Human Spirituality 02 24 2014 Where does spirituality come from External observation led to introspection Rooted in the need to explain reality reasoning behind events in our lives Spirituality existed before organized Religion Prehistorical Evidence of Spirituality Fertility symbols ex Venus of Willendorf statue cave paintings burial customs ex treatment of body and brain after death Why do we need it Compendium of Charaka Three Priorities o 1 Life itself o 2 Gather what is needed to sustain life o 3 Develop spiritual life that transcends 1 and 2 Maslow s hierarchy of needs Inversion Spirituality encompasses and extends outside of Religion the search for the Sacred What is the Sacred Emile Durkheim French Sociologist 1858 1917 o Established the Sacred and Profane Dichotomy The Sacred set apart forbidden outside of worldly existence collective The Profane ordinary mundane individual Mircea Eliade Romanian Historian of Religion 1907 1986 o Hierophany Manifestation of the Sacred in the mundane world Questions that Religion Addresses Who am I nature of the self How did I get here origin story creation Who are you nature of the other What is all this the meaning Where will I go explanation of death and beyond Defining Religion Sir James Frazer Scottish Social Anthropologist 1854 1941 o Wrote The Golden Bough Humans are mainly concerned with extending their mastery over their world and destinies o They do so through various successive means magic religion science Religion Any of the faith based systems of belief and practices that 1 Explain the nature of the self 2 Describes the Divine Ultimate Sacred at least takes cognizance of superior forces 3 Presents mythology and eschatology often including a description of a state of personal freedom salvation or liberation 4 Employs ritual to bring positive effect 5 Recommends a code of ethics and behavior Faith The notion of belief that can either be right or wrong because it cannot be proven outside of logic faith and belief are intertwined Knowledge can be proven Spirituality encompasses more than religion is more fluid and personal Something can be spiritual AND religious Something can be spiritual but NOT religious Something can be neither spiritual OR religious Components of Religion Self Divine Myth Ritual Ethics Views of the Self and Existence Body Only Physicalists Materialists many modern scientists atheists o You re just a body no soul or essential nature Body and Mind Buddhist only o You consist of a body and mind as separate entities but linked Body Mind and Soul Hindus loosely Christians Muslims Jews o You have a physical body a mind which makes up you and a separate permanent soul Views of the Divine Ultimate Sacred Divine refers to a God or Deity o Zoroastrianism Judaism Christianity Islam Hinduism Ultimate refers to a non personal ultimate truth o Buddhism Taoism Sacred refers to a entity that is set apart from worldly existence considered great sometimes forbidden Myth A narrative that seeks to explain the supramundane things outside of our ordinary understanding accurate within groups Ex origin of the world origin of humanity origin of other species end of the world Personal freedom salvation liberation Heaven Nirvana harmony with the Tao etc Religions developed to explain death and are in opposition to death they seek to explain what comes after life except Taoism Meant to offer hope for the afterlife denying that death is the END Ritual Religious behaviors or practices that have a symbolic element are employed for a positive effect and are practiced within a sacred context Ex Protestant communion wine bread Rituals seek to bridge the gap between the profane and sacred Ethics Guidelines for what is right and wrong practical advice on how to act and to achieve personal freedom access to Divine or the Ultimate Ex The Ten Commandments The Noble Eightfold Path Confucianism knowing the difference between right and wrong is called wisdom Why is Science not a Religion It is not faith based it does not practice religious ritual Divisions of Religions Location Eastern Western Abrahamic Non Abrahamic can trace their history back to Old Testament Source of liberation salvation self powered and other powered prophet How we gain access to the Divine or Ultimate wisdom prophetic traditions visionary meditative and revelatory traditions Religions Timeline Hinduism as early as 3500 BCE Judaism as early as 3000 BCE Taoism as early as 2600 BCE Buddhism 500s BCE Confucianism 500s BCE Christianity 4 BCE 30 CE Islam early 600 CE Zoroastrianism Founded roughly 3000 years ago in Ancient Persia modern Iraq Prophet Zoroaster Zarathustra Became state religion of Persian Empire 6 4 centuries BCE and Sassanid Empire 3 rd century CE approximately 40 million followers then Often referred to as Gambars infidels by the Muslim population Three Main Stages o Stage 1 The religion prior to the arrival of Zoroaster this is the IndoEuro Aryan culture that he reformed o Stage 2 The early faith promulgated by Zoroaster o Stage 3 The Zoroastrianism of the Persian Empire introduced elements into the religion mostly via a priestly group called the Magi Parallels between Zoro Jud Christ and Islam o Monotheistic creation stories world ages aeons messianic figure of Saoshyant prophets final battle angels demons bodily resurrection final judgement heaven hell Radical Dualism gives a moral dimension to the afterlife that not only strongly encourages and rewards virtue but by doing so gives humanity a role in extinguishing evil from the world Stage 1 Aryan is Sanskrit for noble ones many migrated from Iran into Indus Valley o Spoke Indo European language Those who did NOT migrate from Iran became founders of Zoroastrianism o Many similarities between Indian Vedic literature and Gathas of Zoro Saoshyants prophets reformers restores of truth and purity Polytheistic culture variety of religious expression Stage 2 Life of Zoroaster Born in NE Iran SW Afghanistan between 1200 900 BCE or 600 400 BCE Born into warrior clan called Spitama o Father Pourushapsa Possessor of Horses o Mother Dughdhova One who has milked o His parents names are important b c it gives insight into his status Horses milked livestock suggests he was well off At 15 receives Kusti Sadre long robe and cloth belt symbolize rite of passage At 20 leaves home Near 30 has pivotal religious experience o One god speaks to him tells that he is the one god choses Zoro to tell people about himself against idea