THE MANY AND THE ONE
By Casey Thornburgh
Today I went to the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, and it was oh so much hurry and flurry.
Sweet, savory smells, incense, candles, flowers, colors, jewels and strange shrines of creatures unfamiliar to this Westerners’ eyes (half-man/half-woman; half-man/half-lion; human body/elephant head). All the while a score of rhythmic chanting, again in language unknown, filled the soundscape.
There were many people moving about the temple at many paces, showing reverence in many ways; dropping off food, money, notebooks filled with the written name of a deity, falling face down on the floor, wafting the flame of a nearby lamp. There were the familiar fussy babies and chatty youths, traditional saris and young adults in Abercrombie and Fitch. Perhaps my biggest take away was the seeming lack of unity and conformity of it all. In the words of Dr. Seuss’s Grinch, “All the noise, noise, noise!”
And yet, that is embraced in the Hindu religion(s) and tradition(s).
The term “Hindu” itself is hotly being contested regarding its origins. It is never a term used in the Vedas, Upanishads or Bhagavad-Gita. The term itself connotes plurality of spiritual communities, for the British may have popularized it as a generic term for all the religions in India who were not of the Abrahamic tradition. [1]
Some claim this tradition as inherently “open-source,” meaning that its many manifestations are always open to reinterpretation and hybridization, for there is not one regulatory force or hierarchy that determines how the thousands and thousands of Hindus in the world are to connect with Brahman (the divine ground of all life). I twice stumbled upon the phrase “spiritual laboratory” in my readings on Hinduism, regarding it more as a space for Divine encounter rather than organized religion. [2][3] I feel this term is exactly what I experienced in the temple as I witnessed the many ways in which a community under one tradition, or rather one label, worshipped in their own ways. There is not one messiah nor one text to follow the path to Truth. As the Rig-Veda says, “The truth is one, the sages call it by different names.” Or as Hindu mystic Ramakrishna said, “Kali, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Allah-these are all full expressions of the same indivisible Consciousness and Bliss.” [4]
Paradoxically, I am torn between a jealousy of this spiritual experience of united plurality and distrust of it. I find the idea that there may be many paths to One God beautiful. This theology paves the path to inter-faith dialogue, something of vital importance in a world where globalization makes the nations, and their religions, our neighbors. Yet part of me finds this too confusing. How can it be okay for the One Divine Essence to be manifest or reached through any one of the thousands of gods in temples across the world? Or how can any number of living gurus also be considered as paths to God? The dangerous question I am left with is, “What if my religion does not have exclusive ownership over distribution of the Ground of Being at all?”
Bibliography
[1] Siddhartha. "Open-source Hinduism." Religion and the Arts 12, no. 1-3 (2008). ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed October 18, 2009), 37.
[2] ibid., 35
[3] Ananthanarayanan, Raghu, and Jessica Locke. "On spirituality and organized religion: conversations with Yogi Raghu Ananthanarayanan." Religion and the Arts 12, no. 1-3 (2008). ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed October 18, 2009), 85, 94.
[4] Novak, Philip. The World’s Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World’s Religions. (San Francisco,: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995), 43.
11.18.2009
11.10.2009
On Judaism
TAKING THE RA WITH THE TOV
“Greed is good.” Rabbi Batsheva Appel confidently spoke as she opened her sermon before the congregation gathered in KAM Israel for Yom Kippur. Midrash teaches, she explained, that when God said creation was very good, this description applied even to the intertwined inclinations within humans to do evil (or be selfish depending on the tradition), yetzer ra, and to do good, yetzer tov. This, to God, was indeed a very good situation. And this, to me, was a strange message for an outsider witnessing a service focused on human atonement for a year’s worth of sins.
Yom Kippur
The liturgy for Yom Kippur enables the congregation to prayerfully confess the ways in which they have not been obedient to God’s call to an ethical and responsible life that is made possible by the yetzer tov in one’s soul; life that shines light and reflects the steadfast love and righteousness of God the Creator. The liturgy brings the community together for a time of judgment for following the yetzer ra within. But, according to Talmud, one must be careful not to let regret for obeying yetzer ra distance one from God. Regret, properly used, has the chief purpose of uprooting the evil that has overgrown in one’s life rather than making one dwell in it [1]. Regret should pave the way to prayer.
Tefillah
The root of the Hebrew word for prayer, tefillah, is related to the verbal root for “judging oneself” [2]. Thus, prayer in Jewish tradition is in all seasons an opportunity for self-examining how worthy one is to come before the God of Israel who demands justice, righteousness and holiness from God’s covenant people. Prayer is thus an authentic appeal for justice individually and communally, from God the One who judges and brings about justice.
Kavanah
Although most ceremonial prayers have been passed down generation-to-generation in Judaism, one must remember that it is not enough to simply recite the words of the Shema or Amidah. The words alone hold no magic power or good luck that will remove evil/selfish inclinations. Something else must be playing a part in the voicing of the words in order to increase the inclination for doing and seeking the good: kavanah.
Kavanah is necessary to all elements of prayer, be it following the written words of the Jewish Prayer Book (the Siddur) or spontaneous prayer. In all prayer forms, kavanah is a state of the heart that calls for “inner participation” along with external action taking place in the act of prayer [3]. Worshippers are like musicians in an orchestra: obedient to the composition before them, yet utilizing creative interpretation and intention to insure a prayer performance that is not simply humdrum, but transformative [4].
Thus, in some strange way, I suppose, “greed is good.” For through the interplay of yetzer ra and tov we cry out from the depths of our soul, seeking help and strength from God, hoping to be a maker of and partaker in God’s justice work rather than stumbling blocks to its implementation.
Bibliography
[1] Hertzberg, Arthur, ed. Judaism: An Anthology of the Key Spiritual Writings of the Jewish Tradition. Revised edition. (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1991), 252.
[2] Hertz, Joseph H. The Authorized Daily Prayer Book. Revised edition. (New York, NY: Bloch Publishing Company, 1985), xi.
[3] Heschel, Abraham Joshua. Man’s Quest for God; Studies in Prayer and Symbolism. (Sante Fe, NM: Aurora Press, 1996), 136.
[4] Hoffmann, Lawrence A. The Way Into Jewish Prayer. (Woodstock, VA: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000), 36-7.
“Greed is good.” Rabbi Batsheva Appel confidently spoke as she opened her sermon before the congregation gathered in KAM Israel for Yom Kippur. Midrash teaches, she explained, that when God said creation was very good, this description applied even to the intertwined inclinations within humans to do evil (or be selfish depending on the tradition), yetzer ra, and to do good, yetzer tov. This, to God, was indeed a very good situation. And this, to me, was a strange message for an outsider witnessing a service focused on human atonement for a year’s worth of sins.
Yom Kippur
The liturgy for Yom Kippur enables the congregation to prayerfully confess the ways in which they have not been obedient to God’s call to an ethical and responsible life that is made possible by the yetzer tov in one’s soul; life that shines light and reflects the steadfast love and righteousness of God the Creator. The liturgy brings the community together for a time of judgment for following the yetzer ra within. But, according to Talmud, one must be careful not to let regret for obeying yetzer ra distance one from God. Regret, properly used, has the chief purpose of uprooting the evil that has overgrown in one’s life rather than making one dwell in it [1]. Regret should pave the way to prayer.
Tefillah
The root of the Hebrew word for prayer, tefillah, is related to the verbal root for “judging oneself” [2]. Thus, prayer in Jewish tradition is in all seasons an opportunity for self-examining how worthy one is to come before the God of Israel who demands justice, righteousness and holiness from God’s covenant people. Prayer is thus an authentic appeal for justice individually and communally, from God the One who judges and brings about justice.
Kavanah
Although most ceremonial prayers have been passed down generation-to-generation in Judaism, one must remember that it is not enough to simply recite the words of the Shema or Amidah. The words alone hold no magic power or good luck that will remove evil/selfish inclinations. Something else must be playing a part in the voicing of the words in order to increase the inclination for doing and seeking the good: kavanah.
Kavanah is necessary to all elements of prayer, be it following the written words of the Jewish Prayer Book (the Siddur) or spontaneous prayer. In all prayer forms, kavanah is a state of the heart that calls for “inner participation” along with external action taking place in the act of prayer [3]. Worshippers are like musicians in an orchestra: obedient to the composition before them, yet utilizing creative interpretation and intention to insure a prayer performance that is not simply humdrum, but transformative [4].
Thus, in some strange way, I suppose, “greed is good.” For through the interplay of yetzer ra and tov we cry out from the depths of our soul, seeking help and strength from God, hoping to be a maker of and partaker in God’s justice work rather than stumbling blocks to its implementation.
Bibliography
[1] Hertzberg, Arthur, ed. Judaism: An Anthology of the Key Spiritual Writings of the Jewish Tradition. Revised edition. (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 1991), 252.
[2] Hertz, Joseph H. The Authorized Daily Prayer Book. Revised edition. (New York, NY: Bloch Publishing Company, 1985), xi.
[3] Heschel, Abraham Joshua. Man’s Quest for God; Studies in Prayer and Symbolism. (Sante Fe, NM: Aurora Press, 1996), 136.
[4] Hoffmann, Lawrence A. The Way Into Jewish Prayer. (Woodstock, VA: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000), 36-7.
10.04.2009
Experiments in Psalmody
Lately, I have been trying my hand at writing prayers, psalms and songs, and perhaps the fact that only a few people read this infrequent little blog has given me confidence to share one. This was written in my Psalms class a few weeks ago at the request of our Hebrew Bible professor Melody Knowles to write using acrostic form.
COME LORD
Cry out, all who are burdened, cry out and say
"O my lord, please come and do not delay!
My anxieties envelop me, and heavy weigh!
Envelop me Lord, come and stay!"
Lost in the burdens and duties of our days,
Oblivious and unaware of God's quiet ways,
Remind us Lord to recognize You in Your vast arrays.
Delay not, cry out, the Lord is with you always.
COME LORD
Cry out, all who are burdened, cry out and say
"O my lord, please come and do not delay!
My anxieties envelop me, and heavy weigh!
Envelop me Lord, come and stay!"
Lost in the burdens and duties of our days,
Oblivious and unaware of God's quiet ways,
Remind us Lord to recognize You in Your vast arrays.
Delay not, cry out, the Lord is with you always.
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