture, gender, lifestyle, economic or social status, it is the same as hating ourselves.  Dr. King recognized this truth.  He knew “that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”   Therefore, Dr. King held a vision of “worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one's tribe, race, class, and nation.” 

Dr. King embodied the principle expressed in the yoga greeting, “Namaste.”  Namaste is commonly translated to mean “I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells.  I honor the place in you that is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, WE ARE ONE.”  Therefore, let us remember Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by surrounding those who are dear to us, as well as those we don’t even know, in peace, love and light; with the acknowledgement that WE ARE ALL ONE.  

Let our thoughts, words and actions be full of kindness to one another, as well as to ourselves.  After all, “the good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.”  So let’s honor Dr. King by embodying Namaste.