Kindred Spirits Discussion On The Bhagavad Gita Religion Essay

On a recent Thursday eventide I attended the Kindred Spirits treatment on the Bhagavad Gita. The treatment seemed, in some ways, more similar to a spiritual service than a mere treatment. It was really interesting to see how this event took topographic point and detecting the consequence it had on those who attended. While it was something I had ne’er experienced before, it seemed really familiar to my ain belief and patterns and the experience enhanced my antecedently held beliefs.

The treatment took topographic point at the Kindred House at 7:30. When I arrived, I walked indoors and the leader of the category, Dulal Chandra, came up to present himself. He gracefully welcomed me into his place and asked me to delight take my places. I had ne’er been in a state of affairs like this before and, at first, taking my places made me experience somewhat uncomfortable. However, I relaxed when he told me how pleased he was that I was able to fall in them, and gestured for me to take a place. Turning up in the South helped do me experience more at place ; I have grown up with the belief of southern cordial reception, and this commonalty helped give me reassurance. I was given the option, as everyone was, to either sit on the couch placed around the room or on the mats that had been laid out in the center of the floor. I wanted to to the full see every facet of the treatment so, therefore I ab initio sat down on a mat. For the following 10 proceedingss, I sat watching as other people came in. Some people sat down instantly, while I noticed others went towards the armoire. A statue of Krishna, the Supreme Being, was placed at that place, and some people bowed down and prayed. As the others arrived, a adult female named Rebecca offered to assist me with the readings. I was really thankful for her aid and moved from my mat on the floor to the couch to be closer to her. The readings were in Sanskrit and I would hold been hopelessly lost without her aid. When everyone arrived and were seated, we started the dark with Kirtan, a intonation of texts to music. Mr. Chandra played a membranophone, his married woman played an instrument which reminded me of a piano, and two people played cymbals. Rebecca told me the intonation was designed to assist sublimate ourselves and open our Black Marias and heads to the instructions from the Gita. At the terminal of the Kirtan, everyone bowed down towards the statues and prayed. This, I learned subsequently, was highly of import. By bowing as we pray, we show our equal position and are so more able to allow travel of our impressions of physical individuality and be one. ( Kindred Spirits ) We so read a mantra from the Gita, foremost in Sanskrit and so once more utilizing the English interlingual rendition. Before reading the interlingual rendition nevertheless, Mr. Chandra, who was taking the readings, paused. Around the room, others would reiterate the readings, and everyone would reread it with them. Mr. Chandra so read the intent aloud, which explained the significance of the mantra, and started explicating the transition. This reminded me of discourses curates give in Christian services. We followed with group treatment, where others expressed their ain ways to either associate his instructions and those from the Gita to their ain lives or would inquire inquiries refering the intent. When the treatment was over, Mr. Chandra ‘s married woman brought us all home bases of nutrient. At the really terminal, Mr. and Mrs. Chandra sat down with me to inquire if I had any inquiries about what had taken topographic point and explained to me the different parts of the treatment. This made me to experience even more comfy with the experience because they were interested in hearing my feeling of the treatment. Mrs. Chandra so gave me two books, which gave a more thorough penetration into the treatment and helped me derive a greater understanding about what had taken topographic point.

This event helped me see the similarities and differences between faiths. A.F.C. Wallace helped place some cardinal facets of faith, which include supplication, physiological exercising, exhortation, mana, tabu, banquets, and forfeit. ( Schultz and Lavenda 208 ) The treatment helped heighten my cognition of these, peculiarly about supplication, exhortation, and banqueting. I saw how chanting and music helped convey followings closer to Krishna, which helped me to better understand the importance of rites and events like these in other faiths. I was able to more easy understand constructs from category, like how meaningful the rites like the krayas in Islam are, where by intoning, fans seek to go closer to God and addition position. The power of intoning became more apparent to me after sing it instead than from reading about Fernea ‘s description of it in El Nahra. ( Fernea 108-112 ) This conflicted strongly with my original impression of supplication. Bing raised as a Christian, I have ever thought of supplication as quiet speculation, and found the Kirtan really different, yet still found it really meaningful. This treatment besides helped me spread out my positions on exhortation. Although Mr. Chandra was taking the treatment, he did non look more of import than anyone else in the room. Being raised a Christian, I have ever viewed spiritual leaders as being closer to God. We can look at the Jivaro civilization every bit good to see the contrast between the two beliefs on exhortation ; their priest-doctors are given much higher position, which can be seen because they are the lone 1s allowed to hold wealth. ( Harner 117 ) Feasting was a 3rd portion of faith that I found really symbolic here ; it seemed really similar to the banquetings carried out by other spiritual groups I have studied. For illustration, the Ju/’hoansi have banquets after the violent deaths of camelopard, and in Islam, during Ramadan, there are banquets at dark. ( Fernea 116-126 ) The banqueting after the treatment felt, in some ways, similar to Christian Communion every bit good, and I felt it helped convey us all together once more, while heightening the belief of altruism Krishna says will take you to enlightenment. The Chandras served us nutrient without any idea of reimbursement. The treatment has greatly helped me look at faith more anthropologically, and see the similarities between groups I usually would look at wholly otherwise.

Through the treatment, I gained a better apprehension of faith and rites as I took portion in the treatment and it helped enrich my belief on the importance of these. For case, while I learned the Ju/’hoansi ever “ insulted the meat ” to maintain the huntsman from believing he was more of import than others within the folk. I ne’er genuinely realized the significance of this until taking portion in the unfamiliar rites from the treatment. ( Lee 51-52 ) This experience helped reenforce the constructs we talked about in category, every bit good as helped beef up my apprehension of the faiths and rites from the books we read. This treatment was really meaningful to me, and I was pleased I took the chance to take portion.