Seeing the Divine

By -

I have known about religions that are imaginative and image-oriented for a while, mostly by learning about them in school. I learned about how it is normal to pray and worship the gods and goddesses through statues, which as a Christian, I thought was interesting and peculiar. I did not realize until reading Eck's book, that for Hindus, the notion of worshiping an invisible deity is seen as foreign and strange. The gods and goddesses in Hinduism take form in very elaborate and ornate ways so, I guess, it does make sense for them to be represented visually. Vibrant colors and visuals are often associated with Hindu culture and it is translated through the imagery of the gods and goddesses. What I am most interested in when it comes to Hinduism, is how the descriptions of how and when what these gods and goddesses look like came to be.

 
https://www.piqsels.com/en/public-domain-photo-fzxim
 
In Protestant Christianity, the idea of imagery and worshiping idols that are supposed to depict God is basically seen as blasphemous. It is true that we have depictions of Jesus, but that is because he was human and described in the Bible. God has no human form and thus cannot be represented by imagery.  We pray to God, sometimes with crosses present, but never directly to an "idol." That is one of the reasons why Protestants disagree with and differ from the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. These sects of Christianity have been known to pray to saints and statues of saints, which goes exactly against some of the teachings of Christianity. I have had two spiritual experiences in my life where I felt God's presence with me. Both times it was a sudden wave of emotion that to this day I cannot even describe. One included a visual experience of being in a national park, but the other was when I was standing in the shower. Both were felt deep inside me. In conclusion, I think I understand the need for "visual aid" in certain religions but personally, I appreciate the fact that I do not see God, I feel God. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amidst the Pandemic

By -
Image
I think having the opportunity to take Smells and Bells and then experiencing a worldwide pandemic came with good timing. Oftentimes, we’re so rushed to get from one one place to another that we miss out on what happens around us. We’re so accustomed to the lifestyle of being busy that it has become the norm for many of us. However, the pandemic has forced us to slow down. We’re now appreciating everything that we had previously taken for granted and noticing things in our surroundings that we have never noticed before.  Take this quarantining/social distancing as an opportunity to be more aware of what you experience through the senses. I don’t think my senses have necessarily heightened over the past 5 weeks, but I am actively making the choice to pay more attention to what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I like going on nature/mindfulness walks and basking in the sunshine out in my backyard. This morning, I could hear a faint noise from the wind, hear the birds chirpin...
Read more

Food in the Afterlife

By -
Image
In Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions , Perez talks of Ashabi and her grandchildren providing food offerings to their ancestors. This immediately reminded me of the practice of food sacrifice in early China. I've taken Chinese language classes for about 7 years now and in one of the lessons, we learned about food as well as the history of food in Chinese culture. Ashabi and her grandchildren would give food offerings to their ancestors every day. This included nine beverages (coffee, liquor, and water mixed with sugar and molasses) and nine square pieces of coconut topped with red palm oil and guinea pepper. The offerings would also include whatever food was dropped on the ground. In their house, food dropping on the floor signified more than it would in common American households. It signified that the ancestors wanted that food and had willingly made it fall to the floor. They also used dishware that had been chipped which was...
Read more