“And in that hour the leopard and kid rose up and lifted up their forefeet and said:” We glorify and bless thee that hast visited and remembered us in this desert and changed our beastlike and wild nature into tameness, and granted us the divine word, and put in us a tongue and sense to speak and praise thy name, for great is thy glory” (68).
“A few bands of scattered clouds strung up and down the valley, catching on a shoulder of the hills, or rising up and dying out when they were level with the head of the pass. And “Here shall I find peace,” said Purun Bhagat” (87).
“I would say in the same way the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit relate: mysteriously”(103).
“But one thing is clear: atman seeks to realize Brahman, to be united with the Absolute, and it travels in this life on a pilgrimage where it is born and dies, and is born again and dies again, and again, a again, until it manages to shed the sheaths that imprison it here below” (103)
Tom Robbins says, “Not a mystery, mind you, the Mystery” (83)
“In India, people traditionally have not been divorced from the earth: to think of themselves as separate from the ongoing and all-pervasive cycle of life and death would be inconceivable” (64).
Nonviolence to Animals, Earth and Self in Asian Traditions
“In these guises, death takes on a familiarity unknown in the Western world other than his depiction as the grim reaper” (107).
Reading this week’s material, I noticed myself making comparisons to the Christian tales and what I know from Hindu literature. Similar to Christianity, Hinduism is filled with stories praising God through man and nature. Specifically, Acts of Philip shows that even the wild will become submissive to a higher power. It says, ““And in that hour the leopard and kid rose up and lifted up their forefeet and said:” We glorify and bless thee that hast visited and remembered us in this desert and changed our beastlike and wild nature into tameness, and granted us the divine word, and put in us a tongue and sense to speak and praise thy name, for great is thy glory” (68). This type of coexistence is heavily emphasized in Hinduism. As the oldest religion, Hinduism establishes a strong relationship with man, spirit, and the universe. With that said, Hindu followers view themselves as a microcosm of something greater than themselves. In Kipling’s excerpt, Purun finds solidarity while immersing himself in the vast natural world. The aesthetic of nature is calming and peaceful as, “A few bands of scattered clouds strung up and down the valley, catching on a shoulder of the hills, or rising up and dying out when they were level with the head of the pass. And “Here shall I find peace,” said Purun Bhagat” (87). In the book, Nonviolence to Animals, Earth and Self in Asian Traditions, the author explains that “In India, people traditionally have not been divorced from the earth: to think of themselves as separate from the ongoing and all-pervasive cycle of life and death would be inconceivable” (64). This significant difference probably explains the disparity between Christianity and Hinduism concerning other issues such as how, “In these guises, death takes on a familiarity unknown in the Western world other than his depiction as the grim reaper” (107). With things like life and death, Hinduism explains that the world continues despite our passing. However this doesn’t mean we are separated from the earth, but instead we continue the cycle of life. Some Hindus even believe in reincarnation, which is the rebirthing of a soul or body. Purun explains as a part of Hinduism, all spirits may leave the body, but never the material world: “But one thing is clear: atman seeks to realize Brahman, to be united with the Absolute, and it travels in this life on a pilgrimage where it is born and dies, and is born again and dies again, and again, a again, until it manages to shed the sheaths that imprison it here below” (103)
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| Finding peace in nature http://www.sacredsites.com/asia/india/images/bodhi-tree-500.jpg |
Although Western philosophy may be different than traditional Hinduism, Martel argues that they may have some similarities. As explained before, Hindus have established that humans, the earth, and the greater universe are all connected. Martel says this compares as, “I would say in the same way the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit relate: mysteriously”(103). It is difficult to understand such vast concepts like creationism. Answers to these questions may never be answered, Tom Robbins calls this Not a mystery, mind you, the Mystery” (83). As humans we are always looking for reason, and in the process we may construct stories, myths, and tales to create our own answers.
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| Reincarnation: Humans, animals, the world is all connected https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaws5hed5O7qGYDagYXRZblF1qmEWCH8TWHojiUhvu5DeI2XVACm8ia2PoAwkW2W9NSKb2XK81VVkRe5v50Ys4wxmP50ik9Krd1fSn6xNYMDUlZL_2aekAiC8-pNcvwzhjMOng8ndhu8Nk/s1600/reincarnation.jpg |
Book: Nonviolence to Animals, Earth and Self in Asian Traditions; Chapple, Christopher
SUNY Press, 1993
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