Eye on Faith

Friday, October 7, 2011

Ishmael: Call him Prophet

Hagar & Ishmael in the Desert (By Ugrumov)

Although Ishmael is honored by Judaism, Christianity, and the Bahai Faith – he seems to have been especially revered within Islam.

According to Wikipedia, the Hebrew name Yishma’el

means “God has hearkened” – which suggests that the

bearer of this name “was regarded as the fulfillment of

a divine promise.” Although all of the abovementioned

religions agree that Ishmael was the son of Abraham and

Hagar, as well as the older brother of Isaac – that is often

where the overlapping interpretations end.

Judaism is filled with differing details about Ishmael’s life. Some Jews have believed that Ishmael is the ancestor of

northern Arabs, whereas others (such as Maimonides) have

believed that northern Arabs are the descendants of Keturah,

Abraham’s third wife. Some rabbinical interpretations say

that Hagar was the Pharoah’s daughter, and explain Genesis

17:20 (“he shall be the father of twelve princes”) in light of

this. Other Jewish interpretations hold Hagar and Keturah

to be one and the same.

Both Judaism and Christianity tend to consider Isaac, rather than Ishmael, to be the true heir of Abraham. Some Christian interpretations deem Ishmael to be symbolic of the (“old”) Sinai covenant, and Isaac to be symbolic of the (“new”) covenant of grace. The Bahai teachings consider both Ishmael and Isaac to be emblematic of holy sacrifice.

Islam, however, considers Ishmael to be an esteemed prophet. According to Rosemary Pennington, “Ishmael is highly regarded in Islam for his goodness and wisdom.” Muslims believe that it was Ishmael, rather than Isaac, who was almost sacrificed to God. The Qur’an states that it was Allah, rather than Sarah, who had Ishmael and Hagar sent into the desert. Pennington also states that “Muslims believe they are the inheritors of Ishmael’s legacy – that they, along with Jews and Christians, are the ‘children of Abraham.’”

It is said that Abraham and Ishmael rebuilt the Kaaba on the foundation of the one originally built by Adam. It is also said that the Black Stone which they placed there was given to Abraham by the angels. That is why the Kaaba and its Black Stone are such integral parts of the Hajj experience.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishmael

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaaba

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Stone

http://muslimvoices.org/ishmael-islam/

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Burning Ravana: All at once, or little by little?

(Ravana)

Although Dussehra is often celebrated by burning an effigy of “evil” Ravana - thus signifying the triumph of “good” Rama - life itself isn’t quite that polarized.

In fact, there seems to be a growing movement to honor the good within Ravana, as well as to acknowledge the potential for evil within us all.

It turns out that Ravana – who is often stereotypically defined by his abduction of Sita, as well as by his ten heads (allegedly representing the “ten bad qualities” of lust, anger, delusion, greed, excessive pride, jealousy, mind, intellect, will, and ego) – had amassed quite a few brownie points on his resume before taking a sharp turn for the worse.

Wikipedia reports that Ravana has been described as a “devout follower of Shiva, a great scholar, a capable ruler and a maestro of the Veena.” Devotees of some Hindu traditions believe that his ten heads symbolize his intense knowledge of the four Vedas plus the six

Upanishads. He is said to have authored the Ravana Samhita on Hindu astrology, and to have “possessed a thorough knowledge of Ayurveda and political science.”

All that, plus the nectar of immortality that was gifted to him by Brahma and stored beneath his navel, made

him a virtual wonder. According to the Sinhala scholar Arisen, the very name “Ravana” is associated with the generative aspects of the sun. As for his genealogy – it, too, was exemplary. His father and grandfather were both great sages, and his mother was a Daitya princess.

The saying, “There’s a little bit of good in the worst of us and a little bit of bad in the best of us,” certainly

applies here. Rather than focus upon burning up “all the evil “out there, it might instead behoove us to focus

upon chipping away at our own evil proclivities.

As psychiatrist Ruma Bhattacharya said, “There is no complete black and white personality of any person.”

Yogi Ashwini adds: The universe exists inside us, and the outside is only its reflection. So go inwards

if you choose to fathom it…

Resources

http://festivals.iloveindia.com/dussehra/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ravana-worshipped-on-Dussehra-in-Madhya-Pradesh/articleshow/10244333.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spirituality/faith-and-ritual/Why-we-celebrate-Dussehra/articleshow/10245794.cms

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Multiverse: Are you the only you?

(Author: K1234567890y)

Somewhere out there within the realm of possibility, another you may be reading another one of this very same article.

If you believe this, then you might also believe that “eternal inflation” is not just about the price of gas. As the theory goes, the Big Bang quickly gave rise to different rates of space/time expansion. The result was that “bubble universes” came into being, each potentially with their own type of physics.

According to Livescience.com, scientists in London have been searching for proof that this theory is more than just an intriguing fantasy. They are operating on the principle that if there were bubble universes, then they must have at some point collided with one another. When two soap bubbles collide, the point at which they intersect is circular. In universal (or multiversal) terms, this translates into a circular cosmic “fingerprint” that is left behind in “the diffuse light left over from the Big Bang that pervades the universe” (aka the “cosmic microwave background” or “CMB”). The London scientists are therefore looking for these circular cosmic “fingerprints” in the CMB.

This multiverse reality could potentially entail “infinite space and infinite universes.” Some calculations then

suggest that there would have to be necessary repetitions. This would lead to the conclusion that “copies of Earth and everyone on it exist somewhere else out there.”

If scientists were to discover telltale signs of multiverse collisions, that would be news indeed. However, science would then just be reiterating what some religions have claimed long ago. According to Wikipedia, the German term doppelganger has come to mean “any double or look-alike of a person.” The ancient Egyptians believed in a ka (“spirit double”) which had “the same memories and feeling as the original person.” In the Talmudic tradition, “to meet oneself means to meet God.” The Hindu Bhagavata Purana asserts: The countless universes, each enveloped in its shell, are compelled by the wheel of Time to wander within You…

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/weird-universe-may-multiverse-scientists-201803326.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppelg%C3%A4nger

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Gluttony: Does ordering off-menu count?

Still Life: Excess (By Albert Anker)

In the famous scene from When Harry Met Sally (no, not that one), Sally tells the waitress: I’ll have the chef salad, please, with the oil and vinegar on the side. She then continues with a host of other instructions regarding her apple pie a la mode. The question is this: Does specifying where the ice cream should be placed constitute a form of gluttony?

According to Thomas Aquinas, it does. His list of gluttonous variations seems as extensive as Sally’s restaurant order. According to Wikipedia, Aquinas’ “six ways to gluttony” include the following: eating too soon, too expensively, too much, too eagerly, too daintily, and too wildly. In his Summa Theologiae,

Aquinas went so far as to declare that gluttony is diametrically opposed to reason - and therefore to moral virtue, as well.

The nineteenth-century Russian Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov left no gall stone unturned concerning the sorry fate of gluttons. Chew on this for a while to offset that next gastronomic craving: Wise temperance of the stomach is a door to all the virtues… But if you please and pamper your stomach, you will hurl yourself over the precipice of bodily impurity, into the fire of wrath and fury… Not only that - on this greasy slide to gourmet hell you will also “coarsen and darken your mind, and in this way you will ruin your powers of attention and self-control, your sobriety and vigilance.”

Lest you delude yourself into thinking that all this was merely old-fashioned superstition, here are some modern-day warnings from dietician Sian Porter. In his article CSI: Fridge, Porter depicts the average “ordinary healthy fridge” as a crime scene. He then lists some “offenders” that are routinely found within its evil coffers: fruit juice, dried fruit, cereal bars, and olives. These seemingly-innocent seductresses lure

unsuspecting victims with their sweet looks and salty ways. And leftovers? Porter saves this best shot for them: Cooking too much food inevitably leads to gluttony in the second degree…

Resources

http://www.filmsite.org/when.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins#cite_note-Okholm_2000-12

http://www.deadlysins.com/sins/gluttony.html

http://www.menshealth.co.uk/lose-weight/fast-tips/crimes-against-weight-loss-in-your-fridge-2

Monday, October 3, 2011

Eva Longoria: What four agreements?

Toltec Columns (Photo by Luidger)

While being probed by Piers Morgan about her painful

divorce from Tony Parker, Eva Longoria recently alluded to the “four agreements.” She hinted that abiding by these

agreements has greatly helped her to move on with her life,

yet continue to feel quite positive about the love that she and Parker have shared. She also mentioned that her religion is one that emphasizes forgiveness.

A quick Wikipedia search of “Eva Longoria” revealed that

“she was raised Roman Catholic.” Chances are, that’s what

Longoria meant by “her religion.” However, there was still no

mention of these “four agreements.” Some additional finger-

picking through search engines then yielded a wealth of

information regarding the neurosurgeon-turned-Shaman, Don Miguel Ruiz.

According to his website biography, Ruiz was “born into a humble family with ancient traditions in rural Mexico,” and members of his family “all believed that Miguel would continue their legacy in the centuries old Toltec tradition.”

This same website extols the virtues of Living the Five Agreements. (Quick – somebody tweet Longoria and tell her there’s another one.) To meanwhile bring the rest of us up to speed, toltecspirit.com offers this listing of the first four: Be Impeccable with your Word; Don’t Take Anything Personally; Don’t Make Assumptions; and Always Do Your Best. In other words: Speak your truth with love; Realize that others are simply projecting their own dreams onto you; Communicate clearly; and – Realize that “doing your best” is somewhat dependent upon circumstances.

Sounds like a plan that’s certainly been working for Longoria. So what’s Agreement Five, and why is it needed? In2deep.wordpress.com states it like this: Be Skeptical, But Learn to Listen. This allegedly leads to “complete acceptance of yourself just the way you are, and the complete acceptance of everybody

else just the way they are.”

If Longoria and the rest of us could learn to walk that delicate tightrope between doing our spiritual best and accepting ourselves just the way we are, then this Fifth Agreement will have been worth its weight in additional wisdom.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Longoria

http://www.miguelruiz.com/index.php

http://www.toltecspirit.com/

http://in2deep.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/the-fifth-agreement/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toltec

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Gandhi: Why vegetarianism?

According to Arun Sannuti, Mohandas K. Gandhi – who famously said that “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by the way in which its animals are treated” – was a vegetarian as a means of practicing ahimsa. This makes perfect sense for a man who also declared: My life is my message.

Ahimsa, a term derived from the Sanskrit root himsa (which means “injury, harm” – and changes in meaning to “nonviolence” when the “a” is added in front of it), is at the heart of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Wikipedia reports that, due to the possible influence of shramanic (referring to certain ascetic traditions of ancient India – such as those associated with Mahavira and/or Buddha) culture, one of the oldest Upanishads teaches ahimsa in the “code of conduct” sense. This Chandogya Upanisad has been “dated to the 8^th or 7^th century BCE.”

Sannuti reports that when Gandhi was young, his friend Sheik Mehtab tried to convince him that Indians were a “weak people” because many did not eat meat. He told Gandhi: The British are able to rule over us because they are meat-eaters. Mehtab also asserted the meat-eating would cure Gandhi of an “irrational fear of the dark.” With persuasiveness like this, it wasn’t long before Gandhi began secretly eating meat. He felt tremendous guilt, however, because his dear mother would have been horrified had she known.

It was this strong bond with his mother that eventually led Gandhi back to a vegetarian way of life. When he wished to study law in England, his mother urged him to take a vow, “under the administration of a Jain monk,” to strictly avoid “wine, women or meat” while there. At first, this vegetarian vow was very difficult for him to uphold. He lived in English boarding situations where meals were included, and his landladies interpreted vegetarianism to be only “boiled vegetables and bread.” However, Gandhi was steadfast, and told another well-meaning friend: A vow is a vow. It cannot be broken.

This vow became a vital link to Gandhi’s homeland while he was away - and ultimately – a vital link to his true calling when he returned.

Resources

http://unreasonable.org/wrapper/ar/Gandhi.html

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/my_life_is_my_message/214996.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohandas_Karamchand_Gandhi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahimsa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shramana

Saturday, October 1, 2011

God knows, it ain't easy being sneezy

As we transition from allergy season to flu season, one

constant remains -- sneezing.

According to the American Heritage Medical Dictionary, sneezing is an explosive habit. Not only that, it is also “a spasmodic involuntary action resulting chiefly from irritation of the nasal mucous membrane.” Although few would argue about the “spasmodic” aspect of sneezing, many might debate its underlying causes.

Throughout the ages, numerous sneezes have been

thought to be messages from God. When the Athenian general Xenophon incited his troops to fight the Persians, a sneeze rang out from the crowd. This was interpreted as a favorable sign for the Greeks. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus’ son sneezes upon hearing that his father might be alive. His mother, Penelope, felt that this sneeze was God’s reassurance of Odysseus’ return.

Wikipedia also mentions that during the Middle Ages, sneezing was thought to be potentially fatal because of

the “significant amount of breath expelled from the body.” Perhaps that is why people began responding to sneezes with the expression “God bless you.” In the era of the bubonic plague, blessings certainly seemed in order for anyone whose health seemed even somewhat compromised. Add to that a belief that “evil spirits could enter the body through the open mouth of a sneezing individual,” and the need for blessings increases exponentially.

Blessings actually did increase exponentially during a recent bout of California classroom histrionics. High

school teacher Steve Cuckovich resorted to “knocking 25 points off the grades of students saying ‘Bless you’ after a sneeze.” Cuckovich claimed that the wave of verbal blessings that ensued after a student sneezed wreaked havoc with his classroom discipline. Some agreed that this punishment was in order. Others begged to differ. The Christian Post was quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle as saying that the teacher’s response was “just the latest example” of a perceived “growing anti-Christian, anti-religion bigotry in the state’s public schools.”

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneeze

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/sneeze

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/teacher-punished-students-for-saying-bless-you-in-class.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/30/BAB11LBSGI.DTL&tsp=1