Gandhi: Hindu and Activist

Quote 1: "I am a Muslim, and a Hindu, and a Christian and a Jew; and so are you."

After much rioting and conflict between the Muslims and the Hindus, Gandhi has grown weary and physically weak. In that same scene, he states that he is a Muslim, a Hindu, a Christian, and a Jew. This shows that Gandhi promotes peace between all religions and also shows Hinduism's strongest trait, religious tolerance. 

Quote 2: “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”

This concept was most evident in the movie when Gandhi states that justice is not when we seek revenge on others who have done wrong. This quote means that if we insist on getting revenge every time someone offends us, we will become as bad as the people who have been offensive. The concept of Hinduism that goes hand in had with this is the law of karma. This law shows the connection between how one acts and the consequences of those actions. Likewise, if one takes an eye for an eye, the consequence is that the whole world will go blind. 

Insight 
An insight I gained about Hinduism is that not much public worship is done. Additionally, like the second stage of Hindu, every Hindu is closely tied in with one another like a community. Something new I understood about Hinduism is religious tolerance. Like it was shown in the movie, initially, there was much conflict between Muslims and Hindus but after much pressure by Gandhi, they learned to cooperate and achieve ceasefire. Finally, apart from an emotional impact, one's religion can impact him/her physically. In the movie Gandhi devoted much of his time going to jail and fasting. These things were obstacles to his physical health, resulting in him getting sick. So, religious dedication can be quite a sport when it comes to the extreme such as Gandhi doing what he did to achieve a British-free India. 

Passion Week

During the Easter Assembly, I have learned that no matter how harshly or severely we sin to hurt God, He will always be forgiving and gracious despite our reprehensible behaviors. As sinners, we commit sin everyday repeatedly. Therefore I believe that we shouldn't always be given a second chance. However, because God died on the cross for us to save us from our sins and because He is gracious and a God of salvation, if we acknowledge our sins and admit to Him about our wrongdoings, a second chance will always be obtainable through His command and will. The Easter Assembly was a great representation of different ways that we might want a second chance in. Whether it is spending more time with family or studying hard for a better educational future. God will always present us with opportunities that may not seem readily available, yet if we have faith in His grace, it is always there. There have been many times when I wanted a second chance and sometimes it seemed as if it was ungraspable. Through much prayer and contemplation, however, God always showed me mercy and presented me with one. For example, an inclement fight with my mother led to us not talking to each other for a long period of time. Those times were rough and I believe that God helped me to realize all the good that my mother has done for me. As a result, I prayed and got the strength and permission from God to receive a second chance at a robust relationship with my mother. Through this heart warming experience I learned that God is not only gracious but that he shows us unconditional love and wants what is best for us even though I have constantly stabbed him with my sins. In conclusion, I truly believe that this passion week is about showing our gratitude and devoting time to God for He has always and will eternally show us the same love and grace.

The Shema

-I am Christian and my God is above all, everything is done in his will, and he is fair and loves all of humanity equally.

-My Grandmother was once extremely ill but altogether, our whole family prayed dearly to God. Through his strength and power, my Grandmother was able to cure as if nothing even happened to her.

-I remember my God by devotedly going to church on every Sunday and also celebrating the birth of God on Christmas day.

My Shema
The LORD is good and everything happens for a purpose through his vision and will. He loves each one of us with a heart full of admiration and forgiveness. You shall love the LORD your God and love each other as He has taught us to do. Remember to teach the future generations about the glory and amazing wonders of your LORD your God. Remember to praise your LORD on the holy day, Sunday, and continue to glorify his name. Love him for He has loved and will continue to love us eternally.

Sacred Poetry

Tsodilo Hills 

The Tsodilo Hills is located in the African Kalahari desert and it was said to be the origination of animal worship, dating back to c 70,000 BC. The geography of the Tsodilo Hills consisted of four chief hills, the highest of them being 1,400 metres. This is also the highest point in Botswana and each hill are entitled the names "Male" (the highest), "Female", "Child", and an unnamed hill. Anthropologists believe that the hills are of great cultural and spiritual significance to the San peoples of the Kalahari. Also, according to cave paintings of animals, animals were extremely underscored by these prehistoric people, numbering over 4,500 rock art paintings, most of the paintings have been found in the "Female" hill. Although anthropologists and architects have founded and studied these multitudes of paintings, they are still unsure of why these animals may have been of importance to the people of the Hills. However, they have concluded that the culturally, the San people believed that the hills are a resting place for the spirits of the deceased and if anyone hunts or causes death near the Hills, misfortune will be bestowed upon the person. Also, the paintings, depicting a range of domesticated and wild animals, the most famous of the paintings being the rhinos. In addition, there are walking trails - the Rhino Trail, Lion trail, and Cliff Trail. Along each trail, archeologists believe, tell a different story about the civilization of the San people. In conclusion, animals worship was undoubtedly a vital part to the San people daily life, maybe signifying their thanks to the animal gods for providing them with food or possibly their want and need for more of these beings, considering that the Hills were located in a desert.

I come here to praise the Gods

They have given me food and shelter

On these caves, I carve the animals that I laud

And pray that my tribe does not welter

On this day I come to these hills

The highest point of all of the land

To give glory to the Gods' wills

And bring to my people a state of order and demand

In this desolate desert, it gets so hot and dry

I give daily tribute to the Rain God

And pray that everyday, I do not die

For the water is of the essence and my God is not flawed

Today I have brought my family big game

And at the peak of the land, I come here and give thanks

To the animal Gods who are so fruitful and protected me from the dangerous Lion and his golden mane

Each and everyday, bringing me up the ranks

The animal Gods, I hope I can appease 

Please listen to my prayer to understand my gratefulness 

For only you can make me and my people happy and bring us to ease

And with this I end my prayer, I thank thee animal Gods and I have no shamefulness

Religion's Influence

On January 6th, over 60,000 Christian students packed the Georgia Dome in order to "shine a light on modern-slavery". The many of these Christians were made up of students of 56 countries and 2,300 different universities. Together they gathered and donated thousands of socks and towels to local homeless people. Subsequently, they worshipped and praised God in order to shine His light on these less fortunate people.

Questions of the Universe

How do humans know what is right and moral - how is it different from those of animals?

In recent generations we learn from our predecessors to differentiate from what is right or wrong. Humans in general may, however, have learned from natural instinct or even from religious experience. For example, Christians look at the biblical beliefs of the Ten Commandments as a basis of morals. From this humans perceive the morality of human beings. Others might say that humans are born with an innate moral "compass", orienting us toward a distinction of what is right and what is wrong. Along with this "compass" is a sense of fairness, a sense of social and family hierarchy, respect for social authority, and respect to the innocence of the youth. Therefore, the recent killings at Newton was viewed as extremely immoral because of the murders of many innocent, naive kids. Also, as time progresses, humans are influenced by different factors augmenting to their moral "compass".
Human morals differ from those of animals. Although animals do not usually show harm behaviors towards their own kind, they kill other breeds of animals in order to survive. This is analogous to saying a Christian person not killing another Christian but maybe killing a Jewish person. Animals have a sense of survival and a need to protect their own kind. As a result, they react differently.