The truth is simply what one believes is true. Unlike science, there are only recollections and representations of what man would like to perceive as fact unlike discovering it firsthand for himself. Still there are those who are deeply into their faith, myself included, as we converge on the same points just through different paths and approaches. In a sense there is only but one religion that all share in, faith or not, which is the religion of love. In any religious conviction, regardless of their systems, traditions, sacrifices, rituals, dominance, or doctrines, we are the same when a reference to a higher power- a God- involves our souls so intently that intense devotion has occurred. This compassion to a deity is often expressed in numerous ways similar to wordless ways someone would say “I love you.” If one did not love another person, or love what he or she is doing, then the question arises in why do it? Why study something you do not believe in? The beauty of religions is that they unite a community based off of joint rituals or patterns to support their own group’s survival. Just going to a church or a temple does not mean any individual has a stronger certainty for practice can take place in many settings and still fulfill a person wholeheartedly to take him or her out of every day consciousness and into awareness of the presence of the sacred. For starters one can find salvation through prayer and gestures, a type of bodily language, or even a sense of mirroring actions through the continuation of its teachings such as meditation. Often there is a leader, a supreme, who judging on the creed can be conceived as male or female. In any case, cultures are in seek of guidance about his or her mission in life and even if there are no signs of central tradition, all hold ethnics to secure an orderly social life.

When one feels a disorder in society norms or dissatisfaction with rituals, new theories and training are produced. For the sages during the Vedic period, expression given by the entire universe was transmitted through the power of inward-looking meditation. According to the textbook Scriptures of the World’s Religions by James Fieser, passage referencing The Upanişads and Yoga, the performance of yoga is used as a philosophical structure designed to clear the mind and transcend the body into a state of balance, or purity. In this hypothesis an individual did not experience both birth and afterlife in the present. It recalled an eternal shift, an unchanging essence if you will, characterized by three qualities: being, consciousness, and bliss. Despite what is happening in the external environment, it does not disturb the internal presence. For this process “remains unaffected by ours joys, sorrows, hopes, disappointments, pleasures, or pains and thus is in a continuous state of equanimity” (5). In this manner yoga is used as discipline, bringing total control to one thought and one which shuns sense objects or random notions. I found interest in this scriptural passage for it is rare to see the average person take at least five to ten minutes for his or herself nowadays. To truly acquire the mental blockage of outsiders is incredulous perception, but one that proves significant. I find it intriguing how the Hindus were able to not only self love, but to also ask the universe to direct them to a different world- one without flaw, but with nourishment, stability, nurture, fulfillment, and life. Channeling into the internal parts of our bodies is a challenge in itself, never mind repeating the pattern every day.

After reading this I realize the yoga I am studying now follows in these footsteps, but does not demonstrate enough similarities to relate the two. Being a dancer it is hard for me to sit still, calm my thoughts, and close every tab that is open in my brain. I take yoga classes for the flexibility boost, spinal strength and protection, increase in blood flow, the breath and fluidity felt intertwining between my skeleton, focus and the stillness of positions that alter my mood. It is more a calming sensation rather than a transformation. I have tried multiple classes and actually would like to become certified one day, but I personally believe I could teach it properly without training in its background. It is true that meditation can clear out negative thoughts, but the journey in reaching it is not one found too often. Concentrating on a single phrase or mantra may be a start, but it is a struggle to make time for this phenomenon. In honesty I never knew where the term yoga came from until engulfing in all of Hinduism’s traditions and paths to devotion. Although the direction is not clearly to a divine being, all thoughts of ego are turned to pure experience. In a way it is a senseless act or service between a human being and God. Having no sole founder, tradition, or viewpoint to begin with the Hindus made a name for themselves through their application to which is creditable. I view this passage in contrast to reading another text titled Living Religions by John Fischer to be accurate as this was the life for these people. It was not a made up story that was passed down orally, it was an everyday ritual that separated this group of people from the rest. They survived off of their need to execute their duties, but without force or demand. It was the drive and passion, the genuine gratitude that would cause neither trouble nor performance of wrong doings to get them there.

Another passage that sought my curiosity dealt with a more radical and stereotypical wisdom of “love.” This time Fieser chose to display the role of a woman figure in negative personality. Most stereotypes are incredibly simplistic, however, even though the public knows they are nine times out of ten inaccurate they choose to trust it because “everyone else did.” This is a rare case which could have stemmed from the parent as it describes a woman expecting the world to be handed down to her from a male without her even lifting up a finger. Some households are teaching girls the horrible, yet most common, “lady-like” qualities” such as the required dress attire, serving of food, taking care of babies, becoming nurses rather than doctors, being weaker than men, making less money, not playing a sport, being submissive and doing as asked, or staying at home. In the book Scriptures of the World’s Religion, the paragraph emphasizing this to a T falls under the title Division of Labor Between the Sexes. In this story men and women are first introduced to how the other functions in society. A male whom has never seen such a woman, or even one at all, finds a lady in canoe. He first notices the physique features, and their indifferences, but to his revelation is appalled at the fact that she would not contribute to the work in paddling the canoe across water. Having no reference to what women are like, he began to teach her of his ways, his challenges, and responsibilities. At time passed the woman caught on, but it was notable she was unaware of what was expected of her at first glance as “he found many of her lessons difficult to accept” (244). Even during the ancient Greek periods there was a distinction between sexes. It would be viewed unusual to have the woman completing tasks similar to those of a man. For centuries, most civilizations did not even allow for it. Women did not have a say in voting, counsels, juries, or any public events as it would be sin to have such a woman become stronger than the heroic male figure. Though over periods women were evenly accepted as equal to men. It was not a one day process, but suddenly women were doing jobs side by side a man and there were no questions asked. This correlates to what Fisher mentions in the text Living Religions for it was not until future years that a woman could possess or undergo spiritual ordeals or communicate with the spirit world to help the people. The role of citizens was specified to males even when group rituals, which are community-centered, honored the bonds between one another. Girls had their own ritual when reaching puberty, but following this path there was no sign of potential standing for them. It was pleasing to see the connection made between this pair and the strength, both mentally and physically, distributed between the two. It is a growing of people, a trust in another being.

The male took a risk in putting his reliance on this woman, but who is to decipher good or evil? Who is to praise for the coming of earth? Although some religions have artifacts to prove their existence, others do not and live off of remaining texts or oral traditions passed down. The ultimate question that has no absolute answer is what is the origin of the world? To one community it came through the creation of man and woman, to another the citizens were already existing, another tells of one power generating waters, lakes, rivers, ground, sources of life in a day, but who is to say any of these responses are reality? In going back to Hinduism, there was a poem written reflecting these hidden certainties. It reads of an early speculative tendency from the Vedic period to which the writer suggests the possibilities of life before the world we know it. He proposes the idea that there could have been living organisms before creation and before birth of the gods, but again, the reader is yet to interpret if his persuasion is enough to consider. The short verse entitled What is The Origin of The World found in Fieser’s Scriptures of the World’s Religions suggests that there were only two options: nonexistence or existence. Not born into this generation, he is stirred by the endless doubts to which he creates for himself. The more doubt one has the more questions follow. “Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?” (21). I believe that some questions are meant to be left unanswered. One could spend his or whole entire life questioning their own existence rather than living in it. Religions may be quite diverse, but there is never an inquiry when it comes to where the information was found or why it is the way it is. It simply just is. Fischer in the textbook Living Religions makes note that the Vedas are not the work of any humans, yet they reveal collections of ancient sacred hymns, sacred teachings, and explore blessings that people who believe in them never take second thought in. The stress comes down to one factor- one that does not come with multiple definitions- the inner experience as a path to realization and immortality to God. It is a love everlasting. Yes there are varieties in conceiving devotion, but all journeys whether straight or not, lead humans to liberation and extricate themselves from suffering. Love will keep us together. Now that is something that does not need to be written down.