Final Post: Jainism

My final post will be examining the rituals and practices of Jainists. First an overview of their beliefs, is not intended as 'essentializing' their religion, for people who do not know much about Jains, I think it is important to give some basic teachings:
While some consider Jains a sect of Hinduism, it can't really be considered that since they have their own literature, rituals and spiritual leaders, not to mention very different beliefs. They have 5 principals that help them lead their lives. They are Non-Violence, Non-Stealing, Non-Possession, Truth and Celibacy. Non-Violence means that Jains will not hurt any living thing, as best as they can manage. They don't eat meat and most animal products. Also, they will not eat root vegetables such as potatoes, onions and garlic, because harvesting them would hurt the plants. Often Jains will also wear masks over their mouths to keep from ingesting microorganisms. The reason they do this because they believe all living things have a soul and are therefore divine. This concept of non-violence also includes harmful thoughts. Non-Stealing is a bit obvious- they don't take things that are not willingly given. Non-Possession is goal of all Jains to lose all their attachments on earth- one of the videos will explore this more. Truth is once again, quite simple- to tell the truth in a harmless manner (I don't know where white lies come into play here). The Celibacy rule only strictly applies to monks and nuns. Lay-people need only be in a monogamous relationship.
The first video relates to the non-possessive way of living, a particular ritual called sallekhana(here's a link to the Jain's explanation http://www.jainworld.com/education/seniors/senles15.htm, or the act of killing oneself by ceasing to eat, drink and speak. Also, there's a weird intro thing- disregard it.
NOTE- this video may be a bit disturbing, especially if you have a hard time dealing with death.



A few things to understand and notice from the video:

1:38--the first time we see the monks it is quite obvious that they don't wear clothes. This is because they are reducing their attachments to worldly goods, and clothes are included in that. Some sects of Jainism wear all white to symbolize purity. This is a theme we have seen a lot in other religions- the desire for purity and cleanliness is shown through their garb.

3:29--We see women wearing clothing at this point which is an interesting part of a sect of Jainism, and is a divide between the two largest sects. One sect believes that since women must wear clothes, they cannot achieve enlightenment in this life, they can only hope to be reincarnated as a man. The other believes that women can end the cycle of birth-death-reborn (or at least thats how I understood the difference).

4:12--The Abhisheka is a ritual performed by Jains, Buddhists and Hindus in which water is poured over a deity to honor it.

4:30--This is a very interesting part of the video for me. The monk is performing Sallekhana in order to rid himself of all possessiveness on earth yet clings to his feather duster (used to sweep insects away so the Jain does not step on them) and rosary. After contemplating the duplicity of these actions I have come up with a possible reason. While the feather duster and rosary may be items, they represent more than what they are. So the monk may not be clinging to the items, merely the religious significance they give to him?

I think it's also interesting to note how happy the person writing the subtitles sounds. They use explanation points when the monk is 60 seconds away from dieing. This person is obviously a Jain, since they believe the monk is breaking the rebirth cycle- their ultimate goal.

Here are some general symbols of Jainism:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyderabad/128197261/

-The hand means to stop, or to think before you act, especially about violence.

-The swastika represents the cycle of birth-death-rebirth. The three dots above the swastika represent the three jewels of Jainism: Samyak Darshan (Right Faith), Samyak Jnan (Right Knowledge), and Samyak Charitra (Right Conduct). We should have all three: right knowledge, right faith, and right conduct together, then only can we achieve the liberation. The right knowledge means having the knowledge that soul and body are separate and that the soul, not the body attains the salvation. The right faith means one must have faith in what is told by Jinas, who were omniscient. The right conduct means that our actions should be void of attachment and hatred.

-The half circle with the dot above everything represents where the liberated souls go to when they break the cycle of reincarnation.

Here is another video on how a Jain interprets the non-violent way of living.



What I find interesting about this video, is that the man is saying that even thinking non-violent thoughts is going against the passive doctrine set by Jains. It reminds me of the rules made for Sellekhana. A person may not think about their friends or relatives at death, think about a reward, wish for a speedier death or even wish to prolong death. It's very interesting how Jains must think in accordance with their beliefs. It's something that occurs in most religions, but I don't think is necessarily talked about as much. It's like the Jains are saying that Actions speak the same as words (or thoughts), not more.

These are just a few things that I find interesting about Jainism. It is one of the oldest religions in India (the founder being a contemporary of the Buddha), so it has a rich history and a multitude of culturally significant traditions.

Bahai Temple in Chicago

After watching the video and exploring the site on the Baha'i temple in Chicago, I definitely want to visit. Architecturally, it is beautiful. The man who designed it spent 8 years on the plans not to mention the years it took to construct it. I was also amazed that even though there weren't tons of North American Bahai's at the time of the temple's construction, relative to the religions founding, there was already quite a widespread following.
The symbols on the temple are numerous. the design conforms to the other temples around the world. It is circular, with 9 pillars joining together to represent different faiths praying together and supplicating God. Also on the temple are the cross, star of david, wheel and hooked cross. These represent the unity of all religions in the Baha'i faith. Another thing that all Baha'i temples have is gardens. Since we know the significance of gardens in the founding of the religion, it is almost a given that a Baha'i temple would have a sizable garden. While its not exactly modeled after the garden of Ridvan, it is another place in which all people can pray and meditate.
I also found it interesting that singing plays such a large part in the temple. I suppose since there is no clergy, the choir provides some service (besides readings from religious texts from all faiths) for people to listen to while praying. In particular, on the website it said they keep the choir out of sight, above the congregation (for lack of a better word) so people may simply experience the music. I definitely liked that aspect. In that way, its less of a concert and more of a religious experience.

Religion without commitment

I was pondering a topic to blog about today, and I started thinking about the many people who consider themselves a certain religion yet rarely worship if at all. I think it's true with most religions that there are are more orthodox believers and also some bordering on secular. Often times these people don't get along, with especial bad feelings coming from the hard-core followers. So many sects can arrise from different religions, I think the root of unrest and war between religions stems from this more than other causes.
For example, the Bahai had different views than the rest of Islam but they were still very close to the orgin. Islamics however persecuted them more than other religions more distanced from their own beliefs. The Christians who wrote about meeting with the Bahai's were shocked by their knowledge of christianity, yet since they still considered them a different religion, they had more apathy towards their following of some of their beliefs.

Founding a New Religion

What are the elements that go into forming a new religion? Is it a sudden change or a long process? What is the relationship with past religions? What is the importance of a founder?

To form a new religion there must be a need for one. If the people are satisfied with their current religion, why would they convert to a new one? I think many of the Bahai's were unhappy with some of the violent ideas floating around in the Babi, and previously the Islam faith. Bahaullah advocated peace and brought with him wisdom that could solve all problems. Those Babi's put their faith in him. Whether it is a quick or sudden change depends on perspective. In the case of the Bahai's and most other religions formed from old one's(i.e.-christianity), the change occured relatively quickly, but not overnight. It takes time to gather followers, and most aren't converted overnight (except Bahaullah, who became a Babi after reading a letter--did anyone else find this weird?). The relationship with past religions is usually at least at the start, rocky. The new religion is moving forward in a way that the old religion is not ready to accept. Its like on the circle diagram we discussed in class, except instead of a single religion forms, an entirely new one sprouts off of the old. I think, sometimes more or less, the old religion will accept the validity of the new religion. The Importance of the founder cannot be understated. This is the person who reloutionizes the the old religion, completely changing the status quo. They are often worshiped or idolized. Without the founder, the new religion would never even come to be.

An Individual Religion?

I was talking to my friend earlier today who is in the Gender in Music class and he was reading an article that, summed up, pretty much said that without religion. human beings have no free will. I'm not here to discuss free will, because I probably couldn't make a good argument or much less come to a conclusion on the matter. But this did get me thinking on why free will or individuality could be applied when religion is involved. Maybe I should've read the article in question, but it seems to me that religion does quite the opposite of imposing a sense of individuality. People who are in most religions identify with that group of people that believe in the same things they do. By doing that they start trusting what their pastor says, because he has always had the right things to say to them before. While I wont go as far to say that religious people are drones (they certainly aren't), I think a certain amount of individuality is lost when put in a group such as a religious one.
Of course a lot of religious people may have slightly or even dramatically different views and still be in the same religion. Perhaps the general moral code instilled by the religious group would cause free will, but the fact that the group shares and is taught this moral code, can that be called free will at all? Religion brings people together, it does help individuals, but those people are ultimately part of a larger group.

Boboshanti

The video I watched for this blog on the boboshanti rastafari people gave a different impression of Rastifari than what I had previously thought. In the video, the people lead very simple lives sometimes with not running water or electricity. They pray 3 times a day even rising at 3 am to do so. The more mainstream view of Rastafarians is in my opinion, much less related to faith, and more anti-establishment culture. Bob Marley, is an example of someone who is Rastafarian yet leads quite a different life from the Boboshanti. If someone had described their habits to me without saying they were Rastafari, I would have thought that a more radical religion than rastafarian. But, with all religions there are fundamentalists, radicals, occasional believers ('easter and christmas christians'). Each sect of rastas believe in different things, though mostly their fundamental concepts are the same. The Boboshanti wore turbans, prayed more and observed the sabbath. More mainstream rastas do not follow these practices yet both are labeled Rastafarian. All sects of Rastafarians try to isolate themselves from the Babylon that is Jamaica, but the Boboshanti do it more radically by physically making their homes and towns farther away from civilization.

Am I offending you?

Something that I have been noticing about my blogs thus far is my fear of offending someone reading them. Since religion is one of the magic three that you must never talk about (the other two being politics and money) I thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss here.
It's true an innocent conversation can lead quickly to a heated discussion, argument or even war. This is most prone to happen when two parties are discussing religion. Offending someone on the religious level usually entails disrespecting another persons beliefs, albeit the original intention. Often the reason for offense is just ignorance. I know I've done it before. Being raised in a secular household has meant that all my knowledge of the bible comes from 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat' and 'Godspell' (My family likes musicals). After learning the hard way, I know avoid all talk of anything that could be remotely offensive, or at least, I try to. I certainly believe in respecting all religions and beliefs, but sometimes I think a theological debate could be educational and fun. I know I'm not prepared for it now, a certain level of religious knowledge would have to be attained first. But in an increasingly politically correct world, could the language barriers ever be broken down enough to have an honest discussion about religion with someone who doesn't hold the same views?