DRAFT VERSION
AFAN
ALL FAITHS
AND
NONE
A handbook for
Teachers,
FE Chaplains
and Multi Faith Teams
(draft)
AFAN Project
c/o Dept of Education
Kings College
London
info@afan.uk.net
www.afan.uk.net
CONTENTS LIST
PAGE NO.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Acknowledgments
How to use this book
How to use this book to design a session
Managing an AFAN programme in your college
Managing an AFAN one-off event
Selecting a suitable AFAN course
A possible programme for use in colleges
Sample session plan
1. Death
• Introductory material
• Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim,
Sikh worldviews
2. Violence
• Introductory material
• Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh,
Buddhist worldviews
3. Freedom and Authority
• Introductory material
• Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist,
Christian worldviews
4. Sex and Sexuality
• Introductory material
• Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian,
Hindu worldviews
5. Judgement and Salvation
• Introductory material
• Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu,
Humanist worldviews
6. God
• Introductory materials
• Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist,
Jewish worldviews
7. Gender
• Introductory materials
• Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish,
Muslim worldviews
2
4
5
6
8
9
10
11
13
14
15
18
35
38
56
59
79
82
99
101
116
119
135
138
8. Rituals and Festivals
• Introductory materials
• Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim,
Sikh worldviews
9. Care of the Earth
• Introductory materials
• Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh,
Buddhist worldviews
10. Love
• Introductory materials
• Hindu, Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist,
Christian worldviews
11. Congregation and Community
• Introductory materials
• Humanist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian,
Hindu worldviews
12. The Body
• Introductory materials
• Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu,
Humanist worldviews
13. Revelation and the Word
• Introductory materials
• Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist,
Jewish worldviews
14. Social Action
• Introductory materials
• Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Humanist, Jewish,
Muslim worldviews
Notes on teaching and learning methods
Questionnaire for Students
Questionnaire for Staff
154
157
173
176
195
198
211
214
227
230
253
256
271
274
288
294
295
004 : Introduction
All Faiths and None
INTRODUCTION
All Faiths and None (AFAN) is a project which explores both the common
ground between religious and non-religious worldviews - the six main faiths in
the UK (Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh), and the Humanist
Tradition, and the distinctive perspectives of each on a range of topics in faith,
beliefs and values in modern societies. It is designed to take religious and
non-religious perspectives and the views of individuals equally seriously and
thus provide a forum for people to engage with each other on major issues of
belief, values and contemporary society, in order to facilitate greater mutual
understanding and sharing of values between people of different traditions,
backgrounds and cultures. This handbook has been designed to support FE
college staff and managers who are introducing work on SMSC (spiritual,
moral, social and cultural development) mainly through government-funded
programmes such as All Faiths and None (AFAN) and Post-16 Citizenship,
both of which have an office base at LSN (the Learning and Skills Network).
The handbook consists of introductory materials for teachers, followed by a
series of short contributions on Common Themes, on selected topics across
religious and non-religious worldviews. These contributions are written from
the perspectives of individual team members - they are not formal statements
from each faith community or Humanists.
• Firstly, there is an introductory section, with suggestions and
guidance on how to introduce, manage and deliver topics in SMSC,
and an AFAN programme in your local context.
• Secondly there are the ‘Big Questions’ and bullet-point summaries,
suitable for flashing up on screen (all materials are on the website:
www.afan.uk.net) - as bite-sized introductions or starters for each
theme or topic.
• Once decisions have been made on suitable topics and questions, go to
the longer contributions from the faith or belief traditions you have
selected for fuller information.
NB the bullet-point approach is dangerous – if you don’t go on to read the full
text. If you don’t read the Buddhist essays, you won’t understand how much
of this form of spirituality depends on you as an individual - and on your own
way of thinking about life and what we are doing here. If you miss the
Christian and Jewish texts, you won’t get a sense of how much the history of
religion from Old to New Testament and through the Reformation and
Enlightenment has affected current debates on values and belief – which are
still dividing the churches and secular society. Much the same are some of
the Muslim contributions, while the Hindu and Sikh essays demonstrate what
a different starting point the ‘Eastern’ religions have in common.
All Faiths and None
Acknowledgments : 005
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This is a brief space in which we can acknowledge both those whose support
made the whole AFAN enterprise possible, and those who have contributed to
the development of AFAN and the materials on the website, and in the
Learners’ and Teachers’ Handbooks.
Firstly, the vision: the Faiths in FE Forum (now incorporated into fbfe) Task
Group which first conceived of the idea of working with humanists as well as
various faiths on common themes across beliefs and values: Dr Fatma Amer
(Chair), Jay Lakhani (Hindu Council and Vivekananda Centre), Harjinder
Singh (Sikhs of England). Equally important was the immediate support for
the idea from the (then) Chief Education Officer for the Church of England,
the Very Reverend John Hall, and from Anthea Cox, (then) Co-ordinating
Secretary of the Methodist Church, and their successors, Reverends Jan
Ainsworth and Rob Jones, following on from the joint publication of the
predecessor project Approaching Spiritual and Moral Development in Further
Education (CofE/Methodist Church 2005). The task of realising the AFAN
vision in practice in colleges was made significantly more possible by their
commitment.
Secondly, the resources and support from the sector: the Learning and Skills
Council (LSC), in the year following the July bombings in London, actively
encouraged and funded the development of this project. Its Working Group on
Faiths and Further Education, with representation from across the FE sector
and the national FE stakeholders (DIUS, AoC, LSIS, QCA, NUS, OFSTED and
fbfe) to take forward the work on common themes in Approaching SMSC in FE
across the full range of religious and non-religious traditions in the UK. The
Jerusalem Trust has continued to provide funding, primarily for the time
commitment of the co-directors, alongside the major funding from the LSC,
over 2007-2009.
Thirdly, and most importantly, the AFAN team: the group of teachers,
chaplains and researchers responsible for the development and writing of the
contributions for each of the religious and non-religious traditions represented
in AFAN. These are: John Breadon, Churches’ National Adviser for FE;
Amaranatho Samanera, Amaravati Buddhist Monastery; Andrew Copson,
British Humanist Association; Basma El-Shayyal, Islamic Foundation; Seeta
Lakhani, Vivekananda Centre; Debbie Young-Somers, Leo Baeck College;
Navleen Kaur, Sikh Students’ Society with additional support on web
materials from Revd. Mike Ward and Asgar Halim Rajput of fbfe. John Wise,
chief executive of fbfe, has co-ordinated the pilot process in ten colleges. CoDirectors Alan Murray and Andrew Wright have steered the project through its
two years’ work.
006 : How to use this book
HOW
All Faiths and None
TO USE THIS BOOK
AFAN Methodology - Key Points for College Pilots
1. AIMS
The aim of the AFAN methodology is to support students both in engaging
with a plural society, through better understanding of the main religious and
non-religious traditions in British Society, and in developing a sense of
meaning and purpose, and values which enable them to function positively in
such a society. In other words, the aim is about transferring a methodology of
participants engaging with each others’ faiths and beliefs, not about
developing specific courses. Support materials are designed to help teachers
to put the methodology into practice.
2. EXPECTED OUTCOMES FOR COLLEGES
The expected outcome in each college is a set of opportunities for students to
engage with each other in groups on issues of:
• Belief - The Big Questions about meaning and purpose of life
• Values - The Controversial Issues which most forcefully concern
young people
• Practice - The Practical Consequences of beliefs and values
3. EXAMPLES
Examples of possibilities available, designed for colleges with or without
formal chaplaincies:
• Curriculum Inputs - Members of chaplaincy teams or Representatives of
religious or non-religious perspectives invited to contribute to
vocational or academic modules
• Core Curriculum Work - eg contributions to 14-19 PLTS work (Personal
Learning and Training Skills) for Vocational Diplomas
• Student Groups - Student-led groups convened and supported by
chaplaincy team members/representatives from local groups
• Inter-Faith and Belief Encounters - Representatives of different faiths or
beliefs from multi-faith and belief chaplaincy teams or local groups to
debate/discuss with students
• Tutorials - Facilitating discussions on topics of faith, belief, values, etc.
with students in tutorial time
• Lecture/Series of Meetings - eg Lunchtime discussions/meetings
focusing on series of linked topics
• Web-based Activities - Collaboration with teachers on using web-based
and visual materials
All Faiths and None
How to use this book : 007
• One-off Events/Week-long Events - eg Faith weeks, one world week,
festivals explored from the perspectives of different faiths and
traditions
4. LONG-TERM AIMS
To set up long-term AFAN partnerships to make a permanent contribution to
the spiritual and moral development of students and the values and ethos of
the college
5. WHAT WE CAN OFFER TO COLLEGE PILOTS
• Staff Development Workshops - handling issues of faith and belief with
students
• Identifying potential contexts for introducing the AFAN methodology
for student discussion and activities in curriculum, enrichment or
other contexts
• Planning and support for Faith or Belief events, Inter-Faith and Belief
Forums, Curriculum inputs
• Working with colleges to develop links with Local Faith Communities
and Humanist groups
008 : How to use this book
HOW
All Faiths and None
TO USE THIS BOOK TO DESIGN A SESSION
Approaching the Topic - Death
Preparation
First select your topic and type of session from the lists and session options.
Then decide:
what sort of activities you want to use
what sort of learning students will do
what resources you will need
Use the buttons in the Teachers’ Section of the website to access the types of
activity and learning available for your topic, and then the resources you will need.
Big Questions -
What’s going to happen to me after I die?
Is death a bad thing?
Is death the end of me?
Should I be scared of dying?
Is it ok to end my life?
What’s it all about?
What happens to me when I die?
Is there a heaven?
Approaches to Death - Death is an experience with which all students will
have had some sort of engagement - either through family, or through public
events, news stories etc.
There are a variety of possible approaches - through personal experience, or
death as accident, trauma or tragedy. Care is needed in handling the issue,
especially where there are refugees or others who have experienced traumatic
events. But most young people are happier to be given the opportunity to
share their experiences in a safe environment.
Most students will have some knowledge of the approach to death of at least
one of the faiths/beliefs: a start can be made by using one of the
summaries/texts as starter information.
Type of Session -
Tutorial (up to 30 minutes); Class (up to 1 hour);
Workshop (2-3 hours)
Types of Activities -
Starter Activity; Whole Group Activity/Discussion;
Small Group Activity/Discussion; Pair Dialogue;
Individual Task
Types of Learning -
Teaching; Accessing Information; Experiential;
Group Exploration; Peer Teaching; Creative Learning
Resources Available - Big Questions; Bullet-point Summaries; Texts from each
Faith/Belief; Scriptures/Texts; Prayers/Chants;
Songs/Hymns; Visual/Images; Video-clips; News Items
All Faiths and None
MANAGING
AN
Managing an AFAN programme in your college : 009
AFAN
PROGRAMME IN YOUR COLLEGE
PREPARATORY WORK (SUMMER TERM)
1. CHAPLAINCY/AFAN/COLLEGE MULTI-FAITH AND BELIEF TEAM
Ensure there is adequate continuity by checking availability of chaplains,
faith community representatives, Humanists, students, and staff for the
following college year. Fill any vacancies (even if on temporary basis till
Autumn term)
2. ORDER copies of MULTI-FAITH CALENDAR for coming year (eg from SHAP
publications - see Address List in Annex 1)
3. PREPARE (OUTLINE) TIMETABLE OF ACTIVITIES for coming year
(include both main festivals of key faiths and beliefs for your college
population, and regular events, whether inter-faith and belief (eg AFAN
courses) or single-faith or belief (eg Christian Fellowship, Islamic Society)
4. BRIEF KEY MANAGERS/LOCAL FAITH OR BELIEF
COMMUNITIES/COLLEGE STRUCTURES (eg Depts, Student
Union/Societies/Staff Unions/Library/Humanist groups etc) through a
written programme and a preparatory meeting of representatives of
different college groups
5. PREPARE FRESHERS/ENROLMENT WEEK PROGRAMME (including
selecting Faith or Belief Community/Student Society representatives) to
participate in events, stand etc
CONSULTATIVE WORK: (FRESHERS/ENROLMENT WEEK)
1. PREPARE AND ORGANISE STAND/TABLE/POSTERS etc for publicity
and visibility for students. Ensure adequate supply of:
(i)
posters - displayed in advance on all college, chaplaincy,
departmental and student notice-boards
(ii) leaflets - for AFAN (see sample in Annex)
for Student Faith Societies, humanists etc
(iii) other resources - eg AFAN video, college materials
2. ENSURE ALL STUDENTS/FAITH OR BELIEF REPRESENTATIVES have
opportunities to meet and engage during the week. Make available
adequate space, seating etc for individuals and groups for consultation,
talk etc.
3. FACILITATE CONSULTATION PROCESS by ensuring:
• adequate supply of consultation/feedback forms for students to
indicate: their religious or non-religious background; key
topics/interests for discussion, Big questions etc
• adequate time for direct consultation/interaction with new students,
to feed into detailed planning of events and activities throughout the
year
010 : Managing an AFAN one off event
All Faiths and None
• identify student leaders/representatives to be part of chaplaincy
team/faith or belief society leadership etc
PLANNING WORK (By end September)
On the basis of preparatory work and consultative process, prepare and publish
full AFAN programme for the college year (NB Send draft to principal, union,
student union etc for comments (if any) before publication)
MANAGING
DIALOGUE)
AN
AFAN
ONE-OFF EVENT (EG INTER-FAITH AND BELIEF
A CHECKLIST
1. PRINCIPAL or designated member of SMT to give initial authorisation
2. DATE AND VENUE Agree with Marketing Department and Principal’s PA to
check no clash with other important events, room/hall availability etc.
3. CHAPLAINCY TEAM OR PLANNING GROUP. Set up team to take charge
of planning (including representative(s) from local faith communities and
humanist groups as well as students and student services).
4. STUDENT UNION/ASSOCIATION/FAITH OR BELIEF SOCIETIES to be
consulted about topic(s), format, and to be represented on planning team
5. FAITH AND BELIEF REPRESENTATIVES. Chaplaincy team or Student
Services to maintain up-to-date contact list and invite participants
6. PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS. Designate one member of team (who has
adequate allocated time) to be responsible for:
• Marketing and publicity (leaflets, posters)
• Room booking, technology, display facilities (if required)
• Briefing, transport etc for visiting speakers
• Food, coffee, tea etc
• Chair of meeting, college welcome etc
7. FOLLOW-UP (NB AFAN normally only organises one-off events as part of
an overall college programme for the year). Team to plan follow-up
programme (eg series of small-scale discussion events/meetings/AFAN
sessions as part of college response to meeting students’ needs in the
(soon-to-be-published) Non-Statutory Framework for SMSC (Spiritual,
Moral, Social and Cultural Development) in FE.
All Faiths and None
SELECTING
Selecting a suitable AFAN course : 011
A SUITABLE
AFAN
COURSE/PROGRAMME FOR YOUR COLLEGE
1. PRELIMINARY WORK: Define the aim, focus, length, context and
practical arrangements for your group
SAMPLE COURSE 1 (for a mainly monocultural college)
AIM - To introduce students to the widest
practicable range of religious and nonreligious worldviews
CONTEXT - Introductory course - Lunchtime Meetings
under enrichment programme
PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS - 4 sessions, fairly formal style (ie visiting
speakers), lecture room, up to 50 students
SAMPLE COURSE 2 (for college with two main faith or belief groups)
AIM - To enable (eg) Muslim, Christian and nonreligious students to explore each other’s
world-views
CONTEXT - Inter-Faith or Belief Day with follow-up
meetings
PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS - Initial formal session planned with Christian
Fellowship and Islamic Society with visiting
speakers. 6 Follow-up dialogues with
smaller groups
SAMPLE COURSE 3 (for a large multi-faith and belief college)
AIM - To promote mutual understanding and
shared values among diverse student groups
CONTEXT - One-Off Festival Events with back-up
tutorials
PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS - Chaplaincy to organise celebrations for
festivals of each faith, involving whole
college. Chaplaincy/tutorial/AFAN team to
develop tutorial work around different faith
or belief perspectives on selected ‘Big
Questions’ over term/year
SAMPLE COURSE 4 (for any college with suitable curriculum options)
AIM - To facilitate in-depth exploration of
religious/non-religious perspectives on
selected topics
CONTEXT - Vocational Diplomas/Awarding Body
012 : Selecting a suitable AFAN course
All Faiths and None
Certificates with Core Curriculum/General
Education modules or similar
PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS - Collaborative design by subject
tutors/chaplaincy/teaching and learning
team, of one-term or one-year courses
drawn from the full AFAN programme
2. COURSE PREPARATION
SPEAKERS - contact external speakers or identify
interested staff from faith
communities/humanists, using fbfe or AFAN
support if needed
MATERIALS - Check AFAN website, Teachers’/Learners’
Handbooks etc and select what is required.
Check availability of any specific local
material from faith communities, humanist
groups etc
PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS - Ensure one identified person (staff or
chaplaincy) takes responsibility for publicity,
circulation, room bookings, refreshments,
speakers, travel etc
DELIVERY AND FOLLOW-UP - Ensure one identified person (staff or
chaplaincy) has responsibility for
arrangements on the day and follow-up
All Faiths and None
A
A possible programme for use in colleges : 013
POSSIBLE PROGRAMME FOR USE IN COLLEGES
1. One-Term Programme - Select up to 12 topics from the list below. NB
some topics are more suited to full (ie one-hour) sessions, while others - eg
the four under 2 below - can be made to fit a 1/2-hour tutorial session by
selecting from the available resources).
Death
Violence
Freedom and Authority
Sex and Sexuality
Judgement and Salvation
God
Gender
Rituals and Festivals
Care of the Earth
Love
Congregation and Community
The Body
Revelation and the Word
Social Action
2. Short-Course (4 Weeks) - Select any four topics (if possible including
at least one from each section)
Example:
Death
Violence
Freedom and Authority
Sex and Sexuality
014 : Sample session plan
AFAN - SAMPLE
PROGRAMME
Programme
Learning
Objectives
All Faiths and None
SESSION PLAN
AFAN - FOUR SESSION PROGRAMME
To enable students to explore topics on beliefs and values
from the perspectives of different worldviews, religious and
non-religious.
To improve students’ capacity to develop their own beliefs and
express them.
To develop students’ understanding of others’ beliefs and
ability to express them.
Student Target (eg) PRE-ENTRY/ENTRY LEVEL (E.G. JOBSEEKING)
Group
VOCATIONAL (LEVEL 1-2 - MIXED)
VOCATIONAL (LEVEL 3)
ACADEMIC (A LEVEL)
. .
Session
Learning
Objectives
To explore the topic and related images, concepts and
practices from different worldviews.
To support students in confronting spiritual, moral, social,
and cultural issues raised by the topic, and develop their own
perspective on the topic.
To demonstrate understanding of at least one alternative
perspective on the topic.
To support students in expressing their view on the topic
using verbal, visual, or other means.
Conceptual
Understanding
Learning
Processes
CONCEPTS: these will be related to the specific topic:
eg for death they could include annihilation, eternal life, and
reincarnation, remembrance etc
PROCESSES: these will normally be common to any topic:
Critical thinking and enquiry, Refining and expressing own
beliefs, understanding and responding to another perspective.
Intended
Learning
Outcomes
ALL LEARNERS WILL:
Be able to begin to develop their own beliefs about the topic.
Be able to express an opinion on at least one other perspective
on the topic.
MOST LEARNERS WILL:
Be able to compare two or more perspectives on the topic.
Compare/contrast images/texts related to the topic from
different worldviews.
SOME LEARNERS WILL:
Be able to sustain a dialogue (eg on-line) on the topic.
Critically compare their own beliefs on the topic to those of
people from one or more other worldviews.
Further
Learning
Opportunities
(eg) Research and present the perspective of people from two
or more worldviews about the topic
Produce own visual image/song/video/interview on the topic
All Faiths and None
Chapter One : Death : 015
CHAPTER ONE
DEATH
BIG QUESTIONS: What’s going to happen to me after I die?
Is death a bad thing?
Is death the end of me?
Should I be scared of dying?
Is it ok to end my life?
What’s it all about?
What happens to me when I die?
Is there a heaven?
COMMON THEMES:
All the worldviews represented here have some beliefs about death in
common:
•
•
•
•
death is the one certain reality we all share
death should be reflected on; being dead should not be worried about
the dying and the bereaved should be cared for
rituals around death are important, as is grieving for individuals
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Buddhist contribution emphasises:
• Death as a natural process - also as the ‘tempter’ who keeps us bound
to the concerns of this life
• Familiarity with death is important, reflecting on, being with the dead
body
• The cycle of birth and death, rebirth (especially Tibetan Buddhism)
closer or further from one-ness with being
• So death can be a time of joy, of liberation and release from life in this
material world
The Christian contribution emphasises:
• The importance in Christian tradition of the four last things - death,
judgement, heaven and hell
• The nature of heaven, hell and eternal life is beyond any human
comprehension
• Christians believe in eternal life - as a gift from God of his essence
• Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates victory over death and decay
• Jesus also talks about a Day of Judgement, when all will receive justice
The Hindu contribution emphasises:
• The Hindu distinction between your body and your soul - which is
your true self and never dies
016 : Chapter One : Death
All Faiths and None
• The cycle of birth and death - the soul moving on to another body after
death (reincarnation) - and eventually to liberation from this cycle into
eternal one-ness with God
• Our karma - how we have lived this life- determines where our soul
goes on to
• Death is surrounded by many rituals - for family and community
• After cremation, the dead are remembered happily, and through acts
of charity
The Humanist contribution emphasises:
• That death is the end of our personal existence
• Being dead is not to be feared, in fact death may be an end to
suffering and a good life can be celebrated
• If death is the final end, this can spur us to live a good life
• Medical assistance can make death more comfortable, and allow us to
choose death if pain has become intolerable
The Jewish contribution emphasises:
• The enormous value of life, and the lack of agreed ideas on what
happens when we die
• God knows what happens after death, and we should focus on living
life well
• Jewish tradition condemns sorcery and similar practices, including
those who try to contact the dead
• The rituals around death - and the period of grieving after death - are
very important
The Muslim contribution emphasises:
• That life and death are both aspects of the same God-given process of
creation
• That there will be a Day of Resurrection – when we will be judged
• Life is a test, and our actions determine our final destiny
• We should not worry about what will happen to us, more on how we
are preparing for the final hour in our lives
• Khalifah is the concept of our stewardship of the earth during our lives
here
• On the hajj pilgrims wear white garments as in the shroud
The Sikh contribution emphasises:
• The interconnectedness of life and death - death as a sweet
culmination of life
• Life as a journey to death and rebirth, as a new person, or eventually
to overcome death and be united with our creator
All Faiths and None
Chapter One : Death : 017
• For some Sikhs, in times of conflict, self-sacrifice is a means of
liberation
• Rituals around family and friends and sharing food after a death are
important
• At the Gurdwara, prayers, followed by scattering of ashes, are the
custom
018 : Chapter One : Death
All Faiths and None
A Buddhist perspective
Death in Buddhism is recognised as a natural process. In the scriptural
language of Pali death (mara) is also the tempter: the force or energy that
keeps us bound into the human form. It is also a heavenly messenger, a
chance for us to awaken to the way things are.
When a person dies in the Theravadin tradition monks chant the following:Transient are all compounded things;
To rise to fall, their nature is.
Having become, they pass away;
Their final rest is the highest bliss.
An early encounter with death
Before becoming an Anagarika (a postulant in Christian language or trainee
monk) one of my services to the monastic community was to drive the monks
around because, in the Theravadin tradition, they are not allowed to drive. One
day I was invited to drive a monk to visit someone who was dying in a house
thirty minutes away from the monastery. The person we went to was a famous
London fashion designer, aged twenty-three, only a few years younger than me.
The monk went in to counsel the dying person and chanted whilst he drew his
last breath. The family and I sat in the car. Eventually the monk returned to
the car sort of glowing, which I thought was rather strange. Of course, all this
was a bit strange for me.
A day later the body arrived to be laid out in the temple in the chapel of rest.
The coffin lid was open and we could, if we wanted to, meditate with that
person. So there I was sitting with a ‘dead body’, just thinking to myself about
the strangeness of the situation. Me alive, him dead. His body stayed for seven
days and you could still see the hair growing, the body cold and stiff, the
smell. Then the embalmers came and the noxious smell of formaldehyde. I sat
there watching, listening, expecting something ... it’s like you are waiting for
him to get up but there is no movement. So in my monastic duties these
occurrences have happened again and again: suicides, cancers, accidents and
just good old natural deaths.
The naturalness of death
In January 2007, a little known, great English mystic died. Before he finally
departed we went again, just to sit with him. One monk was holding his hand.
In the silence there was grief, joy and pain. I knew this person; he had been one
of my teachers and now he lay in bed dying. All he said was ‘thank you for
coming’, and he asked if we could read the last poem he had written. So there
was the joy of the reality of everybody accepting this natural process together.
There was also the grief his wife had and my own grief for the loss. How natural
All Faiths and None
Chapter One : Death : 019
it all seemed, embraced in the knowledge that this is what happens to all of us.
So my practice as a monk is to reflect on death. In the Theravadin monastic
form, we are even supposed to go to charnel grounds, watch autopsies (have a
look on YouTube if you are interested). It’s a bit difficult in the West to see a
real autopsy but it is very common for monks in Asia. The best you can do in
the West is to look at the body world exhibitions
(http://www.bodyworlds.com). Most people are too frightened to explore
death, which is understandable. So much of our existence,
especially in the West, is life-affirming. We usually say ‘life and death’ but from
a Buddhist perspective, it’s really ‘birth and death’. When you have birth you
have death. Can you think of anything that, when once born, does not die?
The cycle of birth and death
Then there is the old chestnut: what happens when we die? where do we go?
Well, I just don’t know - I have not experienced death yet. Although I must
admit I have been extremely close to it. But you can experiment if you want:
just watch your breath. When we breathe in, we give birth to ourselves, and
then just notice the out-breath, where it stops before it automatically comes in.
What happens then? A mini-cycle of birth and death. The other sort of death I
know about is the little me, from the time when I was a baby, where is that
person now? Science tells us that our cells are dying all the time, so who and
where am I? Am I the same person that wrote this article just five minutes ago?
The cycles of the season are a birth and death. Buddhists call this annicca or
impermanence - nothing within the conditioned world seems to last.
In Tibetan Buddhism there are elaborate teachings about how to train
yourself for death. These suggest that after death you enter and pass through
various realms and it is your goodness factor, or merit or maybe mental state
that determines where you get born for your next life. In Tibetan Buddhism
there is a lot made of reincarnation. I’m not an expert on any of this but in
many Asian countries recalling previous lives is common. On the internet you
can look up Dr Ian Stevenson for the scientific basis for this information.
So although death is quite an interesting subject in itself, it does not really
lead to freedom. All concepts, feelings, thoughts and perceptions are deathbound, all ideas are death-bound, our bodies are death-bound and those
concepts only exist because we give them life. So for example, with mental
concepts we give them life by recreating them using the power of the mind
and our memory. This is why the tempter in Buddhism is called Death or the
killer, it tempts you into things which are death-bound rather into ultimate
freedom. So what is not death-bound? My name Amaranatho means ‘refuge
in the deathless’ - I was given this name when I had my second birth on this
planet as a Buddhist monk. So what is deathless? I leave you with this.
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A Christian perspective
The poet Philip Larkin wrote a poem about the difference between the
generations regarding sex and religion. In it he wondered whether anyone
looked at him when he was young, carefree, and fun-loving and thought:
‘That’ll be the life; No God any more, or sweating in the dark about hell and
that.’ Larkin wrote that poem in the 1960s and was well aware that subjects
like God and hell were going out of fashion. Already they seemed as ancient as
penny-farthings and croquet because people had moved on to simpler, less
difficult beliefs.
This process has been going on for a long, long time, but especially since the
1960s the focus of many human lives in the Western world has been on
getting the most out of this world, rather than the life to come. The Church
has always had a great deal to say about the Four Last Things, namely death,
judgement, heaven and hell. But today fewer and fewer people appear to be
interested in them.
Let’s begin by stating the obvious: someday we will all die. It’s never an easy
thing to hear. We generally prefer not to think about death usually because
we’re too busy living. But everyday we inch a little closer to the grave, our
final resting-place, whether we like it or not. The Bible, unlike glossy
magazines and the beauty industry, is very blunt on the question of death and
decay. Job 20 verse 7 tells us that people will ‘perish forever like their own
dung; those who have seen them will say, “Where are they?”’
A famous image for death is the snuffing out of a candle’s flame: once it
burned brightly, the next minute ... nothing ... a fading tail of smoke. But
what if the smoke didn’t actually disappear but went somewhere else somewhere we can’t see? Here we begin to move into religious explanations
about death and what lies beyond it.
Life after death
For Christians the physical world is not the only world or the only human
reality. They believe in life after death, or eternal life. But eternal life is not
and never will be part of the natural world. What we experience is that things
live for a while and then die; all flesh fades. Eternal life comes only from the
Maker of heaven and earth (or at least until scientists perfect the art of
immortality). It’s in God’s nature to give good gifts and one of these gifts is to
live - like him - forever in his presence. To tell the story of this fabulous gift
involves telling again the story of Jesus.
Jesus and eternal life
Every Sunday Christians recite the words that Jesus ‘was crucified under
Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried’. So far that’s normal. But
then, they go on to say, ‘On the third day he rose again.’ What!!? Yes, Jesus
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broke the law of change, decay and death so that we ordinary humans might
have hope that death is not the end. The New Testament is full of this
resurrection hope. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 ‘But we do not want you to
be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you
may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who
have died.’
Rather like our world today, in Jesus’ time many religions coexisted. They
didn’t often agree on the big questions and all had different things to say
about death, judgement and the afterlife. Indeed, the Pharisees, a Jewish
group Jesus enjoyed debating with, didn’t believe in an afterlife at all. But the
New Testament assures us that Jesus did - and that he confidently went
around encouraging others to think the same way. Most famously, during his
crucifixion, Jesus turned to the thief on the cross beside him and said: ‘Truly
I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’ (Luke 23: 43). This must have
been very good news indeed for the thief. Is it good news for us, I wonder?
Who, after all, really desires The End, complete and utter oblivion? We might
go on holiday to ‘paradise’ for two weeks in the summer - the word paradise
means ‘park of pleasure’ - but wouldn’t we rather live there - for ever?
Jesus’ words to the thief throw up more questions. Does our soul or spirit go
somewhere immediately after death? Is it held in a queue?
Judgement
Do we go straight to judgement? Judgement is a word with a serious image
problem. At its worst, we believe the Last Judgement to be that moment when
all we’ve ever done wrong is broadcast for all the world to see. Horrible. But
Jesus, it seems, took the idea of a Last Judgement seriously, and though it’s
ebbed and flowed over the centuries, so too has the Church. Though it may
appear harsh and lacking in mercy (especially if it leads to hell), judgement is
really concerned with justice. We know that life on earth can appear very
unjust. The balance demands to be corrected by someone, at sometime and
somewhere. A Last Judgement guarantees that we’ll all get exactly what we
deserve.
All the big unknowns
It should be said that the details surrounding the four last things (death,
judgement, heaven and hell) are hotly disputed. For instance, where precisely
is heaven? Does hell really exist and who goes there? Do we get our bodies
back, or will we actually float around on clouds? If we’re given a resurrected
body, what age will it be? And my favourite question: in eternity, what will we
actually do? Theology, the art of speaking about God and his ways, is not an
exact science. It’s more like catching butterflies, and the mysteries that
surround death are, perhaps, the hardest butterflies to catch of all.
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If this all feels like too much to think about, go back to basics. Consider your
own life and how you go about living it; consider, if it makes any sense, the
link between how you live now and what might come later, after death. Look
up at the night sky occasionally and try and imagine heaven. And keep your
sense of humour. After all, we’re in this predicament together; we all have
death in common.
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A Hindu perspective
Body and soul
Hindus believe that each living entity is comprised of two distinct and
separate parts, one of which is the body, the other is the soul. According to
Hinduism, of the two, it is the soul which is your true self. The soul is eternal,
pure and changeless while the body is transient, fluctuating, subject to the
mind, senses and all sorts of internal and external stimuli. While the body is
subject to death, the soul is neither born nor dies. In essence this means that
one never really dies. Try and tell this to someone who has just lost a family
member or close friend and it may not go down too well. However, for many
Hindus it is precisely this understanding that provides consolation to those
grappling with their loss.
How one woman dealt with a child’s death
About five years ago, Anjali, the lovely four-year-old daughter of a close friend
of mine, Swati, contracted a fever and died suddenly. The loss was heartwrenching considering that Swati had been unable to conceive for over nine
years and it was only after numerous failed fertility treatments that she had
finally given birth to Anjali. She not only lost her daughter, but also the hope
of ever having a child. Understandably, she was inconsolable and decided to
go into spiritual retreat in an ashram, where she undertook a vow of complete
silence for the following three weeks. In the conversations that followed almost
a year later, Swati spoke of how she missed Anjali deeply, but also of how she
found consolation in the belief that Anjali’s essence was living. She wondered
where Anjali’s soul was, whether it had found union with God or whether she
had simply moved from one body into another. Either way Swati prayed that
wherever this soul was, it be granted strength and happiness. Ultimately it
was in this that Swati found consolation.
The cycle of birth and death
The belief that the soul may have moved to another body at death rests on
Hindu ideas of the transmigratory cycle of birth and death. It is believed that
the soul remains within the cycle of birth and death, shedding one body and
moving to another up until the time that it attains union with God. The body
becomes a vehicle for the soul and there are numerous metaphors littered
across Hindu scriptures describing the body as a shell, a temporary home;
something that is easily shed. One popular metaphor (found in the Upanisads)
describes the soul as a caterpillar moving from one blade of grass (the body) to
another. The continued rebirth is seen as undesirable (due to the suffering
and inevitability of life) and liberation from this cycle is the ultimate goal - the
means of attaining which are many.
The law of karma
Upon Anjali’s death, Swati wondered where her soul might have gone.
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According to Hindu belief, where and in what form one is reborn is intimately
connected to, ordered and governed by, the law of karma. Karma literally
means action. The law of karma refers to the principle that all beings are
reborn according to the nature and quality of their actions. In other words ‘we
reap as we sow’, except this is not restricted to the next ten minutes, or the
next ten years, but could extend over lifetimes.
Is it some kind of system of punishment and reward? The answer is no,
because it is seen as a natural, mechanical law rather than something decided
by a being floating in the clouds and striking you down because you’ve done
something wrong. To think about karma fatalistically is also unhelpful
because, as human beings, we have the power at any moment to change our
own behaviour and thereby its consequences for our future.
The conventional rites following a death
The way Swati reacted to the death of her daughter is unconventional and
certainly not how the majority of Hindus might react in spite of holding the
same beliefs. The norm is not to retreat into isolation. For the two weeks
following a death, the bereaved are surrounded by close friends, family and
community. During that fortnight, family and friends will cook, eat and pray
together. Communal prayers are sung, not only for the deceased, but also to
provide the bereaved with the strength to bear the loss they feel.
Prior to the funeral rites, it is customary for the body to be brought home so
that close family and friends may pay their last respects. The funeral involves
the cremation of the body in order to return the five elements, which the body
is comprised of, back to nature. Hindus generally celebrate the memory of
their loved ones through acts of charity made in their name. A more formal
rite is the annual shraddh - whereby prayers are offered and a tribute made to
the deceased through the offering of food to the hungry. In any case, the
memory of the dead is cherished through acts that give life or improve the
quality of life - which for many Hindus is a fitting way of remembering that
death is itself a gateway to life.
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A Humanist perspective
A harsh reality?
Humanists believe that we only live once and that when we die, that is the
end of our personal existence. There is no reason to think that any part of the
conscious beings that you and I are will endure after our hearts have stopped
and the cells of our brains have ceased to spark.
This truth can seem a harsh one, and many people prefer to hope that they
will continue to exist in some form forever, and that their dead friends and
relatives likewise are still out there somewhere. But this fact need not be a
harsh one, and the non-religious have, in the western tradition of humanist
thought, powerful resources to draw upon when they think on such
matters.
Be sure then that you have nothing to fear in death. Someone who
no longer exists cannot suffer, or differ in any way from someone
who has not been born.
Lucretius (c95-55BCE) On the Nature of the Universe
Or nothing to worry about?
Many philosophers have made the point that to worry about death is a
fruitless exercise. ‘Death is nothing to us’, said Epicurus in the third
century BCE, ‘because all pleasure and suffering consists in sensation but
death is the end of sensation’ And Seneca, two hundred years later, when
asked if he did not fear death, made the point that death was not unknown
to him. After life has ended, we are in the same position as before we were
born - there was no pain then, no consciousness, so why fear it in the
future?
Indeed, Samuel Butler in the nineteenth century said that we could take joy in
a life well-lived and take comfort from the fact that our achievements will
survive us - for a while at least - and that those we lived with and gave
happiness to in life will remember us fondly when we are gone. We can
imagine our lives, short as they are, to be stones dropped into the lake - the
ripples continue although the stone is gone.
A meaningful life
Bertrand Russell made the point that just because a good book eventually
comes to an end doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good book. And for humanists the
conviction that death is the final and irrevocable end to existence is often the
spur to live a good life. We can fill our lives with meaning and purpose and
make them worth living with all the more intensity because we know that, like
all things, we will have a final and irrevocable end. The growing popularity of
humanist funerals, with their celebratory focus, perhaps reflects that this
belief is becoming more mainstream.
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As Richard Dawkins observed:
We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most
people are never going to die because they are never going to be
born. The potential people who could have been here in my place
but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand
grains of Arabia.
The problem is not being dead but dying
Often, perhaps, it is not death we fear (nothingness is perhaps an impossible
concept to grasp in any case) but the process of dying. But in this area too we
can take comfort. Medical science in the West has made such advances that
the quality of care we can give the dying may remove much of their pain and
suffering. Far more people die comfortably today than at any other time in
human history because of the palliative care that medical science has
developed.
Just as essential, though more resisted in this country at least, is the growing
recognition that we should all have the right to choose medical assistance in
the ending of our lives if they have become intolerable. Physician-assisted
dying allows people to end their existence in dignity, at least in the more
enlightened nations, and we can hope for changes in Britain soon that will
extend this right to us.
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A Jewish perspective
Ahh, where to begin! Perhaps at the beginning, with birth! Every child, Jews
in general believe, is born with a pure soul. At birth it has, in equal measure,
the potential to do bad and the potential to do good, and we go through life
with these choices constantly presenting themselves (I think we all know what
that feels like!) Generally very very few of us are totally good (in fact one
tradition suggests only 36 people in every generation!) but equally very few of
us are very very bad. Sometimes we get it right in life, and sometimes we get it
wrong. But, ultimately, God knows both the good and the bad we do, and we
have to hope that one will balance the other. A famous passage of the Talmud
(a similar version is also found in the Qur’an 2:56) teaches that if a person
takes a life, it is as if they have killed a whole world, but one who saves a life,
it is as if they have saved a whole world (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). Thus it
seems to me the potential contained in one human life is enormous, and that
goes for each and every one of us, whether we or those around us see it.
Which is it?
When it comes to death, things get a bit more complicated for a Jew. There
are lots of Jewish teachings on what happens to us when we die, from
reincarnation to resurrection, judgment day to cleansing periods. There is also
the question of whether we go to heaven or our continued existence is the
mark our deeds leave on the world after we have gone. I have my personal
favourites, but if I’m honest, I have to say, I just don’t know, and in many
ways, I think this is what Judaism wanted to achieve in not producing a
definitive answer. Perhaps it isn’t for us to know, and in not knowing exactly
what the world to come will be like, we are forced to concentrate on this life,
and on the impact we can have in this world. This is not to say Jews do not
believe in an afterlife (and I really hope there is one!!) but that we should
worry more about living this life well and right, rather than always focusing on
the end goal, which we can’t know much about anyway!
Strange but helpful
In May 2006 I had a very interesting experience which I think adds something
to this discussion. I was attending a conference in Sweden, when on the
Shabbath morning in the Great Synagogue of Stockholm, one of the wardens
of the synagogue approached me and, with a concerned look, asked how my
father was. I stumbled over my reply. He cut in with, ‘It’s something in his
head.’ There was no way he could have known that, three days earlier, we had
been informed that my dad would be returning to hospital for his second lot of
brain surgery in six months. While I was looking rather stunned, the warden
explained: ‘I just see things’. And he ushered me into his office, where we
spent the next hour talking. The things he was able to relate to me he really
couldn’t have known. I was truly astounded, and strangely comforted,
especially as he had assured me: ‘Once they’re on the other side, they’re fine!’
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Now one thing that concerned this psychic was that the Torah very specifically
warned the Israelites against involving themselves with magicians, wizards,
witchcraft, magic. If such strong legislation was necessary, people were almost
certainly seeking out, and getting involved, in these forbidden practices;
however the parameters of what ‘divination’, ‘sorcery’ or magic actually are
were not well defined.1 My clairvoyant friend had approached the orthodox
rabbi in Stockholm to ask for clarification on this and was told that it is
forbidden to speak to the dead. This seemed a little unfair, he said, because
they were always talking to him.
The rabbis, as well as sages before and after them, seemed to fear the effects
that involvement in such customs might have on people. However my recent
experience in Stockholm spoke very strongly to me, and in fact offered me
strength in a time of great vulnerability. Indeed, since my father died at the
beginning of this year, I have been tempted many times to consider popping
over to Stockholm to ask my psychic friend how my father is doing. Was it this
kind of competition that the rabbis feared, with people seeking comfort outside
the normal power structures? Possibly this was a part of it, but I suspect
there is also a protective element here - because, as I said above, Judaism has
always emphasised the importance of focusing on this life, and this world,
rather than death and the afterlife. I would like to think it is this which
prompts the Bible to criticise the Israelites’ enemies for their powers of
divination, and cause the sages to tell us to stay well clear. It is not because
they do not possess genuine powers, but because it is none of our business to
meddle in the next world, and we must move on when we lose loved ones, and
make the most of life here.
Help to move on
Having said all this, Judaism very carefully outlines the rituals one must go
through when a person dies, first of all focusing on giving the deceased a
respectful burial, and then focusing on comforting the mourners, and giving
them various rituals and degrees of restrictions for a year after their loss.
These steps help a person accept what has happened and, after an intense
one-week grieving process, move back into the world. I have often been
surprised at how quickly non-Jewish friends return to work after a loss, and
think it is really important to take a proper amount of time to grieve to allow
ourselves to deal with what has happened, and thus allow ourselves to
become reimmersed in the important tasks of this world and this life.
1
Sanhedrin 67a, JT Hagigah 2:2 (77d), Berakhot 53a, Erubin 64b, JT Abodah Zarah 1:9 (40a)
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A Muslim perspective
When I first thought about writing this material, I initially imagined combining
the material for the concepts of life and death together. Surprisingly enough,
there are many instances in classical and contemporary Islamic literature
where they are mentioned in the same breath:
Do not give your heart to this world, for its example is of an
unfaithful bride who has never loved you, even for a night.
An interesting thought, but perhaps not such a practical one!
Death is seen as the only certain reality in the entire spectrum of human
experience - with all that precedes it from birth onwards as a ‘borrowed space,
to be returned upon rest’. One which everyone will experience, regardless of
ethnicity, gender or creed - ‘Every soul (nafs) shall taste of death; and We try
you with evil and good for a testing, then unto Us you shall be returned.’
(Qur’an, 21:35)
And (humankind) presents for Us an example (i.e. attempting to
establish the finality of death) and forgets his [own] creation. He
says, “Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?”
Say, “He will give them life who produced them the first time; and
He is, of all creation, Knowing.” [It is] He who made for you from
the green tree, fire, and then from it you ignite. Is not He who
created the heavens and the earth Able to create the likes of them?
Yes, [it is so]; and He is the Knowing Creator.
(Qur’an, 36:78-81)
Particular reference is made to the example of a living organism, namely a
tree, providing life, shelter, oxygen, water through transpiration, then fire and
warmth as dead wood. By analogy, every stage of creation is beautifully
planned and has a precise purpose.
And they say, ‘There is not but our worldly life; we die and live (i.e.
some people die and others live, replacing them) and nothing
destroys us except time.’ And they have of that no knowledge; they
are only assuming. And when Our verses are recited to them as
clear evidences, their argument is only that they say, “Bring [back]
our forefathers, if you should be truthful.’ Say, ‘God causes you to
live, then causes you to die; then He will assemble you for the Day
of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt.’
(Qur’an, 45:24-26)
The verse above is commenting on the profundity of creation and the
omnipotence of Allah, contrasting the ease with which He creates and
resurrects with humankind’s comparative feebleness. It also refers to His
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omniscience and knowledge of the unseen, again contrasted with humankind’s
limited knowledge and world-view.
Life is a test
Muslims believe that no one knows when, how or where they will die; or what
precisely the nature of death is, but the important element is to have a
constant awareness, as much as possible, of this eventual reality; and to
strive towards keeping this in perspective at all times. Therefore, life in its
entirety for a Muslim constitutes a ‘test’ by means of which his or her final
destiny is determined. Death is simply the return of the soul to its Creator,
Allah; and this inevitability is highlighted on numerous occasions throughout
a Muslim’s life.
This idea permeates much of Islamic theology and attitudes in general as I
hope the examples below will illustrate:
General background information based on various Qur’anic quotes:
Death is believed to be exactly like an intense form of sleep, complete with
dreams (6:60, 40:46).
The period between death and resurrection passes ‘like a night of sleep’
(2:259, 6:60, 10:45, 16:21, 18:11-25, 30:55) etc ...
However, Muslims are strongly exhorted not to dwell too much on details such
as these, or on what will happen to others (A question that is often asked is:
‘Will x or y go to heaven or hell?’). Rather we should focus on what we have
prepared for the Final Hour (‘Ask not when, where or how, but rather - “What
have I prepared?”’
Teaching of the Prophet Mohammed pbuh).
This might be an ideal opportunity for students to reflect and self-evaluate on
what they believe is important. Is it tolerance and understanding? Fighting
against injustice? Honour? Charity? Prayer? Love? Helping one’s neighbours?
Upright morality? Kindness to animals? All these are modelled on the
prophet’s behaviour as mentioned in other essays and ways in which a
Muslim may strive to earn the pleasure of Allah.
Khalifah or stewardship
It might also be useful, when studying this subject, to consider the main
concept of khalifah in addition to the Five Pillars. Khalifah is the belief that
humanity is placed on this earth and charged with its care and stewardship
according to principles of justice, righteousness and morality. Our
stewardship will be judged when we finally surrender this trust at the end of
our lives. Included in this concept are our own person and the importance of
care and preservation of our body. This is considered in terms of things like
health, medicine, spiritual fulfilment and development etc.
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Hajj
Of the five pillars, Hajj (pilgrimage) may be used as an example of how
constantly a Muslim is reminded of the reality of death as being an inevitable
matter. It is not one which should be feared or dwelt on in a morbid fashion to
the exclusion of worldly concerns. Throughout Hajj, a male pilgrim wears two
pure white, unsewn garments, very similar to what their shroud might look
like. It also symbolises equality with the rest of humanity by erasing external
representations of things like class, wealth and ethnicity. On Hajj all worship
and rituals are carried out in the same language, showing unity of purpose
and message. It is the only place and time where gender differences are
disregarded (e.g. men and women praying side by side around the Ka’abah
and face-veiling forbidden). The most powerfully moving reminder, and one
that perhaps the majority of pilgrims find most poignant, is the culmination of
Hajj where all stand on the plain of Arafat. This symbolises resurrection and
the gathering of humanity to be judged on the Final Day.
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A Sikh perspective
There are many expressions about death; growing up in the West we become
accustomed to hearing phrases such as ‘I am dying for a cigarette!’ or ‘I am
dying to meet her!’ What does this mean and where do these intense
expressions originate?
Clearly, there are different types of death - death of the ego, the mind and
death of the body and, for some, death of the soul. In each instance there is a
time factor and an element of control involved.
Life and death are inextricably linked
If we think of life and death on earth, there is evidently a similar connection to
both time and the inability to control the situation. Just as the farmer sows
his field and harvests his crops in a similar way death claims all life when the
time comes.
After day the night comes and after the night the day dawns, time
and tide wait for no one.
(SGGS p. 41)
Death does not discriminate between age, gender, race and, again, time. Death
ends the physical existence on earth, but Sikhs believe that the soul is eternal
and not destructible. Therefore it is a simple transition or a change of
frequency for the soul after physical death.
Death is a reality, whatever is born must die.
(SGGS p. 227)
The Sikh scriptures also highlight the purpose of life while talking of death.
The hymn of the Lord’s love is like a pointed arrow, that has
pierced deep in my heart: he who feels love’s pain knows it. And
he that dies to this life even while living has obtained his
deliverance even in this life.
(SGGS p. 448)
Contrary to many thoughts and traditions in the West, death is not considered
a dark, dangerous or fearful phenomenon, but a beautiful, sweet celebration
of life. We have nothing to fear if we have led a truthful, dutiful and fruitful life
on earth.
The fear of death and rebirth is removed by performing loving
devotional service to the Lord of the World.
(SGGS p. 45)
Death is simply a natural organic process; it is renewal, the old making room for
the new. In fact the death that is mentioned again and again through the
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teachings is the death of the consciousness. Everyone says, ‘I will die, I will die.’
But he alone becomes immortal, who dies with intuitive
understanding. Those who do not know the Lord, die over and over
again, and then depart.
(SGGS p. 327)
The journey of the soul
The quotation above gives a clear view on reincarnation of the soul. Souls are
eternal and come on earth to make their journeys. The Sikh idea is that we
are blessed with birth and have been given one chance in the human form to
make our journeys on earth. It is such a profound experience that we will not
need to keep entering the cycle of birth and death and will be able to one day
make our way back to our creator. Souls are attracted and choose the parents
that they come to, it is rarely the other way around. When we forget the soul’s
source and live life without the three pillars of the faith (to meditate, to work
hard and honestly and to share whatever we gain with others) we are
considered dead in spiritual terms.
Sacrifice
There is also a very strong aspect of shaheedi in the Sikh school of thought;
this can be interpreted as martyrdom. It is when a choice is made to meet
death rather than withstand injustice. It is often related to sacrifice and there
are several references to this aspect of death in Sikh history. The obvious one
was when tyrant emperors waged war against the people or denied them their
human rights; many a time a Sikh Guru by standing up to injustice would be
sacrificed or jailed himself.
The question put to us by the Sikh Gurus is what have we done to deserve the
honour of human life on this earth, which is the highest blessing of all and
also a long awaited one.
O my body, why have you come into this world? What actions
have you committed? And what actions have you committed, O my
body, since you came into this world? The Lord who formed your
form - you have not enshrined that Lord in your mind. By Guru’s
Grace, the Lord abides within the mind, and one’s pre-ordained
destiny is fulfilled. Says Nanak, this body is adorned and honored,
when one’s consciousness is focused on the True Guru.
(SGGS p. 922)
The cycle of death and life
There is very little importance given to the body after death, which is why
Sikhs cremate. The physical body ends its journey on earth. The belief is that
when the light dries up the oil of suffering, the fire burns the body and returns
it to the cycle of life through ashes, or fertilisers for flowers. It reinforces the
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idea that death is a cycle, an organic process and is acknowledging God’s will.
Emotional support for the bereaved
The mourning or bereavement process is also a reflection of death not being a
huge tragic occurrence but a very real and natural one. When a family
member passes away, the friends and family inform each other and the doors
of the family home are left open, people come and pay their respects to the
family and a rota is made for cooking food. Every evening the family is
provided with a warm cooked meal prepared by relatives, friends or
neighbours. Extracts from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib are sung and everyone
around sits down together to share the warm cooked food.
Lamenting and screaming are discouraged, but families are encouraged to take
out pictures and tell stories remembering the precious times shared together.
The family is surrounded by others for support until the funeral takes place.
The funeral
The body is brought home for members of the close family to say their final
goodbyes. Then the body is taken to the gurdwara where the local community
gets a chance to pay their respects. From there the body is taken to the
crematorium where prayers are read such as the following:
O Kabeer! There is no need to cry or feel sad at the death of a
Saint [Gurmukh, one attached to the Guru’s teachings]; because he
is just going back to his home where no-one can remove him.
A final prayer is read as a supplication, asking for the soul to be blessed and
pardoned for any mistakes performed on earth and also for all paths to be
made clear for the soul to begin its journey back home.
Later the ashes are given to the family members who will choose an
appropriate time to join these ashes back to the earth or water as they prefer.
Support for the family
The family are visited regularly and the community give them support through
counselling or financial assistance to enable them to continue with their life in
the best way possible.
Recent surveys have highlighted that very few practising Sikhs fall into
depression or require help from social services following the death of a loved
one because the community takes it upon itself to assume responsibility for
those who need assistance. In fact, when a family elder, like a grandparent,
departs, families often share sweet food to remember and thank God for the
abundant and fulfilling life they led on earth.
Joy and sorrow, profit and loss, birth and death, pain and pleasure
- they are all the same to my consciousness, since I met the Guru.
(SGGS)
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CHAPTER TWO
VIOLENCE
BIG QUESTIONS: Does religion promote peace or violence?
Is violence ever justified? How should I respond to violence
against me?
How do I handle my own anger?
Do we need an army?
Does violence solve anything?
Is it ever right to kill?
Why do I sometimes feel like ‘punching someone’s lights out’?
COMMON THEMES:
All the worldviews represented here believe in certain principles:
•
•
•
•
•
We should not harm others
Disputes should be settled by peaceful means
We should practise non-violence rather than violence
Use of aggressive tactics or violence to promote religion is wrong
Phrases and rituals which emphasise peace, such as “Peace be with
you”, “Go in peace”, “May peace rest on all in this house”, are a
common feature of human cultures
BUT, all the worldviews recognise that human beings have a natural tendency
to use violence. Again, all the worldviews agree on certain principles:
• Violence to defend one’s family, one’s community, one’s own life may
be permissible if all other means have failed
• Violence may only be justified where it is used in response to attack
• Violence or war may be justified against an evil state (just war)
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Christian contribution emphasises:
•
•
•
•
•
Extending love, even to our enemies
A history of violence in Christianity – the Inquisition, the Crusades
We need to get in touch with our rage
The dangers of soul/body dualism – the body and its hurt don’t matter
To have life and have it abundantly means any kind of violence is
wrong
The Hindu contribution emphasises:
• The fundamental Hindu principle of ahimsa – not harming
• Gandhi’s principles – opposing British rule of India only through nonviolent means
• The Hindu’s goal to be free of selfish desire, greed and hatred - makes
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violence impossible, but Hindu teachings do permit violence against
aggression by groups (invasion) and individuals (criminals)
• The kshatriya class is trained to fight when necessary
The Humanist contribution emphasises:
• The ultimate value of human life and the evil of war
• The need to use our reason and intelligence to solve disputes
• Not all humanists are pacifists - violence can sometimes be justified in
self-defence
• Humanists have contributed to world peace initiatives
The Jewish contribution emphasises:
• War is a human, not a religious problem
• Jews have suffered violent persecution, but have also made war on
others on religious grounds
• The Torah specifies that peace is the first option in disputes
• There are strict ethical rules on behaviour by soldiers
The Muslim contribution emphasises:
• That Muslims are exhorted to advocate peace wherever they can
• That Muslims are under obligation to defend their community from
attack
• Jihad has many meanings - primarily, to strive for good, and resist evil
- though violence can be used only if peaceful means cannot be found,
and never towards women, children or the innocent
• Self-sacrifice is recognised in time of war, suicide bombing is not
• Communities have the right to resist unjust oppression, including by
the state
The Sikh contribution emphasises:
• No one is a Sikh’s enemy - all are to be treated with peace
• Violence became necessary as Sikhs were persecuted and is justified
in resisting state or external oppression
• Sikhs should stand up for truth against evil and do something about it
• Violence is the last option, but the motive must be good and the
innocent not harmed
The Buddhist contribution emphasises:
• The root of terror/terrorism is fear; anger is another powerful source
• Learning to control the mind through understanding, so we are in
control of it, not it of us
• Look at your intention in taking action - is it good? (ie not a set of rules)
• We all contain good and bad – by knowing this we can free ourselves
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from the bad
• Forgiveness is a key to overcoming the cycle of violence and counterviolence
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A Christian perspective
A bloody history
If, during a heated debate with a Christian, you want to really discredit your
opponent’s moral superiority, you may want to play as soon as possible your
trump card - namely, Christianity’s historical record. The script for this
moment usually goes something like this: ‘Just look at what torrents of
violence and bloodshed Christianity’s unleashed upon the world: pogroms,
witch hunts, the Spanish Inquisition, the Conquistadors in South America ...
the list is endless. And don’t get me started on Catholicism! Just look at Mel
Gibson and Tony Soprano!’ Such prejudiced and polarised arguments, to be
sure, generate more heat than light. After all, which group, sect or community
has never had to wash some blood off its hands?
But whether the historical card is played too often or not, violence and
Christianity do seem to be very well acquainted with each other - if not
intimately related. (Call to mind the memorable verse from Psalm 137 about
dashing babies’ heads against rocks; or ponder just how it was that the Third
Reich was able to grow out of the very heart of ‘Christian’ Europe). But should
we really be surprised by this unholy alliance between divinity and devilment?
Is not the heart of the Christian faith a torture device (the cross) and its
accompanying theology (the atonement) a singularly violent and blood-soaked
dogma?
Humans are violent
We need to tread carefully here. To reach a balanced and sane perspective on
this complex question we’d do well to sit back and patiently disentangle cause
from effect, intent from interpretation, the desires of the founder (Jesus) from
the actions of his followers (all those who travel by, or have travelled by, the
name Christian). The point is this: Christianity may well have been founded,
in part, upon the act of state-administered violence, but does this equate to
saying that Christianity intrinsically supports violence and considers it a
justifiable manifestation of human behaviour? I would think not. Violence is
endemic to us human beings; it’s part of our genetic inheritance as flesh and
blood creatures. We don’t need behavioural psychologists to tell us this much.
Just get a little more in touch with your own rage and anger the next time it
rises up in you. Any ideology or world-view can be twisted to provide specious
justification for our tendencies to destroy, hurt, maim and murder each other.
The problem of dualism
OK, so we’ve acknowledged, rather bluntly, that Jesus (or God) shouldn’t
necessarily be blamed for all the bad things that have been done in His name.
But such a judgement hardly tidies up all the loose ends of the Christianity
and violence debate. Many critics of regular mainstream orthodox Christianity
- from inside and outside the Church - have pointed out that the real problem
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lies not with the wayward behaviour of a few men like Tomas de Torquemada
(head of the Spanish Inquisition), but with deeply embedded assumptions
within the Christian psyche, assumptions founded on a violent predisposition
towards things. Put simply, the problem rests with an idea. The idea is that if
the next world (heaven) is my true home, then I can take a fairly dismissive
disdainful attitude towards this one. The implications in this for how I think
about myself - my earthly mind and body - can be profound and, needless to
say, rather worrying. What we’re dealing with here is the old chestnut of
dualism and all that flows from it. Like so much else with a faith that’s had
2000 years to reflect on itself, it all depends whether of not you see this
dualistic strand to be intrinsic to Christianity. (In other words, which source,
scripture passage or theologian are you planning to take your cue and
inspiration from?)
A contemporary Western Christian is unlikely to do violence towards
themselves because of their commitment to philosophical dualism (they’re
more likely to find God through good pasta and a decent Chablis.) But things
might look rather different if you were to wake one morning and find yourself
living as a medieval monk or nun. A key verse for any celibate world-denying
Christian view of existence is Matthew 19:12: For there are eunuchs who have
been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by
others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake
of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can. It was after reading
this verse that the third century theologian Origen castrated himself.
Jesus is reported to have said that he came so that we may have ‘life, and
have it abundantly’ (John 10:10). I believe this short verse to be the antithesis
of all violence, whether that be self-directed violence or violence towards your
neighbour. It might also come in handy the next time you find yourself
debating with an atheist.
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A Hindu perspective
Gandhi’s contribution
It is often supposed that non-violence is a fundamental principle of Hindu
teaching. In part this idea has arisen from the life and character of Mahatma
Gandhi, one of the great Hindu teachers of modern times, but the emphasis
on not harming other beings was certainly a feature of ancient Hindu ideas on
morality. Gandhi is most famous for his campaign to free India from British
rule and for his insisting that resistance to the foreign power should only be
conducted through non-violent protest. He always claimed that his political
views were based on Hindu teachings and in particular the ideas presented by
Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. For Gandhi, the goal of spiritual progress was
realised when a person attains a state of consciousness that is free of selfish
desire, greed and hatred, because one who has realised the true nature of God
is transformed as a person. Such a person can never display violence towards
other beings and naturally adheres to the fundamental Hindu principle of
ahimsa, not harming. So ahimsa is not only a rule to be followed by Hindus,
it is also indicative of one who has attained the highest level of spiritual
progress. This was certainly Gandhi’s teaching, as he stated in the following
words:
My love for non-violence is superior to any other thing mundane or
supra-mundane. It is equalled only by my love for truth which is
synonymous with non-violence through which alone I can see and
reach the truth.
Non-violence
So for Gandhi non-violence was a fundamental principle of the Hinduism he
adhered to and the same idea is also found in the Mahabharata, which in
many passages praises non-harming (ahimsa) as the highest religious duty,
the highest dharma. This doctrine is clearly emphasised in the following verse
from the Mahabharata:
ahimsa sarva-bhutanam etat krityatamam matam
etat padam anudvignam varistham dharma-lakshanam
(Not harming any living being is understood to be the highest mode
of action. Such practice represents the topmost state of existence,
which is beyond fear and is the true indication of dharma 14.49.2, BORI, Critical Edition)
A way of life
As is clearly apparent from this quotation, the doctrine of ahimsa applies not
only to our relations with other humans but is also reflected in the Hindu
reluctance to take animal life and a preference for a vegetarian diet. In the
Jain tradition, root vegetables are also avoided as small creatures might be
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killed when one cuts into the earth with agricultural implements. And it is
not just acts of physical violence that are to be avoided. Elsewhere the
Mahabharata states, na chakshusa na manasa na vacha dusayed api - ‘one
should not harm anyone even with his glance, his thoughts or his words’
(12.269.4), showing that the prohibition is not confined to acts of physical
violence.
The principle of non-violence as set out here is therefore both a moral and
spiritual one. It is also related to the doctrine of karma (kamma in Pali), which
teaches that in the next life one will enjoy and suffer the results of the actions
performed in this existence. So if I harm other living beings and cause them
to suffer, then that same suffering will come back to afflict me in a future life
as my destiny unfolds in line with the actions I previously performed.
Is non-violence realistic?
Now most right-minded people would agree that non-violence is a fine
principle to recommend and Mahatma Gandhi is widely admired throughout
the world, but many would feel that a total prohibition on violence is not
practical and cannot be sustained in the world as we know it. Indeed, many
Hindus believe that Gandhi has harmed the Hindu community by showing it
to be weak and ineffective in resisting its persecutors from other faiths and
other nations. So if Hindu teachings place so much emphasis on nonharming as a religious principle, how in practice are Hindus able to deal with
the phenomenon of evil in the world around us?
But not absolute non-violence
In fact despite the points made above, Hinduism as a whole does not
recommend absolute non-violence and recognises that at certain times violent
means will have to be employed to resist aggressive wrongdoers who are intent
on plundering the lives and wealth of innocent people. Hindu teachings on
social order insist that there must be a class of highly trained individuals who
are morally and physically equipped to use violent means where necessary in
order to provide protection for all and to ensure the maintenance of social
order. The technical name for this class of persons is the kshatriyas and their
dharma (religious duty) is to govern and where necessary to fight in order to
protect the citizens of the state. This may be in the suppression of criminals
or else in defending a nation from outside aggression. So it would be wrong to
suggest that Hindus would not resist any attack on their country or
community and the history of India contains numerous accounts of great
Hindu heroes who fought bravely to protect their country from attacks by
foreigners. Moreover, the Hindu scriptures such as the Mahabharata,
Ramayana and Puranas tell of the deeds of righteous, spiritually-minded
heroes such as Rama, Arjuna and Bhishma who engaged in acts of warfare in
order to overcome the forces of evil that were besetting the world. And in the
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Bhagavad Gita, Gandhi’s favourite scripture, we find Krishna, who is God
himself, urging Arjuna to take up arms and resist the evil-minded enemies
who are oppressing the world.
How can the two principles be reconciled?
On the one hand, Hindus are taught that non-violence is the highest
expression of spirituality and yet acts of violence are still prescribed as the
essential duty of one section of society. The Bhagavad Gita addresses this
very issue and in that text we find that Krishna does indeed insist that Arjuna
must perform his dharma as a kshatriya and fight to resist the wicked people
who have seized power. But does that mean that Arjuna must therefore give
up all aspirations towards a spiritual life? Not at all! Krishna explains that it
is not the act of violence itself that destroys one’s spiritual consciousness, but
the motivation that leads one to perform it. In general it is true that the
violence we inflict on others with our thoughts, words and deeds arises from
our selfish desires, our envy of what they have, or else our greed for more
wealth and possessions.
If we look at the history of the world we will see that, almost always, wars are
fought for these reasons and, at a personal level, individual acts of violence
are generally performed due to anger, uncontrolled passions and selfishness.
Krishna argues that when violent acts are performed due to these base
motivations then one’s spirituality is inhibited. But if violence is performed
reluctantly and on the basis of duty and service rather than for personal gain
then one can still progress spiritually, because the violence exists in the
action alone and not in the consciousness of the performer.
So in summary, Hindu teachings insist that anger and acts of violence are
symptomatic of the materialism that must be overcome if one is to progress on
the spiritual path. Therefore ahimsa, not harming others, is frequently
mentioned as the highest principle to adhere to in our religion. However,
Hinduism is realistic enough to understand that, on some occasions, acts of
violence become necessary in order to protect the innocent and to preserve the
social order. One section of society is therefore allowed and trained in the
proper use of violence, but they must act on the basis of duty alone and not
on the basis of desire, hatred, anger, greed or other base motivations.
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A Humanist perspective
Human life is all the more valuable if you do not believe in an afterlife, and
humanists (indeed any rational person) would think very carefully before
supporting any war, because of the loss of life involved. Wars are hugely
destructive, ruining lives, wasting resources and degrading the environment.
The horrors of war, for example the enormous and pointless destruction and
loss of life in the First World War and the genocide against the Jews in the
Second World War, have made many people question the existence of a
benevolent and omnipotent deity.
Isn’t self-defence natural?
Some people say that war is ‘natural’ and that, as tribal animals, we are
bound to want to protect our territory and tribe. Humanists would respond by
saying that we should use our intelligence and ability to reason to overcome
some natural instincts, and that, in the case of something as terrible as war,
we should always seek non-violent solutions first. But to resort to violence in
self-defence or for altruistic reasons - to protect the lives and rights of others can sometimes be justified on a national level, just as it can on an individual
level - although some humanists may be pacifists, others are not.
Peaceful solutions are not always easy to find or to enforce, as the history of
the United Nations demonstrates, but humanists strongly support the work of
the UN aimed at resolving conflicts between nations peacefully. Humanists
helped to set up the UN and were the first directors of several UN agencies.
Some humanists, such as the famous philosopher Bertrand Russell, have
campaigned against weapons of mass destruction and been conscientious
objectors and pacifists, though Russell made an exception for the Second
World War which he thought was morally justified, to unseat the obnoxious
regimes of fascist countries.
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A Jewish perspective
Does religion cause wars?
In the last year I think I must have heard about a dozen times the phrase (or
something similar) ‘religion is the cause of all the wars in the world, nothing
good comes from religion’. I think religion has frequently been used as an
excuse for wars, but I suspect humans would find other pretexts if there was
no religion. I also suspect that if you went to the texts and teachings of almost
any of the world’s religions and wanted to justify a war, you could do it. But I
also believe that if you came to those same texts and teachings wanting to
prove that they preached peace and love you could do it just as easily. It all
depends on what lenses we have on when we arrive at the texts. Few religions
have been left untainted by violence justified by their faith. Jews have suffered
because of this at the hands of crusaders and fundamentalist Muslim
terrorists. Yet Jews have also been the perpetrators of violence justified by
religious claims. However Jews have also had very good and peaceful relations
with Muslim, Christian and Hindu neighbours through other periods of history.
Many Jews feel, in view of our experiences over the last millennia and beyond,
that violence is acceptable to protect ourselves. Indeed many other
governments seem to feel the same way. Ancient Israelite society also
permitted war and even claimed some wars to be commanded by God. In the
Torah God is shown to help the Israelites win battles, and to lose power when
they have not been behaving themselves.
Ethical warfare
The Torah lays down clear guidelines on how war should be conducted
ethically, with peace always being the preferred option: ‘When approaching a
town to attack it, first offer them peace.’ (Deut. 20:10) Furthermore care must
be taken of captives, fruit-bearing trees must be protected, and men in their
first year of marriage are exempt from military service.
This policy still applies in modern Israel. Another interesting part of military
ethics in modern Israel is that no soldier is allowed to use the defence ‘I was
just following orders’ if he or she is accused of acting unethically or
unacceptably. The Israeli military permits soldiers to voice dissent if they feel
their orders are unacceptable, in response to the problems caused by so many
soldiers ‘just following orders’ in the Second World War.
Of course the modern state of Israel is not Judaism and vice versa. Many
Jews disagree on how Israel should behave to defend herself, protect her
citizens and maintain borders, and indeed whether she should at all.
Pacifism
For other Jews, violence is never an acceptable option. There are many groups
who preach peace and argue for non-violent responses. This is of course more
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complicated when religion and statehood become combined, and these are
issues that I personally struggle with, and I hope and pray for a time when
Israel will exist at peace with her neighbours, including an independent
Palestinian state.
The battle against evil
Traditionally Judaism argues that human life should be valued above all else,
and warmongering, as seen with King David, is punished by God. But
Judaism also seems to teach that wickedness should not go unchallenged in
the world, and that one does have a duty to declare war on evil. But this
should only be done if absolutely necessary, and I think it is crucial to
remember that God in Judaism acknowledges the damage that this does to
soldiers and nations, and in the 1970s Golda Meir, then Prime Minister of
Israel, said when asked about whether she could forgive Egypt for killing
Israeli soldiers: ‘It is more difficult for me to forgive Egypt for making us kill
their soldiers.’2
2
Cited by Rabbi Shraga Simmons at about.com
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A Muslim perspective
Unfortunately, today it is incredibly rare to hear discussions about violence in
relation to Islam without two words cropping up: Jihad and, more recently,
terrorism. So, very reluctantly, here goes ...
One major obstacle which I would very much like to see overcome is the
generally imprecise use of terminology whenever this area of thought is
explored or reported on - for example, confusion often arises when discussing
whether or not a struggle or conflict may be termed as ‘just’ from an Islamic
perspective (theologically). It is all too common to find words such as ‘peaceloving’ and ‘pacifist’ used interchangeably, without considering that so doing
can lead to misunderstanding, even factual misrepresentation.
To expand slightly further on this point, another common notion is that Islam
means ‘peace’ or ‘submission. Although both words are derived from the
common Arabic root S-L-M, peace (salam) and submission (istislam) do not
mean the same at all. In fact, Islam more accurately means an individual’s
striving to perfect their worship for the sake of One Supreme God (aslama).
The two ideas above, while laudable, only reflect one (somewhat passive)
dimension of human experience in life.
Defence is acceptable
Any able-bodied Muslim is under obligation to defend another’s property,
honour, family, etc.
Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the greatest falsehood. Do not try
to find fault with each other, do not spy on one another, do not vie with
one another, do not envy one another, do not be angry with one
another, do not turn away from one another, and be servants of Allah,
brothers to one another, as you have been enjoined. A Muslim is the
brother of a Muslim, he does him no wrong, nor does he let him down,
nor does he despise him. Fear of God is here, fear of God is here, and
he pointed to his chest. It is evil enough that a Muslim should look
down on his brother. For every Muslim is sacred to one another:
his blood, his honour, and his property. Allah does not look at
your bodies or your forms, or your deeds, but He looks at your hearts.
(This was narrated by Abu Hurairah and can be found in both collections of
Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.)
However, ‘defence’ does not necessarily have to be violent. Yes, a Muslim is
exhorted to be an advocate of peace and promote it wherever and whenever
they can, but (s)he must not accept humiliation or occupation or coercion, etc
in order to be an advocate of peace. (You can see there is a link with the study
of ‘Freedom and Authority’ here.) In fact, one may often be called upon to
defend peace and liberty and , most importantly, justice.
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Jihad
The concept of jihad has different meanings and a scholar such as Jalal adDîn as-Suyutî (15th century), while studying its scope, highlighted 80 different
dimensions, uses and objectives related to its place in Islamic teachings. Its
root ja-ha-da means ‘making an effort’, ‘exerting oneself’ (or ‘striving’, which is
an accurate reflection of Islam’s root meaning) in order to promote good or to
resist wrongdoing, evil or oppression. Every individual trying to resist her or
his own negative temptations is engaged in jihad, and the first time the word
is used in the Qur’an (25:52) it refers to an intellectual and spiritual
resistance by the means of the Qur’an itself.
In all its dimensions, the essence of jihad is ‘to resist’ in the name of justice
and dignity. When there is an armed aggression, Muslims have the right to
protect themselves and to defend their rights. Here jihâd means qitâl (armed
struggle). The use of violence and weapons must be adjusted to the nature of
the aggression itself: an armed aggression may justify an armed resistance if
there is no other way to come to a peaceful agreement. But the use of violence
and weapons must be proportionate and never target innocent people, women,
children, the elderly, or even fruit trees as Abû Bakr, the first successor to the
Prophet, stated following Mohammed’s teachings.
The way to achieve peace
Jihad never means ‘holy war’ in order ‘to impose’ or ‘to propagate’ Islam
everywhere. In fact jihâd and qitâl mean exactly the opposite of what is
commonly perceived: rather than being the justifying instruments of war,
they are the imposed measures to achieve peace by resisting an unjust
aggression.
In specific situations - when an unarmed person faces an army and has not
means to resist, it may be understandable and justifiable to consider
sacrificing their life in attempts to reach the armed soldiers. Here we are not
far from a kind of suicide, but it is related to three specific conditions:
• It must be in a time of declared war
• There are no other means of resistance available
• The target is exclusively the enemy and/or its armed soldiers.
Today’s suicide bombers (and here I am ONLY referring to events such as
9/11 and the bombing of the World Trade Centre, and the 7 July bombings in
London, NOT to war zones such as Palestine and elsewhere, where people
believe they are dying to defend their faith, homeland, etc...) who are killing
innocent people are not only disregarding Islamic teachings about the ethics
of war, but they are in fact indulging in anti-Islamic actions.
Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ commemorated
an incident that was, more or less, a form of mass suicide, but one that
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lacked even the element of free will or personal decision, as the men were
simply following orders:
Forward, the Light Brigade!
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die,
Into the Valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
These men were honoured for the noble sacrifice they made in supporting
their homeland and dying to protect it and their countrymen.
Collective self-defence
To move forward from this point, while non-retaliation against a personal
injury is frequently a virtue (Qur’an, chapter 41 verse 34), Islam believes that
human communities have the right to collective self-defence, since nonresistance to aggression would result in a world dominated by tyrants (see
22:40).
Under some circumstances, Muslim scholars will allow oppressed peoples to
rebel against their oppressors. They might, therefore, classify the American
War of Independence as a form of jihad, broadly understood. When Bosnia
was faced with ethnic cleansing in 1992, the Muslim authorities there
authorised the use of force to defend the country’s Muslim minority. The
alternative would have been mass murder and mass rape, and therefore jihad
was lawful.
Furthermore, some Muslim scholars may permit a non-defensive ‘idealist’ war
to establish justice and freedom in a neighbouring country. This is analogous,
perhaps, to the decision of the United Kingdom to declare war on Germany on
3 September 1939, in response to the German invasion of Poland. There are
more recent analogies as well, including very recent instances in which
Western powers have used force to overthrow tyrants such as Saddam
Hussein.
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A Sikh perspective
At the time of Guru Nanak (the founder of Sikhism) Sikhi was clearly a
religion of peace.
No one is my enemy
No one is a foreigner
With all I am at peace
God within us renders us
Incapable of hate and prejudice
(Guru Nanak)
Guru Nanak proved to be a significant prophet of change who initiated, caused
and introduced an objective and universal vision of human rights in the sixteenth
century Punjab, which Sikhs live by all over the world in society today. With this
awareness began the construction of a new society based on an objective system
of moral values, social justice and individual rights, which resulted in the
emergence of the Sikh path to meet the historical challenges of the time.
The evolution of the Sikh view
From the time of the fifth Nanak, Guru Arjan Dev, Sikhi became increasingly
revolutionary, but only in response to oppression and attempts to suppress
minority communities living within India. The sixth Nanak, Guru Har Gobind,
thought that military action would sometimes be needed to promote the cause
of justice and protect the innocent from attack. The tenth Nanak, Guru Gobind
Singh, gave the Sikhs the mission of fighting against oppression and formed
the Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh made it clear that military action was to be the
last resort, but emphasised that it should not be avoided if proved necessary.
If all other means fail, recourse to violence and war as the last
resort is fair and just.
Zafarnama-Guru Gobind Singh (Tenth Nanak)
Clearly, violence is not just a physical thing, and there are three ways of
responding to violence.
• Firstly, we could witness acts of violence and become a silent spectator
or become depressed at our inability to cope with the situation.
• The second scenario is to observe the act of injustice but run away,
pretending nothing happened or denying the truth.
• The third option is considered the Sikh way, which is to acknowledge
the state of affairs, stand up to the truth and do something about it.
A last resort
Violence itself does not have great significance in Sikhi. It is more about using
every possible resource to avoid confrontation and maintain peace. Violence is
considered the option after the last option.
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At Sunday School and in community workshops I grew up listening to stories
through which it was constantly reiterated that to turn a blind eye or walk
away from a situation in which someone or something was being taken
advantage of was very unSikh-like. I never really understood or valued what
that meant until I reached secondary school and was bullied every day in the
playground for my colour, my height and my long hair. Was this part of the
violence or injustice that I was taught to stand up against? Why was it then
that those around me in no way felt obliged to help me?
One who does not frighten anyone, and who is not afraid of
anyone else, says Nanak, listen, mind: call him spiritually wise.
(SGGS)
In the face of evil you can’t stand by and do nothing
It was then that Guru Nanak’s principle of sanctioning the use of force for a
righteous cause gave me hope and strength to seek help and not blame myself
for who I was or the predicament I found myself in. Thereafter, reference to
the words, ‘You need to be cruel to be kind,’ were suddenly not as alien to me
as I reached university.
It was both the duty and responsibility of religious people to resist aggression
and brutality. Guru Nanak’s spiritual system involved the use of all available
tools including reason and judicious use of force for the purposeful
progression of humans.
In Guru Nanak’s time Babar invaded India and brought much carnage,
destruction and humiliation to the Indian people. Guru Nanak was a witness
to Babul’s massacre at Ennead (now in Pakistan). In his great vision on the
destiny of nation, Guru Nanak raised his voice in divine indignation at Babar’s
invasion. He lamented the loss of nation and deplored the brutality of the
invaders and unpreparedness of the local Afghan rulers. He went to the extent
of voicing a protest to God, as the guardian of man, for allowing the weak to
be oppressed by the strong.
In doing so he was in fact clearly laying one of the basic principles of his
religion. It is implied that in the vision of Guru Nanak, if in any field of life
there is aggression or injustice, the religious man cannot remain neutral; he
must react in a righteous way. Sikhs are not expected to walk away from
problems or troubles and are in fact invited to act as saint soldiers in life. In
the home or in a social setting the community must address issues and offer
positive answers based on the truth regardless of personal interests. This is
the logical corollary to the householder’s life he advocated. Therefore, the
traditionally created barriers of socio-political segments and religious
particularism were deemed artificial and were, once and for all, broken for the
religious man.
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The Guru’s existing social system and the oppression of the political set-up
provided the Sikhs with a meaning for their existence and motivated them to
change their attitudes and life values and brought them awareness of their
self-respect, human rights and social responsibilities.
Relevance today
A clear example of this was after 9/11. I was part of a team invited by
Scotland Yard to voice their concerns about mistaken identity and hate crimes
and ‘race relations’. The first person to be killed in the USA as a result of a
hate crime was in fact a Sikh husband and father called Balbir Singh Sodhi
who was attacked at his petrol pump by a group of young Americans.
Immediately a campaign was set up worldwide.
At this meeting, much to the surprise of the inspectors involved, our concerns
were not to assist Sikhs or protect them alone as a result of the violence but
to set up a hate-crime reporting line for all minority communities, especially
Muslim and Hindu brothers and sisters. A community-led effort was initiated
to act as volunteers at mandhirs, mosques and gurdwaras alike. As a teacher,
I was part of a team of youth workers going out educating schools, youth
groups and teachers about restoring trust and refusing to pay attention to
messages or scenarios of hate and violence disseminated by the media and
other groups.
It is fair to say that the concept of the Just War does appear in the Sikh faith and
is Dharam Yudh, meaning war in the defence of righteousness. In such a war:
• the war must be the last resort - all other ways of resolving the conflict
must be tried first
• the motive must not be revenge or enmity
• the army must not include mercenaries
• the army must be disciplined
• only the minimum force needed for success should be used
• civilians must not be harmed
• there must be no looting, territory must not be annexed, property
taken must be returned
This is similar to the ideas contained in the western Just War theory. Sikhs
also believe that treaties and cease-fires must be honoured, places of worship
(of any faith) should not be damaged, and soldiers who surrender should not
be harmed. The crucial difference from Just War theory is that Sikhs believe
that, if a war is just, it should be undertaken even if it cannot be won.
The Guru’s use of a liberative and restorative aspect of violence to rupture
history and its established power system created a new way of life with
determined ‘spirit-born’ people in a radically recognized environment.
(Gurbhagat Singh)
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A Buddhist perspective
Buddhism is widely perceived as a religion of non-violence and people often
quote from the Dhammapada: ‘Hate does not appease hate’ and ‘Do good,
refrain from wrong, purify the mind’. I thought as part of this exploration I
would surf the internet for some resources and then was reminded by the
search outcomes of some of the Buddhist countries and their use of violence,
especially Burma. With the training that I have had as a Buddhist I am
reminded to reflect (a non-thinking process)3 or contemplate (a thinking
process) on the subject.
As with all religions, the religions in themselves are empty unless they have
people. It’s not the religion that kills, it is people who kill other people. Abbot
Ajahn (teacher) Sumedho at Amaravati, the monastery where I live, says if
people would just keep the First Buddhist Precept and did not kill humans for
just one day, what an effect it would have on the world! You can apply the
same precept of not killing to our thoughts and that would have a profound
effect. I always like to explore the words - terrorism - the root of terrorism is
terror or fear.
Buddhist scriptures do not say much about fear or stress. Indeed most Asian
languages that have a Buddhist influence do not have direct translations for
the words ‘fear’ and ‘stress’. Most Asian monks coming to the West over the
last few decades were completely baffled by Westerners talking about stress or
fear: the Buddha only talked about suffering, although this is not a good
translation of what the Buddha was describing. The word fear does not appear
in the Buddhist Scriptures very much, it was just not something people
focused their energy on. Things have changed in Asian countries, so these
words have become more common and Asian monks now understand Western
ways a bit more. The other part of terrorism is ‘ism’. An ‘ism’ is a dogma or
theory, so terrorism is a theory of fear. It’s the way other people frighten us.
Is it all in the mind?
The Buddhist attitude is one of learning how to use the mind so that we are in
control of it, and it is not in control of us. The control is not one of reins and
restraints but understanding. Fear has a natural use, it’s like when you’re
walking through the jungle and you see a big tiger your body says ‘whoa’ - the
body is designed to take all the energy from non-essential resources and focus
your mind. Your body gets wound up ready to fight or run. Are you excited
3
Reflecting is a non-thinking process - it’s one of opening to the way things are - it’s a recognition
not an agreement. In order to be able to do this, an attitude of receiving is helpful - you need to have
some space to do that. Space comes from stilling the mind; it’s a bit like adding watercolour to a pot
of water - if you stir it up, it gets dirty; and if you stop stirring, the colour goes to the bottom and the
water is clear. This receiving is like a mirror: a mirror does not judge you or give any viewpoint, it
allows you to be the way you are. More information can be found at http://www.amaravati.org
under teaching and e-articles (especially ‘Intuitive Awareness’ by Ajahn Sumedho).
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right now? It’s very exciting fear, it makes you feel alive. That’s why so many
people like funfairs or dangerous sports: it makes them feel alive or just
makes them feel that they have a body. So, the idea is that after the tiger goes
away, you calm down, let go of the fear and carry on. Unfortunately, most
people are unable to do the last part, and so they hold the fear and continue
feeding the fear. Their systems are always in a state of anxiety or stress: they
want to fight you or run away from you. It’s not a very peaceful place. When
you learn how your mind/body works, then you can respond to a situation
much more easily.
A terrorist, on the other hand, is in the same situation as the person or
persons they are applying the violence to. An ‘ist’ is a person that adheres to a
certain doctrine or custom. A terrorist believes the only way out is violence.
The only response is violence. Again this is a person whose main mental state
is fear: a person that is not in control of their mind. Here is an example that
helps one understand this mental state as a monk. I was on the underground
waiting for a train, when a very big muscular bloke started coming up to me.
Now, as monks, we choose non-violence and yet the mind said this bloke is
going to hit me and my heart was beating - I was a bit flustered. Anyway, I
waited and he came up and I - to be honest - had my hand under my robe
ready - just in case. As he came up to me he put his palms together and
asked where he could get a certain Buddhist book from. I learnt a lot from
that experience.
Is it anger?
Also we tend to confuse anger with violence and suppress people when they
get angry, thus confusing it with violence. With babies, we tend not to respond
in this way; we just say: ‘Ah, the poor little thing needs something.’ Actually,
for myself, I think anger is the wrong word; it’s more like passion. On a
number of occasions we have had somebody come to the monastery and get
rather upset and I’d just be with the person. For men, it is really important
that we physically release the energy first and then see what is under that,
because most of our energy is held in our muscles. Most people are unable to
just be with the raw energy of passion, or even watch somebody expressing it
in a safe way.
What’s your intention?
There is a lot of talk about responsibility these days; the way I use that word
is the ability to respond that does not imply a burden, or any ‘shoulds’ or
‘should nots’ - it’s a flow, a knowing. This is a major problem with
morality/ethics per se: religions tend to make morality a fixed set of rules. If
you are in this situation, then do this - it’s not very flexible. What goes along
with morality in Buddhism is intention: what is your motivation for doing that
act? Are you wanting to harm a person for the sake of a belief that you think
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is more important than another person’s belief? Or are you wanting to protect
that person? In Buddhism, if you are not clear with your intention, it’s better
not to act. The good/bad thing can get very complicated but a simple
guideline is: would the same act done to yourself harm or hurt you? In
Buddhist language, we watch our actions.
Action in the Buddhist scriptural language of Pali is kamma (karma in
Sanskrit). Again put very simply it is that the result of your action will have
some sort of effect. In scientific language it is cause and effect. Try and do
something that you consider bad and then investigate how you feel. Try and
do something good, notice how you feel. So, the point I’m making here with all
this is that, unless you have met your own inner terrorist, the part of your
make-up that wants to hurt somebody really badly, you are in no position to
tell anybody else to stop doing that.
Two sides of the same coin
In Buddhism, we talk about the dualistic nature of the mind: when you have
right you get wrong for free: when you have good, you get bad for free. It’s like
a coin - heads and tails - you don’t just get tails. From the Buddhist
perspective, it is to know both and then observe both these states and,
ultimately, free yourself from the whole thing by realising you are the whole
thing anyway. As Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace
activist, describes in his poem ‘Please Call Me by My True Names’
(http://www.allspirit.co.uk/nhathanh.html#names)
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.
My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.
Forgiveness
In my opinion, the greatest tool to alleviate the cycle of terrorism is
forgiveness. Forgiveness is a something that we do and we have to learn how
to do.4 Forgiveness has the word ‘give’ in it - what can we give to that situation
or person? We could simply remember that a person, however bad, must have
done one good thing in their lives, even if it was to stroke a dog. From the
Buddhist perspective of metta (loving kindness) we recognise the situation, it
does not mean we agree or even like it, but we allow it to be what it is. We
choose to use our energy in a way that leads firstly to our own inner harmony
and then outward.
4
A forgiving process I learnt from Binnie Dansby www.sourcebreath.com
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In February 2006 Carl Teichrib wrote in an article5 on religion and war that in
terms of statistics religions have not been the main perpetrators of wars. So
the real jihad, a word that derives from Sanskrit, and as most Islamic people
will tell you means striving/struggle. In Buddhist language the ‘right effort’ to
understand who we really are and how we can best serve one another and our
communities. Here are a few more statistics6:
• You are more likely in America to die from a peanut allergy than a
terrorist.
• Six times more people annually are killed by drunk drivers in America
than were killed on 9/11.
• The number of deaths annually worldwide from terrorism since the
State Department started recording them in 1960 is the same number
of people who drown every year in a bathtub.
In conclusion I am suggesting the best effort is to know oneself thoroughly, to
explore and investigate on all levels, in all areas, what is the truth. To know
your own inner terrorists, and to turn that into one that serves you and the
world. And a very helpful tool along the way is forgiveness. Please take what
you like or none at all from all of this, the important thing is to notice how it
affects you.
5
Carl Teichrib wrote in an article on religion and war (February 2006) that can be accessed on the
internet at http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/006/teichrib/war.htm
6
There was a fascinating article in the New York Review of Books, 30 November 2006, by Max
Rodenbeck. In this article he reviews Harvard professor Louise Richardson’s book called What
Terrorists want.
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CHAPTER THREE
FREEDOM AND AUTHORITY
BIG QUESTIONS: Why do I have to obey rules?
Am I free? Who’s in charge?
Who should I listen to?
Should I always obey the rules?
Why can’t I do what I want?
Am I free to be exactly what I want?
Why should I listen to old books telling me what to do?
Does freedom lead to happiness?
COMMON THEMES:
All the worldviews have a lot in common on this theme
• Freedom (linked to equality) is one of the highest goods
• Freedom brings with it responsibility
• Freedom does not mean freedom from rules of right and wrong - to do
what we like
• Key freedoms are freedom of thought, religion or belief, from
oppression and discrimination
• All worldviews have some authorities or examples - whether scriptures,
laws or great teachers – to whom they may refer in measuring their
beliefs and actions
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Hindu contribution emphasises:
• Hinduism does not impose a strict hierarchy or institutional
authority as it recognises the need for teachings to evolve with the
times
• Figures of authority are personalities (ancient and modern) who claim
first hand God (or spiritual) experience
• Codes of conduct are open to evolution and must take into account
changing circumstances
• No code of conduct is set in stone. Shruti (or texts of authority) should
always be used with Yukti (meaning interpreted rationally)
The Humanist contribution emphasises:
• The greatest freedom is the liberty to pursue one’s own ideal of the
good life
• Absolute freedom of enquiry and belief is essential to human
prosperity and progress
• These freedoms must not interfere with or constrain the freedom and
happiness of others
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• Humanists do not defer unquestioningly to any authority, in fact they
question all authority
• Humanists do place trust in the authority of acknowledged experts in
their fields
The Jewish contribution emphasises:
• That many Jewish traditions see it as a virtue to challenge authority
• All Jewish law Torah and scriptures are subject to rabbinical and
human interpretation
• Orthodox Jews give greater authority to conformity with the written
laws
• Progressive Jews accept the written authority, but give a greater
weight to individual and community debate and decision
• Rabbis have authority derived from their knowledge, but have no
special powers
The Muslim contribution emphasises:
• Freedom as a universal value given as a gift from God equally to
all
• Freedom is freedom to work for the good of others, not unfettered
freedom
• Authority comes from Allah and his word, as transmitted in the
Qur’an and teachings
• Human freedom cannot overrule Allah’s will and knowledge of the
world (destiny) which is absolute
• So the foundation of freedom for the Muslim is submission to the will
of Allah
• Freedom of religious expression for all faiths, and freedom of thought
are divine injunctions
• Muslims are accountable for their own actions: they must not simply
follow the orders of religious leaders
The Sikh contribution emphasises:
• Freedom to develop into the ideal Sikh, is defined by the Gurus as
both liberated and liberating
• Freedom is freedom to live a spiritual life, free from anger, hatred, pain
and desire
• Political and social freedom are essential - to live free from oppression
on grounds of caste, class or gender
• Authority is found in the scriptures, the writings of the ten Gurus
• The Jathedar (Pope) in Amritsar has the authority to issue guidance
which must be obeyed
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The Buddhist contribution emphasises:
• Ultimate freedom is freedom from attachment to anything: your self,
views, body etc
• The Buddha’s last words “Be an island unto yourself - be your own
authority”
• Such authority means taking total responsibility for all your actions,
body, speech and mind
The Christian contribution emphasises:
• Harmonious communication between God’s authority as creator and
humanity is always being spoiled by human sin
• For the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments and the Law are the
authority for man to be in harmony with God
• Jesus saw his own life, death and resurrection and teachings as
fulfilling the law, which gives enormous freedom - to live and love in
harmony with God and all humans
• Freedom is therefore about being set free from sin to love God and
follow in His Way
• Churches exist to give support to Christians on this Way and therefore
are sources of authority (eg for Catholics the Pope, for Anglicans the
Bishop.
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A Hindu perspective
Religions have traditionally claimed an authority over their adherents in terms
of the standards of conduct they demand, lifestyle to be led and religious
doctrines that are to be accepted. It is claimed that this authority comes from
God or a higher spiritual source and is passed down to humanity through
some form of revelation. In previous ages, religion was often associated with
secular authorities and so was able to enforce its rules and beliefs on the
population, but today the acceptance of religious authority is usually of a
voluntary nature. This means that individuals are free to follow, or ignore, the
doctrines of their religion, though they may be excluded from the religious
society if they deviate too far from its norm in terms of belief or practice.
Different religions allow different levels of individual freedom and the basis for
the authority they claim can also vary. For example, the authority can lie in
the religious institution and its leaders, in teachers or gurus who are believed
to be spiritually advanced, in the words of revealed scripture, in family and
community or occasionally in the personal realisation of individual believers.
In this last case personal freedom will be emphasised but it is rather unusual
for religions to go too far down this path.
The place of personal choice and inspiration
If we look at each of these potential sources of authority in relation to
Hinduism then we can make the following observations. Hinduism as a whole
has no institutional structure and there is no hierarchy or group of leaders
that all Hindus are expected to follow. Rather there are a large number of
smaller sects and hierarchies within the wider Hindu tradition and individuals
who are adherents of these sects will regard the leaders as authority figures.
However, the majority of Hindus do not belong to any of these institutions and
so are not bound by institutional authority. Furthermore, there are many
teachers of Hinduism who are recognised as being spiritually awakened and
advanced and these gurus attract groups of followers around them. Again,
however, it is only a minority of Hindus who attach themselves to a specific
teacher in this way and come to accept him or her as their guiding authority.
And in any case to do so is very much a matter of personal choice and
inspiration.
The role of the community
For Hindus the main point of authority has traditionally been the extended
family and the clan group or community one belongs to. Families and
communities have their traditional values, lifestyles and rituals which they
adhere to and it is expected that individuals within a community will conform
to these. In previous centuries this was a very serious threat as individuals
were economically dependent upon their family and community, but in the
modern era that constraint is less pressing and acceptance of community
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authority has become more of a voluntary matter. For most Hindus, however,
respect for parents and family elders remains a very important principle and
these still represent the main source of authority in matters of religion, ethics,
diet and conduct.
The role of scriptures
Hindu scriptures are divided into two categories. The scriptures of authority
are called the Shrutis and scriptures of lower authority are called the Smritis.
Within the Shrutis (Vedas - or ‘books of knowledge’) we find ‘Upanishads’
which are the expression of spiritual experiences. They form the philosophic
heart of Hindu teachings. They are poetic in nature and talk about the nature
of reality. The secondary scriptures called the Smritis are mostly the
narratives of Hinduism and present esoteric Upanishadic teachings in a story
format. They contain legendary tales of Gods and Goddesses and also the
epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The law books are also considered to be
scriptures of lower authority because their teachings are viewed as contextual
and open to evolution.
More servant than master
Revelation by the seers (called Rishis) of the Upanishads are given the highest
authority in Hinduism, but the same scriptures comment that spirituality
cannot be encapsulated in any text, including the Upanishads. So though
scriptures are seen as valuable, at best they are only pointers to spirituality
and not spirituality. The humility expressed in the scriptures of authority is
very telling. It recognises that spirituality can never be captured through
words; it has to be experiential rather than intellectual. The scriptures of
lower authority which include the law books, also affirm that they come with a
sell-by date. Modern proponents of Hinduism offer both Shruti and Smriti
scriptures that are more suited to their time. This is the evolving nature of
Hinduism that recognises the need as well as limitations of their scriptures.
The truth is within
The Kena Upanishad makes a very important point when it insists that the
absolute spiritual truth is to be found within the heart of every one of us. The
absolute reality is beyond words and even thoughts and hence it cannot be
wholly revealed through scripture; it can, however, be directly realised by one
who is advanced on the spiritual path. For this reason Hindus place a lot of
importance on personal realisation and in terms of doctrine and belief each
individual is free to follow his or her own path, although this is much less the
case in terms of conduct and lifestyle where family and community still act as
a significant authority.
Each one of us is on our own spiritual path and we will reach our own goals
as individuals. We will be assisted in our progress by the resources provided
by the Hindu tradition - scriptures, teachers, sacred dances, temples, priests,
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etc - but ultimately we must take responsibility for our own spiritual
advancement. This understanding means that Hindus are allowed a great
deal of personal freedom in terms of their own spirituality and a wide range of
different beliefs and spiritual practices is accepted and endorsed within our
tradition. It has also meant that Hindus tend to be tolerant of other belief
systems (provided this tolerance is reciprocated) and will rarely hold the view
that ours is only the path and the only truth. According to the Veda, ekam
sad-vipra bahudha vadanti, ‘learned teachers speak of the one truth in many
different ways’, and it is up to individuals to find the interpretation of the
truth that most inspires them. Ultimately, the goal is the same but the roads
to it are many and each of us must choose our own path.
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A Humanist perspective
Freedom is highly valued by humanists and the prime ‘freedom’ that is
envisaged as an aim is the freedom to pursue one’s own ideal of the good life,
in so far as it does not compromise the freedom and happiness of others.
Freedom as the essence of human prosperity
Freedom was especially important to early humanists in Europe where they
faced persecution and death for their beliefs under Christendom, as many still
do in other parts of the world. So freedom has come to be seen by humanists
as essential for human prosperity.
In the heart of every man is indelibly imprinted the love of liberty.
The more generous his temper, and the more noble his nature, the
more securely does this love exist within it...
William Godwin (1756-1836)
Freethinkers
Free thought has been an especially important part of the humanist tradition
- many early humanists, especially in the nineteenth and early twentieth
century, were described as ‘freethinkers’. They believed - as humanists today
believe - that freedom of thought, belief and enquiry are sound ways to
encourage human prosperity and social and intellectual progress.
Freedom of thought does not mean that a man’s thought and
speech can be free without bringing him any ill-will, unkindness,
alienation of what is necessary to his or her happiness. It means
that every honest thinker shall be encouraged.
Moncure Conway (1832-1907)
To advance knowledge and to correct errors, unrestricted freedom of
discussion is required. History shows that knowledge grew when
speculation was perfectly free in Greece, and that in modern times,
since restrictions on inquiry have been entirely removed, it has
advanced with a velocity that would seem diabolical to the slaves of
the medieval church... If the history of civilisation has anything to
teach us it is this: there is one supreme condition of mental and
moral progress which it is completely in the power of man himself to
secure, and that is perfect liberty of thought and discussion.
John Bury (1861-1927)
Questioning authority
There are no authorities to which humanists automatically defer - indeed
humanists count it a virtue always to question authority of every sort.
Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always
contrary authorities to be found.
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
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I disbelieve in spiritual authority, however sincerely exercised and
however nobly garbed. It is right to be respectful to other
individuals and indeed to certain individuals, and to listen to what
they have to say: one knows little enough and must seize every
opportunity. But to believe anything because someone has said it,
or because some institution has promulgated it seems dead wrong.
E M Forster (1879-1970)
Trust
But just because humanists like to think for themselves doesn’t mean there
are not other people whose words they trust and whom they view as
authorities on some issues. For example, one might view a scientist who has
made detailed studies of outer space as an authority in her field. One could
never repeat all the experiments that this scientist has done to gain the
authority we believe she has, and so it might appear that we accept her
authority merely on faith. But the reason that humanists would view her as
an authority is that they know that she has, though with greater knowledge,
relied on the same method of coming to her conclusions that other humanists
would follow if they had been in her place. It perhaps makes more sense to
call this faith in authority trust - there are authorities in their fields in whom
humanists would place their trust.
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A Jewish perspective
There is a very famous story told in the Talmud (Baba Metzia 59a) about a
discussion over an oven. The oven in question was a new invention, by a man
called Achnai. Achnai brought his new oven to the rabbinical court so that
they could declare it appropriate for Jewish use (a bit like getting a CE stamp
on a toy so people know it’s safe to use!). With the exception of Rabbi Eliezer,
every Rabbi in the court declared that the oven was un-kosher (not
permissible). Rabbi Eliezer brought forward every possible argument to try
and convince the others that the oven was kosher, but none of his colleagues
was budging. Rabbi Eliezer was getting frustrated, and he shouted at them: ‘If
Achnai’s oven is in fact kosher, as I say it is, then let this carob tree prove it!’
And the carob tree flew out of the ground and landed a hundred cubits away.
Unimpressed, the other sages retorted: ‘No proof can be brought from a carob
tree.’
Again Rabbi Eliezer: ‘If the oven is kosher, then let the stream of water prove
it.’ And the stream of water flowed backwards.
‘No proof can be brought from a stream of water,’ the rabbis answered.
More frustrated than ever, Rabbi Eliezer cried out: ‘If the oven is kosher, as I
say it is, let the walls of this house of study prove it!’ And the walls began to
fall inward.
But Rabbi Joshua wasn’t impressed by the collapsing walls, saying to them:
‘When scholars are engaged in a disagreement over a point of Jewish law,
what right do you have to interfere?’
And so the walls did not fall in honour of Rabbi Joshua, but neither did they
resume their upright position in honour of Rabbi Eliezer.
Again Rabbi Eliezer said to the sages, ‘If the law agrees with me regarding the
fact that Achnai’s oven is kosher, then let heaven prove it.’
And a voice from heaven cried out: ‘Why do you rabbis argue with Eliezer?
He’s always right in his interpretation of the law!’
But Rabbi Joshua arose and exclaimed to the sky: ‘“It is not in Heaven.”
[Quoting Deuteronomy 30:12.] One must follow the majority!’
At that moment, the sages say, God laughed, saying, ‘My children have
defeated me! My children have overruled me!’
Authority requires interpretation
This story is brought time and again to demonstrate the importance of human
authority over even the texts that many believe God has given us. Indeed it is
often felt that the Torah cannot be understood without interpretation, and this
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is why we have such a strong tradition of legal discussion and interpretation without it, it is argued, we would not be able to execute or understand the
laws fully.
Informed decision-making
As a Progressive Jew, freedom and authority are key concepts in my own
belief in how Judaism has functioned and can function for today. I am a firm
advocate of the Progressive ideal of informed decision-making. This means
that we each have the freedom to decide how our Judaism works best for us,
but that this means we have to take on the responsibility of informing
ourselves! This can make for a challenging, but very interesting life! For all
sectors of the community, educating ourselves enough to stay informed and
thus exercise our freedom and authority responsibly, whether within Jewish
Law, or using it as a guidance system along with other factors, is an ongoing
challenge. Thus freedom always, within Judaism, involves (and is perhaps
limited by) responsibility; whether that is responsibility to educate oneself, or
to act justly - a major injunction, or to keep within certain agreed boundaries.
These boundaries may vary from community to community, and vary from
strict and clear laws to values and morals, but exist for all.
The authority of Torah
For the Orthodox community, authority will rest in part with the written legal
tradition (drawn from Torah but not only found in Torah), and this will be
interpreted by each community’s rabbi, who would be knowledgeable in the
law and custom of their particular community (which will differ somewhat
depending on where in the Jewish world the community is from). For
Progressive Jews, the law and Torah have a vote which carries some authority,
but they do not have a veto, and an individual may make decisions drawing
on knowledge from various parts of their life. This means you can find a huge
variety of practices within Judaism, whether because of a community’s
customs, or an individual’s engagement and choices within their community.
Freedom exists within Jewish law and interpretation, and Torah is for us to
interpret, but authority is given to the sages of old, and, to a degree, modern
rabbis and heads of communities. But rabbis do not have any special powers
and are no more special than any other person; they may receive respect for
their knowledge and authority, but many Jews are very learned, and can lead
services and can teach and read from Torah, without the help and authority of
a rabbi.
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A Muslim perspective
Freedom. It is, perhaps, a state to which every living creature aspires to - not
only humans, but animals as well. It would, I think, be difficult to find a
single human who would not wish to be ‘free’. Likewise, if a bird is placed in a
cage; and one day the door happens to be left open, then that bird will surely
fly out. Take a cat into a small room and close the door - you will see that it
will immediately go to the door and scratch away ... neither wish to remain in
a locked, enclosed environment.
Freedom, then, is not a religious or ‘non-religious’ idea, nor an ‘Eastern’ or a
‘Western’; ancient or modern - it is a universal concept, one which has been
treasured by humankind since time immemorial.
Freedom and equality
Muslims believe that in order to be able to live with and in freedom, then one
must equally wish and work for the freedom of others. Freedom and equality
are interrelated. Freedom cannot be achieved without the application of
equality. However, it is important to remember that freedom in Islam means
freedom to do what is deemed good and wholesome, not unfettered freedom.
In the Arabic language the word hurr does not mean only ‘free’, it also means
‘noble’. Islamic teachings emphasise human dignity, and a Muslim believes it
is freedom that brings dignity to human beings. Thus, human beings cannot
be called honoured and dignified unless they are free.
Divine authority and free will
Closely related to this point is the concept of Divine authority and free will. A
Muslim believes that human freedom cannot go against Allah’s power and
knowledge. He/she believes in Allah’s qada’ and qadar (destiny and
predetermination). This means that Allah knows everything of past, present and
future, and He has power over everything. However, by His own will and power,
Allah has given humans the freedom to choose. He gave us free will, but this
does not mean that He does not know what we do or He has no power over us.
The concept of freedom is also not against the Islamic concept of `ubudiyyah
(service) to Allah. Islam itself gives a Muslim the idea of freedom as well as that
of service and obedience to our Creator. The foundation of Islam is submission
to Allah alone. Therefore, the Islamic concept of freedom is to remove any
absolute authority over the individual, for such authority negates the very gifts
that Allah has granted him. Submission to Allah is by necessity realised within
the context of freedom. It is intrinsically tied in with responsibility.
Freedom in Islam is not freedom from moral obligations and responsibilities or
freedom from truth, justice, virtue and righteousness. Islam teaches that
freedom from these values is not freedom, but anarchy and corruption...
human beings should be free mentally and spiritually, as well as physically.
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Freedom of religion
For example, an oft-cited verse is ‘Let there be no compulsion in religion’.
(Qur’an, Chapter 2, verse 256.) The reasons behind the enshrinement of the
freedom to practise one’s chosen faith are interesting to note. Prior to the
arrival of Islam in the Arabian peninsula, leaders of the two largest tribes of
Madinah, the Aws and Khazraj, had made a solemn covenant that all their
male progeny would be brought up as devout Jews as an expression of
gratitude for the blessing of sons. Later on, when many members had
embraced Islam, some families insisted that their offspring should do the same.
This verse was then revealed, asserting the principle of freedom of religion.
It is also important to be aware that, for a Muslim, this concept is not one
that has come about as a result of revolution or societal evolution. It is
believed to be a Divine injunction, and one that has limits, just like any other
freedom. For instance, should a person avail themselves of this freedom of
allegiance to a particular faith, this would be deemed a sacred obligation, not
to be taken lightly. (Chapter 3, verse 72).
Freedom of thought
A second ‘freedom’ which a Muslim cherishes most dearly is freedom of
independent thought and individual accountability - more on this point in the
section on Judgement and Salvation. A Muslim is constantly being exhorted to
rely on his/her own independence of thought and reminded that Allah rejects
the argument of people who may say: ‘We followed our leaders or elders who
misguided us.’ (An interesting thought, given current global political
dynamics.)
Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and
minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to
hear? Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts are
in their breasts.
(Chapter 22, verse 46)
It therefore follows that freedom to debate, have a dialogue and interact with
various other belief systems is not only permitted, but truly praiseworthy. In
fact, Muslims are commanded to defend other faiths with the same
assiduousness that they would their own:
Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there
would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches,
synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of God is
commemorated in abundant measure. Allah will certainly aid those
who aid his (cause) - for verily Allah is full of strength, exalted in
might, able to enforce his will.
(Chapter 22, verse 41)
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Other freedoms
So, people should be free to practise their religion, but they should not force
their religion on others. Similarly, Islam allows freedom of expression, but
people should not utter falsehoods and lies. Islam teaches political freedom so
that people choose their leaders by their own consent, and if the leaders are
dishonest or incapable then people remove them from office. Islam allows
economic freedom. People should be free to earn and to own as much as they
want, but without indulging in fraud, deception and cheating.
In the Qur’an the concept of freedom is described with many words and
expressions, such as hurr (free) or tahrir (making a slave free); najat
(protection, salvation); fawz (reaching the target, achieving the goal); and falah
(total wellbeing, flowering of the potential, fulfilment of latent qualities). In the
Hadith (Prophetic sayings and traditions) it is called `itq (emancipation and
liberation).
To conclude, a Muslim believes that freedom has both positive and negative
connotations: freedom for, and freedom from. If he/she is to be free to lead a
happy, healthy, prosperous, moral and dignified life - then that will
necessitate being free to worship, to express themselves, to earn, to have a
family, and to have a government of their choice.
On the other hand, a Muslim wants people to be free from economic, political
and social oppression. A Muslim wants people to be free from materialism,
selfishness and religious persecution. Finally and most importantly, A Muslim
aspires to be ‘free’ from Hell and to live happily in Paradise in the Hereafter ...
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A Sikh perspective
Guru Gobind Singh ji ‘effectually roused the dormant energy of a
vanquished people, and filled them with a lofty although fitful
longing for social freedom and national ascendancy.’
J D Cunningham
Freedom to develop
The ideal conscious person defined by the Sikh Gurus is both liberated and
liberating. There are various levels of freedom and I endeavour to touch on
them all briefly. First and foremost is the transformation of a person’s
consciousness - this is the most vital aspect of freedom. We have the freedom
to be spiritual, to follow a dharma, a spiritual discipline, if we choose, but
many of us search deep within ourselves to live life free from anger, hatred,
pain and desire.
Consider freedom from desire to be the ear-rings of the Guru’s
spiritual wisdom. The True Lord, the Soul of all, dwells within each
and every heart.
(SGGS p. 940)
The knowledge or the ability to realise that we have no limitations as humans
and are able to push ourselves beyond the boundaries that the physical world
sets upon us is itself a freeing experience. I am reminded of the ‘nothing is
impossible’ campaign launched by Adidas when they found a 93-year-old Sikh
named Fauja Singh: he became the ambassador for their advertising as he
was the oldest runner in Britain to complete the London marathon and beat
his own record.
Social freedom
Social freedom is another important aspect as caste, slavery and class (in
India) were huge obstacles in the past, and the Sikh gurus rose to the
challenge by creating the Khalsa. This is the initiation ceremony given to those
who commit to the faith and choose to walk on the path of human honour,
dignity and freedom. All men are called Singh and all women are called Kaur,
and the surnames that reflect caste were purposely abolished. The
assumption that people from a particular area or caste were limited to a
certain occupation was immediately lifted. As a member of the Khalsa, we
become part of one family and join the brotherhood of humanity.
Freedom for women
Another reason for giving women the surname Kaur was to provide freedom
from paternal and then marital status. When a woman moves from one family
to another she must adopt different names as a result of family links. The
Gurus liberated her from this system by awarding her the royal title princess
(the literal meaning of Kaur).
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Sikhism is a way of life that enlightens humans about living as
liberated beings.
Gurbhagat Singh
In addition, there was a breakthrough in freedom for women; equality was
high on the Sikh agenda - women were trained as missionaries in the early
seventeenth century and sent out to teach and preach in villages in the
Punjab.
Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations
come.
So why call her bad? From her, kings are born.
From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no
one at all.
(SGGS p. 473)
The most liberating phenomenon that arose for women was that the ancient
practice of sati, which involved burning women alive on the funeral pyre once
their husbands died, was strictly abolished by the third Nanak, Guru
Amardas. Pardhah: veiling of the face and body was also a practice that the
Gurus spoke strongly against. A woman should not be denied the freedom to
dress as she pleased, and it should be the men who needed to be conscious of
and take responsibility for the way they looked upon and treated women.
These thoughts improved the lives and liberated all women in India and were
not contested by the Gurus on behalf of Sikh women alone.
Economic and political freedom
The Gurus also looked at economic freedom: they stood against exploitation of
peasants and had several encounters with emperors, confronting and
condemning them for the unjust taxes they were imposing on the poor.
Political freedom was another hot topic that they voiced their concerns over state oppression was never accepted.
If your living means suffering indignities, then fie on your being
alive.
(SGGS p. 579)
According to Sikh beliefs, no state has the authority over an
individual conscience and therefore cannot impose a particular
type of philosophy on the people through political force.
G S Sidhu
Religious freedom
Religious freedom was in the past and is today very close to the hearts of
every Sikh. Oppressors in the past tried hard to destroy minority faith groups
in India, and Sikhism, being the youngest of all the major faith groups, was
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an easy target. In the West, young people growing up in the Sikh faith struggle
with an identity crisis and suffer for fear of not being allowed to practise their
beliefs. In France, for example, young Sikh boys are not allowed to attend
school wearing their turbans, which protect their long uncut hair. The state
law forbids any religious symbolism in schools, not allowing Muslim, Jewish
or Christian children to wear any signs of their faith.
How is this so-called ‘laïque’ law giving freedom to its citizens? Suppression of
people, their language, culture, and the right to wear certain clothes or
colours was considered an ancient practice, how then has it come about in
society today? Do we really live in societies that practise ‘liberté, égalité,
fraternité’ (freedom, equality and brotherhood)?
The ninth Nanak, Guru Tegh Bahadur, sacrificed his life for the sake of
freedom of worship of another faith, Hinduism. He was beheaded in Delhi by
the emperor Aurangzeb, as he was in disagreement with him. He opposed the
rule which was to deny people the freedom of belief. He protested that all
beings were free to practise what was natural to them. The Kashmiri Pandits
begged Guru Tegh Bahadur to save them from forced conversions; he took up
the challenge and as a result he was sacrificed, along with many of his
followers.
Freedom is another form of truth and by being true to oneself - keeping one’s
unique and beautiful identity - we maintain the freedom given to us by God at
birth. Our rights are confirmed to us as part of the divine law. Neither our
society nor our community traditions have the capability to prevent us from
living free if we so choose.
Authority
The Siri Guru Granth Sahib is the senior most spiritual authority in every
Sikh’s life. There is a physical seat of authority, which is held by the Jathedar
(equivalent to the Pope, appointed by the community) in the Akal Thakhat,
seat of spiritual and political power in Amritsar, Panjab.
A revered member of the Sikh clergy holds this post and he or she is able to
deliver Hukamnamas (which are important decisions and societal messages to
protect the Maryadha) for Sikhs to adhere to worldwide. No Sikh has the
ability to challenge the Hukamnamas issued, and there are very rarely any
reasons to do so.
A recent example of this type of authority being exercised occurred when
affluent Sikhs in the West began to take the Siri Guru Granth Sahib to
expensive lavish hotels in order to celebrate their marriage or a birth. This
caused uproar. Gurdwara management committees faced a crisis because
people getting married in a gurdwara would not use intoxicants after the
ceremony. It also made a mockery of the sacredness of the blessings.
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A Hukamnama was immediately issued banning the spiritual text being taken
out of the premises of the gurdwara to perform such ceremonies. All the
sangat (congregation) are expected to come to the court of the Guru to receive
blessings and join together in humility in front of the Guru.
In any similar case, if it is reported that the Sikh code of conduct is being
affected or that the spiritual discipline set by Guru is being challenged by a
person, a book, or other means, a Hukamnama would be issued.
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A Buddhist perspective
There is no fire like greed
No crime like hatred
No sorrow like separation
No sickness like hunger of heart
And no joy like the joy of freedom
Look within
Be still
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the sweet joy of living in the way
Adapted from the Dhammapada trans. Thomas Byrom
Before I was a monk, I travelled around the world for many years by myself
doing what I wanted when I wanted, experiencing life as I wanted. I had an
incredible amount of freedom. Actually, what I found was that I had so much
freedom I was unable to live with it: should I do this or that, go here or there.
After a while I started to see the same problems wherever I went: money, sex,
politics and then nature, the same sky, the moon, stars, landscape. It was
soon after this that I stopped travelling. In my short period on this planet, I’ve
done quite a lot of things and had very good jobs, money, education, but there
was still a lack: a basic feeling of being not contented. What I now notice as a
monk looking back on this is that I had been meditating all this time; I was
noticing the way things are and my mind was asking questions, and answers
would appear just like the sun removing fog.
Freedom and unattachment
In the language of Buddhism, ultimate freedom is about not being attached to
anything, yourself, your views, the body, the mind - nothing. This can bring a
feeling that Buddhists get rid of everything. Or Buddhists can get attached ‘to
not being attached’; that is, they go around saying: ‘Oh, I’m not attached to
anything!’ Attachment is better explained as knowing: a very deep
understanding of the way things are. You understand that, if you hold on to
something, it will create suffering - try it out. The next time you eat
something pleasant, try to keep the feeling; or, when you next dislike
something, try to push it away as quickly as possible - both will lead to
suffering. Another misconception is that Buddhists suffer. Buddhists use
suffering; they do not create it. The Buddha suggested using suffering because
most people suffer and understanding this leads to peace. Suffering includes
good or pleasant things as well as bad or unpleasant things.
In the Buddhist scene, there is a lot of talk about ‘letting go’ but for me
that’s never really worked. It’s a bit like having chewing-gum stuck to your
hand and, each time you shake your hand, it’s still there. What I’ve used is
‘letting things be’ as they are. If you just let them be, they will cease in their
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own time. If you notice when things cease generally, there is a feeling of
wellbeing. So, you’re walking across a road and a truck is coming: well, you
know ‘just let it be’. This is where authority comes in - who is in charge of
you? The Buddha’s last words were: ‘Be an island to yourself.’ - be your
own authority.
Authority and responsibility
This authority is about being totally responsible (the ability to respond) for
your actions by body, speech or mind. It does not blame or criticise, it knows.
The more that we come to understand who we are, the more we can respect
one another, to know when we don’t know, and to ask for help and guidance.
Freedom without authority and authority without freedom, in my view, just
lead to a mess. There is no respect for yourself or anybody else. This ultimate
freedom is one of contentment; you feel well with the way life is - it’s actually
asking a lot of you.
It is asking to undo the things you have learnt from the social, cultural and
political/educational framework and to find out for yourself whether they are
true or not. In order to be able to do this, an attitude of receiving is helpful you need to have some space to do that. Space comes from stilling the mind;
it’s a bit like adding watercolour to a pot of water - if you stir it up, it gets
dirty; and if you stop stirring, the colour goes to the bottom and the water is
clear. This receiving is like a mirror: a mirror does not judge you or give any
viewpoint; it allows you to be the way you are.
Once you know what is what - a knowing, then you can collect whatever you
need and respond to the situation with discriminative wisdom. The problem
with Buddhism is that this final freedom is said to be so all-encompassing
that it’s very hard to say what needs to be changed: you understand fully
and it all seems so right; wars, famines, beauty, truth, honesty, political
dishonesty. Everybody is on the journey back home and they are doing the
right thing at the right time. So, this viewpoint gets moulded into the
religion and you get a sort of ‘it’s all okay’ outlook. Ajah Chah, the abbot’s
teacher at the monastery where I live, is a Thai meditation master, and he
has a nice saying about these sorts of dilemmas: ‘Right but not true, true
but not right.’
I would like also to point to the work of Ken Wilber, as his work in this area is
helpful. His ideas about the development of consciousness, what type of
authority and what type of freedom you can allow people to have depends on
what stage of consciousness they are at and what you want for a solid,
responsible society. This is a bit of political hot potato and to do justice to this
you really need to read more of Ken Wilber’s ideas, and it is not where I
personally would like to focus my energy. The main point of his work is that
he suggests that we should be developing people that have the greatest depth
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with the widest span: knowing about the way things are and the best available
conventional knowledge to aid implementation. Having one or the other does
not work, as we can see in the world today.7
What do you really want?
In my view most people that call themselves religious do not want freedom or
authority; they want a nice bed and comfortable stories that say it’s all right,
and let somebody else do it. They are not willing to sacrifice their own
viewpoints, their own doubts and fears for the greater good because that
freedom is just too much to hold: they feel ‘they’ have to do it. In the Buddhist
scheme of things, you are already doing it, you are already that freedom and
authority and you are unwilling to accept that.
Are you willing to be content? This is a recognition, not a thought process,
right here, right now. When you are content or peaceful, the answer to the
question comes and flows, and as soon as we contract and doubt, it comes
from a memory or thoughts. I can hear the question, yes, but we can’t even
use our memory - this is the limitation of language, of trying to explain
something indescribable with the language that we have. As the Buddha says
with all his teaching, try it out; see if it works for you, pick up the things you
like, and the others, leave for the time being. This style of sharing is for
reflection. See how this affects you - it is not a proclamation.
Make an island of yourself,
make yourself your refuge;
there is no other refuge.
Make truth your island,
make truth your refuge;
there is no other refuge.
Digha Nikaya,
7
http://www.imprint.co.uk/Wilber.htm or Ken Wilber’s book The Integral Vision: A Very Short
Introduction to the Revolutionary Integral Approach to Life, God, the Universe, and Everything
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A Christian perspective
To understand freedom and authority requires an understanding of their
Jewish origins.
Jewish origins
Any rough definition of religion will contain, at some stage, reference to the
quality of relationship between humanity and God, or the gods. In
Christianity, as in Judaism, the essential belief concerning the relationship
between Creator and his creation is that it is always in danger of being
spoiled by human sin. Indeed, human sin at its most pernicious opens up a
chasm between creature and Creator that can seem unbridgeable. Something
must be done therefore to open up the communication channels once more
between us and God. For the ancient people of Israel the means of restoring
this relationship was by way of Law. The Law can be found in the early books
of the Old Testament. These books - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
and Deuteronomy - are amongst the main sources of authority for the Jewish
faith.
Freedom through Jesus
But what about Christians? Put simply, Christians understand Jesus’ life and
death to have superseded the obligations laid down by the Old Testament
Law. Jesus took upon himself the demands of the Law so that we don’t have
to - though how this is worked out by theologians (and ordinary Christians) is
a complex business. This new state of affairs means that Christians - when
they accept Jesus’ accomplishment and make it their own - will live in a state
of freedom undreamt-of during the time of the Law. This theology was first
thought out by Saint Paul. For Paul, this is what makes the Christian
message ‘good news’ (gospel). You can read more about Paul’s thoughts here
in his ‘Letter to the Romans’ (New Testament).
Luther’s contribution
The Reformation theologian Martin Luther was amongst the first to introduce
the idea that authoritative laws are written on the human heart. They are not
to be followed from some external book or dictated to the masses by social
elites. Luther more or less created Protestantism (Anglicans, Methodists,
Baptists, etc.) in his rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church in the mid
sixteenth century. For Luther, becoming a Christian is essentially about being
set free. However, this is not the freedom to do whatever you feel like; it’s the
liberty of knowing that you are loved by God and that trying to be perfect is
neither possible nor actually that important. Luther wrote about these beliefs
in his Concerning Christian Liberty:
Thus the believing soul, by the pledge of its faith in Christ,
becomes free from all sin, fearless of death, safe from hell and
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endowed with the eternal righteousness, life and salvation of its
husband Christ. Thus he presents to himself a glorious bride,
without spot or wrinkle, cleansing her with the washing of water
by the word; that is, by faith in the word of life, righteousness and
salvation.
Luther believed that in life and all matters religious some issues are more
important than others. To know about Jesus and how he lived and died; to
experience God personally; to live and strive for a good moral life; these are
the things that matter. The chief source for learning about these important
matters is, of course, the Bible. The trouble with the Bible, however, is that
it’s not straightforward; it’s a rather different book from, say, the Highway
Code where what’s what is explained in plain and simple language. (For more
on the Bible see ‘The Book’.)
Church and State
Freedom and authority issues in connection with my own denomination - the
Church of England - are especially complicated because the Anglican Church
is the established church of England. This means that the Church has a
formal, officially recognised relationship to the State and government. This
works itself out in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways. For instance the
official ‘head’ of the Church of England is the Queen and ‘her’ bishops are
entitled to a seat in the House of Lords. And when it comes to appointing
bishops to their bishoprics (those parts of the country they control), the prime
minister has the final word. Those in the Church have long argued about
whether this link to the state is good or bad news. If you’re against then you’ll
hold what are called disestablishment views. The arguments put forward by
this group centre on a distinction between spiritual and temporal (earthly,
political) power. The Church should be detached from the state, they say, so it
can freely criticise what the state gets up to - like going to war in the Middle
East. Apart from the power of bishops in the Lords (which is considerable) the
ties between Church and state are mostly ceremonial today. Most Christians I
know favour disestablishment.
Christian anarchists
At the other end of the spectrum from bishops in the House of Lords are
groups like Christian anarchists. Christian anarchists believe that nothing or
no one deserves their allegiance other than Jesus himself. The state, which
presumes to speak on behalf of its people, is to be avoided and overturned
wherever possible. Though it’s not anarchist in outlook, the British Christian
‘think-tank’ Ekklesia is a progressive network of Christians who favour the
Church’s separation from the state. Their work consists of supporting
Christians to participate in the dirty world of politics without the
entanglements of secular power getting in the way.
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A modern view of freedom
As a liberal Christian, my creed includes perspectives on freedom and
authority that many would struggle to distinguish from secular viewpoints. So,
even though the Bible remains important for me - especially the Gospels - I
am also influenced by a whole host of thinkers, writers and movements. This
is a very Anglican way of doing things. Richard Hooker (1554-1600) was a
clever chap who had one or two interesting things to say about authority.
Hooker knew that the Bible doesn’t tell us everything we need to know about
the world - nowhere does it pass direct comment on global warming or the
specifics of abortion. Hooker realised that if we are to live intelligently as
Christians - whether it be in the seventeenth or the twenty-first century - we
need to employ many different authorities to guide us through life. So, in
addition to the Bible, Hooker said we also need to rely on reason (including
our experience of life) and the traditions of the Church since the death of
Jesus. So, today, most Christians will happily look to science for some
answers and to God for others.
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CHAPTER FOUR
SEX AND SEXUALITY
BIG QUESTIONS: Can you have sex for fun?
Is our society obsessed with sex?
Is contraception right?
Is it ok to be gay?
Is sex outside marriage acceptable?
Why is sex difficult?
Why can’t we just enjoy sex with whoever we want?
COMMON THEMES:
All worldviews represented in the team share some important views, but also
some clear differences:
• Humanists (predictably?) were clearest and had least to say on this
topic which was recognised by all as posing problems for modern
societies – though perhaps not always for ancient societies and
religions. Running through all contributions was a concern for the
moral dilemmas surrounding sexual relations and a number of other
common themes:
• Sex is for mutual pleasure as well as procreation
• There is a great variety of views and traditions within most
religions/worldviews, individuals and societies about whether certain
things are always right or wrong: masturbation, contraception,
abortion, same-sex relationships
• Sex can be dangerous - one can harm oneself and other people
through thoughtless obsession or certain aggressive behaviour
• Treating others as you wish to be treated means that unfaithfulness,
adultery and promiscuity are usually wrong as well as causing
common social problems such as sexually transmitted diseases and
teenage pregnancies
DISTINCTIVE WORLDVIEWS:
The Humanist contribution emphasises:
• Sex is a natural instinct and also highly enjoyable
• Humanists do not automatically condemn certain behaviour such as
premarital or gay sex
• Sexual behaviour is moral if a) it doesn’t harm anyone else, b) if it
makes you happy
• Carelessness about one’s partner’s feelings (unfaithfulness) or sexual
health (promiscuity/ HIV) is wrong
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The Jewish contribution emphasises:
• Marriage, sex and having babies is a fundamental commandment of
God
• Sex in marriage should be regular and enjoyable for both partners
• Traditional weddings emphasise male predominance; liberal Jews
emphasise equality and there is now a format for same-sex ceremonies
in parts of Judaism (not Orthodox!)
• The bride and groom are celebrated equally as King and Queen
• Contraception using condoms and masturbation are seen as wasting
God’s gift of seed; adultery is forbidden; celibacy is not favoured
The Muslim contribution emphasises:
• Sex is an essential human need which is fulfilled only through
marriage (celibacy not favoured)
• Any sexual or physical contact outside marriage is unlawful; premarital
sex or contact, adultery, homosexual relations - even ‘lewd glances’
• Mutual enjoyment of the body is as important as having children
• Love, companionship and care for women are essentials of a good
marriage
The Sikh contribution emphasises:
• Marriage and regular sexual fulfilment is a natural and positive
condition for humans - celibacy and renunciation of sex is specifically
denounced by the Gurus
• Sex before marriage, adultery, promiscuity and forced or excessive sex
within marriage are all forbidden
• Sex is for mutual enjoyment as well as procreation
• Contraception is acceptable: abortion is not (except after rape)
• Same-sex relationships were not specifically mentioned by the Gurus
and so are tolerated by some groups, but not favoured
• A healthy, positive attitude to the body and sex is encouraged
The Buddhist contribution offers quite a contrast:
• Buddhism sees sex and sexuality as a natural function based on
mutual consent
• Training your mind and spirit to handle your earthly desires is seen as
more important
• Celibacy is seen as a virtuous way of life - for monks and others
seeking spiritual growth
• On issues like same-sex relations, masturbation, sexual practice
outside traditional norms Buddhism encourages you to explore and
understand your behaviour
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• Suppressing/repressing your sexual energy is not recommended rather you should seek to understand and move beyond physical
desires and their satisfaction
The Christian contribution emphasises:
• Most Christians today reject the view that our bodies are sinful - we
should enjoy sex as a gift from God
• Marriage and children have been seen as the proper context for sex between men and women
• Adultery, same-sex physical relationships, promiscuity, prostitution,
masturbation have been condemned
• But in some Bible stories - such as Adam and Eve – sex is
recommended to be enjoyed
• Celibacy - i.e., no relationship apart from with God - has been a
Christian tradition
• Currently there is great debate and controversy in the Christian
Churches on sex and sexuality and Christians have to make their own
decisions
The Hindu contribution emphasises:
• Sexuality as part of the fulfilment of sensual desires is one of the four
goals
• However, unrestrained indulgence is not recommended: a balance
should be maintained with higher goals, and excessive attachment to
sex is harmful. Celibacy can be a good thing
• Moral principals (dharma) support marriage – restraint before and
fidelity after
• British rule and puritan values imparted unhealthy and repressive
attitudes, as did American misunderstandings of tantric sex
• Modern values – on divorce, remarriage, homosexuality – are
compatible with Hinduism
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A Humanist Perspective
Without sex we would not exist - like all other mammals we must have sex to
reproduce, and the sexual instinct is hardwired into us as a result. It is a
natural instinct, and one that is very enjoyable as a result.
Humanists think about sex as they think about all behaviour: that people
should have the personal freedom and choice to do what makes them happy,
as long as they do not interfere with anyone else’s freedom, happiness or
security. None of the behaviour that some religions condemn, therefore, is
automatically condemned by humanists - masturbation, gay sex, pre-marital
sex, for example - the tests for whether they are moral or not are 1) is it
harming anyone else (if so, you should not do it) and 2) is it making you
happy (if not, you may not wish to do it). Sex is an enjoyable thing and we
should enjoy it.
Treating others as you would like to be treated yourself means taking the
wishes and needs of others into account, and this is an important element in
sexual relationships. Unfaithfulness to a partner can cause that partner great
unhappiness and usually involves a great deal of lying and deceit, which must
undermine the trust necessary in a loving relationship. Carelessness about
other people’s feelings is certainly immoral. Carelessness about other people’s
physical health is wrong too, and people who know they have infectious
illnesses, including sexually transmitted ones like gonorrhoea or HIV, have a
moral duty to tell sexual partners and to minimise the risk of passing them
on.
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A Jewish Perspective
In Jewish history there have only rarely been groups who rejected sex as a
normal part of life. Jewish teachings tend to encourage us to enjoy sex as an
important element of a happy, mutually consensual marriage. Having babies
is seen as the first commandment given to humanity, and so sex is a very
important and even holy thing to engage in. But this means that it also has to
be respected, and couples are often encouraged to ensure that they can
provide adequately for a child before they get in too deep!
In Judaism there is a teaching (which today can cause problems for secular
Jews who later become religious) that a couple can become married in any one
of three ways: through a gift of value (usually a ring), through a contract (of
which a little more later) or through sex. Now all these have to be confirmed
by two valid witnesses, but help us to understand the importance and
seriousness of sex, which symbolises the partnership and coming together of
two individuals.
Traditional Judaism
Traditional Jewish weddings ask a husband to sign a contract in which he
promises to clothe, house and care for his wife, and also obliges him to
provide for her sexual needs: there is even a description in our law books of
the exact number of times a week men of different professions must satisfy
their wives. Failure to fulfil this obligation can be grounds for divorce. Today
this kind of contract can seem archaic and unfair, but when it was developed,
it was ahead of its time in trying to protect the rights of women who often got
a very raw deal. At Jewish weddings today, the ring and the contract are a
part of the public ceremony, and quiet time alone is permitted for the couple
to symbolise their private union, which we can assume usually happens later
when they are unencumbered with wedding dresses and guests awaiting their
return.
The bride and groom are treated as a king and queen, and it is a good deed to
make them happy on their wedding day. A big deal is made of weddings
because having a family, and human partnership, are seen as important
elements of a Jewish life and of fulfilling our potential as humans; as it says
in Genesis: ‘It is not good for man to be alone.’ Perhaps for this reason we as a
community need also to be sensitive to those among us who do not have a
partner, some of whom may have chosen not to, and may feel lonely, or that
they do not fit the norm. We need to be aware of different family models and
individuals’ lives in order to create communities that can embrace everyone.
Progressive Judaism
Because many Progressive Jews feel the traditional kind of contract doesn’t
reflect today’s equal male-female partnerships, or the variety of sexual
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partnerships that are accepted not only by secular society but which are also
seen as religiously blessed by many Progressive Jews, Progressive weddings
today include vows by both male and female partners, and gay commitment
ceremonies are becoming more and more acceptable, with Liberal Judaism
having already created Brit Ahavah or Covenant of Love as a model same-sex
commitment ceremony. Such ceremonies would not be acceptable in
traditional communities, although there are traditional Jews who struggle to
balance their homosexuality and being an observant orthodox Jew.
Traditionally Judaism has not been accepting of homosexual acts, similar to
society in general. Today, however, Progressive Jews are welcoming of
members of the gay community, as well as people who choose not to be in
relationships at all. Not marrying in the past was never really encouraged in
Jewish life, and Judaism does not have groups within it that are celibate.
Contraception for men has traditionally been forbidden, as it was seen as
wasting seed, and mirrors the behaviour of Onan, who in Genesis tried to
practise the rhythm method and was struck down by God for it. It is also
discouraged because men are considered obligated in the commandment to
‘Go forth and multiply’ - women aren’t considered obligated, however men do
struggle without them! But for this reason women’s oral contraception has
been permitted by some orthodox authorities in some situations. The Jewish
principle of Pikuach Nefesh, saving a life, might mean for many Progressive
Jews today that wearing a condom is essential to prevent the spread of STDs
and HIV. Abortion is also permitted in Judaism if the life of the mother (and
this may include mental health) is endangered.
A short anecdote: when my husband and I got married, his rabbi asked him,
‘How long do you think the groom remains a king?’ A week? guessed my
hubby-to-be (because we have a week of celebrations after a wedding). ‘No.’ A
year? he tried. ‘No, the groom is a king so long as he treats his wife as a
queen.’ In relationships, sex and partnership are easily taken for granted, and
we need to continually remind ourselves that how we treat our partner reflects
who we are, and perhaps how we deserve to be treated.
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A Muslim perspective
Islam considers sex as one of the essential human needs that must be
properly satisfied, as a unique, sacred concept which should be accorded the
respect and sanctity it deserves.
Fair in the eyes of men is the love of things they covet: women and
sons...
(3:14)
For Muslims, the first and the foremost and the most reliable and highest
form of religious law would be the Qur’an. The Prophetic Traditions (also
known as Hadith, which are the sayings and doings and tacit approval of
things said or done in the presence of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh) are a
second source of law.
Sex outside marriage
Based on these teachings, sexual relations or any other form of physical
contact outside the framework of marriage are declared unlawful:
Nor come nigh to adultery for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil,
opening the road (to other evils).
(17:32)
A grievously heinous sin in the estimation of God is to commit
adultery with a woman living in one’s neighbourhood.
(Bukhari & Muslim)
He or she who casts a lewd glance at another and allows himself
or herself to be attracted likewise, both meet the displeasure of
God.
(Dailami)
Sex within marriage
However, if one were to enjoy a relationship with their own wife (or husband),
it would be an act of piety and devotion, meriting the pleasure and reward
from God as the Prophet observed. This is what has been described as
spiritualising temporal duties.
On the authority of Abu Dharr: Some of the companions of the
messenger of Allah said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, the affluent have
made off with the rewards, they pray as we pray they fast as we
fast, and they give away in charity the superfluity of their wealth.’
He said: ‘Has not Allah made things for you to give away in
charity ? Every tasbihah is a charity, every takbirah is a charity,
every tahmidah is a charity, and every tahlilah is a charity, to
enjoin a good action is a charity, to forbid an evil action is a
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charity, and in the sexual act of each of you there is a charity.’
They said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfils his sexual
desire will he have some reward for that?’ He said: ‘Do you not
think that were he to act upon it unlawfully he would be sinning?
Likewise, if he has acted upon it lawfully he will have a reward.’
(Muslim)
Procreation
According to Islam, procreation is not the sole and only purpose of marriage.
While procreation is a primary purpose (to increase humanity in order to serve
God; parents hope to leave behind children who will pray for them - or a child
who will pray for their parents in Paradise, should they die before),
companionship and enjoyment of the spouse along with avoidance of unlawful
or sinful relationships are also secondary purposes. These secondary purposes
play their own important roles in the Islamic teachings which govern sexual
relations. In other words, although procreation is definitely an aim, it is not
an exclusive aim. Procreation is a major purpose, but nonetheless enjoyment
and other purposes also play significant roles in married life as evidenced by
the Islamic teachings which relate to sexual relations.
And those who pray, ‘Our Lord! Grant unto us wives and offspring
who will be the comfort of our eyes, and give us (the grace) to lead
the righteous.’
(25:74)
Your wives are a tilth unto you; so go to your tilth when or how you
will.
(2:223)
Permitted to you, on the night of the fasts, is the approach to your
wives. They are your garments and ye are their garments.
(2:187)
And Allah has made for you mates (and companions) of your own
nature, and made for you, out of them, sons and daughters and
grandchildren, and provided for you sustenance of the best: will
they then believe in vain things...
Marriage is also recommended to satisfy ‘lust’ and hence protect the private
parts. The Prophet said: ‘If a man marries, half of his religion is saved. Fear
God for the remaining half.’ The Prophet said: ‘Whoever among you is able to
marry, should marry, and whoever is not able to marry, is recommended to
fast, for fasting diminishes his sexual power.’
Islam also teaches that marriage brings peace of mind as love grows between
the couple. Peace of mind is said to be necessary for divine service.
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It is He Who has created you from a single person (Adam), and
(then) He has created from him his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], in order
that he might enjoy the pleasure of living with her . . .’
(7:189)
And among His Signs is this: that He created for you mates from
among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and
He has put love and mercy between your (hearts). Verily in that are
Signs for those who reflect.
(30:21)
References:
‘The Proper Conduct of Marriage in Islam’ (Chapter ‘Adab-an-Nikah’) from
Book 12 of Ihya’ulum ad-din by Imam al-Ghazzali
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A Sikh perspective
Sikh teachings regard the sexual and social relationship of man and woman
as part of the law of nature and accepted the householder’s life as superior
both morally and spiritually. All the historical examples highlight the
importance of marriage, reproducing and contributing to society as a whole.
Celibacy
The Gurus denounced the ritualistic renunciation of worldly responsibilities as
well as celibacy. They taught that, merely by not engaging in the physical
sexual act, one cannot overcome the desire which lurks within. The path to
conquering the inner lust and desire which leads to the physical sexual act is
ultimately through meditation on God or naam simran. This does not mean
that excessive indulgence in sex becomes desirable. The Gurus told their
followers to exercise self-control and to regulate sex sensibly. The Gurus
recommended the middle way between self-indulgence and abstinence,
combining the idea of controlling desire internally through meditation with
external abstinence.
Abandoning his household, he may go to the forest, and live by
eating roots; but even so, his sinful, evil mind does not renounce
corruption.
(SGGS p. 855)
Sex outside marriage
Sexual relationships before marriage are not liked. Young people are
encouraged to get to know each other and develop their relationships in other
ways such as their emotional and spiritual connection, but should wait till
marriage for sexual relations.
They control their sexual desires, and their lifestyle is the selfdiscipline of Truth.
(SGGS p. 122)
They alone are called husband and wife, who have one light in two
bodies.
(SGGS p. 788)
A normal sexual relationship as a householder is not restricted in any way but
any other indulgence is not considered positive. Sex outside marriage or sex
against the will of the partner is taboo, as it can cause unlimited sorrows. In
addition, both promiscuity and sexual perversion are absolutely forbidden.
Excessive sex is a taboo as it leads to sorrow and sickness, this is known as
Kaam or lust. It is considered illegitimate and produces nothing but shame
and misery. It is one of the greatest evils that tempt people away from God. It
makes an individual weak-willed and unreliable.
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Renounce sexual desire and promiscuity, and give up emotional
attachment. Only then shall you obtain the Immaculate Lord
amidst the darkness of the world.
(SGGS p. 141)
Adultery is clearly unacceptable. However, if a partner dies and either man or
woman is widowed, they are encouraged to remarry or find another spouse
whenever they feel ready.
Contraception
In olden times, the problem of family planning did not exist. Even today in
areas where population is scanty and resources adequate, family planning is
not necessary. Sikhism accepts the commonsense approach to family
planning. It is for the couple to decide whether they want family planning or
not. Family planning may be necessary for the health of the partners or the
nursing or bringing-up of existing children. However, natural methods of
contraception are preferred to artificial methods and devices. Even so, family
planning should not be undertaken without competent medical advice and
supervision. There are no injunctions in the Sikh faith against the use of
contraceptives.
Abortion is a taboo, as it is interference in the creative work of God. If
conception has taken place, it is unacceptable to destroy a life, and hence
deliberate miscarriage or abortion is forbidden. At the same time, if a violation
has taken place and the woman has been taken advantage of, an exception
can be made.
Similarly, experimenting with embryos and genes is discouraged.
Contraception for the purpose of avoiding the results of illicit sex is also
prohibited. Accepting responsibility for one’s actions also plays a major role in
Sikh discipline. The Sikh Gurus have also made it clear that sex is not just for
enjoyment and indulgence, but an important act for creative purposes, and
this is the right given to parents:
Blessed is the mother who gave birth; blessed and respected is the
father of one who serves the True Guru and finds peace. His
arrogant pride is banished from within.
(SGGS p. 32)
Homosexuality
The Sikh faith does not say anything specific about gay or lesbian
relationships, but as mentioned above sex purely for physical enjoyment is not
the reason why the Gurus recommend sexual relationships. Lust can take
over in homosexual relationships as there are no responsibilities of
procreation possible, and this needs to be controlled as it is considered
draining, physically, mentally and emotionally.
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The body-village is filled to overflowing with anger and sexual
desire; these were broken into bits when I met with the Holy Saint.
(SGGS p. 13)
Sikhs are encouraged to take responsibility for their every action and live a
healthy lifestyle. In general, therefore, no advice or discrimination is made in
the scriptures against single-sex relationships, but clearly heterosexual
relationships are encouraged.
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A Buddhist perspective
Buddhism has no issues with sex or sexuality - it’s a natural function of the
body. There are basic moral guidelines for householders, which are to be kind
to one another, not to abuse sex or abuse somebody else: the basis is
consenting partners. Then there are renunciant guidelines which are based on
celibacy. For a Theravadin monastic, complete celibacy is required: sexual
intercourse is a disrobing offence and masturbation is a very serious offence.
Training the mind
In the monastery I live in, part of the training is to go on alms-round or
begging for food that we can eat that day. In Asia this would be done every
day early in the morning by the whole community. In the UK it’s usually done
in pairs standing outside or near a supermarket on the local high street. We
can’t ask, we just have our bowls and our eyes downcast, silent but receptive.
So what I do is watch the mind and the interaction between mind and society
and my own personal conditioning. So there I am watching myself, listening,
attentive, looking at feet really, small or big, and at shoes. I watch my mind
create the person. A petite little pair of shoes, stockings, ah woman! And then
on another occasion I would watch my eyes move, I call it tracking, something
from afar moves, the eyes move first (periphery vision), then head moves, mind
moves, legs - woman in mini-skirt, mind moves - lust, desire ... and then she
passes. The mind still goes on, and then the lust passes and then after
hopefully getting some food and eating, I go back to the monastery. Now if
that image was strong, the mind likes to play tricks. It recalls the images and
starts to ask the question, well, she could have been the one, you should
have, she might have, and so on.
Maybe reading this you are thinking that this is a bit sadomasochistic, but
the essence of Buddhism is to understand, to know the way things are. It is
getting a perspective on the very natural bodily functions and seeing them for
what they are. This perspective is so that we don’t get unnecessarily
manipulated by these energies. For example, you see an advert with a scantily
clothed woman or man selling something, and you get drawn in. This is not a
moral judgement about scantily clothed people, it’s the ignorance of the
manipulation that is the problem. It’s like puberty, this happens to you
regardless of what religion, background or society you come from. It happens
to you and you can let it overtake you, or you can try and get some
perspective on it, understand it, learn to flow with it, rather than get caught
up in it.
So if sex is natural, why not follow it? Why be celibate?
In Asian thought, the force or energy of sex is used for the spiritual journey.
This is where it gets a bit technical because some Buddhist sects say that you
can use sexual relationships in what are called tantric practices and the other
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sects say you need to sublimate it; use the energy in a different way - for
example, unconditional love. The tantra form of sex requires no emission of
fluids, that is, you use your mind to control your bodily functions. The point
of it is to understand the union between partners, the experience of unity divinity - oneness. As I’ve not practised this I can’t tell you more. Tantra is
open to so much abuse you need a very wise teacher to practise it. The
celibate way is to understand the energies within oneself, which have a female
and male quality, and use them to free yourself from them. This is not
suppression - any celibate person that suppresses their sexual energy will
become a molester or go mad - guaranteed. This energy is very strong stuff
and playing around with it without doing some research is likely to drive you
crazy.
There are so many questions and issues about sex and sexuality. Are male
and female equal? Is oral or anal sex okay? Should same-sex relations be
allowed? Confusions exist between personal love and unconditional love,
intimacy and healthy boundaries, craving and contentment. The reason
Buddha - which means to be awake - did not focus his energy on this is that
these are conventions or concepts. They all involve a sense of self and
Buddhism is about being free from self - not getting rid of it but knowing it.
So how can you be awake to self?
The best way is to start to explore what self is, what is sexuality, both in an
educational and spiritual way? For example, if you have a strong reaction to
homosexuals, notice that there is firstly a sense of self, then a belief, based on
what? And so on. Buddhism empowers you to explore these issues. Why
might you feel guilty about sex? What is moderation in sex? What is abusive?
Why is it that we can’t use the proper words for our genitals in public? The
way we compartmentalise people - ‘nice legs’. Have you ever noticed that you
cannot see your bum with your eyes directly - so how do you know it exists?
There are so many social/cultural/political taboos about sex, some probably
based on ideas of protecting children from incest and others based on
puritanical ideas. In Buddhism your original nature, your true self is pure, is
innocent, and nobody can take that away from you. What you do with your
actions comes from a cause and will have an effect. By having an appreciation
of this you can moderate/understand what you do and then see how to
behave. As a celibate monk I have really come to appreciate and understand
sexual energy, noticing how it arises and ceases, how it can lead to different
mental states and start a cycle of sexual fantasy, which distracts you from the
here and now. As with all the Buddha’s teaching this is for investigation by
yourself, to be considered based on intellectual knowledge and silent
witnessing.
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A Christian perspective
If you want to avoid falling out with someone at a party, it’s considered wise to
avoid three ‘hot’ topics: sex, politics and religion. Or so the saying goes. But
it’s really not possible to live a reflective and intelligent life without thinking
about these important areas of life. An unexamined life is not worth living, as
Socrates said.
Where does sex ... belong?
As I write the Church of England is fighting with itself once again over sex who may do it, to whom, and under what circumstances. The source of the
argument was the decision by a London vicar - against the advice of his
bishop - to ‘bless’ a civil partnership between two gay men in his church.
What’s interesting about this particular blessing row - for many like it have
been going on for years, but privately, away from the media - is that the
couple decided to base their service on the most traditional and ancient of the
Anglican Church’s liturgies - the Book of Common Prayer’s ‘solemnization’ of
matrimony. Here’s the opening section:
Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God,
and in the face of this congregation, to join together this Man and
this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honourable estate,
instituted of God in the time of man’s innocency, signifying unto us
the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church; which
holy estate Christ adorned and beautified with his presence, and
first miracle that he wrought, in Cana of Galilee; and is
commended of Saint Paul to be honourable among all men: and
therefore is not by any to be enterprised, nor taken in hand,
unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly, to satisfy men’s carnal lusts and
appetites, like brute beasts that have no understanding; but
reverently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God;
duly considering the causes for which Matrimony was ordained.
You may find some of the attitudes towards marriage and sex here offensive or just plain bizarre. It all seems a long way away from contemporary
attitudes towards sex which might be summed up as: as often as possible and
with anything that has a pulse. The ‘official’ position of the Christian Church
on sex - though presenting a single, simple generalising statement on the
subject is basically impossible - is this: between men and women and only in
the context of marriage. Leaving aside the question of what qualifies as proper
‘sex’ (kissing full on the mouth? touching and stroking certain areas of the
body?), we might well ask where this black-and-white approach comes from?
According to my well-thumbed Catechism of the Catholic Church, the answer is
... the Book of Genesis. But it’s not a very convincing place to begin. Adam
and Eve certainly had sex - but did they really get ‘married’? If we look into
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the rest of the Bible for a clear vote for sex within marriage we find very little.
Homosexuality
Sexuality has given most of the world’s major religions serious problems at
some time or other. At the present moment, Christianity is finding it difficult
to deal with homosexuality/bisexuality as it’s played out between the liberal
individualistic West and the traditional-minded developing world. The joke
goes that God made Adam and Eve - not Adam and Steve. Therefore, some
argue, God does not approve of homosexuality. From the early days of the
Israelites (God’s chosen people, the Jews), the norm seems to have been
marriage between a man and a woman for life. But whether these ancient
people had any understanding of homosexuality as we understand the word
today is a subject of great debate.
The Christian roots of sexuality, like so much else, are to be found within
ancient Judaism. It’s within the pages of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
that key ideas about sex (that remain common and widely held to this day)
can first be encountered. It comes as a surprise to some to learn just how
open and honest the Old Testament is about sexuality. Adam and Eve are
naked, after all, and they (at least at the start) find no shame in their
nakedness. In fact God encourages their sexual desires to become sexual acts
in his very first command to us human beings: ‘Be fruitful and multiply and
fill the earth.’ (Genesis 1:28)
Celibacy
The business of sex and families changes quite dramatically in the New
Testament, (the 100 or so years after the death of Jesus). The first Christians
expected Jesus to come back to earth very soon. So what was the point of
marriage then? St Paul, for one, thought it better to stay single and wait for
the end of this world - which couldn’t be far off. But Jesus didn’t come back
as expected. Life had to go on, more or less as before: men and women
marrying, having children, paying the bills, dying. But then some Christians
started to think again about celibacy (the idea of not having any sexual
contact with another person). Some of this thinking was based on the fact that
Jesus himself never married. So shouldn’t we follow Jesus in all things?
Wasn’t celibacy therefore the best way to live a good Christian life? Around
this time some influential theologians started to introduce into their books
ideas that we can only call today sexist, if not completely misogynistic (the
hatred, dislike or distrust of women). Saint Augustine - a saint with a rather
complicated sex life - had a particularly vivid way of putting women and their
sexuality down: ‘What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is
still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman... I fail to see
what use woman can be to man, if one excludes the function of bearing
children.’
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The modern dilemma
It took quite some time for Christians to regain their trust in the goodness of
marriage and ‘ordinary’ human, sexual relationships. With the ongoing
problems over homosexuality, some would say Christianity is still a long way
from getting it right. Sadly, the idea lingers on that God doesn’t much like us
liking our bodies - bodies which he gave us! The best we can do with them is
beat them down, avoid their temptations and turn our minds towards higher
things. Thankfully, most contemporary Christians think this way of living is
nuts.
The continuing battle over homosexuality illustrates clearly the recurring
problem of what we could call The Bible versus The World. Today in the West,
we live in secular democracies. Everyone - Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or
whatever - is under the Rule of Law. These laws permit certain behaviours as
well as prohibiting others. Because these laws are only partly based on Jewish
and Christian traditions, they permit many things which the monotheistic
religions historically haven’t - things like sex outside marriage and
homosexuality. We call this divergence the clash of cultures or clash of
authority.
Ultimately, each Christian has to make up their own mind about how to live
out and regulate their sexual needs and feelings. Few churches today would
advise the denial or complete repression of our natural sexual desires. And so,
some will side with their non-religious friends and neighbours by living out a
sexual lifestyle rooted in secular morality; others will attempt to push against
the tide by the following of older, more traditional sexual codes.
Most Christians I know are fed up with having to talk about what the Church
is saying now about homosexuality, sex outside marriage, masturbation,
pornography, etc. They point out - in exasperation - that Jesus spent much
more of his time considering the abuse of wealth and power than the abuse of
human sexual desire. Perhaps the biggest sin in connection with sexuality is
to blow it out of all proportion to the rest of life, making it into a sort of antiidol draining us of the energy needed to deal with more pressing problems.
Jesus, if ever we stand before him, will want to hear from us that we visited
the prisoner and fed the hungry. He’ll be much less interested in finding out
what we got up to in the bedroom.
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A Hindu perspective
In the Sanskrit language, sexuality is usually referred to by the word kama
(which is different from karma) and this is accepted as one of the four main
goals that human beings should aspire to in life. These four goals of life are
listed as dharma, one’s religious, social and moral duty, artha, wealth and
prosperity, kama, the fulfilment of legitimate desires, and ultimately moksha,
liberation from rebirth.
Maintaining a balance
A balanced life is one in which all four goals are properly pursued and
attained, and so it is apparent that from a traditional Hindu perspective
sexuality is not regarded as something inherently sordid or immoral, but as a
natural aspiration, the fulfilment of which is essential for a successful life.
But that is not to say that Hinduism therefore recommends unrestrained
indulgence in sensual pleasure. In pursuing the four goals of life, a proper
balance must be maintained and excessive preoccupation with sexuality may
lead to neglect of dharma and moksha, which are regarded as the higher
goals. Therefore Hindu teachings usually insist that sexuality be confined to
marriage and that sexual relationships should not be engaged in without
restriction and without proper preparation. This is not because sex is
inherently bad or irreligious, but because it is such an intoxicating pleasure
that unrestrained indulgence can come to dominate a person’s life and take
away his or her higher sensibilities.
Celibacy
Hindu teachings do indeed point out the problems that can arise from
excessive preoccupation with sensuality. In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks
Lord Krishna why it is that people are drawn towards wickedness even though
they may desire to live a virtuous life. To this Krishna replies (3.37) that it is
lust and anger that are the root causes of sin, for a person whose life is
dominated by selfish desire quickly loses any sense of virtue or concern for
others. So sensuality is not in itself sinful, but it is seen as one of the main
causes of wickedness and a barrier to dharma. Similarly, those who are most
ardently seeking moksha, release from the cycle of rebirth, are usually advised
to refrain from sensual pleasures and take vows of celibacy. This applies only
to a very small section of human society, people who leave the world behind
and follow the path of renunciation, but it is recognised that attachment to
the world is the root cause of rebirth, and sexual desire is one of the most
intense forms of worldly attachment. Celibacy is promoted during the practice
of Raja Yoga (or union with God through meditation) because the aim of this
Yoga is to make us realise that we are spiritual rather than material beings.
Sex produces the greatest physical pleasure and will reinforce the idea that we
are physical beings so a RajYogi is expected to observe strict celibacy.
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The traditional approach
Traditional Hindu teachings on dharma insist that both men and women
should not engage in sexual activities prior to marriage and that a major
element of a woman’s dharma is the devotion she shows to her husband.
Hence chastity prior to marriage and undeviating commitment to her spouse
have been regarded as pillars of dharma in a woman’s life and although
standards are changing somewhat today, these principles are still the norms
for most of Hindu society. For men, the emphasis in teachings on dharma is
slightly different, but the same fundamental principles apply. In his student
life, a man was expected to remain celibate so as to focus on his studies and
we find many examples in Hindu sacred texts which serve as a warning
against excessive indulgence in sensuality. Perhaps the best known example
is that of Ravana, who is one of the main characters in Valmiki’s Ramayana.
There Ravana is shown to be the most evil-minded of men, but he is by no
means a fool and has an extensive knowledge of religious belief and practice.
But his wickedness constantly prevails over his religious sensibilities because
of the subordination of his character to a burning lust in his heart.
Ultimately this sensuality leads to his kidnapping of Sita and his eventual
death at the hands of her husband Rama. The example here is of an
intelligent, sophisticated man whose good qualities are vanquished by the
power of sexual desire.
The modern approach
At this point, one must state that in Hinduism rules of personal conduct are
rather flexible and Hindus can choose to move away from traditional
interpretations of dharma without moving away from their commitment to
their religion. In the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna defines dharma as conduct
that is beneficial for living beings and that clearly allows scope for change and
development as the social structure in which we live changes and develops.
The core values remain, but there may be changes in the implementation of
those values on issues such as divorce, remarriage of widows and
homosexuality. In fact, traditional Hindu teachings say little or nothing on
the subject of homosexuality and so it is relatively easy for modern Hindus to
accept the contemporary ethos. And Hindus have also adapted their conduct
in line with the modern economic situation so that young women are more or
less free to study and work in an environment in which they associate with
young men. Traditionally this type of contact might not have been allowed
but Hindus have recognised that rigid adherence to a set of rules composed in
a previous age is not the real meaning of dharma.
The study of ancient Hindu texts reveals that traditional ideas on sexuality
were complex and not really in line with the puritanical values introduced to
India by the British in the Victorian era. We have seen how scriptures such
as the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana give a clear warning of the moral
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and spiritual dangers of excessive sexual indulgence, but at the same time
there was a recognition that sexuality is one of the great delights of human
existence and that to regard it as something inherently sordid was quite
wrong. It could be argued that the modern preoccupation with pornography
is a direct result of the repression of sexuality insisted upon by an excessively
puritanical moral code, which has converted sexuality into the degraded form
depicted in pornographic images. As stated above, Hindu teachings accept
that kama is one of the four goals of life to be sought by all human beings.
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CHAPTER FIVE
JUDGEMENT AND SALVATION
BIG QUESTIONS: Is there a hell?
Will I be judged when and by whom?
Will my actions in life be rewarded or punished?
Do I get another chance?
Why can’t we all accept that we are all a mixture of good
and bad?
What happens when we die?
Does God tot up the good and the bad?
What does ‘being saved’ mean?
Is there a ‘heaven’ (or hell)?
COMMON THEMES:
This was a topic where differences emerged over beliefs about the way the
world and eternity are seen in the so-called ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western religious
traditions. But there were still important common approaches which ran
across the team, including Humanists.
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Jewish contribution emphasises:
• There is no clear teaching on what happens to us when we die or
about a day of judgement (coming of the Messiah)
• However, judgement is an important theme relating to living a good
and productive life
• The High Holidays - Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur – are a big
opportunity to review our lives (we admit what we have done, right and
wrong, say sorry, correct the wrong and promise to do right.)
• The world is judged by its people and people by their deeds
The Muslim contribution emphasises:
•
•
•
•
The true religion is Islam, so all who submit to its teachings are saved
Islam is a religion in which faith is demonstrated by good works
We will be judged according to the good we have done
By striving to please Allah and doing good works, we can reach heaven
The Sikh contribution emphasises:
• Sikhs do not believe in judgement, punishment or salvation after death
• The actions we do determine our life on earth: they have consequences
• Our objective is to live truthfully and well in the present with
consciousness of the guru
• We should not try to judge others, but we should focus on our own lives
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The Buddhist contribution emphasises:
• A day of judgement and salvation are not Buddhist concepts, but
judgement is important
• A non-judgemental view accepts all that we are, think or do
• Awareness of actions and things as impermanent; judgement changes
according to context
• Judgement arises from social and logical thinking and can lead to grief
and suffering
• Meditation helps you recognise awareness and freedom of the heart
(Nirvana)
The Christian contribution focuses on the big question of what law is for:
• All humans ask questions about the meaning and point of life: religion
suggests some answers
• Christianity offers the possibility of salvation from all this worry - by
resting in God’s love
• Early Christians emphasised judgement for sins and the possibility of
heaven and hell
• Christians often found hope from the yoke of greed, selfishness and
worry about themselves through a life lived for others
The Hindu contribution starts from the cycle of birth and rebirth:
• Our karma developed through life determines the nature and quality
of our new life
• ‘Judgement’, heaven and hell, can all be seen in the pleasure and pain
we experience now in this life as a result of previous lives
• Fulfilling the appropriate rituals, (eg Yoga), worship, puja is important
• The ultimate goal is moksha - liberation from the human life-cycle into
eternal one-ness and joy with Brahman
• Hindu scriptures suggest study and meditation, virtue and helping
others, worship and discipline are ways of approaching Moksha
The Humanist contribution emphasises that:
• Believing in no god or gods, Humanists believe we must make our own
destinies
• Some see science as the way to save or improve the world
• Others see art as deepening our knowledge of ourselves and our world
• Others say that a massive human effort through politics and ethics
are required
• Spiritual experiences, such as one-ness with nature and life are also
important to help us to identify with all peoples
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A Jewish perspective
The world is judged by the majority of its people, and an individual
is judged by the majority of his deeds. Happy is the person who
performs a good deed: that may tip the scales for him and the world.
(as found in ‘Forms of Prayer: Days of Awe’, Eleazar ben Shimon, second
century CE, son of Shimon bar Yochai)
As already stated in my piece on death, Judaism doesn’t have one clear
teaching on what happens to us after we die. Some of these ideas include
references to a final judgement, either for all humanity, or for each individual,
but there is rarely a reference to Hell. There is also the suggestion within
Judaism of a final judgement day, connected to the coming of the messiah. As
with many things in Judaism, where there is a reference to Judgement, it is
used, as above, to encourage us to ensure the life we live on earth is as
productive, good and just as it can be.
There is a very strong theme of judgement that runs through the High
Holidays - that is Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, or the Jewish New Year
and Day of Atonement, which fall around September or October each year.
The liturgy and theology of this period suggests that if we can repent for those
things we have done wrong, and make a real teshuvah or return to the right
way and God, then we will survive the coming year, being written into the
‘book of life’, but if we don’t, or we repent the things we’ve done with no
intention of changing our behaviour, we will be written into the ‘book of
death’. Personally I find this type of language very difficult and very much
dislike the idea that one lives or dies depending on one’s behaviour, because
the world has rarely seemed to reward the good and punish the bad (not that
many people fall clearly into one category or the other). If we can get beyond
this troubling language, however, the high holidays do provide an important
opportunity for us to take time out of what is a hectic and fast-changing
world, to consider our behaviour and how we might transform it, enabling us
to transform ourselves into the person we wish to be in the world, and
consider how our actions may make others feel. Some form of Judgement
could then be based on an assessment of how well we achieve a ‘return’ or
teshuvah - that is, a real change in our lives for doing good.
The famous Jewish thinker Moses Maimonides, living in the twelfth century,
taught five steps to really effect this change, and these can be summarised as:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Realise that what you did was wrong and admit it
Say you are sorry for what you did
Correct the wrong that you did
Promise not to do the wrong thing again
Behave correctly in a similar situation when it occurs in the future.
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Once again, the emphasis isn’t on what will happen in Judgement (though we
hope it will be for the good) but what we can do to live as well as possible and
make the most of the gifts of this life.
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A Muslim perspective
In Islam, a person’s own effort is not at all decisive for their own salvation in
the sense that the salvation is not regarded as the sole result of that effort.
This point is emphasised in the famous hadith in which Ayesha is told by the
Prophet that none can enter paradise except by God’s grace. When she asked
him if this applied to him as well, he answered that it did. For a Muslim this
one fact, that even the Prophet Muhammad, believed by Muslims to be the
best example to humanity, is dependent on God’s grace, emphasises the
significance of that grace for salvation as forcefully and effectively as the entire
theology of the Cross may do for a Christian.
Divine grace
The Muslim tradition emphasises the role of divine grace after a person has
attained faith and done their best.
Thus in Islam a person is saved by two acts of divine grace:
• one by which a person acquires faith and the type of qualities and
conduct which God loves
• the other by which any shortcomings, misjudgments or sins are
forgiven and a person is rewarded with paradise.
The effort that a Muslim exerts in doing good is not, according to the Qur’an,
an act of sheer will on the part of the Muslim. It is a natural result of his
character, the type of heart and mind that he acquires as a result of the first
act of divine grace. That is why much of what the Qur’an expects the faithful
to do, or not to do, is stated not as commandments (You shall, or shall not, do
this) but as descriptions of the characteristics of the faithful. Believers are
those who do, or do not do, such and such an action. Moreover, in the Qur’an
a code of law, and adherence to it, is not in the forefront. It is rather faith, a
relationship with God, and doing good deeds (‘amal saleh) that are generally
mentioned in Qur’anic promises of salvation. But clearly a code of law is a
necessary element in every religion, like Islam, which organises a community.
Salvation is offered to all
Islam rejects the idea that salvation begins by identifying a group of people in
some mechanical way, like those performing a special type of pilgrimage, or
agreeing to profess a system of dogmas or adhere to a code of law, and then
promises salvation to all members of that group while declaring the rest of
humankind to be doomed. Rather the Qur’an indicates, and attempts to
inculcate, certain attitudes, qualities and a stage of spiritual development. It
promises salvation to all those who have attained those attitudes and qualities
and warns those who hold other attitudes of divine punishment. The following
passages give a fair idea of the basic attitudes and qualities of those who are
assured of salvation:
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Verily those who say our Lord and Supporter (Rabb) is God and
thereafter stand firm (in their faith in God) - no fear need they
have, and neither shall they grieve. They are destined for paradise,
therein to abide permanently as a reward for what they did.
(Qur’an, 46:13-14)
And they (the Jews and the Christians) claim, none shall enter
paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian. Such are their vain
thoughts. Say, produce your proof, if you are truthful. Nay, but
whosoever surrenders his self to God and is a doer of good, shall
have his reward with his Lord; and all such need have no fear nor
shall they grieve.
(Qur’an, 2: 111-112)
Behold, surely, those who have close relationship with God (lit. are
friends of God) – no fear need they have, nor shall they grieve –
those who have attained faith and have been mindful of God. For
them there is the good news (of peace and contentment) in the life
of this world and in the life to come – nothing can alter the
promises of God - this is the triumph that is supreme I.
(Qur’an, 10:62-64)
Surely those who have believed (in the Prophet Muhammad) and
the Jew, the Sabians and the Christians – any who have faith in
God and the Last Day and do good – on them shall be no fear, nor
shall they grieve.
(Qur’an, 5:69)
Many scholars are of the opinion that the verse above universalises the
promise of salvation. What this verse is suggesting is that God does not go by
the ‘religious labels’ that we have put on ourselves giving salvation only to
those people who identify themselves with the group carrying one particular
label. Rather, anyone, no matter which group they belong to, is offered God’s
mercy and promise of salvation, and is capable of accepting it.
The Qur’an states in another verse that every soul that is born is born in its
natural predisposition. Since every soul has come from God, it must have first
met Him and knows it.
The need for divine revelation
Indeed, another verse in the Qur’an states that God once recalled all souls
and asked them who their Lord was. To which everyone responded by saying
that it was Him. This suggests that the awareness of the Reality is already
built into our consciousness. However, after a person has been born into this
existence, which is of a physical nature and provides another dimension for
the development of the ‘self’ (soul), as he grows, he is influenced by external
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factors. These include things like parents, society, books he reads and all have
an influence on his thinking and the shaping of his beliefs. Through this
period of development, a person’s beliefs about God may get corrupted so a
divine revelation is needed to remedy that situation.
Now, what if, the true understanding of God is not reached by a person, who
has developed an incomplete awareness of the Reality, in a meaningful and
comprehensible form? Well, that’s precisely why we should not judge anyone
in this life, and should leave this matter to God Alone. Only He knows the
secrets of one’s heart
And to God belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth, so that
He rewards those who do evil according to what they did and
rewards those who do good with what is best – those who avoid
great sins and shameful deeds (falling, perhaps, into) only small
faults; verily your Supporter and Lord is generous in forgiving. He
knows you when He brings you out of the earth and when you are
hidden in your mother’s wombs. Therefore justify yourselves not.
He knows best who it is who guards against evil.
(Qur’an, 53:32)
Verily God does not forgive if one associates others with God (in his
allegiance, love and devotion to Him) but He forgives whom He
pleases for sins other than that, for, one who associates other gods
with God has indeed strayed far, far away.
(Qur’an, 4:116; cf. 4:48)
‘He forgives who He pleases’, when examined within the context of the Qur’an
does not mean that God works in a random manner. Rather, it is done
through specific divine laws, and He is all-Wise, all-Knowing, and Merciful.
A helpful analogy
An extremely simplistic analogy often drawn is that of a gardener tending his
garden. He mows his lawn, trims grass, gets rid of weeds and cultivates fruits
and flowers. He has the benefit and the health of the over-all existence of his
garden in mind. However, one small piece of grass that has been cut does not
have the view of the garden that the gardener has. It only knows of its own
existence or the grass blades around it and is only concerned with its own
existence and interests. It’s very selfish. If it were to be given consciousness
and ability to speak, it would surely question why it was trimmed or cut. If it
were a weed, it would complain why it was denied the opportunity for further
growth. It would surely consider the gardener a very cruel person with no
mercy or love for it. Even neighbouring plants would consider him evil to have
destroyed their ‘friend’ weed. They don’t know it could have harmed them as
well. But, since the gardener’s view of his garden is much more global and its
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overall health and beauty is the main concern, a weed cannot be allowed to
grow wildly nor can the grass be left untrimmed.
Similarly, Muslims do not believe that the punishment of some people in the
Hereafter means that God is not all-Merciful, since our view is like the view of
a blade of grass, in reality, it is even smaller.
The last verse talks of forgiveness after a person dies without due repentance
and reform. During one’s life, however, every sin can be completely washed
away after a person duly turns to his Lord in sincere repentance:
Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against your souls!
Despair not of the grace of God, for God forgives sins, all of them,
for He is much forgiving, most merciful.’
(Qur’an, 39:53)
Many Muslim scholars observe that the Qur’an does not identify membership of
any particular group as either essential or sufficient for salvation. In fact it criticises
other faiths for such a view of salvation. The Qur’an makes its promise of salvation
not for those who bear certain labels but for those who have certain types of
attitudes, qualities and conduct, doing good or for avoiding actions that are
generally recognised to be sinful and shameful. While the guarantee of salvation is
given in the Qur’an only to such people, the possibility of salvation is open to all.
Only God has full knowledge
Muslims believe that the state of a person’s heart and his whole worth can never
be known to us with certainty. Only God has that knowledge for certain, and He
is Merciful and oft-Forgiving. There is also the unknown future; a person judged
to be bad now may turn out to be very good later on and vice versa. Moreover,
the relative value of a person’s deeds cannot be determined by humans. A single
deed of love performed by a man in private, with only God watching him, may
outweigh all the bad things that he was seen him doing, and, conversely, the
private conduct of a person may make worthless many of their public virtues.
For these reasons a Muslim is very cautious about making any categorical
statement about the ultimate fate of specific individuals, including themselves.
The hope of salvation
A Muslim should never presume himself to be a soul already saved but should
humbly try to lead their life in a state of mind that lies between hope and fear.
To abandon either hope or fear can, in itself, be considered a sin. Thus the
assumption made by some people that during this life a Muslim does not feel
completely assured of salvation is valid. This is not because the Muslim
believes in an arbitrary despotic God, nor because Islam is unclear about
what is needed for salvation. Rather a Muslim’s hope, but uncertainty about
his final salvation, arises out of human beings difficulty in judging with
complete certainty whether a man has what is needed to be saved.
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A Sikh perspective
Sikhs do not have a system in which there is any punishment, judgment or
salvation. The Sikh belief is that actions on earth determine the kind of life
people lead on earth. There is a concept that is known as Jivan Mukat “Those
who die, and remain dead while yet alive, are said to be Jivan Mukta, liberated
while yet alive.” (SGGS p. 449) The simple idea is that each individual is
responsible for every look, action, word, and sentiment they express and each
of these have consequences. The objective is not to live life in order to achieve
or attain anything in the after life but to live truthfully in the present with
Guru consciousness.
If the Sikh has devoted him/herself to Akal Purakh(Divine Creator) and lives
in accordance to the discipline then the creator becomes responsible for
his/her Sikh.
Sikhs are taught to operate from a neutral mind, not to have pre-conceived
views or make judgments about others. The teachings condemn this kind of
behaviour.
“He slanders others, and pollutes himself with his own filth.”
(SGGS p. 88)
In fact the teachings encourage Sikhs to take active steps not to participate in
negative judgments passed on or by others but rather take a stand by not
participating in it.
“The slanderers and evil-doers cannot see this glorious greatness;
they do not appreciate the goodness of others.”
(SGGS p. 850)
It is important to take positive actions to improve oneself and the Guru
encourages the Sikh to constantly reassess and re-evaluate him/herself. Sikhs
are not taught to focus on or judge others but to improve themselves and then
become examples for others to learn from and follow.
“O Nanak, if someone judges himself,only then is he known as a
real judge.”
(SGGS pg148)
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A Buddhist perspective
Each month us liberal-minded inter-faithers, do-gooder types, come together
to discuss and evaluate the essays that we present for you to read. This is
done through the generosity of our Christian friends, the Church of England,
who have set up this group. At the end of each meeting we pick a title, which
has been agreed to be so-called liberal. This time Judgement and Salvation
was chosen, and my mind is getting tired of Christian themes. What about
Buddhist themes? What about our Humanist friends? (Actually, one monk
told me the other day they are all going to hell). Shouldn’t we be discussing
secular themes as well? Such is the world of judgement. How does it make
you feel? Just notice that right now ... What do you feel when you read or
hear ‘your mum’s a fool’ and ‘you are an idiot’, ‘your mother is amazing’, ‘you
are intelligent and wise’?
Notice the effect, the way we can mentally roller-coast. Such is the way of the
mind and the way we are educated to divide things up and criticise.
Concepts, thinking and critical reasoning are useful in themselves, it’s just
not all that the mind can do. When we limit ourselves to this way of thinking,
then the outcome can only be judgement. Either we judge ourselves or we
judge somebody else. In Buddhism I put this under miccha-ditthi or wrong
view. Central to an understanding of the Buddha’s teaching is the effect of
ditthi or views, and to realize what perfect view is.
Don’t judge – accept
Perfect view is non-judgemental: it sees things as they are. This is my opinion.
This can easily come across as some sort of bland, boring, numbed-out type of
thinking. A non-judgemental attitude allows us to accept what we are thinking
and not to believe or trust it necessarily. Views are conditional - they depend so
much on context - on what is going on around them. We can judge a knife as a
potential weapon to kill or a tool that can be used to save lives. So while
judgement goes on, awareness allows us to observe them and while judgement
changes, awareness of them does not. Just notice now, if I ask you to bring to
mind your foot, how your attention moves to your foot and the feeling of your foot.
Freedom
Buddhist practices allow us to analyse judgement, to see how it arises, how it
leads to more actions, followed by yet more judgement. Generally it starts with
ignorance or lack of awareness of our thought patterns, feelings, body sensations,
movements, postures, and so on. Judgement arises through our social and
cultural conditioning; if we are not given time or the skills to practise awareness,
we adopt views without ever considering if they are true, real or useful.
Organisations (secular or religious) that encourage freedom to enquire and
investigate avoid the pitfalls of judgemental attitudes and narrow-mindedness;
there is no freedom in merely reinforcing social and cultural conditioning.
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So how can we find salvation? Again, awareness is the tool. By noticing the
way things are and using moral precepts to provide a safe framework to
explore it - we can then start to see how we are operating. Our mind calms
down and wisdom, discernment, and knowing arise. The subject/object
dualism in our way of thinking starts to collapse and judgements fade away,
leaving a more harmonious/relational way of seeing the world.
Salvation is when things cease
Nibbana, or freedom from attachments or ultimate freedom, is the term
Buddhists might use for salvation. It’s not dependent on somebody else
offering to do the work for you, but about developing kindness towards
oneself. It is a way of staying open to receiving the goodness that is inherent
in the world and in oneself. Salvation in Buddhism is when things cease.
When judgements arise there is suffering. But when that clinging to
judgement ceases, the suffering ends. The conditions for suffering are
removed; we stop feeding the judgement. A very good practice to help with
dissolving judgement is forgiveness and the ability to give something of oneself
to the situation, thus freeing some energy to reflect, contemplate and discern
how to act with wisdom rather than acting on blind, conditioned reaction.
One of the sayings of the Buddha is try this practice out for oneself, to test it
experimentally. So if this doesn’t sound ‘do-able’ because you think you can’t
live without being judgemental, just notice that this also is another
judgement. In western culture we are full of ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’,
‘musts’ and ‘must nots’, this is ‘right’ that is ‘wrong’. There is a place for
judgement and for making plans but where we get caught is in being attached
to the results. Judgements or expectations do not meet the way things
actually are. From a Buddhist perspective we can plan, but if our plans don’t
work out that’s fine; we learn how to stay present and respond to the
situation. From a practical perspective, Buddhists certainly do make
judgements (in fact I’ve never met a more critical bunch of people in my life!).
Being non-judgemental can be just another ideal, another mental concept
until we really understand (stand under) or realise this truth for ourselves.
Salvation can be moment-to-moment and it can be a life-shattering experience
where you are never the same again and judgements cease to be a way of
seeing the world. Awareness helps you to realise this all-encompassing point,
unity, non-division, non-conceptual, non-thinking, beyond-language way of
being, and then you have found the salvation, you have returned, merged with
the source from which you come. The question, which comes first, the chicken
or the egg, is just a nice thought.
So if you were not judged and did not judge others what would you do? Or
what would you be?
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A Christian perspective
What’s the point?
Does life have a point? Is what we do as human beings of any ultimate
importance? At the end of the day will we really be ‘marked’ down as good,
bad or indifferent?
For most of us, working all this out - the ‘meaning of life’ to use the common
expression - is a life-long task. Depending on which stage of life we’re at
(childhood, adulthood, old age), we tend to give different answers to the
questions life pushes us towards asking. For the monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity, Islam - this sort of reasoning is only half the battle.
The most important bit is to get round to discovering the fact that religions
themselves assert the ability to lead us toward, if not into, the Truth. For
religions, let us not forget or beat about the bush here, offer themselves as the
Answer to our deepest questions. The meaning of life is God and his law, or
Jesus and his resurrection, or Mohammed and the way of the Qur’an. To put
it differently - and to use for the first time the word ‘salvation’ - religions offer
us an ultimate refuge from the doubt and uncertainty, strife and struggle of
living. Religion, if you like, saves us from ourselves, from getting too tangled
up in all the questions that bombard us. Relax, the religions tell us. Trust,
believe and hope in God. He knows even if you don’t.
What are we being saved from?
When we come to ask what each religion actually means by offering salvation
- the word itself, from the Latin salvare, means ‘to save’ - we get very
contrasting answers, as noted above. In 2000 years of Christianity, many
different folk have attempted to pin down exactly what it is that Christianity
saves us from. The ‘official’ answer is from sin, evil, God’s wrath and an
eternity in hell. A less orthodox Christian might tell you that Christianity
saves us from a life lived solely in the pursuit of self-worth and that
wearisome cycle of accumulation and loss. But whichever sort of Christian
you speak to, the fundamental idea runs along these lines: belief in God and
Jesus saves us through offering a hope, a method and a rule by which to
tackle life’s big questions head-on. Other religions and creeds, of course, will
promise much the same, but by offering their particular path as the way to go.
When we look at the world - or even just our own family! - it’s hard not to
observe that some people are in greater need of ‘saving’ than others. Jesus
once said that healthy people have no need of a doctor, but the sick certainly
do; the question is whether they will find one in time. The extent to which we
are sick and in need of salvation is a deep and searching question. This is so
because it focuses our attention on those things we can’t do, those aspects of
life we struggle with, or the ways in which we fail. Jesus said: ‘Come to me, all
who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
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you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matthew
11:28-30) Some have found in this verse a message of hope that strikes at the
very heart of their problems; to others it is merely sentimental.
No need, no choice
The business of salvation, then, is all about need and choice. If there’s no
need arising - no reason to call out to the universe for help, release,
inspiration, support or whatever - then there’s no need to choose which
salvation system to go for. Or is there? We may not consciously choose to
follow the way of any particular religion, but some path must be cut through
the forest of life. So however we choose to live, and whatever we choose to
believe, we press these things into ‘saving’ us. If they don’t work, chances are
we’ll find something else that does.
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A Hindu perspective
Creating our future
Since the most ancient times, the Hindu Dharma has taught a doctrine of
karma and rebirth. Stated simply, this doctrine explains that at the time of
death the inner self or soul passes on to another bodily form. The type of
body one is reborn into and the joy and suffering one has to endure within
that lifetime are determined by the actions one performs in the present
lifetime. So quite literally we are now creating our future life through the
ways in which we act. This idea is first explained in the Upanishads, the most
ancient and authoritative texts on Hindu philosophy, and then becomes a
pivotal element of Hindu religious thought. Of course, the idea that virtuous
or wicked actions lead to positive or negative results in the world to come
embodies a notion of judgement but the role of the Deity in the process is less
pronounced. In the view of the Upanishads, this doctrine of karma is almost
an automatic process like one of the laws of the universe, though in the more
theistic strands of Hindu thought it is suggested that the Supreme Deity can
intervene in the unfolding of karmic reactions.
Judgement and karma
So from a Hindu perspective the type of birth one has taken in this world and
the good and bad fortune one experiences in life are a direct result of the
actions performed in a previous existence. In this sense the ‘judgement’ is to
be understood in terms of the pleasure and pain I am experiencing here and
now. That is not to say that we are powerless to change our destiny and in
fact the ways in which our life unfolds will be shaped by a subtle blend of the
results of actions performed in the past life and the endeavours made in the
here and now. There is, moreover, a ritual as well as a moral dimension to
this idea. The type of action that leads to good fortune can be based on pure
virtue - kindness, compassion, charity, truthfulness, etc - but it can also be
ritual actions such as bathing in the Ganges, temple worship or undertaking
pilgrimages to holy places. And traditional Hindu teachings such as those
found in the Bhagavad Gita assert that adhering to the social duty of one’s
caste or community is also important in ensuring a favourable rebirth. Today,
however, most Hindus tend to follow the lead set by Gandhi, Vivekananda and
other teachers in placing the emphasis on virtue and morality rather than
ritual, whilst social dharma is often reinterpreted as meaning a general sense
of responsibility towards one’s society and community.
Some Hindu teachings do include ideas of heaven and also hell and here there
may be a judgement presided over by Yama, the god of death. However, both
the pleasures of heaven where one resides amongst the gods and the horrors
of hell are temporary stages of existence and eventually one is reborn in this
world. Most Hindus would say that heaven and hell are in fact experienced in
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the here and now for if we look at the world around us we see different living
beings suffering or enjoying life as a result of previous action.
Rebirth
Most Hindus are concerned primarily with their rebirth in this world and hope
that by living in a virtuous way or by performing the proper rituals they will
be reborn into a prosperous family and live a long and happy life. However,
Hindu texts such as the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita make it clear that
one can never be completely happy in this world and that the ultimate goal in
life is moksha or liberation from rebirth. As long as we live in this world we
are bound to suffer the miseries of disease, bereavement, old age and death;
absolute satisfaction can be gained only if the soul is released from cycle of
rebirth it undergoes here.
Hindu teachings on moksha vary in the path they prescribe, reflecting the
varying ideas about the nature of God. Broadly speaking we can categorise
the ideas under the two headings of ‘self-help’ and ‘other-help’. Under the
heading of ‘self-help’ we might consider the teachings of the Upanishads,
which reveal that liberation from the cycle of rebirth is gained by knowledge of
reality, which we acquire by study, contemplation, meditation and
renunciation of the world. Here ‘God’ is revealed as the absolute, all-pervasive
divine reality that is designated as Brahman. The soul or atman is identical
with this ultimate reality, but due to illusion we think of ourselves as
individual entities with specific names and forms. After many lifetimes of
spiritual practice and spiritual progress the illusion may be removed so that
we see our true nature as Brahman. At this point, there is no more rebirth
because rebirth exists only for individual entities and the atman has now
realised its true identity as Brahman, which is free from rebirth and exists in
a state of eternal spiritual joy, for joy or ananda is inherent in Brahman.
Here also we might note the Yoga system of meditation in which the
consciousness and perception are turned inwards. By means of lengthy
practice in the techniques of meditation one can perceive the spiritual reality
present within one’s own being, beyond the senses, mind and personality.
This perception brings realised knowledge of the true self within and again it
is this knowledge that dispels the illusion that is the cause of rebirth.
In the Bhagavad Gita the nature of God is explained rather differently and
here we encounter a personal Supreme Deity who is the creator and controller
of the world and who bestows blessings and love on those who worship him.
The Deity of the Bhagavad Gita is Krishna who is identical with Vishnu, but a
similar belief system prevails in those forms of Hinduism that venerate Shiva
as the Supreme Deity. These monotheistic strands of Hindu thought propose
an alternative vision of salvation in which an individual who develops a mood
of loving devotion towards the Deity is granted liberation from rebirth as a gift
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of divine grace. This would therefore fall under the heading of ‘other-help’
salvation. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna states that for those who are his
devotees then, aham samuddharta mrityu-samsara-sagarat, ‘I am the one who
lifts them out of the ocean of death and rebirth.’ (12.7) Here the word
samuddharta literally means ‘the one who lifts up’ and an alternative
translation might be ‘I am the saviour’. As is so often the case, Hindu
Dharma offers a range of different teachings and different Hindus will hold
different beliefs and perspectives on these issues for tolerance of diversity is
one of the main features of the tradition.
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Chapter Five : Judgement and Salvation : 115
A Humanist perspective
A feature on his 2007 novel, On Chesil Beach, in The Independent in April 2007,
entitled ‘Ian McEwan: I hang on to hope in a tide of fear’, described the
connections and contrasts he makes between science and the arts: ‘In our
perilously changing world, where should we seek salvation? In science,’ declared
Ian McEwan ... ‘Artists may not refine the theory or advance the technology that
will grapple with climate change, but they can deepen the self-knowledge of the
selfish but potentially co-operative beasts who have crossed a fateful, collective
shadow-line.’ ‘How do you talk about the state we’ve got ourselves into,’ he asks,
‘as a very successful, fossil-fuel-burning civilisation? How do we stop? That
really does become a matter of human nature. There’s all the science to
consider, but finally there is a massive issue of politics and ethics.’
You make your own destiny
Humanists, since they do not believe in any god or gods, believe that we must
make our own destinies. This means that they do not believe in ideas of
‘salvation’ as, for example, Christians may do, but in the ability and power of
ordinary people to take control of their own lives.
Fenner Brockway (1888-1988) was a humanist socialist politician who
devoted his life to two causes, world peace and racial equality. He was
imprisoned for his opposition to the 1914-18 war, and helped to found the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the World Disarmament Campaign.
He played a leading role in bringing about the change from the old imperialist
British Empire to the present situation where independent nations belong to
the Commonwealth. He knew most of the leaders of the colonies seeking
independence from Britain, including Gandhi and Nehru, the Indian leaders,
and in his old age was a popular and inspiring figure amongst Indian
communities in Britain. He wrote of how an experience of the beauty of
nature influenced his life:
This spiritual experience came one evening as I stood looking over
the green ocean towards the red sunset. A great calm came over me.
I became lost in the beauty of the scene. My spirit reached out and
became one with the spirit of the sea and sky. I was one with the
universe beyond. I seemed to become one with all life. This
experience had a profound effect on me. It came to me often when I
was alone with Nature. It swept over me as I looked out to the stars
at night. It was a continuous inspiration. I felt that I was more
than an individual. The life of all time was within me and about
me. I must serve it ... I have said that this experience is my
religion, yet it leaves me an agnostic ... I have no sense of a personal
God. My philosophy is founded on the experience I described. I
cannot be other than a world citizen, identifying with all peoples.
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CHAPTER SIX
GOD
BIG QUESTIONS: Is there anyone up there?
Is God the right word to describe what I believe in?
Why doesn’t God intervene to stop all the pain?
Is God male or female?
Where is God – inside me, all around me?
Religion causes more trouble than it’s worth?
What is it all about?
Why do we need any idea of God?
Is God or are Gods male by nature: are there Goddesses
too?
COMMON THEMES:
This is obviously a key theme for religion, and for understanding between
faiths, and part of the problem over definitions arises from the fact that the
world’s religions derive from and exist in radically different cultures and many
different languages. But in fact there is a lot of agreement across the team’s
contributions - including:
• The impossibility of defining Allah, God, Yahweh, One-ness,
Brahman, Atma, Parmatma, etc. because of the limitations of human
language
• There are as many varieties of belief about God within religions as
between them
• ‘Western’ or Abrahamic religions tend to emphasise one all-powerful
God, creator and sustainer of the world
• ‘Eastern’ religions tend to emphasise an ultimate reality, the one-ness
of all things
• There are liberal/conservative, nationalist/universalist,
progressive/fundamentalist tendencies within most religions
• For most religions, what precisely your beliefs about God are has little
significance in comparison with what sort of life you lead
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS
The Muslim contribution was clear and concise:
• The one-ness or unity of Allah (God) is central to Islam
• God has revealed himself through the Qur’an and the scriptures
• There are many (ninety-nine) names for Allah - creator, omnipotent,
just, first and last
• Other necessary beliefs relate to God’s (Allah’s) Books, Prophets,
Angels, Judgement Day, Predestination
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The Sikh description of God appears on the first page of the Guru Granth
Sahib:
• God is the One True Universal Creator, eternal, self-existent and
beyond death
• God Akal Purakh or Parmatma often called Husband
• Other key themes are no fear, no hatred: from dark to light, spiritual
teacher
• Humanity is made in God, as is nature to support us in our life’s aim
of union with God
• Sikhs serve God through engaging in the world, serving others,
supporting families and honouring the three pillars of faith
The Buddhist contribution begins by reminding us that the Buddha would
never answer questions about God or belief:
• Traditionally Buddhists have been seen as not believing in a personal
God
• Rather, Buddhists reflect on reality, what is around us
• Buddhists are happy to share worship and interaction with theist God
religions
• Suffering and conflict arise from wanting things (dividing the world
into subject and object)
The Christian contribution focused on the baggage associated with the
concept of God for modern discourse and society, but found that:
• The ‘mainstream’ churches unite around a creed which starts with
belief in God as a Trinity
• Key concepts are God the Father, Almighty, Creator of all things; God
the Son, Jesus Christ, who became God in human form, and the Holy
Spirit who supports and sustains us
• God is primarily a God of love, mercy, peace, forgiveness, compassion
and grace
• In Jesus, and his crucifixion, God allowed men to do their worst, but
his love overcame death through the resurrection
• The difficulty of these concepts demonstrates the mystery of God and
the limits of rational explanation
The Hindu contribution emphasises:
• Hinduism offers two broad approaches to God (or Ultimate reality),
either as a super-personality (Ishwar) or as a cosmic principle
(Brahman)
• Both approaches are accepted because they fulfil different needs.
• The same Ultimate reality can be viewed in different ways; just as ice
and water are the same thing in different forms
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• A personal God is more accessible for lay Hindus while God as a
principle is philosophically more satisfying
The Humanist contribution emphasises:
• Humanists do not believe in an all-powerful benevolent God
• Epicurus said that God cannot be omnipotent and loving if he allows
evil
• Science has eliminated almost all the good reasons for belief by
showing how the world works and explaining natural phenomena
• Humanists make their own meaning and purpose in their lives without
any supernatural reference
The Jewish contribution emphasises:
• God cannot be limited by our definitions (gender him/her)
• God is both the Creator and the God of History, involved with the
world
• The existence of evil (eg Holocaust, Tsunami) is a challenge to belief
• God limited his freedom by giving human beings free will
• God is love: our job as humans is not to focus on belief, but to work
out how to love others in practice
• You can be Jewish without believing in God
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A Muslim perspective
Faith Perspective
Central to Islamic belief is the oneness or unity (in Arabic: tawhid) of Allah, or
God; this is expressed in the basic statement of faith (the shahadah): ‘There is
no god but Allah’. Tawhid, the unity of God, means that God has no
associates, no parents and no children. This is referred to many times over in
the two main authoritative sources, the Qur’an and sunnah (teachings and
actions of the Prophet Muhamed). Perhaps one of the most direct and concise
references would be surah (or chapter) 112 - ‘Al-Ikhlas’ (Purity, or sincerity of
belief)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.
(Qur’an, Yusf Ali’s translation, Chapter 112)
Immediately after this, it may be useful to consider a direct link with the
attributes of Allah, or 99 names as they are commonly called. These would
include superlative terms such as, for example, The First, The Last, The
Omniscient, The Omnipotent, The Guide, The Just, The Shaper of Beauty, The
Loving One, The Clement, The Light, etc., etc. (Please refer to Action/Activity
section for further details.)
Finally, for a practising Muslim, belief in Allah would also necessitate a
conscious awareness and acceptance of all the following beliefs:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
belief
belief
belief
belief
belief
belief
in
in
in
in
in
in
One God (Allah)
all God’s Prophets
all God’s Books
Angels
the Day of Judgement
the Foreknowledge or the Predestination of God (Allah)
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A Sikh perspective
The word God in Gurmukhi (Sacred language of the Sikhs) is Akal Purakh or
Parmatma (supreme soul). The description given below appears on the first
page of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib ( the sacred scriptures of the Sikhs) and is
the primal definition of God.
One Universal Creator God.
The Name Is Truth.
Creative Being Personified.
No Fear.
No Hatred.
Image Of The Undying, Beyond Birth, Self-Existent.
By Guru’s Grace
(SGGS p.1)
Sikhs believe that there is One Master soul which is often referred to as
Husband lord and we are all his soul brides. The Guru, our spiritual teacher,
is the one that takes us from darkness and leads us to light. The spiritual
teacher embedded in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib are guidance for the whole of
humanity and enable us to live as originally and as organically as the divine.
The teachings allow us to celebrate and enjoy life while providing tools and
techniques to overcome our fears and live as free spirits.
The idea is that all humanity is made in GOD. Mother Nature is there to
support and guide us. She provides us with the air that we breathe, the water
and the fire without which we cannot function. She brings us dark and light
helping us to connect to the planet through prayer (Sikhs pray at dawn and
dusk daily) and provides us with the majestic sky as a roof over our heads.
The night of ignorance can be long when we are not connected to our beloved,
the question is how to bring the enlightenment of dawn to our life. The
example given in the scriptures demonstrates that the aim of life is union with
the divine. The Guru gives an example below in which our soul is invited to
awaken from the darkness of ignorance, not knowing God, and connect to our
true creator.
O painful sleep, grow shorter, so that I may awake and constantly
grasp his feet.
(SGGS p. 544)
Religion has to explain to us our reality, not a philosophy. If human beings
feel bad, there must be an explanation as to why they feel bad, and how from
feeling bad can they feel good; that is religion. The reason why God is
constantly referred to as the husband is because religion is the relationship
between a woman/man and her/his reality guided by the technique or
technology of a Master. In relation with the other, we find our truth as our
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partner becomes our mirror and allows us to learn and grow especially when
we are acting out of ego or anger. Our partner challenges us and encourages
us to walk away from selfish acts and through compromise and sacrifice we
are able to live with the others and ourselves in harmony.
The search for God
The Sikh teachings oblige us to engage in the world. The only way to reach
God is to live life on earth, to become householders, raise families and honour
the three pillars. To find God on earth, we need only to look deep within
ourselves and meditate, earn an honest living and then share what we have
with others.
Therefore we are free and will never be slaves for the rest of our lives, we have
no choice but to grow and growth has to be perpetual. The progression of our
existence is to keep honour, respect, trust and faith. We must try not to fall
into the trap of maya (illusion), anger, lust, attachment, ego, but instead focus
on serving others, reaching out to the God in others:
Sweet is that season when I remember you
Sublime is that work which is done for you
Blessed is the heart in which you dwell, O giver of all
You are the Universal father of all, O my Lord my master.
(SGGS p. 97)
Sikhs believe when they serve others, they are serving God, and in the words
of Yogi Bhajan: ‘If you cannot see God in all, you cannot see God at all.’
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A Buddhist perspective
Traditional views about Buddhism and God are that Buddhists do not believe
in God and it is often quoted that the Buddha would not answer questions
about the subject.
I am going to reflect on the subject in the light of my own personal
development, using both the Buddhist framework and the integral approach of
Ken Wilber.8
In my tradition everything is up for reflection: see how it works for you; it is
not a proclamation and it’s not a thinking process.
Buddhists don’t shy away from the God-centred religions
I live in a Buddhist monastery near Hemel Hempstead called Amaravati. It
consists of a multicultural/multi-ethnic community of 40 monks and nuns
and another 30/40 guests, and has an attached retreat centre for 60 people.
We have about 13 different nationalities resident with not one home-grown
Buddhist amongst us. On the whole we are Westerners brought up in mainly
Christian and atheist backgrounds but with a disproportionate amount of
Jews, of whom I am one. The monastery in this country is about thirty years
old with roots in the Thai Theravadin form of Buddhism, in particular the
Forest Tradition.
Over the years - and it is still in process - the tradition has adapted to
Western culture and attitudes, and some Westerners have taken on the
attitudes of their Asian counterparts. In the beginning quite a lot of effort was
put into understanding what was Thai, what was Buddhist, what was
cultural, what is appropriate for this country, and so on. In the early 80s, a
very successful interfaith event was run at the monastery and this led to some
very important connections. About two years ago, the Christian seminary in
Yorkshire called Mirfield ran a Buddhist-Christian inter-monastic conference.
We held different prayers/meditation and discussions. I think it just blew the
minds of all that attended. It was outstanding that there were monastics on
both sides that could translate their religion and experience into language that
everybody could understand. What I think most of us drew from this was how
much we have in common in terms of daily structure, practice and religious
experience.
Amaravati regularly runs Buddhist-Christian retreats on-site and ChristianBuddhist retreats at a local nunnery. We have regularly had Christian nuns
and monks stay with us, sometimes for long periods. At Christmas time, the
local church has had more Buddhists than Christians at its midnight mass.
We have even blessed a Franciscan monk for his lifetime vows and Christian
8
http:/www.imprint.co.uk/Wilber.htm or Ken Wilber’s book The Integral Vision: A Very Short
Introduction to the RevolutionaryIntegral Approach to Life, God, the Universe, and Everything
All Faiths and None
Chapter Six : God : 123
monks and nuns have come to our ordinations. Similar interactions have
occurred with the other religions. So what I’m pointing to with all this is that
Buddhism does not shy away from the God-centred religions, or discourage
the practices.
God is oneness
I would like to offer my own personal reflections on the God thing. Firstly, God
is a Western word: it’s not the word used originally in the religions. Secondly,
all the major religions that use the word ‘God’ in this context say there is only
one God. For me, God is then the label that we can attribute to oneness.
In the Buddhist scheme of things we are asked to investigate what experience
is and we have various tools and practices to try to help us. What does one
mean? In my understanding it means not to be split, to be undivided; as soon
as we try to think about one we have already become divided. We have a
thought and thinker. When we have this we always have conflict, there is a
‘you’ and a ‘me’. We turn the world into subject and object. Conflict or
suffering arises because this subject wants something and can’t get it, or
wants to get rid of something and can’t. It wants to define and then
understand what ‘one’ is. What the Buddha suggests is that, if you stay
undivided in the one, there is no conflict.
The attitude that can best describe this is acceptance of everything: the good
and bad, right and wrong. It’s not an agreement about the way things are. It’s
a recognition of the way things are. It’s not that from this point you don’t
change anything: that you just accept that somebody is going to hit you and
allow him. Staying in pure subjectivity, undivided, knowing ... gives access to
what my teacher Ajahn Sumedho calls intuitive awareness.
Intuitive Awareness is a way to respond to the situation (responsibility - the
ability to respond) which frees you from cultural/social/political/religious
views that you may have taken in as part of the process of maturing as an
identity. It’s not that these views are wrong, but they may have never been
questioned. They are taken for granted and, hence, could limit your
experience. I can hear in my head the ‘ifs’, the ‘buts’ and possibilities with all
this, so I would like to frame all this within a context.
Attempting some understanding of God
The way God has been seen is very much based on the cognitive, emotional
and spiritual development of a person. For me, Ken Wilber champions this
view with what he calls integral spirituality. The development of the world so
far can be split into three road areas: pre-modern, modern and post-modern,
which has an overall effect on our view of what God could be. Pre-modern
includes archaic, animistic/magical, power gods, mythic gods. Modern
includes scientific/rational and pluralistic. Post-modern includes integral and
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maybe holistic. In his scheme of things, we go through each of these stages
as we unfold/develop as persons/identities.
Ken Wilber does not deny that you can have a very deep and powerful
experience of oneness at any one of these stages, but your interpretations in
relation to it and actions will be based on how you have personally developed.
Another three areas go with this to make what he calls the four-quadrant
approach. Simplified they can be called ‘I’, ‘we’, and ‘it’, or ‘the beautiful’ ‘the
good’ and ‘the true’- which Ken Wilber calls our validity claims. So there is my experience, the experience when we are together and the experience of
things - ‘its’. Both the ‘I’ and ‘it’ experience has an interior and exterior, giving
you four quadrants. This is not a reductionistic framework, it is a sort of
correlative one - that when something is happening in one quadrant, the other
three quadrants will have an effect on the overall outlook.9
In this way it just about allows for everything: your interior world, the reasons
for that interior world, the cultural and world-view and social systems.
I will leave you with a paragraph from Ken Wilber’s The Simple Feeling of
Being.
God, for Augustine, is what you know before you know anything
else, and upon which everything else depends, and something that
can never actually be doubted. God as ground, not just of all
beings, but of our own immediate and primordial awareness - this
is the call of Augustine. How similar to the Eastern traditions! ... If
you think you have not found or seen the primordial Self, the
awareness of that lack is itself the supposedly lacking self.
In summary, I’ve defined God as the label that we use for oneness and
reflected on it from a personal Buddhist perspective and put it in the context
of Ken Wilber’s Integral Approach. As with all the teachings of the Buddha,
just take what you like, or nothing. If any of this has offended you, I ask your
forgiveness.
9
http://www.imprint.co.uk/Wilber.htm or Ken Wilber’s book The Integral Vision: A Very Short
Introduction to the Revolutionary Integral Approach to Life, God, the Universe, and Everything
All Faiths and None
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A Christian perspective
Someone once said that the problem with words is that you never know
whose mouth they’ve been in. This is especially true of the word God. Few
other words in the dictionary come with more troublesome and heavy
baggage. In a time of low church attendance ‘official’ talk about God normally defined as orthodoxy - has become more and more a secret
language for those strange enough to leave their beds early on Sunday
morning to go to church. But across the bewildering variety of churches out
there, those known to be part of ‘mainstream’ Christianity are united in and
by some basic core teachings or doctrines about God (or, if you prefer, the
Supreme Deity or The Man Upstairs or that Indescribable Something Which
Must Be There).
God in the Creed
Members of mainstream denominations such as Anglican, Methodist and
Roman Catholic recite a set form of words called the creed during worship.
The most authoritative and widely used creed, the Nicene, says this about the
God:
I believe in one God the Father Almighty
Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible:
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all
worlds;
God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God;
begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father,
by Whom all things were made.
The words and ideas of the Nicene creed rely heavily upon three main sources
for inspiration: Judaism, the New Testament and Greek philosophy.
Christianity, like all systems of knowledge, didn’t suddenly appear out of
nowhere. A Christian’s understanding of God is profoundly and intimately
related to that of Judaism. Like its faith-parent, Christianity confesses belief
in one God (monotheism as opposed to polytheism) who made everything that
is. Without God nothing could exist and everything is sustained and held in
being by God.
Now, before we’ve even got our heads around the idea of God as Creator (or
the Father Almighty) the creed moves us swiftly on to talk about God’s Son.
This Son, the ‘Lord Jesus Christ’, also happens to be God, the same God as
the Creator, the Almighty, and most definitely not a different or lesser God
(‘God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God’). Oh yes, God also travels
under the name of Holy Spirit. A more detailed reference to the Spirit comes
later on in the creed. Confused?
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Welcome to the Trinity!
The Trinity is the doctrine that sets Christianity apart from all other
monotheisms. Of course, not every Christian or every Christian church
understands God to be a Trinity - but that’s another story. Let’s take it as
read that for orthodox Christianity at least God is triune.
An important document for Protestant churches - The Thirty Nine Articles
(1553) - offers this potted summary of the Trinity: ‘There is but one living and
true God ... And in unity of this Godhead there be three Persons, of one
substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.’
God of love
So much for the head-scratching theory. The question that really concerns
Christians about their God is how He (and He’s normally a He, by the way,
unless you’re into feminist theology) relates to the world and every individual
in it. We’ve already said that God creates and holds everything in place. But
that’s not very exciting, is it? Where’s the relationship, we cry! The crux of the
matter is ... love. The Christian idea of God (like the God of Judaism) is
overwhelmingly a God of love. And, moreover, all the things that flow from love
- such as mercy, peace, forgiveness, compassion and grace.
For the Christian believer God is known as supreme self-giving love. This is a
direct result of Jesus’ crucifixion. At the crucifixion God took upon himself all
the limitations of his creation so that he might fully renew and redeem
humankind (the theory of atonement, or at-one-ment). God loves us, the
Christian believes, so much as to literally die for us. This is the key moment of
revelation for Christianity in which God takes the initiative to overcome the
divide that separates humanity from God.
Maybe we can’t know
At a rough guess, there are currently around 1500 Christian denominations in
the Western world. The sheer scale of Christianity’s diversity means that it’s
safer to talk about contemporary Christianities rather than contemporary
Christianity. So don’t expect any universally agreed doctrine of God to appear
any time soon! Certain theologians have, in the midst of such disagreement
and debate, decided to write the word ‘God’ as ‘G*d’. What this asterisk
signifies is the essential mystery and unknowability of the God. The traditional
theological term for human acceptance of God’s mystery and majesty is
ineffability. When theologians declare that, ultimately, God is ineffable, what
they mean is that all our words and formulas invented to capture or express
the reality of God end up, more or less, in failure. St Thomas Aquinas (12251274) was one of the greatest theologians who ever lived. His huge work of
systematic theology, the Summa Theologica, was never completed. When asked
why he had stopped writing, Aquinas replied: ‘All that I have written seems to
me like straw compared to what has now been revealed to me.’ For as long as
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Christians declare their belief and faith in a living God, then talk about God
will never cease - even if the entire enterprise of faith seeking understanding
is rooted in a sense of incompleteness.
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A Hindu perspective
One or many gods?
Hinduism has quite often been mis-represented as a naive polytheist religion.
Despite appearances it has never been a polytheist religion. It has always been
a pluralistic religion. The Rig Veda declares Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti
meaning the same one ultimate can be thought of and approached differently.
Hinduism does not have many Gods but recognise that there are many ways
to God or in broader terms of discovering spirituality. Different Hindus will
relate to God in different ways. Some like to think of God as a super
personality called Shiva or some view God as a female and call her Shakti or
mother Goddess while others may see God as Rama or Krishna. The list is
endless. A modern proponent of Hinduism, Ramakrishna declared, As many
views that many pathways to God. This is spiritual democracy. Not only can
Hindus relate to the ultimate reality as a super personality but they can relate
to it as a spiritual principle that underpins everything and everyone (called
Brahman). There is one other way Hindus can think of God, which is unique
to the Hindu tradition. It asserts that the essential nature of all human beings
(and living things) is spirit, and this is defined as Atman. So a journey of selfdiscovery can also lead to the spirit. This concept gives the highest dignity to
mankind and is encapsulated in the term spiritual humanism. The idea of a
spiritual underpinning to everything (Brahman) sits well with the findings of
modern physics (Quantum Mechanics) that also assert that the underpinning
to this universe is non-material.
The Ultimate
To simplify matters greatly, Hinduism, generally speaking, points to two
different notions of ‘God’. These derive from variations in interpretation of
‘revealed scripture’. One notion conceives of the Ultimate as an impersonal,
unchanging, eternal reality consisting of pure, self-sufficient consciousness.
This notion does not entertain the idea of ‘God’ as an Ultimate Being or an
anthropomorphic deity. It is conceived as being the basis of all things and yet
imperceptible and indescribable. According to this philosophical stance, this
ultimate reality and the ‘self’ (i.e. one’s soul) are identical. The aim (liberation
from the cycle of birth and death) is achieved simply by coming to ‘know’ the
self.
The Supreme Being
The other interpretation conceives of this Ultimate Reality as a personal,
absolute Supreme Lord. The ‘personal’ devotional traditions, i.e. one that
conceives of God as a Supreme Being, are considered the most popular forms
of Hinduism today. One is free to choose one’s relationship with God and the
manner in which to worship. One may address God as child to parent, servant
to master or lover to beloved and may express this devotion in a variety of
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ways (chanting, kirtan, meditation, loving worship, service, etc.), the ultimate
aim being union with God.
The devotional trend finds its expression also in temple worship which leads
to another stereotype of Hindus as ‘idol worshippers’. The term ‘idol’ carries
with it entirely negative connotations and suggests that Hindus worship
inanimate objects. This view found its origins in very early missionary
accounts of Indian religions which judged the externals of some Hindu
practice. A more neutral term, and a more accurate one, would be the worship
of an ‘image’ of God. Hindus call these images murtis. The murti (embodiment)
is usually sculpted from marble or made from a composite of five metals.
What gives these images meaning are the elaborate consecration rites by an
authorized person which take place at the time of their installation. The
appeal to God to come and reside in the image is believed to transform the
lifeless image and make God accessible10.
The fluidity in the concept of God might seem a bit strange, and because the
Divine is considered beyond intellect, Hindus seem to take for granted that
this Divine can express itself in numerous ways. I had to smile when recently
I visited family friends and noticed unexpectedly that one of the images in
their shrine, alongside the Hindu deity, was that of Mary with baby Jesus. It
had been a gift and it seemed perfectly natural for them to have it there, as
well as perfectly characteristic of the Hindu view!
This understanding of the Supreme Being is not homogeneous. The way in
which sub-traditions differ relates to their varying interpretation of God’s
relationship with the devotee, the conception of the end-states of liberation,
etc. The Puranas11 and Itihasa12 in this regard are considered central to the
beliefs and practice of Hinduism today. The eighteen great puranas are
devoted to the idea of the Ultimate Reality as Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva.
Hindus following any one of these traditions may exclusively worship one form
of God, but this does not negate their acceptance of other forms as aspects of
the Supreme. How does a Hindu decide? One may follow family tradition, or
choose to follow their individual path based on readings, philosophy or simply
personal inclination.
Pluralism
Esoteric non-theistic Hinduism affirms that theism is an anthropocentric
attempt to capture the concept of spirit, which underpins everything and
10
This is greatly simplified according to Vaishnava theology, for example, God in his transcendent
nature is considered inaccessible to humans but makes himself successively available through
descent - the final descent being the materialisation of God’s visible presence in an image made of
stone or metal.
11
Scriptural texts, literally meaning ‘old books’
12
Collective term for the two great epics (scriptural texts), the Mahabharata and the Ramayana
130 : Chapter Six : God
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everyone. God is viewed as an exaggerated Human with accentuated Human
attributes such as compassion, the thirst for knowledge and empowerment. It
also recognises the special feature of all living things as well as human beings
and suggests that the unique feature about life is that it is not an extension of
the material kingdom but a clearer manifestation of the spirit. This
philosophically oriented approach of the Hindus also assert that every
disciplined human endeavour in any field will reveal a spiritual underpinning.
Hence Hinduism is comfortable with the idea that spiritual progress is
possible in a non-religious mode. Hence art, music, dance, drama, poetry,
literature and science are considered valid vehicles for discovering a spiritual
dimension of the universe and ourselves. Pluralism is a unique Hindu idea
that offers a very inclusivist approach affirming possibility of spiritual
progress in theistic, non-theistic, and even in a non-religious mode.
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A Humanist perspective
Humanists certainly do not believe that there can be such a thing as an allpowerful and benevolent god:
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not
omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then from where does evil come?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?
Epicurus, 3rd century BCE
Humanists believe that advances in the sciences have eliminated almost all
the good reasons that once made people believe in gods. We understand many
of the natural phenomena and processes (such as what the sun is, or how
human beings came to be) which once seemed inexplicable and were
attributed to a supernatural entity. In the scientific method, we have a way of
discovering how the universe works which has proved itself capable of
generating many useful discoveries.
For many humanists, the idea of gods simply doesn’t strike a chord - they do
not feel any need of the concept of god in their lives. They make meaning and
purpose in their lives without any reference to supernatural concepts.
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A Jewish perspective
I often feel that trying to express things about God firstly makes me sound
like a nutter (and I think this says a lot about society today itself!). Secondly,
it is quite a core part of my personal engagement with God that anything we
attempt to say about God will most likely limit God, because we are limited by
human language and understanding. So, for example, it is quite common to
refer to God as ‘He’. Now, I think most would agree that God is neither male
nor female, however we are limited by human language, and in referring to
God as ‘He’ (‘It’ can seem a little rude!) we seem to have created a masculine
image of God (with a big beard sitting in a cloud?), which in fact limits or
makes smaller what is the incomprehensible enormity of God.
Jews believe in one God, the God of Creation, and the God of History. In the
Torah, God intervenes and is involved in the world. The God of Judaism13 is
arguably as varied as the rabbis writing about Her were. God is seen, however,
as having given Jews the Torah, and left the interpretation and law-making up
to the community. Throughout Jewish texts people challenge God and ask
questions of God - some of them very difficult questions, coming from a place
of pain. Very rarely, however, is God denied.14
God and the Holocaust
I struggled for a long time with this God stuff. In fact, I was 16 when someone
first suggested I think about becoming a rabbi. However I didn’t feel that
would be the right job for me as I felt I couldn’t believe in a God who allowed
so many awful things to happen in the world. This struggle continued for a
number of years, and for me the real problem was that I couldn’t believe in
God because of the Holocaust. While I wasn’t there myself, the following from
Eli Wiesel’s Night (which is his first-hand account of his experiences in the
concentration camps) summarises some of these feelings and thoughts:
I knew a rabbi from a little town in Poland, a bent old man, whose
lips were always trembling. He used to pray all the time, in the
block, in the yard, in the ranks. He would recite whole pages of the
Talmud from memory, argue with himself, ask himself questions
and answer himself. And one day he said to me: ‘It’s the end. God
is no longer with us.’
13
I do not believe God is either a He or a She, but because we so frequently refer to God as He, we
become used to thinking about God as being male or even a man. Thus I try to remind myself that
this is not the case, by referring to God in the feminine.
14
That’s not to say, of course, that today and through the ages there have not been and are not
Jews who practise Judaism or consider themselves Jews but do not believe in God. Being Jewish is
not dependent on belief in God, but is also a function of birth, identity and sense of peoplehood or
even nationality (sine the establishment of the state of Israel). Thus it is very common to find people
who identify themselves as Jewish, often quite strongly, but are not interested in religious life. There
are of course also a million grey areas in-between!
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And, as though he had repented of having spoken such words, so
clipped, so cold, he added in his faint voice: ‘I know. One has no
right to say things like that. I know. Man is too small, too humble
and inconsiderable to seek to understand the mysterious ways of
God. But what can I do? I’m not a sage, one of the elect, nor a
saint. I’m just an ordinary creature of flesh and blood. I’ve got eyes
too, and I can see what they’re doing here. Where is the divine
Mercy? Where is God? How can I believe, how could anyone
believe, in this merciful God?’
This question of how such murder and torture and inhuman behaviour could
be permitted if God existed troubled me. I felt that if God did exist, then I
couldn’t offer any prayers to such a cruel or powerless deity. Then when I was
20 I had an experience of God. There you go - there’s the sounding crazy bit! I
know my experience isn’t proof for anyone other than me, but it left me with
an overwhelming sense that it is OK to not understand. It was then that I
knew I could think about becoming a rabbi. But that didn’t mean the
struggling was over ... Even though I felt it was OK to not understand, I still
ask questions all the time, and in Jewish texts I have found some answers.
God and free will
In terms of events like the Holocaust, there have been many different Jewish
responses to God, from believing it to be a punishment for secularism or
Zionism or religious reform to believing it indicates a new phase in Jewish
history and the Covenant between God and Jews, which can no longer be held
as binding after the Holocaust. For me, the Holocaust is understood in terms
of human free will. Lurianic Kabbalah (a specific branch of Jewish mysticism
from the sixteenth century) developed the idea of tzim tzum - this teaches that
for God to create the world, God had to contract into God-self, thus creating
space for us to exist. This also allowed space for free will. I believe that while
this allows awful things like Darfur, Rwanda and the Holocaust to happen,
this free will is actually God’s greatest gift to us. We only really discover who
we are when we leave home and have to make decisions (and mistakes) for
ourselves. In this way God gives us human dignity, opening up the possibility
of great human evil, but also of great good, if only we would choose to pursue
it.
God and natural evil
But I still struggle with what I would call ‘natural evil’: things like hurricanes,
tsunamis and cancer. Some have tried to convince me that these things are
also the result of humans - we pollute the world and poison our bodies, and
these are the result. But these things have always happened (even if we are
now making it worse) and it seems that while we have free will in how we act,
perhaps God could have allowed a little control over nature to protect us from
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these terrible losses. Once again, I have to admit that I don’t understand.
However I do find the following from the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew
Congregations of the Commonwealth helpful, and it summarises how I feel I
can best cope with the problem:
The only adequate religious response is to say: ‘God, I do not know
why this terrifying disaster has happened, but I do know what You
want of us: to help the afflicted, comfort the bereaved, send healing
to the injured, and aid those who have lost their livelihoods and
homes.’ We cannot understand God, but we can strive to imitate
His love and care.
(Jonathan Sacks 2005; The Times - ‘Responding to the Tsunami’).
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Chapter Seven : Gender : 135
CHAPTER SEVEN
GENDER
BIG QUESTIONS: There is no Gender for God?
Does religion say men are superior to women?
Why are all religions dominated by men?
Can my priest be a woman?
Can a transsexual go to heaven?
What’s the difference - we’re all born equal?
Why do men always hold onto power?
Why can’t women be priests, imans or bishops or
Jathedar?
Is religion anti-women?
COMMON THEMES:
Gender and difference are recognised in all contributions as being difficult firstly, as issues of religious and soul principle, and even more secondly, as
social and cultural issues relating to the time and contexts when both
religions and secular moral traditions were first developed, and the times and
contexts when different scriptural texts were written. In addition, in all
traditions, there are widely different and conflicting experiences within each
tradition, especially since the rise of social views based on equality between
the sexes, and across all areas of diversity in all societies over the past few
centuries.
Despite the differences in origins, there is remarkable congruence between the
contributions from all traditions on this topic:
• All start from the principle that men and women are basically created
or born equal
• There are some obvious differences based on physical characteristics
(eg genitals, perinatal/childbirth) which have often been carried over
into social/family roles (eg home/work)
• In nearly all religious and political structures, men have traditionally
taken the predominant roles
• Most cultures and religions have sanctioned unethical practices
towards women - leading to considerable conflict
• Most traditions say something about the essential harmony of the
sexes - and on taking steps to promote gender equality
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
Sikhism has one of the clearest statements:
• Guru Nanak made a particular point of banning practices which
discriminate against women
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• The Sikh faith, scriptures, belief and practices are gender-free
• Sikhs male and female are seen as ‘soul-brides’ of the (male) ultimate,
eternal reality
• In various times and cultures, discrimination has taken place - eg
most temple (Gurdwara) officials are male
The Buddhist contribution also emphasises the differences between belief and
practical reality:
• No gender distinction at the level of ultimate reality, but plenty of
deep-rooted distinctions at the level of conventional reality
• A recent conference led by the Dalai Lama confirmed that there should
be no distinctions (eg between Buddhist monks and nuns)
• Contemplation of difficult issues such as (for many men) gender is a
way of freeing yourself from deep prejudices and understanding male
and female aspects of our nature
• We desire life to be perfect, but it isn’t - suffering and unfairness is
normal and we can learn from it
The Christian contribution focuses on the complexity of gender and religion:
• There is a strong modern current of feminist theology which rejects
patriarchy
• But the Church structures, language and belief are, even after women
priests/ministers, so sexist and patriarchal as to lead some women to
rejecting the Churches
• In the Bible, God is ‘Father’; women mostly have relatively minor roles
• In much of the history of Christianity women have been ignored, or
belittled
• But Jesus’ message is that God’s love is meant for all - it is gender-free
• And St Paul, founder of the early churches, said: “There is no longer
male or female: for all are one in Christ Jesus”
The Hindu contribution points to a similar clash between ideals and reality
• Living things are an expression of the Spirit (Atman) which has no
gender
• Gender equality is visible in Hinduism. The central prayer of the
Hindus, the Gayatri Mantra addresses God as She.
• Many prophets, sages and seers in the Hindu tradition were and are
women.
• Hindu women were not barred from taking on any religious role
• Sati (burning widows), child marriages and the dowry system never
arose from religious injunction
• In modern India there is no role a woman cannot aspire to, religious or
secular.
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The Humanist contribution is brief and to the point:
• In the past, women have been seen as inferior and denied rights
• In the past century there has been a growing recognition of equality,
and new roles for women - and men
• Humanists celebrate this richer variety and greater potential for
women and men
The Jewish contribution emphasises that:
• In Jewish tradition, leadership roles and the scripture have been
dominated by men
• On gender, as on most issues, there are orthodox, reformed and
progressive strands of Judaism
• Some Jewish rituals have always been part of women’s (home) domain
• The view that women are equal but different, with men leading in the
public sphere, and women in the private sphere, is rejected by a large
number of women
• In marriage and divorce, contracts which used to be seen as
‘protecting’ women, are now seen as chaining them
The Muslim contribution is absolutely clear on gender equality:
• The Qur’an sees women and men as absolutely equal - two halves of
one whole (soul)
• Their religious, moral and social responsibilities are the same, as are
their rewards and punishments
• For example, both must cover their bodies, pray daily, etc; both were
responsible for the Fall
• But women are different as well as equal: for example women are
exempt from certain religious obligations during pregnancy, etc.
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A Sikh perspective
Religion is gender-free
The Sikh faith and all the practices are completely gender-free. Men have a
physical form different from women determined by nature. Everything else,
such as practices and beliefs, are the same for both.
The Sikh scriptures are composed as if we are all the female soul brides and
God is the male unto which we are all wedded.
There is one mother who is married to the universe and she has
three disciples, one is he who gives birth, one is he who maintains
and one is he who lives beyond death.
(Sggs Japji)
It is a strange but very empowering concept within the tradition. All Sikh
ceremonial roles can be fulfilled by either sex. The Siri Guru Granth Sahib is
the word and when it is read or sung, the essence of the shabad (the word of
the Guru) resounds as the female sound current or the naad (unstruck
melody) will carry man over the ocean of life.
Guru Nanak gave great importance to women and his actions prove that he
was very clear about the role of women in society. The Guru took bold steps
against emperors and state rulers against the taboos prevalent in the times
when women were denied their status.15
In faith, in practice
In reality, although the Gurus, the Sikh teachings and history clearly portray
the role of women in the Sikh faith, there is a different practice on the ground.
In 2004 there was a controversial and political rebellion that took place in the
Harminder Sahib in Amritsar, otherwise known as the Golden Temple.
Everywhere in the world and in all Sikh places of worship women have equal
rights, but in Amritsar they are not allowed to sing or fulfil any of the duties
inside the main sacred sanctum. The reason? I am not sure that there is one
other than when the duties were first performed, men performed them. The
controversy hit its peak when a few young Sikh women from the West, who
were visiting Amritsar, asked to perform one of the tasks usually done by
men. When they were shooed away and not given an appropriate reason as to
why they were not allowed to fulfil these duties, the press and media covered
the story.
It just happened that one of the women in question was a lawyer and she
decided to take up a legal, political and emotional battle with the steering
committee. She discovered and brought to light the fact that this issue of
15
See essay on women for references to women’s equality in Sikhi
All Faiths and None
Chapter Seven : Gender : 139
performing duties had been raised earlier by some American Sikh women
back in 1999. As a result the head of the Akal Thakat passed a law
highlighting that it was imperative that women be granted all the rights as
stated by the Gurus.
Unfortunately this never came into effect, however, and still has not, due to
political and social instability in the Punjab’s leadership. There is incredible
irony with this as Mother India, as many remember it, was run by a woman
for over a decade, yet here it is a question of whether a woman can handle the
stress and strain of conducting a simple ceremony.
It was different in the past
It is clear from the above that we still live in a slavery of cultural stereotypes
and the male ego. Is it because man is scared? Exploitation by, and
discrimination in favour of, the male are so prevalent despite what the Gurus
have said and done. In history, women served and were blessed by the Guru,
they were sent as missionaries by Guru Amardas ji and the tenth Nanak Guru
Gobind Singh made it a point to show the role of a woman in the initiation
ceremony of the Khalsa by asking her to add the sweetness to the ambrosial
nectar that all would drink from.
The strength of man and the humility of a woman is the ultimate combination
for survival in the universe. One cannot do without the other. When man and
woman are in complete harmony, they create. Is this not what we believe is
God himself?
Who then can dare to take this away or suggest weak arguments to deny the
world today what the law of nature has already decided?
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A Buddhist perspective
What about the boys!
Monks, I do not know of a form that captivates the mind of man as
that of woman. The form of a woman indeed captivates the mind of
a man.16
Monks, I do not know of a form that captivates the mind of woman
as that of man. The form of a man indeed captivates the mind of a
woman.17
The Buddha did not distinguish between the capacity of a man or woman for
realising the ultimate goal of Buddhism: freeing the heart - both are equal in
this. Yet gender attitudes do affect us. In the context of ultimate reality,
gender plays no role, but in the context of conventional reality, gender is layer
of deep conditioning. Buddhism has much to offer about how to live in the
conditioned realm as a human being. As a Buddhist male monk, I live in a
mixed community where nuns are not equal to monks. Personally whenever
somebody starts to speak about gender, I immediately think of women and the
way they are treated.
Monks and nuns
Buddhist women in England twenty five years ago asked the monks within the
tradition I’m in, to develop a order to support them becoming nuns, which I
think with some reluctance they did.18 In terms of the wider Theravadin
monastic form there is no direct way for women to ordain as nuns, as there
are no female lineage holders. Lineage holders means that there must be a
direct link back to the historical Buddha, as the Theravadin nuns order died
out (although proving this even for the monks is difficult). It is not possible for
it to be created, as in general no monk will do this (although late in 2007 a
monk within our tradition has started to do this).
The Dalai Lama in 2007 organised a large conference in Germany to bring
scholars and monastics from various traditions together to discuss the
question of women’s ordination in Buddhism, and what I understood was said
was that there was no legal monastic problem, it was a political/social one.19
In October 2007 when the Burmese monks rose up against their government,
I joined an organised demonstration in London.20 With me was a senior nun,
16
http://www.mettanet.org/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara1/1ekanipata/001-Cittapariyadanavaggo-e.html
17
http://www.mettanet.org/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara1/1ekanipata/001-Cittapariyadanavaggo-e.html
18
http://www.amaravati.org/fsn/html/81/aboutnun.htm
19
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7020956.stm
20
Buddhism has a lot to say about developing a civilised personality, and it is very unlikely that you will
have a peaceful heart without this. To understand this in more detail it is very important to read this article
All Faiths and None
Chapter Seven : Gender : 141
two other nuns, and one other monk. In the photograph which was
distributed widely throughout the media was just me, or me and another
monk. The media cut the nuns out of the picture even though they were next
to me. There were a considerable number of female journalists and
photographers there. So why is this?
The Buddha taught meditation as a way of understanding the way things are.
The way I have been taught to do this is by observing my body and mind,
seeing how body and mind responds to situations and then learning from
that. As the thinking mind calms down, a natural sense of wisdom or
discernment arises which is beyond the thinking mind. Gender, and its close
friend sexuality, in my opinion are formed in the main by social/political and
cultural attitudes and until we get some perspective on this we limit ourselves
and form narrow opinions of what we think is correct.
Why is it like that?
Opinions are formed by conditions so if you live in a family of racists, there is
a good chance that you might learn racist opinions. The more we get to see
how conditioning works, the easier it is to see that in some situations you are
more male and in others more female. Maybe then, gender is more grey than
the black and white of male and female. Buddhism can also be seen in terms
of two levels the mundane level and the super-mundane level. The mundane
level is all about the social/political/cultural level - that is being a civilised
person and this is very dependent on culture that it is in. So Buddhism comes
from India 2500 years ago, a country that still has very different attitudes
towards sex and gender. The super-mundane level is about freeing the heart
and has no interest in gender, sex or any other condition.21
If gender is only on the conditional level then you need to use tools for looking
at the issues at that level. I have noticed many of the Theravadin Buddhist
monks that I have met who make problems with the nuns or won’t live with
them, or have problems with a woman in their life, their mother, sister or exwife and the same goes the other way around. So usually I connect gender
with women issues, but I would say that men also need to look at what
society/politics and culture have done to us. A good man, is a person that can
drink the most, have sex with as many women as possible, fights for his
country, defends his castle, has a big penis and great muscles; men are not
allowed to cry, show emotions or be angry.22
The Buddha’s teaching can be summed up as ‘there is suffering and there is a
way out of suffering.’ Part of this suffering is that life is just unfair. It’s not an
21
22
http://www.wie.org/j12wilber.asp
To understand more about this read the article by ? http://www.paulkivel.com/articles.php (Boys
will be men, Guiding our sons from boyhood to manhood) and Robert Moore
http://www.robertmoore-phd.com
142 : Chapter Seven : Gender
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excuse for gender inequality or any other injustices, it’s just something that
I’ve noticed as part of living in what would seem a reasonable and fair
community based on very good rules of harmlessness. Part of our deepest
desire is that life should be perfect. From a Buddhist perspective this just
traps us in a very tight corner, and from my experience leads to a cyclic
behaviour which does not lead to freedom.
So how does this help you? The point that I am making is to investigate,
explore what you think is pre-given about your gender, and how sometimes we
unconsciously support our gender identity because that is what we have
learnt. Are you really interested and, if you’re not, explore that?
All Faiths and None
Chapter Seven : Gender : 143
A Christian perspective
When I studied theology at university I had the pleasure of being taught by
the theologian Dr Daphne Hampson. Daphne enjoyed some celebrity as a
post-Christian feminist theologian in those days. Now, you might be thinking
that the phrase ‘post-Christian feminist’ is a bit of a mouthful - and it is. (The
‘post’ word means she’s no longer a Christian, but that religion still means
something to her; or, in other words, you can’t understand Daphne without
understanding Christianity first. Think of it as you would your own childhood
- you can’t get away from it and it’s important to you in many ways, but
overall it’s a time of your life you’ve outgrown.) Daphne’s theology - her
thoughts or talk about God –was actually quite straightforward.
It’s a man thing!
Men created Christianity, Daphne argued, to grow, flourish and feel OK about
life. But when women came to adopt Christianity they crashed. They weren’t
left feeling OK, in fact they were often left feeling pretty bad about themselves.
So Christianity will never fit the shape of women, Daphne insisted. The hat
doesn’t fit and women should stop wearing it. If you want to follow God do it
by yourself or in informal groups - but not in churches full of crosses which
display a man’s half-naked body. Daphne, many years before I knew her, had
been a faithful and committed member of the Church of England. She had
wanted to become a priest, but couldn’t. The Church didn’t allow it back then.
And so her doubts grew and her thinking started to evolve until she reached
such a state of clarity about her post-Christian position that to remain in the
Church would have been hypocritical. Religion, after all, should be something
we do for good reasons and with seriousness of mind. In summary, what took
Daphne out of the Church of England was her opposition to its irredeemably
sexist and patriarchal words, images and scriptures. The word patriarchy is
perhaps the most important word in any debate about gender and religion. It
means the ‘rule of the father’ (men).
But is Daphne right? Are all the millions of women who call themselves
Christian deluded and under the thumb of men and ‘their’ religion? I
pondered these questions long and hard when Daphne lectured me ten years
ago and I continue to ponder them today. I haven’t yet come to any simple
conclusions; I see both sides of the argument. Gender and religion is a very
complex subject.
Male bias in the church
This favouritism or bias towards men - the point of patriarchy - within the
Christian church is obvious, even at a quick glance. For instance throughout
the Bible, God is routinely called ‘Father’ never directly ‘Mother’; women rarely
get a major role in the biblical record, and when they do they’re either
temptresses (Eve and Jezebel) or devoted mothers (Sarah and Mary). Or
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consider the fact that, according to the Gospels, Jesus decided not to choose
any women to be part of his chosen inner circle of disciples. To this biblical
blacklist we could add much from later history. The theologian Tertullian (160
- 225 AD) once wrote that women, because of what Eve did, are the ‘gateway
of the devil’.
Thankfully, even in a collection of writings written completely by men there
are hints here and there that God’s message of love is meant for all regardless of gender, status or race - that all are equal before God. Indeed,
this universal gospel of love and inclusion is a key reason Christianity was so
successful during its initial phrase of growth in the first two centuries AD. The
earliest Christians, unlike the more sophisticated and class-conscious
Romans, didn’t respect hierarchies much. Both the rich man and poor man
mattered; neither was more loved by God. I hope this was what St. Paul had
in mind when he included in his letter to the Christians in Galatia: ‘There is
no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer
male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.’ (Galatians: 3:28)
And in society
Our society remains - inside and outside the Church - patriarchal. Most of the
governments of the world, most of its religions and power structures have men
up at the front, talking the talk and walking the walk. In the Church of
England the story for women has improved a great deal - they can now
become priests - but for me there remains a long way to go. Since women were
admitted to the priesthood in 1994 we still await legislation that would allow
them to become bishops. Along with the Church’s implicit racism - it’s still
predominantly a white community - and its homophobia, it can hardly hold
itself up as a morally credible institution that people would find themselves
drawn to and desire to join. In the wise words of the inner-city priest and
teacher Kenneth Leech: ‘The question of the place of women and of women’s
experience in the Christian tradition and community may well be the issue
which determines the future of the movement as a viable community of
human fulfilment.’ (Kenneth Leech, The Eye of the Storm: Spiritual Resources
for the Pursuit of Justice, p. 230)
All Faiths and None
Chapter Seven : Gender : 145
A Hindu perspective
The problem
One of the functions religions have is providing guidance to their followers as
to how to conduct their lives in a righteous or godly manner and this will often
include instructions on the ideal status and conduct of men and women. A
major problem has arisen for religions in the modern era because the
teachings religions offer on the subject of gender usually reflect the situation
in the period when they were first revealed. So we often find that religions are
either arguing in favour of some form of gender distinction and inequality or
are seeking to find ways of adapting and reinterpreting their original teachings
so that they do not appear to be too far out of line with the modern ethos.
This is certainly the situation for Hinduism, which has specific teachings on
the duties and ideal conduct of a woman that for many appear to be very
much out of date or even oppressive. One Hindu lady I know even said that
she found elements of Hindu teaching on gender relations to be wicked ideas
devised by men so that they can dominate women. This is a very radical
stance to take but it does show the problems that can arise over the tension
between tradition and modernity.
In scriptures
The scriptures of authority give equal status to women. The central prayer of
the Hindus called the Gayatri in the Vedas goes: Let us meditate on the
glorious effulgence of that Supreme Being who has created the universe. May
She enlighten our hearts and direct our understanding. Many of the Vedic
scripts in the Rig Veda are ascribed to women sages called Maitreyi, Gargi,
and Vak. The scriptures of lower authority like the Manu Smriti composed in
the medieval period reflect changing and demeaning the role of women in
Hindu society. In modern times hardly a single Hindu home has this scripture
because the Hindu realised that its sell-by-date had expired a long time ago.
Modern Hindu women are treated as equal in the UK. Most of them are the
breadwinners and key participants in all family affairs. There is no scriptural
sanction to child marriages or the sati tradition. All these became visible in
India at the time of the Muslim conquest of India. The women had to be
protected from the invaders and this could only be done by keeping them
confined to the inner quarters or by getting them married off in childhood. It
was during this time that many brave queens jumped on the funeral pyres of
their dead husbands rather than fall into the hands of the enemy. This was
the start of the sati tradition.
At the time of the Muslim conquest, Hindu women were confined to the inner
quarters to stop them being abducted. They were married off in childhood to
save them from being taken away (if they were married) by the Muslim rulers.
This gave rise to child marriages and became carried on as a tradition. Many
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women, whose husbands were killed, decided to jump on the funeral pyres of
their husbands rather then fall into the hands of the enemy. This gave rise to
the Sati tradition. There has never been any Hindu injunction for widows to
be burnt on the funeral pyres of their husbands. During this period women’s
role was restricted to household duties and became an economic liability
which gave rise to the dowry system.
Modern Hinduism
This picture of unremitting oppression is one that is quite often encountered in
discussions of Hinduism and gender issues and although it does have some
value it is a very one-sided representation that does not properly convey the
reality of the situation. Modern Hinduism is rapidly discarding these outmoded
and unjust restrictions on women and moving towards an endorsement of
gender equality as is demanded by the modern economic situation. Moreover,
the Hindu tradition has many resources that are being made use of by modern
teachers who wish to improve the status of women. First and foremost there is
the Hindu attitude towards scripture, which is not usually regarded as a
binding authority based on revelation. Today dbarma-shastras like the Manu
Smriti are virtually unknown to the overwhelming majority of Hindus and almost
everyone regards them as having no significance for modern times and the same
would apply to similar passages of the Mahabharata. Hindus tend to take a
very pragmatic attitude towards scripture; if it helps them in life they will make
use of a text but if it becomes obsolete or irrelevant they will set it aside, seeing
it as having only historical significance.
Hindu teachers of the modern era such as Dayananda Saraswati, Ram Mohan
Roy, Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi have all made strenuous
efforts to reform Hindu society and whilst it is by no means perfect the
position of women in modern India is improving all the time. There are still
sometimes cases of abuse of women over marriage arrangements and young
wives living with their in-laws are sometimes mistreated, but as Gandhi points
out the root cause of abuse is not so much the social system but the
wickedness that is in the hearts of some human beings. Even in a society
where gender equality is completely accepted, men of a certain type will still
continue to act as abusers. The reform movement that has gained so much
ground over the last two hundred years has looked to the Hindu tradition to
provide it with resources for their arguments against discrimination against
women. And all of them are willing and able to simply dismiss passages of
what might be called ‘Hindu scripture’ if they are found to give support to
injustice or oppression. Gandhi summed up this view when he wrote:
But even if the texts ordering child marriage be found to be
authoritative, we must reject them in the light of positive experience
and scientific knowledge
All Faiths and None
Chapter Seven : Gender : 147
and
There should therefore be some authoritative body that would
revise all that passes under the name of scriptures, expurgate all
the texts that have no moral value or are contrary to the
fundamentals of religion and morality, and present such a version
for the guidance of Hindus.
And, on this point at least, the vast majority of modern Hindus would share
Gandhi’s point of view so that improvements in the status of women can
proceed ahead without restriction on the basis of revealed texts.
The soul is not concerned with gender
The changes that are occurring should not be regarded as an imposition of the
modern ethos, for those who campaigned most ardently for reform used
traditional Hindu ideas as their platform. Dayananda Saraswati pointed out
that the teachings of the Veda do not include the sort of ideas we saw above in
the Manu Smriti and demanded that Hindus return to the original Vedic
lifestyle in which women were accorded an equal status to men. Swami
Vivekananda employed Hindu philosophy in insisting on gender equality. On
one occasion he said,
I shall not rest until I root out this distinction of sex. Is there any
sex-distinction in the Atman? Out with the differentiation between
men and women - all is Atman! Give up the identification with the
body and stand up!
Here Vivekananda is saying that if a person properly understands the Vedic
teachings on the soul, the atman, then he will realise that designations such
as man and woman are secondary. Ultimately, all of us are identical beings
and one who discriminates on the basis of gender (or caste for that matter) is
showing that he is ignorant of the higher principles of Hindu teaching.
Mahatma Gandhi, in his usual style, emphasised the centrality of ahimsa, not
harming others, in Hindu teachings and he applied that principle to the
status of women. Anyone who mistreats another person on the basis of
gender is an abuser who is breaking the core Hindu value of ahimsa and so is
failing to live up to the standards demanded by our dharma.
Women leaders and goddesses
Moreover, we can see in both the ancient texts and in the present day that
there are a good number of female religious leaders, whilst within the family
the mother’s command has a higher status than any scripture. In the
Mahabharata, we find wonderful teachings on dharma delivered by Savitri to
Yama, who is the God of Justice, whilst Kuntidevi’s command to Arjuna that
all her sons marry the same wife cannot be disobeyed, even though it runs
contrary to tradition and was given in error. And finally we should note that
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modern feminists have often criticised the major religions of the world for the
fact that representations of God always show him to be a male figure. The
suggestion seems to be that any being who is mighty and has control must be
male. Hindu teachings, however, also offer the idea of a Supreme Goddess,
named as Devi, Durga, Kali or Parvati. Some Hindu teachings suggest that
the Supreme Deity is a combination of the divine male as Shiva and the divine
female as Parvati, so that the inherent nature of God displays both male and
female aspects. However, the worshippers of the Goddess will frequently assert
that Kali is the one Supreme Deity thereby indicating a form of feminist
monotheism.
So the conclusion we can give is that although the place of women in Hindu
society has suffered during some periods of Hindu history, the scriptures of
authority of Hinduism never sanctioned such a move, to the contrary they
have repeatedly addressed God as she.
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A Humanist perspective
For many centuries in the Western world, women were seen as inferior in a
number of ways and denied the same rights as men. The past century has
seen a growing recognition that, although men and women are certainly
different, they should be treated equally and given the same opportunities in
life as each other. At the same time, there has been a growing recognition that
men may favour roles that were once assigned to women - like staying home
to raise a family, for example.
Believing in freedom and the fulfilling of individual potential, humanists
celebrate the richer variety of options now open to women and men.
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A Jewish perspective
Huge amounts have been written about this subject so there is obviously
much to say. I will have to be brief however and try and limit myself.
The changing role of women
There are different ways to approach Judaism’s treatment of women, but we
must first acknowledge that for the vast majority of our history, we have had
leadership roles dominated by men, and texts which were the reserve of men.
For some women this means that there is nothing useful to be extracted and
things are too embedded in patriarchy and misogyny for anything to be
redeemed today. For others there is an understanding of Judaism as delineating
roles for men and women that are equal, but different, so traditionally men
inhabit the public sphere, and women control the private, and some women are
happy to continue this tradition. For others, and I would count myself in this
group, there is a need to rediscover the female voice in Judaism, and discover
what might be empowering and meaningful for Jewish women today.
This may mean re-interpreting ancient texts, or it may mean finding new
understandings of ancient rituals that women were previously excluded from
and find ways of creating access to them for women. It can also mean taking
rituals that have always belonged to women, and helping women to
understand what can be taken from them positively.
No Jewish movement today would actively seek to oppress women, and there
are women who live very traditional lives, and women who live very secular
lives, all of whom feel empowered by their Judaism. However it must also be
acknowledged that some women today, and through history, have felt
oppressed and limited by Jewish law and communities.
Trying to understand the principle
One example of this is divorce. Divorce is permitted in Judaism, but the Rabbis
didn’t want to make it so easy that people would use it lightly. Marriage contracts
were seen to protect women in a time when they were often treated as secondclass citizens by society. So some of the restrictions put in place were also
thought to protect women. Today, however, they sometimes serve not to protect
women, but to chain them and prevent them from remarrying and having (more)
children. It is also important to remember the lenses with which we come to
texts. In Torah (the Bible), for example, a modern reader will be appalled by laws
which insist a rapist must marry his victim. This seems like a cruel punishment
for a woman who has done nothing. But in tribal Canaanite and Israelite society
where women’s status depended on having a husband and children, this was the
best way to protect women. My response to this would be that we must extract
the principle (to protect those in society who are vulnerable) and apply it to
today, rather than taking the literal meaning of the law.
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A Muslim perspective
The title Gender throws up limitless possibilities. Are we addressing the
condition of being male or female and the implications it has on a follower of
the Islamic faith? Is it their sexual identity in relation to society and culture?
Or are we interested in the historical/political/anthropological baggage that
has accumulated over the years?
I think an excellent place to start would be with the Qur’an:
If any do deeds of righteousness - be they male or female - and
have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will
be done to them.
(4:124)
(O Mankind, Be dutiful to your Lord who created you from a single
soul and from it created its mate (of same kind) and from them
twain has spread a multitude of men and women.)
An-Nisa, 4:1
Two halves of the whole
These two quotations establish the basic fact that in Islam men and women
are regarded as two halves of one whole (soul), equal partners. Their religious
and social responsibilities are the same - both men and women are bound to
observe religious and social obligations; and each will be rewarded and held
accountable for what they do alone:
Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its deeds.
(74:38)
... So their Lord accepted their prayers, (saying): I will not suffer to
be lost the work of any of you whether male or female. You proceed
one from another.
(3: 195)
Although complementary, both genders are regarded as independent
individuals, with their own personalities and traits and thus will be rewarded
or punished according to the acts each offer. This is important since Islam
recognises a woman as a separate entity from her husband or father or
brother. Both must adhere to the same moral standards and both are equally
responsible for maintaining peace and contentment within the society around
them:
For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for
devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and
women who are patient and constant, for men and women who
humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for
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men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their
chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s
praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.
(33:35)
Keeping the balance
Many other passages and teachings refer to the reciprocity of roles within
various relationships and the male/female dynamic in society overall (eg
marriage, etc) - these are too many to detail here, but this is one example.
They (wives) are libas (body cover or garments) for you (husbands)
are the same for them.
(2:187)
Then Satan made them slip there from (the Paradise), and got them
out from that in which they were.
(2:36)
The Qur’an does not solely blame Eve for being tempted first but lays the
blame on both. Moreover it emphasises that neither did Eve tempt Adam to
eat from the tree, nor did she initiate the act herself. Satan was held
responsible for the temptation. Once they realised their mistakes, both of
them repented and they were forgiven:
Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and
bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall be losers.
(7:23)
In many places in the Qur’an, it is Adam who is specifically mentioned as
having been responsible for the error ...
And indeed We made a covenant with Adam before, but he forgot,
and We found on his part no firm will-power.
(20:115)
Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went astray.
(20:121)
Equal but different
However, since the underlying principle within Islam is that women are equal
but different, it takes this aspect into account regarding her duties. Though a
woman must pray daily as men must do, she is exempted from this if she is
on her menstrual cycle. It is mandatory for Muslim men to attend the Friday
prayer, but for women this obligation has been relaxed and made optional for
her. She also does not have to fast during her menstrual cycle, and is also
exempted from keeping the fasts during pregnancy and whilst suckling her
child if she or her child is at risk. Thus a woman is given leniency in this
regard, having due regard to her femininity.
All Faiths and None
Chapter Seven : Gender : 153
A woman is also under the same ethical obligations as men in respect of her
social duties for society.
Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith,
verily to him will we give a new life that is good and pure, and we
will bestow on such their reward according to their actions.
(16:97)
In conclusion, what really matters is that all should play an active role in the
community by enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong and working
positively with all towards the common good for all of humanity.
The believers, men and women, are ‘Awliya’ (helpers, supporters,
friends, protectors) of one another, they enjoin (on the people) AlMa`ruf (goodness)); and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar
(wrongdoing).
http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/Articles/gender.htm
http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/boys.htm
both make fascinating reading ... lengthy, but well worth it!
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CHAPTER EIGHT
RITUALS AND FESTIVALS
BIG QUESTIONS: Does praying do any good?
Why do I need to go to church/ mosque every week?
Why bother fasting? It’s bad for your health.
You don’t need religion to license a birth or marriage.
Aren’t all these festivals based on pagan festivals anyway?
Do you need rituals to be spiritual?
Does everybody celebrate?
COMMON THEMES:
All the worldviews represented here use rituals, festivals, etc, and recognise
their importance for most people. There are some differing views on their
ultimate value, but there is a great deal of common ground:
• Rituals, regular or weekly services/meetings and occasional festivals
are typical of all religions and cultures
• Rituals help us reflect on the important things and events in life
• Rituals are also an important feature of everyday life for most people
(eg bowing, shaking hands)
• Elaborate ceremonials, using art, music, dance, etc are important in
most religions and cultures
• Many religious and secular festivals have built on or incorporated old
pagan or nature festivals
• Most family/community celebrations (eg weddings, baptism, initiation
ceremonies) are both religious and non-religious
• Most festivals involve meals, eating and drinking, special or new
clothes, flowers, etc
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Buddhist contribution emphasises:
• The Buddha said rituals are like a raft - it gets you across a river, but
you leave it behind
• Buddhists use rituals - religious everyday - as an aid to exploring and
understanding the teachings
• Attachment to rituals, statues, rites, etc can block your understanding
• Conventional reality is bounded by language and culture; spiritual
reality is not
The Christian perspective explores two views of ritual:
• Rituals, such as the sacraments (eg holy communion, baptism) and
seasons (eg Christmas, Easter) give order and structure to life
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• Holy Communion is the central ritual for Christians - a shared meal
• Non-religious people share many rituals, etc in sickness or death
• Rituals (prayer, Sunday worship) help us reflect on what is necessary
to live a good life
• Some Christians have rejected elaborate ritual in favour of plain living
and speaking
The Hindu contribution emphasises that:
• Rituals enable us to become spirtiual, remind us of higher ideals, are
symbolic, and act as a form of discipline
• Rituals and festivals play a central part in the lives of most Hindus
• Some major festivals (eg Diwali, Holi) are common to all, some to
particular branches of Hinduism, some to local areas
• Observing rituals (as well as living a good life) helps in making karma
for future lives
• Regular/daily rituals (such as puja before images) can be at home or
in the temple
• Rituals and festivals should be a means for raising spiritual awareness
The Humanist contribution emphasises that:
• It is natural for all humans to celebrate important events in life with
ceremonies
• Humanist organisations have developed ceremonies for weddings,
funerals etc
• Non-religious people may prefer personal observances with no
ceremony
• Most Humanists participate in traditional or modern festivals with
religious origins (eg Christmas or Remembrance Day)
The Jewish contribution recognises that:
• Rituals and festivals are an essential part of Jewish life whether or not
you are religious
• Passover, Yom Kippur etc have origins in great dangers overcome, or
events in Biblical times or modern (Yom Ha Shoah - Holocaust
Memorial Day)
• Daily rituals and blessings - over waking, washing, eating, etc –
remind us of God in family life
• The Sabbath, a time of complete rest in the family home, is great for
mental health
The Muslim contribution emphasises that:
• The Qur’an reminds us always to love and honour God: festivals are
an enjoyable way of doing this
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• Major celebrations are the two Eids, and the prophet Mohammed’s
birthday
• Ramadan – 40 days of prayer and fasting, which ends with the
feasting and dancing of Eid Ul-Fitr
• Eid Ul-Adha, where a lamb is sacrificed and eaten, in memory of the
story of Abraham and Isaac, is the time of the Hajj or pilgrimage to
Mecca
• Daily absolutions and prayers (Salat, short, but 5 times a day)
demonstrate that physical and spiritual purification go together
• Friday midday prayers are for weekly worship and sermon but not a
holiday
The Sikh perspective sees every day as a celebration:
• There is no particular weekly special day, though there are often
Gurdwarda (temple) ceremonies on Sundays, as it is a day off!
• The Guru spoke out against most of the food and cleansing rituals of
his day, as exploitative and empty
• The Guru’s birthday, and Vaisakhi when the Khalsa (spiritual leaders)
were founded, are celebrated, as are the (Hindu) Diwali and Holi
• Daily practices, or code of conduct, are seen as common sense, not
rituals
• The Five K’s are signs/reminders of aspects of the good life
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A Buddhist perspective
Rituals: help or hindrance
Buddhists use rituals to explore the key teachings of the Buddha. They can be
purely devotional to uplift the heart, or they can be contemplative. They may
take place in solitude or in a group, and may be conducted in either the
scriptural or cultural language. The Buddha, though, made it very clear that if
you attach yourself to rites and rituals, this will block you from understanding
his teaching. He said the teachings are like a raft. The raft will get you from
this side of the river to the other side, but once you are on the other side,
there is no need to carry the raft around with you.
You have probably been to a religious service where some old geezer rattles on
about something you don’t understand, says turn to this page and that page,
stand up, sit down, bow here, chant there, surrounded by objects that you
have not got a clue what they mean, in a building either too cold or too hot,
with people in funny costume or people with their best on. And maybe inside
you are thinking, is it time to go home? When is the food and drink coming? I
must remember to remove the fluff from the washing machine.
Rituals have a use
The aim of Buddhism is to awaken to the truth, or Dhamma. That is, to take
the Buddha’s teachings and apply them and realise them for yourself. A major
ritual in Buddhism that is widely misunderstood is bowing - usually to a
Buddha statue. There are two levels to the Buddha’s teaching - one is
conventional and the other is ultimate. On the conventional level, some people
bow and use the Buddha images as objects of veneration. But on the ultimate
level the Buddha image does nothing: it just reflects back your own self.
Whatever you see in the Buddha image you see in yourself. At the time of the
last historical Buddha, Gotama, some 2500 years ago, there were no images,
no festivals, no celebrations other than offering food to the monks. There may
have been weddings and funerals, but there were not even ordination services.
Humans are social beings and they like to get together, share and participate,
so festivals and images were developed later. Bowing is seen as a way of
putting the self into perspective, that there is more to yourself than you think
there is.
Traditional Buddhists bow three times: once to the Buddha - to be awake,
once to the Dhamma - the truth and once to the Sangha - the assembly of
wise people. So each time we bow we can reflect on what it means to be awake
to the truth, and what sort of people have done this - how did they do it and
what qualities did they have. Again you can take the Buddhist statues and
investigate them in the same way, reflecting on the long ears, the way the eyes
look down. In the West we have lost our connection to understanding
symbology and mythology, whereas in the East symbology and mythology have
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overtaken the teaching so much that nobody can understand the teaching
anymore and so the only thing they can do is practise an empty ritual.
Power in ritual
So just notice how much of our lives are full of rituals: toothbrushing in the
morning, wearing black to a funeral, the way we go to school or work, and so
on. Rituals and ceremonies, celebration can be extremely powerful events
when done with the right intention and contained in the right way. Intention
in Buddhism is very important; the basic formula is thought plus energy
creates an action. So we can create situations that allow ourselves or other
people to unfold. My process of becoming a monk, of losing my identity as a
lay person, having a new name given to me, new clothes, the loss of money,
the acceptance within a safe and empowering community, had a big effect on
my psyche, it’s like I could start again. In the monastic rules there is a lovely
ceremony of asking forgiveness if you messed up. It is not based on shame
but on acknowledgment that something did not go quite right or that things
just do go awry sometimes.
There seems to be so much trouble in the world right now with men who have
not been initiated into becoming men.23 They are boys acting as men. There is no
ritual, we are programmed for this ritual and when it is removed, we just try to
find it somewhere else, for example in streets gangs, Harry Potter or The Matrix.
In the first film of The Matrix trilogy twenty minutes in, there are these words:
‘Wake up.’
‘Have you ever had that feeling that you are not sure whether you
are awake or dreaming?’
‘You are looking for the answer. It’s the question which drives you
mad. What is the question?’
So what is your question? How are you going to answer it? The Buddhist
teaching is about freeing yourself from attachments. Attachment can generally
be noticed when we are suffering, either through clinging to something (‘this
spiritual or intellectual exercise [a ritual really] will make me a better person)
or trying to get rid of something: ‘All rituals are rubbish.’ Buddhists do not
create suffering. Suffering is a natural phenomenon resulting from living in
the human realm with a human body. When we are free from attachment we
can let life flow, be devotional, celebrate life, but with an understanding or
knowing. The Buddha’s teaching is for exploration and realisation, not for
turning into statues which are frozen in time and space. All conventional
reality, the conditioned world, is bound by language and what the Buddha is
pointing to is beyond language. Even this article is for reflection, it is not a
dogma or proclamation.
23
See Robert Moore for more about this at http://www.robertmoore-phd.com - actually this also
applies to women.
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Chapter Eight : Rituals and Festivals : 159
A Christian perspective
I was brought up to consider the word ‘ritual’ a dirty word. I was a Protestant
- a Methodist at the time - and ‘rituals’ were things that only Catholics got
involved with. They were ‘ritualistic’; we were plain-speaking, plain-living,
Bible-only Christians. Good Protestants only sang and prayed without the
need for overt ceremony and show. In fact, the word ‘ritual’ was often used in
the same breath as ‘mumbo-jumbo’. Since those days I’ve become a priest in
the Church of England. Many of my ancestors - tough-minded Presbyterians
from Scotland - are probably turning over in their graves. Today I happily
indulge in lots of rituals whenever I get the chance!
The comfort of ritual
I now realise that all societies, groups and communities, whether religious or
not, practise all of the time various sorts of ritual. And why? Because they give
life shape and order. We human beings are creatures in love with doings
things again and again and again; call it routine, call it habit, but repetition
helps us feel that things are safe, stable and secure. This is my theory, at
least. Occasionally we need a bit of spontaneity - what else is a holiday? - but
more often than not when we return home, we say, ‘It’s good to be back.’ And
what makes it good is that all our little routines and rituals are there waiting
for us to begin again ... and again ... and again.
The power of ritual
So at home, so at church. As an Anglican, my ritual life focuses on various
actions associated with the sacraments - mainly holy communion (the reenactment of Jesus’ last meal) - and baptism (the ritual that marks entry into
the Christian church), and the variations within each depending on the
season (Lent, Easter, Christmas, etc.). I’ve said that ritual gives shape and
order to life. But it also gives identity - it helps to tell us and others who may
be watching us who we are. My Methodist background looked upon rituals as
meaningless repetition, as empty. But the opposite is the truth. The things
that we do repeatedly tell us important details about what we believe. Take
Holy Communion. It’s the central ritual in both Anglican and Roman Catholic
churches. Its importance lies in the fact that Christians believe it was created
by Jesus himself during his last night on earth. The first thing to say about
Holy Communion is that it’s done alongside other people, like most other
religious rituals. In this way rituals are a bit like plays or dramas in which
everyone plays a part. The priest stands for Jesus, the congregation the
disciples, and so on. So the power of a ritual is linked to the number of people
taking part in it.
Engaging in ritual
One of the most moving rituals I’ve ever taken part in involved making the
sign of the cross, with oil, on the forehead of the person beside me. The
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context for this ritual was a service of healing. The crowd who had gathered in
the church for the service included many terminally ill and disabled
Christians. What was special was its democratic quality. My wife’s church, the
Society of Friends (Quakers), doesn’t have any priest or official person up the
front saying the ‘magic words’ (as she calls them). At this particular healing
service no one person was set apart to administer the oil. Everyone did it, the
sick anointing the healthy, the healthy the sick. Rituals, especially when
accompanied by powerful words - as in Holy Communion: ‘Take, eat; this is
my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ - can be approached
on many different levels. But they all demand involvement and participation.
There is no such thing as a non-engaging ritual. This is why many Christians
find the sermon the dullest part of a Christian service; it doesn’t give them
any space for self-expression or involvement.
Another powerful ritual that left an impact on me was the annual All Souls’
Day memorial service at All Saints’ church, West Bromwich. This service was
dedicated to the memory of all who had died in the parish - and had been
buried or cremated by one of the clergy team - in the previous twelve months.
A letter was written to the family of the deceased inviting them to church to
remember their loved one. On average, around 200 people attended. At its
heart was the act of walking up to the front of church to light a candle
following the reading of the names. The force - both literal and symbolic - of
200 candles is quite something. What people were doing was making a
statement that we need not be alone in our grief and that by gathering to
remember and recollect the dead we take back something from death’s grip.
As in this simple service, ritual can carry and convey our deepest convictions that life is stronger than death - and assist in managing the balance between
memory (the past) and our hope in new beginnings (the future).
Rituals come and go; some lose their power, others don’t. Since Protestants
broke away from the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century many rituals of
the Middle Ages have been lost. They exist only in history books. I find this
sad. For rituals do so many things, if we approach them in the right spirit.
They bring us closer to our neighbours, they give order to life, and they help
us to reflect on what is important and necessary in living a good life. Every life
is rounded off by a ritual: the ritual of Last Rites, the funeral service, that
formal moment in which we say goodbye. From start to finish ritual is with
us.
All Faiths and None
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A Hindu perspective
Ritual times
The Hindu calendar is filled with many different festivals that are of differing
degree of importance to different believers, depending on the form of Hinduism
they adhere to and the part of India from which their family originates. There
are, however, a number of major festivals that all Hindus participate in,
regardless of their particular persuasion. The dates of almost all Hindu
festivals are determined by the lunar calendar and so the date in the solar
calendar will vary year on year, but as with Easter in the West the variance is
within a 28-day period. The main festivals of the Hindu calendar are firstly
Diwali (October/November), which is really a celebration of the new year
although there are a number of religious elements attached to it, Shiva-ratri
(February/March) dedicated to the worship of Shiva, Krishna Janmashthami
(August/September) which celebrates Vishnu’s appearance on earth as
Krishna, and Nava-ratri (September/October), the festival of nine nights
dedicated to Parvati, the great goddess. There are many other festivals as
well, which may be of greater importance to Hindus who are members of the
sub-groups that exist within the wider tradition.
Ritual acts
Hinduism also includes a huge range of ritual acts and has many priests or
Brahmins whose main function is to enact the rituals on behalf of the
community as a whole. In ancient times, the main ritual performed by the
priests was the yajña or havan, the fire sacrifice in which offerings were
presented to the Vedic gods through the flames of the sacred fire. Although
this ritual is recommended and explained in the Vedas, for Hindus the most
authoritative scriptures, it is only occasionally performed today. On special
occasions such as weddings or the beginning of new enterprises, Brahmin
priests who have been properly trained in the performance of Vedic ritual will
still perform the fire sacrifice, but today the real centre of Hindu ritual is the
mandir (Hindu temple) or even the home. Here a different kind of ritual is
performed that is nor directly derived from the Vedas and involves the worship
of sacred images through ritual offerings.
It is hard to say exactly when or why the nature of Hindu ritual changed so
dramatically from fire sacrifice to temple worship but it probably had
something to do with the rise of monotheistic forms of Hinduism dedicated to
Vishnu or Shiva. Images representing these forms of God are created by
trained craftsmen and then installed in a temple building. For thousands of
years Hindus have been constructing such temples on a large scale and we
can still see these magnificent structures today, with their soaring towers and
decorated gateways. The south of India in particular is noted for these
wonderful monuments of classical Indian architecture.
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The murti-puja
Hindus hold a variety of beliefs and attitudes concerning the worship of
sacred images, a ritual practice that is known as murti-puja, literally image
worship. There are some Hindus who dismiss the practice altogether, arguing
that it is not a Vedic ritual and questioning whether God can actually be
present in an image composed of matter and created by human beings. Other
Hindus believe that although the image worshipped in the temple is not
actually a manifestation of God, it can function as a symbol of the divine that
provides a focus for our devotions. The nature of God revealed by the
Upanishads, the philosophical part of the Vedas, is of an absolute,
inconceivable Deity who is completely beyond our range of comprehension.
Because we can have no idea of the true nature of God the sacred image
provides us with a symbolic representation that we can use as a substitute
until we can gain the higher realisation. Those whose spiritual faculties are
awakened become aware of the higher divine reality and they no longer need
to worship the sacred image, but for the rest of us it is a valuable means of
advancing along the path.
Whilst Hindus will frequently confirm this symbolic understanding of murtipuja, the traditional teaching is rather different and there are still many,
many Hindus who do believe that the sacred image is an actual manifestation
of God. In the ancient Sanskrit texts devoted to temple worship it is explained
how the ritual known as prana-pratishtha, the establishing of life, is to be
performed. In this ritual the priests request the Deity to become present
within the image and it is believed that God will then appear and bring life to
the image so that the worshippers can actually enter the divine presence in a
temple and can make offerings to the image so as to express their devotion to
God. The rituals performed by the priests within the temple consist primarily
of the making of offerings to the Deity who is present in his murti form. These
offerings take the form of cooked food, water, flowers, incense, jewellery,
garlands, clothing and scents. Of course God does not need such offerings,
but by becoming present in the form of the sacred image he gives the devotees
an opportunity to express their devotion in this overt manner. After they have
been presented to the image by the priests, the items used in the worship are
considered to be blessed and are returned to the worshippers as sacred items.
Every day in the temples, offerings are made at scheduled times regardless of
whether or not worshippers choose to attend. The ritual is performed for the
service of God and the participation of any congregation is optional. Some
may choose to attend the service for its full duration whilst others will come in
just for a few minutes to make a personal prayer; for the worshipper it is very
much an individual act.
The Hindu practice of image worship has been subjected to criticism from
members of other religions for whom rituals of that type are forbidden.
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Questions are asked as to how a created image can be regarded as a Deity,
but the answer is that God agrees to be present in this form as an act of grace
to allow the devotees to worship him in an easy and practical manner. Other
Hindus will point out that all religions have sacred symbols for their members
to revere - holy places, shrines, books, icons, etc - and Hindus are acting in
the same way by showing reverence to a physical object that symbolically
represents the transcendent God.
The purpose of ritual
Hindus believe in reincarnation and they see the good and bad fortune we
experience in this world as the result of previous acts. For the most part,
good fortune is regarded as being the result of virtue and moral conduct, but
religious rituals are also accepted as efficacious in shaping one’s future karma
in a positive manner. It is believed that contact with sacred objects can purge
an individual of the effects of unrighteous deeds so that he will not have to
suffer the future result, and this is one of the reasons why Hindus seek
contact with the temple offerings after they have been presented to the image
and why they travel on pilgrimage to bathe in sacred rivers. In the Hindu
world-view there are places and objects in this world that have been made
sacred by the touch of the divine and by bringing ourselves into contact with
those places and those objects we can purify ourselves from the effects of
wicked deeds that would otherwise return in the form of future misfortune.
In the modern era, one of the main trends in Hindu belief and practice has
been a reappraisal of the role and value of traditional rituals. Most Hindus
regard ritual acts as an essential part of the life of the community, a way of
drawing people together by sharing a common expression of spirituality, but
many are today rather sceptical about the spiritual efficacy of ritual acts
unless they are accompanied by an equal elevation of spiritual consciousness.
Many Hindus today hold to the view that it is spirituality and good deeds on
behalf of others that shape one’s future karma rather than the rituals
performed on our behalf by the priests. Those who follow the path of devotion
to Shiva, Vishnu or the Goddess will say that the ritual acts they partake of in
the temple are simply expressions of their devotion to the Deity. In the murti
they perceive the presence of the God they revere and hence the ritual is a
means of enhancing the devotional mood they are seeking to foster.
Hinduism is an immensely complex religious tradition and has a vast array of
festivals, celebrations and religious rituals that it provides as a service for its
adherents. Different Hindus have different views on ritual life and are drawn
towards varying forms of practice, depending on the particular spiritual path
they have embraced as an individual.
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A Humanist perspective
Ceremonies are natural
Humanists believe it is natural to want to celebrate the most important events
in life with a special ceremony, usually involving speech, poetry, music, song,
and feasting and dancing. People have always needed to mark the important
times in their lives, and to commemorate the lives of people when they die.
Public celebrations of ‘rites of passage’ are different from ordinary parties,
which we often hold for events like birthdays, anniversaries or graduations they are a bit more focused and often more formal, and we usually use special
language, music and places. Humanists like to celebrate too, but prefer to do
so in non-religious ceremonies, where they will not find themselves saying
things they do not believe. So humanist organisations worldwide have devised
ceremonies suitable for their contexts and needs and provide funerals,
weddings and other ceremonies.
Ceremonies are personal
There are no special rules or observances that non-religious people have to
keep: they are not obliged to attend any kind of service, or have any ceremony
beyond basic legal requirements, but there are humanist ceremonies for those
who would like to mark special occasions. They are always created for the
people involved, so each one is unique and personal. Sometimes families of
mixed religious backgrounds choose a humanist ceremony because they can
all share the non-religious, personal content.
And what about Christmas?
People often wonder what non-religious people do on the Christian festivals
that are still so much part of our culture, and humanists who enjoy these
holidays are sometimes accused of hypocrisy. But since long before
Christianity, people in Northern Europe have feasted and celebrated in order
to cheer themselves up in the darkest days of winter or to welcome the
beginning of spring or harvest. These ancient feast days and traditions were
simply adopted by early Christians as good times to celebrate. Most
humanists and other non-Christians are happy to continue at least some of
these traditions, though some may choose not to because they have no
particular significance for them or because of their over-commercialisation.
There are, of course, many non-religious festivals that include everyone: local
celebrations and anniversaries, film and book festivals, and fairs like
Nottingham’s annual Goose Fair. Humanists would like to see more of these,
and some public celebrations that are meant for everyone, such as
Remembrance Day on 11 November, are becoming more inclusive and less
religious. Humanists died or lost friends and relatives in wars too, but
religious memorial services and ceremonies can make them feel left out.
All Faiths and None
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A Jewish perspective
Ritual and celebrations matter
For many Jews, if asked about their strongest Jewish childhood memory, it
would be the Passover seder - a meal with ritualised retelling of the story of
the exodus. For some, this will be their only interaction with their Judaism all
year round, but they wouldn’t miss it, even if they don’t keep the seven days
of leaven-free Passover after it.
Ritual and celebration is a central part of Jewish life, often described as a
guide for living rather than a system of belief. Ritual can form the core of
many of our daily actions, from different blessings over foods we eat, to
morning, afternoon and evening prayers, blessings on waking up, and on
going to the loo, blessings on smelling spices, and on seeing a rainbow. Every
time I eat, I am reminded that I am Jewish, in the choices I make about the
foods that I eat, and the thanks that I offer for having done so. Weeks are
structured by the Sabbath (known as Shabbat), which regularly gives me an
opportunity to withdraw from the hustle and bustle of work and life, from
phones and email stresses, from news and housework. This weekly cycle
reminds me for six days that the world is not perfect and that I am a person
with free will who must work to perfect creation, and bring change, even if I
cannot complete the mammoth task, while Shabbat reminds me that I am not
in charge, and that the world will be fine without me. People often say to me
(particularly because I’m a Progressive Jew), ‘Isn’t it really a drag having to
keep all the rules of Shabbat?’ The secret is, I wouldn’t do it if it was, and the
few times it can feel like I’d rather be watching Big Brother evictions or going
shopping, I remember that, for the vast majority of the time, it’s incredibly
liberating - I don’t see the traditional rules as restrictions, but opportunities
and gifts.
The year is also marked by festivals and fasts. Jewish life was once
summarised as: ‘They killed us, let’s fast. They tried to kill us and failed, let’s
eat.’ It’s not quite that simple, but certainly our fasts (apart from the main one
on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur) are generally connected to times
when we were in danger or when disaster did hit the community (these all
come from thousands of years ago). Every festival, whether it comes from the
Hebrew Bible (such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Purim) or
later (such as Hanukah), has special foods associated with it, and special
rituals to be performed. Some of the rituals stem back to Biblical times, others
have been introduced through Jewish history, and Jews in different lands will
sometimes have different customs.
Rituals and celebrations strengthen
All of this makes community very important (indeed sociologically much of it
might have come about in order to protect and create community) but even
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more important is the family. After the Temple was destroyed, if a Jew had to,
they could always cope without a community as rituals and celebrations so
often occur in the home. Nonetheless life is much easier when there are
kosher shops and synagogues readily available for when feasting and fasting
come around, and praying with a community is preferred, so Jews have often
tried to live near each other.
Important life-cycle events will also be marked within the community, with
birth, becoming a teenager, marriage (and divorce) and death being marked
with special ritual and community acknowledgement. While not all Jews will
choose to mark occasions in such a way, many are now trying to use
traditional models, but with a twist of personal input to make it their own. If
you look online you can find many new ceremonies and rituals that Jews are
creating for moments that ritual already exists for and moments it doesn’t
(particularly in a woman’s life-cycle, such as miscarriage, or the onset of
periods).24
Rituals give identity
Ritual is an important part of my Judaism because it forms a crucial part of
my identity and provides reminders of the more important things in life. It has
also formed the basis of many happy family gatherings and I hope it will give
to my children a sense of their roots and the importance of valuing the gifts of
this world and themselves. Ritual without meaning is empty, but throwing out
tradition without thinking about what meaning it could hold for me has often,
ultimately, led me back to ritual, and I have found that increasingly I am
drawn to rituals and a physical involvement in and marking of my faith and
my community. This in turn has provided support when I was in mourning
and celebrations when I got married.
Celebrate the good as well as the bad
Celebrations are also crucial, as it can be easy to only remember the bad
things that have happened to the Jewish people, but much more important to
its future is, I believe, its celebrations. Many people feel they have to maintain
Judaism’s rituals and celebrations because so many people were murdered
due to their Judaism in the Second World War. For me, this is a pretty weak
reason to be Jewish, especially when there are so many positive reasons! So it
is my hope that the synagogue won’t only be packed on Yom Kippur and Yom
HaShoah (The Day of Atonement and Holocaust Memorial Day - the most
solemn days of the year), but also on Simchat Torah when the synagogue is
filled with dancing and music.
24
E.g. www.ritualwell.org
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Chapter Eight : Rituals and Festivals : 167
A Muslim perspective
In the Qur’an, Allah asks the Prophet Mohammed to remind his followers that
it is essential for those who claim to love Allah, to love him also: ‘Say to them:
If you love Allah, follow, (love and honour) me and Allah will love you.’ (3:31).
Celebrate with gratitude
In accordance with this spirit, Muslims strive to emulate the Prophet’s
example in every aspect of their lives as best they can. One of the more
enjoyable of these would be that of celebration. For many Muslims,
celebrations are quite often a festive form of remembrance and thanksgiving,
an expression of gratitude and appreciation for all that Allah has blessed them
with; and an excellent way to commemorate not only the lives and examples of
the Prophet Mohammed pbuh, but those of other Prophets also, particularly
that of Abraham, referred to as the Patriarch of Prophets. This is particularly
evident in major celebrations such as the two ‘Eids. (More on this point later.)
Celebrate with ritual
Almost universally, celebration tends to naturally involve merrymaking, going
out to parties, visiting and meeting friends and relatives and enjoying oneself.
Islam is no exception. I find it interesting, though, that the title chosen for
this essay brackets both ritual and celebration together - as celebrations in
Islam also necessarily involve forms of (ritual) physical and spiritual
purification. All Islamic celebrations include taking a bath, or at least
performing ablutions, putting on clean or new clothes, wearing perfume and
going to the mosque or a place of congregation (see essay on Church and
Community) for Salah, a form of prescribed prayers. The main Islamic
celebrations of Eid are also days when children and adults exchange clothes
and other thoughtful gifts.
The dates and days of celebration are set according to the Islamic calendar,
which consists of twelve lunar-based months. A new month begins with the
sighting of the new crescent. Since lunar months are 29 or 30 days long, a
year has 354 or 355 days, 10 or 11 days shorter than the solar year. Another
characteristic of Islamic months is that the number of days in each month is
not fixed. For example, the month of Ramadan may be 30 days in one year
and 29 days in another year.
Salah is a form of worship, a celebration of the holiness, praise and
glorification of Allah and the renewal of dedication of oneself to Him that is
performed by every adult Muslim five times a day. For the preparation of the
Salah timetable, the position of the sun in relation to a location on the earth
is used, that is, sunrise, meridian and sunset. Before sunrise but after dawn
(which commences 80 to 90 minutes before sunrise) is the time for the
morning or Fajr prayer. Immediately after the meridian is the beginning of
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early afternoon or Zuhr prayer, which lasts midway to sunset. From midway to
sunset till shortly before sunset is the mid-afternoon or ‘Asr prayer time.
Immediately after sunset is the Maghrib prayer time, which lasts until the
disappearance of twilight (approximately an hour). After Maghrib until dawn is
the ‘Isha or night prayer time. Each of the prayers can be as short as five to
ten minutes (or as long as the worshipper likes), but must be performed
within its own time slot. All adult Muslims who have attained puberty are
required to perform prescribed prayers (Salah) at the proper time, with various
dispensations (e.g. women during their menstrual periods). A brief ablution is
required as a preparation for the prayers.
The following weekly and annual celebrations are mandated in Islamic textual
sources, that is, the Qur’an and the Hadith.
Yawm Al-Jumu’ah
The literal meaning of these two words is ‘the day of congregation’, which is
Friday. Muslims gather in the masjid (mosque) for a khutba (sermon or
address) followed by Salah led by an imam. After the Salah, people meet each
other in the masjid and may visit relatives and friends. In Islam there is no
Sabbath; therefore there is no mandatory closing of businesses on Friday
except for the duration of congregational services. However, in a majority of
Muslim countries, Friday is the weekly holiday, sometimes combined with
Thursday or Saturday. The Friday prayer, held in the early afternoon, lasts
less than an hour in general.
‘Eid Al-Fitr
The first day of the month following Ramadan, the month of fasting (please see
the body and health section) is ‘Eid al-Fitr. This is the celebration of fastbreaking. Muslims watch the western horizon immediately after sunset on the
29th day of Ramadan for the crescent. If the crescent is sighted, it is the first
day of the new month and the beginning of ___’Eid day. If the crescent is not
sighted within half an hour after sunset on the 29th day of Ramadan,
Muslims complete 30 days of fasting. Either way, the 1st of Shawwal, the 10th
month of the Islamic lunar calendar is ‘Eid al-Fitr. On ‘Eid day, Muslims
gather in a larger facility than the neighbourhood masjid (preferably open-air)
and join in Salat al-’Eid which is composed of Salah followed by an address by
the imam (leader). This is a major holiday for the Muslims. On this day, they
visit many relatives and friends and give gifts to the children. ‘Eid is, first, a
day of thanks to Allah and, next, a gathering of families and friends. All
financially able Muslims are required to give Sadaqat al-Fitr, a form of charity,
on behalf of each and every person of the family, including newborns, to the
poor and needy during Ramadan but before the ‘Eid prayers.
‘Eid Al-Adha
This is the celebration of sacrifice which comes two months and ten days after
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Chapter Eight : Rituals and Festivals : 169
‘Eid al-Fitr. Muslims commemorate the sacrifice of the lamb in place of Ima’il
(Ishmael) by his father Ibrahim (Abraham) as a fulfilment of his covenant with
God. On this day, after Salah al-’Eid (the prescribed ‘Eid prayers), Muslims
sacrifice an animal: a ram, goat, sheep, cow or camel. The meat is divided into
three parts: one part is distributed among the poor and needy, one part is
distributed among relatives and friends and one part is used by the family.
This is also a major holiday for Muslims to visit each other and give gifts to
the children. ‘Eid al-Adha is celebrated on the 10th of Dhul Hijja, the 12th
month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and again depends upon the crescent
sighting for the first of the month. For those people who have gone to Makkah
for Hajj (the pilgrimage), staying on the Plain of Arafat on the 9th of Dhul Hijja
is the most important event. However, for those not performing Hajj, ‘Eid alAdha is the 10th of Dhul Hijja and one of the two most important celebrations
of the year. In either case, one of the most important elements in both cases is
the re-enactment and commemoration of seminal moments in the lives of
prophets who are deeply loved and respected by Muslims; secondly, the
strengthening of the bonds of love and friendship between everyone in society;
thirdly, pastoral care and social cohesion in action, with particular attention
being paid to ensure that none are lonely and that the less well-off are
assisted financially in as discreet a way as possible to help them enjoy the
days of celebration too, without feeling left-out. This is officially formalised
and made obligatory through the compulsory giving of charity and sharing of
one’s sacrifice with those unable to afford it. These are all central to the
concept of celebration in Islam, with the main emphasis being laid on the
communal spirit and all sharing in the spirit of happiness and goodwill.
Eid Milad Al-Nabi or Mawlid Al-Nabi
To return to the first point made at the start of this essay, this is perhaps the
most common and diversely celebrated event in the Muslim world. It is
supposed to celebrate the ‘birthday’ of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), the
main aim behind it being the remembrance of his life, work and impact on
those around him in order for Muslims to emulate him as best they can.
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A Sikh perspective
Every day is a celebration
In the Sikh faith every day is a celebration. The Sikh is grateful for every
breath granted. There are no particular days of the week that are more
auspicious than others.
I have obtained eternal bliss, and I constantly celebrate.
Guru Arjan Dev Ji (SGGS p. 372)
The Sikhs in India as well as in the West do celebrate and commemorate the
birth date of the Gurus known as Gurpurabh a well as martyrdoms known as
Shaheedi Divas.
The largest and most popular event in the year is Vasakhi: it is the day of the
birth of the Khalsa and the coming of the harvest, a new crop, a new year.
The Khalsa
The tenth Nanak defined, and showed by example, the initiation ceremony to
be born as a Khalsa. Historical accounts are given of the way in which the
Guru performed the ceremony, and Sikhs today mark this day as an
auspicious one to partake in the initiation process. It is conducted in the
same way today as was done over three hundred years ago. Certain countries
in the West (the UK especially) allow their Sikh communities to celebrate this
day by holding a Nagar Kirtan, a street procession of devotional singing and
sharing of food in public to mark the event.
Other events such as Holi and Diwali are predominantly Hindu and Indian
cultural festivals, but Sikhs celebrate Diwali simply because the sixth Nanak
was released from Gwalior jail along with 52 other Hill Rajas by the tyrannical
Emperor. As they were released at night, the Sikhs lit the way with candles to
show the Guru the path home.
Empty ritual
The Guru spoke out openly about rituals and was against many of the
procedures set in place by the ruling community that put pressure on
ordinary people to fulfil certain rites and rituals or be punished in the next
world. An example of this was when people had to call upon priests to cleanse
and purify their homes to get rid of bad energies. The people were made to pay
money, feed the priests and even give them things to take away with them: all
this just to clear their homes of something that might not even exist and
without guarantees or evidence that the task performed had actually cleansed
or healed anything or anyone.
Women were also suppressed and were told that because of their
menstruation, they were impure for a certain period of the month and hence
unable to pray or cook, etc.
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Chapter Eight : Rituals and Festivals : 171
The Guru said:
As a woman has her periods, month after month, so does
falsehood dwell in the mouth of the false; they suffer forever, again
and again. They are not called pure, who sit down after merely
washing their bodies. Only they are pure, O Nanak, within whose
minds the Lord abides.
(SGGS p. 472)
This is the purest and most cleansing time for the woman when she prepares
to give birth and create life. There is no truth in her being impure, this is a
gift of her creator, she is able to carry on and live as normal performing her
daily duties including meditating and chanting as she pleases.
The Guru condemned other rituals, when common folk were warned not to eat
certain foods on certain days or do certain tasks in the morning or evening.
The Guru educated the masses saying that every day is equal and created by
God; why should any day or month be more auspicious than another.
Another example of his fierce dislike of the way in which people would be
enslaved by ritualistic behaviour was when the Guru came across some people
in the fields who were throwing water towards the sun. The Guru questioned
and asked them what they were doing.
They replied: ‘We are feeding our ancestors who have died in order that they
may rest in peace and we will be blessed for our service to them.’
The Guru responded by throwing water in the opposite direction.
‘What are you doing?’ asked the holy men.
‘I am watering my fields in the Panjab so my crops will grow.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ they exclaimed. ‘You are wasting water, this will not reach your
fields.’
‘No?’ the Guru responded. ‘But yours will reach the dead ancestors in the
after-life?’
The Guru’s radical teaching methodology often challenged people and allowed
them to process their own actions and make conscious decisions about how
they lived. The Guru’s philosophy was to work hard and honestly and share
what was given with others in the present and not be afraid and follow empty
rituals that might secure a seat in the after-life. His message was to serve and
help the needy in the present.
Sikhs were instructed to live naturally and simply using their common sense
and not be dependent on wise men, astrologers, etc, to make decisions
concerning their personal life. People were conditioned and feared dates and
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times, they would ask for charts to be paid to calculate whether their marriage
should take place. The Guru gave confidence back to the people and said
when two bodies meet and become one soul, if the connection to the divine
remains the focus, the marriage is a true union. People in India and even in
the West are still very reliant on fortune-tellers and psychics; their lives are
controlled by other factors such as auspicious dates and times and they
cannot act before consulting other sources and are incapable of taking
important decisions in their life without guidance.
Practice is not ritual
Finally, Sikhs have a daily practice and a rehat, which is a daily code of
conduct. This
is not a ritual, but merely a suggestion as to how to operate on a daily basis
and achieve optimum results for a healthy body and mind. The first
suggestion is to rise in the ambrosial hour, before sunrise, bathe, meditate,
work and then in the evening to relax, meditate, enjoy family relationships
and sleep after praying.
Sikhs that have taken Amrit (initiation to the Khalsa) are also required to wear
the Five Ks, otherwise known as the kakkarrs (articles of faith). Each one is a
useful tool and a reminder of the commitment made to the Akal Purakh, the
divine spirit and to the Sikh teachings.
The first is the Kesh, long uncut hair, the second, a Kanga, a small wooden
comb that keeps the hair tidy and reminds us of the importance of cleanliness
and of our physical wellbeing. The third is the Kara, an iron bangle, which is
the circle almost like the ring wedding us to our beloved and reminding us to
be conscious of every action we perform with our hands. The fourth is the
Kachera or cotton shorts, a reminder to take responsibility for our sexuality
and act responsibly, and finally we have the Kirpan, the sword of grace. This
highlights that we must walk in life as saint-soldiers. When we see tyranny or
injustice, we must not ignore the fact but should face up to the challenge in
defence of others and ourselves.
In spiritual terms, those whose daily life is a constant
remembrance (Simran) of God will express God’s will (Hukam) in
their actions. This is the shining message of the Gurus as set down
in the Guru Granth Sahib ... Sikhs must recall God constantly,
work honestly and share what they earn.
(Eleanor Nesbitt: Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions: Religious Identity &
Authority)
All Faiths and None
Chapter Nine : Care of the Earth : 173
CHAPTER NINE
CARE OF THE EARTH
BIG QUESTIONS: Who is responsible? Am I?
Who does the earth belong to?
Is it ok to kill animals for meat or fur?
Who should be responsible for tackling pollution?
Doesn’t science have all the answers?
COMMON THEMES:
The worldviews represented here share similar views and concerns, with some
slight differences in detail, but overwhelming agreement on principles and the
need for practical action:
• All see a continuity between human life and the natural world, with
humans sharing responsibility for nurturing it
• All share a wonder and love of the natural world to be celebrated
• Pollution, recycling, the abuse of technology, excessive consumerism
and consumption, are all problems we should join together to tackle
• Most would see a greater focus on the spiritual aspects of life as
having positive consequences for attitudes and action
• Diversity, and variety of form and purpose, are important to our world
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Christian contribution emphasises:
• Churches and congregations are ‘going green’ and are leading
environmental action and campaigns
• The links between the modern environmental movement and the
traditional concept of the earth as God’s creation and gift
• The dangers of a (partial) view in parts of the Bible of the Earth as
made for human benefit
• The dangers of industrialism and capitalist greed in diverting us from
God’s good, simple earth
• The need for partnership between religions and scientists to work
together for action
The Hindu perspective emphasises:
• Hindu philosophy emphasises that the universe is a projection of a
spiritual underpinning defined as Brahman.
• Hence the earth is revered as an expression of divinity.
• The main peace invocation invokes peace not only for the living
kingdom but for whole creation, animate and inanimate.
• The universe is not seen as resource for man’s consumption but a
continuum of the spiritual world
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The Humanist contribution also focuses on:
• The interconnection of the human and the natural world
• Human welfare and happiness is inseparable from sustaining the
world for our descendants
• Not believing in God, humanists have to take responsibility for the
problems caused by the misuse of science
• Science also has the power to heal (pollution) and create (new forms of
energy)
The Jewish contribution emphasises:
• The Genesis stories of creation emphasise the glory and order of the
natural world
• Adam is told not to spoil the world - the environment is a basic human
responsibility
• The Talmud has a special law against wastage - recycling is a duty
• Jewish business ethics include care for where and how our
possessions are sourced and made
• Even if the task seems impossible, we shouldn’t despair, but keep
trying
The Muslim contribution also emphasises creation:
• The enormous diversity, and variety of form and function in the world
is God’s plan
• Everything on earth - human and natural - is to be valued and
cherished as God’s
• The Qur’an teaches us to contemplate, use wisely and nurture the
whole of the natural world
• Use of the earth’s resources means stewardship, for other species as
well as ourselves
• Waste and pollution are forbidden, and there is modern Muslim
scholarship on the use of toxic products and harmful methods
The Sikh contribution draws links with Punjabi origins:
• Farming, use and re-use of organic substances and care for the earth
are basic to Sikhism
• The Earth is both a mother and a sacred creation, and its resources
are holy and to be shared with all
• The earth is also a sacred place and should be worshipped as God’s
creation
• It should also be a place for right action - for peace, justice and
distribution according to need
• Sustainable ecology means living in harmony with the earth
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Chapter Nine : Care of the Earth : 175
The Buddhist contribution emphasises:
• The word Buddha means to wake up - to the way things are connected
- us and nature
• Not subject and object thinking, which tempts us to see nature as ‘out
there’ which causes conflict and suffering
• Achieving one-ness through the ‘5 precepts’ - frees up energy from
greed or conflict and help us realise oneness
• Mahanaya Buddhism emphasises supporting life and nature: ‘engaged
Buddhists’ are those who take direct positive action, on environmental
and other issues
• Awe at the wonder of the earth enables us to think what we are willing
to give up to care for it
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A Christian perspective
On 7 December 1972 the Apollo 8 mission was on its way to the moon. As it
sped towards its destination, a photograph of the fast-retreating earth was
taken by the crew. The picture would become one of the most looked-at
pictures in history. There it was, in all its isolated glory, our tiny home, planet
earth. Some say this photograph kick-started the modern environmental
movement. Why? Perhaps it was something to do with how the earth looked vulnerable and fragile. So, if this little planet is our only home in a very large
and otherwise empty universe, shouldn’t we do everything we can to look after
it?
The eco-congregation
At the present time, when issues of climate change and global warming are
front-page stories, Christianity is very much ‘on message’. A church I used to
work at recently won a much sought-after eco-congregation award for its work
in turning the church green. The eco-parishioners who won the award on
behalf of the church set about increasing the church’s use of safer chemicals
and detergents; they installed energy-saving light bulbs and developed the
churchyard as an urban wilderness. But Christians haven’t always been this
switched-on to the care of the planet. In the book of Genesis (1:26) we read:
And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’
Taken the wrong way this might appear to suggest that the planet, and all
creeping and flying and running things on it, are the playthings of us god-like
humans. Much later on in history, at the time of the Industrial Revolution, the
moment when things started to get a bit rough for Mother Earth, some
Christians were more keen on making money (which they thought was a sign
of God’s blessing) than on protecting the planet’s fragile balance of life. But
like the rest of the world’s human communities, Christians worldwide are now
waking up from this industrial sleep. Christians - along with Muslims and
Sikhs and members of many other faiths - can now be found at the forefront
of the environmental movement.
Is the Christian approach any different?
Thus, the banner which says ‘Save the Earth’ is one that - I hope - unites
everyone. For until science-fiction becomes science-fact - when we jump into
our spacecrafts and fly off to our hotels in the sky - we’re all stuck together on
this great lump of rock. But is there a specifically Christian understanding
about the greening of the world? If there is, it has something to do with
looking after the gift God has given. God made the world for us to delight in,
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Chapter Nine : Care of the Earth : 177
so why abuse a gift so generously given? And in opposition to the ideas we
once read into the book of Genesis, didn’t God also give the planet as a gift to
the rest of creation? We may think that we humans have a special place in
God’s heart but perhaps the aardvark does too.
For a moment, let’s think the worst: we keep on flying to Belgium for the
weekend, we continue to leave the kitchen light on day and night, and we go
on chucking lots of polluting and damaging smoke into the atmosphere. Will
God save us from ourselves? The philosopher John Gray thinks in just this
bleak way (I don’t mean the bit about God saving us). He doesn’t believe that
we ever-so-smart-creatures have the wisdom to save the planet. At the end of
one of his books he looks forward to a time when Nature - minus human
beings - reclaims whatever planet we’ve disappeared from. It may be little
more than a desert.
Living with nature
At university, I remember reading an interesting article written by a Christian
environmentalist. The article was a long explanation of a tiny verse in the
Gospel of Mark (Mark 1:13): ‘And He was in the wilderness forty days ... and
He was with the wild beasts.’ The challenge for Christians - the challenge for
all of us - is to see whether or not we can be with the rest of the planet (wild
and tame) in such a way that all living things are able to flourish. If we love
life, and the planet which sustains it, then we’ll want to do all we can not to
throw the gift back in the face of the giver.
Within Christian theology there is a little dark corner called apocalypticism
(see Death/afterlife). The word refers to the End, and I mean the End. To put
it in a more fancy way, it is that moment of transition between human time
and eternity, or God’s time. Much of this apocalyptic thinking takes its cue
from the book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible. In this work we see the
earth and skies in literal meltdown:
The first angel blew his trumpet, and there came hail and fire ...
and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees
were burned up, and all green grass was burned up ... a third of
the waters became wormwood, and many died from the water,
because it was made bitter.
You get the idea. I, for one, hope that we humans don’t beat God to the
apocalypse. If there is to be an End, I would rather it was God’s end than
ours.
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A Hindu perspective
In the Mahabharata and in the Puranas, the ancient Hindu texts that reveal
the nature and activities of the Supreme Deity, we read that the creation of
the world is based on an eternal order that is known as rita or as dharma.
During the creation of the world, order replaces the primeval chaos and every
element in the creation has a particular nature and a particular function so
that the whole scheme of existence proceeds in a smooth and effective
manner. This order of the world and the inherent nature of the elements of
creation is one of the meanings of the term dharma. According to the ancient
Hindu accounts (Mahabharata and Puranas), the Supreme Deity himself
descends to earth at different times when the original order is disturbed. (The
word avatar is used for this.) The Bhagavad Gita refers to dharma
samsthapana (the establishment of dharma) as the reason for the appearance
of these avatars. In the accounts of the descent of God as the Rama and
Krishna avatars, we are told of how the earth goddess was overburdened by
the activities of materialistic human beings who were disturbing the natural
order. Taking the form of a cow, the goddess appeals to the Supreme Deity to
descend and restore the harmony of creation that has now been disrupted.
Guidance from an ancient religion for a modern world
Ancient religions do not usually contain teachings directly relating to the
current environmental crisis, but, by looking carefully at the core teachings,
we can find ideas that provide guidance for the contemporary world. From the
Hindu doctrine of avatar we learn that the order of nature is a part of the
dharma God has created for the benefit of all beings and that this natural
order can be disrupted when human activity deviates from the proper rules of
conduct. At present it seems that the earth is overburdened by the avaricious
industrial endeavours of human beings just as she was in the ancient stories.
It is therefore incumbent on all those who revere the Hindu dharma not just
to live according to proper standards of virtue but also to do whatever they
can to ensure that the beauty and bounty of the earth is not harmed by the
avarice of humanity. The Earth is a goddess, she is Bhumi Devi, who along
with Lakshmi is the eternal associate of Sri Vishnu, the Supreme Deity.
Therefore reverence, care and respect for Bhumi Devi is important for Hindus
in their devotion to God. The iconic representation of the earth as a cow must
be seen in association with the Hindu reverence for the cow as an animal and
the universal prohibition on cow slaughter. The earth is the great cow that
nourishes every one of us and as such, like the cow that gives us milk, the
earth must never be harmed in any way. This is the Hindu Dharma.
Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata note the contrast between the
urban environment and the untamed forest, and it is the forest that is
regarded as the ideal setting for spiritual practice. The ashrams (or
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Chapter Nine : Care of the Earth : 179
hermitages) of sages and religious teachers are to be found outside of the
cities in beautiful locations that bring natural tranquility to the mind. The
forest setting can be a source of fear but the beauty of the natural world is
frequently eulogised, with reference to the lakes of water, towering trees,
fruits, herbs and fragrant flowers. When people have realised their worldly
ambitions and seek instead the fruits of the spirit then they turn away from
the urban environment and seek the tranquility of the natural world. There is
clearly a close connection between the quality of Sattva (purity, goodness) and
the undisturbed natural setting; this ideal environment must therefore be
preserved and protected as a part of our spiritual lives.
Materialism destroys the earth
In order to properly protect the earth, we must ask why it is that the
environment is being destroyed by human activity. Some might suggest that
it is over-population, but the root cause surely lies in the excessive emphasis
placed by contemporary human society on the consumption of manufactured
goods. The modern ethos attempts to convince us that happiness and
satisfaction in life can be achieved through the acquisition of the goods
produced by industry and this in turn fuels the excessive industrial
production that desecrates the natural beauty of the earth. We lament this
destruction, but because of the nature of our desires we have become
convinced that, without it, we will not be able to acquire the things that will
bring us happiness in life. Hindu Dharma provides an alternative vision of
human life, one that does not require the level of production and consumption
that is so damaging to the earth. Hindu teachings reveal that there are three
gunas or inherent qualities in the world, Sattva (goodness or purity), Rajas
(passion, desire and endeavour) and Tamas (darkness, impurity and
ignorance). We are urged to base our lives primarily on the quality of Sattva
and to try to move away from Rajas and Tamas. It is easy to see that the
modern lifestyle that has so harmed the natural world is a product of Rajas in
the form of intense endeavour and burning desire for material objects and
also of Tamas in the callous and lazy disregard for natural beauty we see
when litter or industrial waste is dumped in the most idyllic settings.
Hindu teachings reveal that it is in the quality of Sattva that the highest form
of human happiness is to be found, but this is through peace of mind,
intellectual pursuits and human relationships and not through the acquisition
of more and more consumer goods. The Bhagavad Gita (3.38) points out that
desires of this type are never satisfied and hence no permanent joy can be
achieved through acquisition. If human society could come to see the
profound yet simple truth of this revelation, then the root cause of our
harming the earth might possibly be removed. In truth, there seems to be no
other viable solution. Moreover, Hindu teachings on spiritual progress
towards salvation reveal that this path can only be followed by one who is
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prepared to give up materialistic forms of pleasure. The rampant materialism
that is the cause of the present environmental crisis is shown to be a barrier
to spiritual advancement. Hence if people accept the Hindu vision of a
spiritual life they will certainly change their lifestyle in such a way that the
burden on the earth will gradually be eased.
The natural world as part of the divine world
I made the point earlier that the earth herself is regarded as a goddess by
Hindus and as such is to be revered and nurtured, as her iconic
representation as a cow indicates. If, however, we look at the more
philosophical Hindu teachings on the nature of God we find the idea that the
Supreme Deity is not just the creator of the world, but that the world is a part
of his universal existence. In Hindu teachings, the creator is identical with
the created and the natural world and is in reality a part of the divine
existence. In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks Krishna (who is God on earth)
how the presence of God can be perceived by one who exists in this world.
Krishna replies to this question by referring to the glories of the natural world.
Whenever we see anything that is glorious, wonderful or magnificent in nature
then we should understand that this is due to the presence of God within
creation. And when Arjuna asks Krishna to show himself as God, Krishna
then reveals the whole world as his bodily form. So again from this idea we
can see that the natural world we inhabit is not just a gift of God; its wonder
and beauty is so astounding because it is pervaded by the divine presence.
And the fact that we harm, exploit and fail to respect the earth is a sign that
we are not aware of the presence of God in every aspect of creation.
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A Humanist perspective
‘Because I want my grandchildren to be able to see elephants.’
This was the answer given by Sir Hermann Bondi, former president of the
British Humanist Association, when asked why he cared about conservation.
As the adviser to the Government on the construction of the Thames Barrier,
he had - like many humanists - been directly involved in work to do with care
of the earth.
Because of its name, some people think that Humanism must be completely
human-centred, concerned only with human welfare. Humanists are indeed
concerned with human welfare and happiness, but because of this concern,
humanists also care about the natural world, which we all depend on and
which will have to sustain our descendants. We should care about the future
of our planet because we care about other human beings, even those not born
yet. For many humanists these motives are augmented by a recognition of the
great beauty that we find in the natural world - the awe and wonder we feel
when confronted with its dazzling diversity. Because humanists have no belief
in a god or supernatural force that will solve our problems for us, they know
that human beings must take sole responsibility for sorting out environmental
problems. We are the only ones capable of finding the solutions that can lead
to a sustainable existence.
Humanists are unlikely to subscribe to ‘deep green’ beliefs about the intrinsic
value, or even superiority, of non-human nature, or to be sentimental about
sweet or fluffy animals - rain forests and plankton and dung beetles are more
relevant than pandas and tigers to the survival of life on this planet (though
we would probably be less happy if pandas and tigers no longer existed).
The role of science
Humanists have a scientific view of the world, and would not automatically
blame science and technology for environmental problems. Indeed, it was and
is scientists - mainly biologists and ecologists - who notice and monitor
environmental problems. Societies (and that means us) must take the
responsibility for how we choose to use scientific and technological
developments. Cleaning up our planet and finding new sources of energy will
be tasks for scientists and engineers, and the rest of us (especially those of us
in the wealthier nations) must be prepared to fund their work. Humanists
were involved in setting up organisations such as UNESCO, which has
worldwide environmental responsibilities, and many humanists have been
active in promoting birth control as an important contribution to lessening the
demands on the environment by helping to set up United Nations birth control
programmes.
Humanists share many of the above ideas with rational and concerned people
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of all beliefs. Most environmental charities, such as Greenpeace, Friends of
the Earth and the World Wide Fund for Nature, are non-religious and are
supported by people of all faiths and none.
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A Jewish perspective
In Genesis we read the traditional Jewish understanding of how the world
came into being. Now whether or not we believe it all actually happened as it
says, or if it is a metaphor, it does express the incredible achievement that our
world is, and the awe and wonder which people have held towards it through
the ages.
While saving the earth, recycling and eco-language may all seem very new, the
rabbis (who produced lots of important Jewish law, teachings and literature
for the last 2000 years and which we continue to study today), also knew that
it was important! A Midrash (a story on a Biblical theme) writes:
When God created the first human being, God led Adam around
the Garden of Eden and said, ‘Behold my works! See how
beautiful they are, how excellent! All that I have created, for your
sake did I create it. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy my
world; for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you.’
(Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13)
Here we see the importance of preserving the world, in part because it is God’s
creation, but also because we won’t get a second chance. What we do now will
impact on generations who we hope will come after us, but who may not have
that opportunity if we continue as we are at the moment. Going green even
has a special name in Judaism (in fact it comes from mystical Judaism Kabbalah (similar to what Madonna’s into - but also very different)) and that
is Tikkun Olam - repair of the world.
Resourcing and recycling
I am aware that a huge amount of waste goes out of my house each year, even
though I recycle plastic bottles and cardboard by taking them to the tip, food
waste which the local council composts, and cans, newspaper, junk mail, tin
foil and so on which the council also collects. Yet each week my black wheelie
bin is full and it all goes straight into landfill sites, which we are leaving for
those who will come after us to deal with. Judaism teaches me that wasting
anything is a big problem, and in the Talmud (from around 1300 years ago)
we have a law which forbids any wastage, known as bal tashchit. It is mostly
concerned with wasting food, which today seems even more intolerable when
so many people have to go without, but it was also extended to any goods, as
we see here:
Rabbi Eleazar said: I heard that one who tears [his clothes] too
much for a dead man transgresses the command bal tashchit
(Baba Kamma 91b)
Without going into the details of mourning rituals, this discussion shows that
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wasting clothes is against the law of bal tashchit, just as throwing away half
your dinner is. So not only is recycling important to me in caring for the
earth, but ensuring I make the most of all I have is also important, and not
throwing things away that I could still use (or that somebody else could via a
charity shop or freecycle25). It is also important for me to consider where my
clothes and possessions have come from, and whether people have suffered to
make them, or have been taken advantage of. Jewish business ethics (as well
as my own sense of the world!) encourage me to make sure that what I use in
the world is bought and disposed of responsibly, because caring about
everyone in the world is also a part of caring for the world.26
We share this world
The world was given to us to enjoy and make use of, but it is not ours alone we share it with each other, with the rest of creation, and with generations
who will have to deal with our mess after us. Sometimes it seems like an
impossible task, and one that no one can ever really influence, but I find this
text from around the year 200CE keeps me motivated:
We are not obligated to complete the task; neither are we free to
abstain from it.
(Pirke Avot, 2:21)
So while we might not always feel it is worth it, and we might not see the
fruits of our efforts, considering our carbon footprints, the amount we fill up
the land with our rubbish, where our food and clothes come from and so on,
are all an important responsibility which if we all work towards together, with
none of us feeling free to abstain from it, we might find ourselves doing some
real good to care for the amazing gift that our world is.
25
26
http://www.uk.freecycle.org/ - you’d be amazed what people can use!!
2008 Kosher Guide has a starter page about buying fair trade and the importance to Jews of
dealing ethically in business and consumption.
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A Muslim perspective
God the creator
A Muslim believes that Allah has created everything in this universe in due
proportion and measure both quantitatively and qualitatively
And We have produced therein everything in balance.
(Qur’an 55:7)
and that in the universe there is enormous diversity and variety of form and
function. The universe and its various elements fulfil human welfare and are
evidence of the Creator’s greatness; He it is who determines and ordains all
things, and there is not a thing He has created but celebrates and declares
His praise.
Have you not seen that God is glorified by all in the heavens and
on the earth - such as the birds with wings outspread? Each
knows its worship and glorification, and God is aware of what
they do.
(Qur’an 24:41)
Each thing that God has created is a wondrous sign, full of meaning; pointing
beyond itself to the glory and greatness of its Creator, His wisdom and His
purposes for it.
He Who has spread out the earth for you and threaded roads for
you therein and has sent down water from the sky: With it have
We brought forth diverse kinds of vegetation. Eat and pasture your
cattle; verily, in this are signs for men endued with understanding.
(Qur’an 20:53-54)
God has not created anything in this universe in vain, without wisdom, value
and purpose. God says:
We have not created the heavens and the earth and all that is
between them carelessly. We have not created them but for truth.
(Qur’an 44:38-39)
Thus the Islamic vision revealed in the Qur’an is of a universe imbued with
value. All things in the universe are created to serve the One Lord who
sustains them all by means of one another, and who controls the miraculous
cycles of life and death:
God it is that splits the seed and the date stone, brings the living
from the dead and the dead from the living: That is your God - how
are you turned away?
(Qur’an 6:95)
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Life and death are created by God so that He might be served by means of
good works.
Blessed is He in Whose Hand is dominion, and He has power over
every thing: He Who has created death and life to try you, which of
you work the most good.
(Qur’an 67:1-2)
All created beings are created to serve the Lord of all beings and, in
performing their ordained roles in a cohesively designed society, they best
benefit themselves and each other in this world and the next. This leads to a
cosmic symbiosis (takaful). The universal common good is a principle that
pervades the universe, and an important implication of God’s unity, for one
can serve the Lord of all beings only by working for the common good of all.
The relationship between man and the universe
Humankind is part of this universe, the elements of which are complementary to
one another in an integrated whole. The relation between man and the universe,
as defined and clarified in the Qur’an and the Prophetic teachings, is as follows:
• A relationship of meditation, consideration and contemplation of the
universe and what it contains
• A relationship of sustainable utilisation, development and employment
for man’s benefit and for the fulfilment of his interests
• A relationship of care and nurture, for man’s good works are not
limited to the benefit of the human species, but rather extend to the
benefit of all created beings; and ‘there is a reward in doing good to
every living thing.’ (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
Stewardship
God’s wisdom has ordained stewardship (khalifa) on the earth to human
beings. Therefore, in addition to being part of the earth and part of the
universe, man is also the executor of God’s injunctions and commands. He is
only a manager of the earth and not a proprietor; a beneficiary and not a
disposer or ordainer. Heaven and earth and all that they contain belong to
God alone. Man has been granted stewardship to manage the earth in
accordance with the purposes intended by its Creator; to utilise it for his own
benefit and the benefit of other created beings, and for the fulfilment of his
interests and of theirs. He is thus entrusted with its maintenance and care,
and must use it as a trustee, within the limits dictated by his trust. The
Prophet declared,
The world is beautiful and verdant, and verily God, be He exalted,
has made you His stewards in it, and He sees how you acquit
yourselves.
(Saheeh Muslim)
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All of the resources upon which life depends have been created by God as a
trust in our care. He has ordained sustenance for all people and for all living
beings.
Using the earth’s resources
Thus, in Islam the utilisation of these resources is the right and privilege of all
people and all species. Hence, man should take every precaution to ensure
the interests and rights of all others since they are equal partners on earth.
Similarly, he should not regard such resources as restricted to one generation
above all other generations. It is, rather, a joint responsibility in which each
generation uses and makes the best use of nature, according to its need,
without disrupting or adversely affecting the interests of future generations.
Therefore, man should not abuse, misuse or distort natural resources as each
generation is entitled to benefit from them but is not entitled to ‘own’ them in
an absolute sense.
The right to utilise and harness natural resources, which God has granted
man, necessarily involves an obligation on man’s part to conserve them both
quantitatively and qualitatively. God has created all the sources of life for
man and all resources of nature that he requires, so that he may realise
objectives such as contemplation and worship, inhabitation and construction,
sustainable utilisation, and enjoyment and appreciation of beauty. It follows
that man has no right to cause the degradation of the environment and distort
its intrinsic suitability for human life and settlement. Nor has he the right to
exploit or use natural resources unwisely in such a way as to spoil the food
bases and other sources of subsistence for living beings, or expose them to
destruction and defilement.
Sustainability
While the attitude of Islam to the environment, the sources of life, and the
resources of nature is based in part on prohibition of abuse, it is also based
on construction and sustainable development. This integration of the
development and conservation of natural resources is clear in the idea of
bringing life to the land and causing it to flourish through agriculture,
cultivation, and construction. The Prophet declared:
If any Muslim plants a tree or sows a field, and a human, bird or
animal eats from it, it shall be reckoned as charity from him.
(Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)
If the day of resurrection comes upon anyone of you while he has a
seedling in hand, let him plant it.
The approach of Islam toward the use and development of the earth’s
resources was put thus by Ali ibn Abi-Talib, the fourth Caliph, to a man who
had developed and reclaimed abandoned land:
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Partake of it gladly, so long as you are a benefactor, not a
despoiler; a cultivator, not a destroyer.
For the use of man?
In the divine scheme by which all creatures are made to be of service to one
another, God’s wisdom has made all things of service to mankind. But
nowhere has God indicated that they are created only to serve human beings.
On the contrary, Muslim legal scholars have maintained that the service of
man is not the only purpose for which they have been created.
Because we cannot be aware of all the beneficial functions of all things, to
base our efforts at conservation solely on the environmental benefits to man
would lead inevitably to the distortion of the dynamic equilibrium set by God
and the misuse of His creation, thereby impairing these same environmental
benefits. However, by basing the conservation and protection of the
environment on its value as the sign of its Creator, a Muslim believes nothing
can be omitted from it. Every element and species has its individual and
unique role to play in glorifying God, and in bringing man to know and
understand his Creator by showing him, through their being and uses, God’s
infinite power, wisdom and mercy. It is impossible to countenance the wilful
ruin and loss of any of the basic elements and species of the creation, or to
think that the continued existence of the remainder is sufficient to lead us to
contemplate the glory, wisdom and might of God in all the aspects that are
intended. Indeed, because species differ in their special qualities, each
evidences God’s glory in ways unique to it alone.
Pollution
Waste products and exhaust fumes resulting from ordinary human or
industrial activities and the use of modern and advanced technology should
be carefully disposed of or eliminated in order to protect the environment
against corruption and distortion. It is also vital to protect man from the
effects of the harmful impact of these on the environment, and its beauty and
vitality, and to ensure the protection of other environmental parameters. The
accumulation of waste is largely a result of our wastefulness. Islam’s
prohibition of wastefulness, however, requires the reuse of goods and recycling
of materials and waste products in so far as is possible, instead of their
disposal as rubbish.
The Prophet forbade any person to relieve himself in a water source or on a
path, or in a place of shade, or in the burrow of a living creature. The values
underlying these prohibitions should be understood as applicable to the
pollution of critical resources and habitats in general. Waste products,
exhaust fumes and similar pollutants should be treated at their source with
the best feasible means of treatment, and care should be taken in their
disposal to avoid adverse side effects that lead to similar or greater damage or
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injury. The juristic principle in this connection is that ‘damage shall not be
eliminated by means of similar or greater damage’.
This is also true of the harmful effects of cleansing agents, and other toxic or
harmful materials, used in homes, factories, farms and other public or private
premises. It is absolutely necessary to take all possible measures to avoid
and prevent their harmful effects before they occur, and to eliminate or
remove such effects if they do occur in order to protect man and his natural
and social environment. Indeed, if the damage resulting from these materials
proves greater than their benefits, they should be prohibited. In this case, we
should look for effective and harmless, or at least less harmful, alternatives.
This principle would equally apply to other elements impacting on the
environment such as noise pollution... Another terminal at Heathrow, anyone?
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A Sikh perspective
The Sikhs of the Punjab have been primarily a peasant and farming
community. As such, they have a great love and a fascination for the earth
and land. They have acted as guardians of the environment because their
vocation depends on it.
The current trend for recycling and eco-friendly consciousness is not alien to
most first- and second-generation Sikhs living in the West as it was a part of
their daily practice at home. Food would be shared with the poor or given to
stray animals. Clothes and household objects were always passed around the
family and then given to the poor.
In most villages, burning cow-dung created heat energy and tandoors (ovens)
made of mud and water are used today.
My first experience of how a child raised in the West has no idea how to take
care of the planet, came when I reached the Punjab to do voluntary work. The
village children would play with our rubbish, they had never seen deodorant
cans and toothpaste tubes. They were filling the toothpaste tubes with water
and using them to squirt water on each other in the heat! The local villagers
became fed up with us because our rubbish would no burn with the local
people’s and the smell of rubber and cans was intolerable for them. Our
lifestyle did not fit in with that of the Sikhs in the Punjab so we had no option
but to recycle our waste, use leaves and bark from trees, flower remedies as
toiletries and antiseptics, just as those around us did.
Sikh principles
Sikh principles stress the Earth is a sacred creation and a supreme mother of
world kind. The Sikh Gurus demonstrated a positive love for the Earth and all
its inhabitants.
Creating the world, God has made it a place to practice spirituality.
(SGGS p. 1035)
The Sikh faith with its affirmation of the Earth as Divine calls for continuous
consciousness of its harmony and unity. The Earth’s resources cannot be
consumed for selfish purposes, but must be conserved on a basis of need. The
Earth, being part of the universe, is a creation of God and all the life on Earth
is, therefore, a creation of God.
The Sikh Gurus also reaffirmed the Punjabi belief that our Earth is like a
mother nourishing its inhabitants. This aspect of Earth is highlighted in the
Shalok (Epilogue) to the Japji Sahib (the Morning Prayer), which starts:
Air is the Guru, Water is the Father, and Earth is the Great Mother
of all.
(SGGS p. 8)
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The life-giving Mother Earth (terra mater) is the source of life and its great
Sustainer and Supporter. The third light of Nanak, Guru Amar Das, uses the
example of the garden to explain this concept:
This world is a garden, and my Lord God is the Gardener.
He always takes care of it, nothing is exempt from His Care.
(SGGS p. 117)
The voice of Mother earth
The Gurus were the voice of Mother Earth and of the soil of the Punjab,
coming from deep within their spiritual consciousness, echoing hauntingly
through the dark, empty void of the universe. Their shabads (verses) on
Mother Earth reach to the core of ourselves, invoking a vision, of oneness,
separation and reunion, helping us identify ourselves as earth’s offspring and
cosmic beings.
The womb of the great mother earth gives birth to all.
(SGGS p. 1020)
Another interesting concept is that the earth was considered a dharmsal
(place of worship). The example given confirms that lighting candles and
incense on trays are rituals performed in temples, but we only need look at
this earth and notice that it has been created by God in such a beautiful way
that it is worship itself.
Upon that cosmic plate of the sky, the sun and the moon are the
lamps. The stars and their orbs are the studded pearls. The
fragrance of sandalwood in the air is the temple incense, and the
wind is the fan. All the plants of the world are the altar flowers in
offering to You, O Luminous Lord. What a beautiful Aartee, lamp-lit
worship service this is! O Destroyer of Fear, this is Your Ceremony
of Light.
(SGGS p. 13)
The Gurus refer to the earth as a place not only to live in or survive but more
importantly a creation of God to practise ethical, moral and spiritual living.
‘Amidst this creation, God has established the earth as a place for righteous
action.’ This is further emphasised by Guru Amar Das: ‘By the Hukam of His
Command, He created the earth, the true home of Dharma.’ (SGGS p. 785)
Living in harmony with the earth
The Sikh scripture declares that the purpose of human beings is to achieve a
blissful state and to be in harmony with the earth and all its creation. Today,
however, it seems that humans have drifted away from that ideal and the
earth is beset with myriad problems. There is a serious concern that the earth
may no longer be a sustainable and viable ecosystem in future.
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The major crises facing the earth are the social justice crisis,
caused by humanity’s confrontation with itself, and the
environmental crisis, caused by humanity’s confrontation with
nature.
(Alliance of Religious Conservation)
Respect for Mother Earth is the only solution to these problems.
It is our moral and spiritual duty to have reverence for this earth in our
hearts and prove it by changing our daily practices. Healing the earth can only
come from a reverence for nature. The Sikh Gurus also emphasised that it is
the spiritually enlightened people who are able to perceive God on earth and,
as such, have a reverence for our beautiful planet.
The Gurmukh sees the Lord on the earth, and the Gurmukh sees
Him in the water. The Gurmukh sees Him in wind and fire; such is
the wonder of His Play.
(SGGS p. 117)
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A Buddhist perspective
I entrust myself to Buddha
Buddha entrusts himself to me
I entrust myself to earth
Earth entrusts herself to me
Thich Nhat Hanh (monk and engaged Buddhist)
The historical Buddha of 2500 years ago called Gotama had his realisation of
the truth, or a deep knowing of the way things are, under a tree, sitting on
some freshly cut grass. Buddhist Theravada monastics are not allowed to dig
the earth as it is considered a form of life. The Buddhist monastic form I am
in is a forest tradition: we live in or near a forest. One of our monasteries in
Sussex has a 100 acre forest, with several meditation huts, where monastics
live for extended periods, coming to the main monastery for food and bathing
only. Buddhism also recognises the deeper connections in the world, and in
all of nature.
The interconnections of life
The word Buddha means to wake up, and part of this waking-up is to realise
the way things are connected to one another, to realise that nature is not out
there, but is intimately connected to who we are. A way of exploring this is to
just take a simple piece of paper and explore what it needs to come into
existence. So, for example, it needs trees, trees need the earth and rain, and
rain gets attracted to the earth because of trees. To get paper, you need
somebody to cut the trees down, you need a factory to make the paper.
Factories need people, people need food from plants and trees and so on. So
the more you investigate this cycle, the more you can see the
interconnectedness of life.
We tend to divide the world up into subject and object, me and the earth,
which allows us to think that the earth is somebody else’s problem. Buddhist
teachings are about seeing how limited the subject/object way of thinking is
and how much suffering and chaos it causes. So the teaching of the Buddha
is about reconnecting, remembering, realising our real home: in essence it is
oneness. On the conventional level there are many important questions about
how to care for the earth and each other. Without understanding how we are
connected, answers to these questions can become dogma and the institutions
that support dogmas can become rigged. So then the statements become
laden with ‘we should’ or ‘we must’. Buddhism in the end asks you to go
beyond self and earth and rest in oneness, or as it is sometimes called:
emptiness.
The oneness of life
There are numerous ways to help understand oneness but a very practical
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starting point is to adopt the five precepts. These precepts are in Theravadin
Buddhism expressed as negatives, to refrain from, say, killing. In some forms
of Mahayana Buddhism they are expressed positively, so killing is expressed
as looking after the welfare of living beings. In my opinion, Theravadin
Buddhism is about simplifying life and Mahayana is about supporting life,
although they are not mutually exclusive. Some monks in Thailand use the
precepts to support life by ordaining trees as monks. They do this by
wrapping a monk’s robe around the tree and including it in the community of
monks. This way the local Buddhist villagers will not kill the trees because
killing a monk is even more bad luck than just plain killing somebody,
although I have heard of one western monk in Thailand being poisoned for
expressing his views about the forest usage.
In the precepts for Theravadin Buddhists monks they are not allowed to dig
the earth. Some Buddhist laypeople are involved in more direct action and
they call themselves engaged Buddhists.27
The five precepts are a very natural way of being and as the mind calms
down, you tend to follow them anyway. So as you start to free yourself from
greed, hatred and delusion, this all starts to become obvious. The natural
response is one of care and understanding for all things - an unconditional
acceptance, even if you may disagree with it. Allowing yourself to accept what
you may not like frees up energy. You need a large amount of energy to hold
onto negative mind states, whereas letting things be allows the energy freed to
be used in more skilful and constructive ways. As the mind calms down you
can direct it towards an object, which helps concentration and attention.
Following on from this you can explore or investigate who or what you think
you are directly from the inside, and this can lead to wisdom, or knowing. All
of this investigation allows you to experience for yourself the
interconnectedness or the conditioned nature of all things: because of this,
that happens - cause and effect.
The more this investigation takes place the greater the sense of awe of just
how amazing the natural world is and our relationship to it. As you develop
this way of being, some questions come to mind about what you are willing to
moderate in order to care for the earth, and what you would be willing to give
up to realise oneness and so be free from suffering.
27
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engaged_Buddhism
http://www.sivaraksa.com/
http://www.joannamacy.net/
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Chapter Ten : Love : 195
CHAPTER TEN
LOVE
BIG QUESTIONS: What is Love?
What does love mean in practice?
Are there limits to love? Can you really love your
enemy?
Can any kinds of love be wrong?
Why do we sometimes love and hate the same people?
COMMON THEMES:
All the worldviews represented here have the view that love is somehow totally
fundamental to our nature as human beings: whether it is deriving from God
or from our common humanity.
• Love is the basis for all relationships, families, societies and for all
humanity
• Love involves putting others before oneself - doing acts of loving
kindness
• True love may involve setting boundaries, but is not limited by
conditions: no-one is excluded
• Fear limits us, drives out love (so does excess, eg lust)
• Love has many aspects: friendship, acceptance, compassion, beauty,
creativity, romantic love, self-sacrifice
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Hindu contribution emphasises:
• Love is giving expression to the link between all living things
• Love can be best expressed through poetry, not reason
• Love is not experienced through material things, but through the
spirit
• The best way to express love is through the love of God
The Humanist contribution emphasises:
• The interdependence of humans as essentially social animals is
underpinned by love
• The emotional aspect of life is one of the most important things which
make us human
• Love makes sex more than reproduction, family life more than just
raising offspring
• Love binds society and the whole of humanity
• But love is closely related to hate, and can make much trouble in our
lives and the world
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The Jewish contribution emphasises:
• Loving your neighbour as yourself (with the Law and Worship) is one of
the foundations of Judaism
• Acts of loving kindness are what binds societies together: hatred
destroys
• Love’s physical and erotic aspects are celebrated in the Song of
Solomon
• For Rabbi Hillel, “Love is the whole of the law, the rest is just
commentary”
The Muslim contribution emphasises:
• Love of God, family, others, etc is the subject of much of the Qur’an
• Allah’s love illuminates all our relationships, most powerfully modelled
in mother’s love
• Allah also challenges us: he loves those who do good, but withholds
love from evil-doers
• Love knows no hierarchies or boundaries: so gender and class equality in all relationships
The Sikh contribution emphasises:
• Love is the most common topic in the holy book, the Guru Granth
Sahib
• We have to be in love to see God in all
• Love is a relationship with the universe, no boundaries or limits
• Love means giving oneself totally (first to the Guru)
• Sikhs should live with partners, in families bonded by love - but
without attachment or conditions, allowing others to blossom and be
fulfilled
The Buddhist contribution starts from the original Metta meaning of
unconditional love:
• Love creates real families, communities and brings peace
• The Four Immeasurables can help us to be and understand loving;
unconditional love, sympathetic joy, equanimity and compassion
• Love can be seen as life-energy, the sensing/feeling realm, art, beauty,
creativity
• To love we need to accept the way things are, love must have
boundaries otherwise it can cause suffering; we can abuse (lust) or be
used
The Christian contribution emphasises:
• Loving all of the people, all of the time, is hard
• The Christian writer C.S.Lewis (Narnia) explores four aspects of love:
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affectionate, erotic, friendship and self-sacrificing
• Love is about making space for others and their needs over our own
• Jesus uses the word Abba (Daddy) to describe God’s all-including, allforgiving love
• Fear is the enemy of love, but “Perfect love casts out fear”
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A Hindu perspective
Love is a meta-term invoked both by religious and non-religious communities.
Every attempt to classify what is meant by this term seems to fall short. Only
poetic expression seems to come closest in capturing what is meant by this
term. The esoteric Hindu definition of this term would be: Giving expression
to the link that already exists between all living things. Despite appearances
this linkage between living things is not at a material level. Though our bodies
seem to have the same material constituents, no one has been able to
demonstrate that love springs up from matter. The linkage we have with
others is at a deeper spiritual level, hence every attempt to reduce this linkage
to a material or even a mental level, seem to fall short of the target. The
natural affinity we have with the rest of the living kingdom is a reflection of
the shared spirit that links the whole living kingdom. For the majority of
mankind the best way to express this commonality is by invoking the idea of a
super personality ~ God.
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A Humanist perspective
Love matters
Humanists believe that human beings are essentially social animals, and we
are very dependent on each other. Once we would have been totally dependent
on people close to us, our family or tribe, for food, shelter, protection, help
with raising children and for company. We all need close, loving relationships,
and humanists see the emotional aspect of life as tremendously important one of the most important things that make us human.
Nicholas Walter, a noted humanist of the twentieth century said, ‘Plants and
animals reproduce themselves through sex, and many animals bring up their
young, but it is love which makes sex and the family truly human, the
personal love which binds parents and children, lovers and friends, the
impersonal love which binds society and humanity. But love isn’t a
straightforward matter. It is love which makes the world go round, as the song
says, but it is also love which makes much trouble in the world. It is said that
God is love, but what a Devil love can be! Think of love in life and literature,
from Helen of Troy to the latest story in the news, and think how love so
easily goes wrong or turns into hate. But at its best love dominates our
literature and art, our philosophy and morality, and also our ordinary daily
lives.’
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A Jewish perspective
Love your neighbour as yourself. I am God.
(Leviticus 19: 17-18)
In the Mishnah, one of the earliest legal texts, in the section known as the
‘Ethics of the Fathers’ which is studied every year between Passover and
Shavuot, we are taught that the world stands on three things: On Torah, on
service (or worship), and on acts of loving kindness (Pirkei Avot 1:2). The
Talmud (Sukkah 49b) says that acts of loving kindness are in fact greater
than charity, because they can be done for both rich and poor, living and
dead, and because they can be done with either money or with acts. The
Mishnah also says that acts of loving kindness are one of the few things that
we can benefit from both in this world and in the world to come.
Love in action
Acts of loving kindness can include things like visiting the sick, comforting the
bereaved, and giving money to help the poor eat. The Jewish philosopher
Emmanuel Levinas taught that one could bring meaning to suffering through
the opportunity it provides for the other to respond, and, through showing
loving kindness to the sufferer, he brings God into the world. Suffering holds
no meaning for the sufferer, but when a person responds to another’s need,
they may fulfil their human potential and thus may find some deeper meaning
in life.
A large part of Jewish law is about the relationship between man and his
neighbours, trying to create communities that function justly and support all
their members. The tradition teaches that when this breaks down, and
baseless hatred (sin’at chinam) dominates society, only destruction can be the
outcome, indeed the rabbis attributed the destruction of the Temple and
Jerusalem as punishment for baseless hatred between two Jews.
But enough about hate, what about love!! Arguably the most famous book
dealing with love in the Bible is ‘The Song of Songs’ or Shir ha Shirim. It’s got
some rather hot contents, as well as some very famous lines such as ‘I am my
beloved’s and my beloved is mine’. Now the rabbis traditionally interpreted the
book as a metaphor for the love between Israel and God, but it could also be
read as a celebration of the beauty of love and of eroticism within that. Bodies
and physical love are praised and enjoyed in the song, and it is possible that
it is a celebration of how emotional and physical love can be channelled in
celebration of the divine (but that’s not a very traditional reading of it!!)
Love is all you need!
An important and frequently quoted story is of Rabbi Hillel, who lived around
the same time as Jesus, and his rabbinic opposite Shammai. A pagan is said
to have approached Shammai, saying, ‘If you can teach me the whole of Torah
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while I stand on one foot, I’ll convert to Judaism.’ Shammai was outraged and
sent the man packing. The same man approached Hillel with his question,
and Hillel wasn’t fazed. He said, ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to your
fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary. Go and
study it.’ Another famous quote of Hillel’s (this time from the Mishnah) is, ‘If I
am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then
what am I? And if not now, when?’ Thus our relations with each other are
incredibly important, and positive relationships are the ideal. Love is not
necessarily always highlighted because perhaps the rabbis felt this was
impractical; understanding human nature means we don’t always get on with
everyone, but hatred is avoided through thinking of others and doing acts that
demonstrate loving kindness.
I don’t know if he is Jewish, but personally I think this quote by Andrew T
Somers, which I stumbled upon once, is a good summary of how we can
maintain better relationships:
Treat every person with kindness and respect, even those who are
rude to you. Remember that you show compassion to others not
because of who they are but because of who you are.
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A Muslim perspective
Say: If you do (truly) love Allah, follow me; and Allah will love you.
Qur’an, 3:31
The above verse is only one of hundreds in the Qur’an that discuss love and
include it as an essential element in all relationships - Divine, faith,
interpersonal, family, etc.
In fact, if averaged out, one in every fifteen ayas (verses) in the Qur’an
mentions love in one form or another. Whether it is the simple basis
‘mahabba’ (love similar to the Christian concept of agapé) or ra’fah, rahmah,
mawadda... the list goes on.
A feminine source
I think it’s fascinating to note that the terms most frequently referred to are,
in fact, from a feminine source. To explain - adding the letter “mim” (the
equivalent of M) in Arabic as a prefix makes it mean “one who is/does” or
“someone in the state of” the words which follows it. A well-known example
would be “Islam” (Peace, perfection of faith) and “Muslim” - (one who is
peaceful and perfects their faith for the sake of God).
Similarly, hub (pure love), becomes mahabba (a state of being “in love”, in its
purest sense). Many scholars have commented on this point and illustrate it
with teachings such as God said, ‘My love necessarily belongs to those who
love each other for My Sake, sit together for My Sake, visit one another for My
Sake; and give generously to one another for My Sake’ So there can be no
greater recognition of the power of love, nor any motivation more powerful
than this. Perhaps this highlights a major difference from agapé, as it
constantly exhorts the greater jihad (see essay on violence) – the struggle to do
good at all times, and the jihad against one’s own ego and to serve one
another out of love...
To return to the “feminine” aspect, at the start of every chapter in the Qur’an,
every prayer, in fact, when Muslim undertakes a significant deed you will hear
them saying “Bismillah AlRahman AlRahim”. This is often translated as “in
the Name of Allah the Most Merciful, The Most Mercy-Giving”. However, in
most translations, mercy, compassion, etc all tend to be very one-dimensional
and insipid. “Rahmah” is derived from the same root as “rahm” or womb, so
includes all other connotations of protection, nurture, parenthood, total
surrounding, etc. When contemplated thoughtfully, the imagery and deeper
meaning becomes incredibly vivid. Now, when read in the context of the
Islamic teaching that God retained 99 parts of “rahmah” for Himself and
distributed the rest amongst the whole of humanity, most of which became
the mothers’ share - I think that makes for a powerfully moving thought!
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A direct illustration of this is given in the story of the Prophet Musa (Moses)
(pbuh) in his childhood, when God says : “I cast over you (O Moses) the
garment of love (mahabbah) from Me and (this) in order that you may be
reared under My care (literally “eye”)” (Qur’an, 20:39).
Those deserving God’s love
And the list of people deserving of God’s Love (mahabba) goes on and on, those:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
who
who
who
who
who
who
who
repent (2:222)
do good (2:195; 5:13)
are just (5:42; 49:9)
persevere in patience (3:145)
fight for His cause (61:4)
love cleanliness (61:4)
put their trust in Him (3:158)
etc. But His Love is withheld from:
•
•
•
•
•
•
the
the
the
the
the
the
conceited, boastful man (2:190)
mischievous disturbers of peace (28:77)
unjust (42:40)
extravagant (6:142)
supercilious (16:23)
transgressors (2:190)
and so on.
Love in relationships
Interpersonal love is another aspect discussed in great detail, with much
emphasis placed in the Qur’an on the family unit (Parent/child,
wife/husband, sibling etc) as the main facilitator of this love; and again
“Rahmah” and “Mawadda” (compassion) are the basis.
The idea is that gentleness and compassion/mercy are essential to any loving
relationship and must be there at all times for tranquillity (another highly
prized ideal, especially in a marital context - see 30:21) to be present. Another
point which is frequently stressed is the importance of spiritual equality before
God and that all human creation stems from a single soul, thus removing the
idea of gender and/or age superiority and consequential imbalances in human
relationships that result (in theory, at least!)
Muslims are constantly encouraged to seek out ways to cultivate and nurture
this love by emulating the example of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his
relationships with his family and the wider Muslim community as a whole. This
could be tenderness, care, sustenance, wisdom, responsibility, faithfulness, proactive participation in domestic chores etc in a marriage or love, leadership,
gentleness, approachability, discipline, justice, etc as a parent and so on.
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A Sikh perspective
“Hear you all, I say the truth, He who loves alone attains God”
( Tenth Nanak-Dasam Granth)
Sikhism stresses that without love the journey cannot begin, our traditions,
practices are empty and useless. There are countless examples in the Siri Guru
Granth Sahib of what ‘to love’ is: it is an action, a verb:
“Listen my heart, Let thy love be that of the lotus for the pool,
though the ripples shake the lotus and torment it, it flowereth and
loveth even more the waters.
Let thy love be that of the fish for the water without which they
perish.
O mind, love the Lord, as the fish loves the water.
The more the water, the more the happiness, and the greater the
peace of mind and body. Without water, she cannot live, even for
an instant. God knows the suffering of her mind.
O mind, love the Lord, as the song-bird loves the rain.
The pools are overflowing with water, and the land is luxuriantly
green, but what are they to her, if that single drop of rain does not
fall into her mouth?
By His Grace, she receives it; otherwise, because of her past
actions, she gives her head.
O mind, love the Lord, as the water loves the milk.
The water, added to the milk, itself bears the heat, and prevents
the milk from burning. God unites the separated ones with Himself
again, and blesses them with true greatness.
O mind, love the Lord, as the chakvee duck loves the sun.
She does not sleep, for an instant or a moment; the sun is so far
away, but she thinks that it is near. Understanding does not come
to the self-willed manmukh. But to the Gurmukh, the Lord is
always close.
(SGGS, Siri Raag pg 59)
The Sikh scriptures enforces: ‘When you cannot see God in all you cannot see
God at all’ It is clear then that we have to be in love to see God in all.
Love is physical, mental, emotional and spiritual grace. Love is being conscious
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of the relationship of your being with the universe. Love has no conditions, no
boundaries, it is all encompassing, love is limitless.
When a Sikh has committed to the spiritual teachings written in the Guru
Granth Sahib SGGS and the instructions given by the ten Gurus, he has sworn
to live love. ‘It is not in temples nor churches but in a man’s own shrine of the
heart within, where he, having cast off all outer clothes of piety and impiety, of
evil and of good, enters into the pure nudity of soul, and sees face to face His
personal God, his Guru.’ (Puran Singh-Spirit born people)
Love is surrender
There is a unique concept in Sikhism, in which to surrender to the Guru could
be compared to an ultimate love affair, almost a loving death. We give ourselves
completely, our mind, body and soul is given to the Guru. It is the death of the
ego, there is no more me, I but “thuhi” or thine.
If we can imagine that there is a lotus abloom in the shrine of the heart, to the
one in love, his eyes like live bees hover within. A million flowers may beckon
them away but they are fixed, unable to move away. They cannot fly, satiated,
drunk and drinking the light of the lotus, they are dead yet alive. Love is
contentment, living inwards, with open eyes yet seeing nothing on the outside.
Have you seen the eyes of Beethoven? It is a rare spiritual intensity. The love
transmutes all sorrows into the flames of life. (Puran Singh-Spirit Born People)
Attachment and unattachment
Sikhs are instructed to develop relationships, live as householders, integrate in
society and learn to love but the key is to remain unattached.
There is fine line between “Moh” (attachment) and love, there is no ‘need’ in love.
Pure love is not dependent on anything, anyone or any circumstance. For
example, parents love their children but if there is any other motive or
expectation of what is expected of them underlining, then it is attachment and
no longer love. Sikh parents are taught that they are merely the vehicle, the
tool, used for the soul to arrive. The children born to them are not their
property, they belong to the creator and parental responsibility is to love them
and keep them safe from harm. Parents must love them but keep them free and
allow them to develop the inner gifts bestowed upon them by the divine. Those
that have understood what love in Sikhism is, will allow their young to blossom.
They will nourish, nurture and support their loved ones in becoming what they
aspire to be without projecting onto them their own motives. This is a difficult
act and often involves sacrifice (from sleepless nights to earning money for their
tuition fees) but all this effort becomes effortless when done in love.
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A Buddhist perspective
If there is love, there is hope that one may have real families, real
brotherhood, real equanimity, real peace. If the love within your
mind is lost and you see other beings as enemies, then no matter
how much knowledge or education or material comfort you have,
only suffering and confusion will ensue.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama from The little book of Buddhism
Trying to find a meaning
The word ‘love’ is a powerful and emotive word and has many uses within the
English language from ‘hello, luv’ to ‘I love you’. Within the Buddhist context
love is usually associated with the word metta from the Pali scriptural
language meaning unconditional love or loving-kindness. This type of love is
not restricted to any person, situation or condition, it is one of acceptance.
Another scriptural reference to this is what are called the four immeasurable:
unconditional love, sympathetic joy, equanimity and compassion. Below is
part of the chanting we take part in at the community where I live.
I will abide pervading one quarter with a heart imbued with lovingkindness;
likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth;
so above and below, around and everywhere; and to all as to
myself.
I will abide pervading the all-encompassing world with a heart
imbued
with loving-kindness;
abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility, and without ill-will.
On a day-to-day basis this type of unconditional love seems impractical. How can
you unconditionally love a murderer, or a rapist? Living within a contemplative
tradition, one based on developing wisdom and understanding, we try to get to
the core of: ‘what is love?’ This is my continuing journey - trying to understand
and live this. There are two levels within Buddhism: the mundane and the
supermundane; that is the worldly and the spiritual. Sometimes to understand
the supermundane you need some skilful means. One skilful means I have used
to come to terms with what love is is using the Jungian archetype of the lover as
defined by Robert Moore.28 The ‘lover’ energy defined in this way is the life-force,
the sensing or feeling realm, sensitivity to beauty or aesthetics.
The power of love
If you are unable to access the lover energy, you are down, have a lack of
meaning in your life. You can try accessing this by imagining yourself in a
28
Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Spirituality in the Graduate
Center of the Chicago Theological Seminary - http://www.robertmoore-phd.com/
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beautiful walled garden, a safe place to feel and sense the world - it is the
place of art and the artist - creativity - spirituality. If, on the other hand, you
have too much of this, you are prone to addiction, and that needs boundaries.
Matthew Fox talks about this brilliantly, and in essence the problem with
addiction is one of cosmology: understanding where to place love within the
overall structure of who we are.29
If we bring this sort of knowledge into meditation, we can have a very powerful
practice. By quieting the mind/body, or accepting the way things are, we get to
see how love appears in all its shapes and forms of desire, sensitivity, passion,
lust, peacefulness: we discover the causes and conditions for it. A very simple
way of seeing how this works is with food. Take your favourite food, put it in
front of you, and wait. Watch the desire, the salivation in the mouth, the
wanting-to-grab it. Then slowly go towards it and then taste it, chew it, eat it.
At this point in my experience there is very little sense of self - one is merged
with the object. Then notice that the feeling starts to fade away and usually, if
the taste was strong, we want to start again. Were you satisfied? This is not to
deny the pleasure of the senses; sometimes Buddhist practices can get
confused with denial or asceticism. I see this more in the sense of being able to
moderate one’s behaviour, for the benefit of being healthy and peaceful.
So how do you deal with being unsatisfied?
The Buddha’s fundamental teaching is the four noble truths, or in modern
terms enabling spiritual technology, which in its simplest form is: there is
suffering and there is a way out of it. Suffering arises because we want
something or want to get rid of something (want love - want to get rid of love).
This suffering comes from having a sensitive form, which feels and needs
stimulation. Suffering is not an additional spiritual practice to try and create.
Suffering ends when the conditions for suffering are removed or by noticing
the way conditions for suffering are formed. Awareness, the ability to witness
without being involved with the object, is a way of liberating yourself from
suffering. This gives you the spontaneity and power to live full in the world
with a body without shame - to play and display. We can then love others as
we do ourselves - unconditionally.
Unconditional love comes with a caveat - this does not mean that you allow
yourself to be used by others. The power of knowing what love is, is that it
comes with a healthy sense of boundaries and respect. If this is abused in any
form, unconditional love manifests as forgiveness and as I have said in other
essays it is not wasting energy in negative emotions, but wishing the best for
that person and not getting involved.
The question I leave you with is: who do you really love and why?
29
http://matthewfox.org - also see audio: Addiction and the Quest for the infinite with Matthew Fox
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A Christian perspective
Is Christian love different?
It’s been said that all you need is love. But what is love - and do Christians
love any differently, or better, or worse, than anyone else? Sometimes, as a
priest, I get involved in conversations with people about ‘How hard it must be
to be a priest, because, don’t you get sick of having to love people all the
time?’ My response is usually something like: ‘Well, yes, it is hard. But it’s
what I try and do, even though I’m always getting it wrong.’
Few words have been more distorted and abused than ‘love’, so little wonder
we’re left feeling confused. And here’s something else. Even though talk about
love is everywhere - in Hollywood films, Valentine Cards, in the storylines of
soap operas and pop songs - we often struggle to find love in the world. This
is, perhaps, a result of the ‘nothing sells like bad news’ rule: good news
stories, stories about love, care and compassion, drop out of sight at the
moment the latest terrorist atrocity occurs. This example is instructive, for I
would say that real love - and I’ll go on to define what I mean by this in a
moment - is the direct opposite of rape, terrorism and murder. Such things
are about denying and obliterating the existence of other people. Love, if we
want to understand it as more than just a passing feeling or whim, must be
something to do with making space for others and giving their needs equal
footing alongside our own.
Four forms of love
Much of my thinking about love is derived from a small but powerful book by
C S Lewis called The Four Loves (1960). In his book Lewis reflects on not one
but four different sorts of love. They are affection, eros (sexual), charity (an
old-fashioned word for what we might call today ‘sacrificial love’), and
friendship. Lewis doesn’t set out to rank them in order of importance. They all
have their place and, at best, a good human life should make room for them
all. But charity is the highest peak in the love mountain range for it demands
a lot from us. It’s also risky and demands courage and a willingness to go a
long way to see a smile on another person’s face. Lewis reminds us, however,
that all loving is costly; and if it’s not, then, think a bit harder about what it is
that’s going on: ‘We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the
sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to
Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken ...
so be it’. (The Four Loves, p. 112) I find Lewis’ division of love helpful. It
reminds me that love is so much more than romantic or sexual love. It helps
me to recognise that charity-love is where I aim to get to, though I know I get
stuck at the affection-love level more often than I’d like to admit. It is, after
all, the safest, least risky form of love. Overall, I find that when I act in a
loving way to others it generally improves my relationship with them no end.
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The giving of love somehow generates more love; what goes out has a tendency
to come back again with interest.
The love of Jesus
C S Lewis is best known for writing The Chronicles of Narnia and was, if you
didn’t know already, a Christian. He, like the rest of us Christians, was drawn
to how love - in all its forms - was lived out in the life of Jesus. In spite of the
fact that he got the whole Christian religion-thing going, Jesus is often
Christianity’s forgotten man. For instance, many people outside (and inside)
the Church wonder where Jesus comes into George Bush’s pronouncements
about ‘good’ and ‘evil’ empires, or where love comes into the never-ending
debate about homosexuality. When we do manage to get round to interpreting
Jesus’ words - as reported in the New Testament - rather than listening to
those who claim to speak for him - what does he say about love?
My favourite parable (the stories Jesus told his followers to illustrate his
beliefs) is the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32). This is the story of a young man
who goes out into the world to live it up, large and wild style. Not all goes to
plan, however. Eventually he returns home to his father and brother, whom he
had left six months earlier in a fit of temper. The prodigal son is worried that
his father might be angry with him for blowing all his inheritance money - and
with good reason. But nothing of the sort happens. His father, rather than
rushing out to meet him with a big stick, greets him with a big hug. He then
throws a great big party. Jesus says this is what God is like: all love,
forgiveness, mercy. And this is how Jesus treated those he came into contact
with, especially the ‘sinners’ and outcasts.
Another place to go for evidence about what Jesus thought about love and
about the God he called love, are the names he used about God. Like some
other Jewish thinkers at that time he liked to call God ‘Abba’. This is an
Aramaic word meaning ‘Daddy’ or ‘Papa’. I’m drawn to the word because it
reveals a more loving God than either Father or Lord does. By using this
special word Jesus was letting us in on his relationship with God: God is not
some thing that lives high up in the sky. He’s as near to you as your closest
friend or partner.
A Christian view of love
Perhaps the most famous Christian words about love come not from the
mouth of Jesus but from one his followers, a disciple who lived seventy years
or so after he died. It’s so good it’s worth quoting in full:
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God
abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we
may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so
are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts
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out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears
has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved
us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters,
are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they
have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The
commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must
love their brothers and sisters also.
(John 1: 16-21)
The point this passage makes is similar to the ideas in C S Lewis’ book. Love
can’t or shouldn’t be switched on and off, or dependent upon moods and
feelings. Love is not a single torch beam that shines on one thing only, but a
wide and all-illuminating presence that warms everything around it. It’s quite
a challenge, to love like this, but whoever said love was easy?
All Faiths and None
Chapter Eleven : Congregation and Community : 211
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CONGREGATION AND COMMUNITY
BIG QUESTIONS: Aren’t churches, mosques, temples etc irrelevant to real
life?
Aren’t worship and prayer out of date in the modern world?
Do I need to go to church/mosque to follow my faith?
Is church a building or group of people?
Is community feeling a good thing?
COMMON THEMES:
The worldviews represented here recognise that human communities have
always met together for worship and praise, teaching and discussion,
prayer and contemplation. Religious groups whether from the ‘Eastern’ or
‘Western’ traditions have emphasised the transcendent aspect of such
gathering, while non-religious groups have emphasised the ethical and
human aspects.
Specific buildings (such as churches and mosques) or holy or special places,
such as shrines or gathering places by a tree or water-source are also
important in all traditions, often with shared use for religious activities and
non-religious (such as discussion and decision-making). Common Themes
which emerged are:
• Group activity is important in all human communities
• All worldviews share the view that co-operation and empathy are
essential virtues in all communities
• Modern life has generated new forms of community (eg single-interest
groups, facebook groups, wonder groups) - both in and across
traditional communities
• Communities are not the same as institutuions or buildings
• Communities may have bad aspects - keeping people out, excluding,
not including, putting pressure on people to conform to bad ways
• These attitudes lead to socially divisive behaviour (eg class, caste, the
‘saved’), conflict and even war
• Communities often bring diverse groups together through shared
activities (eg meals, meetings, sport/dance)
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Humanist contribution recognises that:
• Humans are basically social animals, and group activities are
important
• Humanists extend social connections beyond the community to all
races and nations
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• The ‘Golden Rule’ of treating others as yourself enables co-operation
for the common good
• Communities can be oppressive of those within who are ‘different’ or of
outsiders
• This should be resisted
The Jewish contribution focuses on:
• A powerful sense of community has been essential to Jewish survival
over the centuries
• Synagogues are essential to the community as well as for religious
activities and social action
• Inward-looking, exclusive communities are less common in modern
Judaism
• Most religious rituals can be performed at home and/or in the
family
• In today’s society, people belong to a variety of different communities
and groups based on interest, etc
The Muslim contribution points out that:
• The mosque is important as a place of community meeting as well as
worship
• But daily rituals and prayers can be carried out anywhere
• The mosque masjid and congregation/community janni should be
welcoming to all
• It should also be a centre for social action and pastoral care
The Sikh perspective gives priority to:
• The human body as the ‘temple’ where worship and prayer take place
• The Gurdwara is where the scriptures are kept and meetings take
place for social as well as religious purposes
• the Gurdwara is also a place for eating - free food for the poor and old
people
The Buddhist contribution looks at the link between the words:
• ‘temple’ and ‘contemplation’ - from the same root - and for the same
purpose
• Groups can help many of us to focus our minds and support us
• Buildings, ie temples, can be helpful, but are not necessary for
meditation and reflection
• Group pressure can also lead us away from the right path
• Your body can be a temple - through attention to the four ‘divine
dwellings’:- loving kindness, compassion, joy for others, being
balanced
All Faiths and None
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The Christian contribution points out some advantages/disadvantages of
congregations:
• Full of people from diverse and contrasting backgrounds, but with a
common purpose
• Sometimes churches are divided, with jealousies, in-groups and
outsiders
• Jesus called very diverse groups - women, working classes, sinners,
tax collectors
• Communities can be places where people don’t just tolerate, but love
each other
The Hindu perspective points out:
• The absence of any large institutional structures like a church, but the
existence of many sects, cults and local traditions
• Much religious observance takes place in the home
• The hereditary hierarchical caste system never had sanction from
scriptures of authority
• This social stratification can best be described as an atrocity in the
name of religion
• Dr Ambedkar, the key architect of the Indian constitution asserted
that caste was never sanctioned by religion
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A Humanist perspective
Human beings are social animals. Like our closest relative the chimpanzee, we
tend to live together in groups, and we have ways of behaving that have
evolved over time. This tendency towards community life was hypothesised by
Darwin in the nineteenth century:
As man advances in civilisation and small tribes are united into
larger communities, the simplest reason would tell each individual
that he ought to extend his social instincts and sympathies to all
the members of the same nation, though personally unknown to
him. This point being once reached, there is only an artificial
barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to the men of all
nations and races.
Humanists observe that the ‘golden rule’ - the general principle of treating
others as you would wish to be treated in their position - is to be found in
most cultures all over the world and throughout time. It shows that people
generally have it in them to feel for others as for themselves and to live
together with a sense of shared belonging. Together, people can achieve much
more than individually, and co-operation - which itself relies on empathy and
an understanding for others - has great value for humanists, because they
believe that, for the world to become a better place, it is people who must
make it happen, with no help from supernatural beings.
If humanists have concerns about community it is the fear that the concept
can be used to tyrannise over the individual - that they may serve to oppress
people’s individuality. If people are trapped in one community and so lose
their freedom, they may be unable to live the sort of life that would make
them fulfilled, and be forced to live by the rules of a majority with which they
disagree. Humanists may also be concerned that communities can be very
exclusive things, hostile to outsiders, and so make for a more divided society
rather than a more united one.
All Faiths and None
Chapter Eleven : Congregation and Community : 215
A Jewish perspective
I am always amused when people ask me about Jewish churches, partly
because we have synagogues, and Christians have churches, but also because
the synagogue I grew up in used to be a church and we worked very hard to
make it more like a synagogue (even though the building was cross-shaped!)
Together or alone?
Community life has traditionally been very important to Jews. On the one
hand, any Jew can pray alone, and any family can fulfil many of the
commandments independently. This has often been seen as being connected
with the Jewish people’s success in living in exile for 2000 years - we don’t
need a rabbi to perform our rituals. Nonetheless, if a person can pray in a
community, it is considered preferable, and there are a few prayers that
cannot be said without a quorum of 10 (men in Orthodox Judaism, people in
Progressive Judaism). Communities are also particularly important when
someone dies, as friends and fellow members will bring food to the mourners’
home so they don’t have to think about preparing food for the first intense
week of mourning. Communities also make keeping kosher easier because it’s
worthwhile having a butcher and a baker only if you have a critical mass of
people.
Synagogues today offer a variety of services, from life-cycle and ritual events,
to education and social provision. However it is increasingly a struggle for
some communities to attract participants, and many are beginning to
challenge old modes of thinking, and are introducing alternative services and
a diversity of events, from social action to barn dances!
Modern Jewish communities
Jewish communities before modern times were, through the nature of the
societies in which Jews lived, particularly in Europe, often rather inwardlooking. Today Jews are accepted as citizens, and communities are rarely the
inward-looking shtetls (villages) or ghettos (areas of a town set aside for one
group) that they used to be. Sometimes they are very spread-out, and as a
result new forms of communities are developing, such as a ‘face-book
synagogue’ and Jewdas - a radical Jewish satire and learning group. Some
families regularly meet for Sabbath meals, but don’t attend a synagogue, or
women meet once a month to celebrate the New Moon. These new
communities are bringing an element of choice and diversity to the Jewish
community that is very exciting. They are also a response to the changing
nature of our communities, not only geographically, but also in terms of how
people are living today: families are not always what or how we would have
defined them 50 years ago, and women’s role in communities has shifted in
many areas, and this has in turn changed communities.
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One person, many communities
My community is very important to me, though as a young adult I have
several different communities: There is the community I grew up in, who knew
me as a child, and watched me grow into an adult, there is a community of
young adults who go to different alternative services together, there is the
community of my family and my husband’s family, there is the Jewish
community in general. But I am also a member of non-Jewish communities: I
am a member of the local community where I live, I am a member of the fans
of Saracens rugby club, I am a member of my university alumni community
and so on. My community has helped me become who I am today, but they
are not my only community, nor the only part that makes up who I am.
All Faiths and None
Chapter Eleven : Congregation and Community : 217
A Muslim perspective
I’d like this piece to be a little different, so I’ll start off quoting:
To Allah belong the east and the West: Whithersoever ye turn,
there is the
presence of Allah. For Allah is all-Pervading, allKnowing.
(2:115)
The building
The physicality of the mosque itself is not regarded as the most important
element, for all mosques, although sanctuaries and special, are not holy or
sacred in their own right - all being regarded equally as houses of God, apart
from the three ‘Holiest Sites’ - Makkah and Madinah in the Arabian Peninsula;
and Masjid Al-Aqsa in Palestine respectively.
In houses which Allah has permitted to be exalted and that His
Name may be remembered in them, there glorify Him therein in the
mornings and evenings.’
(24:36)
This is clearly apparent when looking at the Arabic root meanings for the
words s-j-d and jami`. The former literally means ‘place of prostration’, which
is where masjid (and hence, mosque) is derived. Given the above verse, and
the legal rulings that Muslims may offer their prayers anywhere they please,
as long as the place is clean - at home, work, in a ‘mosque’, in the park, on a
plane (takes place, quite often!) then that function does not make it unique.
As mentioned before in other pieces, some of the most significant
congregational prayers (e.g. Eid) are actually performed in the open air
whenever possible.
There have been many beautiful mosques throughout the history of Islam (as
well as contemporary buildings) that are truly stunning examples of human
artistic expression and amazing feats of engineering - the Blue Mosque in
Turkey, Al-Aqsa in Palestine, Muhammad Ali in Egypt, etc.
The community
What is really special, though, and far more important in my opinion, is the
dynamic role that a jami` plays in the creation, sustenance and fabric of the
Muslim community. A jami` is a place of ‘congregation’, or ‘gathering’ for the
common good, which is actually what most ‘mosques’ are referred to as in the
Muslim world. As such, it is not physicality of place, rather action itself which
takes place within, which has real meaning.
A jami` which is alive would be one which acts as a welcoming home for all Muslim and non-Muslim, where knowledge can be sought, offered and shared
- where advice is readily and (perhaps more importantly?) non-judgementally
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available, where communities can go to spread their good news, partake in
each other’s happy times and celebrations and be of support and solace to
each other in times of sadness or trouble. A place where leadership and
pastoral care are continuously in evidence.
In short - where everyone belongs.
All Faiths and None
Chapter Eleven : Congregation and Community : 219
A Sikh perspective
The alternative to a church is known as a gurdwara for Sikhs. Gur means the
one that brings you from darkness to light and dwara is the word for a door.
The Siri Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Sacred Scriptures) are housed inside the
gurdwara and are the spiritual teachings of the Sikhs. The gurdwara is a
place that Sikhs go to congregate in and worship as a community, but the
Guru’s concept of the human body being the actual temple in which God
resides is very clear. Every human body that sings God’s praises is a
dharmsala.
You are deep within each and every heart.
(SGGS p. 1144)
The gurdwara
The actual architectural design of the building reflects elements of the Sikh
belief.
The most famous gurdwara is Harimandir Sahib, known to most as the
Golden Temple that sits in a pool of water in Amritsar, North India. It was
designed in such a way that it sits at the lowest point of the city. As you enter
the divine sanctity, there is a pool of water to cleanse the feet and then there
are steps that lead down to the building. The idea that the Gurus wanted to
cultivate amongst the Sikhs was that they must arrive at the sanctuary with
humility and walk down the steps rather than up. They then bow down to the
earth, touching their forehead to the ground, becoming conscious to live as
the dust of those around them.
The gurdwara then has four doors that are open symbolising North, South,
East and West. It signifies acceptance and openness; ostensibly, this concept
is reminiscent of the tent of Abraham in the Old Testament - his tent was
open on all four sides in order to be able to welcome travellers from all
directions. Anyone who wants to enter the Harimandir may do so, irrespective
of religion, colour, creed or sex. There is, however, just one main door in
which to enter the sanctity: this reinforces the idea that God’s house is open
to all people, yet each have their own path to attain spiritual bliss and there is
just one path to God, that of love.
In addition the Sikh faith believes in the equality of all religions, and this was
reinforced when in December 1588, the great Sufi of Lahore, Hazrat Mian Mir,
who was a friend of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, initiated the construction of the
building by laying the foundation stone.
The community
Each gurdwara also has a section called the langar, ‘free kitchen’. The food is
prepared daily and is open all day long for everyone to eat. The idea was that
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all should sit on the same platform, rich or poor, low caste or high and share
in a meal together. In many gurdwaras in the west, langar is sent to homeless
shelters and refugee councils as it was also meant to nurture and feed the
weak and vulnerable.
The other two important aspects of life in a gurdwara: the sangat
(congregation) and the granthi or kirtani (priest and professional singers). The
Sikh teachings advocate that individual meditation and prayer are part of the
daily routine for a Sikh, but coming to the gurdwara and being part of the
sangat is equally important. The community take care of the gurdwara - seva
(selfless service) plays an integral part of the faith. Cleaning the toilets,
kitchen duties, cleaning and caring for the environment around the gurdwara
is all performed by the sangat.
Join the Sat Sangat, the True Congregation, and find the Lord. The Gurmukh
embraces love for the Lord.
All Faiths and None
Chapter Eleven : Congregation and Community : 221
A Buddhist perspective
In the Buddhist language of Pali, the closest word to church is Vihara which
means dwelling or refuge. One of the Buddha’s refuges is Sangha or the
community of people that follow the teaching of the Buddha. Another word
used in conjunction with dwellings and the Sangha is temple. One of the main
techniques in Buddhism as a way to realise what the Buddha was pointing to
is contemplation. You may have noticed that in the word contemplation is
‘temple’. So one explanation of contemplation means to stand inside of a
temple.30 So the question is: what do you want to contemplate and where do
you want to dwell?
Meditating alone and in a community
There are many ways to contemplate and the way I use it can be divided into
two parts. One is where you take a word or phrase and use your intellect to
understand it, and the other is a more reflective process, where you let the
mind calm down and then allow the wisdom in by using the power of
intention. For example, in writing this essay, I may first research on the web
about ‘church’ and Buddhist meanings of it. I may then take that information
into my sitting or walking contemplation time, playing with it internally,
seeing the textures, the qualities, what it feels like. Then I let that all be and
withdraw conscious attention from it but keep the intention of knowing that
an essay has to be produced about it. So in sitting or walking meditation I
allow the mind to receive, and suddenly, like a hand appearing from a calm
pond, a thought will appear in the mind and there is a sense of knowing that
this is something that I can use with the article.
This is the power of the mind and intention; where you direct your thoughts
will become manifest in your actions. If your mind inclines towards
unwholesome thoughts, then if you are not aware of them, you will start to act
them out. The same can be applied to wholesome thoughts and how they can
direct your actions. In order to allow yourself the space to receive, an attitude
of welcoming or acceptance is helpful. In the beginning meditation can be
difficult because you are going against what most mainstream education
teaches, which is to discriminate, to divide up the world into subject and
object. So, meditating and being with a community, or being with friends, is
helpful in counterbalancing this. In the monastic scene, the Buddha suggests
that this is the essence of the religious life, to have spiritual friends.
Once friends start to come together, then they want a place to meet and so
temples develop to support the practice. The important thing is not to get
caught up in the belief that the temple, or retreat centre, or your special room,
is the only place where you can practise. So contemplation helps to keep this
in perspective, so that the teachings can flow through you, can express
30
Ajahn Sucitto - Forest Sangha Newsletter no. 40
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themselves through you whilst not being ‘yours’. Also using contemplation,
you can start to understand the architecture of religious buildings, the way
they point you back to oneness, such as in the form of a spire, or to a specific
teaching. Focusing on some of these teachings can be used when the mind is
restless or agitated to help calm the mind. One approach is to move the mind,
or incline it towards one of the four divine abidings or dwellings.
Let it be
In Pali these divine dwellings are called metta, karuna, mudita and upekkha.
In English metta means loving kindness, which is an unconditional
acceptance. It’s not that you like something or even agree with it, but that you
accept it for what it is. For example, somebody is nasty to you, so you can
choose to accept the situation for what it is, rather than generating more
hatred or ill-will, which usually wastes a lot of energy and spirals into
irresolvable situations. By allowing the situation to be what it is, the mind
calms down, and again some natural wisdom can arise, which could be that
you speak with the person, or you choose not be around them. Karuna
means compassion, and for me this means to be passionate with somebody.
It’s to take an interest in what is going on. I really like this saying from Cheri
Huber about this:
A compassionate person may be what we call nice and polite,
but compassion does not try to be nice and polite.
Nice and polite comes from conditioning.
Compassion comes from the heart
and our shared connectedness.
Mudita is sympathetic joy. It helps with jealousy. Can you see the joy in
somebody wining a million pounds on the lottery rather than thinking, ‘I wish
it was me, I really need it.’ It also allows one to listen to what is going on, to
empathise. If you are always with your thoughts then you never really know
what is going on, I found this a rather miserable place to be. When I choose to
listen with all my senses, that moment becomes alive, both with internal
thoughts and outside situations. Upekkha means being balanced, not being
pulled around by one’s own or others’ emotions but seeing them for what they
are. Again this gives you the ability to respond in a more natural way. It gives
you both space and time before you choose an action.
So realising your true nature or your real home is one of way of using
contemplation to understand oneself. That is using your body/mind as a
temple, a place of worship and gathering. Even within this temple there are so
many voices, at least in my head there are. Mother and Father, the Control
Freak, the Anarchist, and a way of liberating yourself from this is with this
attitude of acceptance and knowing. So the question is: why do you choose
the friends you have and where do you meet them?
All Faiths and None
Chapter Eleven : Congregation and Community : 223
A Christian perspective
The diversity of Christianity
For me, the church community is important because of the social, racial and
generational mix you’ll find there. Today we live increasingly in self-chosen
‘clubs’. We tend to associate, or hang out with, others like ourselves. Most
churches are not like this. In fact, they are full of people we would normally
do everything to avoid. The smelly, the slightly mad, the boring, the badly
dressed, men with beards and Bibles ... you’ll find such types, and many
others, mixing together and chatting merrily over coffee after the service. At
least, this has been my experience. I know from other experiences,
experiences I’d rather forget, that the Christian family doesn’t always work out
this way. If you’re unlucky, the church you might just happen to visit may
have no idea about community whatsoever. In such places cliques form all too
easily, the stranger is not welcomed, the enthusiastic newcomer is met with
one of those you’re-sitting-in-my-pew sort of looks.
The more churches become like the local golf club the less they are following
in the way of Jesus, the bloke Christianity is supposed to be based on. It
seems to me that Jesus really liked diversity. He got a kick out of observing
the interesting things that happen whenever lots of different people are
pushed together. His own community contained the lot - tax-collectors (the
traffic-wardens of their time), fishermen (the working classes), and women (not
really thought to have been on the same level as men). It really was quite a
mixed bunch - how they must have fought! But church communities are
about more than simply crazy collections of people (though they certainly are
that). The command given by Jesus is not to tolerate one another but to love
one another (John 13:34-35). The record shows that Christians are no better
at loving than anyone else - and they can often be a lot worse. But the ideal
remains whether we always reach it or not.
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A Hindu perspective
Alone or in communities?
A notable feature of the Hindu religious tradition is the absence of any large
institutional structure that has authority over significant numbers of adherents.
For Hindus there is no equivalent of the Catholic Church or anything that
comes close to resembling such an institution. There are, however, a very large
number of small institutions that we might refer to as Hindu sects, which have
a defined hierarchical structure and have a degree of authority over those
Hindus who choose to become members of them or who are born into them.
Those Hindus who venerate Vishnu as the Supreme Deity, and to a lesser extent
those who worship Shiva, have formed a number of such sects, which one might
regard as separate religions in their own right although they are still a part of
the wider Hindu community. The majority of Hindus, however, practise their
religion outside the purview of any such group and are more or less free to
accept the particular style of Hindu belief and practice that seems to be most
appropriate. There are no Hindu teachings which indicate that membership of a
particular Church or religious grouping is a requirement for achieving the
highest goals in religious life. The spiritual quest is essentially an individual
one, although close association with like-minded believers and spiritually
enlightened teachers can be of enormous assistance in pursuing that quest.
Several of these Hindu sects have existed since the earliest times and these
are known as sampradayas, a Sanskrit word that implies the handing-down
of knowledge from one generation to another in a line of succession. Other
Hindu groups have come into being relatively recently. Most Hindus believe
that there is a spark of the divine within each of us and therefore emphasis is
placed on personal realisation. If an individual gains enlightenment and
realises his or her own inner divinity then he becomes a religious authority
and will attract followers to hear his message. Charismatic leaders of this
type also form sub-groups of followers within the Hindu tradition, which one
might conceivably refer to as ‘Churches’. Most Hindus are respectful of the
beliefs of the members of these groups even though they do not choose to
participate or accept the leaders as their own authority figures.
Although most Hindus are not formally affiliated to any sect, sampradaya or
identifiable sub-group, an important locus of religious authority is to be found
within the social community or kinship group. Family identity is very
important for Hindus and the elders of the family fulfil many of the functions
undertaken by religious leaders in other traditions. The role played by
community is also a very important one in the religious lives of many Hindus,
although in recent decades this has become a source of some controversy and
many now wish to see more of a collective Hindu identity that transcends
distinctions based on caste.
All Faiths and None
Chapter Eleven : Congregation and Community : 225
The caste system
The origins of the caste system are to be found in ancient texts such as the
Mahabharata and Puranas in which it is advocated that society be divided into
four broad classes designated as Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and
Shudras. The Brahmins are priests, teachers and scholars, the Kshatriyas
are the rulers and members of the military, the Vaishyas are farmers and
business people and the Shudras are artisans, craftsmen, artists and
labourers. In later centuries many different castes emerged, possibly from
subdivision of the original four groups or possibly as more specialised
occupations emerged. Today caste still plays an important role within the
Hindu lifestyle though it functions primarily in the sense of community. The
caste system has been criticised for being unjust, as individuals are given a
status in society on the basis of birth alone. Hindu teachings refer to the
doctrine of karma and rebirth to explain the validity of designation by birth,
but most Hindus today are anxious to move away from the ways in which the
caste system was implemented in earlier times. In previous centuries, and
still today to a lesser extent, caste designations were used to ensure social
superiority and the lower castes were excluded and discriminated against by
some members of the higher castes.
Over the last two hundred years, however, Hindu ideas on caste have been
significantly revised. The great modern teachers of Hinduism such as Swami
Vivekananda, Dayananda Saraswati and Mahatma Gandhi all insisted that
discrimination based on caste ran contrary to the true and authentic
teachings of the Hindu tradition. Swami Vivekananda referred to the Vedantic
doctrine of the inner divinity of all people and insisted that any way of
thinking that regarded others with contempt ran contrary to the fundamental
principles of Vedanta. Swami Dayananda Saraswati pointed out that ideas of
caste and even the four varnas are not to be found in the Vedas (the most
authoritative Hindus scriptures) and that caste should therefore not be
regarded as a Hindu institution. He argued that excessive emphasis on caste
divisions had divided and weakened the Hindu community and that these
should therefore be set aside. Mahatma Gandhi regarded discrimination
against the lower castes to be a breach of the highest principles of Hindu
ethics, particularly the principle of ahimsa (not harming), and so campaigned
tirelessly for social reform.
The function of caste today
Today the ideas propounded by these great teachers and many others who
shared their views have become widely accepted by Hindus both in India and
across the world. Caste discrimination does still exist, but today most
adherents regard their identity as Hindus as taking precedence over caste
distinctions and are seeking to draw different groups together. Some even
argue that caste should be abandoned altogether so that the Hindu identity
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can exist alone without any further qualification. If it can be purged of its
discriminatory features, however, caste need not be a negative feature of
contemporary society. It is significant to note that the caste hierarchy does
not elevate the rich and powerful to the highest status but rather those who
are wise, learned, well-mannered and free of selfish desire. The hereditary,
hierarchical stratification of society is visible in many societies, ancient and
modern, but this division took on a more sinister role in India because it
paraded as Hinduism. Dr Ambedkar, the key architect of the Indian
constitution, commented that ‘hereditary caste system was not preached by
religion so it cannot be preached out by religion’. The only way it can be
achieved is through changing socio-economic landscape of India. In the
United Kingdom the caste system turned into a benevolent clan system in just
one generation because Hindus found themselves in a different socioeconomic landscape. Individuals from every clan are given freedom to choose
the profession they prefer. The hierarchical aspect of caste is viewed more as
competition between clans. There is still a preference to marry within the
same clan but this is not because of any discrimination but because this is
more convenient. When it comes to marriage, young people prefer to marry
someone from their own clan because they share the same diet, dialect,
customs and social group.
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CHAPTER TWELVE
THE BODY
BIG QUESTIONS: When does life begin?
I hate/like my body? Is it ok to change my body?
Is the body everything or is there a separate soul?
Does religion say my body is sinful?
Can we do what we want with our bodies?
COMMON THEMES:
All the worldviews represented here share some basic views; though there are
differences of emphasis (eg on mind/body/spirit issues)
• The body is key to our human nature and should be respected and
cared for
• Excessive consumption and abuse of the body harms others as well as
ourselves
• Care usually includes hygiene, diet (moderation) and exercise
• Bodily self-care has spiritual value and benefit to wellbeing
• Reverence for human life may have implications for certain
moral/medical practices (eg abortion, euthanasia, plastic surgery)
• Ethical issues due to modern scientific/medical practice are complex
and need study
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Jewish contribution emphasises modern difficulties for traditional views
on the body:
• Rabbinical traditions say we should honour our bodies and promote
our health
• Dietary rules kosher food and rituals over food preparation are
important
• Judaism also teaches that we should enjoy life - in moderation
• Piercing and tattooing and plastic surgery were forbidden in the
Torah, but many Jews now allow some practices (eg for medical
reasons)
The Muslim contribution sees our bodies (and spirit) as ‘on loan’ from God:
• There is therefore a strong duty of care for the body, which also keep
the spirit healthy
• Diet is also important - with rules (eg no pork, alcohol) and strict rules
on how animals should be slaughtered, and food treated, for food
safety
• Moderation, as well as purity, is important - eg not eating till the
stomach is full
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• Cleanliness should be maintained eg ritual washing daily and before
prayer
• Modesty in dress includes (especially for women) use of the veil to
cover parts of the body - and forbids excess use of ornament, tattoos,
most plastic surgery
• Human life is God’s gift - abortion, euthanasia, suicide are seen as
forbidden by most Muslims
The Sikh contribution sees the body as essential to spiritual health:
• ‘The Body is the Temple of the Lord’ in which spiritual wisdom is
revealed
• Humans are the highest form of creation - to be human is a gift and
honour which brings responsibilities
• Daily morning bathing and meditation are equally important
• Natural living diet should be moderate and healthy - no alcohol or
drugs
• No piercing, or tattoos, nor hair cutting or dying, plastic surgery or
excessive make-up or decoration
• No excessive fasting, extremes of self-discipline or mortification of the
flesh
The Buddhist contribution also emphasises the spiritual value of attention of
the body:
• The Buddha, observing his body, learned the three basics of existence:
change, suffering and there is no self
• Meditation on the (32) parts of the body is a Buddhist discipline
• Most bodily functions (eg digestion, puberty) are non-conscious
• Bodily health is necessary to prevent deterioration and to give us
strength for meditation (which also means mindfulness - being aware
of body as well as spirit)
The Christian contribution seeks to reconcile the division between body and
spirit which runs throughout Western thought, but:
• Genesis says that God loves his creation, earth, life and human
beings
• The New Testament version of the Creation, the Word (God) became
flesh
• The Puritan tradition denies any value to the body and flesh, or the
senses (sensuality)
• The Catholic incarnational tradition suggests we should follow Jesus’s
words to live life abundantly
• The ‘Fall’ story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden has influenced
the view that the body is ‘sinful’
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• We should love our bodies, even if we feel ourselves ugly, old, sick or
disabled!
The Hindu perspective focuses on the health of the body and spirit:
• The Ayervedic system of natural healthcare based on diet, exercise (eg
yoga) and herbal remedies
• Much Hindu thought sees three fundamental aspects of (human and
other) existence:
• Sattva (purity/goodness), Rajas (energy/activity), Tamas (darkness,
impurity, ignorance)
• Sattivic people eat pure (vegetarian), Rajas (highly seasoned, strong),
Tamas (processed, impure)
• Many Hindus eat meat, fish, eggs or sea foods
• Sattvic food nourishes
• Rajasic food stimulates the senses
• Tamasic food is stale, rotten, or harmful to the body.
The Humanist contribution emphasises:
•
•
•
•
•
“Treat others as you would yourself” implies treating yourself well
Our respect for our own bodies and health is essential to well-being
Ethical questions are complex and cannot be settled by following rules
It maybe right for the state to limit liberties which do harm to others
For example, recreational drugs may be pleasurable for some people,
but they can lead to addiction, unemployment and crime, and can also
destroy producing societies (eg Colombia)
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A Jewish perspective
Health
My grandmother fits what many might consider to be the stereotype of a
Jewish bubba (grandma). She is Polish, round and always trying to feed her
grandchildren! She (along with many, many grandmothers, Jewish and not)
obviously didn’t know about the teachings of Moses Maimonides, an important
Jewish teacher from the twelfth century, who was very concerned about the
effects of food on our health. For example, he interpreted Deuteronomy 21:20
to be forbidding overeating, or gluttony:
18. If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey
the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and who, when
they have chastened him, will not listen to them;
19. Then shall his father and his mother lay hold of him, and bring
him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place;
20. And they shall say to the elders of his city, This our son is
stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton,
and a drunkard.31
As a religion that observes many rituals that involve the body (circumcision,
ritual bath) there must be some significance to it, and to the need to protect it
by not overeating, or damaging it in any other way! This seems to be because,
without the body, the spirit can’t do very much (and tradition teaches that the
opposite is also true). As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a nineteenth-century
orthodox rabbi, wrote:
You may not in any way weaken your health or shorten your life.
Only if the body is healthy is it an efficient instrument for the
spirit’s activity ... Therefore you should avoid everything which
might possibly injure your health ... And the law asks you to be
even more circumspect in avoiding danger to life and limb than in
the avoidance of other transgressions.32
Maimonides goes even further and says that not only must we not damage our
bodies but we must actively seek to promote their health:
Since maintaining a healthy and sound body is among the ways of
God - for one cannot understand or have any knowledge of the
Creator if one is ill - therefore one must avoid that which harms the
body and accustom oneself to that which is helpful and helps the
body become stronger.33
31
The punishment for this was stoning to death, but the rabbis make it very difficult for anyone to
carry out the death penalty, even against a murderer. Perhaps it was to deter parents from wasting
the elders’ time with rebellious children!!
32
Horeb, Chapter 62, section 428
33
Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Deot 4:1
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This all makes sense really - we don’t do ourselves any favours when we
overeat, undereat, smoke, drink to excess, take drugs, etc., as many warnings
will tell us. If we know things will damage us, it doesn’t always seem to be
enough of a motivator to stop us doing it, but if we consider the responsibility
of housing our spirit and making the most of the lives we have, I’m sure there
is often more that we could do, though Judaism also teaches that we should
enjoy life; so as with many things, it is about finding the healthy balance.
Body
I remember when I was about 10 or 11 years old and was one of the only girls
in my junior school to be wearing a bra already. I hated it. I came home from
school and cried. I hated my body and I asked if I could have a breast
reduction. I feel very lucky that my mum wouldn’t consider such an idea,
though at the time I hated it! Her advice was ‘don’t worry, the boys will like it
one day!’ Perhaps not the best motive to avoid surgery but regardless of how
boys and girls feel about my body now, I became happier with myself and am
very glad I didn’t have surgery needlessly.
It seems plastic surgery and body alteration is occurring younger and younger.
Jews have a long and uncomfortable history with their bodies and with plastic
surgery. Stereotypes and anti-Semites for centuries depicted Jews with certain
physical attributes: often overweight, sometimes stooped, almost always with a
big nose! As the writer Petrus Camper34 said in the eighteenth century:
There is no nation that is as clearly identifiable as the Jews: men,
women, children, even when they are first born, bear the sign of
their origin. I have often spoken about this with the famed painter
of historical subjects [Benjamin] West, to whom I mentioned my
difficulty in capturing the national essence of the Jews. He was of
the opinion that this must be sought in the curvature of the nose.35
Stereotypes (which we all buy into but should try to do so consciously) like
this one still continue today. I remember a blonde-haired small-nosed Jewish
friend of mine being slightly startled at university when someone declared to
her that she couldn’t possibly be Jewish because Jews aren’t blonde!
For some Jews in the nineteenth century and on, this has led to a sense of
shame at their bodies and some have tried nose jobs and blonde hair to try to
fit in and be accepted. For the Jews of Germany in the first half of the
twentieth century, this didn’t help much, as racists generally didn’t care what
the outside looked like, only whether a person had ‘Jewish’ blood.
We can change the outside of our bodies for many, many reasons, but
ultimately, we are who we are, and I would suggest it is the society around us
34
His work attempted to show a scientific basis for racist theories of body, etc.
35
Cited in Gilman, Sander Making the Body Beautiful 1999, p. 89
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that needs to get a grip on its size-zero, ‘beauty’-obsessed self, and start
concentrating on things that are a little more pressing, like what to do when
the oil runs out or the mass of paper that is wasted on beauty magazines that
only make us feel bad about ourselves. As Germaine Greer wrote in The Whole
Woman:
Barbie has been instrumental in teaching broad-shouldered
women, short-legged women, wide-bodied women, real women the
world over to despise their bodies as we do, so that they pay out
money that could be put towards the cost of books or computers or
bicycles, for cheaply produced expensively packaged ‘beauty’
products.
Tattoos
In terms of Jewish law, tattoos and piercing have always been frowned upon
and one could argue by extension that changing the body for vanity is also
discouraged. This comes from various Jewish sources:
a. we are all made in the image of God
b. Jews were commanded to free all slaves (a part of the biblical world)
after seven years. A slave who didn’t want to be freed (perhaps
because he had grown comfortable) had a wooden awl pierced
through his ear, as a sign that he had declined the freedom that God
had ordained for all people (Exodus 21:6)
c. ‘You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any
marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.’ (Leviticus 19:28) This has been
seen as a prohibition against both piercing and tattoos.
Having said all that, the laws of the Rabbis on piercing have been somewhat
more flexible, though they remain uncomfortable with tattoos. Many Jews
today feel uncomfortable about tattoos not because of biblical prohibition but
because during the Holocaust Jews were forcibly tattooed with numbers which
replaced their names in the concentration camps. Of course there are plenty
of Jews with a piercing or three (myself included) and also with tattoos,
though tattoos would be very frowned upon by the orthodox communities.
Cosmetic surgery
Plastic surgery was not really debated in Jewish legal circles until the 1960s,
although Jews had been having nose jobs since the nineteenth century. In
1961, Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits (who later became the Chief Rabbi of the
United Synagogue in Great Britain) addressed the American Society of Facial
Plastic Surgery at a symposium entitled ‘Religious Views on Cosmetic
Surgery’.
He concluded definitively that plastic surgery for aesthetic enhancement is a
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form of arrogance and vanity (particularly for men) and is forbidden unless the
patient meets certain criteria. He later wrote as part of an overview of the
Jewish approach to medicine:
In the sparse rabbinic writings on the subject, these reservations
could be discounted, provided the danger is minimal; and
especially 1) if the operation is medically indicated, e.g. following
an accident, or for grave psychological reasons; 2) if the correction
of the deformity is designed to facilitate or maintain a happy
marriage; or 3) if it will enable a person to play a constructive role
in Society and to earn a decent livelihood. 36
Many Rabbis have since debated the ins and outs of cosmetic surgery:
weighing up the risk to life and the potential benefit. The general opinion
seems to be that if a person is totally socially crippled by their appearance
(such as the woman who had her face mauled by a dog and received the first
face transplant in France in 2006), or needs it for some medical reason, then
it is permissible, but generally we have been made how we are for a reason
and should find ways to create a society that accepts all body shapes and
looks to the person under the skin, not the outer appearances which change
through our life and are who we are.
36
http://www.aish.com/societyWork/sciencenature/Judaism_and_Cosmetic_Surgery.asp.
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A Muslim perspective
A common saying which is often heard in Islamic circles is that ‘Life is a
borrowed space, to be returned (to God) upon rest’. This naturally is taken to
mean both spirit (or soul) as well as body.
A Body on loan
As such, just as anyone would be expected to return a borrowed item to its
owner in the same condition in which they received it, a Muslim believes it is
their duty to care for one of the greatest blessings which they have been
granted by God. It is therefore necessary, according to Islamic teachings, to
ensure that one’s physical body is kept healthy so that the soul and spirit
may also remain healthy, thus in turn aiding the believer in the service of
both his spiritual and material attainment.
Consequently, diet plays an important role for this purpose. For this reason
Islam has prohibited certain foods for what are believed to be their ill effects
(particularly when consumed in excess) and permitted all other food.
Also forbidden in the Qur’an are those animals which have been killed by
strangling, or a violent blow, a headlong fall, being gored to death and those
which have been partially eaten by a wild animal and not slaughtered before
death, and those which have been sacrificed on the name of idols.
O Believers! Eat of the good and pure (lawful) that we have
provided you with and be grateful to Allah, if you truly worship
Him.
(2:172)
He (Allah) has only forbidden you (from eating) dead animals,
blood, the flesh of swine, and that (animal) over which the name of
other than Allah has been invoked.
(2:173, 16:115)
Instead, Muslims are encouraged to eat a healthy, balanced diet.
O you people! Eat of what is on earth lawful and good!
(2:168)
So eat of (meats), on which Allah’s name hath been pronounced if
ye have faith in his signs.
(6:118)
The game of the sea and its food are permitted to you.
(5:99)
Pure milk, easy and agreeable to swallow for those who drink.
(16:66)
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He it is who produceth gardens with trellises and without, and
dates, and tilth with produce of all kinds and olives and
pomegranates, similar and different, eat of their fruit in season.
(16:141)
Moderation
In fact, everything as a general rule is fine except for the few that are
expressly forbidden, such as alcohol.
They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: ‘In them is
great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the
profit.’
(2:219)
In short, moderation and purity may be said to be the two main teachings in
Islam, with the Prophet (pbuh) instructing his followers to ‘eat no more than a
third (of one’s capacity), drink no more than a third, and preserve the
remaining third for air’; and advising them always to stop eating before their
stomachs are completely full.
A quick side point here - infants are not forgotten, this reference is to be
found in 31:14, where breastfeeding is recommended at least for the first two
years.
Fasting
To continue with the theme of moderation, it is worth considering the role of
Ramadan (see piece on Rituals and Celebration).
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is known as the
month of fasting. During Ramadan Muslims get up before dawn, two to three
hours before sunrise, and eat a pre-dawn meal. There is no eating, drinking,
smoking or sexual activity between dawn and sunset. In addition, Muslims
must implement the moral code of Islam very strictly; the violation thereof
nullifies their fast. During the night Muslims may eat, drink (intoxicants are
forbidden) and carry on normally.
Although not specifically mentioned in the Qur’an by name, smoking and
recreational drugs are prohibited in almost all schools of thought based on the
belief outlined above that ultimately one’s body belongs to Allah and should
not be degraded or harmed in any way. Also, excessive consumption of drugs,
just like alcohol, leads to undignified behaviour.
Purity
Maintaining the purity and dignity of one’s body is perceived as an amanah
(trust) not to be taken lightly. This has implications for many aspects of a
Muslim’s life ranging from ritual cleanliness (a state Muslims are encouraged
to keep always), to personal hygiene and practice.
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Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and
loves those who purify themselves (physically).
(Al Baqarah 2:222)
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Cleanliness is half of faith ... prayer is a light, and charity is proof
(of one’s faith) and endurance is a brightness and the Qur’an is a
proof on your behalf or against you. All men go out early in the
morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or
destroying themselves.
(Sahih Muslim Book 2, Number 0432 narrated by AbuMalik al-Ash’ari)
Other aspects of human dignity pertaining to the body are privacy, most
notably expressed through a distinct dress code and in dealings with members
of the opposite gender.
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze
and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty
and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that
they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display
their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their
husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers
or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or the
slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of
physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame
of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw
attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all
together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss.
(24:31)
Tattoos and cosmetic surgery
The ramifications of this verse may be imagined in daily situations (e.g.
hospitals etc), the main point being that humans are judged for who they are
rather than what they look like or the ‘charms’ they may choose to display.
Again, the same principle applies to issues such as tattooing and cosmetic
surgery (where it is cosmetic, rather than if carried out due to a medical or
psychological need) with God’s creation being deemed perfect and in no need
of human addition or tampering
We have indeed created man in the best of moulds.
(95:4)
Playing God
To continue in this vein, the idea that humans should attempt to ‘play God’ is
considered most presumptuous - as mentioned in the article on death, the
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Qur’an states: ‘No soul can die except by Allah’s permission.’ (3:185)
Therefore, although questions such as abortion, suicide and euthanasia
generate plenty of debate and soul-searching, they are generally agreed upon
by the majority of scholars versed in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).
Does not man see that it is We who created him from sperm. Yet
behold! He stands as an open adversary! And he makes
comparisons for Us, and forgets his own creation. He says who
can give life to (dry) bones and decomposed ones? Say, ‘He will
give them life who created them for the first time, for He is versed
in every kind of creation.’
(Qur’an 36: 77-79)
Say: ‘Come, I will rehearse what Allah hath (really) prohibited you
from:’ Join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your
parents; kill not your children on a plea of want; We provide
sustenance for you and for them; come not nigh to shameful deeds.
Whether open or secret; take not life, which Allah hath made
sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command
you, that ye may learn wisdom.
(6:151)
Kill not your children for fear of want. We shall provide sustenance
for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin.
(17:31)
Using the above verses as evidence, abortion is permitted only in cases that
are deemed to be ‘life-saving’ where, for example, the mother herself would be
in danger if the pregnancy were to continue, with the unborn child considered
as having just as much right to life (if not more) as the mother has in deciding
to get rid of it (please refer to ideas outlined in freedom and authority article).
Finally, according to the teachings of Islam (53:42-47), only Allah knows why
people are suffering or when they will die, and it is a great sin both to take life
and to try to alter God’s will. As such, euthanasia is forbidden, and suicide is
not acceptable to Muslims. Those who commit suicide are believed to suffer
further after death because they will be far more aware of the grief and
suffering of those they left behind, but be unable to help. In reality, people
who attempt suicide as a result of severely destabilising suffering or when not
in a fit state to take a decision for which they may be held accountable (e.g.
mental illness) may be disturbed to such an extent that they are considered
not responsible for their actions; in these cases Muslims believe that they will
receive Allah’s forgiveness.
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A Sikh perspective
This body is the Temple of the Lord, in which the jewel of spiritual
wisdom is revealed.
(SGGS p. 1346)
The body is considered the most superior of Guru’s creation and it is the
ultimate honour to be granted this life form.
In the first watch of the night, O my merchant friend, you were cast
into the womb, by the Lord’s Command.
Upside-down, within the womb, you asked to be free, O my
merchant friend, and you prayed to your Lord and Master.
(SGGS p. 74)
Sikhs are taught that the body is a gift from the creator deep within which all
spiritual activity takes place.
This human body has been given to you.
This is your chance to meet the Lord of the Universe.
(SGGS p. 12)
An unpolluted body
As part of the daily ritual of looking after the temple, Sikhs must take a bath
in the early hours of the morning and meditate.
After taking your cleansing bath, remember your God in
meditation, and your mind and body shall be free of disease.
(SGGS p. 74)
Many young Sikhs struggle to adapt and adopt the rules for the body which is
that it must be well taken care of and not polluted. This means the body must
be drug- and alcohol-free. Most Sikhs will also have a simple vegetarian diet.
The idea was to preserve what is naturally given by Guru and to be aware of
what is put into the body.
As a child is born with hair on the head, Sikhs are instructed to look after
their kesh (uncut hair) too. Therefore you will find that practising Sikhs do not
remove or dye their hair, they do not tattoo or pierce the body either, they live
a natural lifestyle.
The Guru talks to the yogis and questions their bodily rituals in the shabad
below:
Make contentment your ear-rings, humility your begging bowl, and
meditation the ashes you apply to your body.
(SGGS p. 6)
The idea is to take care of all the gifts given by Guru and not modify them in
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anyway for personal preference. There is lots of controversy nowadays both in
India and the West over the fact that young people would like to change
themselves as they do not ‘like’ the way they ‘look’. I am not really sure
whether plastic surgery or having a sex change was around at the time of the
Guru or what they would have said about these issues. What is clear however
is that Sikhs are invited to decorate and adorn themselves daily and look good
but not with things that don’t last such as make-up or perfume but with
wisdom, contentment and truth.
With the body of saffron, and the tongue of a jewel, and the
breadth of the body pure fragrant incense; with the face anointed
at the sixty-eight holy places of pilgrimage, and the heart
illuminated with wisdom - with that wisdom, chant the Praises of
the True Name, the Treasure of Excellence.
(SGGS p. 17)
Guru Nanak’s teaching
There is a story of the time when Guru Nanak was a young boy and boys in
India were invited to partake of a ceremony that marked their entrance into
manhood. The pandit was called and, as part of the ceremony, the priest
placed a string (janayu) around Guru Nanak’s body. Guru Nanak, being the
rebel he was, asked the priest to put around him a string of contentment. He
questioned the practice asking for a string that would last and not wither
away as this piece of cotton, one that would go with him after death.
Some sing that He fashions the body, and then again reduces it to
dust.
(SGGS p. 6)
Without virtue, it is useless; the body shall crumble into a pile of
dust.
(SGGS p. 20)
By questioning this ceremony that had been practised for hundreds of years,
Guru Nanak took a stand about rituals with the body, inviting people to work
on issues of virtues and reflecting on developing strengths within:
Make this body the field, and plant the seed of good actions. Water
it with the Name of the Lord, who holds all the world in His Hands.
(SGGS p. 23)
In fact there are more shabads which reinforce the idea that bodily rituals,
performing difficult practices, or putting the body through suffering to attain
the divine, does not necessarily work on the issues in the mind.
The self-willed manmukh performs religious rituals, like the
unwanted bride decorating her body.
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You may torment your body with extremes of self-discipline,
practice intensive meditation and hang upside-down, but your ego
will not be eliminated from within.
One of the most significant parts of Sikhi is to share and help others, it is
easier to be involved with seva (selfless service) projects and acts of charity
when the body is in its youth. There is more energy as well as dynamic and
creative strengths. The Guru challenges the individual and reminds us of the
time when we need a stick to walk and glasses to see, as we grow old, we
remember the one who gave us the gift of the body but have still not
understood why the body gift was given?
The head shakes, the feet stagger, and the eyes become dull and
weak.
Says Nanak, this is your condition. And even now, you have not
savored the sublime essence of the Lord.
(SGGS p. 1428)
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A Buddhist perspective
Generally I’ve noticed that some people really look after their body, some
don’t even notice they have one, and others try to get rid of it. Through
observing his body, the Buddha worked out that there are three
characteristics of existence: everything changes, there is suffering, and there
is no self in anything anywhere (you are not who you think you are). Many
people suffer in relation to their body: it’s too small, big, fat, thin; it does not
meet the social or cultural norms; it needs to be some other way; we compare
our bodies to those of others. Notice how our bodies change. Is your body the
same as when you where three months old? Is it the same as it was just one
second ago? Then lastly, there is non-self, or the absence of self. Can you see
your whole body right now? Can you see your back right now? If you can’t,
how do you know it exists? The interesting thing about noticing our whole
body or the parts we can’t see directly is that it is only an image, a memory
and is usually clouded by a perception. One viewpoint from a Buddhist
perspective is that the body is a mental object, which we rarely experience
directly as is.
The last historical Buddha who lived some 2550 years ago was once
residing at a monastery where he was teaching the monastics a practice
called asubha practice in the scriptural language. In English this is
usually translated into unpleasantness, ugliness, or foulness. As a
meditation practice the Buddha suggested reflecting on the 32 parts of the
body. Of course this is not anatomically correct, but it gives you a sense of
the body. The 32 parts include things like the brain, mucus, oil of the
joints, blood, pus, etc. The monks very unfortunately took this practice to
an extreme. They got so disgusted by their bodies that they most of them
committed suicide. Such is the power of the mind. This was not what the
Buddha was pointing to. Asubha really means the absence of beauty, so
we can notice when we see something beautiful and when we see
something that is not beautiful - that’s all. The 32 parts of the body have
been made into a chant as a way of remembering the words and then
being able to recollect them in meditation. In the beginning when I did this
chant I found it strange how peaceful my mind went (I’ve also discussed
this in my essay about Death).
Finding the middle way
So Buddhism is about finding a middle way between the two extremes of
getting rid of something and not having enough. It does this by using the
power of the reflective mind to understand, and it does this by using the
body as a central locator to experience. So just notice now that if I say ‘left
thumb’, then that part of the body comes into awareness. There are many
parts of the body we don’t even touch in the Western world. I found this
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out in India, when you realise toilet paper is a luxury. Again notice the
cultural conditioning of this part of the body and its function: dirty,
disgusting. There are also many parts of the body that we don’t have
conscious control over, like the liver, or kidney, intestine, although I have
heard of people being able to have much more direct control over internal
organs.
The path leading to wanting to get rid of something and/or the feeling of
not having enough from a Buddhist perspective happens because of a chain
of events. It starts from not understanding the way things are, which
produces activity. This is dependent on being conscious, having an identity,
and a body with senses. Because the body has senses there are feelings,
because of feelings we want them to happen again or we want to get rid of
them, and so the cycle of reactions starts again, if we are not aware. It’s
possible to break this cycle by being aware, and a simple starting point is
to be aware of the feelings of the body. It’s then possible to ‘mind the gap’,
to notice the way feelings arise and cease, and how they can start again by
the involvement of the mind, and how there are spaces between these
events.
Take puberty for instance. This is not something one does, it is something
that happens to us; there is no control of when it starts or finishes. So it’s
easy to get lost in my body and its problems, rather than seeing it as a
natural process that happens to nearly everybody. So we can be humble to the
amazing process that takes place during that time. The body is also fragile
really: observe how easily it can be cut or broken; how the body gets old but
the mind does not, how the birth of the body leads to only one thing for
certain and that is the death of the body. These things are not to make one
feel sad, but for putting life into perspective.
In the Mayahana form of Buddhism they talk about form in spirit, and spirit
in form. One uses the body to understand what life is about and once you
understand that relationship you use that understanding to share and help
other people to understand that relationship. When we know this relationship
intimately and are willing to accept and feel the feelings with no sense of
attachment, we no longer suffer and we realise total peace. It’s not that one
does not feel, or that one gets rid of the body, but one accepts or embraces
life, the body, feelings and mental states to the fullest. From this point one
knows how to respond and how to act with the dilemmas and awe of the
world.
The questions I leave you with are: what part of your body do you love and
what part of your body do you reject, and are you willing to accept your whole
body, as it is, all without judgement?
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Health
Mind precedes all mental states.
Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought.
If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts
happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow.37
Don’t sacrifice your own welfare
for that of another,
no matter how great.
Realizing your own true welfare,
be intent on just that.38
I often recollect the two quotes above, as they remind me that when one looks
after one’s essences then one finds a true and sustainable happiness not
based on conditions, and then one can serve other people without expecting
anything from them. There are many ways we use the word ‘health’; I think
from a Buddhist perspective ultimate health comes from the way we use our
mind.
The historical Buddha, when noticing a monk was ill and not being cared for,
said: ‘He who attends to the sick attends to me,’39 and on another occasion he
advised the monks not to get too involved with health, only just enough.40 In
Buddhism we are continually reminded of change: that all that arises ceases,
that we are born and we will die. So we try to get physical health in
perspective: that we need a healthy body to be able to function in the world
and we can do our best to look after it, but knowing that the body eventually
stops working.
Everything in moderation
In monasticism we have this thing about renunciation; I prefer to use the
word ‘moderation’. One way to promoting good physical health is to
understand about moderation: to see how food, diet and exercise affect us.
Notice how you feel after a period of physical exertion. Although we may feel
tired, after a short rest, we can feel refreshed and our mind is alert. So you
can notice, if you moderate your food intake or the type of food you eat, how
that affects you. The point of all this is to notice, to investigate how the
physical form is affected by various conditions. I’ve noticed my body responds
well to having some attention such as if I speak to my body kindly.
37
Dhammapada 2.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.01.budd.html.
38
Dhammapada 166.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.12.than.html.
39
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/desilva/bl132.html.
40
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.038.than.html.
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One of the reasons we meditate sitting down is to see how not moving the
body in any gross ways affect us, and then we can notice more subtle things
about the body: like the way the ribcage and hence every bone in your body
moves when you breathe. At very subtle levels we can feel an energy moving in
the body, and this can lead to a sense of rapture, bliss or wellbeing, not the
ultimate freedom that the Buddha pointed to, but a very important part of the
journey.
Meditation
Another reason for sitting meditation is to see the connection between mind
and body and how these two things are inextricably linked. Even science talks
about this. You can read Bruce Lipton’s book called The Biology of Belief or
Candice Pert’s Molecules of Emotion for more information about this. You can
also notice how in our culture mental health is not really much spoken about.
We are happy to say ‘my body aches’, but we are unlikely to say ‘my mind
hurts’. Some new research has found that if we put our feelings into words it
makes us feel better.41 The Buddha always spoke about mental health, not in
the language of psychotherapy or psychiatric labelling, but in the way of
saying that mental pain is the root of suffering. Some of the more esoteric
later Buddhist texts talk of ‘mind moments’, where spiritual teachers have
been able to slow their minds down so much that they can watch mental
phenomena arise and pass on a very refined level.
I have also found Ken Wilber’s integral approach very useful to all of this.42
What Wilber suggests is that part of spiritual development involves developing
skills on an ego level; some so-called health issues are spiritual, and some socalled spiritual issues are health issues. Not understanding the territory leads
to an impact on your health, either by someone else’s delusion, or by your
own delusion. So when one understands one’s mind as it is, beyond
perception, or memory, in a direct way and free from attachment, that
freedom goes beyond physical or mental health. In Buddhism this is called the
Deathless or the unconditioned, which is beyond form and can only be
realised by oneself directly.
There are now numerous scientific studies that show the benefits that
meditation, sometimes called mindfulness, has on all forms of health. With
this health we are able to understand our interconnectedness, which means
that when we are looking after ourselves we are looking after everybody else.
Are you willing to give yourself time to look after your wellbeing and hence the
wellbeing of others?
41
42
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=7,4367,0,0,1,0.
http://www.kenwilber.com.
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A Christian perspective
Though I’m an Anglican priest, my upbringing was Northern Irish Methodist.
This is a tradition with many good things to say about the Meaning of Life.
But concerning some of the more ‘embarrassing’ topics of life it’s not so hot.
One such is the body.
Don’t even go there!
Looking back on my childhood I was scarcely aware of even having a body; I
certainly wasn’t encouraged to get to know or understand it. As for the nittygritty of sex and sexuality don’t, as some might say, even go there. As many of
these short pieces evince, what Christianity says about the body is by no
means easy to determine. This is due, as always, to the great number of
voices that shelter under the umbrella ‘Christianity’. As with God, Christ,
Heaven, Hell etc., there is little consensus as to how ‘the body’ should be
handled (!) But before selecting a spokesperson, tradition or authority, we
need to know what it is we’re talking about when we say ‘the body’. For
instance, are we talking primarily about sex? Or are we limiting discussion to
issues of health and fitness? If it’s the latter, then agreement will be easily
reached. Who would argue against the notion of eating five portions of fruit
and veg a day? But getting to grips with ‘the body’ - as understood by feminist
theorists, psychotherapists, Guardian journalists and trendy theologians - will
take us down a very different path.
Let me stay with the tradition that formed me and the beliefs I took in with
my mother’s milk. If the Methodism of my childhood is rooted within a larger
Christian tradition then it’s probably going to be Puritanism (a school of
theological thinking originating in the late sixteenth century and still with us
in various guises today). This tradition in turn is partially rooted in the
theological outlook of the Latin Church Fathers (including Tertullian,
Augustine and Jerome). Puritanism is a very slippery word. If we use it today
at all it’s mainly as a term of abuse and derision. It keeps company with other
words like prude, repressed and frigid. In many respects one can understand
why this negative image stuck. Puritan Christians aren’t known for looking
upon the human body with much joy or excitement. In my dictionary of
Puritan quotations there is no place for either the Body or Sex/Sexuality
(there are however entries for self-examination and service.) There are lots of
quotes under the heading ‘Sin’. The sin of omission rather than commission
continues today. The much loved (and much hated) Alpha course has very
little to say on the subject. It’s more interested in questions relating to God’s
guidance and whether he heals people today like he did in olden times. This
silence is not exceptional; you’ll hear very little from most pulpits about the
human body, sexual or otherwise. Thus priests and ministers today are not
explicitly against the body; they’re simply more likely to draw a discreet and
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polite silence over it. I suppose this is a sort of advance on the past. We come
up against a similar silence whenever we try to talk about sex’s shadowy twin,
death. If one rarely hears a good sermon about, say, pornography or the
religious significance of orgasm, the same could be said about the finer points
of dying with cancer or MS. A shitting, decaying, oozing body is no easier to
deal with than one in ecstasy.
What’s your problem?
So, the question remains: what is our problem with the body, and is
Christianity a help or a hindrance in this?
Genesis
Two pivotal moments in the Bible have greatly informed Christian reflection
on the body. The first is the Fall of Adam and Eve, the second is the
Incarnation. Before the Fall A and E were a blissful couple, very naked and
very much in love. But after the Fall things fell apart for them. Something had
changed in their view of the world and themselves. They were now ashamed of
their bodies; desire for each other became suspect (at least according to some
of the Latin Fathers). A new and rather mysterious sense of embarrassment
and shame had stolen over them. As the text puts it:
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were
naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for
themselves. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the
garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife
hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees
of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him,
‘Where are you?’ He said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden,
and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’
(Genesis 3:7-11)
The Incarnation
The first chapter of John’s Gospel is the chief source for the core Christian
dogma of Incarnation. It’s the notion that God loved his creation so much that
he became one with it. The eternal God becomes flesh for us in solidarity and
as a means of hope.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen
his glory,the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:14)
Many theologians look upon this short verse as an antidote to the poison of
wayward interpretations of Genesis’ early chapters. They suggest that only by
working through the implications of Incarnation can we return to the view
that God really did like what he had made to the point that it was not just
OK, but very good. (Genesis 1:31) Natural, good, pleasurable, fallible, weak,
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vulnerable - here are signposts for a more grown-up and realistic
understanding of the body for Christians.
This is the way I am
The body worries us in part because it is unpredictable and liable to fall apart
at the seams. I often find myself using the words repulsive and grotesque
about the faulty or incomplete body. But then I stop and think: is this the
return of my wonky childhood theology? Am I not able to reach a place where
all that I see and touch in creation is beloved of God - and therefore by me?
Can I get beyond the notion that only people who look like Kate Moss are
acceptable and valued? Then I think of a story by the Roman Catholic writer
Flannery O’Connor. The central moment in her story ‘A Temple of the Holy
Ghost’ is the speech by a hermaphrodite set to work in a travelling freak
show. If only one of the Methodist ministers in my childhood had used this as
a preaching text.
God made me this way ... This is the way he wanted me to be and
I ain’t disputing His way. I’m showing you because I got to make
the best of it ... Raise yourself up. A temple of the Holy Ghost. You!
You are God’s temple, don’t you know? God’s Spirit has a dwelling
in you, don’t you know? ... A temple of God is a holy thing. Amen.
Amen.
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The Hindu perspective
Ancient and modern
Attached to the Vedas, the most ancient Hindu scriptures, are six
supplements or sub-branches (Vedangas) that deal with subjects of a more
worldly nature; one of these relates to ayurveda, the Veda of Health. The
science of ayurveda offers a complete system of healthcare based on diet,
exercise, massage and herbal or mineral remedies and is still widely practised
in India today. It has also gained a following in the West, though one should
be cautious about undertaking a course of treatment as many of the western
practitioners are neither qualified nor properly learned in this complex and
subtle science. Although many ayurveda treatments are simply herbal
remedies that have been studied and refined over the centuries, we also
encounter the idea of a subtle anatomy with energy centres and channels that
must also be taken into account in seeking the overall health of the body.
Here ayurveda overlaps somewhat with forms of Hatha Yoga in which bodily
postures, breathing exercises and sitting positions are recommended for the
purpose of both bodily health and spiritual advancement. The Hatha Yoga
and other related systems place great emphasis on the transformation of the
physical body. Exercises are prescribed which allow the divinity inherent
within the physical form to be awakened and expanded so as to fill the body
with divine potency. In the beginning stages of this Yoga practice, the body
becomes energised and healthy and many teachers of Yoga take their followers
only to this stage so that they experience remarkable improvements in
physical and mental wellbeing.
Today, Western and ayurvedic medicine exist alongside each other in India
and the emphasis is generally pragmatic; the main point is good health rather
than a dogmatic insistence on one system or the other. Where the emphasis
of Hindu discourse is on spirituality and the quest for liberation from the cycle
of rebirth, the body may be seen as an obstacle to be overcome. Hindu
teachings typically offer a dualistic understanding of the human being that
draws a sharp distinction between body and soul, designated as prakriti and
purusha respectively. Seekers after liberation desire to rid themselves of
bodily identity and realise their true spiritual nature. Hence teachings on this
subject typically advocate restraint of the senses and the adoption of a more
ascetic lifestyle in which the body is maintained physically, but one resists the
sensual temptations towards bodily pleasure.
You are what you eat!
Much of Hindu thought is derived from the Samkhya philosophy and this
system postulates the inherent presence of three fundamental qualities or
gunas throughout the material manifestation. These are Sattva (purity and
goodness), Rajas (energy and activity) and Tamas (darkness, impurity and
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ignorance). The position of the soul and of God is wholly beyond these three
qualities, but in order to reach that higher level it is recommended that one
try to associate one’s lifestyle with Sattva as closely as possible. This is
reflected in the type of life one leads, taking up activities that are healthy,
fulfilling and enlightened. The Sattvic person would avoid any food,
substances or practices that would harm the body and in particular would
insist on a diet in which the foods are permeated with Sattva rather than
Rajas and Tamas. It is believed that one’s nature is shaped by the type of life
one leads and so if a person eats Sattvic food and tries to enjoy life in a
Sattvic manner then his or her nature will gradually be turned towards
Sattva. So in this sense, the maxim ‘you are what you eat’ would certainly
apply to Hindu thought. Leisure activities derived from Sattva might involve
the appreciation of the countryside or more intellectual pursuits, whilst
Sattvic foods would include fruit, vegetables, milk products and whole grains.
The idea is that such foods are not just good for the body, but they will also
have a subtle influence on the personality. Food that is Rajasic tends to be
very strongly flavoured and energising so that it stimulates a person towards
activity and passionate endeavour. Foods under the heading Tamas would
tend to be those that are created by industrial food processing or those that
are stale, tasteless and rotten.
Vegetarianism
Hindu ideas on diet are not, however, confined to recommendations for good
health and personal benefit; in this area there is also a strong moral
dimension. Hindus generally prefer to eat a vegetarian diet and this is
particularly true of those who attach greater importance to living a religious
life. In the Mahabharata, a very important Hindu text, it is repeatedly said
that ahimsa (not harming others) is the highest religious principle and in that
same scripture we find several passages that make the obvious connection
between ahimsa and vegetarianism. In the twentieth century, Mahatma
Gandhi became famous for his insistence on non-violence, and for him also
vegetarianism was a fundamental principle. It is sometimes suggested that
this reluctance to take animal life is derived from the belief in reincarnation,
but in the Mahabharata and elsewhere it is made clear that this is a moral
issue. The point is made quite simply; we are all attached to our own lives
and therefore it is wrong to cause suffering to other creatures by killing them
for food.
The cow
In fact vegetarianism amongst Hindus is far from universal and a recent
survey in The Hindu newspaper suggested that just under 50% of Hindus
adhere to this principle. In effect, vegetarianism is recommended as the ideal
form of diet, but it is not insisted upon and many devout Hindus do eat meat
and/or eggs. However, the prohibition on the eating of beef is almost
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universally accepted and it would be very rare to find a practising Hindu who
does not observe this principle. In fact the reverence for the cow and the
prohibition on cow slaughter is not well attested in the earliest Hindu texts
but it is confirmed in the Mahabharata and in the Puranas, a collection of
scriptures composed some time after the Veda was revealed. A number of
explanations are offered for this dietary restriction. It is suggested that the
cow is to be regarded as sacred because it produces the ghee (clarified butter)
that is used as an offering in the ancient Vedic ritual of yajña, or fire sacrifice.
The cow is also shown as symbolising the earth goddess, and in this context
the injunction to nurture and protect cows has a very profound contemporary
significance. The idea here is that the earth and the cow are both like
mothers because they nurture human society, but humanity must be
reverential towards these sources of human life and not ruthlessly exploit
them as is normal in modern societies. Hence the protection of the cow
symbolises an attitude of reverence towards the natural world as a whole,
showing that we should not simply take the resources of nature without
seeking to venerate and protect that which makes our lives possible. Another
explanation for the Hindu respect for cows is to be found in the representation
of Krishna, who is one of the most popular manifestations of God. He is
known to have been a cowherd in his early life and is usually shown in
association with cows; Shiva, who is another form of God in Hindu theology, is
usually shown with Nandi, his bull carrier, in the iconography of this Deity.
So for any or all of these reasons, Hindus hold the cow in high regard and
believe that this animal should never be harmed by human beings.
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A Humanist perspective
Humanists seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs.
They use reason, experience and respect for others when thinking about moral
issues, not obedience to dogmatic rules. They promote happiness and
fulfilment in this life because they believe it is the only one we have.
Humanists value personal freedom and choice because they contribute to
personal happiness, but only as long as they do not interfere with anyone
else’s freedom, happiness or security. The ‘golden rule’ observed by many
humanists, ‘Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself’, means
taking the wishes and needs of others into account, and this is an important
element in many questions of health. Treating yourself well, however, is just
as important and many humanists would say that we cannot treat others well
and have respect for their human dignity if we do not have respect for our
own.
Humanist ethics are not a case of set rules but the application of general
principles and that can make ethical questions to do with health sometimes
very difficult. Drugs are a good example of such a health issue.
Drugs - an ethical choice?
The humanist moral perspective, aimed at living a happy fulfilled life and
helping others to do so, can lead to a range of opinions about recreational or
illegal drugs. There is no doubt that taking drugs is pleasurable, at least in
the short term, or people wouldn’t do it. But there are real concerns about the
consequences, short-term and long-term, for the individual and those close to
him or her, and for the welfare of the community.
There is a case for saying that drug use and abuse are health issues rather
than moral ones, and as such are a matter of personal choice.
The great libertarian philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote, ‘The only purpose for
which power can rightfully be exercised over any member of a civilised
community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good,
either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant.’
But one’s own good often overlaps with the common good - if I neglect my
health or harm myself, this will affect my family and friends and the wider
community (I could become a burden on the NHS or be unable to hold down a
job), and this harm to others makes drug abuse a moral issue. It is also a
moral matter if we take into account the energy and enterprise that is often
wasted in the pursuit of drugs: the self-absorbed and selfish lives of many
addicts and the time and effort and money that could be better spent on
improving the world. Even the land used for the cultivation of drugs could be
producing food for the hungry.
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And some philosophers have thought that even activities which only cause
harm to oneself are wrong because they destroy things that are very precious
- one’s own freedom or autonomy (addicts certainly have a reduced ability to
choose freely or independently) and the capacity to reason, the highest human
attribute. Addicts often lose control over their own lives - they may drift into
unemployment, homelessness, crime or prostitution, which reinforce their
need for drugs and make recovery more difficult. Risking that loss of
autonomy could be seen as an immoral choice.
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
REVELATION AND THE WORD
BIG QUESTIONS: Is every word of the Koran/Bible/Holy Book true?
What’s the difference between the Bible and Harry Potter?
Are all religious books are myths?
Why should we listen to stuff that happened 2500 years ago?
Aren’t they just books that tell you what to do and think?
Does the word ever stop?
COMMON THEMES:
All the worldviews represented here emphasised the importance of words and
writing, whether Book(s), the Law, Scripture or traditions:
• All traditions emphasised respect for words and texts as sources of
knowledge and guidance
• The religious contributions from the different faiths mainly
emphasised (in different ways) the Divine original of scripture, but
most accepted wide differences in interpretation
• Within different traditions there were wide variations in the authority
of the Books and the extent to which different interpretations and
updating were acceptable
• There is a very wide variety of contents in many important texts
• The key texts can be seen as vehicles for exploring the big questions
rather than providing literal answers
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Muslim contribution focuses on the fundamental importance of the
revealed word:
• For Muslims, the Qur’an is the ‘Diving, Eternal, Un...., Literal Word of
Allah revealed to Mohammed
• The Qur’an is seen as the completion of other revelations (eg Moses
and Jesus)
• Great respect (beautifying, washing before touching) is given to the
Qur’an
• A main duty of Muslims is studying and trying to understand the
Qur’an - so there are different understandings and traditions in
different groups and cultures
• The Qur’an should be learnt and read aloud slowly in the original
Arabic
The Sikh contribution also emphasises respect for the scriptures:
• The sacred text for Sikhs is the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, the words of
the Guru
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• Sacred texts (short extracts) are used as guidance in everyday life
• The holy book and its teachings are given the greatest respect
• This respect extends to all books, which should be well-treated
The Buddhist contribution gives particular respect to the words we use:
• Right speech is a key part of training in the Buddha’s eight-fold path
• This means we must not tell lies, use divisive or abusive speech or idle
chatter
• Words are dangerous as well as precious: using (eg) humour wrongly
can cause conflict
• The origins, and sounds of words in the oral tradition are also
important
• Meanings can emerge through repetition and meditation
• Words can only point the way to spiritual reality which is beyond
human speech
The Christian contribution sees the Bible as the foundational book of Western
culture as well as Christianity:
• The Bible underpins or influences most aspects of our culture, law,
morality, art, literature
• But the Bible is also a living, popular book (selling millions of copies
every year!)
• Some Christians see the Bible as an infallible, literal set of answers to
all life’s questions
• Others see it is an endless source of questions exploring life’s
questions through myths and stories as well as laws and spiritual
guidance
• The Bible also contains history, poetry, drama, comedy, letters,
philosophy, law, etc and a vision of the world in all its diversity
• Different cultures, individuals and groups (eg African/Americans;
Conservative Evangelicals/Catholic Liberals) interpret the Bible in
different ways
The Hindu contribution emphasises the diversity of texts:
• There is a huge range of Hindu texts which are seen as scriptures
• Scripture is not seen by Hindus as having the same status as in
Western/Abrahamic religions
• The four Vedas, containing the Upanishads, express spiritual
experiences of sages and seers
• The scriptures of authority discuss the nature of reality rather than
concept of God.
• The Bhagavad Gita is central scripture because it explains how
religion can be turned into practice.
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The Humanist contribution emphasises:
• Language and writing are vital human inventions for science, history,
art
• Knowledge about the world is not revealed but acquired through
reason and experience
• Stories give our lives colour and meaning, and can express moral
truths
• Humanists can look for and find some truths about human nature
and ethics in many different “holy books” without being committed to
the ultimate truth of any one of them
The Jewish contribution has a particular focus on revelation:
• The revealed word of God through the Torah, Commandments,
Covenant has been the focus of Jewish life for millennia
• Different traditions interpret the giving of the Ten Commandments to
Moses in different ways
• The Torah contains many more detailed injunctions, some of which are
now rejected by many Jewish groups
• The belief that God made a special Covenant with the Jews as his
chosen people is also interpreted differently by different groups: other
groups also have special roles
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A Muslim perspective
The Qur’an for Muslims is the ‘Divine, Eternal, Uncreated, Literal Word of
Allah’, revealed in the original Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad via the Angel
Jibril (Gabriel) over a period of 23 years.
The final revelation
It is not to be regarded alone, but in the context of a final culmination of a
chain of messages and guidance stretching from the start of humanity (Adam)
till the present day. Just as Muhammad (pbuh) is viewed as the seal of
Prophets in Islam, the Qur’an is regarded as the perfect completion of a series
of revelations sent to humanity - the previous ones being sent to Ibrahim
(Abraham), Musa (Moses), Dawud (David) and Isa (Jesus) respectively.
It is divided into 114 chapters, with (roughly) the longest dealing with
legislative matters, advice, historical proverbs, etc at the start and the shortest
dealing with matters of belief, faith and exhortation towards the end.
In addition to ritual cleansing before touching the Arabic text ‘That this is
indeed a Qur’_n Most Honourable, In a Book well-guarded, Which none shall
touch but those who are clean.’ (56:77-79), paper copies of the Qur’an are
treated with much physical veneration in certain cultures (notably South
Asian - mainly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) being placed on the top shelf
above all other books and items, or being wrapped in a special cloth. It is also
often to be seen beautifully decorated or gilded; and as passages in calligraphy
and Islamic art.
Although each and every Muslim will experience and use the Qur’an
differently according to their own personal faith, most Muslims will agree that
real respect for the Qur’an lies in studying it carefully, implementing its
teachings, using it as a source of inspiration in one’s intellectual, social,
cultural and political life, incorporating it thoughtfully into the five daily
prayers - (Salah, please see piece on ritual & celebration), preserving its
memory in one’s heart and mind, beautifying one’s recitation and voice when
reading it out loud and referring to it as an ultimate source of authority and
guidance. All of this is directly related to the Muslim belief that the Qur’an is
the actual speech of God.
A person who has committed the entire Book to memory is called a hafiz
(reciter or protector) and accorded great respect.
recite the Qur’an in slow, measured rhythmic tones.
(73:4)
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A Sikh perspective
As a young girl, I remember having very strict rules about my books. I was not
allowed to have my books on the floor and they would have to be well looked
after or placed neatly in my bookshelf. My parents would give me long lectures
on how these books held knowledge and if I was to learn anything I would
have to respect the written word, be it arithmetic or geography.
I did find it rather bizarre when I first visited the toilet at my western friend’s
house to find stacks of books and magazines to choose from. They were good
people, a loving family, so how come they were allowed to read on the loo
when I was not even allowed to put a book on the floor or write inside it as it
was disrespectful?
I soon realised that many of the rules dictated to me at home had a direct link
to the belief and value system my parents had. My parents would have
extracts of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib around the house that they would
constantly read and refer to. These texts are known as Gutkas and would be
covered in a nice cotton cloth, kept in a clean place in the house and we even
washed our hands before reading from them. A big contrast to reading on the
toilet! Why then, I wondered, was there a difference in the written word. What
did it mean for those coming from the eastern tradition and living a sikh
lifestyle?
The ultimate teacher
The sacred text the Siri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) is the ultimate teacher
(Guru) for Sikhs. Generally in the east, great respect is given to knowledge
and due reverence is awarded as a part of nature.
The Shabad are the words written in the SGGS. It is like a Universal Sound
which has been encapsulated and treasured in the form of the Word for us to
connect to.
The Guru says, pothhee parmesar ka thaan ( This ‘Pothi’ [Holy Book] is the
meeting place for God).
The power of the words
The idea is that the words have their own frequency which gives the individual
an opportunity to have a relationship with the divine and themselves. The
Shabad Guru is an experience of the truth within oneself, we are invited to
align our own consciousness and embark on a journey of discovery. Many
Sikhs who do not have the Gurmukhi text as their mother tongue profess that
simply the sound and even the structure of the language allow them to have
an experience of the shabad even without fully understanding the beauty and
meaning.
It is true that Sikhs treat the Siri Guru Granth Sahib with great devotion and
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adoration and will refer to the teachings as a part of their daily routine.
bin sabadhai sabh jag bouraanaa birathhaa janam gavaaeiaa
Without the Shabad, the whole world is insane, and it loses its life
in vain.
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A Buddhist perspective
Words are Windows (or They’re Walls)
I feel so sentenced by your words,
I feel so judged and sent away,
Before I go I’ve got to know
Is that what you mean to say?
Before I rise to my defence,
Before I speak in hurt or fear,
Before I build that wall of words,
Tell me, did I really hear?
Words are windows, or they’re walls,
They sentence us, or set us free.
When I speak and when I hear,
Let the love light shine through me.
There are things I need to say,
Things that mean so much to me,
If my words don’t make me clear,
Will you help me to be free?
If I seemed to put you down,
If you felt I didn’t care,
Try to listen through my words
To the feelings that we share.
Ruth Bebermeyer
From Nonviolent Communication: a Language of Life
By Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D.
Encinitas, CA: Puddle Dancer Press, 2003
The power of words
The Buddha considered the way we use words so important to spiritual
development that he recommended following precepts regarding the way we
use speech. In addition to the precept on speech, he also included right
speech further as part of the training in the eight-fold path and defined it as:
refraining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, and from idle
chatter. The Buddha advised his son to make the resolution ‘to not utter a
deliberate lie, even for laugh’.
I live in a multicultural, mixed age and gender community and I have made a
number of mistakes using British humour. The use of speech has been
considered so important within the community that we had a non-violent
communication (NVC) trainer come in for a weekend and run a workshop for
us - a skilful means for living together. Words are powerful. Just take three
words: love, God and peace; notice the reaction within oneself. Yet these words
have no power unless they have life breathed into them.
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In my investigation into this, we breathe life into words with our intention and
our energy, and this has such a powerful effect on our action: thoughts plus
intention (energy) equals action.43 In themselves word are empty; they are
either mirages floating within our mind or they are written down on paper, a
serious of dots with spaces between. One of the practices I use is to notice
this: to learn to watch the gaps between thoughts: space. By noticing this
space more and more we can develop an attitude of mind which is spacious
and hence not focused so much on the words, but on welcoming and
receiving. This is the place of contemplation, and then words can become very
powerful.
In my own practice whenever I want to try to understand a word, I look up the
etymology of the word, where it came from. For instance, many words in
English derive from Sanskrit, such as mother and father.44
Sometimes I even speak the words and listen for resonance, for example
within the Tibetan tradition chanting a mantra is a practice within itself. If
you chant the word OM on a drum skin with sand spread out on it, you
actually get the Sanskrit symbol for that sound.
The real meaning
The Buddhist tradition I live within is from Thailand and many of the teachers
learnt Buddhism first in Thailand. It has taken many years to translate and
differentiate between Thai culture and Buddhist teachings and practices.
Translation and interpretation can be a tricky business. For instance, within
Buddhism many of the scriptures were originally translated into an archaic
form of English and then these were later retranslated into more modern
forms of English without looking back at the source language of Pali. In going
back to the original words, which I have done on numerous occasions, to find
out the roots, the style of the writing, one comes up with an entirely new
translation.
What is also interesting is that taking the meaning of a word into my
meditation practice I can see whether it fits with my experience of what the
words mean. Sometimes there is a very strong resonance and you feel it’s
right but even then, as your practice matures, the meaning deepens. I’ve been
chanting pretty much the same morning and evening chanting for eight years,
and sometimes whilst chanting with a spacious attitude a deeper nuance of
the meaning just pops into my mind. The Buddha said whatever you don’t
understand in the scriptures just leave it alone. Take what you can
understand and work with that. The abbot’s teacher, a Thai meditation
master, told his monks not to read the scriptures at all for the first five years.
43
www.sourcebreath.com
44
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/essays/sanskritwords2.asp
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Words as pointers
For me, words are the static representation of a dynamical process: words in
themselves are dead. They point to something, and if you confuse the words
for what they are pointing at, especially within the spiritual area, then it
usually leads to confusion and arguments. Words and hence language are
limited. It’s not that I am not grateful for words. They can help with life, but
only in the conventional realm, they can only point to the spiritual realm. In
Buddhism Nibbana or freedom from attachments, or ultimate bliss, or
knowing the way things are, is sometimes called the deathless. The deathless
means, in the scriptural language, the absence of death: the unborn or the
uncreated. What words or set of words can describe that?
Words can then so easily manipulate us, and they can distract us, or even
absorb us. Just notice the next time you read a book which you really like,
how time and space seem to disappear, there seems to be a oneness with what
is happening; both book and body disappear. You seem to be neither a person
nor the book, maybe the story. When this is recognized, it can be a pointer to
oneness which we can all access when we stop believing the thinking mind
and trust in the universal power of love. Or is this just another bunch of
words?
So just try contemplating some words, ask yourself what does it mean, what
does it mean for you and why are you using it?
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A Christian perspective
The Harry Potter novels have sold in their millions around the world. Very
likely at this very moment someone somewhere is settling into a chair to find
out - if friends haven’t told them already - who dies at the end. Great claims
have been made about the impact of the Potter series on the reading habits of
the British public. Some suggest that JK Rowling has more or less singlehandedly brought men, women and children back to reading. While this may
be a bit overcooked it was surely a great sight to see young teenagers queuing
up outside Waterstone’s at 11.55 pm to buy the latest novel. Such Beatlesquelike obsession has certainly restored something of the semi-magical aura that
once clung to that peculiar object we call the Book. Growing up I was
constantly being told to look after my books by putting them away safely and
neatly. This advice was in addition to two chief rules: don’t bend the spine and
never mark the pages with ink. I’ve long since given up on the last rule; I
nearly always make my margin notes in pen. Perhaps these rules were
drummed into me because books were scarce in our home. We weren’t a
particularly bookish family in all respects. However, the one book we had
plenty of copies of was the Bible, the best-selling text of all time. Every year
some 100 million Bibles are sold around the world. Whether they’re actually
read is another matter.
The ultimate block-buster!
The Bible is the foundational book of Western culture. Its influences on how
we live today, even in a nation as secular as modern Britain, are many and
profound. As well as influencing public law and personal morality the Bible
gives us a great deal of the language and vocabulary of everyday speech. Many
great literary works - including those by Shakespeare, Dante, Milton and
James Joyce - cannot be fully understood without first understanding the
Bible. But to look upon the Bible only through the lens of culture and
literature is to miss the function it performs for Christians across the globe: a
living Word of hope, assurance and challenge.
Every Christian reads the Bible differently: some will treat it akin to a car
maintenance manual, seeking in it advice and guidance for every problem life
throws up. Others will go to it - as I do - for a clash of horizons, for that
primordial wisdom and insight that comes best through story, metaphor and
image. In other words, for some it is an infallible book of answers and for
others a source of endless questions, moral conundrums and religious
insights that can, nevertheless, be put to good use in the life of a modern
person.
Navigating your way through
As William Blake once put it, ‘Both read the Bible day and night, but thou
readst black where I read white.’ How each Christian interprets what they are
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reading - and this is slightly easier to do with the Gospels than with the book
of Ezekiel - lies at the crux of well-documented disputes that often make it
into newspaper headlines. Usually, the disputes are about sex and what ‘the
Bible says’ about homosexuality. Some Christians will argue that the Bible
doesn’t need any interpretation. It has no more need of painstaking thought
and careful handling than a phonebook or a menu. It simply means what it
says. I doubt it. For me the Bible couldn’t be further from the simplicity of a
menu -oh, that it was! In the book of Deuteronomy alone one can find laws
that urge charity for the poor on the one hand and permission for public
stoning, slavery, the death penalty and the slaughter of entire races on the
other. (Deuteronomy 7:1, 20:16-18).
In the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament Philip, a pillar of the early
church community, meets an Ethiopian reading the Old Testament book of
Isaiah. Here’s part of their encounter: Philip asked, ‘ “Do you understand what
you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”’(Acts
8:30-31) What a wise man the Ethiopian was! Without help - without
employing some of the tools of interpretation - the Bible will completely
overwhelm us and we’re likely to give up even before we’ve got going. A little
learning may be considered a dangerous thing, but coming to the Bible with
no learning at all is even more dangerous. For like all great books the Bible is
replete with multiple viewpoints and contradictory points of view. (The Old
Testament book of Ecclesiastes doesn’t believe in life after death, but the New
Testament does: which should I believe?). Without a navigator we’ll get sucked
into word whirlpools and we may never be seen again. The best place to begin
is by understanding and accepting from the outset that the Bible is more like
a chaotic library than a single book and that its rough edges are part of its
charm and overall message.
The Christian Bible refers to two separate books, or collections of books. The
Old Testament, formed by books that were (and are) part of the Jewish faith;
and the New Testament, the collection of documents written 200 years or so
after the death of Jesus. Taken from beginning to end - Genesis to Revelation
- the time span covered by the Bible is roughly a thousand years. As a sort of
portable library the Christian Bible contains every genre or literary type under
the sun. Whatever your taste, you’ll find it’s catered for: history, poetry,
comedy, wit and wisdom, dramatised philosophy, letters, visionary
monologues and much more besides. In a sense the Bible contains the world.
But, alas, the Bible suffers more than ever from a terrible image problem. For
most people, if it means anything to them at all, it’s a book of considerable
bondage and boredom. Few would say it means liberation and life to them.
The truth of the Bible, for me, is otherwise. A book like no other, it offers more
magic, mystery and authority than Harry Potter ever will - or any other book
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for that matter. If I had to distil into one sentence what I find at the heart of
the Bible, an idea that runs throughout both testaments, it would be this line
from Proverbs: ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’ (Proverbs 29:18).
The vision produced by the Bible is grand, cosmic, eternal, glorious. And in
equal measure you’ll find plenty to infuriate, anger, and baffle as well. But
what good book doesn’t contain opposites? Finding your way between the light
and the dark is what reading, and life, is all about.
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A Hindu perspective
The Hindu tradition possesses an enormous range of religious texts that can
be regarded as scriptures, so many that it is almost impossible for a single
person to have knowledge of them all. Most of these are written in the ancient
language of Sanskrit, but some more recent scriptures were composed in the
vernacular languages of India such as Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati or Bengali.
Hindu teachings have traditionally differentiated between two types of
scripture, designated as the Shruti and the Smriti. The Shruti are the works
contained within the four Vedas, including the Upanishads, and these are
believed to be eternal and not the composition of any human being. Realised
sages who possess higher knowledge are able to gain access to the Veda at the
beginning of each new creation and these sages then reveal them to humanity
as a whole. They are not, however, the composers of the Veda, they are simply
its ‘hearers’ and for this reason the Veda is known as the Shruti, that which is
‘heard’. The traditional belief has been that the eternal Shruti descends from
the higher domain of the spirit and so is not subject to the imperfections that
might beset the thought processes current in this world of limitation. The
wisdom of the Shruti is therefore without blemish, although it might need
some interpretation from learned scholars or acharyas.
The Smriti consists of a great number of other Sanskrit works, the most
prominent of which are the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the eighteen
Puranas, amongst which the Bhagavata Purana is best known for its descriptions
of the life of Krishna. Within the Mahabharata we also find the Bhagavad Gita,
which has a very high status amongst Hindus, although it is not strictly speaking
a part of the Shruti. These works do not have the same status as the Shruti and
are not regarded as eternally existing; the name Smriti indicates that they are the
composition of enlightened sages such as Vyasa and Valmiki.
In establishing religious and philosophical doctrine, the great Hindu acharyas
(teachers such as Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhvacharya) all
insist that knowledge of the highest reality cannot be attained through direct
perception or by means of human reason. For this absolute understanding we
must rely on the revelation of the Shruti which is supported by the writings
contained in the Smriti. Hence these acharyas only very rarely compose their
own works and their main contribution takes the form of commentary on
Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and other important scriptural texts. The point is
that they are insisting that the highest truths can only be known by means of
the revelation of sacred texts, which contain eternal truths. Of course
different acharyas produce radically different interpretations of the meaning of
the texts on which they comment, but the principle remains the same;
absolute spiritual truths can be understood only through the revelation of
sacred texts and the Veda in particular.
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What has been stated here represents the traditional view of the acharyas who
have established Hindu religious teachings and of their immediate successors
and followers. Hinduism, however, is a very complex tradition, and in practice
alternative ideas are frequently encountered. Firstly, we must note that
Hinduism as whole is the sum total of a large number of separate but
interconnected religious strands and that each of these strands tends to
emphasise different scriptural sources. For example, Hindus who venerate
Shiva as the Supreme Deity may not overtly deny the authority of the Veda,
but in practice they will pay little attention to the Vedic texts and instead
make use of their own Shaiva scriptures, which are often written in the more
accessible vernacular languages of the different regions of India.
We must also be aware that Hindu teaching reveals that there is a spark of
the divine within each of us. The spiritual quest is often seen as being one
that seeks to reveal that lost divinity and to make it once more our overt
identity. Where a sadhu (religious leader) is perceived as having achieved this
state of enlightenment, then his or her words and writings acquire a scriptural
status, for they are not just the revelations of a human being but the word of
God coming from a divine source within a human being. Hence we see that
for many Hindus the highest scriptural authority is to be found in the
teachings given by the particular spiritual guide they choose to follow. Again
they will not usually deny the authority of Shruti and Smriti, but they will
choose to seek inspiration from this alternative source.
Scriptures are a servant not a master
The source of religion is considered to be spiritual experiences of ancient and
modern sages and seers called Rishis. These spiritual experiences are given
expression in texts called the Upanishads that are the philosophic heart of the
Hindu religion. They are normally found at the end portion of the Vedas. The
Hindu religion is open to the idea that spiritual experiences of sages and seers
or other religion is equally potent. The truths contained in these scriptures are
made accessible to the greater public through a secondary set of scriptures
called the Smritis. These scriptures adopt a narrative stance. They contain the
18 Puranas (or legendary tales) and also include the epics Ramayana and
Mahabharata. The law books of the Hindus are also considered to be
secondary scriptures because they contain codes of conduct which are
recognised to be contextual. One text that stands out as the key Hindu
scripture of the Hindus is the Bhagavad Gita which is a philosophic dialogue
in the story of Mahabharata. Though this is a Smriti script it is considered to
be a text of authority because it synthesises the teachings of the Upanishads.
Hinduism was revived post Buddhistic period by Adi Shankara (8th Century
AD) who gave special importance to three texts of the Hindus and called them
Prasthan Traye meaning three foundations. They are the Upanishads, the
Bhagavad Gita and another philosophic text called the Brahma Sutras. Since
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the time of Adi Shankara every Hindu acharya (Ramanuja, Madhava and
Vallabha) has offered commentaries on these three texts. Hinduism prides
itself in being a living religion that produces modern enlightened teachers who
revive and refresh the message of spirituality suited to their times. Some
recent proponents of Hinduism are people like Raman Maharshi and Swami
Vivekananda. Every modern sectarian movement claims to draw its
inspiration from an enlightened personality. Though this openness of
Hinduism is refreshing it comes with a serious downside. For every genuine
enlightened person there are scores of charlatans who make claims of
enlightenment and take the gullible public with them. Mahatma Gandhi wrote:
I have already suggested often enough in these columns that all
that is printed in the name of scriptures need not be taken as the
word of God or the inspired word. There should therefore be some
authoritative body that would revise all that passes under the
name of scriptures, expurgate all the texts that have no moral
value or are contrary to the fundamentals of religion and morality,
and present such an edition for the guidance of Hindus.
I think that on this issue at least most Hindus would tend to agree with
Gandhi. Scripture for Hindus is primarily a tool that can be used to assist us
in our personal spiritual quest. The sacred text is our servant and not our
master, it helps us and guides us but it does not have absolute authority over
us. Hindus do have their own law books, the Dharma Shastras, and it these
that Gandhi is referring to in relation to gender roles and caste rules. If the
rules imposed by the text are seen to be in conflict with our understanding of
justice, then it is the text that must be set aside and never justice or morality.
This understanding of scripture and revelation has been of enormous
assistance to Hindu society in the modern era as it has sought to develop,
reform and modernise its institutions.
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A Humanist perspective
Language and writing are one of the most useful human inventions. Before
the invention of writing, anything that was passed on from one generation to
the next was passed on verbally and kept only in people’s heads - centuries of
Chinese whispers, which created some exotic and beautiful legends, but were
a poor guide to truth. After the invention of writing, words and ideas could be
preserved in their original form for generations to come, and each generation
could develop and build on the achievements of their predecessors
Not divine revelation
Humanists don’t believe in gods so we do not believe there can be any sort of divine
revelation which can give us knowledge, nor that the special books of the various
religions are anything other than books written by men - like all other books. The
way we get knowledge about the world is through our reason, through experience
and through evidence, not through revelation from supernatural entities.
But words have value
So, the stories we make up may not be a way to gain knowledge about the
non-human world - how life came to be, or what happened in the past, for
example. Stories and books are essential to being human however - we can
use them to give colour and meaning to our lives, and they can often express
great moral truths through - they can be great works of human art.
Philip Pullman, himself a creator of wonderful stories and bestselling books, feels
this way: ‘The secular person has an advantage, because we’re not committed to
one tradition, one book and one strand of truth alone. We can look around and we
can see what’s true here and what’s not so true there. I don’t believe that the
entire truth about anything exists in any one single book. The problem with
people who make this sort of claim about this book or that book - about the
Koran, about the New Testament, about ‘Science and Health: the key to the
Scriptures’ or about Scientology - the people who make that sort of claim make it
an exclusive claim: ‘The truth is in this book but not in that one’ or ‘This book is
true and all the other books are useless’ and I just don’t be believe that. I can find
a great deal of truth in many different books. I can find a great deal of truth in the
Bible. Not truth about the supernatural claims that it makes but truth about
human beings: the wisdom in the Book of Proverbs, for example, it’s wonderful;
and the great poetry in the Psalms; and the wonderful story-telling that tells us
about what human beings are like. The stories about David and Saul and so on extraordinary stories. The Bible is a great book because it tells us the truth - the
truth about human beings, the truth about what we’re like. That’s why the Bible
is true. I haven’t read the Koran, I haven’t read the Book of Mormon or any of
these other ‘Holy Books’, but I’m perfectly prepared to believe that there’s some
truth in them, but it will be truth for me that is human truth and not truth about
supernatural claims, not truth about the Buddha or Allah or anybody else.’
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A Jewish perspective
Revelation lies at the crux of Judaism.
Movements have defined themselves by how they interpret the experience or
idea of revelation, and its result has formed the focus of Jewish life for
millennia.
Traditionally Judaism has considered the revelation that occurred at Mount
Sinai (when Torah was given to the Israelites) to be a core, people-making
moment. All of the Israelites were considered to have been there, and the
rabbis included in that the souls of all Jews to come: whether Jews by birth or
Jews by choice. This was such a seminal moment that no Jew is denied
access to its importance. It is celebrated with its own festival, and revered as a
crucial moment of formation in the Jewish people’s story, whether or not one
believes it actually happens as it is written.
Today we can distinguish different types of Judaism in part by their
interpretation of what happened at Mount Sinai when Torah tells us Moses
received revelation. In Orthodox Judaism revelation occurred as it is recorded
in Torah. Other traditions have been added on to it through Midrash (stories
told around the biblical text) such as the one above about everyone being at
Sinai for all generations, but essentially it is held that God revealed the Torah
to Moses who wrote it down for the Israelites. This was a crucial part of the
covenant between God and the Israelites, and keeping the law of Torah
remains a crucial part of that covenant, which continues unbroken.
Interpretations of revelation and Torah
Reform Judaism, a movement which began in the nineteenth century at a
time when enlightenment values and emancipation were popular in Europe,
absorbed into its theology and ideas Biblical Critical Scholarship which
suggested that the Bible was very much a human document with human error
and layers of authorship and textual development. How to make this a part of
a continuing Jewish life was the challenge. For Orthodox Jews, Reformers who
held such ideas to be true were beyond the bounds of what was Jewishly
acceptable and placed themselves outside the community. For Progressive
Jews, the idea of a Torah with human error did not mean that Judaism itself
had nothing positive to offer. Indeed it was generally accepted that some of the
Torah (and this revelation) remained a central part of Judaism, and was either
divinely inspired and/or was the weaving of a people’s history and
understanding of the world around them over millennia.
These different interpretations of revelation and Torah have meant that the
way the law is understood and interpreted in these different movements also
varies, although there has always been discussion and variation in different
parts of the Jewish world through the centuries. Nonetheless for all Jews the
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moment of revelation at Mount Sinai, whether considered real or not, has
become a part of collective memory, celebrated and wondered at.
Revelation and the Covenant
Revelation and Covenant are closely intertwined, and Jews have, through the
ages, often been despised or criticised for using words such as ‘chosen people’
or ‘special relationship with God’. There’s a Jewish joke where Mr. Cohen goes
up to heaven and asks God if we are the chosen people, and God replies, ‘Yes,
you are’. ‘In that case,’ continues Mr. Cohen, ‘would you mind choosing
someone else for a change?’ Jews do consider this revelation to be special and
distinctive. Yet that is not to say it is the only special relationship. Far from it.
The Jews were chosen to receive Torah and to live in that way as best as they
could. Other faiths and peoples have their own tasks and duties to perform in
the world. There are times when Jews have wished to express some kind of
superiority over other nations, usually because they were very disempowered,
and some of our prayers and texts do reflect this. However in the past I asked
an interfaith group to examine one such prayer, and the Muslims and
Christians in the group were amazed that I would worry about how such
prayers would sound to them - they reasoned (I think correctly) that all faiths
have such texts, what is important is how we live with each other and those
texts.
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
DOING GOOD AND SOCIAL ACTION
BIG QUESTIONS: They say love your neighbour but don’t I only need to look
after myself?
Who cares about the whales, Burma etc ?
Can one person make a difference to the world?
There are so many charity collectors wanting my money;
how can I choose?
Isn’t life all about earning money and everyone for
themselves?
Do we need religion now we’ve got social services?
Is believing or having faith more important than doing?
COMMON THEMES:
For all the worldviews represented in this project, the social implications of
faith or belief were of essential importance:
• All agreed that happiness derived from helping others, not just
oneself
• All agreed that the poor and excluded are the top priority for
charity/doing good
• Social justice, and equal treatment for all regardless of race, gender,
religion, origin etc
• Most say the performance of menial/mundane tasks of service is good
in itself
• All traditions had specific organisations for education, poverty relief in
the community
• All also had methods and/or organisations for wider purposes (eg
international relief; education/training to lift people out of poverty, etc)
DISTINCTIVE VIEWS:
The Sikh contribution draws on the basic Sikh focus on self and others:
• All Sikh philosophy is based on the twin concepts of self-realisation
(Simran) and selfless service (Seva)
• The Gurus said that God is in humankind: so Sikhs serve God by
serving people, individually, or through voluntary organisations
• The Gurdwara offers free food to all and shelter to all who need it
• Sikhs are encouraged to carry out menial tasks (serving, cleaning) as
part of their daily lives
• Education and all forms of social provision must be available for all,
regardless of race, gender, caste or age
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The Buddhist contribution tries to balance monastic and
household/community traditions:
• Monastic life releases people from the myths, regulation and
compromises of social life, renouncing paid work or even asking for
food - to spend time understanding who we truly are
• Social action, as practised by other Buddhist communities, includes
education, health, poverty, nation, etc
• Asking whether meditation or social action is better is asking the
wrong question
• What is important is generosity, moderation, virtue, ethics - all are
tools for living
The Christian contribution emphasises the universal prevalence of doing
good:
• Helping others seems to make all of us happier: having money and
possessions doesn’t
• Moral heroes, (eg Martin Luther King, Mandela) excite our admiration
• But we shouldn’t beat ourselves up if we can’t be like them
• Jesus says visiting the sick, giving a drink to the thirsty, feeding the
hungry, being nice to people are the most important things
• But selfishness - eg using all our money for ourselves - is always
wrong - we should all ask - what difference can we make - in college,
community or at home
The Hindu contribution emphasises:
• Good is dependent on context - the same action can be good for one
person and bad for another
• Good can be short-term (pleasurable) or long-term (beneficial)
• Hindus see doing good as getting our priorities right
• Because we and all reality are spirit, undivided, when we help or hurt
others, we help or harm ourselves
• Doing good links us with our real spiritual nature, doing harm
obscures it
The Humanist contribution is underpinned by the belief that in this world we
have:
• Human problems can only be solved by humans, so humanists have
been active social reformers
• Happiness can only be achieved by making others happy
• Compassion, justice based on equality, open democracy and a sense of
duty are driving principles
• Many organisations, for education, poverty relief, homelessness, health
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have been set up and/or supported by humanists
• International co-operation, through the United Nations, Human
Rights, UNESCO etc
The Jewish contribution begins with scriptural and rabbinic texts on charity:
• “Justice shall you pursue ...” Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly
with God
• Through social action, we become partners in God’s creation,
improving the world
• Educating people, teaching a trade, supporting employment - to
prevent people remaining in poverty is the highest task
• Jews have led on Women’s Right, Civil Rights in US, refugee work, all
based on updating the Torah
The Muslim contribution emphasises:
• Social action is a form of worship, as much as rituals and prayer
• All activities which help fellow humans, or the environment, are part of
faith
• Zakah is a percentage of annual income to be given to the poor
• Being a good neighbour involves six duties from greeting, to advice and
visiting
• Sharing our goods with others and offering hospitality are obligations
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A Sikh perspective
The Sikh philosophy has a two-fold focus, Simran (self-realisation) and Seva
(selfless service). The idea was clear that Sikhs were to walk in the world like
saint-soldiers. The Gurus were interested in laying the foundation for a good
society while teaching spirituality. It was essential to develop inner strength
and the nervous system through meditation, and physical wellbeing in order
to be an ambassador of peace and justice in the world.
Seva: the selfless service
Every dharamsala/gurdwara (or place of worship) is equipped in order that no
one who enters remains hungry and people are offered shelter if they have
nowhere to sleep. Food is available from the free kitchen (Guru ka langar).
This is normally available throughout the day and is prepared with love and
devotion by volunteers. Sikhs in the West make it a habit to serve in the
kitchen before or after work or, if this is not possible, they offer money or
bring supplies to the kitchen. In some gurdwaras located in inner cities, Sikhs
take the langar to homeless centres or refugee councils.
Volunteers clean the gurdwaras, the gardens are maintained, the building
inside is always well maintained. People will also come across the friendly
Sikhs that do shift work at Heathrow Airport, many of them will clean and
check the supplies in the toilets before making their way to work. Another
service in the gurdwara that is seen as a very humbling act is that of cleaning
the shoes or dirty dishes of the members of the congregation. Every individual
finds their own way to serve in the world they live in; it is part of the dharma
to make this a daily practice.
I was reminded how seriously devoted Sikhs take this once when I went to Ealing
Hospital’s accident and emergency unit. As I waited with the other patients I saw
a young mother with a young baby in her arms who was crying, and with her
was a two-year-old nagging her. Suddenly, I see this small four-foot-eleven Sikh
man in a smart suit and a bright orange turban. He appeared out of nowhere
clasping a jug of water and a glass. He approached the young mother who was so
grateful to provide a drink for her thirsty child. It was an act of such simplicity
and innocence that touched the hearts of many of us bystanders. Before leaving
the hospital that night, I could not help asking the nurse about the orangeturbaned Sikh guy; she smiled, ‘Aaaah, you mean Mr Singh, he comes here four
days a week to help. He smiles at people and serves them water. He said he used
to be a nurse in the army and worked with the Red Cross, he is 87 now, retired,
but still doing his bit in the community ... he is really cool, we love him to bits.’
To serve mankind is one of the greatest virtues for Sikhs. The Gurus
instructed the Sikhs that God existed in mankind, therefore the Sikhs were
told to serve mankind if they wished to serve God.
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Education
Another great contribution to social action is education. All Gurus made
education a prominent part of the Sikh revolution. The sacred ancient
language Sanskrit was very difficult, and mostly the elite or learned were
fluent in it.
Guru Nanak dug out Punjabi script and used it in his writings, Guru Angad
reformed it and beautified it further, and it was a perfect script, simple,
scientific and grammatically practical in the hands of Guru Arjun, who gave
the Punjabi script to the masses. There were no rules as to who could learn children, men and women alike.
‘Contemplate and reflect upon knowledge, and you will become a
benefactor to others.’ Guru Nanak Dev Ji
(SGGS p. 356).
Equality
Equality was an integral part of the social action policy that the Sikh Gurus
adopted. The formation of the Khalsa was the initiation ceremony into
adopting the Sikh form. The Gurus opened the doors and allowed people of
different caste, who had been socially deprived, permission to join the Khalsa.
They inherited and were welded into a strong brotherhood and pledged to the
service of mankind, a unique society of saint-soldiers to be economically
viable, dependable, physically respectable and spiritually independent.
The third Guru also abolished Sati45 and Pardhah46 giving women the freedom
and equality they deserved as part of the social revolution. He also strove to
build the bridge between communities and cultural groups.
Health was another social responsibility that the Gurus encouraged the Sikhs
to respond to. For those Sikhs living in the East, gurdwaras will be linked to
free eye hospitals, alternative health clinics and free homeopathy for the poor
supported by the community. Here in the West, Sikhs tend to support antidrugs and stop-smoking and alcohol campaigns. Usually gurdwaras or Sikh
charities will help pay for or support these programmes. Recently there have
been voluntary groups set up to support women in domestic violence, teenage
pregnancy and general counselling.
The servant’s purpose is to serve obeying the Lord’s Command, the
supreme status is obtained.
(SGGS p. 292)
45
46
Women were being burnt alive on the funeral pyre when they were widowed.
Women were forced to cover their body from head to toe and were not allowed out to walk in
Indian society until they did so.
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A Buddhist perspective
Before leaving the world as a householder and opting for a monastic lifestyle, I
contemplated what I was really doing, what I could really offer. At that time I
read an article by Thomas Merton which resonated with me very strongly.47
Included in it was the idea that a monastic life can be seen as a deep sign of
love for one’s fellow humans, by not believing in the myths and fictions which
social life generally binds us to. Buddhist mendicant renunciants (a person
that begs and moderates their behaviour), and probably all types of
monasticism can be seen as a special type of art form that reflects or mirrors
whatever we may think about ourselves and society.
Sometimes when we go out of the monastery, usually on alms round, on all
sides people come up to us and say that we should get a life, get married, get
a job, get real... Other people come and question us about why we are doing
this; other people put their hands together with respect and gratitude.
So what social good do Buddhist monastics offer?
For me a list could include generosity, moderation, virtuous living, ethical
skills, tools to understand who we truly are and the way things are.
When we misunderstand the way things are, then we have to discuss in terms
of doing good or doing bad - social action or no social action: a dualistic way
of thinking. From a Buddhist point of view, this ignores our interdependence:
that we have an effect regardless of whether we are ‘doing’ or ‘not-doing’
something; our presence makes a difference - full stop.
Making change happen
When we start to realise the Buddha’s teaching and live it in our daily lives,
we can respond to situations more spontaneously rather than according to
rules and regulations. We can meet people where they’re at, we can reflect and
question. These sorts of qualities, which take time to develop, are exactly what
make space for social change. When people come together with these types of
qualities, change can happen quickly, without much effort, and for the welfare
and consideration of many. I live in a community where the basis of this
approach is encouraged, giving me relevant experience of this. I’ve found, of
course, that this is a nice ideal, and on a practical basis most people are still
working towards it.
So, on a practical level, we do what we can, when we can, with what we have,
and this takes a lot of patience, endurance and hard-nosed compassion. Here
is a practical example of this. The community that I live in refused my request
to go and support the homeless at Christmas, saying that Theravadin
Buddhist monks are not social workers. This is all very reasonable; we are a
small community and have just about enough people to support our own
47
Thomas Merton Disputed Question: ‘Notes for a philosophy of Solitude’.
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community and the lay people that come to the monastery, and our primary
focus is the practice of meditation in this community. This is not a Buddhist
or Theravadin view, it’s a practical one. Of course I was upset; I found it
rather selfish, a few days are okay to see my family, but not to support some
homeless people; so be it.
In most Buddhist countries before there were schools, children were taught in
monasteries; before there were health workers, villagers would visit the local
monastic who knew herbal remedies because the monastics themselves lived
within nature. There are many socially engaged Buddhist monastics and lay
people who do good work. Much could also be learned from our Christian
brothers and sisters.
I would like to see more done, and in the western world we can take this very
personally. So we want to control everything. In the Buddhist Asian mindset,
things can get planned, but the outcome is not taken personally. Asian
Buddhists have a deep cultural understanding of Kamma (action), the
understanding that many conditions are at work and outcomes cannot be
guaranteed. Of course, Kamma followed blindly becomes fatalism, but in
perspective and used wisely it allows one to flow with life.
An example of this is the tsunami that struck south-east Asia a few years ago.
Sri Lankan Buddhists donated huge amounts of clothing, money, etc to the
Sri Lankan Vihara in London, the local exporter arranged containers, and it
all happened very spontaneously. In our community we dedicated the
chanting, made a shrine to the victims, and kept them in our hearts. Now the
western mind, well at least my mind can go, one is better than another. Which
is more powerful? Am I helping? Can chanting really help? It seems that time
and again our chanting has helped. Don’t ask me for the scientific study of
this, it just seems to work.48
Developing awareness
So what helps here is developing an attitude that embraces life, spirit-inform and form-in-spirit.49 When you see the deep connection between
everything you respond in an appropriate and timely way. Other times it
may be better to do nothing, and to keep one’s mouth shut. Ultimately it is
the development of awareness bound by the Buddhist precepts that leads
to discernment - this knowing. This is better than doing social actions
where it is merely an acting-out of infantile and arrested personal
development, for egoistic motives. This is without due care for what is
actually being done or the people being ‘helped’. In psychological terms this
48
Robert Sheldrake’s (http://www.sheldrake.org) experiments seem to explain some of what is going
on here.
49
http;//www.shambhala.com/html/learn/features/buddhism/basics/sutra/cfm
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/heartv05.htm
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is shadow work.50 Social action goes hand-in-hand with personal and
spiritual growth. If you do not have this, then you have a do-gooder that is
not doing any good. So being clear with your intention is very important,
even if at times slightly deluded.
So the question is: what do you intend to do or not do with your life energy
that supports yourself and can support others?
50
http://www.kenwilber.com/editor/nshadow.pdf
http://kenwilber.com/blog/shows/51
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A Christian perspective
Why do good, some argue, when life is so short and uncertain? Have it all
yourself today, they say, because tomorrow cannot be guaranteed. This is
clearly an attractive way of living when you think about it. Who doesn’t enjoy
(at some level) looking after themselves first, above and beyond others? But this
approach tells but barely half the story about selfishness and goodness. There
is something in us that actually likes helping other people. Even the most
miserable and bitter of us invest a great deal of time, money and effort in
helping others. We seem to get a kick out of seeing other people smile. Weird.
The achievements of heroes
Every once and a while there appear incredibly strong-willed, dynamic, selfgiving people we call ‘heroes’. They are heroic because of their care, concern
and love for others - often at serious cost to their own wellbeing. Such people,
when you read their biographies, seem almost magically destined from an
early age to alleviate the woes of others. People like Martin Luther-King (shot
dead for his efforts to liberate Black America) or Nelson Mandela (who spent
27 years in prison for challenging the South African system of apartheid). We
look at their lives and achievements and think, ‘Wow. They are really good
people.’ We then, more often than not, go on to compare their achievements
with our own. So, whilst some great person is out freeing slaves or rescuing a
country from tyranny, what are we doing? We are in a sulk because that
parcel from Amazon hasn’t arrived on the day it should have done. Not really
hero material. This is where the following of a hero, for some, can help. Jesus,
the Christian’s hero, doesn’t let his followers off the hook for a second when it
comes to doing good.
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with
him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will
be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from
another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he
will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then
the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are
blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me
food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a
stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me
clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and
you visited me.’
(Matthew 25:31-36)
How much should we do?
It’s a tricky balancing act between beating ourselves up over not doing enough
‘good things’ (see Jesus’ list above), and letting ourselves off the hook at every
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turn. If nothing ever challenges the pre-eminence of Number One (namely
ourselves), can we honestly say that we’ve done our best? The Christian
tradition has tended to take a hard line on selfishness, especially when it
challenges the common good. There is a rather chilling story in the Acts of the
Apostles (in the New Testament), about a Christian couple, Ananias and
Sapphira, who sold some land. Now, rather than giving the money raised from
the sale back to the community - what they were supposed to do - they held
back some for themselves. Bad idea. The result was instant death for both of
them. Thankfully, God seems to have given up on such harsh punishments
for the greedy.
But this story raises a very important point. What we do with our money is
vitally important and in a world as money-obsessed as ours, this is a message
worth heeding. Jesus had many things to say about money and its role in
human life. A very rich man came to him to enquire what he should do to
inherit eternal life. (This is basically the same as asking - what is it I should
do to become good?) Jesus asked him if he stole, lied or defrauded people. The
man said, ‘No, I don’t do any of those things. Then Jesus said to him: ‘You
lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the man heard
this he was shocked and went away upset, for he had many iPods and really
enjoyed his cheap weekend breaks in Europe.
It might take a lot of work and belief, but I believe we can all become heroes
like Jesus, or Buddha, or Mohammed, or Martin Luther-King. And I’m sorry if
that sounds like the inside of a bad birthday card. Contemplate the idea for a
minute. What difference might you make in your school, community and
society? Ask yourself who or what is being overlooked or sidelined or silenced.
And when you think you’ve identified what needs to be done, go out and do it.
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A Hindu perspective
What is good for ourselves?
The word Good is a meta-term that needs to be unpacked before we discuss
the issue of doing good.
What may appear as good for one person may be bad for another. A bar of
chocolate for a hungry person can be good but the same bar of chocolate can
be poison for a diabetic suffering from a high blood sugar level. What appears
good today may be viewed as bad tomorrow. Hence we have to view the idea of
good in a contextual sense before we examine on what is meant by doing good
because the contextual element inherent in the concept of good should not be
ignored.
The idea of good is inherent in all of us. It can be viewed as a social or
spiritual element to our being. We seem to possess this inherent compass that
classifies actions as beneficial or not so beneficial. One of the scriptures of
authority of Hinduism - the Kathopanishad says that two things present
themselves to mankind: those that can be classed as beneficial (shreya) and
those that can be classed as pleasurable (preyas). It teaches that the role of
religious teachings is simply to distinguish and choose correctly between
things that are beneficial in the long term over those that appear as
pleasurable but are only short term appeasement of the human condition.
Doing good to ourselves translates in practise as: Getting our priorities right.
What about doing good to others?
This can be invoked either in a theistic mode which suggests that because the
same God created everyone it becomes our duty to help others i.e. doing good
to others will appease God. The non-theistic mode adopts a dramatically
different approach. It introduces a new idea that says that the essential
nature of every living thing is the Spirit. This spirit does not have any division
hence essentially we are all manifestations of the same spirit. So when we
help others we are simply helping ourselves and when we hurt others we are
hurting ourselves. This forms the foundation of ethics and morality in esoteric
Hinduism. Every activity that acts to remind us of our essential nature as the
spirit is classed as good and every action that invokes the idea that we are not
the spirit is classed as not good. Selfish activities distance us from our true
nature as the spirit hence these are classed as not good while every Selfless
activity that reinforces the idea that we are the spirit is classed as good
because it reflects reality. Hinduism thus recognises that doing good to others
is one of the best ways of doing good to ourselves because it allows us to link
with our true nature as the spirit. In a unique manner this approach gives us
a handle on the meta-term good. Every activity that allows us to see our real
nature as the spirit can be classed as good because that is reality, and every
activity that obscures this reality from us can be classed as not so good.
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A Humanist perspective
‘Happiness is the only good, and the way to be happy is to make others so.’
These words of Robert Ingersoll, a nineteenth-century American humanist,
have been criticised by some for being naïve, but they demonstrate the driving
principle that lies behind many humanists’ commitment to social action. As
another nineteenth-century humanist, George Eliot, put it: ‘God, Immortality,
Duty ... how inconceivable the first, how unbelievable the second, and yet how
peremptory and absolute the third.’
The inspiration of compassion and justice
Because of their belief that this world is the only one we have and that human
problems can only be solved by humans, humanists have often been very
active social reformers. Compassion and a sense of justice inspired by the
conviction that all human beings are of equal dignity have been the guiding
principles for much of this work. Most humanists believe in democracy, open
government and human rights, and support action on world poverty and the
environment. Some were and are pacifists, and many are active in charities
and politics. Early humanists campaigned for wider access to contraception
and for the legal acceptance of non-religious oaths. Before the state took over
much social and charitable work from the churches, humanists helped nonreligious people who needed these services by setting up housing and
education projects for young workers (1890s), an adoption agency (1950s), a
housing association (1960s), a humanist counselling service (1960s) and
directly funded overseas aid projects (1960s).
In the twentieth century, between the wars, humanists were active in the
League of Nations. After the Second World War, humanists helped to start up
the United Nations, to help to keep the peace between people of all nations,
religions and cultures. The UN recognises the interdependence of humankind.
It works to resolve conflicts between nations peacefully, and to bring about
social and economic progress through improvements in agriculture, health
care and education. As one of its first tasks, it formulated the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted on 10 December 1948 (now
Human Rights Day) and sets a standard of entitlement to rights and freedoms
for everyone. In 1989 the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, which has been ratified by over 190 countries.
Humanists were the first directors of the Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
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A Jewish perspective
The Rambam identified EIGHT Levels of Charity, or doing justice. They are:
1. A person gives but is not happy when he/she digs into the pocket in
order to give.
2. A person gives cheerfully, but gives less than he/she should.
3. A person gives, but only when asked by a poor person.
4. A person gives without having to be asked, but gives directly to the
poor. The poor person knows he gave the help, and the giver knows who
benefited.
5. A person gives a donation in a certain place, but walks away so that the
giver does not know who received the benefit. The poor person knows
the giver, however.
6. A person makes a donation to a poor person secretly. The giver knows
who benefited, but the poor person does not know who the giver was.
7. A person contributes anonymously to the tzedakah fund which is then
distributed to the poor.
8. The highest level of charity is to give money and help to prevent another
person from becoming poor. For example, teaching a person a trade,
finding them a job, lending money, teaching them to fish.
You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were
strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not ill-treat any widow or
orphan.
(Exodus 22:20-23)
Justice, Justice shall you pursue, so that you will live and possess
the Land that the Lord, your God, gives you.
(Deut. 16:19)
And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
(Micah 6:8)
Creating a positive society
When children are approaching their bar or bat mitzvah, I often worry if they
don’t have a portion from the Torah which comes from Genesis or the first
part of Exodus, as most of the good stories are embedded in these books.
Some end up with readings about sacrifice, filled with blood and gore, or
about skin diseases similar to leprosy, which is described as affecting houses
as well as people. But quite often, the portions that come from the more
legalistic parts of the Torah are the best, because embedded in much of what
we find there are important lessons on how to create a positive society that
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supports all its members. That doesn’t mean there weren’t problems with the
systems of ancient Israel (and the ancient world in general), but there is a lot
that is inspiring: welcoming the stranger, taking care of the poor, the widow
and the orphan, charity, business ethics and ensuring fair trials are just some
of the imperatives to social action that are embedded in Torah and Jewish
tradition.
Protection for the disempowered
It has been argued that the Torah legal systems are out of date and irrelevant
to society today. In some cases this is just not true - it is still important to
deal fairly in business, to ensure just trials, and so on. In other cases, one
can extract a principle that can be applied today. So for example, some laws
are given to protect a woman’s rights: if she is raped, her attacker has to
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marry her and is never allowed to divorce her. Now, on the one hand, this
seems to us to be the most horrendous thing to do to a woman: to tie her for
life to a man who has violated and attacked her. But, in the ancient world, a
woman who had been raped had no value to her family in terms of dowry, etc.
Her status became very precarious, if it wasn’t obliterated. So what Israelite
society (or God, depending on your reading) tried to do was to ensure that she
would be looked after and given children (i.e. status) and a home and food etc.
Now this may not be our ideal of women’s rights, but in principle the law was
trying to protect the woman. Rabbinic Judaism attempted to continue this
protection with a carefully laid-out marriage contract which guaranteed (or
tried to guarantee) the bride a roof over her head, clothing, food and sexual
fulfilment, all of which her husband promised to provide for her. Today some
women may object to the idea of being cared for when in reality partners
provide these things for each other, and rightly they may want to make equal
vows to their partners, but what is important is the idea behind these laws
and customs - to protect women’s rights. To me this means we must do all we
can within the bounds of our society to protect women’s rights. And because
women were arguably some of the most disempowered figures in Rabbinic
Judaism (often being counted along with the minor and the slave in terms of
their religious responsibilities), we must also look to our own society to see
who is disempowered and disenfranchised and how we can protect them in
our society.
Jews were among many of the prominent figures of the civil rights movement
in America, transforming the experience of being slaves in Egypt into positive
change. Many Jews today are involved in refugee and asylum work,
remembering when they were nationless and wandering. Indeed, because Jews
in the UK generally stem from immigrants (whether of the last 100 years or
from 350 years ago), they often feel it is important to protect the rights of
immigrants, while also trying to adapt and fit comfortably in with the
surrounding society. Even this can be traced back to the Torah, which teaches
us to deal fairly with the stranger in our midst (see above).
Social action can frequently be seen as performing a ‘mitzvah’ - a commanded
good deed. For some Kabbalists this is taken even further, into the idea of
Tikkun Olam - repair of the world. Every time one of these mitzvot (which may
be a ritual or may be giving charity or may be visiting a person who is unwell)
a part of the world is repaired. Thus Judaism makes not only ritual an
important part of religious life, but also social action and improving the world,
for in doing so we are partners in God’s creation, helping to bring it closer to
perfection. These ideas help to express the centrality of social action to
Judaism today and in the past, and it remains a major focus for many
communities.
286 : Chapter Fourteen : Doing Good and Social Action
All Faiths and None
A Muslim perspective
In the essays Rituals and Celebrations and Care of the Earth the concept of
worship in Islam was discussed in detail. I personally, like many other
Muslims, share the opinion that worship is not limited to ritual actions or
formulaic chants. So much so that all a Muslim says, or does, can be
construed as worship, devotion or service to God - not only formal, set
prayers.
Worship through social action
In this context, one prophetic saying which I find truly inspirational translates
roughly as follows: ‘Faith has some seventy plus branches - the highest or
most lofty of them is to proclaim and truly believe in the Oneness of God, and
the lowest is to remove a harmful object from the road (path which others
take). Shyness, or modesty is also a branch of faith.’
To take this as a starting point, all that falls under the category of caring for
this world, from the small, micro-level of looking after one’s personal
environment, removing litter or dangerous items (as mentioned in the above
quotation) to reducing pollution and so on and so forth, would be considered
as an act of devotion or worship if offered with the correct intention. A short
but thought-provoking story is often told to illustrate this point.
Once, a trader needed to stop and rest, so he hammered a peg into the ground
and tethered his camel after unloading all the merchandise. The next day, he
set off again, leaving the peg in the ground in order to save another traveller
the effort of replacing it should they need to anchor anything. A little later,
another person was walking by and tripped over the same peg. He promptly
removed it, with the intention of preventing harm to any future passers-by.
The idea is that both attempted to ‘do the right thing’ but with totally opposite
consequences; and that in both cases the reward they earned depended on
the goodness of their intentions, not the final outcome of their actions.
Putting it into practice
Thus, ‘Allah will relieve anyone who relieves a believer of one of the afflictions
of this world, of one of the afflictions of the Day of Rising. Allah will give ease
in this world and the Next to anyone who eases the hardship of another. Allah
will veil anyone who veils (the faults, or sins of) another Muslim in this world
and the Next. Allah will help His slave as long as His slave is helping his
brother.’ This might be helping an infirm neighbour or friend with daily
chores, transport and so on, refraining from malicious gossip, even just ‘being
there’ at times of need. A Muslim believes all are examples of practical social
action that elicit reward and blessings in the Hereafter, in addition to positive
outcomes in this world.
Many other sayings highlight numerous other aspects of social action
All Faiths and None
Chapter Fourteen : Doing Good and Social Action : 287
‘whenever you cook a stew or broth, add extra liquid in order that you may
share your food equally with your needy neighbour’. ‘Greeting one another
kindly is a charity, helping another onto his mount is a charity, a smile in the
face of your brother is a charity’.
This is obviously in addition to the compulsory percentage of zakah paid on
annual unspent savings.
Kindness, justice and mercy are also prominent themes that run through
Islamic teachings on social action. For example, the complete prohibition
(generally) on usury and financial exploitation (Qur’an 2:275); respect,
goodwill and care for the elderly, infirm and very young (Qur’an 6:151); also
the importance of moderation and contentedness with what one has: ‘Look at
those who are lower than you and do not look at those who are higher than
you. That is more likely to prevent you underestimating the blessing of Allah
on you.’
To return to justice and link it with truth-telling, ‘He who cheats is not one of
us’. This may be illustrated by the furious reaction of the Prophet when
observing a trader who hid grain that was damp (and therefore prone to
decay) amongst a heap of better-quality produce in order to sell it at a higher
price.
Being a good neighbour
Networking and maintaining positive social relations are also important as
when responding appropriately during occasions of joy or those that require
condolences. Close familial ties and visiting the sick matter: ‘A Muslim owes
another Muslim six duties ... To greet him when he meets him, to accept when
he gives him an invitation, to give him good counsel (advice) when he asks for
guidance, to wish mercy on him when he sneezes and says, “Praise be to
Allah”, to visit him when he is ill, and to join the funeral procession when he
dies.’
I will conclude with a saying I think is particularly pertinent given the current
financial climate. It is reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘The worst food is
the food of a wedding feast which is denied to those who come to it and which
those who are invited to it refuse to attend. Anyone who does not respond to
an invitation has rebelled against Allah and His Messenger.’ In a variant also:
‘The worst food is the food of a wedding feast to which the rich are invited and
from which the poor are left out.’
288 : Notes on teaching and learning methods
NOTES
All Faiths and None
ON TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS
1. AFAN Methods
The simplest method for staff using AFAN material is to take your existing
facilitating/ teaching skills, select topic(s) from the Big Questions, listen to the
students and yourself and see what happens - that is it really. AFAN is an
indicative, facilitative process. AFAN also uses the theoretical framework of
Co-Director Prof. Andy Wright called critical spirituality. You can find more
about his ideas on the AFAN website (www.afan.uk.net). Here are some
pointers we learnt from running staff development days at various colleges
around the country and my own learning from running young person and
family retreats for Buddhists. (NB Amaranatho compiled these notes)
Benefits - the AFAN Approach can:
• Confirm your confidence and competence to handle AFAN material
with students
• Develop the ability to express clearly and openly to a group
• Generate a deeper sense of caring for other people among learners
• Increase empathy, understanding and respect for diversity amongst
learners, staff and other members of the educational community
• Create a sense of togetherness among student groups that
significantly increases understanding and harmony, and reduces the
anxiety, depression, isolation, fear and conflict that can arise in
diverse groups
Staff Development can:
•
•
•
•
•
Clarify the value and purpose of the AFAN programme
Provide reassurance and develop confidence in the facilitation process
Develop skills in taking the AFAN approach to “critical spirituality”
Experience how the approach can work
Increase familiarity with the AFAN materials and resources, where to
find and how to use them.
compiled with the help of http://www.thelifeproject.co.uk
“... good teaching cannot be reduced to technique;
good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher”
P. J. Palmer: The courage to teach.
2. Big Questions
So how do you transplant AFAN into your 30-minutes tutorial time, or
electrical engineering session on radio waves? The answer which AFAN has
come up with is Big Questions, to translate various themes into questions
that students ask all the time. You can find these elsewhere in this handbook
and on line here. In order for this to happen we need to tap into three basic
All Faiths and None
Notes on teaching and learning methods : 289
qualities, shared by all learners and teachers: Awe/Wonderment, Listening to
each other, Facilitation and Support.
3. Facilitation
Below is a list of some of the words staff have come up with in comparing
teaching with facilitation. What we have noticed is that a lot of staff feel more
relaxed, more inspired and in touch when they are in facilitation mode.
Teaching
Controlled
Facilitating
Messy
Instructing
Q&A
Exploring
Share
Teacher Centred
Recap
Learner Centred
Empathise
Explaining
Evaluate
Listening
Empower
Demonstration
Assessment
Enabling
Guidance
So AFAN is not asking you to be a knowledgeable teacher about all the
worldviews. It is asking you to facilitate a discussion between people with
varied views, some of which will be opposed to your own personal views. How
much you bring yourself into the discussion depends on how comfortable you
feel with the situation. As facilitating can lead into chaos, the Boy Scout
motto (you probably can’t say that any more) - Be Prepared - is important.
Some simple tips in the guidelines point to ways of closing down a discussion.
Usually this happens when somebody is not heard or something is in the air
and is not voiced. Again getting a few facilitation skills might help (have a
look at http://www.businessballs.com/ and
http://seedsforchange.org.uk/free/resources).
4. Awe
Learning happens when people feel inspired, enthused and interested. So
encouraging students to recognise what awe, wonderment or taking an
interest is, can help them all round as a learner, and will spin off into other
forms of learning (eg electrical engineering). This can be very simple, eg
starting with the body, here are a few examples:
Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks otherwise
it will digest itself.
Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart.
290 : Notes on teaching and learning methods
All Faiths and None
You use an average of 43 muscles for a frown. You use an average of 17
muscles for a smile.
The average human produces a quart of saliva a day or 10,000 gallons in a
lifetime.
Awe for me comes from a playful attitude, and, if you have the time, reading
“The kids are not the problem” from
http://ttfuture.org/files/2/members/mm_Kids_Not.pdf will help.
5. Using the Materials and Asking the right questions
If your learners don’t have an interest in what’s going on in a session, it
usually means that teachers and learners aren’t addressing the right
questions. This is where listening comes in. Once we attune to the
environment of the learner, we can start to see what might help the learner
develop. If we listen to ourselves and our students, and try not to override our
intuitive sense of what might be useful, we can usually come up with the
appropriate material for that session.
AFAN web-based material offers starters for many types of discussion; many
are video clips and, with a few questions, they are enough to start a session.
The direction of the discussion is entirely up to you and the learners. For
example, to include other worldviews, look together at the summaries or flash
them up on the screen. We suggest using these in small groups, where each
group focuses on one worldview. See sample lesson plans below and more online.
This again comes back to the ability to listen to what is happening and not
happening and take an interest in the process of learning. We are not looking
for clarity, explanation, correctness or conversion, we are looking for
relationships, where learners and staff feel they can explore a theme in a safe
environment. The theme is usually an important issue that is generally not
aired anywhere else in the FE curriculum or environment. In order to support
learners in exploring the theme, we have provided some guidelines for learners
(see end of section or on-line)
Important themes are usually also emotive, so be prepared for someone in the
class to be deeply affected by the theme. It’s no-one’s fault, it’s just what
happens. A theme such as death is always going to mean a lot when
somebody has just died that was known by somebody in the group. Usually,
at least one person in the room will be affected by the theme. Many of the
themes AFAN are discussing are raised in a colloquial way in the lunch hall
over food (my parents won’t let me go with x because of y), often via making
fun of people.
They’re singing those clap-happy songs again and so on. So making use of
All Faiths and None
Notes on teaching and learning methods : 291
the AFAN approach in an environment like mechanical engineering or
hairdressing, the simplest way to see it is to ask questions, what is your client
going to look like, what is your supplier going to act like? What AFAN is
pointing at is having an appreciation for the other.
If all else fails, use some thunks - have a look at http://www.thunks.co.uk/
6. Spaces for learning
The space should be bounded and open and hospitable to silence and
speech.
The space should invite the voice of the individual and the voice of the group.
The space should honour the “little” stories of those involved and the “big”
stories of the disciplines and tradition.
Adapted from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/palmer.htm.
Technology and Space
A circle of chairs is better than rows of desks. Most FE classrooms now have
access to video, sound systems, computers and internet. If you are going to
watch a clip from the internet you might need to speak with the technical
department to allow it through on your local server.
7. Materials and exercises
There are many different types of material and it’s worth going through them
a few times so you get a clear idea of whether they are suitable for your group.
See: http://www.diversityanddialogue.org.uk/;http://sapere.org.uk/links/;
http://home12.inet.tele.dk/fil/
Guidance activities for Facilitators and a large selection of resources for
empowering students - Reflection Activities at: http://www.freechild.org
8. Values Beliefs and Practices (VBP) for Technical and Vocational
Learners
Some of the language of AFAN comes from a rather theological/ technical
background; one useful way to interpret VBP is through the work of Ken
Wilber (www.kenwilber.com/).
By using VBP table above, we could say that arts students will be more
interested in values and science students more interested in practices. Hence
the initial dialogues/discussion/material can focus on these to start with and
can then be broadened into other areas once the group has been formed into
a supportive space for discussion. So for example art students need to
understand how their values affect society and culture and science students
need to understand how their practices affect culture and values. For
example:
An art student - hairdresser develops a new haircut, their own creation with
292 : Notes on teaching and learning methods
All Faiths and None
its own value. If it fits with contemporary culture it is accepted, it becomes a
social phenomenon.
In terms of AFAN Big Questions:
Why do some worldviews ask you to do something with your hair? Does hair
have anything to do with being a good person?
A science student - electronic student develops a working wifi-controlled hover
(practices), it affects the culture: will people buy it? - what do I think about a
product like that.
In terms of AFAN big questions:
Why do some worldviews support technology and others don’t? Does
technology help to have a more peaceful society?
9. Other ways to use AFAN
There are many other ways to use an AFAN-style approach including:
Student Groups - Student-led groups convened and supported by chaplaincy
team members/representatives from local faith or belief groups
Inter-Faith or Belief Encounters - representatives of different faiths or beliefs
from multi-faith and belief chaplaincy team or local groups to debate/discuss
with students
Lectures/Short courses/Series of Meetings - eg Lunchtime
discussions/meetings focusing on series of linked topics
One-off day/week events - eg faith or belief weeks, multi-faith belief forums,
festivals explored from the perspectives of different faith and belief traditions,
one world week.
You can also find help with these from your local Regional Development
Officer (RDO) from Faiths and Beliefs in Further education (fbfe)
http://www.fbfe.org.uk/
Click here for a table of Contemplative Methods that build on Mindfulness
Training and their educational benefits.
10. Dealing with the Blocks
The students won’t like it; I’m not capable of doing this; The management
won’t like it; I don’t have the time or space ...
and the list will probably go on and on.
See the exercises of Byron Katie called ‘The Work’. You can download a
worksheet for free at http://www.thework.com/index.asp. It’s very simple and
effective in helping identify and overcome what blocks learning.
All Faiths and None
Notes on teaching and learning methods : 293
Checklist for Facilitators
• You don’t need to be an expert
• You do need to hold healthy boundaries - so make agreements with
group - develop guidelines
• You are holding the space so that the learners can explore their
experience
• Be honest with your skills and what you feel comfortable with
handling
• Stop the discussion if you feel you are out of your depth
• Tell the group what you are going to do and the scope of it, so that
their expectations are not too high or low
• http://gsi.berkeley.edu/textonly/resources/discussion/index.html
• http://www.publicconversations.org/pcp/uploadDocs/guidelinesfacil.pdf
Checklist for Learners
• Respect others by not interrupting and keeping comments short and to
the point
• Keep judgments and comments about another’s view to yourself. For
the purpose of the dialogue, right and wrong are arbitrary and
personal. Everyone is entitled to their own views and beliefs. The only
one that can change a mind is its owner
• (http://www.geocities.com/gadbyme/Ground_Rules.html)
• Make sure everybody has the opportunity to speak if they wish
• Speak out of personal experience and not as an “official”
representative of your religion or group and do not expect others to
represent anything other than themselves
• Try to avoid talking about what “others”, “one” or “they” think or do
• Maintain trust in the group by not sharing the contents of the
discussion outside the group
• The most important question to ask in a discussion on beliefs is: “Is
there a possibility that what you know is wrong?” If the answer is no,
then no discussion can take place, and an argument will probably
occur. If there is a possibility, even the most insignificant, it shows
the mind is not closed. This is a time to share honestly from personal
experience and available hard data. Never attempt to convince anyone
that they should believe as you do
(http://cte.udel.edu/TAbook/ground.html)
294 : Questionnaire for Students
AFAN QUESTIONNAIRE
1.
FOR
STUDENTS
Are you interested in exploring the “BIG QUESTIONS” of Values, Faith
and Belief?
Yes ___
2.
All Faiths and None
No ___
Are you looking for meaning and values for life and work?
Yes ___
No ___
3a. Are you especially interested in any of the following?
3b. Are you yourself a member of any of the following?
3c. Are you from a family background of any of the following?
3a
3b
3c
CHRISTIAN
MUSLIM
JEWISH
SIKH
HINDU
BUDDHIST
HUMANIST
OTHER (Please specify)
3.
Are you interested in any of these activities?
INTER-FAITH AND BELIEF FORUM
(with speakers)
STUDENT DISCUSSION GROUP
VISIT TO PLACE OF WORSHIP
DEMONSTRATION OF VISUAL
MATERIALS, VIDEO CLIPS etc
NAME/EMAIL (Voluntary)
.............................................................................
PLEASE RETURN TO
.............................................................................
AT
.............................................................................
All Faiths and None
Questionnaire for Staff : 295
AFAN QUESTIONNAIRE
1.
FOR
Would you be interested in introducing material from the All Faiths and
None project in your programme/curriculum area?
Yes ___
2.
No___
No___
Please Specify.....................
Would you be willing to promote links between your group or faith
community and the college?
Yes ___
5.
Subject ...........................
Are you involved in a Church/Mosque/Synagogue/Gurdwara/Mandir/
Temple/Humanist Group or other Faith Community?
Yes ___
4.
No___
Would you be interested in being involved with students in discussion
sessions on the “BIG QUESTIONS”?
Yes ___
3.
STAFF
No___
Would you be interested in contributing to any other activities with
students related to the project/chaplaincy/faith team? (eg Faith Week,
Inter-Faith Forum)
Yes ___
No___
NAME/EMAIL (Voluntary)
.............................................................................
PLEASE RETURN TO
.............................................................................
AT
.............................................................................