WARNING: Philosoraptor coming at you. Please feel free to comment, but while you're reading this post try to leave your opinions aside and forget the, "My world is the right world" mindset for just five minutes and try to think about these things with a blank slate mind.
So, the inevitable happened today. I was kind of waiting for it to happen, and I'm happy with how I responded. I met the three special ed students that I will be working with twice a week, and I asked them questions and they asked me questions and one student started firing questions at me like a round of interrogation. I was okay with it though! There's nothing I love than a conversation about spiritual beliefs with an open mind, and this kid was just trying to figure me out. Honestly, this is the first time I've been asked this question so bluntly in a long, long time.
We were talking about sports, and I said I used to play soccer but now I just do yoga, which isn't really a sport. The boy named Ajimalkhan then asked if I was Hindu, I said no.
He asked, "Are you Muslim?"
I said, "No."
Ajimalkhan: "Christian?"
Me: "No."
Ajimalkhan: "Then what are you?"
Me: "I don't know."
Ajimalkhan: "Do you pray to God?"
Me: "Yes."
Ajimalkhan: "Who? What is the name?"
Me: "I don't know their name, there is no name. Does there have to be a name? I just pray to God."
I ended the conversation safely there before the questions got any deeper, but told him we can continue the conversation later if he wanted. And then I started questioning in my head, wait, do I pray to God? The term "God" carries a lot of weight with it, which is why I prefer not to use it. But for a lack of a better term and for the sake of simplicity we can call the higher presence "God."
Like it or not, I'm a picker-and-chooser. Religions are so convoluted, and spirituality is pure. The message of religion is supposed to be objective, encompassing all life. Humans cannot escape their subjective reality. So the minute you have two, three, or four people creating a perception in their minds of what was originally an objective message, it's no longer objective. This is where religion doesn't cut it for me. Sorry, guys. I'm going to Hell.
Life is beautiful and awesome and people do good things and people do bad things, and then we die. This is where the Hindu and Buddhist concept of dharma comes in for me, and this is my guiding moral force. Dharma is the natural law of the universe. According to your position in society (i.e., caste, student, sibling, parent, ruler, janitor, etc.) I have found that it is my duty to be a healer. To help others. So, I'm going to do everything in my power to work towards being the best healer I can be in this life, and I think I've found my strength in psychology and yoga. Religious beliefs aside, what's your moral duty in this life? Are you doing it every day with every inch of power and energy residing in your soul (or your cells, for my Athiest friends)?
So then you could ask, so who gets to determine their dharma? Answer: Only those who truly understand it. Not saying that I understand it 110%, but I'm taking initiative and following what you might call "a higher calling" instead of just sitting on my ass passing time asking for help as time ticks by until the clock stops. Isn't it obvious? In this cruel world, humanity needs movers and shakers creating positive change. Why do we all have to label ourselves? We are all the same, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, Shamans, Athiest, American, Chinese, Japanese, these labels are not real! Stop judging one another and just do what is good for humankind.
So, the inevitable happened today. I was kind of waiting for it to happen, and I'm happy with how I responded. I met the three special ed students that I will be working with twice a week, and I asked them questions and they asked me questions and one student started firing questions at me like a round of interrogation. I was okay with it though! There's nothing I love than a conversation about spiritual beliefs with an open mind, and this kid was just trying to figure me out. Honestly, this is the first time I've been asked this question so bluntly in a long, long time.
We were talking about sports, and I said I used to play soccer but now I just do yoga, which isn't really a sport. The boy named Ajimalkhan then asked if I was Hindu, I said no.
He asked, "Are you Muslim?"
I said, "No."
Ajimalkhan: "Christian?"
Me: "No."
Ajimalkhan: "Then what are you?"
Me: "I don't know."
Ajimalkhan: "Do you pray to God?"
Me: "Yes."
Ajimalkhan: "Who? What is the name?"
Me: "I don't know their name, there is no name. Does there have to be a name? I just pray to God."
I ended the conversation safely there before the questions got any deeper, but told him we can continue the conversation later if he wanted. And then I started questioning in my head, wait, do I pray to God? The term "God" carries a lot of weight with it, which is why I prefer not to use it. But for a lack of a better term and for the sake of simplicity we can call the higher presence "God."
Devdutt Pattanaik's TED Talk on subjective reality in culture clash.
Like it or not, I'm a picker-and-chooser. Religions are so convoluted, and spirituality is pure. The message of religion is supposed to be objective, encompassing all life. Humans cannot escape their subjective reality. So the minute you have two, three, or four people creating a perception in their minds of what was originally an objective message, it's no longer objective. This is where religion doesn't cut it for me. Sorry, guys. I'm going to Hell.
Life is beautiful and awesome and people do good things and people do bad things, and then we die. This is where the Hindu and Buddhist concept of dharma comes in for me, and this is my guiding moral force. Dharma is the natural law of the universe. According to your position in society (i.e., caste, student, sibling, parent, ruler, janitor, etc.) I have found that it is my duty to be a healer. To help others. So, I'm going to do everything in my power to work towards being the best healer I can be in this life, and I think I've found my strength in psychology and yoga. Religious beliefs aside, what's your moral duty in this life? Are you doing it every day with every inch of power and energy residing in your soul (or your cells, for my Athiest friends)?
So then you could ask, so who gets to determine their dharma? Answer: Only those who truly understand it. Not saying that I understand it 110%, but I'm taking initiative and following what you might call "a higher calling" instead of just sitting on my ass passing time asking for help as time ticks by until the clock stops. Isn't it obvious? In this cruel world, humanity needs movers and shakers creating positive change. Why do we all have to label ourselves? We are all the same, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, Shamans, Athiest, American, Chinese, Japanese, these labels are not real! Stop judging one another and just do what is good for humankind.
"So that when I look up at the night sky and I know that yes, we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the Universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up – many people feel small because they’re small and the Universe is big – but I feel big, because my atoms came from those stars. There’s a level of connectivity. That’s really what you want in life, you want to feel connected, you want to feel relevant you want to feel like a participant in the goings on of activities and events around you. That’s precisely what we are, just by being alive…" - Neil Degrasse Tyson
I'm really proud and really happy of what you wrote here. We're on the same page as far as religion or spirituality goes and it's refreshing to know there's others with this same mindset. The more I read and study religion the less I know and the more I just want to do good in the world. To just bring about a positive change in at least myself. Perhaps that's what that higher calling is, to bring change. I suppose how you interpret that change is subjective to your own belief and moral system, but who's to say who's wrong? We're just apes on a rock.
ReplyDelete<3 missing you
Thanks, and as you know there is nothing I love more in life than piecing together my purpose on earth, I don't have to call it anything. The thing is, humans created the names of religions just like we created nationalities. They're MAN-MADE. Yeah, my body is American because I was born there, but is my heart and soul American? Well, I mean, not really! America doesn't own my soul. I'm a child of the universe and we're all the same no matter what you want to call your physical vessel!
ReplyDeleteTao called Tao is not Tao.
Names can last no lasting name.
Nameless: the origin of heaven and earth.
Naming: the mother of ten thousand things. --> (Once you put a name to it, you ruin it.)
Empty of desire, perceive mystery.
Filled with desire, perceive manifestations.
These can have the same source, but different names.
Call them both deep-- deep and again deep: The gateway to all mystery.
-Tao Te Ching verse 1
Are humans any more special than a tree? After all, we are the only life that questions its existence. Is this a gift of a curse? I don't know, I'd rather be a tree. Trees know what they're doing, we're clueless. We're just genetic anomalies and we're effing everything up.
I learned in an anthro class that religions are the way in which societies communicate on a large scale with one another (cultural globalization).
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter what you call God. It helps to have a name for it. I do like calling it the Tao, but I mostly call it God because more people can relate to it (and because I was raised that way).
It helps to have a familiarity with many religions because what is more important than who is right and who is wrong is communicating with others so you can further each person's spirituality.
Yes. And that's a very well-put disclaimer I'm going to tack onto my forehead whenever this conversation arises. I like that you don't take an anti-religion stance, or at least you don't expose it. Because what's more important than telling someone that their beliefs or views are wrong is to just spread positive energy.
DeleteAll I know is that I pray for open hearts and safety for those I love. It keeps me sane... <3
ReplyDeleteI believe in Christ, but it comes with hardship. The other day Brock yelled at me to never speak of it again. It hurts, but I still pray for his heart to open. It hurts that people hate me for what I believe, they preach that I am wrong, yet they preach coexistence: I feel that they are wrong. I pray for everyone, always. As I only wish for everyone's well being, as well as my own growth.
Brock was too harsh in telling you to never speak of it again. The entire purpose of this post is not to bash religion but rather, open my reader's minds to free thought, inquiry, and objectivity. Your intentions are beautiful and altruistic, and Brock needs to see past smaller details that you don't agree on. They don't matter.
DeleteBrandon made a good point that altered my perspective: Which religion is right or wrong is not important, whether religion ior individual spirituality is right or wrong doesn't matter. What's more important than both of these two things is that people are doing good things for humanity and furthering each other's love for Life and Higher Energy, call it what you may.
I honestly admire you, Rae. I know you've been to the deepest, darkest places within the human mind and I am fascinated at the power spirituality has to revive the will to live on in this shitty world. I write every word with careful consideration, and you know how serious I am about spiritual/religious discourse. I hope you don't take any of this other than how I intend it to be, as I try to have the utmost respect for people of all views. I am a religious skeptic but I do not hate. I question the possibility of coexistence, I do not preach it.
Suppose I am preaching human coexistence, the purpose of this post was to ask each and every one of my readers to step outside their subjective reality (Devdutt Pattanaik's TED Talk) to try and view their world from another's point of view. If everyone did this, I think we'd be closer to a more realistic and tangible kind of coexistence.
No offense taken at all! I appreciate your views and I never want to impose mine onto others, and never meant to with Brock. But speaking and talking about it, shows that people care for other people's spirituality. And whether it comes out right or wrong, it still shows that you LOVE and CARE for people enough to share your insight! I only said things to Brock because I care about him, I never meant to impose on him....My faith brought me great happiness throughout my struggle, and still shines brightly into my daily life. Whatever the spiritual beliefs, faith and belief in something (anything) brings inner peace. I love you all with all my heart!
ReplyDeleteThe problem I came across with Brock is that he wants to KNOW the truth, just like every other person with a working brain. But the knowledge comes from faith and belief (or at least how I came upon my Truth). People don't want to Believe the truth, (and take that jump), they want to Know the truth. They seek to know the truth, because how can you believe in an UnSeen GOD? But God says (and how I feel) you will Know the truth once you Believe. Belief leads to Knowledge. Not the other way around. And this is how you KNOW the TRUTH and what is real about life.
ReplyDeleteOkay, done with my tangent about faith. I care Extremely about you and Brock and everyone else and I just pray for happiness and calm, open hearts! I cannot believe all of the wonderful things that are happening to you! Its amazing! I also heard you come home early! I shall give you a hug so long, it will annoy you! :D
Hehe my early homecoming is up in the air at the moment, but we're leaning towards it. I basically just want to go to Summerset :P
ReplyDeleteBelief and faith and truth and knowledge are each highly debatable topics and this is the heart of the science vs religion debate. Bro's a scientist. My guess is that, as an engineer in physics, he'd say that you need empirical evidence in order to know anything. I have peeked into some philosophy on truth, and I am still trying to decide if I think there is such thing as objective and absolute Truth that humans are capable of perceiving.
Some day I will write a book. I don't know what it's going to be about but this blog is the start of it. I was waiting to hear your thoughts, because I want to hear all sides of the story. Not just those who agree with me. Thank you for speaking up! Miss yooooooooou and I want that hug RIGHT NOW!
You are in my prayers as always my love!
ReplyDeleteOH MY!!! Merf ate yesterday!!!!!! It was the coolest thing I have ever seen! He snapped and coiled around the mouse and suffocated it, then he let go. And it took him a good five minutes to get the thing down his throat, but he did it! And honestly I think he can eat bigger things than mice! Im going to test his boundaries and try every week now to fatten him up! Merf Man!