Theosophy

Theosophy, literally “wisdom of the divine” (in the Greek language), designates several bodies of ideas. Philosophers such as Emanuel Swedenborg and Jacob Boehme are commonly called theosophists. The word was revived in the nineteenth century by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky to designate her religious philosophy which holds that all religions are attempts by humanity to approach the absolute, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth. Together with Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge, and others, Blavatsky founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. This society has since split into a number of organizations, some of which no longer use the term “theosophy”.

A formal definition from the Concise Oxford Dictionary describes Theosophy as “any of various philosophies professing to achieve a knowledge of God by spiritual ecstasy, direct intuition, or special individual revelation; esp. a modern movement following Hindu and Buddhist teachings, and seeking universal brotherhood.” Madame Blavatsky’s theosophy would, however, not fall under this definiton, as it is non-theistic.

Adherents of Theosophy maintain that it is a “body of truth” that forms the basis of all religions. Theosophy, they claim, represents a modern face of Sanatana Dharma, “the eternal truth,” as the proper religion.

The motto of the parent society is : “There is no religion higher than Truth.”

According to Theosophy, nature does not operate by chance. Every event, past or present, happens because of laws which are part of a universal paradigm. Theosophists hold that everything, living or not, is put together from basic building blocks evolving towards consciousness. H.P. Blavatsky’s Theosophy is non-theistic, however some of her followers seem closer to theistic attitudes.

Theosophists believe that all human beings in their “higher selves” are immortal, but their lower personalities are unconscious of the link with their eternal spiritual nature and will perish.

Like esoteric Buddhism, from which much of Theosophical thought springs, Theosophy teaches that beings have attained the human state through myriad reincarnations, passing through the mineral, plant and animal stages since before the birth of life on earth. However, Theosophy differs from the esoteric belief that regression is possible. Humans cannot reincarnate as animals or plants again except in the rare cases of disintegrating “lost souls.” Conversely, humans are considered only the epitome of physical life on Earth and not the end stage of evolution, which continues for further stages, including the form of the Dhyani Chohans or Buddhic beings.

Theosophy is similar to the beliefs of the Hindu Arya Samaj sect concerning karma, dharma and cosmogony. Theosophy teaches that evil and good are the result of differentiation of spirit/matter in a cycle of becoming. There is a natural involution of spirit into matter followed by an evolution of matter back into spirit. The purpose of the Universe is for spirit to manifest itself self-consciously through seven stages.

Theosophy teaches that every thing of whatever kind is from one divine source. All things are “monads” in reality. All monads potentially possess the same principles and their forms and natures are an expression of their present consciousness level.

Theosophists believe that religion, philosophy, science, the arts, commerce, and philanthropy, among other “virtues,” lead humans ever closer to “the Absolute.”

Planets, solar systems and even galaxies are seen as conscious beings, fulfilling their own evolutionary paths.

The spiritual units of the universe are the monads, which at different times may manifest as planets, angels, human beings or in various other forms.

Theosophists also believe that human civilization, like all other parts of the universe, develops through cycles of seven stages. Thus, in the first age, humans were pure spirit; in the second age, they are known as Hyperboreans; in the third as Lemurians; and in the fourth, Atlanteans. Since Atlantis was the nadir of the cycle, the present fifth age is a time of reawakening humanity’s psychic gifts.

Modern Theosophical esotericism, however, begins with Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) usually known as Madame Blavatsky. In 1875 she founded the Theosophical Society in New York City together with Henry Steel Olcott, who was a government investigator, lawyer and writer. Madame Blavatsky was a world traveller who eventually settled in India where, with Olcott, she established the headquarters of the Society. She claimed numerous psychic and spiritualist powers. Her first major book Isis Unveiled (1877) presented elements mainly from the Western wisdom tradition based on her extensive travels in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Her second major work The Secret Doctrine (1888), a commentary on The Book of Dzyan, is based on esoteric Buddhism and also Hinduism. These writings became the basic pillars of the Theosophical movement, together with The Mahatma Letters, purported to originate with highly evolved humans directing HPB and the Theosophical Society

Upon Blavatsky’s death in 1891, several Theosophical societies emerged following a series of schisms. Annie Besant became leader of the society based in Adyar India, while William Quan Judge split off the American Section of the Theosophical Society in New York which later moved to Point Loma, Covina, and Pasadena, California under a series of leaders: Katherine Tingley, Gottfried de Purucker, Colonel Arthur L. Conger, James A. Long, Grace F. Knoche, and in March 2006 Randell C. Grubb. The great pulp fiction writer Talbot Mundy was a member of the Point Loma group, and wrote many articles for its newsletter. Yet another international theosophical organization, the United Lodge of Theosophists, was formed by Robert Crosbie. He went to Point Loma in 1900 to help Katherine Tingley, left in 1904, and founded his society in 1909.

Rudolf Steiner created a successful branch of the Theosophical Society Adyar in Germany. He focused on a Western esoteric path that incorporated the influences of Christianity and natural science, resulting in tensions with Annie Besant. (cf. Rudolf Steiner and the Theosophical Society)- having already founded his own Anthroposophical Society a month earlier – after he refused members of the Order of the Star of the East membership in the German Section, opposing the theosophical principle of admitting members from all religious persuasions. The great majority of German-speaking theosophists, as well as several others, joined Steiner’s new society. (Steiner later became famous for his ideas about education, resulting in an international network of “Steiner Schools.”)

In North London, another splinter group split off to form the Palmers Green Lodge under the leadership of the occultist and colonial adventurer, Thomas Neumark-Jones. The Palmers Green Lodge published the journal Kayfabe which published, among others, Rainbow Circle writers like Hobhouse and Chiozza Money. After the death of William Quan Judge, another society, the United Lodge of Theosophists, emerged, recognizing no leader after Judge; it is now based in Los Angeles, California.

Other organizations based on the theosophical teachings include The Lucis Trust, Share International, Agni Yoga, The Bridge to Freedom, The Summit Lighthouse / Church Universal and Triumphant, and The Temple of The Presence.

Taoism

Taoism (pronounced and often written as Daoism (dow-ism)) is the English name for a religious and philosophical tradition in China. While there is a great deal of debate over how and if Taoism should be subdivided, some scholars have divided it into the following three categories.

Dao Jia [philosophical tao] philosophical school based on the texts the Tao Te Ching and the Zhuangzi;

a family of organized Chinese religious movements such as the Zhengyi (“Orthodoxy”) or Quanzhen (“complete reality”) sects, which collectively trace back to Zhang Daoling in the late Han Dynasty;

The English word Taoism is used to translate the Chinese terms Daojiao (“teachings/religion of the Dao”) and Daojia (“school of the Dao”). The character Tao (or Dao, depending on the romanisation scheme) means “path” or “way”, but in Chinese religion and philosophy it has taken on more abstract meanings. The compound Daojiao refers to Daoism as a religion; Daojia refers to the activity of scholars in their studies. It must be noted that this distinction is itself controversial and fraught with hermeneutic difficulty. Many scholars believe that there is no distinction between Daojia and Daojiao, and that the distinction is propagated by people who are not familiar with Taoism.

Much uncertainty exists over the meaning of Taoism, not least because of its often being confused with such seemingly similar disciplines such as Zen. This is compounded by the fact that one of the most important scholarly works on Taoism in any western language, ‘Taoism and Chinese Religion’ by Henri Maspero, is no longer available in English even though a highly regarded translation was published by the University Of Massachusetts Press in 1981. In some countries and contexts (for example, the Taoism organisations of China and Taiwan), the label is applied to Chinese folk religion, which would otherwise not have a readily recognisable English name. However many, if not most, of its practitioners would not recognise Taoism (in any language) as the name of their religion. Moreover, the several forms of what we might call organised Taoism often distinguish their ritual activities from those of the folk religion, which some professional Taoists (Daoshi) tend to view as debased.

Chinese alchemy, astrology, cuisine, several Chinese martial arts, Chinese traditional medicine, fengshui, and many styles of qigong breath training disciplines have some relationship with Taoism.

Depending on how it is defined, Taoism’s origins may be traced to prehistoric Chinese religions in China; to the composition of the Tao Te Ching (3rd or 4th century BCE); or to the activity of Zhang Daoling (2nd century AD). Alternatively, one could argue that Taoism as a religious identity only arose later, by way of contrast with the newly-arrived religion of Buddhism, or with the fourth-century codification of the Shangching and Lingbao texts.

Other accounts credit Laozi (reputed author of the Tao Te Ching) as the teacher of both Buddha, and Confucius, and alleged Laozi to have had thirteen incarnations starting in the reign of Fuxi, one of the Three August Ones and Five Emperors up until his last as Laozi who lived over 900 years. They describe early Taoism to ancient picture writing, mysticism, and indigenous Ancestor worship. Symbology on tortoise shells predates early Chinese calligraphy and is the basis of written Chinese from artifacts dated from prior to 1600 BCE.

Legend has it that while passing through the hills of China, a bridge keeper asked Laozi to write a book containing his thoughts and beliefs, which yielded the text of Tao Te Ching.

Taoism has never been a unified religion and has always consisted of different teachings based on many different original revelations. Therefore different branches of Taoism often have very different beliefs. Nevertheless, there are certain core beliefs that all the schools share.[27]

Beyond the Chinese folk religion, various rituals, exercises, or substances are said to positively affect one’s physical health (even to the point of immortality); align oneself spiritually with cosmic forces; or enable ecstatic spiritual journeys. These concepts seem basic to Taoism in its elite forms.

Philosophical Taoism does not refer to one Taoist school or group of philosophers. Philosophical Taoism is a part of Xuanxue and other lineages. Ultimately the distinction between philosophical and religious Taoism is as difficult to define as Taoism itself. Religious Taoists may never have read Laozi or Zhuangzi or any of the Daozang, and being called a Taoist may even seem unfamiliar or artificial.

Philosophical Taoism emphasizes various themes found in the Tao Te Ching such as “nonaction” (wu wei), emptiness, detachment, the strength of softness (or flexibility), and The Zhuangzi such as receptiveness, spontaneity, the relativism of human ways of life, ways of speaking and guiding behavior. Most philosophical debate concerns dao–what way we should follow, but really, Taoists more directly question what dao is, how or if we can know it and emphasize more than other schools the ways social daos depend on and presuppose natural daos. Their more detached discussion and their reluctance to formulate or advocate a social dao of their own means their discussions tend to be more playful and paradoxical than dogmatic. This makes their tone strikingly different from Confucian and Mohist texts.

All forms of Chinese traditional religion involve baibai –bowing towards an altar, with a stick of incense in one’s hand. This may be done at home, or in a temple, or outdoors; by an ordinary person, or a professional; and the altar may feature any number of deities or ancestral tablets. Baibai is usually done in accordance with certain dates of the lunar/solar calendar (see Chinese calendar).

At certain dates, food may be set out as a sacrifice to the gods and/or spirits of the departed. This may include slaughtered pigs and ducks, or fruit. Another form of sacrifice involves the burning of Hell Bank Notes, on the assumption that images thus consumed by the fire will reappear–not as a mere image, but as the actual item–in the spirit world, and be available for the departed spirit to use.

Also at certain dates, street parades take place. These are lively affairs which invariably involve firecrackers and flower-covered floats broadcasting traditional music. Street parades may also include lion dances and dragon dances; human-occupied puppets (often of the “Seventh Lord” and “Eighth Lord”); jitong ( male “Mediums”) who mutilate their skin with knives; Bajiajiang, which are gongfu-practicing honor guards in demonic makeup; and palanquins carrying god-images. The various participants are not considered performers, but rather possessed by the god in question.[31]

Fortune-telling–including astrology, palmistry, phrenology, and divination–has long been considered a traditional Taoist pursuit. Mediumship is also widely encountered. We may distinguish between martial forms of mediumship (like the aforementioned jitong) and more literary forms in which the possessed medium communicates messages from the spirit world by writing them with a special utensil.

Isabelle Robinet’s book Taoist Meditation describes various practices given in the Maoshan texts. These include controlling bodily fluids such as urine, saliva, and the breath; visualisation practices in which various internal organs are imaginarily linked with corresponding gods and/or celestial bodies (e.g. the stars of the bei tou, the “Big Dipper”); and heavenly journeys via the Great Pole, which is reached by a limping shamanic dance called the “Step of Wu”.

The fundamental form of activity among philosophical Taoists seems to be the reading and writing of books. Taoists of this type tend to be civil servants, elderly retirees, or in modern times, university faculty. While there is considerable overlap with religious Taoism, there are often important divergences in interpretation. Wang Bi, one of the most influential philosophical commentators on the Laozi (and Yijing) was in fact a Confucian.[32]

For many educated Chinese people (the Literati), life was divided into a social aspect, where Confucian doctrine prevailed, and a private aspect, with Taoist aspirations. Night-time, exile, or retirement provided the opportunity to cultivate Taoism and reread Laozi and Zhuangzi. The Literati often dedicated this period of life to arts such as calligraphy, painting, and poetry, or personal researches into antiquities, medicine, folklore, and so on.

The Vinegar Tasters (sometimes called Three Vinegar Tasters) is a popular painting (usually in scroll format) that explained Taoist ideals in relation to the Neo-Confucian school which began in the 10th century and gained prominence in the 12th century. The image depicts Laozi together with The Buddha, and Confucius. In these paintings the three are gathered around a vat of vinegar and the motto associated with the grouping is “the three teachings are one.” However, see The Vinegar Tasters for an alternate interpretation.

The origins of Taoism and other philosophical schools are intimately related. The authorship of the Daodejing is assigned to Laozi, traditionally thought to be a teacher of Confucius, yet appears to be reacting against Confucian doctrine (suggesting the text comes after Confucianism). Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu), the other defining philosopher of Daoism, reacted both to the Confucian-Mohist ethical disputes and to related developments in theory of names (language). There is little evidence of a link between Laozi and Zhuangzi–whose most frequent interactions are with Hui Shi (of the school of names). However, the chapters of the Zhuangzi written after his death include dialogues between Laozi and Confucius that mimic (or inspire?) the style of the Daodejing, suggesting the first association of the two texts dates from around that time. The “history of thought” contained in the Zhuangzi cites Laozi as a prior step (and demotes Hui Shi to a postscript). It includes the Mohists by name and the Confucians by implication and a cluster of other less well known thinkers.

The terms Dao and De (virtue/excellence) are shared terms of debate in this period. Most of the texts of ancient Chinese philosophy argued for some dao or other and advocated cultivating de in that favored dao. While dao was initially ethical-social norms, it quickly broadened to include the norms of language use and of claiming or attributing knowledge. This broadening dialectic about dao is what warrants describing the views of Laozi and Zhuangzi as Daoism. Daoism represents the view that the norms for language, knowledge, ethics and society are grounded in and continuous with natural norms. So any discussion of dao and de involves us in reflections on the nature of human society and its place in the universe as a whole.

These early Taoist texts reject numerous basic assumptions of Confucianism, embracing instead values based on nature, perspectivalism, and spontaneity. They express skepticism of conventional moralities and Mozi’s Utilitarian or Mencius’ benevolence based revisions. Since politics was conceived by these traditional schools as a scheme for unifying all “under the sky” in their favored dao, Taoists tend toward anarchism, mistrustful of hierarchical social structures and particularly, governments. (Zhuangzi argues that the proponents of benevolence and morality are usually found at the gates of feudal lords who have stolen their kingdoms.) Although philosophical Taoist appear to be anarchist, it is clearly an over statement. Mitigated Anarchism would better categorise the philosophical Taoists, they tend to believe in the idea that the government should act in a ‘non acting’ or ‘wu wei’ manner. This means that they should only act when necessary and their actions should not be felt directly by the people, nor should they be visible to the people. Chapters 57-81 of the Dao De Ching all deal with government, ruling, and appeasing the people.

Taoist thought partly inspired Legalist philosophers, whose theories were used by Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Chinese Empire. The junction point can be found in the work of Hanfeizi, a prominent Legalist thinker who commented on the Tao Te Ching. Hanfeizi used some chapters of the book to justify a structured society based on law and punishment and on the undiscussed power of the Emperor.

The entry of Buddhism into China was via its dialectic with later Taoism which transformed them both. Over the centuries of Chinese interactions, Buddhism gradually found itself transformed from a competitor of Taoism, to a fellow inhabitant of the Chinese cultural ecosystem.[36] Originally seen as a kind of foreign Taoism, its scriptures were translated into Chinese with Taoist vocabulary. Chan Buddhism in particular is inspired by crucial elements of philosophical Taoism, ranging from distrust of scripture, text and language to its more positive view of “this life”, practice, skill and the absorption in “every-moment”. In the Tang period Taoism incorporated such Buddhist elements as monasteries, vegetarianism, prohibition of alcohol, the celibacy of the clergy, the doctrine of emptiness, and the amassing of a vast collection of scripture into tripartite organisation.[37]

Ideological and political rivals in ancient times, Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism have inevitably deeply influenced one another, and eventually achieved a kind of modus vivendi in which each has its own particular ecological niche within Chinese society. With time, most Chinese people likewise came to identify to some extent with all three traditions simultaneously. This became institutionalised by the time of the Song Dynasty, when aspects of the three schools were consciously synthesised in the Neo-Confucian school, which eventually became Imperial orthodoxy for state bureaucratic purposes.

Taoism up till early twentieth century maintained a school with gifted practioners with special powers including knowldege of Alchemy and Exorcism as a means to mend the ills of its followers but subsequently this was subjugated as myth and superstitions, leading to beliefs that they were shamanic practices from ancient Chinese traditions.

In spreading Catholic Christianity to China, Jesuit Matteo Ricci sought to ally the Church with Confucianism. In so doing the Jesuits encouraged the view that China lacked a high religion of its own (since Confucianism was not regarded as such). This was only a contemporary view, as neither Confucianism nor Taoism can be moulded into establishments directly comparable to Catholicism in its post Middle Ages expansionism. Until well into the twentieth century, Christians have tended to view religious Taoism as a hodgepodge of primitive superstitions, or even as a form of demonolatry due to insufficient understanding.

In the last century or so, Taoism (along with Confucianism and Buddhism) has become incorporated into the theology of the Way of Former Heaven sects, notably Yiguandao however this annexation is not a sanctioned move. The same could be said with respect to Vietnam’s religion of Caodaism.

Western New Agers have embraced some aspects of Taoism: the name and concept of Dao, the names and concepts of yin and yang; an appreciation for Laozi and Zhuangzi, and a respect for other aspects of Chinese tradition such as qigong. At the same time, Western appropriations differ in subtle (or not so subtle) ways from their Asian sources. For example, the word Dao is used in numerous book titles which are connected to Chinese culture only tangentially. Examples would include Fritjof Capra’s The Tao of Physics, or Benjamin Hoff’s The Tao of Pooh.

Taoism has also been a resource for those in environmental philosophy, who see the non-anthropocentric nature of Taoism as a guide for new ways of thinking about nature and environmental ethics. Some consider Taoism to fit naturally with the radical environmental philosophy of deep ecology. Daoism and Ecology: Ways Within A Cosmic Landscape edited by N. J. Girardot, James Miller, and Liu Xiaogan is currently the most thorough introduction to studies done on concepts of nature and ecology within Taoism.

Spirituality

Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. The spiritual, involving (as it may) perceived eternal verities regarding humankind’s ultimate nature, often contrasts with the temporal, with the material, or with the worldly. A sense of connection forms a central defining characteristic of spirituality – connection to something greater than oneself, which includes an emotional experience of religious awe and reverence. Equally importantly, spirituality relates to matters of sanity and of psychological health. Like some forms of religion, spirituality often focuses on personal experience (see mysticism).

Spirituality may involve perceiving life as higher, more complex or more integrated with one’s world view; as contrasted with the merely sensual.

An important distinction exists between spirituality in religion and spirituality as opposed to religion.

In recent years, spirituality in religion often carries connotations of a believer having a faith more personal, less dogmatic, more open to new ideas and myriad influences, and more pluralistic than the doctrinal faiths of established religions. It also can connote the nature of believers’ personal relationship or “connection” with their god(s) or belief system(s), as opposed to the general relationship with a Deity as shared by all members of a given faith.

Those who speak of spirituality as opposed to religion generally meta-religiously believe in the existence of many “spiritual paths” and deny any objective truth about the best path to follow. Rather, adherents of this definition of the term emphasize the importance of finding one’s own path to whatever-god-there-is, rather than following what others say works. In summary: the path which makes the most coherent sense becomes the correct one (for oneself). Many adherents of orthodox religions who regard spirituality as an aspect of their religious experience tend to contrast spirituality with secular “worldliness” rather than with the ritual expression of their religion.

People of a more New-Age disposition tend to regard spirituality not as religion per se, but as the active and vital connection to a force, spirit, or sense of the deep self. As cultural historian and yogi William Irwin Thompson (1938 – ) put it, “Religion is not identical with spirituality; rather religion is the form spirituality takes in civilization.” (1981, 103)

For a religious parallel to the approach whereby some see spirituality in everything, compare pantheism.

Until recent centuries, the history of spirituality remained bound up within the history of religion. Spiritual innovators who operated within the context of a religious tradition became either marginalised/suppressed as heretics or separated out as schismatics. In these circumstances, anthropologists generally treat so-called “spiritual” practices such as shamanism in the sphere of the religious, and class even non-traditional activities such as those of Robespierre’s Cult of the Supreme Being in the province of religion.

Schmidt (2005) sees Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803- 1882) as a pioneer of the idea of spirituality as a distinct field. Important early 20th century writers who studied the phenomenon include William James (The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)) and Rudolph Otto (especially The Idea of the Holy (1917).

The distinction between the spiritual and the religious became more common in the popular mind during the late 20th century with the rise of secularism and the advent of the New Age movement.

Reiki

Reiki is a form of spiritual practice, often compared to faith healing, proposed for the treatment of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual diseases. Mikao Usui developed Reiki in early 20th century Japan, where he claimed to receive the ability of ‘healing without energy depletion’ after three weeks of fasting and meditating on Mount Kurama. Practitioners use a technique similar to the laying on of hands, in which they claim to be channels for energy (“Ki”) guided by a universal spirit or spiritual nature (“Rei”) flowing through their palms to heal a person wherever they may need healing. A study said that in 2002 there were over one million U.S. adults who had experienced Reiki treatments.

There are some points of controversy regarding the legitimacy of Reiki. Some studies have shown that the effect of Reiki is similar to that of a placebo, and the majority of the scientific community considers it classifiable as pseudoscience.

Some schools teach that Reiki energy enters the practitioner through the 7th (crown or Shasrara) chakra, goes through the 4th chakra and then flows through her or his hands (secondary chakras) into the body of the recipient. It is also taught that Reiki energy enters through the 1st (root or Muladhara) chakra at the base of the spine, fills the aura, becomes centered in the 4th (heart or Anahata) chakra, and flows out through the practitioner’s hands. Most schools teach that the Reiki energy is an “intelligent” energy, which “knows what to do,” or “where it is needed the most.” Thus, Reiki adherents say, if the recipient needs it and is ready to heal, the Reiki energy will go where it needs to for healing. If the intended recipient does not accept the energy on some level, the energy will not be absorbed. Some schools teach that Reiki “spirit guides” keep watch over Reiki energy and assist the practitioner. It is said by them that any intention to do harm will block the flow of Reiki energy.]

In a Reiki session, the practitioner asks the recipient to lie down and relax. The practitioner then is said to act as a channel for Reiki energy, purportedly allowing “Reiki energy” to be channelled through the practitioner to wherever the patient is thought to require it. Usually the practitioner moves their hands close to or on various parts of the recipient’s body.

Some claim that practitioners can also channel Reiki energy through other parts of their bodies (for example, their eyes or their breathing) if they wish. According to practitioners, intention is the primary method for directing the flow of the energy. Reiki healers say that their energy can be used for healing either in physical proximity or from a distance. Furthermore, many, but not all, Reiki healers claim that the ability to share Reiki comes only after a “Reiki Master” performs an initiation or attunement.]

There have been claims of positive effects of Reiki treatment in papers published in some medical journals promoting alternative medicine. Proposed benefits include relaxation and increased immunity, reduced heart rate, improved blood pressure, reduced pain, anxiety and depression..

A Japanese Tendai Buddhist named Mikao Usui claimed to have discovered Reiki after long meditation, fasting, and prayer. Usui wrote that by mystical revelation he had gained the knowledge and spiritual power to apply and attune others to what he called Reiki. Mikao Usui said that he had the ability to enable people to enhance their access to the energy through certain initiations. Usui taught that his attunements to Reiki enhanced and refined a person’s pre-existing ability to connect with Reiki. Through such initiations, students are said to become clearer channels for Reiki, and thereby improve the quality of treatments that student (or practitioner) provides.

Some schools of Reiki are said to believe that Mikao Usui was pursuing knowledge of healing before he developed his Reiki method and that he also studied traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, Qigong, and Yoga. Usui, however, claimed that the awakening of Reiki and the development of his techniques was something entirely different.

Mikao Usui trained several disciples. One of his disciples, the naval doctor Chujiro Hayashi, stressed physical healing and taught a more codified and simpler set of Reiki techniques. Among Hayashi’s contributions was a set of fixed hand positions to be used in the course of a treatment; Usui himself preferred a method called scanning, through which he detected imbalances, and said that the hand positions were for beginners.

Hayashi initiated and trained Mrs. Hawayo Takata, who brought Reiki to the USA. Mrs. Takata claimed that she had been appointed Grandmaster of Reiki through the lineage of Mr. Chujiro Hayashi, and that there were no surviving teachers of Reiki to be found in Japan after World War II. Researchers have falsified her claim of Grandmastership and her allegation that no Reiki teachers remained in Japan, after they discovered lineages through practitioners other than Hayashi. They also stated that the title of “Grandmaster” does not exist, and is not recognized in Japan.

Hawayo Takata claimed that, after developing the Reiki methodology, as well as receiving the spiritual ability to practice it, Usui went to the slums of Tokyo to attempt the healing of beggars. However, after several years of very little success, he claimed that it was their mindset that kept them ill, even after he had “treated” them again and again. Usui then decided that there should be an “energy exchange” in return for a Reiki treatment. This “energy exchange” may take the form of cash payment, or a trade of some sort. The idea is that the patient is expected to regard the treatment as having a value up front and is prepared to invest himself/herself in the healing process.

There are essentially two broad groups, or schools: the traditional school and the independent school. The traditionalists claim to teach and practice Reiki strictly as it was taught from Usui’s time until Takata’s time, although modern research suggests that training under Usui differed greatly from the way Takata taught. Another, separate branch of traditionalists advocate adherence to the (now rediscovered) Japanese school’s methods. The independent schools vary greatly in their practices and methods, ranging from those descended through Iris Ishikuro, which fundamentally adhere to traditional Reiki practice but eschew Takata’s practice of charging $10,000 for attunement to Reiki “Master level,” to so-called “newer” schools, which either add elements to traditional Reiki or claim to have been independently developed.

Reiki has been gaining some popularity worldwide within hospitals. The UK NHS (National Health Service) as part of its CAM (Complementary and alternative medicine) program uses Reiki and other CAM therapies as part of day care patient programs.

Spiritism

Spiritism is a philosophical doctrine established in France in the mid 19th Century by the French educator Hippolyte Leon Denizard Rivail, under the pseudonym Allan Kardec, which has also evolved into various forms of religious practice, among them some forms of syncretism that are often referred to by the same name.

Spiritism was based on dialogues established between Kardec and what he believed to be incorporeal beings (souls of deceased people). His assumption was neither original nor uncommon, as such beliefs had numerous followers then (among them many scientists and philosophers) and seances were carried on very often by his contemporaries, though usually for recreational purposes.

The term was coined by Kardec as the specific name of the doctrine but — given the fact that the word was created from roots taken from the common language — it was soon incorporated into normal use and used for other doctrines as well, though the original Spiritists protest this usage.

Spiritism claims adherents many countries throughout the world, including many in Latin America, particularly Brazil (where they make up approximately 1.3% of the population, most likely the highest proportion of any country).

Spiritism is not to be confused with Spiritualism. Its conflation or linkage with the meaning is regarded as pejorative by both Spiritualists and Spiritists. Spiritualism (in English), as a common noun (uncapitalised) is a largely obsolete term for animism and other religious practices involving the invocation of spiritual beings, including shamanism. As a proper noun, Spiritualism is a religious movement, prominent from the 1840s to the 1920s, found primarily in English-speaking countries.

Spiritists claim that Spiritism is not a religious denomination, but a social movement including religion, science and philosophy. The religious aspect derives from praying to the one God and following moral principles taught by prominent religious preachers, like Jesus, Francis of Assisi or Paul, the Apostle. The scientific aspect derives from their “investigation” of the other world (in which they have developed an extensive terminology), with the study of the possibility of survival of the human soul and of communication with spirits being their major goal. The philosophical side is concerned with their studies of the moral aspects of Christianity as social contract among men and its implications for the afterlife.

In the religious side, Spiritism claims to be a collection of principles and laws based directly on the teachings of Jesus, with further revelation received from Enlightened Spirits. These spiritists believe that their doctrine is the Consoler that was promised to mankind by Jesus (which interprets the Consoler as being a doctrine, not a person) to “reestablish all things in their truer meaning”. Kardecist Spiritism not only claims to be a logical successor for Christianity, but also to be a truer form of Christianity, purified from unnecessary elaborations and additions: unlike previous doctrines which had been filtered by the imperfections of the flesh, the teachings collected in his books would be closer to the truth God commanded His messengers (Enlightened Spirits) to bring unto mankind.

Since Kardec’s days Spiritism has lost most of its popularity among scientists and philosophers as most of both have a firm belief that Spiritism and Science are mutually exclusive and is not well-developed as a philosophy. They, however, keep their traditional approach as a neutral form of relationship: they embrace all Christian ramifications like a single Religion derived from the word of Jesus and, similarly to some oriental traditions, do not demand exclusive membership. They do not demand rituals or organisation either (these are taken from whatever religion the follower is associated to, which explains the differences of practice in different centres).

This policy is not always effective because membership to Spiritism is not regarded lightly by most Christian denominations and followers are often expelled. To cater for the religious needs of excommunicated members, most Spiritist centres encourage some form of active membership which includes “instructive”, “social” and “medium” meetings, as well as charity work.

Present-day Spiritists see a fundamental difference between “Scientific Spiritism” (the study of spiritual phenomena) and “Kardecist Spiritism” (the religious and philosophical practice derived from them). The two aspects of the doctrine are seen as complementary.

Sikhism

Sikhism is a religion that began in sixteenth century Northern India with the teachings of Nanak and nine successive human gurus. This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat (literally the teachings of the gurus) or the Sikh Dharma. Sikhism comes from the word Sikh, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit root ?i?ya meaning “disciple” or “learner”, or ?ik?a meaning “instruction.” Sikhism is the eighth-largest organised religion in the world.

Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs (students or disciples) and number over 23 million across the world. However, most Sikhs live in the state of Punjab in India; prior to partition, millions of Sikhs lived in what is now the Punjab province of Pakistan.

Sikh religious philosophy has roots in the religious traditions of northern India. The Sant Mat traditions are fundamental to the teachings of Sikhism’s founder, Nanak. Especially important to the connection with Sikhism were the teachings of some of the saints such as Ravidas and Kabir. Sikhism is also inspired by the emphasis on devotion to God in the traditions of Vaishnavism, especially through the Bhakti movement, as well as influences of Sufism. However, Nanak’s teachings diverge significantly from Vaishnavism in their rejection of idol worship, the doctrine of divine incarnations and a strict emphasis on inward devotion; Sikhism is professed to be a more difficult personal pursuit than Bhakti. The evolution of Nanak’s thoughts on the basis of his own experiences and study have also given Sikhism a distinctly unique feature.

Scholars have presented Sikhism as both a distinct faith and a syncretic religion which combines some elements of Hinduism and Islam. Sikhs maintain that their religion was directly revealed by God, and many of them consider the notion that Sikhism is a syncretic religion to be offensive.

In Sikhism, God termed V?higur? is formless, eternal, and unobserved: nira?k?r, ak?l, and alakh. Nanak interpreted V?higur? as a single, personal and transcendental creator. The beginning of the first composition of Sikh scripture is the figure “1” signifying the unity of God. To achieve salvation, the devotee must develop an intimate faith in and relationship with God. God is omnipresent and infinite, and is signified by the term ?k ?a?k?r. Sikhs believe that prior to creation, all that existed was God and his infinite hukam (will). When God willed, the entire cosmos was created. From these beginnings, God nurtured “enticement and attachment” to m?y?, or the human perception of reality.

While a full understanding of God is beyond human beings, Nanak described God as not wholly unknowable. God is omnipresent (sarav vi?pak) in all creation and visible everywhere to the spiritually awakened. Nanak stressed that God must be seen from “the inward eye,” or the “heart” of a human being: devotees must meditate to progress towards enlightenment. Nanak emphasised the revelation through meditation, as its rigorous application permits the existence of communication between God and human beings. God has no gender in Sikhism, though translations may incorrectly present a masculine God. In addition, Nanak wrote that there are many worlds on which God has created life.

Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, was born in the village of Nankana Sahib, near Lahore (in what is present-day Pakistan). Nanak’s mother was Tripta Devi and he had one older sister, Nanaki. His parents were Khatri Hindus of the Bedi clan. As a boy, Nanak was fascinated by religion, and his desire to explore the mysteries of life eventually led him to leave home. It was during this period that Nanak was said to have met Kabir, a saint revered by people of different faiths.

Sikh tradition states that at the age of thirty, Nanak went missing and was presumed to have drowned after going for one of his morning baths to a local stream called the Kali Bein. Three days later he reappeared and would give the same answer to any question posed to him: “There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim”. It was from this moment that Nanak would begin to spread the teachings of what was then the beginning of Sikhism. Although the exact account of his itinerary is disputed, he is widely acknowledged to have made four major journeys, spanning thousands of kilometres. The first tour being east towards Bengal and Assam, the second south towards Ceylon via Tamil Nadu, the third north towards Kashmir, Ladakh and Tibet, and the final tour west towards Baghdad and Mecca.

Nanak was married to Sulakhni, the daughter of Moolchand Chona, a rice trader from the town of Batala. They had two sons. The elder son, Sri Chand was an ascetic and he came to have a considerable following of his own, known as the Udasis. The younger son, Lakshmi Das, on the other hand was totally immersed in worldly life. To Nanak, his sons were unfit to carry on the Guruship.

Nanak taught that rituals, religious ceremonies or empty worship is of little use and Sikhs are discouraged from fasting or going on pilgrimages. However, during the period of the later gurus, and due to increased institutionalisation of the religion, some ceremonies and rites did arise. Sikhism is not a proselytising religion and most Sikhs do not make active attempts to gain converts. However, converts to Sikhism are welcomed, although there is no formal conversion ceremony.

Upon a child’s birth, the Gur? Granth S?hib is opened at a random point and the child is named using the first letter on the top left-hand corner of the left page. All boys are given the middle name or surname Singh, and all girls are given the middle name or surname Kaur. Sikhs are joined in wedlock through the anand k?raj ceremony. Sikhs marry when they are sufficient age (child marriage is taboo), and without regard for the future spouse’s caste or descent. After the ceremony is complete, the husband and wife are considered “a single soul in two bodies.”

According to Sikh religious rites, neither husband nor wife are permitted to divorce. A Sikh couple that wishes to divorce may be able to do so in a civil court – but this is not condoned. Upon death, the body of a Sikh is usually cremated. If this is not possible, any means of disposing the body may be employed.

Shinto

Shinto is the native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. It involves the worship of kami gods. Some kami are local and can be regarded as the spiritual being/spirit or genius of a particular place, but other ones represent major natural objects and processes: for example, Amaterasu, the Sun goddess, or Mount Fuji. Shinto is an animistic belief system. The word Shinto was created by combining two kanji: (shin), meaning gods or spirits (when read alone, it is pronounced “kami”), and (t?), meaning a philosophical way or path (originally from the Chinese character Tao). As such, Shinto is commonly translated as “the Way of the Gods”.

After World War II, Shinto lost its status as the state religion of Japan; some Shinto practices and teachings, once given a great deal of prominence during the war, are no longer taught or practiced today, and others exist today as commonplace activities such as omikuji (a form of fortune-telling) and Japanese New Year that few give religious connotations. Important national ceremonies such as coronations and royal marriages are conducted at the Three Palace Sanctuaries in Tokyo, and many Japanese still travel at least once in their lives to the Grand Shrine of Ise in Mie Prefecture.

A number of theories exist about the ancestors of today’s Japanese people. Most scholars agree that there was at least one migration from East Asia and perhaps another from Central Asia to the ancient Japanese Archipelago, though there is no consensus as to where Shinto first developed. Some of them claim that it has always existed in Japan, back into the mists of the Jomon age. Others maintain that it came about in the Yayoi period as a cultural product of immigrants from China and the Korean Peninsula, who brought agricultural rites and shamanic ceremonies from the continent, which took on Japanese forms in the new environment. Some modern scholars claim that “Shinto,” as it is presently understood, did not exist in this age at all and should be more properly referred to as ‘kami worship’.

In the early centuries BC, each tribe and area had its own collection of gods with no formal relationship between them. However, following the ascendancy of the Yamato Kingdom around the third to fifth centuries, the ancestral deities of its Emperor of Japan (Imperial family) were given prominence over others and a narrative made up to justify it. The result was the mythologizing of Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters, 712) in which it was claimed that the imperial line descended directly from the sun-goddess Herself. Another important kingdom, Izumo, was dealt with in a separate cycle within the mythology and its deities incorporated into service of Amaterasu’s descendants. A more objective and historical version of events appeared in Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan, 720), where alternative versions of the same story are given.

Early ceremonies are thought to have been held outside before copses (Iwakura) or sacred rocks forming a (Himorogi). There was no representation of the kami, for they were conceived as formless and pure. After the arrival of Buddhism in the sixth century, the idea of building ‘houses’ for the kami arose and shrines were built for the first time. The earliest examples are thought to have been at Izumo (659) and Ise (690).

An important development was the introduction of the Ritsuryo System in the late seventh and early eighth centuries, based on the Chinese system. This established in law the supremacy of the emperor and great nobles, as well as formalizing their relationship to major shrines and festivals.

Even before the arrival of Buddhism, the rituals involved in kami worship had borrowed from Chinese Taoism and Confucianism. Though clan rivalry led to friction and fighting during the introduction of Buddhism, the worship of kami and the teachings of the Buddha soon settled into coexistence. In fact, syncretism between Buddhism and Shinto was to become the dominant feature of Japanese religion as a whole.

he introductions of writing in the 5th century and Buddhism in the 6th century had a profound impact on the development of a unified system of Shinto beliefs. In the early Nara period, within a brief period the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki were written by compiling existing myths and legends into a unified account of stories. These accounts were written with two purposes in mind: the introduction of Taoist, Confucian, and Buddhist themes into Japanese religion, and garnering support for the legitimacy of the Imperial house, based on its lineage from the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Much of modern Japan was under only fragmentary control by the Imperial family, and rival ethnic groups (including, perhaps, the ancestors of the Ainu people) continued to war against the encroachment of the Japanese. The mythological anthologies, along with other poetry anthologies like the Manyoshu and others, were intended to impress others with the worthiness of the Imperial family and their divine mandate to rule.

With the introduction of Buddhism and its rapid adoption by the court, it was necessary to explain the apparent differences between native Japanese beliefs and Buddhist teachings. Indeed, Shinto did not have a name until it became necessary to distinguish it from Buddhism. One explanation saw the kami as supernatural beings still caught in the cycle of birth and rebirth (reincarnation). The kami are born, live, die, and are reborn like all other beings in the karmic cycle. However, the kami played a special role in protecting Buddhism and allowing its teachings of compassion to flourish. This explanation was later challenged by K?kai, who saw the kami as different embodiments of the Buddhas themselves. For example, he famously linked Amaterasu, Sun Goddess and ancestor of the Imperial family, with Dainichi Nyorai, a central manifestation of the Buddha, whose name is literally “Great Sun Buddha”. In his view, the kami were just Buddhas by another name.

Buddhism and Shinto coexisted and were amalgamated in the shinbutsu sh?g? and K?kai’s syncretic view held wide sway up until the end of the Edo period. At that time, there was a renewed interest in “Japanese studies” (kokugaku), perhaps as a result of the closed country policy. In the 18th century, various Japanese scholars, in particular Motoori Norinaga (1730?1801), tried to tease apart the “real” Shinto from various foreign influences. The attempt was largely unsuccessful; since as early as the Nihon Shoki, parts of the mythology were explicitly borrowed from Chinese doctrines. (For example, the co-creator deities Izanami and Izanagi are linked to yin and yang.) However, the attempt did set the stage for the arrival of state Shinto, following the Meiji Restoration, when Shinto and Buddhism were separated (shinbutsu bunri).

Shinto can be seen as a form of animism and may be regarded as a variant of shamanist religion. Shinto beliefs and ways of thinking are deeply embedded in the subconscious fabric of modern Japanese society. The afterlife is not a primary concern in Shinto; much more emphasis is placed on fitting into this world, instead of preparing for the next.

Shinto has no binding set of dogma, no holiest place for worshippers, no person or kami deemed holiest, and no defined set of prayers. Instead, Shinto is a collection of rituals and methods meant to mediate the relations of living humans and kami. These practices have originated organically in Japan over many centuries and have been influenced by Japan’s contact with the religions of other nations, especially China. Notice, for example, that the word Shinto is itself of Chinese origin and that much of the codification of Shinto mythology was done with the explicit aim of answering Chinese cultural influence. Conversely, Shinto had and continues to have an impact on the practice of other religions within Japan. In particular, one could even make a case for discussing it under the heading of Japanese Buddhism, since these two religions have exercised a profound influence on each other throughout Japanese history. Further, the Japanese “New religions” that have emerged since the end of the Second World War have also shown a clear Shinto influence.

Some feel Shinto was used as a legitimizing ideology during the militaristic phase of Japanese history following the Meiji Restoration. Because Shinto has no absolute source of authority, some feel what was a natural expression of the beliefs of the people was hijacked by radical Nationalists, who desired to unify the Japanese people against the “inferior” people in other nations. Others wonder if the emphasis Shinto places on Japanese exceptionalism made such developments inevitable. Even today, some far right factions within Japanese society want to see a greater emphasis placed on Shinto and increased reverence shown to the Emperor as part of a project to restore Japan to its “rightful place” as the leading nation of the world. For most Japanese, however, Shinto is not about expressing disdain for other nations but expressing one’s own love of the natural landscape of Japan and the people and spirits that reside within it.

Unlike many religions, one does not need to publicly profess belief in Shinto to be a Shintoist. Whenever a child is born in Japan, a local Shinto shrine adds the child’s name to a list kept at the shrine and declares him or her “Ujiko”, literally named child. After death an “Ujiko” becomes an “Ujigami”; literally, named kami. One may choose to have one’s name added to another list when moving and then be listed at both places. Names can be added to the list without consent and regardless of the beliefs of the person added to the list. However, this is not considered an imposition of belief, but a sign of the welcome of the area kami, with the promise of addition to the pantheon of kami after death. Those children who die before addition to the list are called “Mizuko”, literally water children, and believed to cause troubles and plagues. “Mizuko” are often worshipped in a Shinto shrine dedicated to stilling their anger and sadness.

Because Shinto has co-existed with Buddhism for well over a millennium, it is very difficult to untangle Shinto and Buddhist beliefs about the world. One might say that where Buddhism emphasizes the afterlife and ending the cycle of rebirths; Shinto emphasizes this life and finding happiness within it. Though Buddhism and Shinto have very different perspectives on the world, most Japanese do not see any challenge in reconciling these two very different religions, and practice both. Thus it is common for people to practice Shinto in life yet have a Buddhist funeral. Their different perspectives on the afterlife are seen as complementing each other, and frequently the ritual practice of one will have an origin in the other.