I viewed a video this week that had an opinionated take on the “Orans positure”. You can read a summary of the position here , and there is a link to the video in that article as well.
I don’t want to talk about the specific Catholic position on this, since that is an issue between a person and their belief. I have heard this criticism outside the context of the Catholic church, so I want to address the issue generally.
The Orans posture is a bodily stance where you hold your hands and arms out at with palms facing upward; commonly used in meditation, prayer and church services. The Orans posture originated as an ancient gesture of supplication in Near Eastern and Egyptian cultures from the Late Bronze Age, symbolizing prayer toward deities. Early Christians adopted it, as seen in catacomb art, and it remained common for both laity and clergy in Western liturgy through the ninth century. In Eastern meditation, Sukhasana (Easy Pose) is the similar position that involves sitting cross-legged on the floor or a cushion, with legs comfortably crossed, spine straight, and hands resting palms-up on the knees or thighs. This position is for promoting stability for mindfulness, Zen, or Vipassana practices. Palms facing upward (often in Jnana mudra, thumbs touching index fingers) invites openness and energy flow.
The gesture is a universal sign in humanity of peace, in showing your hands empty and without weapon. This is supposedly the origin of the handshake as well, for people to affirm they are of no threat.
When used in spiritual practice, it is a sign of opening up to something bigger, whether that be a higher conciousness, humanity in general, God , etc.
When we take this position, we are vulnerable to attack. It is no different than the idea of surrender in battle, where we “give up” and offer ourselves to the victor.
Humanity generally views as unacceptable to shame and attack people who are in a vulnerable state. When the position is used in a spiritual way, this can put people in the mind to accept a greater thing, and realize it through meditation and prayer. If people are shamed for this, they will close off this mind and perhaps not be open to an experience like it again.
If we all took the stance of surrender, I am convinced the world would be, in general, a better place. But closing ourselves and others off to higher conciousness and sprituality will only ever lead to a worse condition for all.
If you are ever put in this position then, you would have to make one of those two choices: affirm the shamed and close minded approach and shut yourself off so that you are accepted by the crowd, or surrender courageously to something bigger.
It’s your call…
