Comparison of Hinduism and Judaism

Comparison of Hinduism and Judaism It is of great importance when comparing religions to take a careful consideration on fundamental beliefs and rituals each religion engages in. this gives and aids in understanding each religion quite clearly. A comparison enables analysis of disparity among different aspects of a religion as it relates to another religion. In this paper, a comparison of Hinduism and Judaism will be analyzed where a comparison of the beliefs of life after death and prayer/worship will be looked at. Judaism is a monotheistic religion and one of the first religions. The faith sorely believes in the reality of one God, who made a covenant, agreement between Him and the Jews. They were promised to be given provision so long as they obeyed the rules and did not deviate from the rules. The rules were originally written in two stone tablets and are known as The Ten Commandments, this rules and regulations are supposed to govern the interactions between man and man, and man with God. Jews do not try to convert other members of other religions as they regard themselves as specially and purposely chosen by God. Unlike the Judaism, it is extremely difficult to categorize Hinduism as either polytheistic or monotheistic because of the fundamental faith in the Universal spirit. Hindus believe in several gods and goddesses; but they are all reflections and dimensions of one Supreme Being Brahman or the Universal Spirit. Hinduism holds true that all in the universe is cyclic. The world has be en created, sustained, and destroyed many times. The god presents himself in three forms: Brahma, who created the world, Vishnu, who sustains and Shiva, who destroys the universe and begins the cycle again. Hindu people generally worship Vishnu and Shiva. Vishnu is said to have a kindly nature and is thought to try to protect the wellbeing of humanity. The god descends from heavens to earth in a physical form on every occasion a cataclysm faces the cosmos or if humankind needs consolation and guidance (Linda, 189). On the other hand Vishnu is exceptionally drawn in with humanity, Shiva is detached from people. He is from time to time reflected meditating alone. He has immense supremacy and is further than the parameters of good and evil. He saves man by removing mans sins. Judaism as well as Hinduism has faith that God is omnipresent and omnipotent; He is the creator, the protector and the destroyer. The Sustenance of the humanity on the earth simply relies heavily on the will of Go d and nothing ever moves without His doing. Prayer/worship is intertwined in the Hinduism and Judaism lifestyle. Prayer is the way of communication and worship (devotion) with God. Prayer is seen as an essential and innate act of relating with the gods. Judaism and Hinduism prayers are usually said in the morning, afternoon and evening. Prayers are basically used to call upon gods or diverse supernatural powers, for the interests of the people as individuals and as a community. Hindus use prayer books. Perhaps the most powerful Hindu prayer books are the Vedic hymns. During the utterance and recitation of the prayers the sounds and content of the prayer must be observed and a great stress is laid on the mode and process in which they are recited. Its believed that when a prayer is not properly chanted or the syllables arent pronounced correctly it could bring harm and may not lead to the intended purpose. Provided the Vedic mantras are chanted in the appropriate way and in accordance to a specific rhythm its believed they cont ain alluring mystical command to summon supernatural beings. The prayers praise the virtues and potencies of various gods and goddesses in order to seek favors from them. During public ceremonies the mantras are chanted loudly whereas there are some mantras, principally the private mantras which are meant to be kept undisclosed. The rules of Hinduism also stipulate that mantras should not be disclosed to those that are religiously lame and therefore unqualified. Deep devotional songs and dances accompany the prayers. In the spiritual realm of a Hindu worshipper a prayer has a greater implication. Incessant recitation of gods name is believed to lead to cleansing of the mind and internal transformation. It is seen as the most effective way of developing a close association with God and realizes the inner self. Puja is a daily ritual done in a sacred corner in a worship room of the home it keeps the Hindus aware of their family gods and mindful of their duties as individuals. Puja inv olves three steps: The first is seeing the family deity (darshana). A small statue or picture of the god is placed in the sacred spot. The second step is the worship of the god, or puja. The worshiper offers the god flowers, fruits, and cooked food (bhog). The third step is retrieving the blessed food (prasada) and consuming it (Van, 11). Prayer in the Judaism consists: Shacharit in the morning, Minchah and Maariv, in late afternoon and evening. On the Sabbath, there is an additional service, Mussaf, added on to the morning. One prayer is essential to each devotion service, morning and night, weekday, Shabbat, and holiday: the Amidah the Standing Prayer, which is also known as the Shmoneh Esrai, the Eighteen blessings, or the Silent Devotion, its a key prayer in many services, and it is the declaration of faith, Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God! The Lord is One! (Van, 21). Its generally accepted that prayers should be recited privately and in solitude but sometimes Judaism encourages prayer in the company of others and for this basis Jews often try to come together to pray in public. Prayer is just like a second part of a person life, a daily diet. In that way, one comes to be peaceful speaking terms with God, who, in turn, becomes accessible, almost a dialogue partner. It is the peak experience of the prayer servi ce, emphasized by taking three steps backward to withdraw symbolically from your surroundings and three steps forward to symbolically enter the presence of Almighty God. It is recited silently, standing, and occasionally bowing (Linda, 190). Unlike the Hinduism where prayers are directed to gods, supernatural spirits and goddesses Judaism prayers are directed to God alone. Worship in both religions involves a strong observance of rules and guidelines in dressing, diet and general lifestyle as a way of maintaining external purity. The outer purity is perceived to be important in inculcating purity. Afterlife entails those beliefs held about life after an individual has died (Fisher, 156). Judaism and Hinduism believe in life after death. Jews have the suggestion of Heaven as their afterlife, they hold that if they have done right in the life they lived on Earth, and then they shall spend eternity in Heaven with their God. The Hindus accept as true that you are reincarnated until you reach the Brahma. Hindus believe in Karma which is the belief that if you do good things, then good things shall happen to you and vice versa (Selwyn, 19). When you die your final death in Hinduism, you reach the Brahma where the excruciating sequence of regeneration is finally ruined. Hinduism assumes the eternal reality of a universal spirit that guides all life on earth. A piece of the spirit called the atman is trapped inside humans and other living creatures. The most important desire of the atman is to be reunited with the universal spirit, and every aspect of an individuals life is governed b y it. When someone dies, their atman may be reunited, but most usually is reborn in a new body. A persons caste membership is a clear indication of how close he or she is to the desired reunion. While many differences are found among the doctrine and beliefs of life after death between these two religions some similarities also do exist, like how they have certain rules that their followers must obey to make it to heaven for the Judaism and Niverna for the Hinduism (Selwyn, 26). Each of the religions has guild lines and regulations that tell you what you should do to be a good person and appease their God or gods. They teach people how to live a correct life, and how to be kind to others while they are living on the Earth. Both religions believe in a final quiescent position for the spirit and both faiths hold high moral demeanor for their members such as benevolence to the underprivileged and altruistic sense of duty. Both religions also have sacred texts that are fundamental to their religions and provide instructions pertaining to relationship between people and God, and amongst people themselves. Also instructions pertaining to lifestyle, worship and performance of ritua ls are found in the sacred books. The religions have sacred locations where pilgrimages are undertaken by the faithful. Work cited Van Voorst, Robert. Anthology of World Scriptures. 7th Ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage, 2010: 11-25. Fisher, Mary Pat. Living Religions. New York: Prentice Hall, 2007: 151-159. Linda Woodhead, Paul Heelas. Religion in Modern Times: An Interpretive Anthology. New York: Willey Blackwell, 2007: 188-191. Selwyn Gurney. The Worlds Great Religions: An Anthology of Sacred Texts. Phoenix: Dover Publishers, 2009: 10-31.

The New Economic Policy

How far were economic problems responsible for Stalin’s decision to replace the New Economic Policy in 1928 with the first Five-Year Plan ? There seemed to be various reasons why Stalin decided to replace the New Economic Policy with the first Five-Year Plan in 1928. These included economic problems, the role of ideology, a fear of invasion and political considerations. Although economic problems certainly were an important reason for Stalin’s decision, the most significant reason must have been political, since the consolidation of his power position had always been Stalin’s prime concern.The occurrence of economic problems presumably played a major role in Stalin’s decision to move away from the New Economic Policy (NEP), although it must be noted that, before that time, the NEP had had its, albeit limited, success: By 1925 the NEP had returned the economy to its pre-war levels, and by 1927 both agriculture and industrial production exceeded their pre-wa r level. However, the NEP had run into problems such as the scissors crisis in 1924 and the grain procurement crisis of 1927-28.For Stalin and many pragmatists who had supported the NEP because it had been working, the grain procurement crisis brought matters to a head. Russia was by 1928 still an economically backward country compared to the large economies of Western Europe and especially the USA. Farming methods still were fundamentally backwards and unproductive. In industry there was a genuine necessity for the economy to develop and compete with western competitors far ahead of Russia.Economic problems were likely to be a catalyst for the bold measures of the first Five-Year Plan, since Stalin felt that without it Russia would keep lagging behind. Ideological aspects too seemed to matter in Stalin’s decision making, although his own ideological position can be seen as somewhat blurred, since he used to frequently change policies according to what suited him best in his pursuit of a leading role in the Communist Party. For example, before his policy U-turn in 1928 Stalin had defended the NEC against opposition from the left wing of the Party.By 1927-28, when the NEP began to experience problems, Stalin sensed that stressing Communist ideological believes would gain him a lot of support. Many Communists, especially those of the left wing, saw the NEP as a retreat from Marxist, anti-capitalist principles and the urban working class resented the special position of the peasants under the NEP. Growing mass unemployment in the towns and food shortages combined with the ideological distaste felt by many Communists for the NEP and the Nepmen.This led Stalin to wage a class war against the peasants and the Kulaks in particular, branding those who would resist collectivisation as ’enemies of the people’ or ’enemies of the revolution. ’ Communist ideology played their part in Stalin’s decision making since it ensured suppor t not only from the Party but also from the workers and gave Stalin the moral grounds to prevail and secure control of the state. A fear of invasion must also have been influential in Stalin’s decision, as since back during the Civil War of 1918-21, when the western powers had clearly supported the ’Whites’, the Communists had a certain suspicion for them.Russia found itself in a far from ideal international climate during the late 1920s, which clearly suggested that the Soviet Union was surrounded by hostile nations which undermined its national security. Stalin seemed to have felt the necessity for both setting up self-sufficiency in food production and industrialise rapidly in order to built up the armed forces and prepare Russia for war against the capitalist powers, or, as he would say at a Party meeting ’Either we do it – or they crush us. Since under the NEP these goals were unlikely to be accomplished, a fear of invasion probably was an imp ortant motivator behind the shift to the first Five-Year Plan. Finally, and most importantly, political considerations led Stalin to replace the NEP. It could be seen as a continuation of the leadership struggle that had set in after the death of Lenin in 1924 and demonstrated Stalin’s victory over Bukharin, who was the leading advocate of the NEP. Stalin could show that he was able to apply his own policies and, in doing so, consolidate his position.The Plan would further gain him the support of the left wing of the Communist Party, which had been leaderless when Zinoviev, Kamenev and Trotsky were defeated and humiliated in 1927. In addition, he still advocated socialism in one country and therefore appealed to Russian nationalism. Self-sufficiency in food production and not being dependant on foreign grain imports was popular as it would make Russia appear stronger and save money which could be used to improve living conditions.Political considerations were of prime importa nce to Stalin since he knew that if he could deliver all these things, it would serve the basic aim of securing his leadership position for the time to come. Overall, while it was possibly a combination of all factors discussed that played a role in Stalin’s decision to abandon the NEP in favour of the first Five-Year Plan, political considerations must have been the major driving force.However urgent a resolution of the pressing economic problems was, Stalin had proven consistently throughout the leadership challenge of 1924-1928 that his basic aim was the consolidation of his power. He had repeatedly changed his policies to decimate both the left and right wing of the Party. Like so many times before, it is quite probable that his decision was yet another piece of opportunism. Had it not been for the unpopularity of the NEP among many Party members, it is questionable whether Stalin would have taken such bold steps.

Essay on The Relationship between Dido and Aeneas - 774 Words

The Relationship between Dido and Aeneas Throughout the beginning of the Aeneid Dido, the queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, son of Venus and leader of the Trojans have an intimate relationship that ends in death. The relationship begins in Book I when Venus, the goddess of love, has her other son Cupid fill Dido with passion for Aeneas, to ensure Aeneass safety in this new land. Meanwhile Venus/Plotted new stratagems, that Cupid, changed/ In form and feature, should appear instead/ Of young Ascanius, and by his gifts/ Inspire the queen to passion, with his fire/ Burning her very bones. (693) Venus did this to protect Aeneas and his son, in fear that Dido would have otherwise been cruel to them. As Aeneas tells his story he portrays†¦show more content†¦They both do this for their own personal well being, but it does bring the couple together even more then originally intended. Didos passion has gone out of control, which causes physical and emotional disorder. What woman/ In love is helped by offerings or altars?/ Soft fire consumes the marrow-bones, the silent/ Wound grows, deep in the heart. (67) This is an excellent example of Didos inability to control her passion, whereas she resembles the fire, and the wounds make the fire grow deeper. The reference to her marrowbones is probably in place to reinforce the lust that cupid had burned within her bones earlier. Her burning passion for Aeneas makes her grow physically sick. Dido has realized that her relationship with Aeneas is over, and that her compelling passion for him will bring her to an end, and she is still unable to change the course of events. When Dido learns about Aeneass departure she is overcome by rage, and despair, which brings her to the decision that she will kill herself. Then Dido prays for death at last; (488). She has hoped that Aeneas would fall and die, untimely, let him like unburied on the sand. (662). At this time she lies down on the funeral pyre and stabs herself with Aeneass sword. Although Aeneas was a star - struck lover, he is driven by fate to his only true love, Italy, and it appears that he has replaced his love for Dido with the love for his future home. Shove off, be gone! AShow MoreRelatedThe Relationship Of Dido And Aeneas1652 Words   |  7 PagesSam Whiteman Dido and Aeneas Marriage The relationship of Dido and Aeneas is a complicated story. Beginning at the end of book one and continuing until after she is dead and in the underworld in book six. The two lovers disagree on the terms of their relationship, Dido believes they are wed while Aeneas does not believe they are in a formal relationship. The two Goddesses who put Aeneas and Dido together were Venus, of erotic love and fertility, and Juno, of marriage. 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Claude Lévi-Strauss Life, Work, and Theories

Claude Là ©vi-Strauss (November 28, 1908 – October 30, 2009) was a French anthropologist and one of the most prominent social scientists of the twentieth century. He is best known as the founder of structural anthropology and for his theory of structuralism. Là ©vi-Strauss was a key figure in the development of modern social and cultural anthropology, and was widely influential outside of his discipline. Fast Facts: Claude Là ©vi-Strauss Occupation: AnthropologistBorn: November 28, 1908 in Brussels, BelgiumEducation: University of Paris (Sorbonne)Died: October 30, 2009 in Paris, FranceKey Accomplishments: Developed the influential concept of structural anthropology as well as new theories of myth and kinship. Life and Career Claude Là ©vi-Strauss was born to a Jewish French family in Brussels, Belgium and later raised in Paris. He studied philosophy at the Sorbonne. Several years after his graduation, the French Ministry of Culture invited him to take a position as a visiting professor of sociology at the University of Sà £o Paolo in Brazil. After moving to Brazil in 1935, Là ©vi-Strauss held this teaching position until 1939. In 1939, Là ©vi-Strauss resigned to conduct anthropological fieldwork in indigenous communities in the Mato Grasso and Brazilian Amazon regions, launching the beginning of his research on and with indigenous groups of the Americas. The experience would have a profound affect on his future, paving the way for a groundbreaking career as a scholar. He achieved literary fame for his 1955 book Tristes Tropiques, which chronicled part of his time in Brazil. Claude Là ©vi-Strauss’ academic career began to take off as Europe spiraled into World War II and he was fortunate to escape France for the U.S., thanks to a teaching post at the New School for Research in 1941. While in New York, he joined a community of French intellectuals who successfully found refuge in the U.S. amidst the fall of their home country and the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe. Là ©vi-Strauss remained in the U.S. until 1948, joining a community of fellow Jewish scholars and artists escaping persecution that included linguist Roman Jakobson and Surrealist painter Andrà © Breton. Là ©vi-Strauss helped found the École Libre des Hautes Études (French School for Free Studies) with fellow refugees, and then served as a cultural attachà © to the French embassy in Washington, DC. Là ©vi-Strauss returned to France in 1948, where he received his doctorate from the Sorbonne. He quickly established himself within the ranks of French intellectuals, and he was the director of studies at the École des Hautes Études at the University of Paris from 1950 to 1974. He became the chair of Social Anthropology at the famed Collà ¨ge de France in 1959 and held the position until 1982. Claude Là ©vi-Struass died in Paris in 2009. He was 100 years old. Structuralism Là ©vi-Strauss formulated his famous concept of structural anthropology during his time in the U.S. Indeed, this theory is unusual in anthropology in that it is inextricably linked to the writing and thinking of one scholar. Structuralism offered a new and distinctive way to approach the study of culture, and built on the scholarly and methodological approaches of cultural anthropology and structural linguistics. Là ©vi-Strauss held that the human brain was wired to organize the world in terms of key structures of organization, which enabled people to order and interpret experience. Since these structures were universal, all cultural systems were inherently logical. They simply used different systems of understanding to explain the world around them, resulting in the stunning diversity of myths, beliefs, and practices. The anthropologist’s task, according to Là ©vi-Strauss, was to explore and explain the logic within a particular cultural system. Structuralism used the analysis of cultural practices and beliefs, as well as the fundamental structures of language and linguistic classification, to identify the universal building blocks of human thought and culture. It offered a fundamentally unifying, egalitarian interpretation of people across the world and from all cultural backgrounds. At our core, Là ©vi-Strauss argued, all people use the same basic categories and systems of organization to make sense of the human experience. Là ©vi-Strauss concept of structural anthropology aimed to unify – at the level of thought and interpretation – the experiences of cultural groups living in highly variable contexts and systems, from the indigenous community he studied in Brazil to the French intellectuals of World War II era New York. The egalitarian principles of structuralism were an important intervention in that they recognized all people as fundamentally equal, regardless of culture, ethnicity, or other socially constructed categories. Theories of Myth   Là ©vi-Strauss developed a deep interest in Native American beliefs and oral traditions during his time in the U.S. The anthropologist Franz Boas and his students had pioneered ethnographic studies of the indigenous groups of North America, compiling vast collections of myths. Là ©vi-Strauss, in turn, sought to synthesize these in a study spanning the myths from the Arctic to the tip of South America. This culminated in  Mythologiques  (1969, 1974, 1978, and 1981), a four-volume study in which Là ©vi-Strauss argued that myths could be studied to reveal the universal oppositions – such as dead versus living or nature versus culture – that organized human interpretations of and beliefs about the world. Là ©vi-Strauss posited structuralism as an innovative approach to the study of myths. One of his key concepts in this regard was the  bricolage, borrowing from the French term to refer to a creation that draws from a diverse assortment of parts. The  bricoleur, or the individual engaged in this creative act, makes use of what is available. For structuralism, bricolage  and  bricoleur  are used to show the parallels between Western scientific thought and indigenous approaches. Both are fundamentally strategic and logical, they simply make use of different parts.  Là ©vi-Strauss elaborated on his concept of the  bricolage  with respect to the anthropological study of myth in his seminal text,  The Savage Mind  (1962). Theories of Kinship Là ©vi-Strauss’ earlier work focused on kinship and social organization, as outlined in his 1949 book  The Elementary Structures of Kinship.  He sought to understand how categories of social organization, such as kinship and class, were formed. These were social and cultural phenomena, not natural (or pre-ordained) categories, but what caused them? Là ©vi-Strauss’ writings here centered on the role of exchange and reciprocity in human relationships. He was also interested in the power of the incest taboo to push people to marry outside of their families and the subsequent alliances that emerged. Rather than approaching the incest taboo as biologically-based or assuming that lineages should be traced by familial descent, Là ©vi-Strauss focused instead on the power of marriage to create powerful and lasting alliances between families. Criticism Like any social theory, structuralism had its critics. Later scholars broke with the rigidity of Là ©vi-Strauss’ universal structures to take a more interpretative (or hermeneutic) approach to cultural analysis. Similarly, the focus on underlying structures potentially obscured the nuance and complexity of lived experience and daily life. Marxist thinkers also criticized the lack of attention to material conditions, such as economic resources, property, and class. Structuralism is curious in that, although it was widely influential in multiple disciplines, it was not typically adopted as a strict method or framework. Rather, it offered a new lens with which to examine social and cultural phenomena. Sources Bloch, Maurice.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Claude Là ©vi-Strauss Obituary.† The Guardian.  November 3, 2009.Harkin, Michael.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Claude Là ©vi-Strauss.† Oxford Bibliographies.  September 2015.Là ©vi-Strauss, Claude.  Tristes Tropiques.  Translated by John Russell. Hutchinson Company, 1961.  Là ©vi-Strauss, Claude. Structural Anthropology. Translated by Claire Jacobson and Brooke G. Schoepf. Basic Books, Inc., 1963.Là ©vi-Strauss, Claude. The Savage Mind. The  University of Chicago Press, 1966.Là ©vi-Strauss, Claude. The Elementary Structures of Kinship. Translated by J.H. Bell, J.R. VonSturmer, and Rodney Needham. Beacon Press, 1969.Rothstein, Edward.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Claude Là ©vi-Strauss, 100, Dies; Altered Western Views of ‘The Primitive.’† The New York Times.  November 4, 2009.