Islam

Islam is a monotheistic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. It is the second-largest religion in the world today, with an estimated 1.4 billion adherents, spread across the globe, known as Muslims. Linguistically, Islam means submission, referring to the total surrender of one’s self to God, and a Muslim is “one who submits to God”.

Muslims believe that God revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad and that Muhammad is God’s final prophet. The Qur’an and the traditions of Muhammad in the Sunnah are regarded as the fundamental sources of Islam. Muslims do not regard Muhammad as the founder of a new religion but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Adam, Ibrahim and other prophets whose messages had become corrupted over time (or according to some authorities only misinterpreted). Like Judaism and Christianity, Islam is an Abrahamic religion.

Today, Muslims may be found throughout the world, particularly in the Middle East, North Africa, and South and Central Asia. Only about 20 percent of Muslims originate from Arab countries. Islam is the second largest religion in many European countries, such as France, which has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe, and the United Kingdom.

Muslims believe that God revealed his final message to humanity through Muhammad ibn Abdullah (c. 570 – July 6, 632) via the angel Gabriel. Muhammad is considered to have been God’s final prophet, the “Seal of the Prophets”. The revelations Muhammad preached form the holy book of Islam, the Qur’an. The Qur’an is believed to be the flawless final revelation of God to humanity, valid until the day of the Resurrection.

Muslims hold that the message of Islam – submission to the will of the one God – is the same as the message preached by all the messengers sent by God to humanity since Adam. From an Islamic point of view, Islam is the oldest of the monotheistic religions because it represents both the original and the final revelation of God to Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. Members of all sects of Islam believe that the Qur’an codifies the direct words of God.

Islamic texts depict Judaism and Christianity as prophetic successor traditions to the teachings of Abraham. The Qur’an calls Jews and Christians “People of the Book,” and distinguishes them from polytheists. In order to reconcile discrepancies between the earlier prophets and the Qur’an, Muslims claim that Jews and Christians forgot or distorted the word of God after it was revealed to them. The majority of early Muslim scholars, and some modern ones, believe it was just distortion in interpretation of the Bible. However, others believe that there was also textual distortion, that Jews changed the Tawrat (Torah), and Christians the Injil (Gospels) by altering the meaning, form and placement of words in their respective holy texts.

The fundamental concept in Islam is the Oneness of God or tawh?d: monotheism which is absolute, not relative or pluralistic. The Oneness of God is the first of Islam’s five pillars, expressed by the Shahadah (testification). By declaring the Shahadah, a Muslim attests to the belief that there are no gods but God, and that Muhammad is God’s messenger.

In Arabic, God is called All?h. The word is etymologically connected to ?il?h “deity”. Muslims consider All?h to be the same deity as that worshipped by Christians and Jews, the God of Abraham. All?h is also used by Arab speaking Christian and Jewish people to refer to God as they worship him. The usage of the definite article in Allah linguistically indicates the divine unity. Muslims reject the Christian doctrine concerning the trinity of God, seeing it as akin to polytheism.

God is described in a sura of the Qu’ran as: “…God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”

No Islamic visual images or depictions of God are meant to exist because such artistic depictions may lead to idolatry. Moreover, Muslims believe that God is incorporeal, making any two- or three- dimensional depictions impossible. Such aniconism can also be found in Jewish and some Christian theology. Instead, Muslims describe God by the names and attributes that he revealed to his creation. All but one sura of the Qur’an begins with the phrase “In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful”.

The Qur’an is generally considered by Muslims to be the literal, undistorted word of God, and is the central religious text of Islam. It has also been called, in English, the Koran and, archaically, the Alcoran. The word Qur’an means “recitation”. Although the Qur’an is referred to as a “book”, when Muslims refer in the abstract to “the Qur’an”, they are usually referring to the scripture as recited in Arabic – the words themselves – rather than to the printed work or any translation of it.

Muslims believe that the verses of the Qur’an were revealed to Muhammad by God through the Angel Gabriel on numerous occasions between the years 610 and his death on July 6, 632. W. Montgomery Watt believes that Muhammad must have been sincere in his claims “for this alone makes credible the development of a great religion”, and Annemarie Schimmel states that the most recent studies of Muhammad indicate that Muhammad devoutly believed that he was God’s instrument. Modern Western academics generally hold that the Qur’an of today is not very different from the words Muhammad claimed to have been revealed to him as the search for other variants has not yielded any differences of great significance. In fact, the source of ambiguity in the quest for historical Muhammad is more the lack of knowledge about pre-Islamic Arabia. There is however a considerable debate in academia over the real chronology of the chapters of the Qur’an.

To interpret the Qu’ran, Muslims use a form of exegesis known as tafsir.

Most Muslims regard paper copies of the Qur’an with veneration, washing as for prayers before reading the Qur’an. Worn out Qur’ans are not discarded as wastepaper, but are typically sunk in the sea. Many Muslims memorize at least some portion of the Qur’an in the original Arabic, usually at least the verses needed to recite prayers. Those who have memorized the entire Qur’an are known as a hafiz. Muslims believe that the Qur’an is perfect only as revealed in the original Arabic. Translations, they maintain, are the result of human effort, and are deficient because of differences in human languages, because of the human fallibility of translators, and (not least) because any translation lacks the inspired content found in the original. Translations are therefore regarded only as commentaries on the Qur’an, or “interpretations of its meaning”, not as the Qur’an itself. Almost all modern, printed versions of the Qur’an are parallel text ones, with a vernacular translation facing the original Arabic text.

Sunnah literally means “trodden path” and it refers, in common usage, to the normative example of Muhammad, as recorded in traditions known as hadith about his speech, his actions, his acquiescence to the words and actions of others, and his personal characteristics. According to some opinions of Islamic scholars, the sunnah is the tradition of Abraham’s religion which Muhammad revived and reformed, after making certain additions.

The emulation of Muhammad’s example and authentic hadith reports originating from the Companions of Muhammad started from the ninth century. Earlier sources, however, reflect a more flexible use of the term. Shortly after Muhammad’s death, actions of the Rightly Guided Caliphs were also considered to be sunnah. This concept continued in Shi’a Islam in which Shi’ite imams are also a source of sunnah. Malik ibn Anas, author of Al-Muwatta, the earliest extant manual of Islamic law, used sunnah but treated the existing practice of the Muslims of Medina as a more reliable source of that sunnah than hadith.

During Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi`i’s time, these flexible concepts of Sunnah were challenged. Ash-Shafi`i challenged other groups in his times and insisted Sunnah can only be known from reliable hadith reports. He also championed the traditionalist argument that Sunnah is equivalent to revelation of God. From the tenth century onward, the canonical collections of hadith, especially the collections of Bukhari and Muslim, became virtually synonymous with Sunnah, exerting a profound and pervasive impact on Islamic culture Shatibi writes that Sunnah is either explanation of the Qur’an or addition to the Qur’an. If it is an explanation, then its status is secondary otherwise, it will only be considered addition if it is not discussed by the Qur’an.

Sunnah is the biggest point of contention among contemporary Muslims. A small group of Qur’an only Muslims reject Sunnah altogether, while almost all Muslims including revivalists like Mawdudi differentiate between Muhammad’s action as a prophet and as a normal human.

Jainism

Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma is a religion and philosophy originating in Ancient India with the teachings of Mahavira (ca. 6th century BC). A minority in modern India, with growing immigrant communities in the United States, Western Europe, Africa, the Far East and elsewhere, Jains continue to sustain the ancient Shraman or ascetic tradition.

Jains have significantly influenced the religious, ethical, political and economic spheres in India for more than two millennia. Jainism stresses spiritual independence and equality of all life with particular emphasis on non-violence. Self-control (vratae) is vital for attaining Keval Gyan and eventually moksha, or realization of the soul’s true nature.

The Jain Sangha, or community, has four components: monks, nuns (sadhvi), laymen, (Shravakas) and laywomen, (Shravikas). A Shravaka follows basic principles or “Niyam”.

Jain philosophy is based upon eternal, universal truths, according to its followers. Over time, these truths may lapse among humanity and then reappear through the teachings of enlightened humans, those who have reached enlightenment or total knowledge (Keval Gnan). Traditionally, in our universe and in our time, Lord Rishabha is regarded as the first to realize the truth. Lord Vardhaman (Mahavira) was the last Tirthankar to attain enlightenment (599-527 BCE), preceded by twenty-three Tirthankars making a total of twenty-four Tirthankars.

It is important to note that the above description stands true “in our universe and in our time” for Jains believe there have been infinite sets of 24 Tirthankars, and this will continue in the future. Hence, Jainism does not trace its origins to Rishabh Dev, the first, or Mahavir, the twenty-fourth Tirthankar.

Jainism has a very distinct idea underlying Tirthankar worship. The physical form is not to be worshipped, but it is the Gunas (virtues, qualities) which are praised. Tirthankars are only role-models, and sub-sects, like Sthanakvasi, refuse to worship statues.

Jains believe all souls are equal because they all possess the potential of being liberated and attaining Moksha. Here Jain Dharma is categorically different from Hinduism and many other religions. Tirthankars and Siddhas are role models only because they have attained Moksha. Jains believe that every human is responsible for his/her actions and all living beings have an eternal soul, j?va. It insists that we live, think and act respectfully and honor the spiritual nature of all life. Jains view God as the unchanging traits of the pure soul of each living being, chiefly described as Infinite Knowledge, Perception, Consciousness, and Happiness. Jains do not believe in an omnipotent supreme being, creator or manager (karta), but rather in an eternal universe governed by natural laws and the interplay of its attributes (gunas) and matter (dravya).

Jains call meditation Samayik, a word in the Prakrit language roughly meaning “equanimity”. The aim of Samayik is to transcend our daily experiences as “constantly changing” human beings, (Jiva), and identify with Atma, our “unchanging” reality. Samayik is begun by achieving a balance in time.

If this current moment is defined as a moving line between the past and the future, Samayik happens by being fully aware, alert and conscious in that moving time line when one experiences Atma, one’s true nature, common to all life. Samayik is from ‘samay’ (time, in Prakrit). Samayik is especially significant during Paryushana, a special 8-day period during the monsoon.

Jain scriptures were written over a long period of time, but the most cited is the Tattvartha Sutra, or Book of Reality written by the monk-scholar, Umasvati almost 1800 years ago. The primary figures are Tirthankars. There are two main sects called Digambar and Shvetambar, and both believe in ahimsa (or ahins?), asceticism, karma, sanskar, and jiva.

Compassion for all life, human and non-human, is central to Jainism. Human life is valued as a unique, rare opportunity to reach enlightenment: to kill any person, no matter what crime he may have committed, is considered unimaginably abhorrent. It is the only religion that requires monks and laity, from all its sects and traditions, to be vegetarian. Some Indian regions have been strongly influenced by Jains and often the majority of the local non-Jain population has also become vegetarian. History suggests that various strains of Hinduism became vegetarian due to strong Jain influences. In many towns, Jains run animal shelters. For example, Delhi has a bird hospital run by a Jain derasar, or temple.

Jainism’s stance on nonviolence goes much beyond vegetarianism. Jains refuse food obtained with unnecessary cruelty. Many are vegan due to the violence of modern dairy farms. The Jain diet excludes most root vegetables, as they believe this destroys entire plants unnecessarily. If you eat apples, you do not destroy whole trees, but for root vegetables, whole plants are uprooted. Garlic and onions are avoided as these are seen as creating passion, meaning anger, hatred, jealousy. Devout Jains do not eat, drink, or travel after sunset (Chauvihar) and rise before sunrise.

Anekantavada, a foundation of Jain philosophy, literally means “Nonsingular Conclusivity”, or equivalently, “Non-one-endedness”. Anekantavad consists of tools for overcoming inherent biases in any one perspective on any topic or in reality in general. Another tool is The Doctrine of Postulation, Sy?dv?da. Anekantavad is defined as a multiplicity of viewpoints, for it stresses looking at things from others’ perspectives.

Jains are usually very welcoming and friendly toward other faiths and often help with interfaith functions. Several non-Jain temples in India are administered by Jains. The Jain Heggade family has run the Hindu institutions of Dharmasthala, including the Sri Manjunath Temple, for eight centuries. Jain monks, like Acharya Tulsi and Acharya Sushil Kumar, have actively promoted harmony among sects to defuse tension.

A palpable presence in Indian culture, Jains have contributed to Indian philosophy, art, architecture, science, and to Mohandas Gandhi’s politics, which led to the mainly non-violent movement for Indian independence.

Paganism

Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning “a country dweller” or “civilian”) is a term which, from a western perspective, has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions. The term can be defined broadly, to encompass many or most of the faith traditions outside the Abrahamic monotheistic group of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This group may include some of the Dharmic religions, which incorporate seemingly pagan characteristics like nature-veneration, idol-worship, polytheism and reverence of female deities, and are thus diametrically opposite to the Abrahamic faiths. Ethnologists avoid the term “paganism”, with its uncertain and varied meanings, in referring to traditional or historic faiths, preferring more precise categories such as shamanism, polytheism, or animism. The term is also used to describe earth-based Native American religions and mythologies, though few Native Americans call themselves or their cultures “pagan”. Historically, the term “pagan” has usually had pejorative connotations among westerners, comparable to heathen, infidel, and mushrik and kafir in Islam. In modern times, though, the words “pagan” or “paganism” have become widely and openly used by some practitioners of certain spiritual paths outside the Abrahamic and Dharmic religious mainstream to describe their beliefs, practices, and organized movements.

The term pagan is from Latin paganus, an adjective originally meaning “rural”, “rustic” or “of the country.” As a noun, paganus was used to mean “country dweller, villager.” In colloquial use, it could mean much the same as calling someone today a ‘bumpkin’ or a ‘hillbilly’. Some believe Paganus was almost exclusively a derogatory term. (It is from this derivation of “villager” which we have the word “villain”, which the expanding Christians called the Pagans of Northern Europe/Scandinavia).

The semantic development of post-classical Latin paganus in the sense “non-Christian, heathen” is unclear. The dating of this sense is controversial, but the 4th century seems most plausible. An earlier example has been suggested in Tertullian De Corona Militis xi, “Apud hunc [sc. Christum] tam miles est paganus fidelis quam paganus est miles infidelis,” but here the word paganus may be interpreted in the sense “civilian” rather than “heathen”.

In another sense, as used by modern practitioners, Paganism is a polytheistic, panentheistic, or pantheistic religious practice, often nature-based. Most Pagans consider themselves to be religious, however some others use the term for a form of Atheism, Agnosticism, or philosophy. Neopaganism includes reconstructed religions such as Hellenic polytheism, Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism, and the many Germanic revivals such as satr, Heathenry, Norse paganism and Theodism. Due to the fact that Reconstructionist religions are polytheistic revivals and elaborations based on surviving cultural practices, many Reconstructionists prefer to be called Pagans, not Neopagans. It might best be assessed that they inhabit a grey area between Pagan and Neopagan.

Also categorised as Neopagan are religions such as Forn Sed, Neo-druidism, Longobardic Odinism, Lithuanian Romuva, and Slavic Rodoverie that also claim to revive an ancient religion rather than reconstruct it, though in general the difference is not absolutely fixed.

Modern eclectic traditions such as Discordianism, and Wicca and its many offshoots are Neopagan, although Wiccans and Wiccan-influenced Neopagans may also refer to themselves simply as “Pagan”.

Many of the “revivals”, Wicca and Neo-druidism in particular, have their roots in 19th century Romanticism and retain noticeable elements of occultism or theosophy that were current then, setting them apart from historical rural (paganus) folk religion.

Still, some practitioners even of syncretized and eclectic traditions tend to object to the term “Neopaganism” for their religion as they consider what they are doing not to be a new thing. It must be said, also, that since the 1990s, the number of reconstructionist movements that reject romantic or occult influences has increased, even if those Neopagans who make a conscious effort to separate pre-Christian from romanticism influences are still a minority.

For purposes of clarity this article will focus on the ancient religions, while Neopaganism is discussed in its own article.

Many current Pagans in industrial societies base their beliefs and practices on a connection to Nature, and a divinity within all living things, but this may not hold true for all forms of Paganism, past or present. Some believe that there are many deities, while some believe that the combined subconscious spirit of all living things forms the universal deity. Paganism pre-dates modern monotheism, although its origins are lost in prehistory. Ancient Greek Paganism, which tended in many cases to be a deification of the local deity, as Athena in Athens, saw each local emanation as an aspect of an Olympian deity during the Classical period and then after Alexander to syncretize the deity with the political process, with “state divinities” increasingly assigned to various localities, as Roma personified Rome. Many ancient regimes would claim to be the representative on earth of these gods, and would depend on more or less elaborate bureaucracies of state-supported priests and scribes to lend public support to their claims.

In one well-established sense, Paganism is the belief in any non-monotheistic religion, which would mean that the Pythagoreans of ancient Greece would not be considered Pagan in that sense, since they were monotheist, but not in the Abrahamic tradition. In an extreme sense, and like the pejorative sense below, any belief, ritual or pastime not sanctioned by a religion accepted as orthodox by those doing the describing, such as Burning Man, Halloween, or even Christmas, can be described as “pagan” by the person or people who object to them and the individuals who choose to claim this title.

Meditation

Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness. It usually involves turning the attention inward to the mind itself. Meditation is often recognized as a component of Eastern religions, having originated in Vedic Hinduism. It has also become mainstream in Western culture. It encompasses any of a wide variety of spiritual practices which emphasize mental activity or quiescence. Meditation can be used for personal development, or to focus the mind on God (or an aspect of God). Many practice meditation in order to achieve peace, while others practice certain physical yogas in order to become healthier.

The English word meditation comes from the Latin meditatio, which originally indicated every type of physical or intellectual exercise, then later evolved into the more specific meaning “contemplation.” The use of the word meditation in the western Christian tradition has referred generally to a more active practise of reflection on some particular theme such as “meditation on the sufferings of Christ”. Similarly in Western philosophy, one finds, for example, Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy, a set of six mental exercises which systematically analyze the nature of reality.

“Meditation” in its modern sense, however, more generally refers to what in Christian monasticism is called contemplation. Here, awareness is brought to bear on the reality of the present moment without deliberately encouraging conceptual thought or imagination. A meditative state is the state of mind that someone is in during meditation. It is usually a state of relaxation. In the late nineteenth century, Theosophists adopted the word “meditation” to refer to various spiritual practices drawn from Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Eastern religions. Thus the English word “meditation” does not exclusively translate any single term or concept, and can be used to translate words such as the Sanskrit dhyana, samadhi and bhavana.

Most traditions address the integration of mind, body, and spirit (this is a major theme of the Bhagavad-Gita); or that of spiritual practice with family life, work, and so on. Often, meditation is said to be incomplete if it doesn’t lead to positive changes in one’s daily life and attitudes. In that spirit some Zen practitioners have promoted “Zen driving,” aimed at reducing road rage.

Meditation is often presented not as a “free-standing” activity, but as one part of a wider spiritual tradition. Nevertheless, many meditators today do not follow an organized religion, or do not consider themselves to do so faithfully. Religious authorities typically insist that spiritual practices such as meditation belong in the context of a well-rounded religious life that may include ritual or liturgy, scriptural study, and the observance of religious laws or regulations.

Perhaps the most widely-cited spiritual prerequisite for meditation is an ethical lifestyle. Many martial arts teachers urge their students to respect parents and teachers, and inculcate other positive values. Some traditions incorporate “crazy wisdom” or intentionally transgressive acts, in their sacred lore if not in actual practice: Sufi poets (e.g. Rumi, Hafiz) celebrate the virtues of wine, which is forbidden in Islam.

Most meditative traditions discourage drug use. Exceptions include some forms of Hinduism and the Rastafari movement, which have a long tradition of cannabis using renunciates; and certain Native American traditions, which use peyote, ayahuasca, or other restricted substances in a religious setting.

A number of meditative traditions requires permission from a teacher or elder, who in turn has received permission from another teacher, and so on, in a lineage. Most Chinese traditions rely on the Confucian concept of a Sifu. Hinduism and Buddhism stress the importance of a spiritual teacher (Sanskrit guru, Tibetan lama). Orthodox Christianity has “spiritual elders” (Greek gerontas, Russian starets); Catholic religious have spiritual directors.

The immediate meditative environment is often held to be important. Several traditions incorporate cleansing rituals for the place where one meditates, and others offer instructions for an altar or other accessories.

In the recent years there has been a growing interest within the medical community to study the physiological effects of meditation (Venkatesh et al., 1997; Peng et al., 1999; Lazar et al., 2000; Carlson et al., 2001). Many concepts of meditation have been applied to clinical settings in order to measure its effect on somatic motor function as well as cardiovascular and respiratory function. Also the hermeneutic and phenomenological aspects of meditation are areas of growing interest. Meditation has entered the mainstream of health care as a method of stress and pain reduction. For example, in an early study in 1972, transcendental meditation was shown to affect the human metabolism by lowering the biochemical byproducts of stress, such as lactate, decreasing heart rate and blood pressure and inducing favorable brain waves. (Scientific American 226: 84-90 (1972)). In 1976, the Australian psychiatrist Ainslie Meares, reported in the Medical Journal of Australia, the regression of cancer following intensive meditation. Meares would go on to write a number of books, including his best-seller Relief without Drugs.

As a method of stress reduction, meditation is often used in hospitals in cases of chronic or terminal illness to reduce complications associated with increased stress including a depressed immune system. There is a growing consensus in the medical community that mental factors such as stress significantly contribute to a lack of physical health, and there is a growing movement in mainstream science to fund research in this area (e.g. the establishment by the NIH in the U.S. of 5 research centers to research the mind-body aspects of disease.) Dr. James Austin, a neurophysiologist at the University of Colorado, reported that Zen meditation rewires the circuitry of the brain in his landmark book Zen and the Brain (Austin, 1999). This has been confirmed using functional MRI imaging which examine the electrical activity of the brain.

Dr. Herbert Benson of the Mind-Body Medical Institute, which is affiliated with Harvard and several Boston hospitals, reports that meditation induces a host of biochemical and physical changes in the body collectively referred to as the “relaxation response” (Lazar et al., 2003). The relaxation response includes changes in metabolism, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and brain chemistry. Benson and his team have also done clinical studies at Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayan Mountains.

Other studies within this field include the research of Jon Kabat-Zinn and his colleagues at the University of Massachusetts who have studied the effects of mindfulness meditation on stress (Kabat-Zinn et al., 1985; Davidson et al., 2003).

Mindfulness meditation and related techniques are intended to train attention for the sake of provoking insight. Think of it as the opposite of attention deficit disorder. A wider, more flexible attention span makes it easier to be aware of a situation, easier to be objective in emotionally or morally difficult situations, and easier to achieve a state of responsive, creative awareness or “flow”.

One theory, presented by Daniel Goleman & Tara Bennett-Goleman (2001), suggests that meditation works because of the relationship between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. In very simple terms, the amygdala is the part of the brain that decides if we should get angry or anxious (among other things), and the pre-frontal cortex is the part that makes us stop and think about things (it is also known as the inhibitory centre).

So, the prefrontal cortex is very good at analyzing and planning, but it takes a long time to make decisions. The amygdala, on the other hand, is simpler (and older in evolutionary terms). It makes rapid judgments about a situation and has a powerful effect on our emotions and behaviour, linked to survival needs. For example, if a human sees a lion leaping out at them, the amygdala will trigger a fight or flight response long before the prefrontal cortex responds.

But in making snap judgments, our amygdalas are prone to error, such as seeing danger where there is none. This is particularly true in contemporary society where social conflicts are far more common than encounters with predators, and a basically harmless but emotionally charged situation can trigger uncontrollable fear or anger – leading to conflict, anxiety, and stress.

Because there is roughly a quarter of a second gap between the time an event occurs and the time it takes the amygdala to react, a skilled meditator may be able to intervene before a fight or flight response takes over, and perhaps even redirect it into more constructive or positive feelings.

The different roles of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex can be easily observed under the influence of various drugs. Alcohol depresses the brain generally, but the sophisticated prefrontal cortex is more affected than less complex areas, resulting in lowered inhibitions, decreased attention span, and increased influence of emotions over behaviour. Likewise, the controversial drug Ritalin has the opposite effect, because it stimulates activity in the prefrontal cortex.

Some studies of meditation have linked the practice to increased activity in the left prefrontal cortex, which is associated with concentration, planning, meta-cognition (thinking about thinking), and positive affect (good feelings). There are similar studies linking depression and anxiety with decreased activity in the same region, and/or with dominant activity in the right prefrontal cortex. Meditation increases activity in the left prefrontal cortex, and the changes are stable over time – even if you stop meditating for a while, the effect lingers.

Kabbalah

Kabbalah literally means “receiving”, in the sense of a “received tradition”, and is sometimes transliterated as Cabala, Kabbala, Qabalah, or other permutations. Kabbalah esoterically interprets the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and classical Jewish texts (halakha and aggadah) and practices (mitzvot), as expressing a mystical doctrine concerning God’s simultaneous immanence and transcendence, an attempted resolution to the ancient paradox of how the ultimate Being “that which is not conceivable by thinking” (Isaac the Blind) nevertheless comes to be known and experienced by the created world.

Because of the interpretive liberties taken by kabbalistic thinkers, and the possible heresies to which they may easily lead, study of Kabbalah was traditionally restricted to a select few Rabbis and Torah scholars. As Joseph Albo puts it in his Sefer Ha-Ikkarim (II:28, 15th century, trans:Husik), “This is why the science treating these things is called Kabbalah (lit. tradition), because tradition must be followed in the study and the practice of it, else one is liable to commit an error and to worship as God some one other than the Lord.”

The term Kabbalah originally refers to Talmudic texts from the Gnostic era, among the Geonim (early medieval rabbis) and by Rishonim (later medieval rabbis) as a reference to the full body of the oral tradition of Jewish teaching, which was publicly available. Even the works of the Tanakh’s prophets were referred to as Kabbalah, before they were canonized as part of the written tradition. In this sense Kabbalah was used in referring to all of Judaism’s oral law. Over time, much of the oral law was recorded, but the esoteric teachings remained an oral tradition. Now, even though the esoteric teachings of the Torah are recorded, it is still known as Kabbalah.

Thus, this term became connected with doctrines of esoteric knowledge concerning God, the human being and the relationship between them. Ontology, cosmogony, and cosmology are the main components of this esoteric lore. The reasons for the commandments in the Torah and the ways by which God administers the existence of the universe are also a part of the Kabbalah.

According to most segments of Orthodox Jewry, this esoteric Kabbalah dates from Adam and is an integral part of the Jewish tradition. They believe that this esoteric knowledge has come down from a remote past as a revelation to elect Tzadikim (“righteous men”), and for the most part, was preserved only by a privileged few. According to contemporary scholarship, the various schools of Jewish esotericism have arisen at different periods of Jewish history, each reflecting not only prior forms of Jewish esotericism but also the intellectual and culture milieu of that historical period. Questions of transmission, influence, and innovation vary and cannot be summarized with a simple doctrinaire claim.

According to adherents of Kabbalah, the origin of Kabbalah begins with secrets that God revealed to Adam. According to a rabbinic midrash[citation needed] God created the universe through the ten sefirot. When read by later generations of Kabbalists, the Torah’s description of the creation in the Book of Genesis reveals mysteries about the godhead itself, the true nature of Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life, as well as the interaction of these supernal entities with the Serpent which leads to disaster when they eat the forbidden fruit, as recorded in Genesis 2.

The Bible provides ample additional material for mythic and mystical speculation. The prophet Ezekiel’s visions in particular attracted much mystical speculation, as did Isaiah’s Temple vision (Chapter 6). Jacob’s vision of the ladder to heaven is another text providing an example of a mystical experience. Moses’ experience with the Burning bush and his encounters with God on Mount Sinai, are all evidence of mystical events in the Tanakh, and form the origin of Jewish mystical beliefs.

The 72 names of God which are used in Jewish mysticism are derived from the Hebrew verses Moses spoke to part the Red Sea, allowing the Hebrews to escape their approaching enemies with the assistance of an angel. This is the greatest miracle of the Exodus of the Hebrews which led to receiving of the Ten Commandments and acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai creating the first Jewish nation approximately three hundred years before King Saul.

Some scholars have even proposed an Indian origin for this mystic system. They credit it to the Sage Kapila who founded the Indian system of Samkhya-Yoga.

Jewish forms of esotericism did, however, exist over 2,000 years ago. Ben Sira warns against it, saying: “You shall have no business with secret things” (Sirach iii. 22; compare Talmud Hagigah 13a; Midrash Genesis Rabbah viii.).

Apocalyptic literature belonging to the second and first pre-Christian centuries contained elements that carry over to later Kabbalah. According to Josephus such writings were in the possession of the Essenes, and were jealously guarded by them against disclosure, for which they claimed a hoary antiquity (see Philo, “De Vita Contemplativa,” iii., and Hippolytus, “Refutation of all Heresies,” ix. 27).

That books containing secret lore were kept hidden away by (or for) the “enlightened” is stated in IV Esdras xiv. 45-46, where Pseudo-Ezra is told to publish the twenty-four books of the canon openly that the worthy and the unworthy may alike read, but to keep the seventy other books hidden in order to “deliver them only to such as be wise” (compare Dan. xii. 10); for in them are the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the stream of knowledge.

Instructive for the study of the development of Jewish mysticism is the Book of Jubilees written around the time of King John Hyrcanus. It refers to mysterious writings of Jared, Cain, and Noah, and presents Abraham as the renewer, and Levi as the permanent guardian, of these ancient writings. It offers a cosmogony based upon the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and connected with Jewish chronology and Messianology, while at the same time insisting upon the heptad (7) as the holy number rather than upon the decadic (10) system adopted by the later haggadists and the Sefer Yetzirah. The Pythagorean idea of the creative powers of numbers and letters was shared with Sefer Yetzirah and was known in the time of the Mishnah (before 200 CE).

Early elements of Jewish mysticism can be found in the non-Biblical texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, such as the Song of the Sabbath Sacrifice. Some parts of the Talmud and the midrash also focus on the esoteric and mystical, particularly Chagigah 12b-14b. Many esoteric texts, among them Hekalot Rabbati, Sefer HaBahir, Torat Hakana, Sefer P’liyah, Midrash Otiyot d’Rabbi Akiva, the Bahir, and the Zohar claim to be from the talmudic era, though some of these works, most notably the Bahir and Zohar, are considered by modern scholars to clearly be medieval works pseudepigraphically ascribed to the ancient past. Traditional orthodoxy, however, does not agree to this. In the medieval era Jewish mysticism developed under the influence of the word-number esoteric text Sefer Yetzirah. Jewish sources attribute the book to the biblical patriarch Abraham, though the text itself offers no claim as to authorship. This book, and especially its embryonic concept of the “sefirot,” became the object of systematic study of several mystical brotherhoods which eventually came to be called baale ha-kabbalah (“possessors or masters of the Kabbalah”).

Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) teaches that God is neither matter nor spirit. Rather God is the creator of both, but is himself neither. But if God is so different from his creation, how can there be any interaction between the Creator and the created? This question prompted Kabbalists to envision two aspects of God, (a) God himself, who in the end is unknowable, and (b) the revealed aspect of God that created the universe, preserves the universe, and interacts with mankind. Kabbalists speak of the first aspect of God as Ein Sof; this is translated as “the infinite”, “endless”, or “that which has no limits”. In this view, nothing can be said about this aspect of God. This aspect of God is impersonal. The second aspect of divine emanations, however, is at least partially accessible to human thought. Kabbalists believe that these two aspects are not contradictory but, through the mechanism of progressive emanation, complement one another. See Divine simplicity; Tzimtzum. The structure of these emanations have been characterized in various ways: Four “worlds” (Azilut, Yitzirah, Beriyah, and Asiyah), Sefirot, or Partzufim (“faces”). Later systems harmonize these models.

Some Kabbalistic scholars, such as Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, believe that all things are linked to God through these emanations, making us all part of one great chain of being. Others, such as Schneur Zalman of Liadi (founder of Lubavitch (Chabad) Hasidism), hold that God is all that really exists; all else is completely undifferentiated from God’s perspective. If improperly explained, such views can be interpreted as panentheism or pantheism. In truth, according to this philosophy, God’s existence is higher than anything that this world can express, yet He includes all things of this world down to the finest detail in such a perfect unity that His creation of the world effected no change in Him whatsoever. This paradox is dealt with at length in the Chabad Chassidic texts.

Judaism

Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. The religion of the ancient Hebrews and their descendants the Jews, based, according to the Hebrew Bible, on a covenant between God and Abraham about 2000 BCE, and the renewal of the covenant with Moses about 1200 BCE. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths, and it is one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. The values and history of the Jewish people are a major part of the foundation of other Abrahamic religions such as Christianity, Islam, as well as Samaritanism and the Bahá’í Faith.

Judaism has seldom, if ever, been monolithic in practice (although it has always been monotheistic in theology), and differs from many religions in that its central authority is not vested in any person or group but rather in its writings and traditions. Despite this, Judaism in all its variations has remained tightly bound to a number of religious principles, the most important of which is the belief that there is a single, omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, transcendent God, who created the universe and continues to be involved in its governance. According to traditional Jewish belief, the God who created the world established a covenant with the Jewish people, and revealed his laws and commandments to them in the form of the Torah. The practice of Judaism is devoted to the study and observance of these laws and commandments, as written in the Torah, as well as those found in the Talmud. As of 2006, adherents of Judaism numbered around 14 million followers, making it the world’s eleventh-largest organized religion.

The subject of the Hebrew Bible is an account of the Israelites’ (a branch of Hebrews) relationship with God as reflected in their history from the beginning of time until the building of the Second Temple (c. 350 BCE). This relationship is often portrayed as contentious, as Hebrews struggle between their faith in God and their attraction for other gods, and as some Hebrews, such as Abraham; (most notably and directly), Jacob, the father of all Israelites — later known as Israel; and Moses struggle with God.

According to Orthodox Judaism and most religious Jews, the Biblical patriarch Abraham was the first Hebrew. Rabbinic literature records that he was the first since the generation of Noah to publicly reject idolatry and preach monotheism. As a result, God promised he would have children: “Look now toward heaven and count the stars/So shall be your progeny.” (Genesis 15:5) Abraham’s first child was Ishmael and his second son was Isaac, whom God said would continue Abraham’s work and inherit the Land of Israel (then called Canaan), after having been exiled and redeemed. God sent the patriarch Jacob and his children to Egypt, where after many generations they became enslaved. Then God sent Moses to redeem the Israelites from slavery, and after the Exodus from Egypt, God led the Israelites to Mount Sinai in 1313BCE (Jewish Year 2448) and gave them the Torah, eventually bringing them to the land of Israel.

God designated the descendants of Aaron, Moses’ brother, to be a priestly class within the Israelite community. They first officiated in the tabernacle (a portable house of worship), and later their descendants were in charge of worship in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Once the Israelites had settled in the land of Israel, the tabernacle was planted in the city of Shiloh for over 300 years during which time God provided great men, and occasionally women, to rally the nation against attacking enemies, some of which were sent by God as a punishment for the sins of the people. This is described in the Book of Joshua and the Book of Judges. As time went on, the spiritual level of the nation declined to the point that God allowed the Philistines to capture the tabernacle in Shiloh.

The people of Israel then told Samuel the prophet that they had reached the point where they needed to be governed by a permanent king, as were other nations, as described in the Books of Samuel. Samuel grudgingly acceded to this request and appointed Saul, a great but very humble man, to be their King. When the people pressured Saul into going against a command conveyed to him by Samuel, God told Samuel to appoint David in his stead.

Once King David was established, he told the prophet Nathan that he would like to build a permanent temple, and as a reward for his actions, God promised David that he would allow his son to build the temple and the throne would never depart from his children (David himself was not allowed to build the temple because he had been involved in many wars, making it inappropriate for him to build a temple representing peace). As a result, it was David’s son Solomon who built the first permanent temple according to God’s will, in Jerusalem, as described in the Books of Kings.

After Solomon’s death, his Kingdom was split into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. After several hundred years, because of rampant idolatry, God allowed Assyria to conquer Israel and exile its people. The southern Kingdom of Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem, home of the Temple, remained under the rule of the House of David, however, as in the north, idolatry increased to the point that God allowed Babylonia to conquer the Kingdom, destroy the Temple which had stood for 410 years, and exile its people to Babylonia, with the promise that they would be redeemed after seventy years. These events are recorded in the Book of Isaiah and the Book of Jeremiah.

After seventy years the Judahites were allowed back into Judaea under the leadership of Ezra, and the Temple was rebuilt, as recorded in the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah. The Second Temple stood for 420 years, after which it was destroyed by the Roman general (later emperor) Titus. The Israelite temple is to remain in ruins until a descendant of David arises to restore the glory of Israel and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Torah, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; given on Mount Sinai was summarized in the five books of Moses. Together with the books of the prophets it is called the Written Torah.

The details and interpretation of the law, which are called the Oral Torah or oral law were originally an unwritten tradition based upon what God told Moses on Mount Sinai that was not the written aspect of the law but all the codes of the Mishna as well as other holy books.

However, as the persecutions of the Jews increased and the details were in danger of being forgotten, rabbinic tradition holds that these oral laws were recorded by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (Rabbi Judah the Prince) and recorded in the Mishnah. The Talmud was a compilation of both the Mishna & the Gemara (Aramaic for the word Tradition). The Babylonian Talmud is a recording of the inquiry of how to apply the Mishna legally, recorded from discussions in the houses of study by the scholars Ravina I, Ravina II, and Rav Ashi over an era.

Common editions of the Talmud today have the Mishna followed by its associated Gemara commentary. Then, the next Mishna, often only a few lines or short paragraph, followed by the commentary relevant to that Mishna which may be pages long, and so on until that particular tractate of Mishna is completed. There may be many chapters of Mishna in any given tractate (Ma’sechta in Hebrew).

In pre-Constantinian late antiquity and even after, Judaism was extremely attractive to a substantial percentage of the Greco-Roman world. However, the numbers of Gentiles who actually undertook circumcision and the obligations of Sabbath observance were actually many fewer than those who found Judaism otherwise attractive. Without formal conversion, these Gentiles remained outside of Judaism.

Hinduism

Hinduism is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. With its foundations in the Vedic civilization, it has no known founder, being itself a conglomerate of diverse beliefs and traditions. It is considered the world’s “oldest extant religion,” and has approximately a billion adherents, of whom about 890 million live in India, placing it as the world’s third largest religion after Christianity and Islam. Other countries with large Hindu populations include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Pakistan.

Hinduism provides a vast body of scriptures. Divided as revealed and remembered, and developed over millennia, these scriptures expound an equally vast range of theology, philosophy, and myth, providing spiritual insights along with guidance on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among such texts, Hindus revere the Vedas along with the Upanishads as being among the foremost in authority, importance, and antiquity.

Hinduism is sometimes considered to be a polytheistic religion, but such a view tends to oversimplify a diverse system of thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, monism and even atheism. For instance, the Advaita Vedanta school holds that there is only one causal entity (Brahman), which manifests itself to humans in multiple forms while many scholars consider Samkhya to have atheistic leanings.

According to the monistic/panentheistic theologies of Hinduism, Brahman (the greater Self or God) is in the highest sense One and nondifferentiated from the world and its beings (hence ‘nondualist’). In connoting Brahman’s absolutely unparalleled nature, it is also called Parambrahman, where the Sanskrit prefix param- denotes “ultimate”. Brahman is also sometimes seen as synonymous with the concept of Paramatma (Supreme Spirit). Beyond time and space, both immanent and transcendant, Brahman is often described succinctly as sacchidananda, meaning ‘Truth-Consciousness-Bliss’, not only possessing the qualities but also being their very essence. Advaita philosophy declares that ultimately Brahman (the impersonal God) is beyond mere intellectual description and can be understood only through direct spiritual experience, where the ‘knower’ and the ‘known’ are subsumed into the act of ‘knowing’. The goal is to “wake up” and realize that one’s atman, or soul, is really identical to Brahman, the uber-soul.

On the other hand, monotheistic (typically Dvaita Vedanta) and related devotional (bhakti) schools, understand Brahman as a Supreme Being who possesses personality. In these conceptions, Brahman is associated with Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti depending on the sect. Brahman is seen as fundamentally separate from its reliant souls (humanity) so, in achieving liberation, individual beings experience God as an independent being, a living personality, and retain their individual identities.

Many Hindus do not claim to belong to any particular denomination at all. However, academics categorize contemporary Hinduism into four major denominations: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and Smartism. The denominations differ primarily in the God worshipped as the Supreme One and in the traditions that accompany worship of that God.

Vaishnavas worship Vi?h?u; Shaivites worship Shiva; Shaktas worship Shakti (power) personified through a female divinity or Mother Goddess, Devi; while Smartists believe in the essential sameness of all deities and that they are all Brahman.

There are also many movements that are not easily placed in any of the above categories, such as Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s ?rya Sam?j, which condemns image worship and veneration of multiple deities. It focuses on the Vedas and the Vedic fire sacrifices. In Tantra, the Goddess is considered the power of Shiva, and thus represents a combination of the Shaiva and shakta denominations.

As in every religion, some view their own denomination as superior to others. However, many Hindus consider other denominations to be legitimate alternatives to their own. Heresy is therefore generally not an issue for Hindus.