Download James Clawson December 12, 2015 E

James Clawson
December 12, 2015
E-portfolio Assignment
World Religions - Wijitha Bandara
Religion or Dharma
What can we call a way of life? Do we refer to it as a lifestyle, or maybe a life
choice? Many terms can be used to define what a way of life is called and we will explore
them. If I have values and morals that I hold in high regard, would that make me
righteous, religious, weird, nerdy, or some sort of combination of all those terms? It
depends on whom you ask. In order to determine whether something should be called
religion or something else we must first ask ourselves the ultimate question.
What is Religion?
Throughout the ages of history religion has always been around, whether the
reason is to just have something to believe in and have a sense of being apart of
something greater, or if it is more of a cultural or traditional group belief system that
helps keep order. Religion is a very important part of history and society. Which begs the
question, what is religion? Defining religion is nearly impossible because if you ask one
person they will tell you differently than the person after them, and the person after that
person will give you another different response, and so on. It goes on and on and because
of this throughout all of history there has never been one set definition for religion. If you
look up religion in the dictionary it gives four mini definitions, which are: (1) beliefs and
worship (2) system (3) personal beliefs or values and (4) obsession. All four of these mini
definitions come with further sub-definitions, but the simplicity of these four definitions
fit quite well with the scholarly definitions that I chose.
The first definition I chose was by Cunningham.1 What he says sounds complex
at first but if you break it down it ties in with the first and third of the dictionary
definitions of religion. Cunningham talks about how religion indicates ways of viewing
the world through the concept of an existence that is holy, which presents itself clearly in
our observations in a way to impact our lives by how we think, feel, and act even through
our issues of trying to understand our physical world. It ties nicely in with beliefs and
worship as well as personal beliefs or values. Through our belief and worship things are
revealed and we become enlightened or educated of spiritual and sacred knowledge.
Religion impacts our personal beliefs and our values in such a way that in the long run it
shapes us to become someone who is made up of the very things that they valued and
believed in.
The second scholarly definition that I chose was by H. Smith.2 Smith’s definition
of religion goes more with the other two dictionary definitions of religion, which are
system and obsession. Smith talks about how wherever an whenever people live they find
themselves facing three problems: a natural problem, which would be food and shelter, a
social problem, which would be harmony in the community, and lastly the religious
problem, which is how people associate themselves in the big picture. Smith also reminds
us that even though religion may seem the least important of the three that religious
artifact are the oldest artifacts that have been discovered. In his definition Smith refers to
a system, which is the second dictionary definition of religion. The system being that in
1
Cunningham et al. - Various definitions of religion document on canvas
"Religion signifies those ways…”
2
H. Smith - Various definitions of religion document on canvas
“Wherever people live…”
order to thrive man must have solutions to the three problems. It seems two of the three
are more important, but its funny how the third is so consistent with the first two. When
people have food and shelter they offer sacrifices to appease their deity. When people
have social order and harmony it is because they have a sharing of ideas and beliefs that
keep things in order. No matter how you look at it, religion plays a very important role in
system of society, which leads to the fourth dictionary definition of religion, obsession.
Obsession is simply defined as a preoccupation that completely occupies the mind or the
uncontrollable persistence of an idea. If a population is so fixated on pleasing their God
or Gods it becomes an obsession. Religion is not something that you do once a week, but
everyday, and because it is done everyday it is a constant preoccupation of the mind or an
obsession.
The last definition I chose was from Emile Durkheim.3 In his definition he relates
to all four of the dictionary definitions of religion. First off he starts by saying that
religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things. His opening
words touch on the first two dictionary definitions. System is relative to the order of how
things are or how things should be such as principles and organization. The second
definition he touched on right from the start is beliefs and worship. Durkheim uses the
term practices instead of worship but in religion the two words mean essentially the same
thing. In religion there are certain beliefs and in those beliefs there is always something to
worship hence sacred things, and always something to practice, hence the practices of
religion, which leads into the next part of his definition. Durkheim goes on to say that
there is things set apart and forbidden. This part of his definition reflects the personal
3
Emile Durkheim - Various definitions of religion document on canvas
"A unified system of beliefs…”
beliefs or values part of the dictionary definition. In religion there are always personal
beliefs of the religion and certain values that are watched out for more than other values.
In class you mentioned a quote that said something along the lines of religion doesn’t
change people, people change religion. That is so true in this case. People can take their
own personal beliefs of religion and warp it to how it best suits them. However, personal
beliefs or values can also just be that people of a certain culture or religion will believe or
value certain things more than others. In the last part of Durkheim’s definition he says
that it is because of these beliefs and practices that the system unites into one moral
community called a church and all those who adhere to it. This last quote brings us to the
last dictionary definition, obsession. Obsession of religion has been there for a long time.
Some even say it is hardwired into our species to believe in a greater power and a higher
purpose outside of the self. That’s not to say that every single person is religious because
that is simply not true. Obsession plays a big role in religion because all those that adhere
to a religion are obsessed with it. They support it by worshipping and practicing its
beliefs, they obey it by making it a part of their lifestyle, and they stick firmly to it by
living it everyday for their whole lives.
I don’t believe that there is a set single definition. The dictionary doesn’t even
have just one definition for religion. Religion can mean anything to anyone and that is
both the beauty of it and the worst of it. It is beautiful in one way because it can be
something special for each and every individual, but it can lead to things like arrogance
and pompousness, which in turn lead to pride, which leads into disapproval of others not
like you and then hate of others not like you and then suddenly anyone who doesn’t have
the same idea as you is a lesser individual or an enemy. Religion is a fragile thing in a
way because people can warp it and then manipulate others into their own way of the
religion, which is a very likely reason there are so many different sects of the same
original belief system. I whole-heartedly agree with what you said in class not too long
ago. Religion doesn’t change people; people change religion. It is this very reason that
religion does not have just one definition. I would define religion as the dictionary does
in more than one definition. It is a system of belief and worship along with personal
beliefs and values and should be a healthy obsession that nourishes the mind and body.
A great example is that of the Hindu Dharma.
What is Dharma?
The Dharma of Hinduism is very complicated because of its sensitivity to context.
Dharma can’t be translated because it does not have any equal meaning in any other
language. The best way to define Dharma in English is by many words, some of which
are: duty, religion, justice, law, ethics, merit, principle, and right.4 To summarize all these
various translations to accurately describe Dharma the word that I would choose to define
it is lifestyle. A person’s lifestyle is basically a combination of all those words. Dharma is
also considered something that affects morals and behaviors. Karma, or ritual action, is a
very important part of Dharma. Karma is something that is required of Dharma. In order
to practice Dharma you must make choices or take action by engaging with the world and
everything in it in a positive way. The opposite of this would be adharma,5 or sin which is
anything that is not Dharma. Dharma is often associated with Brahmans because they are
the ones who are allowed to spread dharma, but we will go into that some more in a bit.
4
An introduction to Hinduism by Gavin Flood - Cambridge University
Hinduism by Gavin Flood - Cambridge University
5 An introduction to
A great question to follow up on what dharma is would be, where does dharma
come from? There are many sources that dharma originates from but the main source is
from the Veda. The Vedas are the Hindus sacred texts or scriptures; therefore the source
of dharma comes from yet another source. Sacred texts are often written through means
of revelation, which is information that is revealed to the author through the power of a
deity. Another form source of writing sacred texts is by way of tradition. Tradition is
crucial to many cultures due to the fact that tradition is basically what people believe or
certain customs they might have and in order to pass their traditions and customs down to
future generations, traditions will generally be written down often times along with
sacred texts so the two go hand in hand.
The affect this concept of dharma has on the Hindu people is so great because not
only is it their law and religion it is their way of life. There are many things to be
considered in Dharma that Hindus need to be aware of. The shastras are also sacred
Hindu texts that came after the sutras. The biggest difference in the two texts is that the
shastras give more explanation of the same topics. The sutras give only material that
relates to the nature of law, whereas the shastras expound on the concepts covered in the
sutras. To explain some of the concepts of the shastra we must first understand that class
system in Hinduism. Brahmans are the highest caste as the scholars of the Veda. The
noble or warrior is the second highest caste and they protect the people. The Commoners
or merchant caste are responsible for farming and bartering. Lastly the Shudras are a
servant class to the upper classes. There are also the untouchables that are classless or
casteless that are basically outcasts.6
6
An introduction to Hinduism by Gavin Flood - Cambridge University
The shastras represent the visions of the Brahmans who then teach them.
Brahmans are the only class that are allowed to teach the Vedas and Dharma, so they may
adapt Dharma to certain situations. Universally Dharma relates to a cosmic principle but
it also has to relate to the transactions of the human world. This means that Dharma can
and should be adapted to certain situations because each situation is different. As I
mentioned earlier in my paper Dharma is sensitive to context. Since each caste has its
own requirement for the men of that caste Dharma varies for each caste. For example a
warrior that takes the life of another to protect is simply doing his duty as a warrior and
would not be punished for taking a life when protecting others, but if a merchant took the
life a competing merchant the merchant that committed the murder would be punished
accordingly. Every caste has it’s own dharma that it follows. No matter what caste a
person is a part of in their lifetime, once their children are all grown up, have fulfilled
their social obligations and retire when they are old they must pass along their
possessions and go to the forest to live out the rest of their lives. This is done in respect to
their children so they don’t take up resources when they are no longer “useful” so they
can use them. The women of every caste all have the same duties.7 Women are to be kept
happy, but they are also subject to the control of their father, husband, and sons if they
are widowed, which means they can do nothing independently. However, by doing so
women will be greatly rewarded in heaven.
Dharma is practically everything for Hindus; it is their law, their religion, their
duty, and so on. Their life is led by Dharma and their Dharma is led by their life. It may
7
Living Religions textbook ninth edition by Mary Pat Fisher 2014 - Page 103
sound confusing but if understood correctly that is essentially what it is. In order to live
their life Hindus have their Dharma that guides them. In order to follow Dharma Hindus
must live their life. It’s a circle that if obliged promises great reward.
With the research that I have done for religion and dharma, I feel that Hinduism
would best be considered dharma. The two words religion and dharma are very similar in
the sense that they both refer to many different concepts of life. In the case of Hinduism
dharma would be the best term to describe it simply because it is the original term for
their lifestyle. Religion and dharma are basically interchangeable since they are so similar
in their context, but I still believe dharma is the best term for Hinduism.
Works Cited:
1. An introduction to Hinduism by Gavin Flood
Cambridge University 1996
2. Living Religions textbook ninth edition by Mary Pat Fisher 2014
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition]
3. Cunningham, et al.
"Religion signifies those ways of viewing the world which refer to (1) a notion of
sacred reality (2) made manifest in human experience (3) in such a way as to
produce long lasting ways of thinking, feeling, and acting (4) with respect to
problems of ordering and understanding existence."
4. H. Smith:
"Wherever people live, whenever they live, they find themselves faced with three
inescapable problems: how to win food and shelter from their natural environment
(the problem nature poses), how to get along with one another (the social
problem), and how to relate themselves to the total scheme of things (the religious
problem). If this third issue seems less important than the other two, we should
remind ourselves that religious artifacts are the oldest that archaeologists have
discovered."
5. Emile Durkheim:
"A unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say,
things set apart and forbidden --beliefs and practices which unite into one single
moral community called a Church all those who adhere to them."