The interviewed individual is an American female, Leela Smith, aged 53, who spent several years of her life in the Indian city of Kochi, Kerala as a homemaker, adopted an ayurvedic diet that was followed by her entire family, and home-schooled her youngest child. Further, she took training in Carnatic music, learned hatha yoga and Sanskrit, and adopted Kalaripayattu, Kerala's health system. In the year 2002, the whole family returned to the United States, and now resides in Oahu (Editors of Hinduism Today Magazine 2007).The interviewee, Leela, claims it was in the year 1978 that she had her first taste of Hinduism at age fifteen, at a hatha yoga session held in her neighborhood in San Francisco, California. With time, she grew more interested in yoga, and took to reading about it and its great benefits to an individual's physical and mental wellbeing. She also decided to give up non-vegetarianism. A couple of years down the line saw her attending weekly meditation sessions somewhere in the city. She claims she had an unforgettable and life-changing vision of the Hindu God Shiva at his Mt. Kailash abode.
At age 22, she married Hank Smith, her husband of the past thirty-one years. While he accepted her beliefs and lifestyle, he showed no personal interest in himself adopting Hinduism. A few years after her wedding, Leela, in the year 1989, had her name legally changed from Leslie Smith to Leela Smith.
Her religious conversion was formally completed in December of the following year. She handed her apostasy statement to her local priest, who said he would formally release her from Catholicism, but had second thoughts and claimed he was told by the Bishop not to sign her release (which wasn't true; the Bishop wasn't in town to take the priest's call). She approached a second priest (this time in her birthplace), who although considerate, refused to release her. In some weeks, she contacted the Bishop himself, who assured her the first priest she approached would sign her statement. In the end, a kindly and understanding...
Life After Death Different Cultures LIFE AFTER DEATH What Lies Beyond Death Islam Islam was founded in 622 A.D by Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) in the Holy city of Makkah. It developed in the Middle East in the 7th century and according to Islamic Encyclopedia, Islam is one of the major and widely spread religions of the world (Campo, 2009). The Holy Book of Muslims, "Quran" states that this life is a trial,
It is uncertain whether or not the early native Indians are responsible for creating the foundations of Hinduism or whether it was the invading Aryans who did it. Even with that, the early Vedic people are believed to have played a major role in shaping the Sanatana Dharma. A number of Hindus actually believe that the first documents which refer to Hinduism are the product of divine intervention, and
Conclusion The research showed that Hinduism is a religion that has been practiced in South Asia for more than 4,000 years, and despite having experienced some fundamental changes during these millennia, the religion has been adopted by people from all over the world. While the majority of Hindus are still in India where four out of five people are Hindus, the research also showed that the billions of people who subscribe
This puts the fate of each individual Hindu is his or her own hands. The significance of this is that Hindus are proactive when it comes to seeking spiritual release. They do not wait for salvation, and understand that it will not come to them. They must seek it out, or be stuck in samsara forever. While the journey is understood to take several lifetimes, the acquisition of good karma
In fact, Hindus consider their religion not as a form of religion per se, but spirituality in general. Selvanayagam (2005) discussed the Hindu concept of spirituality, which takes into account all possible ways or manner in which enlightenment can be achieved. In India, wherein the Hindu religion is the dominant and an integral part of people's lives, Hinduism is considered more than a religion -- it is also a political
Therefore, this particular stupa is emblematic of a literal quality in its representation of the final triumph over the stages of life and death of Buddha. This temple was used to perform religious rituals and was visited as a pilgrimage site. Adherents would circle it with their right shoulders facing it, indicative of a correctness aligned with this religion. Although this and other stupas covered religious artifacts, they served
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now