What did I tell you? It's a controversial subject!
Here are some of my further thoughts after reading some of the comments:
One of the great beauties of Hinduism is that there is no rush.
What if Hinduism really is the best or only path to God? Maybe it is. (It certainly is the best path for me personally). I do not have to go around desperately convincing people of that. I don't have to rush to make sure that people know about this because the clock is ticking down and human life is short and it could be too late for billions of people.
If we want the freedom to choose our religion and our path, then we have to grant that freedom to others.
You only know what is best for you. You cannot go into your brother's head and know what it is like to live his life. Our choices about our religion are for us alone and I am so grateful for that. I would not want to live in a place where it is illegal to not be Christian or Muslim or what have you.
I know that Hinduism, as a whole, with its complete package, is my path.
Even as wonderful as it is, with its rich philosophy, beautiful mythology, and ancient traditions, it may not be the best path for every human being.
I cannot know what the best path is for anyone except myself.
But again, there is no rush. Because if Hinduism is the right or only path, eventually everyone will find it. There is all the time in eternity for that to happen. People are born again and again, so don't stress about it.
Tandava commented on the last post that people might choose unhealthy things for themselves if left to their own devices. I say, let them. Let them learn what is best for them by trial and error. How else could we do it? Could we tell people that Hinduism is healthy and so they have to be Hindus "It's what's best for you, dear"? Should we legislate religion and tell people what they have to be because they would pick poorly?
Hec no. If we tried that, as a minority in Britain and America, it would go the opposite way. The others would legislate that we had to be Christian, as the majority in those countries believe that to be healthiest.
People who follow religions because they've been told to are not very enthusiastic. To carry on Tandava's food analogy, I went through years of not eating vegetables and eating sugar whenever I could get my hands on it because sweets were so heavily restricted in my childhood. I resented that I wasn't allowed to have them and I over did it when I was out on my own and could make my own choices.
Then my body started feeling lethargic and not quite right. I began to actually crave fresh vegetables. It was an unexpected feeling. Now I eat healthy most of the time and I love it. It feels good, it makes my body feel good.
But I did it because it felt right, not because someone told me that I had to. I never would have done it if someone was telling me I had to.
Have trust in people.
Many go years living a hedonistic life, but find it dissatisfying and look for and find meaning in religion. But many of them had to go through that pleasure-seeking time. Otherwise, how would they know? If all you do is deprive yourself and you never try out things that seem fun, you run the risk of being more bitter and resentful than joyous.
And the point of religion is joy.
People will find their way to what works for them eventually. They will try many, many things. If Hinduism is what works for everyone, then they will find their way to Hinduism. If Christianity is what works for everyone, we will one day all be Christians and be glad of it (I know, hard to imagine!)
So, don't stress.
You trust yourself to find your way and other people are no different from you, they are just as capable of finding their way.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Cherry-Picking
This can be a very hot topic in religious circles and people have very strong opinions. Known also as "cafeteria-style religion," this post is about picking and choosing the parts of religions that you like and leaving the rest.
Sometimes people will choose ceremonies, rituals, and practices from many different world religions and blend them together into their own thing. Sometimes people will consider themselves a particular religion, like Christian, but only practice the parts of the religion that they agree with and ignore other aspects that are part of the Church (or other religious entities). These approaches are both considered cherry-picking.
When I was a kid and a teenager I was extremely rules-driven and everything was black and white to me. I think that's true for a lot of kids, it takes maturity to develop the sense of gray area and that sometimes people do the best they can and it isn't ideal. I was taught that religion is about hard work, discipline, sacrifice, and not always getting what you want. Rigorous discipline was valued over every other quality.
So, at that time in my life, the idea of cafeteria-style religion was abhorrent to me. You can't just take the parts you like, I thought. If we did the easy way and just did the parts of religion that were enjoyable, we would not get far on the difficult path to enlightenment. Maybe we don't know the reasons for things, but we have to do them anyway, because that's the path. Who am I to decide what is right in a religion and what is misguided?
But, later in my life I began to think that I am the authority on what religion does for me. Why continue to punish myself and hang on to harsh disciplines if I was not finding any benefit from it in my life?
And then, strangest of all, my home organization relaxed its rules. Ankle-length skirts no longer required, eating Breakfast allowed, cooked food at meals allowed, a more relaxed pace, sometimes waking up as late as 5:30, even. These changes were really hard for me to swallow. What about the hard work, discipline, and personal sacrifice that I had been told were the most important things in life? The people in authority in my life were changing their minds.
I began to realize that they are human too. They don't really know more than I do about God and truth and the right path. We are all just feeling our way through this life and using whatever tests we have available to find what's right for us. Tests like Am I more serene? Do I feel more joyful doing this?
In Elizabeth Gilbert's new book Commitment, about the history of marriage, she has a passage very relevant to the change in my mindset and clearly illustrating why I have such a confusion in my spirit about things:
Even though here she is talking about ideas of marriage vows, this passage really caught my attention because this is the very struggle I have been going through. There are parts of my personality that are Greek and parts that are Hebrew and I'm struggling to figure out which one will dominate my thinking. Actually, as a child and teenager I was almost entirely Hebrew and now I am almost entirely Greek, but I still feel pangs of guilt and nostalgia for the Hebrew way of thinking.
What Elizabeth Gilbert has to say on the actual subject of cherry-picking religion is as follows:
I really like this woman! My thoughts on cherry-picking religion have changed immensely in the last couple of years. It now seems like a very reasonable thing to do. We have to find what works for us and only we ourselves can know that. No one else is privy to our inner heart.
Sometimes people will choose ceremonies, rituals, and practices from many different world religions and blend them together into their own thing. Sometimes people will consider themselves a particular religion, like Christian, but only practice the parts of the religion that they agree with and ignore other aspects that are part of the Church (or other religious entities). These approaches are both considered cherry-picking.
When I was a kid and a teenager I was extremely rules-driven and everything was black and white to me. I think that's true for a lot of kids, it takes maturity to develop the sense of gray area and that sometimes people do the best they can and it isn't ideal. I was taught that religion is about hard work, discipline, sacrifice, and not always getting what you want. Rigorous discipline was valued over every other quality.
So, at that time in my life, the idea of cafeteria-style religion was abhorrent to me. You can't just take the parts you like, I thought. If we did the easy way and just did the parts of religion that were enjoyable, we would not get far on the difficult path to enlightenment. Maybe we don't know the reasons for things, but we have to do them anyway, because that's the path. Who am I to decide what is right in a religion and what is misguided?
But, later in my life I began to think that I am the authority on what religion does for me. Why continue to punish myself and hang on to harsh disciplines if I was not finding any benefit from it in my life?
And then, strangest of all, my home organization relaxed its rules. Ankle-length skirts no longer required, eating Breakfast allowed, cooked food at meals allowed, a more relaxed pace, sometimes waking up as late as 5:30, even. These changes were really hard for me to swallow. What about the hard work, discipline, and personal sacrifice that I had been told were the most important things in life? The people in authority in my life were changing their minds.
I began to realize that they are human too. They don't really know more than I do about God and truth and the right path. We are all just feeling our way through this life and using whatever tests we have available to find what's right for us. Tests like Am I more serene? Do I feel more joyful doing this?
In Elizabeth Gilbert's new book Commitment, about the history of marriage, she has a passage very relevant to the change in my mindset and clearly illustrating why I have such a confusion in my spirit about things:
"It has long been understood by philosophers that the entire bedrock of Western culture is based on two rival worldviews--the Greek and the Hebrew-- and whichever side you embrace more strongly determines to a large extent how you see life.
From the Greeks--specifically from the glory days of ancient Athens--we have inherited our ideas about secular humanism and the sanctity of the individual. The Greeks gave us all our notions about democracy and equality and personal liberty and scientific reason and intellectual freedom and open-mindedness and what we might call today "multiculturalism."...
On the other hand, there is the Hebrew way of seeing the world. When I say "Hebrew" here, I'm not specifically referring to the tenets of Judaism. (In fact, most of the contemporary American Jews I know are very Greek in their thinking, while it's the American fundamentalist Christians these days who are profoundly Hebrew.) "Hebrew," in the sense that philosophers use it here, is shorthand for an ancient worldview that is all abut tribalism, faith, obedience, and respect...Hebrew thinkers see the world as a clear play between good and evil, with God always firmly on "our" side. Human actions are either right or wrong. There is no gray area. The collective is more imporant than the individual, morality is more important than happiness...
The problem is that modern Western culture has somehow inherited both these ancient worldviews--though we have never entirely reconciled them because they aren't reconcilable."
Even though here she is talking about ideas of marriage vows, this passage really caught my attention because this is the very struggle I have been going through. There are parts of my personality that are Greek and parts that are Hebrew and I'm struggling to figure out which one will dominate my thinking. Actually, as a child and teenager I was almost entirely Hebrew and now I am almost entirely Greek, but I still feel pangs of guilt and nostalgia for the Hebrew way of thinking.
What Elizabeth Gilbert has to say on the actual subject of cherry-picking religion is as follows:
"My friend was a Catholic by upbringing, but couldn't stomach returning to the church as an adult. ("I can't buy it anymore," he said, "knwoing what I know.") Of course he'd be embarassed to become a Hindu or a Buddhist or something wacky like that. So what could he do? As he told me, "You don't want to go cherry-picking a religion." Which is a sentiment I completely respect except for the fact that I totally disagree.Eat Pray Love, page 207.
I think you have every right to cherry-pick when it comes to moving your spirit and finding peace in God. I think you are free to search for any metaphor whatsoever which will take you across the worldly divide whenever you need to be transported or comforted. It's nothing to be embarrased about. It's the hisotry of mankind's search for holiness...
Even in the most unlikely...of places, you can find sometimes this glimeering idea that God might be bigger than our limited religious doctrines have taught us... Doesn't that make sense? That the infinite would be, indeed infinite? That even the most holy amonst us would only be able to see scattered pieces of the eternal picture at any given time? And that maybe if we could collect those pieces and compare them, a story about God would begin to emerge that resembles and includes everyone?...
Don't we each have the right to not stop seeking until we get as close to the source of wonder as possible?"
I really like this woman! My thoughts on cherry-picking religion have changed immensely in the last couple of years. It now seems like a very reasonable thing to do. We have to find what works for us and only we ourselves can know that. No one else is privy to our inner heart.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Ignorance
America is a very religious country in many ways. It's strange to say because we are also known as the land of overly sexualizing everything, but Americans tend to take religion in their lives very seriously. Atheists are also often very hard core about their beliefs. It is difficult to say any one thing about America because it is a land of so many different people and beliefs and attitudes and backgrounds, but it really does have a serious religious core that is too often based on fear of others.
The country began where I grew up and it was first settled by very staunch, disciplined, religious people. New England maintains some of that Puritan attitude to this day.
All this is to say that, strangely, even being quite a religious nation, a survey just came out showing that Americans know very little about religion, their own and other people's:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100928/ap_on_re/us_rel_religious_literacy_poll
Half of Americans don't know that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist and less than four in ten know that Shiva and Vishnu are part of Hinduism.
The article has a link at the top to a quiz, which has a sample of the questions asked. I got a perfect score :) It was only ten questions. I would love to take the whole thing and see how I do!
Religion is the thing that interests me the most and which I study. I'm proud that I also learn about other people's religions. I have read the Christian Bible, I have gone to Jewish services, I have even visited a Mosque on two occasions. I think that learning about others' beliefs makes for a more unified world.
Knowledge is always good. Learning and growing and understanding is good. We share this world with people who believe differently than us and we will be miserable if we can't accept and try to understand the perspectives of those people.
And here is something that someone named Al Haug posted on Facebook that was very moving to me. This is what being American should be:
----------------------------------
By the way, for those who in the comments who have mentioned that I take things too seriously and should lighten up, this is something that you have to know about me. I am a really serious person (I have a sense of humor, but it is dry and British and subtle). I am fascinated by the deepest questions in life and I pursue them. This is one reason I have trouble finding a husband :) I do worry too much and I am intense and serious. I'm working on taking life in a lighter way, but I'll never stop digging into the deepest questions of religion and life and how people find meaning. That's something that I love.
EDITED TO ADD:
A friend found the actual survey, here it is:
http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Belief_and_Practices/religious-knowledge-questionnaire.pdf
It will take me some time to print this out and go through it, I'll get back to you to let you know how I do.
The country began where I grew up and it was first settled by very staunch, disciplined, religious people. New England maintains some of that Puritan attitude to this day.
All this is to say that, strangely, even being quite a religious nation, a survey just came out showing that Americans know very little about religion, their own and other people's:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100928/ap_on_re/us_rel_religious_literacy_poll
Half of Americans don't know that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist and less than four in ten know that Shiva and Vishnu are part of Hinduism.
The article has a link at the top to a quiz, which has a sample of the questions asked. I got a perfect score :) It was only ten questions. I would love to take the whole thing and see how I do!
Religion is the thing that interests me the most and which I study. I'm proud that I also learn about other people's religions. I have read the Christian Bible, I have gone to Jewish services, I have even visited a Mosque on two occasions. I think that learning about others' beliefs makes for a more unified world.
Knowledge is always good. Learning and growing and understanding is good. We share this world with people who believe differently than us and we will be miserable if we can't accept and try to understand the perspectives of those people.
And here is something that someone named Al Haug posted on Facebook that was very moving to me. This is what being American should be:
----------------------------------
By the way, for those who in the comments who have mentioned that I take things too seriously and should lighten up, this is something that you have to know about me. I am a really serious person (I have a sense of humor, but it is dry and British and subtle). I am fascinated by the deepest questions in life and I pursue them. This is one reason I have trouble finding a husband :) I do worry too much and I am intense and serious. I'm working on taking life in a lighter way, but I'll never stop digging into the deepest questions of religion and life and how people find meaning. That's something that I love.
EDITED TO ADD:
A friend found the actual survey, here it is:
http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Belief_and_Practices/religious-knowledge-questionnaire.pdf
It will take me some time to print this out and go through it, I'll get back to you to let you know how I do.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Weekend a success, in the end.
Thanks for the kind comments, everyone!
Everything sorted itself out.
As it turned out, the picnic was mainly focused on the children, so I didn't hear about it because I don't have kids.
Going to the dinner and the study group will give me people that I can talk to who can keep me informed on things.
I had an awesome time at both. I have never felt so welcomed.
There were more than fifty people at the dinner, which was at the same house as the study group. The two people I had emailed about joining the study group were there and they introduced me around and made sure that I was never alone in a corner (it might surprise you to know that I'm naturally a bit shy and have a hard time with big social situations!) Everyone was tremendously friendly.
I was very pleasantly surprised by the reception of the older people. This must be a prejudice on my part, maybe based on my own Granny, who is quite judgmental. I was introduced to the mother of the man whose house it was and she was cheerful and welcoming and happy to have me. I expected an older generation to be wary of someone like me and that was not the case at all.
I am so impressed by her! She speaks English, Tamil, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Bengali!
There were a couple of other Grannies there as well and they were just as kind. I met one older woman who was visiting from Chennai and she told me all about the arts and music that happen there. She was the most beautiful, elegant older woman I've ever seen.
All the Grannies had a sparkle about them, especially in their eyes. It made me think, I would like to be like that.
The next day I went to the study group, which was about ten people and very comfortable. I was struck again by how familiar the teachings are. Advaita is the same, no matter who is teaching it to you. The concepts, the ideas, they were all exactly what I believe.
Of course I had to explain again and again how I found Chinmaya and why I was there, but everyone accepted my explanation that my parents taught me Advaita as a child, but left out the culture and that I wanted both. A family friend told me that Chinmaya would be a good fit for me, and so it is!
:D
Everything sorted itself out.
As it turned out, the picnic was mainly focused on the children, so I didn't hear about it because I don't have kids.
Going to the dinner and the study group will give me people that I can talk to who can keep me informed on things.
I had an awesome time at both. I have never felt so welcomed.
There were more than fifty people at the dinner, which was at the same house as the study group. The two people I had emailed about joining the study group were there and they introduced me around and made sure that I was never alone in a corner (it might surprise you to know that I'm naturally a bit shy and have a hard time with big social situations!) Everyone was tremendously friendly.
I was very pleasantly surprised by the reception of the older people. This must be a prejudice on my part, maybe based on my own Granny, who is quite judgmental. I was introduced to the mother of the man whose house it was and she was cheerful and welcoming and happy to have me. I expected an older generation to be wary of someone like me and that was not the case at all.
I am so impressed by her! She speaks English, Tamil, Hindi, Sanskrit, and Bengali!
There were a couple of other Grannies there as well and they were just as kind. I met one older woman who was visiting from Chennai and she told me all about the arts and music that happen there. She was the most beautiful, elegant older woman I've ever seen.
All the Grannies had a sparkle about them, especially in their eyes. It made me think, I would like to be like that.
The next day I went to the study group, which was about ten people and very comfortable. I was struck again by how familiar the teachings are. Advaita is the same, no matter who is teaching it to you. The concepts, the ideas, they were all exactly what I believe.
Of course I had to explain again and again how I found Chinmaya and why I was there, but everyone accepted my explanation that my parents taught me Advaita as a child, but left out the culture and that I wanted both. A family friend told me that Chinmaya would be a good fit for me, and so it is!
:D
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Busy Weekend
This weekend has me bouncing all over the place.
In bad news, I went to Chinmaya mission this morning and the door was locked. I found one person there who was doing some admin stuff and he told me that there was a getting-to-know-you picnic today, but he didn't know where it was! He tried really hard to find it for me, even calling the Swami-ji on his cell phone, but no one answered.
I was really disappointed. One of the things that has been bothering me about Chinmaya is that I'm so alone there. I go each Saturday morning and sit by myself and listen and then I mill around a little afterward and try to find something to help out with, but I don't know anyone and no one knows me. What a great opportunity this picnic would have been to make some friends!
I'm not sure how to get in the loop on stuff like this. I'm on the email list, but I went back through my emails and found nothing about a picnic.
In the end, I had to just turn around and go home. Which isn't so bad, since I have homework to do.
And in good news, I will have other opportunities this weekend to make friends with Chinmaya people. Yesterday I was on their website and I found the information for the study groups, which are small discussion gatherings. I've been looking for one ever since I tried the youth discussion group and found myself with a bunch of people ten years younger than me that I couldn't relate to.
It turns out, there is a study group in the town next to me and they invited me to come to the meeting tomorrow evening. Also, they are putting together a special dinner for the Swami-ji tonight and I was invited to that as well.
So, I'm not as crushed about the picnic as I would otherwise have been. I'm going to go to the store after my dance class and pick up some fruit to make a big fruit chaat and head to dinner!
In bad news, I went to Chinmaya mission this morning and the door was locked. I found one person there who was doing some admin stuff and he told me that there was a getting-to-know-you picnic today, but he didn't know where it was! He tried really hard to find it for me, even calling the Swami-ji on his cell phone, but no one answered.
I was really disappointed. One of the things that has been bothering me about Chinmaya is that I'm so alone there. I go each Saturday morning and sit by myself and listen and then I mill around a little afterward and try to find something to help out with, but I don't know anyone and no one knows me. What a great opportunity this picnic would have been to make some friends!
I'm not sure how to get in the loop on stuff like this. I'm on the email list, but I went back through my emails and found nothing about a picnic.
In the end, I had to just turn around and go home. Which isn't so bad, since I have homework to do.
And in good news, I will have other opportunities this weekend to make friends with Chinmaya people. Yesterday I was on their website and I found the information for the study groups, which are small discussion gatherings. I've been looking for one ever since I tried the youth discussion group and found myself with a bunch of people ten years younger than me that I couldn't relate to.
It turns out, there is a study group in the town next to me and they invited me to come to the meeting tomorrow evening. Also, they are putting together a special dinner for the Swami-ji tonight and I was invited to that as well.
So, I'm not as crushed about the picnic as I would otherwise have been. I'm going to go to the store after my dance class and pick up some fruit to make a big fruit chaat and head to dinner!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Conversation on Cultural Appropriation
The conversation around cultural appropriation continues all around me. It isn't something that I want to just dismiss as irrelevant. I am confident in my choice to follow the culture that I feel at home with, but I also want to continue to refresh and renew my understanding and the understanding of the society around me about what the real implications of my choice are.
I was poking around on the Internet like I do and I found a discussion about Native American Shaminism. This discussion, actually, was less about the culture and practices themselves, and more about whether people who are not Native Americans could choose to incorporate aspects of it into their spiritual practice.
These discussions often come back to this idea of "white privilege." This is something that I know nothing about. I have never really studied sociology or anything like that. Sadly, not hearing about it doesn't make me not a part of it. Even though I don't feel any loyalty or connection to my literal ancestry or to my skin color, I am still automatically in a privileged position, according to what I've been reading.
I can't know what it is like to be not white. I have been in situations where I am the minority, but in most of my life, I am in the majority. If I do non-mainstream things, those are a choice. Because of my looks, I have the choice to fit in more than I do. People with other skin tones often face discrimination and prejudice and there is nothing they could do to change that (aside from educating the ignorant people who are discriminating against them, I guess).
What saddens me in this is that, as white people, we are expected to bear a lot of blame and guilt for the way our ancestors may have treated people (I have a hard time believing that my Irish ancestors were out there oppressing anyone!). I don't know if that is right or wrong.
I am going to paraphrase some of the points and ideas that were brought up in this discussion. There were some things that I haven't thought about before:
On Facebook, a group called Speaking of Faith posted a question: “What can we learn from Native American shamanism?” The poster on this forum said she was surprised by some of the reactions to that post, that went from "everything" to "leave it alone, it's not yours to experience."
She asked if involving oneself in another culture's spiritual practice is dishonoring or invading them in inappropriate ways.
Why, she asks, would it be bad to encourage people to experience cultures different from their own?
Here are the basic points that were brought up, on both sides of the issue:
-it's a fad
-we have a varied ethnic make up, why not draw from all of them?
-turning it into something it isn't
-white people expect to be able to do whatever they want and take whatever they want without consequence
-cherry picking religion (still plan to do a post on this based on Eat Pray Love)
-people whose ancestors tried to wipe our your religion are now practicing it
-white people erroneously seeing indigenous people as "pure"
-is it still the same religion if it is modified by people not totally understanding it practicing it or "making it their own"?
One person made the statement that it was up to the native members of that culture to choose whether or not to accept an outsider in their practices. I thought that was a grand idea, but impossible in practice. I pointed out that most religions do not have one central person who can declare who is in and who is out. This is what I wrote in response:
"One of the troubles with this is that there isn’t always one authority in a religion or culture. If you are welcomed by one spiritual community, but then someone else from another town sees you practicing her religion and is offended, what do you do? Do you say, 'Ask my priest (or whatever), I got permission from him'? Do you need to carry a signed statement around to say that someone culturally from this religion approved you?"
To which I have not had a response as of yet.
Whose approval is it that we need and why? I'm working now on the idea that I only need my own approval, but I don't want to be insensitive these issues, so I continue to learn about them.
Here are some paraphrased responses to the post on Shaminism:
This seems similar to Messianic Judaism, which combines Judaism and Christianity in a way that offends many Jews. They feel that their religion is being co-opted and turned into something it is not, combining the sacred with something they find profane.
In terms of Native American stuff, I have some Native American heritage as well as a lot of European. I wonder if we need to just be aware and careful when taking these things on. That's why I was reluctant to jump into Celtic paganism because I wanted to make sure it was my path and not just me following a fad. I didn't want my interest to fade and to move onto something else, but now that I'm following that path, I'm trying to be respectful and sit back and learn instead of acting like I'm an expert. And it's frustrating when you've been doing something and it suddenly becomes "cool."
***
I see a couple of things going on with Native American religious practices. First is the history. White people perpetrated cultural genocide against Native Americans and it must be hard to see your religious practices adopted by people who don't look at the realities of that history on a daily basis. There is also systemic racism in this country and it must be hard to see your practices adopted by people who seem unaware of the unearned privilege that their race gives them. People whose ancestors worked hard to eradicate your culture can now choose to practice it without any negative consequences.
***
Cafeteria spiritualism that takes just the convenient bits of practices around the world really bothers me.
*****
Involving oneself in another culture's spiritual practice can be dishonoring or invading. There are churches that do not welcome everyone to communion. Non-Mormons are not allowed in certain parts of Mormon sanctuaries. I would not expect to be invited to a friend's celebrations of Passover. If it is not ok for me to walk into a Catholic monastery and explore, why should it be ok for me to go to other sacred places like a sweat lodge? Why do Westeners think they can barge right into practices that are "indigenous" and "close to the earth" without asking?
I see a lot of racial distinctions in what traditions are considered fair game to adapt. Partly this is because of the misguided idea of indigenous people as pure and unsullied by everything that is wrong with Western culture. The avoids the nuances and subtleties of a challenging situation and is naive.
***
The way people are talking about it, no one outside the culture has a right to even study it, let alone take it on. If there is a non-indigenous person who really is seeking to learn about it and is respectful, why would that not be allowed?
******
Certainly barding into someone's sacred space and expecting a welcome is a problem and the people who operate that space have the right to decide who is allowed, what if the people are setting up their own versions of something sacred from that culture in their own space? Like if a UU church is teaching kids about dream catchers. Is it inappropriate appropraition from the children to make dream catchers at their church?
******
A comment on the cafeteria spirituality. This idea that picking and choosing from different traditions is wrong is a Western prejudice and not shared by all cultures. For example, in Japan rituals from Shinto, Christian, and Buddhist traditions are often used throughout a person's life. There's nothing wrong with that unless you adhere to the Western dualism that says you ahve to be this or that, not something in between. We in the West can be very rigid in our thinking, particularly when it comes to spirituality.
****
Some people say that you should worship in the religion that is most predominate in your own culture because you are born into that culture to learn something specific within that framework. To go outside of the culture you're born into is disrespectful to the gods. I thought it was an interesting concept, though I don't agree with it.
*****
I was on vacation recently and was looking at Native American jewelry. I avoid purchasing jewelry that has symbolic Native American designs just like I avoid wearing African styles of clothes, even though I think the fabrics are really beautiful. It feels as if I am taking something that isn't mine. I asked the woman I was buying jewelry from about this and she looked at me like she had never thought of it like that. I am protective of symbols. If a non-Jew put up a mezzuzah [a container for a sacred scroll that Jews attach to the sides of their front doors], I woudl feel infringed on, like if you are not willing to take on the commitment, why are you taking the symbol. I feel that way also about people I know are not Christian who wear crosses because they are in style.
******
It's true about the messianic Judaism. I looked at their source texts against the original Hebrew and not one verse means what they say it means. At some point you have to say, this is not Judaism. Dressing like a Jew and sprinkling in some Hebrew is not the equivalent of being Jewish.
****
And lastly, an interesting article written by a young woman who is both Black and Jewish (and born Jewish, not a convert) and her feelings of being not welcomed by Judaism:
http://www.racialicious.com/2010/09/07/off-and-running-toward-my-own-identity-racialigious/
I was poking around on the Internet like I do and I found a discussion about Native American Shaminism. This discussion, actually, was less about the culture and practices themselves, and more about whether people who are not Native Americans could choose to incorporate aspects of it into their spiritual practice.
These discussions often come back to this idea of "white privilege." This is something that I know nothing about. I have never really studied sociology or anything like that. Sadly, not hearing about it doesn't make me not a part of it. Even though I don't feel any loyalty or connection to my literal ancestry or to my skin color, I am still automatically in a privileged position, according to what I've been reading.
I can't know what it is like to be not white. I have been in situations where I am the minority, but in most of my life, I am in the majority. If I do non-mainstream things, those are a choice. Because of my looks, I have the choice to fit in more than I do. People with other skin tones often face discrimination and prejudice and there is nothing they could do to change that (aside from educating the ignorant people who are discriminating against them, I guess).
What saddens me in this is that, as white people, we are expected to bear a lot of blame and guilt for the way our ancestors may have treated people (I have a hard time believing that my Irish ancestors were out there oppressing anyone!). I don't know if that is right or wrong.
I am going to paraphrase some of the points and ideas that were brought up in this discussion. There were some things that I haven't thought about before:
On Facebook, a group called Speaking of Faith posted a question: “What can we learn from Native American shamanism?” The poster on this forum said she was surprised by some of the reactions to that post, that went from "everything" to "leave it alone, it's not yours to experience."
She asked if involving oneself in another culture's spiritual practice is dishonoring or invading them in inappropriate ways.
Why, she asks, would it be bad to encourage people to experience cultures different from their own?
Here are the basic points that were brought up, on both sides of the issue:
-it's a fad
-we have a varied ethnic make up, why not draw from all of them?
-turning it into something it isn't
-white people expect to be able to do whatever they want and take whatever they want without consequence
-cherry picking religion (still plan to do a post on this based on Eat Pray Love)
-people whose ancestors tried to wipe our your religion are now practicing it
-white people erroneously seeing indigenous people as "pure"
-is it still the same religion if it is modified by people not totally understanding it practicing it or "making it their own"?
One person made the statement that it was up to the native members of that culture to choose whether or not to accept an outsider in their practices. I thought that was a grand idea, but impossible in practice. I pointed out that most religions do not have one central person who can declare who is in and who is out. This is what I wrote in response:
"One of the troubles with this is that there isn’t always one authority in a religion or culture. If you are welcomed by one spiritual community, but then someone else from another town sees you practicing her religion and is offended, what do you do? Do you say, 'Ask my priest (or whatever), I got permission from him'? Do you need to carry a signed statement around to say that someone culturally from this religion approved you?"
To which I have not had a response as of yet.
Whose approval is it that we need and why? I'm working now on the idea that I only need my own approval, but I don't want to be insensitive these issues, so I continue to learn about them.
Here are some paraphrased responses to the post on Shaminism:
This seems similar to Messianic Judaism, which combines Judaism and Christianity in a way that offends many Jews. They feel that their religion is being co-opted and turned into something it is not, combining the sacred with something they find profane.
In terms of Native American stuff, I have some Native American heritage as well as a lot of European. I wonder if we need to just be aware and careful when taking these things on. That's why I was reluctant to jump into Celtic paganism because I wanted to make sure it was my path and not just me following a fad. I didn't want my interest to fade and to move onto something else, but now that I'm following that path, I'm trying to be respectful and sit back and learn instead of acting like I'm an expert. And it's frustrating when you've been doing something and it suddenly becomes "cool."
***
I see a couple of things going on with Native American religious practices. First is the history. White people perpetrated cultural genocide against Native Americans and it must be hard to see your religious practices adopted by people who don't look at the realities of that history on a daily basis. There is also systemic racism in this country and it must be hard to see your practices adopted by people who seem unaware of the unearned privilege that their race gives them. People whose ancestors worked hard to eradicate your culture can now choose to practice it without any negative consequences.
***
Cafeteria spiritualism that takes just the convenient bits of practices around the world really bothers me.
*****
Involving oneself in another culture's spiritual practice can be dishonoring or invading. There are churches that do not welcome everyone to communion. Non-Mormons are not allowed in certain parts of Mormon sanctuaries. I would not expect to be invited to a friend's celebrations of Passover. If it is not ok for me to walk into a Catholic monastery and explore, why should it be ok for me to go to other sacred places like a sweat lodge? Why do Westeners think they can barge right into practices that are "indigenous" and "close to the earth" without asking?
I see a lot of racial distinctions in what traditions are considered fair game to adapt. Partly this is because of the misguided idea of indigenous people as pure and unsullied by everything that is wrong with Western culture. The avoids the nuances and subtleties of a challenging situation and is naive.
***
The way people are talking about it, no one outside the culture has a right to even study it, let alone take it on. If there is a non-indigenous person who really is seeking to learn about it and is respectful, why would that not be allowed?
******
Certainly barding into someone's sacred space and expecting a welcome is a problem and the people who operate that space have the right to decide who is allowed, what if the people are setting up their own versions of something sacred from that culture in their own space? Like if a UU church is teaching kids about dream catchers. Is it inappropriate appropraition from the children to make dream catchers at their church?
******
A comment on the cafeteria spirituality. This idea that picking and choosing from different traditions is wrong is a Western prejudice and not shared by all cultures. For example, in Japan rituals from Shinto, Christian, and Buddhist traditions are often used throughout a person's life. There's nothing wrong with that unless you adhere to the Western dualism that says you ahve to be this or that, not something in between. We in the West can be very rigid in our thinking, particularly when it comes to spirituality.
****
Some people say that you should worship in the religion that is most predominate in your own culture because you are born into that culture to learn something specific within that framework. To go outside of the culture you're born into is disrespectful to the gods. I thought it was an interesting concept, though I don't agree with it.
*****
I was on vacation recently and was looking at Native American jewelry. I avoid purchasing jewelry that has symbolic Native American designs just like I avoid wearing African styles of clothes, even though I think the fabrics are really beautiful. It feels as if I am taking something that isn't mine. I asked the woman I was buying jewelry from about this and she looked at me like she had never thought of it like that. I am protective of symbols. If a non-Jew put up a mezzuzah [a container for a sacred scroll that Jews attach to the sides of their front doors], I woudl feel infringed on, like if you are not willing to take on the commitment, why are you taking the symbol. I feel that way also about people I know are not Christian who wear crosses because they are in style.
******
It's true about the messianic Judaism. I looked at their source texts against the original Hebrew and not one verse means what they say it means. At some point you have to say, this is not Judaism. Dressing like a Jew and sprinkling in some Hebrew is not the equivalent of being Jewish.
****
And lastly, an interesting article written by a young woman who is both Black and Jewish (and born Jewish, not a convert) and her feelings of being not welcomed by Judaism:
http://www.racialicious.com/2010/09/07/off-and-running-toward-my-own-identity-racialigious/
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
In case you couldn't tell...
Sorry to be a downer today. If you couldn't tell, my boyfriend and I broke up last night.
For the girls looking forward to and waiting for fun Indian wedding stuff, here's a couple of links of amazing American/Indian (and sometimes other nationalities) weddings with pictures worth drooling over:
http://www.maharaniweddings.com/
http://marigoldsandmithai.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
For the girls looking forward to and waiting for fun Indian wedding stuff, here's a couple of links of amazing American/Indian (and sometimes other nationalities) weddings with pictures worth drooling over:
http://www.maharaniweddings.com/
http://marigoldsandmithai.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!
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