I really need help on this. Thank you.

There’s a short version, but you still have to say om and then all the vowel sounds in succession, so you can’t just say vroom vroom.

I was under the impression only brahmins know of surya namaskar. And they are not too eager to teach anyone else the mantras. Not that it matters. But.

ItÂ’s called Samantrak Namaskar. It goes something like this. You chant 12 names of Surya (not 100 or 1,000 as I claimed earlier) before each Namaskar. The mantra gets progressively complicated w/ each Namaskar. Papa Shodan totally rocked the mic earlier this morning. Supreme breath control, mad flow etc. etc.

Yoga causes controversy in public schools Some parents say it violates the separation of church and state Tara Guber and her staff SAN FRANCISCO – In Tara Guber’s ideal world, American children would meditate in the lotus position and chant in Sanskrit before taking stressful standardized tests. But when she asked a public elementary school in Aspen, Colo., to teach yoga in 2002, Christian fundamentalists and even some secular parents lobbied the school board. They argued that yoga’s Hindu roots conflicted with Christian teachings and that using it in school might violate the separation of church and state.

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GB, Thanks for the w-p from the Indian Academy of Sciences — I shall read it slowly and with pleasure. Why disingenuous? I mean that the mantra is an integral part of the exercise. I never said Muslims have a monopoly on visceral reactions– or rage— but I don’t think doing Surya Namaskar Marcel-Marceau-style would be fooling any Muslims. in fact, I think this is an excellent starting point for some rational discourse about whether it is in fact prayer in the same sense as doing namaz. I mean, who will deny the sun, you know? Divya and I were talking about it not being so clear that the content of the mantra is religious in the Abrahamic sense, i.e., first of all, is the sun a deity or is sunrise simply a clear sign that the planets are humming along, and worth celebrating for that reason? As I mentioned, I have trouble being awake for sunrise unless I was up all night, and if I were a child at a achool that offered suryanamaskar, that would be my objection. Otherwise I think it’s an excellent idea, and I hope they win at court.

GB,

Who is engaged in sophistry here?.. The topic here is about the government trying to revive / educate kids (I guess, almost all who have joined government schools because they do not have the means or resources to go to private schools) about an ancient art for health reasons. Your example of south indians (though a miniscule percentage) objecting to meat-eaters does not fit the context. I have not seen them complain to the government allowing non-vegetarian food to be sold in government controlled buildings (like bus / railway stations etc..).

I went back and re-read your comments.. You seem to think the complaint is about surya-namaskar or chanting of mantras. I have read the government’s response to the court is that the programme is voluntary. Kids/Parents who do not like have the option of not joining the programme.

As I said in my earlier comment, what Ambedkar said fits the context. Minority groups need to be given safeguards but not veto power.