Religion Is Defined as the Spiritual Belief - Research Paper Example

1 Running head: Report on Religious Field Research- Hinduism Harry Depollar College: Strayer Department: Theology Studies World Religions Submitted to Lecturer: 2nd December, 2012. Report on Religious Field Research­ Hinduism Religion was defined as the spiritual belief that there exists a prime mover in the life of human beings called God. Some religions like Islam and Christianity believe in the unseen God with supernatural powers. Whilst religions like Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Shintoism do not believe in supernatural powers. Instead they symbolize their gods with animals, physical objects or nature. They don’t believe in the unseen God. Despite the existence of differences in the form of worship rituals, holy books, time of prayer and so on, 2 Running head: Report on Religious Field Research- Hinduism all the above religions appreciate God’s influence in the lives of mankind. To them all, God is a shaper of life and is believed to have great impacts to the life of mankind (Noss and Grangaard page 106, 2007). However, from author’s views the existence of religion is debatable. In his book­ On the Philosophy of Religion­ Richard Gale argues we must not just accept the existence of religion and God without thinking. He did not say straight he did not believe in religion but put emphasis on rationalism (Gale page 64­145, 2006). I was in a state of spiritual confusion during my childhood. I never understood other religions apart from Islam and Christianity. In fact I thought of Hinduism as a form of occult. Because Hindus never eat cows, the first impression which attacked my mind was that they worshipped cows. I also deduced that Hindus did not have a strong faith in god. If the did, then why worship many gods. This strongly presented ambiguity to my mind and denied me all the patience required to understand Hinduism. Besides, the social divisions within the religion were another source of confusion. As a theology practitioner, I created time to interact with Hindus by attending a real worship. The variety of books on religion have come across also gave me a deep insight of the doctrines of Hinduism. I just found it wise to try to bury the religious misconceptions about it. Its origin and foundation was attributed to the original inhabitants of the Indus Valley located in India. Indus Valley was a victim of frequent combat attacks from other communities, especially the Aryans. This motivated scholars globally to study the complexity of this Valley. Reports from religious historians suggested that there are approximately 33 million Hindu gods in India, each treated with equal magnitude of respect and fear (Fisher page 72­112, 1997). 3 Running head: Report on Religious Field Research- Hinduism Hindus are pure vegetarian. Restriction of diet is a religious virtue. Though they are allowed to eat other forms of meat, feeding on cows is prohibited. Hinduism is believed to be the most populated religion after Christianity and Islam. It is also the oldest religion. These believers strictly follow their traditional holy books named ‘’Vedas’’. Vedas teach them a religious philosophy called ‘Sanatana’ ‘Dharma’, meaning eternal religion. Therefore, it is there to stay forever (Fisher page 58, 2011). Vedas exist in a variety of forms and Rig Veda is the oldest scripture in the world. Moreover, it is prudent to mention some of the gods worshipped in Hinduism. There is god responsible for fire (Agni), dawn goddess (Indra), god of thunder (Ushas), and many more. Each god was associated with a certain impact to the believers. For instance, in the event of a calamity like drought, the god of rain will intervene. Sacrifices are a component of Hindu culture. Under the guidance of Brahmin priests, people ring around the fire and burn the sacrifices which are offered to Agni ­God of fire. In this ritual, grains, specific animals, soma (a drink) and often melted butter are offered to Agni. Offerings are given to god to reflect generosity, so god would reward you in correspondence to your size of sacrifice. The more you offer the more the blessings and rewards. Most of these rituals were performed in the open area at the Ganga and Jumma Junction (Fisher page 74, 1997). The caste system is another important aspect in Hinduism. It is presided over by spiritually clean upright priests who are seriously trained. In simple terms, the caste system was machined to separate people into social classes which reflect their socioeconomic status. From top, we have the following social classes. The Brahmin composed of ritually pure priests. It was charged with leading the rest of the people. The next group is Kshatriyas which 4 Running head: Report on Religious Field Research- Hinduism is made up of kings, vassals and warriors. This class provides security. It is a brave class. The economic class called Vaishyas consist of merchandise traders and agriculturalists. Lastly the lowest in the social ranks are the Shudras. They are simply manual workers and craftsmen. This group is characterized by economic emptiness and social starvation (Fisher and Bailey page 74, 2008). Interclass marriages were prohibited. For instance a Shudras member can not marry a Kshatriyas person. If anybody failed to comply with it, he/she would be subjected to social justice in the form of ex­communication or a curse from parents (Malloy page 114­119, 2010). However Mahatma Gandhi­ an extreme philanthropist ­was not convinced by the castes. He had much sympathy for the Shudras, which was at the receiving end of social injustices. By the way, his advocacy was right. If Hindu religion was to truly be appreciated by all Hindu believers, then social equity must be observed. The caste system favours only the rich and oppressed the poor (Fisher and Bailey page 87,2008). From the physical interactions I made with Hindus in the form of formal visits to their worship places, there is a lot learned from them. I knew their and worship aspects. Their time is established with respect to the life of Brahma. One day of Brahma, 4.32 trillion years represents the age of the world. Hindus strongly believe crucial events like marriage and rituals are better succeeded at specific times than others. At around 5pm, my host ushered me in the compound. We washed our legs, faces, heads, lower and upper arms using tap water just next to the temple entrance to enhance bodily and spiritual purification. We removed shoes at the door because the temple is a holy house. I was astonished at the Old Persian architecture and the artistry inside. Colourful mats 5 Running head: Report on Religious Field Research- Hinduism occupied the whole floor. I was careful not to make any mistake. So I walked behind my host and followed his deeds as he instructed me earlier. Then I kissed the hand of an old man with my head down like what my friend­ Mr Janoala Patel­did. Then Patel, who was already in a yellow gown, gave me a white one to wear. Immediately, we joined a dozen people seated in a circular pattern, consisting of eleven men and one old lady. We all sat around the worship fire with our legs criss­crossed. Then the religious leader took a handful of grains from a well decorated plate and burned them slowly while reciting a prayer called Mantra to Savatar while facing the sun. He then passed the plate to the rest. We did the same thing, though I didn’t grasp the words, Mr Patel later told me those words were recited to Savatar­god of the sun­ through Agni. There were around five types of offerings other than grains. The same procedures usually follow at around 5 am. Another thing I observed was Krishna in the form of a statue in the temple. I was very inquisitive, after a series of questions I learned that an image of a Durga, Shiva or guru must be included in the shrine as a reminder of spiritual education. At around 6pm, the session was over. He introduced me to the Brahmin. But his parents already knew me. On our way out Janoala took me round the compound. He introduced me to a facility called Crematorium which was five kilometres away. I insisted on going but time was catching up with him. But the explanation was sufficient. This is a place where they slowly burn their dead in order to bond the spirit and body. The dead body is first cleaned with water before being subjected to a slow fire on a funeral pyre. To some extent; the bereaved put some ashes of the cremated body in a bottle and take it home for remembrance. Religious antagonism is always there. Some Hindus prefer to bury their dead, not all cremate. 6 Running head: Report on Religious Field Research- Hinduism Hinduism is marked with festivals in correspondence to the lunar calendar. There are 16 festivals which gained recognition in India. They have Holi, Janmashtami­ a celebration of the birth of Krishna­ often during summer, Ganesh Charurti­ in honor of Ganesha­ and many more festivals. Again this information came from Janoala. Other religions like Islam and Christianity misconceive Hinduism. I had my own misconceptions too. To me it was self­destructive to associate Hinduism with Idolatry. My host at the temple said people are wrong to think so. It is symbolism. Without symbolism life would be hard. The mathematical formulae we use are symbols, marriage dowry is symbolism, Olympics medals are symbols of hard work and dedication. Hindus also respect the emotions of animals. Most of them are vegetarians because animals have feelings just like human beings and must not be killed. I thank my host for helping me understand and appreciate Hinduism like other religions. It is advisable people take their time to learn about other religions. It doesn’t take much effort. Reading books or visiting the prayer sites like I did can work miracles. References Fisher, P.M. (1997). Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World’s Faiths, Prentice Hall Grangaard, R.B. and Noss, S.D. (2007). A History of World’s Religions, Prentice Hall. Gale, M.R. (2006). On the Philosophy of Religion: Wadsworth Philosophical Topics Series, Thomas Wadsworth. Malloy, M. (2010). Experiencing the World’s Religions: Traditions, Challenges, and Change 7 Running head: Report on Religious Field Research- Hinduism (5th Ed.), McGraw­Hill. Fisher, M. P. (2011). Living Religions (8th ed.), Pearson Fisher, M. P. & Bailey, L. W. (2008). An Anthology of Living Religions (2nd ed.), Pearson Education Read More