"It is my humble prayer that, when built, the Ismaili Centre in Dubai will be a place for contemplation and search for enlightenment, where people come together to share knowledge and wisdom. It will be a place of peace, of order, of hope and of brotherhood, radiating those thoughts, attitudes and sentiments which unite, and which do not divide, and which uplift the mind and the spirit."(Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Foundation Laying Ceremony of the Ismaili Centre in Dubai)
The above statement of MHI defines the role of Jamatkhanas and the benefits that they are intended to provide the Jamats. The following article that appeared in today's Calgary Herald reports on the recent researches on the benefits of attending congregation.
Have faith for a longer lifespan
The Telegraph
December 27, 2004
Those who made their annual trip to church Sunday may want to rethink their faith schedule.
Research shows that regular churchgoers live longer than non-believers.
A 12-year study tracking mortality rates of more than 550 adults over the age of 65 found that those who attended services at least once a week were 35 per cent more likely to live longer than those who never attended church.
The research also found that going to church boosted an elderly person's immune system and made them less likely to suffer clogged arteries or high blood pressure.
Susan Lutgendorf, psychology professor at the University of Iowa, who carried out the study, said: "There's something involved in the act of religious attendance, whether it's the group interaction, the world view or just the exercise to get out of the house. There's something that seems to be beneficial.''
Robert Wallace, a co-author of the report, added that doctors could even prescribe a course of church attendance to benefit patients.
"It was an interesting and provocative find,'' he said.
"I think that now, we will be trying to aggregate the meaning and experience of going to church to the extent that one can produce medical intervention based on a better understanding of that.''
The researchers found that among individuals who reported never attending religious services, the risk of death over the 12-year period was 52 per cent. By contrast, the risk of death of those who attended church services more than once a week was 17 per cent over the same period.
Thirty-five per cent of the 64 participants who never attended church died before the end of the study. By comparison, 85.5 per cent of participants who went to church twice or more a week survived.
Regular church attendance was associated with lower levels of interleukin-6, a chemical that can cause arterial damage at elevated levels and is linked to age-related diseases.
Although the researchers acknowledged that regular churchgoers could lead more abstemious lives, they insisted that they had factored these variants into the study by examining a control group of equally healthy non-believers. The variation, they said, had made no appreciable difference.
© The Calgary Herald 2004
Jamatkhana Attendance
Congregation
When people gather and remember Allah, the angels surround them and blessings encompass them. Peace descends on them and Allah mentions them to those near Him.
-The Prophet Muhammad, as reported by Abu Hurairah
-The Prophet Muhammad, as reported by Abu Hurairah
Re: Congregation
kmaherali wrote:When people gather and remember Allah, the angels surround them and blessings encompass them. Peace descends on them and Allah mentions them to those near Him.
-The Prophet Muhammad, as reported by Abu Hurairah
Here is more Hadiths of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.S) on Prayers:
"Prayer said in congregation excels the prayer said alone by twenty seven degress."
"Prayer is the best of things which people do: so when people do a good work, do thou aslo do the good with them, and when they do evil, do thou shun their evil."
"The nearest that the servant is to his Lord is when he is in Sujda, so make most petitions."
"O ye who believe seek help in steadfastness and prayer. Lo! Allah is with the steadfast."
"Therefore remember Me, I will remembr you. Give thanks to me, and reject not Me."
Re: Jamatkhana Attendance
Holy Firman of MHI :
"And I urge my Jamat to hold strong to the
traditions, to hold strong to the Faith, to attend
Jamat Khana regularly, to pray regulary, because
it is this that can give you real happiness."
Ameen.
"And I urge my Jamat to hold strong to the
traditions, to hold strong to the Faith, to attend
Jamat Khana regularly, to pray regulary, because
it is this that can give you real happiness."
Ameen.
prayers
Notice how people can sit for hours and talk to one another, but call us to pray and we find it to be great difficulty. Why is this so? 1) Lack of desperation (realizing our dependence on God), 2) The wrestlings of the flesh, 3) Lack of faith to believe not only that God hears us but that He will move on our behalf. [David Wallace]
God hears desire: God hears hunger: God hears thirst; He does not hear lethargy. [Scott Lamb]
Prayer is faith passing into action. [Richard Cecil]
You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed. [Dr. A.J. Gordon]
God hears desire: God hears hunger: God hears thirst; He does not hear lethargy. [Scott Lamb]
Prayer is faith passing into action. [Richard Cecil]
You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed. [Dr. A.J. Gordon]
The following article that appeared in today's Calgary Herald discusses the benefits of practicing faith regularly in terms of prayers and Jamatkhana attendance. The article speaks for itself and nothing more needs to be added.
Prayer's healing touch
New research shows a link between faith and good health
Chris Zdeb
CanWest News Service
May 12, 2005
Brent McConaghy prays for a friend who has AIDS, though he knows she can't be healed.
"But I do ask the Lord to make it better for her so that she can deal with it pain-wise," says McConaghy, who describes himself as spiritual, not religious.
There's a growing body of research -- more than 1,200 studies -- that have explored the relationship between spirituality and health. Most of those studies have found that people with religion and spirituality live longer, are less depressed, less likely to get sick and less stressed than those who do not have spiritual beliefs.
One of the latest studies, from the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto, found the rate of decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease is slower among those with high levels of spirituality who practise their religion.
Dr. Harold G. Koenig of North Carolina's Duke University Centre for Spirituality, Theology and Health has been involved in a number of studies that he says show religion provides a wide range of health benefits.
Among them: people who prayed or studied the Bible several times a week were less likely than others to suffer from alcoholism; engaging in most religious activities was linked to having lower blood pressure -- the exceptions were watching or listening to religious TV and radio programs, which were found to increase blood pressure; elderly adults who attended religious services at least once a week were found to live longer than those who attended less frequently or not at all.
One study found the effect on survival was equivalent to that of not smoking cigarettes versus smoking.
"All the research suggests that (for prayer to improve health) it has to be done within a religious context," Koenig says.
"There are some studies that show meditation produces some health benefits, at least in the short term, but most of the research has been done among people involved in traditional kinds of religious activities -- prayer, attending services, reading the Bible, those kinds of things," he says.
If Koenig has a nemesis, it's Richard Sloan, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York. Sloan basically shoots down most of the research in the field, including Koenig's, for failing to control for confounding variables, failing to control for fishing for the data and for inconsistent findings.
"Even in the best of studies, the evidence of an association between religion, spirituality and health is weak and inconsistent," Sloan has argued.
But is prayer behind a spiritual person's good health or is it religion as a social entity?
Studies have found that Mormons, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are likely to live longer and the argument can be made that it has to do with the mores of the church, says Brendan Leier, a researcher with the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre at the University of Alberta.
"They're very clean-living people who get lots of exercise, don't drink -- they tend to avoid more viceful, secular behaviour," Leier says. "Religious people generally are more clean-living. They tend to be people who respect principles and respect authority, so they may also respect simultaneously medical principles and medical authority that tells them how to live a clean life. That's the social argument."
More...
Much more interesting, Leier says, is what the practice of prayer does for the individual. There are two types of prayer, he explains: petitionary or 'God, please make my grandma well,' and contemplative, known as meditation in the East and New Age religion in the West. The fundamental characteristic of a lot of New Age religions is contemplation and introspection, basically quieting the mind, Leier says.
"I think that practice can be shown to have positive effects on an individual's well-being and that carries through in the case of illness."
Duke University's Koenig agrees.
"If people can relax and take it easy and not obsess and worry about their health . . . if they can turn it all over to God or be comforted by their beliefs, it frees up the body's natural healing systems to do their job," Koenig says.
Skeptics of the power of prayer tend to look only at physical healing, they don't think of other healing -- spiritual, social -- that can go on when people get sick, Koenig says. Patching things up with an estranged friend or relative who may contact you when they hear you're gravely ill, for example, may be more important than improvement to physical health.
"Maybe God's plan for them is not to be physically healed."
Body & Health
Prayer's healing touch
New research shows a link between faith and good health
Chris Zdeb
CanWest News Service
May 12, 2005
Brent McConaghy prays for a friend who has AIDS, though he knows she can't be healed.
"But I do ask the Lord to make it better for her so that she can deal with it pain-wise," says McConaghy, who describes himself as spiritual, not religious.
There's a growing body of research -- more than 1,200 studies -- that have explored the relationship between spirituality and health. Most of those studies have found that people with religion and spirituality live longer, are less depressed, less likely to get sick and less stressed than those who do not have spiritual beliefs.
One of the latest studies, from the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto, found the rate of decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease is slower among those with high levels of spirituality who practise their religion.
Dr. Harold G. Koenig of North Carolina's Duke University Centre for Spirituality, Theology and Health has been involved in a number of studies that he says show religion provides a wide range of health benefits.
Among them: people who prayed or studied the Bible several times a week were less likely than others to suffer from alcoholism; engaging in most religious activities was linked to having lower blood pressure -- the exceptions were watching or listening to religious TV and radio programs, which were found to increase blood pressure; elderly adults who attended religious services at least once a week were found to live longer than those who attended less frequently or not at all.
One study found the effect on survival was equivalent to that of not smoking cigarettes versus smoking.
"All the research suggests that (for prayer to improve health) it has to be done within a religious context," Koenig says.
"There are some studies that show meditation produces some health benefits, at least in the short term, but most of the research has been done among people involved in traditional kinds of religious activities -- prayer, attending services, reading the Bible, those kinds of things," he says.
If Koenig has a nemesis, it's Richard Sloan, an associate professor in the department of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York. Sloan basically shoots down most of the research in the field, including Koenig's, for failing to control for confounding variables, failing to control for fishing for the data and for inconsistent findings.
"Even in the best of studies, the evidence of an association between religion, spirituality and health is weak and inconsistent," Sloan has argued.
But is prayer behind a spiritual person's good health or is it religion as a social entity?
Studies have found that Mormons, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are likely to live longer and the argument can be made that it has to do with the mores of the church, says Brendan Leier, a researcher with the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre at the University of Alberta.
"They're very clean-living people who get lots of exercise, don't drink -- they tend to avoid more viceful, secular behaviour," Leier says. "Religious people generally are more clean-living. They tend to be people who respect principles and respect authority, so they may also respect simultaneously medical principles and medical authority that tells them how to live a clean life. That's the social argument."
More...
Much more interesting, Leier says, is what the practice of prayer does for the individual. There are two types of prayer, he explains: petitionary or 'God, please make my grandma well,' and contemplative, known as meditation in the East and New Age religion in the West. The fundamental characteristic of a lot of New Age religions is contemplation and introspection, basically quieting the mind, Leier says.
"I think that practice can be shown to have positive effects on an individual's well-being and that carries through in the case of illness."
Duke University's Koenig agrees.
"If people can relax and take it easy and not obsess and worry about their health . . . if they can turn it all over to God or be comforted by their beliefs, it frees up the body's natural healing systems to do their job," Koenig says.
Skeptics of the power of prayer tend to look only at physical healing, they don't think of other healing -- spiritual, social -- that can go on when people get sick, Koenig says. Patching things up with an estranged friend or relative who may contact you when they hear you're gravely ill, for example, may be more important than improvement to physical health.
"Maybe God's plan for them is not to be physically healed."
Body & Health
We're All in This Together
When hope is not pinned wriggling onto a shiny image or expectation, it sometimes floats forth and opens like one of those fluted Japanese blossoms, flimsy and spastic, bright and warm. This almost always seems to happen in community.
-Annie Lamott quoted in "The Impossible Will Take a Little While"
From "Healing Words for the Body, Mind and Spirit," by Caren Golman:
In the late 1990s. psychiatrist David Spiegel published a study showing that women with metastatic breast cancer who belonged to a support group lived longer. Although I'm a real introvert who considers more than two people in a room a crowd, those findings didn't surprise me. Even I admit to occasionally feeling strong urges to connect with like-minded friends, peers, and my faith community just for the health of it. In fact, I have no doubt that our universal, innate yearning to be in relationship with others is, in part, rooted in a deep, abiding truth that healthy communities offer us protective immunity.
During times of illness and grievous personal loss, communities of friends, relatives, and even strangers gather round to nourish and fortify us physically, spiritually and emotionally by helping us to endure our pain, heal our wounds, and continue to say "Yes!" to life. Without asking, they eagerly pray for our health and survival, not just with words, but with deeds, too. They show up at our doorsteps and hospital beds with casseroles, cakes, cards, and other tokens of their concerns. They give us a hero's "hurray!" for making strides we may consider insignificant. They magically appear to pick up the balls we drop and keep them in play. And, at those times when the fact that we have nothing to say says it all, they just sit in silence with us.
It's no surprise to me that Spiegel's study showed that we do far better when we connect with one another. After my treatments for breast cancer ended, I started a support group. At the first meeting, each woman talked about her hopes, fears, and concerns about the future. While watching heads nod in agreement, I felt my own head doing the same. Looking into the eyes of those around me, I saw that I didn't have to experience exactly what each woman went through to know her story was my story. We were, that night and forever more, all in this together.
When hope is not pinned wriggling onto a shiny image or expectation, it sometimes floats forth and opens like one of those fluted Japanese blossoms, flimsy and spastic, bright and warm. This almost always seems to happen in community.
-Annie Lamott quoted in "The Impossible Will Take a Little While"
From "Healing Words for the Body, Mind and Spirit," by Caren Golman:
In the late 1990s. psychiatrist David Spiegel published a study showing that women with metastatic breast cancer who belonged to a support group lived longer. Although I'm a real introvert who considers more than two people in a room a crowd, those findings didn't surprise me. Even I admit to occasionally feeling strong urges to connect with like-minded friends, peers, and my faith community just for the health of it. In fact, I have no doubt that our universal, innate yearning to be in relationship with others is, in part, rooted in a deep, abiding truth that healthy communities offer us protective immunity.
During times of illness and grievous personal loss, communities of friends, relatives, and even strangers gather round to nourish and fortify us physically, spiritually and emotionally by helping us to endure our pain, heal our wounds, and continue to say "Yes!" to life. Without asking, they eagerly pray for our health and survival, not just with words, but with deeds, too. They show up at our doorsteps and hospital beds with casseroles, cakes, cards, and other tokens of their concerns. They give us a hero's "hurray!" for making strides we may consider insignificant. They magically appear to pick up the balls we drop and keep them in play. And, at those times when the fact that we have nothing to say says it all, they just sit in silence with us.
It's no surprise to me that Spiegel's study showed that we do far better when we connect with one another. After my treatments for breast cancer ended, I started a support group. At the first meeting, each woman talked about her hopes, fears, and concerns about the future. While watching heads nod in agreement, I felt my own head doing the same. Looking into the eyes of those around me, I saw that I didn't have to experience exactly what each woman went through to know her story was my story. We were, that night and forever more, all in this together.
MHI in his many speeches recently has talked about the role of religions in the ethical formation of the society. The following article discusses the value of religion based institutions in view of the ongoing controversy of whether they are needed at all.
OPEN-LINE RELIGION CRITICS IGNORE VITAL WORK OF CHURCH
Recently, I was the guest on CBC Ottawa's weekly call-in show, Radio Noon. The question put to listeners was: "What does your religion mean to you?" It was a lively program with a wide cross-section or opinions expressed.
Thinking about the experience on my way home from the Toronto studio, however, I realized I should have done a better job of clarifying several key issues. Because of their wider importance, I'm going to make amends by sharing my thoughts on them with you.
Whenever you open up the phone lines on the topic of religion, you inevitably hear a lot of griping and negativity. There's no basic problem with that. A lot of people have been or are being hurt by religion in one way or another. What's more, given its history and current difficulties, religion, like politics, presents an enormous target.
As one who cares very much about the future of religion and the various world faiths, I remain extremely critical of certain aspects of institutional religion myself. One's hope is that by means of informed, constructive criticism organized religion can be challenged to further renewal and service in the cause of humanity and the rest of creation.
But there's another side to the story, one that often gets scant treatment. I'm referring to the incredible amount of good done by organized religion every day of the week. The radio callers had a lot to say about church "hypocrites" and the very real animosities and tensions caused by religion around the world. There was little appreciation of the unglamorous but vital Work done here and abroad by millions of believers of every stripe as they visit the sick, counsel the confused, care for the lonely and the elderly, and give generously of their resources to feed, clothe and house the needy everywhere.
Believe me, if it were not for the volunteer work done by church and other faith communities' members, if it were not for the social service leadership given by clergy and laity of every denomination and belief across this wide dominion, Canadian society itself would be a profoundly more callous, inhuman affair. We pay tribute, rightly, to inspiring giants such as Dr. Robert McClure or Cardinal Emile Leger (both of whom died a few days ago). We too easily forget the vast company of those whose names never get in paper but upon whose diligent caring so much depends.
****
The open-line callers talked as though religion and spirituality were synonymous, identical. They are not, and thinking they are can lead to serious errors and misunderstandings. A person's religion has to do with belonging to a particular grouping, accepting certain core beliefs or creeds, and performing specific rituals, meditations or other prescribed disciplines. It is basically concerned with external matters, with what one professes or performs.
Spirituality, on the other hand, is essentially an internal matter, an affair of the heart. It has to do with a mode of consciousness, a certain way of perceiving oneself, others, and the cosmos. It is the realization, as Jesus said, that the kingdom of God is within us and around us, that the ordinary contains the extraordinary, that the unseen is more powerful than the seen, and that matter itself is alive with Spirit.
You can be extremely religious, observing every rite, rule and feast day, and yet be as unspiritual as a lump of clay. There are many today who are deeply spiritual, in tune with the universe and its Maker, and yet are quite outside the bounds of religion altogether. Ideally, all religious people ought to have the inner attitudes and awarenesses suggested by their outward profession of faith.
Unfortunately, it frequently doesn't work out that way. As the Bible, for example, puts it, it is possible to spend one's life going to church or temple and saying "Lord, Lord ..." and still miss the inner reality entirely.
It's easy to assume from the above (and many critics seem to) that religious rituals, creeds, buildings, and other organizational structures are totally unnecessary. If the ultimate goal is the transformation of the consciousness of the individual and hence of the species itself, and if one can be spiritual on one's own, why bother with all the religious paraphernalia anyway?
This is one of those arguments which appears to carry considerable weight at first glance but which collapses on a closer inspection. I am not personally — and never have been — some kind of religious anarchist who inveighs against any and all kinds of institutionalized religion. As Aristotle once said: "Man (human beings) is a political animal." He uses "political" in the sense of intended or meant for communal life. It's very difficult (impossible?) to maintain one's spirituality and put it to work for others unless there is the support and encouragement of those of like mind. You need organization and institutions to get things done. The forces of irreligion are well-organized!
For me, the big question is not, Do we need organized religion? but, How can we keep renewing the organization so that it truly helps people's spirituality instead of getting in its way?
Tom Harpur is a Toronto author and broadcaster.
OPEN-LINE RELIGION CRITICS IGNORE VITAL WORK OF CHURCH
Recently, I was the guest on CBC Ottawa's weekly call-in show, Radio Noon. The question put to listeners was: "What does your religion mean to you?" It was a lively program with a wide cross-section or opinions expressed.
Thinking about the experience on my way home from the Toronto studio, however, I realized I should have done a better job of clarifying several key issues. Because of their wider importance, I'm going to make amends by sharing my thoughts on them with you.
Whenever you open up the phone lines on the topic of religion, you inevitably hear a lot of griping and negativity. There's no basic problem with that. A lot of people have been or are being hurt by religion in one way or another. What's more, given its history and current difficulties, religion, like politics, presents an enormous target.
As one who cares very much about the future of religion and the various world faiths, I remain extremely critical of certain aspects of institutional religion myself. One's hope is that by means of informed, constructive criticism organized religion can be challenged to further renewal and service in the cause of humanity and the rest of creation.
But there's another side to the story, one that often gets scant treatment. I'm referring to the incredible amount of good done by organized religion every day of the week. The radio callers had a lot to say about church "hypocrites" and the very real animosities and tensions caused by religion around the world. There was little appreciation of the unglamorous but vital Work done here and abroad by millions of believers of every stripe as they visit the sick, counsel the confused, care for the lonely and the elderly, and give generously of their resources to feed, clothe and house the needy everywhere.
Believe me, if it were not for the volunteer work done by church and other faith communities' members, if it were not for the social service leadership given by clergy and laity of every denomination and belief across this wide dominion, Canadian society itself would be a profoundly more callous, inhuman affair. We pay tribute, rightly, to inspiring giants such as Dr. Robert McClure or Cardinal Emile Leger (both of whom died a few days ago). We too easily forget the vast company of those whose names never get in paper but upon whose diligent caring so much depends.
****
The open-line callers talked as though religion and spirituality were synonymous, identical. They are not, and thinking they are can lead to serious errors and misunderstandings. A person's religion has to do with belonging to a particular grouping, accepting certain core beliefs or creeds, and performing specific rituals, meditations or other prescribed disciplines. It is basically concerned with external matters, with what one professes or performs.
Spirituality, on the other hand, is essentially an internal matter, an affair of the heart. It has to do with a mode of consciousness, a certain way of perceiving oneself, others, and the cosmos. It is the realization, as Jesus said, that the kingdom of God is within us and around us, that the ordinary contains the extraordinary, that the unseen is more powerful than the seen, and that matter itself is alive with Spirit.
You can be extremely religious, observing every rite, rule and feast day, and yet be as unspiritual as a lump of clay. There are many today who are deeply spiritual, in tune with the universe and its Maker, and yet are quite outside the bounds of religion altogether. Ideally, all religious people ought to have the inner attitudes and awarenesses suggested by their outward profession of faith.
Unfortunately, it frequently doesn't work out that way. As the Bible, for example, puts it, it is possible to spend one's life going to church or temple and saying "Lord, Lord ..." and still miss the inner reality entirely.
It's easy to assume from the above (and many critics seem to) that religious rituals, creeds, buildings, and other organizational structures are totally unnecessary. If the ultimate goal is the transformation of the consciousness of the individual and hence of the species itself, and if one can be spiritual on one's own, why bother with all the religious paraphernalia anyway?
This is one of those arguments which appears to carry considerable weight at first glance but which collapses on a closer inspection. I am not personally — and never have been — some kind of religious anarchist who inveighs against any and all kinds of institutionalized religion. As Aristotle once said: "Man (human beings) is a political animal." He uses "political" in the sense of intended or meant for communal life. It's very difficult (impossible?) to maintain one's spirituality and put it to work for others unless there is the support and encouragement of those of like mind. You need organization and institutions to get things done. The forces of irreligion are well-organized!
For me, the big question is not, Do we need organized religion? but, How can we keep renewing the organization so that it truly helps people's spirituality instead of getting in its way?
Tom Harpur is a Toronto author and broadcaster.
Fostering faith-filled communities
'A church can be the one constant,' theologian says
Graeme Morton
Calgary Herald
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Religious communities can still play an important role in an
increasingly urbanized society, says a leading British expert on fostering faith-filled cities.
Elaine Graham, professor of social and pastoral theology at the University of Manchester, told a Calgary audience this week that church communities need to be "lighter on their feet" in the future and keep an open mind to new possibilities of service to their neighbourhoods.
"On the surface, weekly church attendance in Britain is still extremely low. However, people are turning to churches as the developers and suppliers of important social services," Graham said.
She noted that during the sweeping economic reforms imposed during the 1980s by the Thatcher government in Britain, churches were often the lone voices of opposition, drawing attention to the social toll such policy was taking on England's poor.
"And a lot of people who probably wouldn't be caught dead inside a church started to recognize the role that the faith community could play in a modern, largely secular world," Graham added.
"Religion is on the agenda again in Britain in an unexpected way, even if the numbers in the pews are still low."
Becoming relevant to a younger generation seeking spiritual meaning in their lives, but bored by endless dogmatic debates and internal squabbles is another key for churches hoping to avoid the fate of the dinosaur.
"People want to express and to experience their spirituality in new ways: through music, drama and dance as well as prayer and sermons," said Graham.
"And churches need to be more flexible with their worship times and styles to attract a generation of people who have never had religion as a priority in their lives."
Graham predicts there will be more individual church closures and denominational declines in coming years. However, she says congregations that are open to sharing their facilities with other faith groups and social agencies can survive, and perhaps thrive.
"Churches need to listen to the voices of those who aren't being heard by society and then become their champions," says Graham.
"The parish system that many denominations have is a real plus because you are already at the grassroots, part of the fabric of your neighbourhood," she said.
"If your church can be the place where people might have their kids looked after in a day care or where they can get emergency help when they really need it, that's living out your faith in a way that connects with people."
Graham has spent years researching what elements are crucial to a healthy city. Her checklist includes strong leadership, a vibrant arts and cultural scene, progressive environmental stewardship and not only opportunities for creating wealth, but sharing it in a just manner.
And while regular Sunday attendance may continue to slide, Graham said many non-religious people can still feel unspoken affinity to the sense of the sacred found within their modest community church or a majestic English cathedral.
"A church can be the one constant in a rapidly changing city, the 'bearer of the memory of the neighbourhood,' so to speak," Graham says.
Graham's visit was sponsored by the Education for Ministry program and the Anglican Diocese of Calgary.
[email protected]
© The Calgary Herald 2008
'A church can be the one constant,' theologian says
Graeme Morton
Calgary Herald
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Religious communities can still play an important role in an
increasingly urbanized society, says a leading British expert on fostering faith-filled cities.
Elaine Graham, professor of social and pastoral theology at the University of Manchester, told a Calgary audience this week that church communities need to be "lighter on their feet" in the future and keep an open mind to new possibilities of service to their neighbourhoods.
"On the surface, weekly church attendance in Britain is still extremely low. However, people are turning to churches as the developers and suppliers of important social services," Graham said.
She noted that during the sweeping economic reforms imposed during the 1980s by the Thatcher government in Britain, churches were often the lone voices of opposition, drawing attention to the social toll such policy was taking on England's poor.
"And a lot of people who probably wouldn't be caught dead inside a church started to recognize the role that the faith community could play in a modern, largely secular world," Graham added.
"Religion is on the agenda again in Britain in an unexpected way, even if the numbers in the pews are still low."
Becoming relevant to a younger generation seeking spiritual meaning in their lives, but bored by endless dogmatic debates and internal squabbles is another key for churches hoping to avoid the fate of the dinosaur.
"People want to express and to experience their spirituality in new ways: through music, drama and dance as well as prayer and sermons," said Graham.
"And churches need to be more flexible with their worship times and styles to attract a generation of people who have never had religion as a priority in their lives."
Graham predicts there will be more individual church closures and denominational declines in coming years. However, she says congregations that are open to sharing their facilities with other faith groups and social agencies can survive, and perhaps thrive.
"Churches need to listen to the voices of those who aren't being heard by society and then become their champions," says Graham.
"The parish system that many denominations have is a real plus because you are already at the grassroots, part of the fabric of your neighbourhood," she said.
"If your church can be the place where people might have their kids looked after in a day care or where they can get emergency help when they really need it, that's living out your faith in a way that connects with people."
Graham has spent years researching what elements are crucial to a healthy city. Her checklist includes strong leadership, a vibrant arts and cultural scene, progressive environmental stewardship and not only opportunities for creating wealth, but sharing it in a just manner.
And while regular Sunday attendance may continue to slide, Graham said many non-religious people can still feel unspoken affinity to the sense of the sacred found within their modest community church or a majestic English cathedral.
"A church can be the one constant in a rapidly changing city, the 'bearer of the memory of the neighbourhood,' so to speak," Graham says.
Graham's visit was sponsored by the Education for Ministry program and the Anglican Diocese of Calgary.
[email protected]
© The Calgary Herald 2008
December 30, 2008
Findings
For Good Self-Control, Try Getting Religious About It
By JOHN TIERNEY
If I’m serious about keeping my New Year’s resolutions in 2009, should I add another one? Should the to-do list include, “Start going to church”?
This is an awkward question for a heathen to contemplate, but I felt obliged to raise it with Michael McCullough after reading his report in the upcoming issue of the Psychological Bulletin. He and a fellow psychologist at the University of Miami, Brian Willoughby, have reviewed eight decades of research and concluded that religious belief and piety promote self-control.
This sounded to me uncomfortably similar to the conclusion of the nuns who taught me in grade school, but Dr. McCullough has no evangelical motives. He confesses to not being much of a devotee himself. “When it comes to religion,” he said, “professionally, I’m a fan, but personally, I don’t get down on the field much.”
His professional interest arose from a desire to understand why religion evolved and why it seems to help so many people. Researchers around the world have repeatedly found that devoutly religious people tend to do better in school, live longer, have more satisfying marriages and be generally happier.
These results have been ascribed to the rules imposed on believers and to the social support they receive from fellow worshipers, but these external factors didn’t account for all the benefits. In the new paper, the Miami psychologists surveyed the literature to test the proposition that religion gives people internal strength.
“We simply asked if there was good evidence that people who are more religious have more self-control,” Dr. McCullough. “For a long time it wasn’t cool for social scientists to study religion, but some researchers were quietly chugging along for decades. When you add it all up, it turns out there are remarkably consistent findings that religiosity correlates with higher self-control.”
As early as the 1920s, researchers found that students who spent more time in Sunday school did better at laboratory tests measuring their self-discipline. Subsequent studies showed that religiously devout children were rated relatively low in impulsiveness by both parents and teachers, and that religiosity repeatedly correlated with higher self-control among adults. Devout people were found to be more likely than others to wear seat belts, go to the dentist and take vitamins.
But which came first, the religious devotion or the self-control? It takes self-discipline to sit through Sunday school or services at a temple or mosque, so people who start out with low self-control are presumably less likely to keep attending. But even after taking that self-selection bias into account, Dr. McCullough said there is still reason to believe that religion has a strong influence.
“Brain-scan studies have shown that when people pray or meditate, there’s a lot of activity in two parts of brain that are important for self-regulation and control of attention and emotion,” he said. “The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.”
In a study published by the University of Maryland in 2003, students who were subliminally exposed to religious words (like God, prayer or bible) were slower to recognize words associated with temptations (like drugs or premarital sex). Conversely, when they were primed with the temptation words, they were quicker to recognize the religious words.
“It looks as if people come to associate religion with tamping down these temptations,” Dr. McCullough said. “When temptations cross their minds in daily life, they quickly use religion to dispel them from their minds.”
In one personality study, strongly religious people were compared with people who subscribed to more general spiritual notions, like the idea that their lives were “directed by a spiritual force greater than any human being” or that they felt “a spiritual connection to other people.” The religious people scored relatively high in conscientiousness and self-control, whereas the spiritual people tended to score relatively low.
“Thinking about the oneness of humanity and the unity of nature doesn’t seem to be related to self-control,” Dr. McCullough said. “The self-control effect seems to come from being engaged in religious institutions and behaviors.”
Does this mean that nonbelievers like me should start going to church? Even if you don’t believe in a supernatural god, you could try improving your self-control by at least going along with the rituals of organized religion.
But that probably wouldn’t work either, Dr. McCullough told me, because personality studies have identified a difference between true believers and others who attend services for extrinsic reasons, like wanting to impress people or make social connections. The intrinsically religious people have higher self-control, but the extrinsically religious do not.
So what’s a heathen to do in 2009? Dr. McCullough’s advice is to try replicating some of the religious mechanisms that seem to improve self-control, like private meditation or public involvement with an organization that has strong ideals.
Religious people, he said, are self-controlled not simply because they fear God’s wrath, but because they’ve absorbed the ideals of their religion into their own system of values, and have thereby given their personal goals an aura of sacredness. He suggested that nonbelievers try a secular version of that strategy.
“People can have sacred values that aren’t religious values,” he said. “Self-reliance might be a sacred value to you that’s relevant to saving money. Concern for others might be a sacred value that’s relevant to taking time to do volunteer work. You can spend time thinking about what values are sacred to you and making New Year’s resolutions that are consistent with them.”
Of course, it requires some self-control to carry out that exercise — and maybe more effort than it takes to go to church.
“Sacred values come prefabricated for religious believers,” Dr. McCullough said. “The belief that God has preferences for how you behave and the goals you set for yourself has to be the granddaddy of all psychological devices for encouraging people to follow through with their goals. That may help to explain why belief in God has been so persistent through the ages.”
Findings
For Good Self-Control, Try Getting Religious About It
By JOHN TIERNEY
If I’m serious about keeping my New Year’s resolutions in 2009, should I add another one? Should the to-do list include, “Start going to church”?
This is an awkward question for a heathen to contemplate, but I felt obliged to raise it with Michael McCullough after reading his report in the upcoming issue of the Psychological Bulletin. He and a fellow psychologist at the University of Miami, Brian Willoughby, have reviewed eight decades of research and concluded that religious belief and piety promote self-control.
This sounded to me uncomfortably similar to the conclusion of the nuns who taught me in grade school, but Dr. McCullough has no evangelical motives. He confesses to not being much of a devotee himself. “When it comes to religion,” he said, “professionally, I’m a fan, but personally, I don’t get down on the field much.”
His professional interest arose from a desire to understand why religion evolved and why it seems to help so many people. Researchers around the world have repeatedly found that devoutly religious people tend to do better in school, live longer, have more satisfying marriages and be generally happier.
These results have been ascribed to the rules imposed on believers and to the social support they receive from fellow worshipers, but these external factors didn’t account for all the benefits. In the new paper, the Miami psychologists surveyed the literature to test the proposition that religion gives people internal strength.
“We simply asked if there was good evidence that people who are more religious have more self-control,” Dr. McCullough. “For a long time it wasn’t cool for social scientists to study religion, but some researchers were quietly chugging along for decades. When you add it all up, it turns out there are remarkably consistent findings that religiosity correlates with higher self-control.”
As early as the 1920s, researchers found that students who spent more time in Sunday school did better at laboratory tests measuring their self-discipline. Subsequent studies showed that religiously devout children were rated relatively low in impulsiveness by both parents and teachers, and that religiosity repeatedly correlated with higher self-control among adults. Devout people were found to be more likely than others to wear seat belts, go to the dentist and take vitamins.
But which came first, the religious devotion or the self-control? It takes self-discipline to sit through Sunday school or services at a temple or mosque, so people who start out with low self-control are presumably less likely to keep attending. But even after taking that self-selection bias into account, Dr. McCullough said there is still reason to believe that religion has a strong influence.
“Brain-scan studies have shown that when people pray or meditate, there’s a lot of activity in two parts of brain that are important for self-regulation and control of attention and emotion,” he said. “The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.”
In a study published by the University of Maryland in 2003, students who were subliminally exposed to religious words (like God, prayer or bible) were slower to recognize words associated with temptations (like drugs or premarital sex). Conversely, when they were primed with the temptation words, they were quicker to recognize the religious words.
“It looks as if people come to associate religion with tamping down these temptations,” Dr. McCullough said. “When temptations cross their minds in daily life, they quickly use religion to dispel them from their minds.”
In one personality study, strongly religious people were compared with people who subscribed to more general spiritual notions, like the idea that their lives were “directed by a spiritual force greater than any human being” or that they felt “a spiritual connection to other people.” The religious people scored relatively high in conscientiousness and self-control, whereas the spiritual people tended to score relatively low.
“Thinking about the oneness of humanity and the unity of nature doesn’t seem to be related to self-control,” Dr. McCullough said. “The self-control effect seems to come from being engaged in religious institutions and behaviors.”
Does this mean that nonbelievers like me should start going to church? Even if you don’t believe in a supernatural god, you could try improving your self-control by at least going along with the rituals of organized religion.
But that probably wouldn’t work either, Dr. McCullough told me, because personality studies have identified a difference between true believers and others who attend services for extrinsic reasons, like wanting to impress people or make social connections. The intrinsically religious people have higher self-control, but the extrinsically religious do not.
So what’s a heathen to do in 2009? Dr. McCullough’s advice is to try replicating some of the religious mechanisms that seem to improve self-control, like private meditation or public involvement with an organization that has strong ideals.
Religious people, he said, are self-controlled not simply because they fear God’s wrath, but because they’ve absorbed the ideals of their religion into their own system of values, and have thereby given their personal goals an aura of sacredness. He suggested that nonbelievers try a secular version of that strategy.
“People can have sacred values that aren’t religious values,” he said. “Self-reliance might be a sacred value to you that’s relevant to saving money. Concern for others might be a sacred value that’s relevant to taking time to do volunteer work. You can spend time thinking about what values are sacred to you and making New Year’s resolutions that are consistent with them.”
Of course, it requires some self-control to carry out that exercise — and maybe more effort than it takes to go to church.
“Sacred values come prefabricated for religious believers,” Dr. McCullough said. “The belief that God has preferences for how you behave and the goals you set for yourself has to be the granddaddy of all psychological devices for encouraging people to follow through with their goals. That may help to explain why belief in God has been so persistent through the ages.”
The article below which appeared in todays Calgary Herald discusses the social importance of places of worship in the downtown communities of the major cities...
New downtown needs churches, think-tank says
Faith component essential to city's soul, group argues
By Graeme Morton, Calgary HeraldApril 4, 2009
the Centre City Plan, an ambitious vision for a revitalized downtown Calgary approved by city council in 2007, calls for higher-density housing, open spaces to savour and a robust commercial sector.
But at least one organization wonders where is the city's soul in all this.
Cardus, a public policy think-tank that studies "social architecture," brought together local business, government and faith leaders last week to renew its call for the inclusion of a worship space component in any downtown redevelopment.
The group is hoping to raise $100,000 to conduct an inventory of existing downtown church capacity and study the relationship between faith groups and the collective values vital to a compassionate city.
"Where else in a city like Calgary do you have places where blue collar meets white collar, where people from all walks of life interact on a regular basis but in churches?" said Michael Van Pelt, Cardus's president.
"We need to take a serious look at the role of faith communities and integrate them into our city cores," he added.
"It's not just a Calgary question, it's one that many cities are wrestling with."
Van Pelt noted churches already play important social roles such as providing seniors care, the welcoming and integration of immigrants and fostering the arts. They also have large networks of volunteers which can be tapped if a natural disaster or civic emergency occurs.
The Centre City Plan projects an influx of up to 40,000 more residents to downtown by 2035, one step in addressing urban sprawl.
"A lot of people are going to be missing something in their lives if there aren't places to worship in these inner-city neighbourhoods," said Van Pelt.
Calgary's downtown is home to the cathedrals of local Roman Catholics and Anglicans. Storied places of worship such as First Baptist, Knox United and Grace Presbyterian churches rub their historic shoulders with construction cranes, corporate towers and upscale condos.
Peter Menzies, a senior fellow with Cardus, said with sky-high downtown land values, worship spaces don't need to be traditional, free-standing buildings anymore. They can be housed in multi-use venues where two or three faith groups can share worship space.
Menzies noted Calgary's downtown worship sites are almost exclusively Christian, not reflective of the city's increasing religious diversity.
"We have to look at ways to make provisions for Muslim or Sikh worshippers in the future downtown core, not just in the suburbs," said Menzies.
Ward 12 Ald. Ric McIver said civic and spiritual leaders need to strengthen communication lines.
"I like the premise of this study. There's no reason you have to ignore the spiritual component of a downtown core even though we're a big, complex city," said McIver.
More information on the Cardus project is available from [email protected].
[email protected]
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
New downtown needs churches, think-tank says
Faith component essential to city's soul, group argues
By Graeme Morton, Calgary HeraldApril 4, 2009
the Centre City Plan, an ambitious vision for a revitalized downtown Calgary approved by city council in 2007, calls for higher-density housing, open spaces to savour and a robust commercial sector.
But at least one organization wonders where is the city's soul in all this.
Cardus, a public policy think-tank that studies "social architecture," brought together local business, government and faith leaders last week to renew its call for the inclusion of a worship space component in any downtown redevelopment.
The group is hoping to raise $100,000 to conduct an inventory of existing downtown church capacity and study the relationship between faith groups and the collective values vital to a compassionate city.
"Where else in a city like Calgary do you have places where blue collar meets white collar, where people from all walks of life interact on a regular basis but in churches?" said Michael Van Pelt, Cardus's president.
"We need to take a serious look at the role of faith communities and integrate them into our city cores," he added.
"It's not just a Calgary question, it's one that many cities are wrestling with."
Van Pelt noted churches already play important social roles such as providing seniors care, the welcoming and integration of immigrants and fostering the arts. They also have large networks of volunteers which can be tapped if a natural disaster or civic emergency occurs.
The Centre City Plan projects an influx of up to 40,000 more residents to downtown by 2035, one step in addressing urban sprawl.
"A lot of people are going to be missing something in their lives if there aren't places to worship in these inner-city neighbourhoods," said Van Pelt.
Calgary's downtown is home to the cathedrals of local Roman Catholics and Anglicans. Storied places of worship such as First Baptist, Knox United and Grace Presbyterian churches rub their historic shoulders with construction cranes, corporate towers and upscale condos.
Peter Menzies, a senior fellow with Cardus, said with sky-high downtown land values, worship spaces don't need to be traditional, free-standing buildings anymore. They can be housed in multi-use venues where two or three faith groups can share worship space.
Menzies noted Calgary's downtown worship sites are almost exclusively Christian, not reflective of the city's increasing religious diversity.
"We have to look at ways to make provisions for Muslim or Sikh worshippers in the future downtown core, not just in the suburbs," said Menzies.
Ward 12 Ald. Ric McIver said civic and spiritual leaders need to strengthen communication lines.
"I like the premise of this study. There's no reason you have to ignore the spiritual component of a downtown core even though we're a big, complex city," said McIver.
More information on the Cardus project is available from [email protected].
[email protected]
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
The article below discusses the impact of the internet on the practice of faith. We already have one usage in the form of the Virtual Jamatkhana at this site. What are the pros and cons of this tendency?
Prayers in absentia: logging on to God
Pay-per-prayer sites seen as 'supplement'
By Misty Harris, Canwest News ServiceApril 12, 2009 7:51 AM
Are you there, God? It's me, the Internet. Prayer has gone digital with help from a new web service that allows people to outsource their holy communication to a computer. On Information Age Prayer, the faithful simply choose their preferred passages and a text-to-speech synthesizer gives voice to them at regular intervals, for a nominal fee.
Available e-prayers include Our Father, for Christians, the Fajr, for Muslims and, for the agnostic, a prayer for financial health --which ironically will set users back about $53 annually.
"I don't make any particular claims about efficacy, but I do believe that God is omniscient and He will hear (the prayers)," says creator James Mcarlos, who describes himself as spiritual but not religious. "Whether He listens or not is really a reflection of the subscriber."
The 23-year-old Bostonian says he designed the pay-per-prayer site for people like himself "who don't have time to put in the effort they'd like, to pray."
Rev. Gary Patterson, a United Church minister in Vancouver, says critics should be careful of judging the ways in which people find religion, however unusual they may seem. At the same time, he's wary that the service undermines a relationship with the Divine.
"Part of prayer is our own personal openness to the Spirit," says Patterson. "I don't see how that can happen with a machine."
The "prayer supplement" site, which has attracted 70,000 visitors since its March 16 launch, is just one of a growing number of ways in which technology is reshaping the sacred.
Canadians can now tithe (offer 10 per cent of one's possessions, salary or time) online, attend virtual church services, witness sermons on GodTube, register for text-message prayer reminders on Echo Prayer, share their prayers with others on Kindle, or seek fellowship on social sites such as Tangle, Muxlim and Islamica. Rev. Kevin Flynn, an Ottawa priest, says there are even "lazy preachers that just lift their stuff off the Internet."
Although Flynn happily acknowledges that computers make available "a rich array of material to which many people wouldn't otherwise have access," he warns technology also can give people a false sense of religious participation.
"Some people seem to think you can pull a lever and your salvation comes out," says Flynn, a professor of religious studies at St. Paul University. "It's not as if God could be bought off, cajoled or enticed simply by racking up recitations of prayer texts."
For David Dawes, multidenominational sites such as BeliefNet aren't a substitute for religion but a way to broaden his view of it.
"I tend (to go online) to look for sacred texts of other religions," says Dawes, a self-described Orthodox Christian who lives in Surrey, B. C. "I like to understand what makes other people tick."
The Right Rev. Colin Johnson, bishop of the Anglican diocese of Toronto, says technology has its place, provided it doesn't discount the human element.
"There's a vast difference in using a computer to connect friends to one another by Skype, e-mail or Facebook . . . and having the computer dial up a friend and deliver a pre-programmed mechanical daily greeting," he says. "I'm sure your mother would not consider the latter a 'visit.' "
Johnson supports using the Internet "to ask others to pray with you and for you," but not as a replacement for real-world religious citizenship. An estimated 25 per cent of Canadians go to church on a weekly basis; social scientist Robert Putnam says regular attendance has tumbled by about one-third since the 1960s.
At its deepest level, digital spirituality in its many forms might be evidence of "divine abandonment" in which people effectively isolate themselves from authentic connection, says a leading Canadian religious scholar.
"The great traditions of common prayer are, in part, an antidote to the dangers of private prayer," says David J. Goa, director of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life at the University of Alberta. "Private prayer can too often be the projection of our own neuroses."
Having said that, Goa wryly adds that a computerized prayer for financial stability might still be "better than your average stockmarket investment."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Prayers in absentia: logging on to God
Pay-per-prayer sites seen as 'supplement'
By Misty Harris, Canwest News ServiceApril 12, 2009 7:51 AM
Are you there, God? It's me, the Internet. Prayer has gone digital with help from a new web service that allows people to outsource their holy communication to a computer. On Information Age Prayer, the faithful simply choose their preferred passages and a text-to-speech synthesizer gives voice to them at regular intervals, for a nominal fee.
Available e-prayers include Our Father, for Christians, the Fajr, for Muslims and, for the agnostic, a prayer for financial health --which ironically will set users back about $53 annually.
"I don't make any particular claims about efficacy, but I do believe that God is omniscient and He will hear (the prayers)," says creator James Mcarlos, who describes himself as spiritual but not religious. "Whether He listens or not is really a reflection of the subscriber."
The 23-year-old Bostonian says he designed the pay-per-prayer site for people like himself "who don't have time to put in the effort they'd like, to pray."
Rev. Gary Patterson, a United Church minister in Vancouver, says critics should be careful of judging the ways in which people find religion, however unusual they may seem. At the same time, he's wary that the service undermines a relationship with the Divine.
"Part of prayer is our own personal openness to the Spirit," says Patterson. "I don't see how that can happen with a machine."
The "prayer supplement" site, which has attracted 70,000 visitors since its March 16 launch, is just one of a growing number of ways in which technology is reshaping the sacred.
Canadians can now tithe (offer 10 per cent of one's possessions, salary or time) online, attend virtual church services, witness sermons on GodTube, register for text-message prayer reminders on Echo Prayer, share their prayers with others on Kindle, or seek fellowship on social sites such as Tangle, Muxlim and Islamica. Rev. Kevin Flynn, an Ottawa priest, says there are even "lazy preachers that just lift their stuff off the Internet."
Although Flynn happily acknowledges that computers make available "a rich array of material to which many people wouldn't otherwise have access," he warns technology also can give people a false sense of religious participation.
"Some people seem to think you can pull a lever and your salvation comes out," says Flynn, a professor of religious studies at St. Paul University. "It's not as if God could be bought off, cajoled or enticed simply by racking up recitations of prayer texts."
For David Dawes, multidenominational sites such as BeliefNet aren't a substitute for religion but a way to broaden his view of it.
"I tend (to go online) to look for sacred texts of other religions," says Dawes, a self-described Orthodox Christian who lives in Surrey, B. C. "I like to understand what makes other people tick."
The Right Rev. Colin Johnson, bishop of the Anglican diocese of Toronto, says technology has its place, provided it doesn't discount the human element.
"There's a vast difference in using a computer to connect friends to one another by Skype, e-mail or Facebook . . . and having the computer dial up a friend and deliver a pre-programmed mechanical daily greeting," he says. "I'm sure your mother would not consider the latter a 'visit.' "
Johnson supports using the Internet "to ask others to pray with you and for you," but not as a replacement for real-world religious citizenship. An estimated 25 per cent of Canadians go to church on a weekly basis; social scientist Robert Putnam says regular attendance has tumbled by about one-third since the 1960s.
At its deepest level, digital spirituality in its many forms might be evidence of "divine abandonment" in which people effectively isolate themselves from authentic connection, says a leading Canadian religious scholar.
"The great traditions of common prayer are, in part, an antidote to the dangers of private prayer," says David J. Goa, director of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life at the University of Alberta. "Private prayer can too often be the projection of our own neuroses."
Having said that, Goa wryly adds that a computerized prayer for financial stability might still be "better than your average stockmarket investment."
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
May 2, 2009
Op-Ed Columnist
Defecting to Faith
By CHARLES M. BLOW
“Most people are religious because they’re raised to be. They’re indoctrinated by their parents.”
So goes the rationale of my nonreligious friends.
Maybe, but a study entitled “Faith in Flux” issued this week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life questioned nearly 3,000 people and found that most children raised unaffiliated with a religion later chose to join one. Indoctrination be damned. By contrast, only 4 percent of those raised Catholic and 7 percent of those raised Protestant later became unaffiliated.
(It should be noted that about a quarter of the unaffiliated identified as atheist or agnostic, and the rest said that they had no particular religion.)
So what was the reason for this flight of the unchurched to churches?
Did God appear in a bush? Did the grass look greener on the other side of the cross? Or was it a response to the social pressure of being nonreligious in a very Christian country?
None of those reasons topped the list. Most said that they first joined a religion because their spiritual needs were not being met. And the most-cited reason for settling on their current religion was that they simply enjoyed the services and style of worship.
For these newly converted, the nonreligious shtick didn’t stick. There was still a void, and communities of the faithful helped fill it.
While science, logic and reason are on the side of the nonreligious, the cold, hard facts are just so cold and hard. Yes, the evidence for evolution is irrefutable. Yes, there is a plethora of Biblical contradictions. Yes, there is mounting evidence from neuroscientists that suggests that God may be a product of the mind. Yes, yes, yes. But when is the choir going to sing? And when is the picnic? And is my child going to get a part in the holiday play?
As the nonreligious movement picks up steam, it needs do a better job of appealing to the ethereal part of our human exceptionalism — that wondrous, precious part where logic and reason hold little purchase, where love and compassion reign. It’s the part that fears loneliness, craves companionship and needs affirmation and fellowship.
We are more than cells, synapses and sex drives. We are amazing, mysterious creatures forever in search of something greater than ourselves.
Dale McGowan, the co-author and editor of the book “Parenting Beyond Belief” told me that he believes that most of these people “are not looking for a dogma or a doctrine, but for transcendence from the everyday.”
Churches, mosques and synagogues nurture and celebrate this. Being regularly surrounded by a community that shares your convictions and reinforces them through literature, art and ritual is incredibly powerful, and yes, spiritual.
The nonreligious could learn a few things from religion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/opini ... nted=print
Op-Ed Columnist
Defecting to Faith
By CHARLES M. BLOW
“Most people are religious because they’re raised to be. They’re indoctrinated by their parents.”
So goes the rationale of my nonreligious friends.
Maybe, but a study entitled “Faith in Flux” issued this week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life questioned nearly 3,000 people and found that most children raised unaffiliated with a religion later chose to join one. Indoctrination be damned. By contrast, only 4 percent of those raised Catholic and 7 percent of those raised Protestant later became unaffiliated.
(It should be noted that about a quarter of the unaffiliated identified as atheist or agnostic, and the rest said that they had no particular religion.)
So what was the reason for this flight of the unchurched to churches?
Did God appear in a bush? Did the grass look greener on the other side of the cross? Or was it a response to the social pressure of being nonreligious in a very Christian country?
None of those reasons topped the list. Most said that they first joined a religion because their spiritual needs were not being met. And the most-cited reason for settling on their current religion was that they simply enjoyed the services and style of worship.
For these newly converted, the nonreligious shtick didn’t stick. There was still a void, and communities of the faithful helped fill it.
While science, logic and reason are on the side of the nonreligious, the cold, hard facts are just so cold and hard. Yes, the evidence for evolution is irrefutable. Yes, there is a plethora of Biblical contradictions. Yes, there is mounting evidence from neuroscientists that suggests that God may be a product of the mind. Yes, yes, yes. But when is the choir going to sing? And when is the picnic? And is my child going to get a part in the holiday play?
As the nonreligious movement picks up steam, it needs do a better job of appealing to the ethereal part of our human exceptionalism — that wondrous, precious part where logic and reason hold little purchase, where love and compassion reign. It’s the part that fears loneliness, craves companionship and needs affirmation and fellowship.
We are more than cells, synapses and sex drives. We are amazing, mysterious creatures forever in search of something greater than ourselves.
Dale McGowan, the co-author and editor of the book “Parenting Beyond Belief” told me that he believes that most of these people “are not looking for a dogma or a doctrine, but for transcendence from the everyday.”
Churches, mosques and synagogues nurture and celebrate this. Being regularly surrounded by a community that shares your convictions and reinforces them through literature, art and ritual is incredibly powerful, and yes, spiritual.
The nonreligious could learn a few things from religion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/opini ... nted=print
this kind study does not make any motive
If this kind study/questions would have asked amongst Ismailis than result would have lot different than The New York Times study. You should remember that the Christian/catholics are way behind in religion than us and other relgions. Their religion just limited for Sundays only, so this kind study does not make any motive specialy in Ismaili.
Re: this kind study does not make any motive
There is nothing specific about Christianity in the article. It is about the importance of congregation in all faiths. All faiths share the same need for spirituality and places where people of same beliefs can gather and nurture strength and support.agakhani wrote:If this kind study/questions would have asked amongst Ismailis than result would have lot different than The New York Times study. You should remember that the Christian/catholics are way behind in religion than us and other relgions. Their religion just limited for Sundays only, so this kind study does not make any motive specialy in Ismaili.
We are living in a pluralistic environment and therefore we should also be cognisant of the general thinking in matters that impinge upon our practices.
"All cultures naturally influence each other to a greater or lesser degree; the strongest are those in which the dominant elements remain dominant and refuse to be overwhelmed by external forces. They become stronger still when they retain the ability to select, to absorb that which invigorates and enriches and to reject that which is inimicable." [MHI Speech 26 Sept. 1978]
Last edited by kmaherali on Sun May 03, 2009 10:42 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: this kind study does not make any motive
Indeed, I attend jumu3ah at the local univeristy musalla (which is very large, as it is for all of Harvard University) for this very reason.kmaherali wrote:If you had read the article, you would have found nothing specific about Christianity. It is about the importance of congregation in all faiths. All faiths share the same need for spirituality and places where people of same beliefs can gather and nurture strength and support.
Does anyone else out there attend jumu'ah regularly? Admittedly there's not a lot of Ismaili action going on near me.
Margaret Wente
When in doubt: an atheist's Christmas
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opi ... le1406082/
I used to scoff at the people who turn up at church twice a year, but it turns out we are hard-wired for faith AFP/Getty Images
I lost my faith in God when I was 13. It wasn't as if I hadn't tried. Before my confirmation in the Episcopalian Church of Wilmette, Ill., I spent months in ardent prayer, longing for a conversion experience that would erase my growing doubts. Sadly, it didn't happen. By the time I walked down the aisle to be accepted into the Church, I couldn't even rustle up enough uncertainty to settle for being an agnostic. I was pretty sure that God was no more real than Santa Claus. I felt like a fraud, but I went through with it anyway.
Later on, I read Bertrand Russell and Ayn Rand. I learned that religion was stupid and evil, the source of endless misery in the world. I adopted the rational, enlightened belief that we'd all be better off without it. This brand of militant atheism is much in fashion these days. For years, I never set foot inside a North American church, except when somebody I knew was married or buried.
But the faith instinct stubbornly refused to die.
I fell in love with Renaissance art, and made pilgrimages to Assisi to see the Giottos. It was hard to overlook the fact that the most transcendent art in human history is faith-based. It was impossible to dismiss the roots of this art as nothing more than primitive superstition. I was drawn to ancient churches, synagogues and mosques, and found their spaces deeply moving.
I used to scoff at Christmas-and-Easter Christians – the people who turn up at church twice a year in a sort of last, nostalgic grasp at faith, or who take their children “so they'll be exposed to it.” But now, I'm one of those people too. It started a few years ago, when we decided to go to Christmas Eve services at a little picture-postcard church near us in the country. It doesn't get much use the rest of the year, but everyone turns out for Christmas. The minister's wife pounded on the organ as we belted out the old favourites. The minister read the Christmas story, which I knew by heart. On an impulse, I knelt at the altar for communion and took the wine and wafer. The congregation recited the Lord's Prayer. We all sang Silent Night, lit candles in the dark and wished our neighbours Merry Christmas.
I didn't believe a word of it, not a word. But it didn't matter. I was so affected that I could scarcely speak. And so, although I would never call myself a believer, “atheist” doesn't sound right either. “Reluctant nonbeliever” is more like it.
After that, I began to wonder if people might be hard-wired for faith. It turns out that we are. In his illuminating new book, The Faith Instinct, Nicholas Wade points out that religiosity is deeply embedded in every human culture. It confers enormous evolutionary benefits. The most important thing it does is bind people together through collective rituals so that they can take collective action. There is no church of oneself.
By strengthening the social fabric, religion makes people extraordinarily co-operative. It governs self-restraint in a society by ensuring that people do not deviate from common codes of conduct (because the gods will punish them if they do). It also organizes people for aggression against other societies, even at the risk of self-sacrifice.
Back at the dawn of humankind, the groups of people who were best at taking collective action – including warfare – were the ones who survived. “That is why human nature is part angel and part brute,” the author writes. “An individual may be either one or the other, but societies and nations are inextricably both.”
Religion tends to wane as countries modernize. But its value systems endure. You don't have to be religious to endorse the Ten Commandments. And the religious instinct – the longing for ritual, belonging and belief – is wired into our brains as much as it ever was. Although many of us rational, enlightened people have our doubts about the supernatural, we're still in search of some larger purpose. We long to belong to a community of believers, and if we can't find that belonging in religion, we look somewhere else.
I envy people of faith. By all accounts, they are happier, healthier and more emotionally secure than the rest of us. They give away more money and do more good works. They are kinder, more generous and more community-minded. We secular humanists, by contrast, tend to be stingy, lonely folks. I wouldn't choose to be a nonbeliever if I could help it, but I can't.
Yet I've discovered (to my surprise) a deep appreciation for the rituals of religion. I am thrilled by the Muslim call to prayer. I actually enjoy Passover seders, even when they last till 2 a.m. I think it is important to say grace (okay, a brief one) before a big family dinner. I hate the modern loss of ritual and solemnity surrounding death. Something's lost when people get together and have a party and pretend the loved one has done nothing more dramatic than move to Cleveland. These are serious matters, and we shouldn't pretend they're not.
I really can't tell you exactly why I go to church on Christmas Eve. It's partly to honour my faith instinct, I suppose. It's to pay respect to my Christian roots, and to acknowledge all those flinty, rock-ribbed, practical, churchgoing Protestant ancestors of mine whose values largely shaped our culture. It's to sing loud and out of tune together with a lot of other people (music is as primal as religion, it turns out). It's to pay homage to the importance of tradition and continuity, and to experience the extraordinary power and solace and comfort of community.
It's not God. But it will do.
When in doubt: an atheist's Christmas
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opi ... le1406082/
I used to scoff at the people who turn up at church twice a year, but it turns out we are hard-wired for faith AFP/Getty Images
I lost my faith in God when I was 13. It wasn't as if I hadn't tried. Before my confirmation in the Episcopalian Church of Wilmette, Ill., I spent months in ardent prayer, longing for a conversion experience that would erase my growing doubts. Sadly, it didn't happen. By the time I walked down the aisle to be accepted into the Church, I couldn't even rustle up enough uncertainty to settle for being an agnostic. I was pretty sure that God was no more real than Santa Claus. I felt like a fraud, but I went through with it anyway.
Later on, I read Bertrand Russell and Ayn Rand. I learned that religion was stupid and evil, the source of endless misery in the world. I adopted the rational, enlightened belief that we'd all be better off without it. This brand of militant atheism is much in fashion these days. For years, I never set foot inside a North American church, except when somebody I knew was married or buried.
But the faith instinct stubbornly refused to die.
I fell in love with Renaissance art, and made pilgrimages to Assisi to see the Giottos. It was hard to overlook the fact that the most transcendent art in human history is faith-based. It was impossible to dismiss the roots of this art as nothing more than primitive superstition. I was drawn to ancient churches, synagogues and mosques, and found their spaces deeply moving.
I used to scoff at Christmas-and-Easter Christians – the people who turn up at church twice a year in a sort of last, nostalgic grasp at faith, or who take their children “so they'll be exposed to it.” But now, I'm one of those people too. It started a few years ago, when we decided to go to Christmas Eve services at a little picture-postcard church near us in the country. It doesn't get much use the rest of the year, but everyone turns out for Christmas. The minister's wife pounded on the organ as we belted out the old favourites. The minister read the Christmas story, which I knew by heart. On an impulse, I knelt at the altar for communion and took the wine and wafer. The congregation recited the Lord's Prayer. We all sang Silent Night, lit candles in the dark and wished our neighbours Merry Christmas.
I didn't believe a word of it, not a word. But it didn't matter. I was so affected that I could scarcely speak. And so, although I would never call myself a believer, “atheist” doesn't sound right either. “Reluctant nonbeliever” is more like it.
After that, I began to wonder if people might be hard-wired for faith. It turns out that we are. In his illuminating new book, The Faith Instinct, Nicholas Wade points out that religiosity is deeply embedded in every human culture. It confers enormous evolutionary benefits. The most important thing it does is bind people together through collective rituals so that they can take collective action. There is no church of oneself.
By strengthening the social fabric, religion makes people extraordinarily co-operative. It governs self-restraint in a society by ensuring that people do not deviate from common codes of conduct (because the gods will punish them if they do). It also organizes people for aggression against other societies, even at the risk of self-sacrifice.
Back at the dawn of humankind, the groups of people who were best at taking collective action – including warfare – were the ones who survived. “That is why human nature is part angel and part brute,” the author writes. “An individual may be either one or the other, but societies and nations are inextricably both.”
Religion tends to wane as countries modernize. But its value systems endure. You don't have to be religious to endorse the Ten Commandments. And the religious instinct – the longing for ritual, belonging and belief – is wired into our brains as much as it ever was. Although many of us rational, enlightened people have our doubts about the supernatural, we're still in search of some larger purpose. We long to belong to a community of believers, and if we can't find that belonging in religion, we look somewhere else.
I envy people of faith. By all accounts, they are happier, healthier and more emotionally secure than the rest of us. They give away more money and do more good works. They are kinder, more generous and more community-minded. We secular humanists, by contrast, tend to be stingy, lonely folks. I wouldn't choose to be a nonbeliever if I could help it, but I can't.
Yet I've discovered (to my surprise) a deep appreciation for the rituals of religion. I am thrilled by the Muslim call to prayer. I actually enjoy Passover seders, even when they last till 2 a.m. I think it is important to say grace (okay, a brief one) before a big family dinner. I hate the modern loss of ritual and solemnity surrounding death. Something's lost when people get together and have a party and pretend the loved one has done nothing more dramatic than move to Cleveland. These are serious matters, and we shouldn't pretend they're not.
I really can't tell you exactly why I go to church on Christmas Eve. It's partly to honour my faith instinct, I suppose. It's to pay respect to my Christian roots, and to acknowledge all those flinty, rock-ribbed, practical, churchgoing Protestant ancestors of mine whose values largely shaped our culture. It's to sing loud and out of tune together with a lot of other people (music is as primal as religion, it turns out). It's to pay homage to the importance of tradition and continuity, and to experience the extraordinary power and solace and comfort of community.
It's not God. But it will do.
Here's what former Harvard psychologist, Gordon Allport says about ritual in The individual and his religion (1960, pp. 134-135):
"Besides prayer, ritual focuses and expresses intention. Usually ritual may be viewed as a prayer of virtual intention, running its complex course under the domination of an initial reverent idea. The symbols involved in rituals (including liturgies, hymns, religious dances) are fascinating in their origins, drawn often from feeding or death, from sex or from inebriation, with their original grossness eliminated and directed by intention toward the perfecting of the human sources from which they took rise.
For the great majority of people the solitariness of the religious quest becomes a burden. They long to fuse their religious insights with those of their fellows under a common set of symbols. Indeed, in many cases they first learned these insights in the company of their fellows. Hence both ritual and dogma develop. The expressive symbols of ritual aid the individual by eliciting intentions that would otherwise lie mostly dormant. In psychological parlance, ritual is a form of social facilitation which intensifies the comparable attitudes and sentiments of all the participants.
At the same time dogma aims to improve and socialize the inadequate intellectual formulations of the individual. He may accept it gladly because it binds him with his fellows in a common search, and
because it serves as a clarifying model to his own thought. Yet, deep inside, the individual may likewise know that the meaning he derives from the dogma is not identical for him and for all believers. At best,
as Whithead points out, dogmas allow comparable experiences to be identified, while their statements are of necessity broad enough to include many varieties of individual thought. Furthermore, the dogmatic model that clarifies for one fails to clarify for another. And this why freedom of worship in any community is essential, and why, if we prize personality at all, religious tolerance is imperative."
"Besides prayer, ritual focuses and expresses intention. Usually ritual may be viewed as a prayer of virtual intention, running its complex course under the domination of an initial reverent idea. The symbols involved in rituals (including liturgies, hymns, religious dances) are fascinating in their origins, drawn often from feeding or death, from sex or from inebriation, with their original grossness eliminated and directed by intention toward the perfecting of the human sources from which they took rise.
For the great majority of people the solitariness of the religious quest becomes a burden. They long to fuse their religious insights with those of their fellows under a common set of symbols. Indeed, in many cases they first learned these insights in the company of their fellows. Hence both ritual and dogma develop. The expressive symbols of ritual aid the individual by eliciting intentions that would otherwise lie mostly dormant. In psychological parlance, ritual is a form of social facilitation which intensifies the comparable attitudes and sentiments of all the participants.
At the same time dogma aims to improve and socialize the inadequate intellectual formulations of the individual. He may accept it gladly because it binds him with his fellows in a common search, and
because it serves as a clarifying model to his own thought. Yet, deep inside, the individual may likewise know that the meaning he derives from the dogma is not identical for him and for all believers. At best,
as Whithead points out, dogmas allow comparable experiences to be identified, while their statements are of necessity broad enough to include many varieties of individual thought. Furthermore, the dogmatic model that clarifies for one fails to clarify for another. And this why freedom of worship in any community is essential, and why, if we prize personality at all, religious tolerance is imperative."
In U.S., Churchgoers Boast Better Mood, Especially on Sundays
Those who don't attend religious services often see their mood decline
by Chaeyoon LimPage:
12 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans who attend a church, synagogue, or mosque frequently report experiencing more positive emotions and fewer negative ones in general than do those who attend less often or not at all. Frequent churchgoers experience an average of 3.36 positive emotions per day compared with an average of 3.08 among those who never attend. This relationship holds true even when controlling for key demographic variables like age, education, and income.
More....
http://www.gallup.com/poll/153374/Churc ... ndays.aspx
Those who don't attend religious services often see their mood decline
by Chaeyoon LimPage:
12 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans who attend a church, synagogue, or mosque frequently report experiencing more positive emotions and fewer negative ones in general than do those who attend less often or not at all. Frequent churchgoers experience an average of 3.36 positive emotions per day compared with an average of 3.08 among those who never attend. This relationship holds true even when controlling for key demographic variables like age, education, and income.
More....
http://www.gallup.com/poll/153374/Churc ... ndays.aspx
April 7, 2012
Learning to Respect Religion
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
A FEW years ago, God seemed caught in a devil of a fight.
Atheists were firing thunderbolts suggesting that “religion poisons everything,” as Christopher Hitchens put it in the subtitle of his book, “God Is Not Great.” Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins also wrote best sellers that were scathing about God, whom Dawkins denounced as “arguably the most unpleasant character in fiction.”
Yet lately I’ve noticed a very different intellectual tide: grudging admiration for religion as an ethical and cohesive force.
The standard-bearer of this line of thinking — and a provocative text for Easter Sunday — is a new book, “Religion for Atheists,” by Alain de Botton. He argues that atheists have a great deal to learn from religion.
“One can be left cold by the doctrines of the Christian Trinity and the Buddhist Eightfold Path and yet at the same time be interested in the ways in which religions deliver sermons, promote morality, engender a spirit of community, make use of art and architecture, inspire travels, train minds and encourage gratitude at the beauty of spring,” de Botton writes.
“The error of modern atheism has been to overlook how many aspects of the faiths remain relevant even after their central tenets have been dismissed,” he adds, and his book displays an attitude toward religion that is sometimes — dare I say — reverential.
Edward O. Wilson, the eminent Harvard biologist, has a new book, “The Social Conquest of Earth,” that criticizes religion as “stultifying and divisive” — but also argues that religion offered a competitive advantage to early societies. Faith bolstered social order among followers and helped bind a tribe together, he writes, and that is why religion is so widespread today. And he tips his hat to the social role of faith:
“Organized religions preside over the rites of passage, from birth to maturity, from marriage to death,” Wilson writes, adding: “Beliefs in immortality and ultimate divine justice give priceless comfort, and they steel resolution and bravery in difficult times. For millennia, organized religions have been the source of much of the best in the creative arts.”
Jonathan Haidt, a University of Virginia psychology professor, also focuses on the unifying power of faith in his new book, “The Righteous Mind.” Haidt, an atheist since his teens, argues that scientists often misunderstand religion because they home in on individuals rather than on the way faith can bind a community.
Haidt cites research showing that a fear of God may make a society more ethical and harmonious. For example, one study found that people were less likely to cheat if they were first given a puzzle that prompted thoughts of God.
Another study cited by Haidt found that of 200 communes founded in the 19th century, only 6 percent of the secular communes survived two decades, compared with 39 percent of the religious ones. Those that survived longest were those that demanded sacrifices of members, like fasting, daily prayer, abstaining from alcohol or tobacco, or adopting new forms of clothing or hairstyle.
“The very ritual practices that the New Atheists dismiss as costly, inefficient and irrational turn out to be a solution to one of the hardest problems humans face: cooperation without kinship,” Haidt writes.
The latest wave of respectful atheist writing strikes me as a healthy step toward nuance. I’ve reported on some of the worst of religion — such as smug, sanctimonious indifference among Christian fundamentalists at the toll of AIDS among gay men — yet I’ve also been awed by nuns and priests risking their lives in war zones. And many studies have found that religious people donate more money and volunteer more time to charity than the nonreligious. Let’s not answer religious fundamentalism with secular fundamentalism, religious intolerance with irreligious intolerance.
The new wave is skeptical but acknowledges stunning achievements, from Notre Dame Cathedral to networks of soup kitchens run by houses of worship across America. Maybe this new attitude can eventually be the basis for a truce in our religious wars, for a bridge across the “God gulf.” Let us pray ...
•
Earlier this year, I reported on Lady Gaga’s campaign against bullying and learned that increasingly the Department of Education sees bullying as a serious problem. So I’d like to consult the real experts — American teenagers — by holding an essay contest for students ages 14 through 19. Please help spread the word by encouraging young people to apply by writing an essay of up to 500 words about bullying, being bullied, witnessing bullying or ideas about how to address this issue. Teenagers, help us understand the problem by sharing your experiences and insights. I’m holding the contest in partnership with The New York Times Learning Network and the national magazine Teen Ink. The only prize for the winners is eternal glory: I’ll publish excerpts from the best submissions in my column or blog. To apply, go to TeenInk.com/KristofContest.
I invite you to comment on this column on my blog, On the Ground. Please also join me on Facebook and Google+, watch my YouTube videos and follow me on Twitter.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/opini ... h_20120408
Learning to Respect Religion
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
A FEW years ago, God seemed caught in a devil of a fight.
Atheists were firing thunderbolts suggesting that “religion poisons everything,” as Christopher Hitchens put it in the subtitle of his book, “God Is Not Great.” Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins also wrote best sellers that were scathing about God, whom Dawkins denounced as “arguably the most unpleasant character in fiction.”
Yet lately I’ve noticed a very different intellectual tide: grudging admiration for religion as an ethical and cohesive force.
The standard-bearer of this line of thinking — and a provocative text for Easter Sunday — is a new book, “Religion for Atheists,” by Alain de Botton. He argues that atheists have a great deal to learn from religion.
“One can be left cold by the doctrines of the Christian Trinity and the Buddhist Eightfold Path and yet at the same time be interested in the ways in which religions deliver sermons, promote morality, engender a spirit of community, make use of art and architecture, inspire travels, train minds and encourage gratitude at the beauty of spring,” de Botton writes.
“The error of modern atheism has been to overlook how many aspects of the faiths remain relevant even after their central tenets have been dismissed,” he adds, and his book displays an attitude toward religion that is sometimes — dare I say — reverential.
Edward O. Wilson, the eminent Harvard biologist, has a new book, “The Social Conquest of Earth,” that criticizes religion as “stultifying and divisive” — but also argues that religion offered a competitive advantage to early societies. Faith bolstered social order among followers and helped bind a tribe together, he writes, and that is why religion is so widespread today. And he tips his hat to the social role of faith:
“Organized religions preside over the rites of passage, from birth to maturity, from marriage to death,” Wilson writes, adding: “Beliefs in immortality and ultimate divine justice give priceless comfort, and they steel resolution and bravery in difficult times. For millennia, organized religions have been the source of much of the best in the creative arts.”
Jonathan Haidt, a University of Virginia psychology professor, also focuses on the unifying power of faith in his new book, “The Righteous Mind.” Haidt, an atheist since his teens, argues that scientists often misunderstand religion because they home in on individuals rather than on the way faith can bind a community.
Haidt cites research showing that a fear of God may make a society more ethical and harmonious. For example, one study found that people were less likely to cheat if they were first given a puzzle that prompted thoughts of God.
Another study cited by Haidt found that of 200 communes founded in the 19th century, only 6 percent of the secular communes survived two decades, compared with 39 percent of the religious ones. Those that survived longest were those that demanded sacrifices of members, like fasting, daily prayer, abstaining from alcohol or tobacco, or adopting new forms of clothing or hairstyle.
“The very ritual practices that the New Atheists dismiss as costly, inefficient and irrational turn out to be a solution to one of the hardest problems humans face: cooperation without kinship,” Haidt writes.
The latest wave of respectful atheist writing strikes me as a healthy step toward nuance. I’ve reported on some of the worst of religion — such as smug, sanctimonious indifference among Christian fundamentalists at the toll of AIDS among gay men — yet I’ve also been awed by nuns and priests risking their lives in war zones. And many studies have found that religious people donate more money and volunteer more time to charity than the nonreligious. Let’s not answer religious fundamentalism with secular fundamentalism, religious intolerance with irreligious intolerance.
The new wave is skeptical but acknowledges stunning achievements, from Notre Dame Cathedral to networks of soup kitchens run by houses of worship across America. Maybe this new attitude can eventually be the basis for a truce in our religious wars, for a bridge across the “God gulf.” Let us pray ...
•
Earlier this year, I reported on Lady Gaga’s campaign against bullying and learned that increasingly the Department of Education sees bullying as a serious problem. So I’d like to consult the real experts — American teenagers — by holding an essay contest for students ages 14 through 19. Please help spread the word by encouraging young people to apply by writing an essay of up to 500 words about bullying, being bullied, witnessing bullying or ideas about how to address this issue. Teenagers, help us understand the problem by sharing your experiences and insights. I’m holding the contest in partnership with The New York Times Learning Network and the national magazine Teen Ink. The only prize for the winners is eternal glory: I’ll publish excerpts from the best submissions in my column or blog. To apply, go to TeenInk.com/KristofContest.
I invite you to comment on this column on my blog, On the Ground. Please also join me on Facebook and Google+, watch my YouTube videos and follow me on Twitter.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/opini ... h_20120408
Upanga JK Tanzania
As Received:
From Integrity
Is performing all our rites in peace and with happiness much to ask for ? This Jamat are not allowed even that. The following sent by murids regarding Upanga Khanna in Tanzania. Looks true because it is to Wazir, Mohammedali Janmohammed;
"..For a number of years, very many infact, Upanga Khane is being CONTROLLED literally by a Old Lady, name N. Saleh, originally from India, and Zanzibar. She is the mother of a welknown missionary in Toronto - K. Saleh, who we are sure knows his mother very well.
1. N.Saleh bids every Nandi in khane, morning and evening just to make sure the price is right!! She enters the Nandi section everyday, she selects and prepares the plates of fruits or other items, she wants to buy, and no Captain dare refuse her.
2. She has control of the Stores for Sukrit items, etc. and except for her, and a few of her Chamchis, everyone is a thief!!
No Mukhi Saheb will dare tell her anything, as she threatens to change her religion if she is asked to retire!!! We do not want N. Saleh to stop her Sewa but we are asking the control now be taken from her, so we can pray in peace, go home feeling good, not hurt by her sharp tongue and words.
For sure the present chalu Mukhi/Kamdia Sahebs or the Baitul Khayyal Mukhi/Kamadia Sahebs will not be able to help us as they are in N. Bai's side as they respect her for her age, and are scared of her.The Jamat was literally celebrating these past few days when N. Bai had travelled to India, now she is back and so are the end of our peaceful days!!!
The President of Eastern Council is aware of the above, so is the President of Tariqah Board. Wazir Saheb, please take our complain seriously, and get us the environment which every Jamat Khana should have
From Integrity
Is performing all our rites in peace and with happiness much to ask for ? This Jamat are not allowed even that. The following sent by murids regarding Upanga Khanna in Tanzania. Looks true because it is to Wazir, Mohammedali Janmohammed;
"..For a number of years, very many infact, Upanga Khane is being CONTROLLED literally by a Old Lady, name N. Saleh, originally from India, and Zanzibar. She is the mother of a welknown missionary in Toronto - K. Saleh, who we are sure knows his mother very well.
1. N.Saleh bids every Nandi in khane, morning and evening just to make sure the price is right!! She enters the Nandi section everyday, she selects and prepares the plates of fruits or other items, she wants to buy, and no Captain dare refuse her.
2. She has control of the Stores for Sukrit items, etc. and except for her, and a few of her Chamchis, everyone is a thief!!
No Mukhi Saheb will dare tell her anything, as she threatens to change her religion if she is asked to retire!!! We do not want N. Saleh to stop her Sewa but we are asking the control now be taken from her, so we can pray in peace, go home feeling good, not hurt by her sharp tongue and words.
For sure the present chalu Mukhi/Kamdia Sahebs or the Baitul Khayyal Mukhi/Kamadia Sahebs will not be able to help us as they are in N. Bai's side as they respect her for her age, and are scared of her.The Jamat was literally celebrating these past few days when N. Bai had travelled to India, now she is back and so are the end of our peaceful days!!!
The President of Eastern Council is aware of the above, so is the President of Tariqah Board. Wazir Saheb, please take our complain seriously, and get us the environment which every Jamat Khana should have
Last edited by Admin on Fri Jun 08, 2012 1:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Your concern and question are solid and very important , but unfortunately not only Upanga Jamat Khana but many jamat khanas in the world also has this kind problems too, so you are not alone, there were and there are still (one or two ) some persons who rules and control all ceremonies including "Nandi" in many JK till today.
Let me share you same kind event which I witnessed my self ( I do not like disclose the name of that particular Jamat Khana nor I like to disclose the name of that person) but this story is more then decade old, that person was was a lady who was ruling and controlling every thing, every ceremonies in that particular Jk, other volunteers didn't like this therefore they draw attention of Mukhi/Kamdia Saheban but they didn't received any acceptable solution from them, so most of time they were keep complaining and verbally fighting with each other but she didn't care as she was a good volunteer, good devotee of MHI and social worker for a long time, I do not know what kind khidmat is this, when some one hate you or complaining about you!!?? but that lady dind't care about other volunteers complains at all, other volunteers were believing that it is not fair, other volunteers should have same right to serve in Nandi place too but she didn't care at all, so all volunteers went one step further and involved council in this matter and they request council to arrange vara to different volunteers every day, latter on I heard that Council took away the power from that particular lady who was ruling and controlling every thing including Nandi but after a big big hassle and big fight with council members, any way this problem has been stopped in that particular Jk for now but who knows some one else may come forward and take place of that lady,who knows? so I keep my finger crossed!!. but Good Luck in your case brother.
Let me share you same kind event which I witnessed my self ( I do not like disclose the name of that particular Jamat Khana nor I like to disclose the name of that person) but this story is more then decade old, that person was was a lady who was ruling and controlling every thing, every ceremonies in that particular Jk, other volunteers didn't like this therefore they draw attention of Mukhi/Kamdia Saheban but they didn't received any acceptable solution from them, so most of time they were keep complaining and verbally fighting with each other but she didn't care as she was a good volunteer, good devotee of MHI and social worker for a long time, I do not know what kind khidmat is this, when some one hate you or complaining about you!!?? but that lady dind't care about other volunteers complains at all, other volunteers were believing that it is not fair, other volunteers should have same right to serve in Nandi place too but she didn't care at all, so all volunteers went one step further and involved council in this matter and they request council to arrange vara to different volunteers every day, latter on I heard that Council took away the power from that particular lady who was ruling and controlling every thing including Nandi but after a big big hassle and big fight with council members, any way this problem has been stopped in that particular Jk for now but who knows some one else may come forward and take place of that lady,who knows? so I keep my finger crossed!!. but Good Luck in your case brother.
Interesting perspective of meaning in rituals without belief in God.
Religion Without God
Even atheists find that ritual helps them make sense of the world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/opini ... pe=article
"How do we understand this impulse to hold a “church” service despite a hesitant or even nonexistent faith? Part of the answer is surely the quest for community. That’s what Mr. Jones told The Associated Press: “Singing awesome songs, hearing interesting talks, thinking about improving yourself and helping other people — and doing that in a community with wonderful relationships. Which part of that is not to like?”
Another part of the answer is that rituals change the way we pay attention as much as — perhaps more than — they express belief. In “The Archetypal Actions of Ritual,” two anthropologists, Caroline Humphrey and James Laidlaw, go so far as to argue that ritual isn’t about expressing religious commitment at all, but about doing something in a way that marks the moment as different from the everyday and forces you to see it as important. Their point is that performing a ritual focuses your attention on some moment and deems it worthy of respect."
Religion Without God
Even atheists find that ritual helps them make sense of the world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/opini ... pe=article
"How do we understand this impulse to hold a “church” service despite a hesitant or even nonexistent faith? Part of the answer is surely the quest for community. That’s what Mr. Jones told The Associated Press: “Singing awesome songs, hearing interesting talks, thinking about improving yourself and helping other people — and doing that in a community with wonderful relationships. Which part of that is not to like?”
Another part of the answer is that rituals change the way we pay attention as much as — perhaps more than — they express belief. In “The Archetypal Actions of Ritual,” two anthropologists, Caroline Humphrey and James Laidlaw, go so far as to argue that ritual isn’t about expressing religious commitment at all, but about doing something in a way that marks the moment as different from the everyday and forces you to see it as important. Their point is that performing a ritual focuses your attention on some moment and deems it worthy of respect."
GINANS AND TALIKA ON JAMATKHANA ETIQUETTE AND DISCIPLINE
Gat Maa(n)he Aavee Kar Joddeene Rahee-e
by
Sahed Imam Shah
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he aavee kar joddeene rahee-e
mukhthi bolo mitthee vaannee jee.....................1
O living brother! Having come to Jamaat Khaanaa, keep your hands folded(in respect) and with your mouth speak sweet speech.
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he aaveene tobaa tobaa pukaaro
dhyaan shaahjeesu(n) dhariejee.......................2
O living brother! Having come to Jamaat Khaanaa, say 'tobaa tobaa'(ask for forgiveness for your sins) and direct your attention towards Mawlaa.
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he aavine sanmukh rahee-e
gurnaa vachan sir par sahee-eji......................3
O living brother! Having come to Jamaat Khaanaa remain forefront in remembrance of your Lord and accept the Farmaan of the Guide whole- heartedly.
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he aavine ameeras peeje
daso(n)d saahebnee deejejee..........................4
O living brother! Having come to Jamaat Khaanaa, drink the 'ameeras' (water of life - geenaans, or abe-sifaa), and submit the tithe which is the right of the Imaam.
jeerebhaaire ni(n)daa thaae tyaa(n)thee uttheene jaie
koi saathe bol na kareeyejee.........................5
O living brother! Keep away from the place of backbiting and do not talk to anyone(amongst the backbiters).
jeerebhaaire kiriyaanaa heennaa te vaade virodhiyaa
taasu(n) vaad na karee-ejee..........................6
O living brother! Those who are deficient in their ritual duties, are always arguing and are in opposition. Do not argue with them.
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he jaine ubhaa rahee-e
potaanaa gunahnee bakshaamnnee kariejee..............7
O living brother! Go to Jamaat Khaanaa and stand up to ask for forgiveness for your own sins.
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he jaine naanaa thai rahee-e
aor kuchhu na kariee-e...............................8
O living brother! Go to Jamaat Khaanaa and remain humble and do not get involved in other vain activities.
jeerebhaaire paak thai ne daanaj daie
gurnarnaa naamaj leejejee............................9
O living brother! Having purified yourself, give charity in a complete manner. Only take the name of the Guide and the Master.
jeerebhaaire bhanne sayyad imaamshaah gat gangaa karee jaanno
tenu gupt vahe chhe pravaah.........................10
O living brother! Sayyed Imaamshaah teaches that regard Jamaat Khaanaa as the Ganges(where holy pilgrimage is performed). It's flow is hidden(or spiritual).
*****
GAT MAA(N)HE AAVEENE VEERAABHAAI PEER SADARDEEN
ejee gat maa(n)he aaveene veeraabhaai kar joddi raheeye
gur naa vachan aapnnaa sir par dhareeye......................1
Having come to Jamatkhaanaa, o dear brothers, remain hands folded(in respect). Accept the words of your true guide whole heartedly.
ejee gat maa(n)he aaveene veeraa bhaai sanmukh raheeye
nee(n)daa thaae tyaa(n) thee uttheene jaee-e.................2
Having come to Jamatkhaanaa, o dear brothers, remain forefront in remembrance of your Lord. Keep away from the place where backbiting and slander takes place.
ejee gat maa(n)he aaveene veeraa bhaai amee ras peeje
daso(n)d sukreet aapnnaa gur mukhe deeje.....................3
Having come to Jamaatkhaanaa, o dear brothers, partake of the water of life(i.e. farmaans and geenaans). Submit the tithe and good deeds to the Guide.
ejee eso ginaan peer bhannaave sadardeen
aapnnee naat chhoddeene parnaat vahevaar na keeje............4
This lofty wisdom and knowledge is taught by Peer Sadardeen. Leaving our community, do not have relationship with members of other communities
****
AAVEENE BESONE GOTTHADDEE KAREEYE
PEER ALY AKBAR BAIG
ejee aaveene besone gotthaddee kareeye
paatt pujeene dheeyaan-j dhareeye............................1
Come and be seated (in Jamaatkhaanaa) and have hearty conversations
(with the Guide). After observing the rituals at the 'paatt' (low tabular block
upon which 'dua karavi' and 'ghat paatt' ceremonies are performed),
maintain your concentration entirely upon whatever is being observed.
ejee gat maa(n)he aaveene ameeras peeje
neeto neet naam saahebjee no leeje...........................2
Come to the congregation and drink the holy water ('abesafa') or water of life
(the "geenaans"). Recite or remember the name of the Lord everyday.
ejee gurujee e tamane bataaveeyaa geenaan
satpa(n)th maarag nee aavee chhe shaan.......................3
The Guide has shown you the 'geenaan' (Divine knowledge and wisdom)
and therefore the exalted station of the True Path has been glorified.
ejee peestaalees te koy nav tareeyaa
ekoter meleene dozake paddeeyaa..............................4
Of the forty five(?), none of them where saved. They abondoned their seventy one
(generations) and fell into hell.
ejee dasho(n)d devo ne gat maa(n)he aavo
moksh mugat amaraapuree paavo................................5
Submit the tithe and come to the congregation.
Then you will attain salvation, liberation and paradise.
ejee paachham deeshe shaah paratak jaanno
arabee rupe shaah alee peechhaanno...........................6
At the horizons of the West (relative to the Sub-Continent),
the Imaam is manifest. Recognise Imaam Alee in the Arabic form.
ejee cha(n)dar thaavar gat maa(n)he jaago
paa(n)ch padaarath a(n)tar maa(n)go..........................7
Stay awake on the night of the new moon on Friday (beej), in the congregation,
and ask for the five essential virtues in your hearts.
ejee geerbhaavaasnee gurnee vaachaa sa(m)bhaaro
jeeteeyaa jeeteeyaa fal tame kaa(n)y haaro...................8
Be mindful of the promises that you made to the Guide when you were in
your mother's womb. Why do you want to give up all the fruits that you have
won (over the many past opportunities).
ejee satgure bhannee sunnaaveeyaa ved
kaa(n) tame muneevar na jaanno bhed..........................9
The True Guide has studied and spoken about the scriptures.
You believers try to understand something of the essence in them.
ejee jap tap nem dharam jo karsho
to ennee karannee e veeraa paar utarasho....................10
If you perform meditation, abstinence and observe the religious
vows with correct intentions, then brothers, with such deeds you
will cross over the limits (of material existence).
ejee geenaan veechaaree saachaa thai chaalo
to amar bhom amaraapuree maalo..............................11
Having reflected upon the 'geenaans' conduct yourselves truthfully.
Then you will experience the immortal abode of paradise.
ejee ba(n)dagee kaaranne sarjeeyo sa(n)saar
muneevar samajo te geenaan veechaar.........................12
For the sake of worship (or servanthood of the Lord), (the Lord) has
created the world. O believers understand the thoughts of the 'geenaan'
(Divine knowledge and wisdom).
ejee satpa(n)th ek mane samajone veeraa
kaa(n)y gamaavo tame haath naa heeraa.......................13
Understand the True Path with one mind (with conviction).
Why do you lose the diamonds in your hands.
ejee jenne muneevare jot jagaai
a(n)tar bhednee neeyaamat paai..............................14
The believer who has kindled the Light (of faith in his heart),
has attained the blessings (or graces) of the inner mysteries.
ejee gatmaa(n)he jap tap gatmaa(n)he jugatee
gatmaa(n)he ameeras gatmaa(n)he mugatee.....................15
In JamaatKhaanaa there is meditation and abstinence,
and in Jamaatkhaanaa there is the method (way of salvation).
In JamaatKhaanaa there is holy water (or water of life - geenaans),
and in JamaatKhaanaa there is salvation or freedom.
ejee jotere jotanaa melaare hoy
to neeto neet darshan shaahnu(n) joy........................16
Through the Light (of faith in the heart), one experiences a luminous
or enlightened gathering (or experiences enlightenment in the gathering)
and hence has the experience of the Vision of the Lord everyday.
ejee gurnaa geenaan veechaareene aa(n)kho
to kaal karodh ne kaaddhee naa(n)kho........................17
Reflect upon the 'geenaans' of the Guide and then have a vision of life
(or rule your lives accordingly). Then remove anger and lust from your being.
[The higher life gained through the geenaanic reflection and contemplation
will automatically reduce the lower life of lust and anger.]
ejee anat karodd peer hasan shaah taare
to saachaa yaaraane shaah paar utaare.......................18
Peer Hassan Shah saves countless crores. The Imaam enables a genuine
friend (mureed) to cross over the material limits.
ejee ollakheene sevone tame muneevarbhaai
to neeto neet gatmaa(n)he karo kamaai.......................19
You believer brothers, serve (worship) Him after having recognised Him
and perform rewarding deeds in JamaatKhaanaa everyday.
ejee hem sareekhee jo kasannee reereeye
bhanne peer akbar beg paar utareeye.........................20
The ones who undergo trials and tests like gold will cross over the limits
of material existence. This is taught by Peer Akbar Beg.
*******
My beloved spiritual children,
From year to year, customs and traditions in human clothing are changing and it has become necessary to draw your attention to the fact that when you go to Jamatkhana you should do so in proper and suitable attire. I do not want those spiritual children who have done well in a worldly manner to make demonstration of their success, nor do I wish clothes to be worn which are incompatible with the practice of your faith in atmosphere of calm and serenity.
The aforementioned matters are universal and binding principle of Islam and must be followed by all Muslims, for indeed these principles were established by the Prophet himself. I give My most affectionate, paternal maternal loving blessings to all beloved spiritual children of Africa Jamats.
Yours affectionately,
Aga Khan.(Thursday, October 25,1967, To all Africa Jamats)
Gat Maa(n)he Aavee Kar Joddeene Rahee-e
by
Sahed Imam Shah
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he aavee kar joddeene rahee-e
mukhthi bolo mitthee vaannee jee.....................1
O living brother! Having come to Jamaat Khaanaa, keep your hands folded(in respect) and with your mouth speak sweet speech.
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he aaveene tobaa tobaa pukaaro
dhyaan shaahjeesu(n) dhariejee.......................2
O living brother! Having come to Jamaat Khaanaa, say 'tobaa tobaa'(ask for forgiveness for your sins) and direct your attention towards Mawlaa.
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he aavine sanmukh rahee-e
gurnaa vachan sir par sahee-eji......................3
O living brother! Having come to Jamaat Khaanaa remain forefront in remembrance of your Lord and accept the Farmaan of the Guide whole- heartedly.
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he aavine ameeras peeje
daso(n)d saahebnee deejejee..........................4
O living brother! Having come to Jamaat Khaanaa, drink the 'ameeras' (water of life - geenaans, or abe-sifaa), and submit the tithe which is the right of the Imaam.
jeerebhaaire ni(n)daa thaae tyaa(n)thee uttheene jaie
koi saathe bol na kareeyejee.........................5
O living brother! Keep away from the place of backbiting and do not talk to anyone(amongst the backbiters).
jeerebhaaire kiriyaanaa heennaa te vaade virodhiyaa
taasu(n) vaad na karee-ejee..........................6
O living brother! Those who are deficient in their ritual duties, are always arguing and are in opposition. Do not argue with them.
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he jaine ubhaa rahee-e
potaanaa gunahnee bakshaamnnee kariejee..............7
O living brother! Go to Jamaat Khaanaa and stand up to ask for forgiveness for your own sins.
jeerebhaaire gat maa(n)he jaine naanaa thai rahee-e
aor kuchhu na kariee-e...............................8
O living brother! Go to Jamaat Khaanaa and remain humble and do not get involved in other vain activities.
jeerebhaaire paak thai ne daanaj daie
gurnarnaa naamaj leejejee............................9
O living brother! Having purified yourself, give charity in a complete manner. Only take the name of the Guide and the Master.
jeerebhaaire bhanne sayyad imaamshaah gat gangaa karee jaanno
tenu gupt vahe chhe pravaah.........................10
O living brother! Sayyed Imaamshaah teaches that regard Jamaat Khaanaa as the Ganges(where holy pilgrimage is performed). It's flow is hidden(or spiritual).
*****
GAT MAA(N)HE AAVEENE VEERAABHAAI PEER SADARDEEN
ejee gat maa(n)he aaveene veeraabhaai kar joddi raheeye
gur naa vachan aapnnaa sir par dhareeye......................1
Having come to Jamatkhaanaa, o dear brothers, remain hands folded(in respect). Accept the words of your true guide whole heartedly.
ejee gat maa(n)he aaveene veeraa bhaai sanmukh raheeye
nee(n)daa thaae tyaa(n) thee uttheene jaee-e.................2
Having come to Jamatkhaanaa, o dear brothers, remain forefront in remembrance of your Lord. Keep away from the place where backbiting and slander takes place.
ejee gat maa(n)he aaveene veeraa bhaai amee ras peeje
daso(n)d sukreet aapnnaa gur mukhe deeje.....................3
Having come to Jamaatkhaanaa, o dear brothers, partake of the water of life(i.e. farmaans and geenaans). Submit the tithe and good deeds to the Guide.
ejee eso ginaan peer bhannaave sadardeen
aapnnee naat chhoddeene parnaat vahevaar na keeje............4
This lofty wisdom and knowledge is taught by Peer Sadardeen. Leaving our community, do not have relationship with members of other communities
****
AAVEENE BESONE GOTTHADDEE KAREEYE
PEER ALY AKBAR BAIG
ejee aaveene besone gotthaddee kareeye
paatt pujeene dheeyaan-j dhareeye............................1
Come and be seated (in Jamaatkhaanaa) and have hearty conversations
(with the Guide). After observing the rituals at the 'paatt' (low tabular block
upon which 'dua karavi' and 'ghat paatt' ceremonies are performed),
maintain your concentration entirely upon whatever is being observed.
ejee gat maa(n)he aaveene ameeras peeje
neeto neet naam saahebjee no leeje...........................2
Come to the congregation and drink the holy water ('abesafa') or water of life
(the "geenaans"). Recite or remember the name of the Lord everyday.
ejee gurujee e tamane bataaveeyaa geenaan
satpa(n)th maarag nee aavee chhe shaan.......................3
The Guide has shown you the 'geenaan' (Divine knowledge and wisdom)
and therefore the exalted station of the True Path has been glorified.
ejee peestaalees te koy nav tareeyaa
ekoter meleene dozake paddeeyaa..............................4
Of the forty five(?), none of them where saved. They abondoned their seventy one
(generations) and fell into hell.
ejee dasho(n)d devo ne gat maa(n)he aavo
moksh mugat amaraapuree paavo................................5
Submit the tithe and come to the congregation.
Then you will attain salvation, liberation and paradise.
ejee paachham deeshe shaah paratak jaanno
arabee rupe shaah alee peechhaanno...........................6
At the horizons of the West (relative to the Sub-Continent),
the Imaam is manifest. Recognise Imaam Alee in the Arabic form.
ejee cha(n)dar thaavar gat maa(n)he jaago
paa(n)ch padaarath a(n)tar maa(n)go..........................7
Stay awake on the night of the new moon on Friday (beej), in the congregation,
and ask for the five essential virtues in your hearts.
ejee geerbhaavaasnee gurnee vaachaa sa(m)bhaaro
jeeteeyaa jeeteeyaa fal tame kaa(n)y haaro...................8
Be mindful of the promises that you made to the Guide when you were in
your mother's womb. Why do you want to give up all the fruits that you have
won (over the many past opportunities).
ejee satgure bhannee sunnaaveeyaa ved
kaa(n) tame muneevar na jaanno bhed..........................9
The True Guide has studied and spoken about the scriptures.
You believers try to understand something of the essence in them.
ejee jap tap nem dharam jo karsho
to ennee karannee e veeraa paar utarasho....................10
If you perform meditation, abstinence and observe the religious
vows with correct intentions, then brothers, with such deeds you
will cross over the limits (of material existence).
ejee geenaan veechaaree saachaa thai chaalo
to amar bhom amaraapuree maalo..............................11
Having reflected upon the 'geenaans' conduct yourselves truthfully.
Then you will experience the immortal abode of paradise.
ejee ba(n)dagee kaaranne sarjeeyo sa(n)saar
muneevar samajo te geenaan veechaar.........................12
For the sake of worship (or servanthood of the Lord), (the Lord) has
created the world. O believers understand the thoughts of the 'geenaan'
(Divine knowledge and wisdom).
ejee satpa(n)th ek mane samajone veeraa
kaa(n)y gamaavo tame haath naa heeraa.......................13
Understand the True Path with one mind (with conviction).
Why do you lose the diamonds in your hands.
ejee jenne muneevare jot jagaai
a(n)tar bhednee neeyaamat paai..............................14
The believer who has kindled the Light (of faith in his heart),
has attained the blessings (or graces) of the inner mysteries.
ejee gatmaa(n)he jap tap gatmaa(n)he jugatee
gatmaa(n)he ameeras gatmaa(n)he mugatee.....................15
In JamaatKhaanaa there is meditation and abstinence,
and in Jamaatkhaanaa there is the method (way of salvation).
In JamaatKhaanaa there is holy water (or water of life - geenaans),
and in JamaatKhaanaa there is salvation or freedom.
ejee jotere jotanaa melaare hoy
to neeto neet darshan shaahnu(n) joy........................16
Through the Light (of faith in the heart), one experiences a luminous
or enlightened gathering (or experiences enlightenment in the gathering)
and hence has the experience of the Vision of the Lord everyday.
ejee gurnaa geenaan veechaareene aa(n)kho
to kaal karodh ne kaaddhee naa(n)kho........................17
Reflect upon the 'geenaans' of the Guide and then have a vision of life
(or rule your lives accordingly). Then remove anger and lust from your being.
[The higher life gained through the geenaanic reflection and contemplation
will automatically reduce the lower life of lust and anger.]
ejee anat karodd peer hasan shaah taare
to saachaa yaaraane shaah paar utaare.......................18
Peer Hassan Shah saves countless crores. The Imaam enables a genuine
friend (mureed) to cross over the material limits.
ejee ollakheene sevone tame muneevarbhaai
to neeto neet gatmaa(n)he karo kamaai.......................19
You believer brothers, serve (worship) Him after having recognised Him
and perform rewarding deeds in JamaatKhaanaa everyday.
ejee hem sareekhee jo kasannee reereeye
bhanne peer akbar beg paar utareeye.........................20
The ones who undergo trials and tests like gold will cross over the limits
of material existence. This is taught by Peer Akbar Beg.
*******
My beloved spiritual children,
From year to year, customs and traditions in human clothing are changing and it has become necessary to draw your attention to the fact that when you go to Jamatkhana you should do so in proper and suitable attire. I do not want those spiritual children who have done well in a worldly manner to make demonstration of their success, nor do I wish clothes to be worn which are incompatible with the practice of your faith in atmosphere of calm and serenity.
The aforementioned matters are universal and binding principle of Islam and must be followed by all Muslims, for indeed these principles were established by the Prophet himself. I give My most affectionate, paternal maternal loving blessings to all beloved spiritual children of Africa Jamats.
Yours affectionately,
Aga Khan.(Thursday, October 25,1967, To all Africa Jamats)
The article below highlights the need for congregations to create a sense of community and belonging in the midst of isolating tendencies created by technologies..
Confessions of a failing Catholic
At a time when we have never been more isolated and in need of a real community, the Church has failed to provide it
Extract:
"My life is lived by email and phone call. My friends are dispersed, my family spread far and wide. My relationships are mostly virtual, kept alive by text messages and Christmas cards. Like most of us, I am connected to thousands, but honestly know only a few. Even though we never speak, the sight of the familiar strangers in church gives me a physical sense of community, of tangible belonging.
For millennia, humans were born, lived and died within the same few miles. They did not know very many people, but they knew them well. Their sense of identity was less about who they were than where they belonged. Then, in the span of a few generations, this all changed. We began to travel, to disburse, to bond with TV characters, to create online networks, to disappear into our inboxes. At the moment when we have never been more isolated and more in need of a real community, the Church has failed to provide it. It is perhaps one of the great ironies of our age. Archaic doctrine. Repressive rules. Institutionalized bigotry. Abuse scandals. Unapologetic bishops. It was almost as though Rome was trying to alienate us."
http://www.macleans.ca/society/life/con ... -catholic/
Quote from MHI:
"We see more people everywhere these days, standing or sitting or walking alone, absorbed in their hand-held screens. But, I wonder whether, in some larger sense, they are really more “in touch?” Greater “connectivity” does not necessarily mean greater “connection.” "(The 88th Stephen Ogden Lecture delivered by His Highness the Aga Khan at Brown University on 10 March 2014.)
Confessions of a failing Catholic
At a time when we have never been more isolated and in need of a real community, the Church has failed to provide it
Extract:
"My life is lived by email and phone call. My friends are dispersed, my family spread far and wide. My relationships are mostly virtual, kept alive by text messages and Christmas cards. Like most of us, I am connected to thousands, but honestly know only a few. Even though we never speak, the sight of the familiar strangers in church gives me a physical sense of community, of tangible belonging.
For millennia, humans were born, lived and died within the same few miles. They did not know very many people, but they knew them well. Their sense of identity was less about who they were than where they belonged. Then, in the span of a few generations, this all changed. We began to travel, to disburse, to bond with TV characters, to create online networks, to disappear into our inboxes. At the moment when we have never been more isolated and more in need of a real community, the Church has failed to provide it. It is perhaps one of the great ironies of our age. Archaic doctrine. Repressive rules. Institutionalized bigotry. Abuse scandals. Unapologetic bishops. It was almost as though Rome was trying to alienate us."
http://www.macleans.ca/society/life/con ... -catholic/
Quote from MHI:
"We see more people everywhere these days, standing or sitting or walking alone, absorbed in their hand-held screens. But, I wonder whether, in some larger sense, they are really more “in touch?” Greater “connectivity” does not necessarily mean greater “connection.” "(The 88th Stephen Ogden Lecture delivered by His Highness the Aga Khan at Brown University on 10 March 2014.)
As Received
The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind.
But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions!
Seminar
Alwaez: Abdul Sultan Hasham
Jamatkhana is a place of worship, inspiration, progress, peace, & protection.
Jamatkhana is an earthly abode paradise. Allah's revelation (Qu'ran) says:
Enter the gateway with humility, posture & words. Allah has manifested his light in certain houses (Jamatkhanas).
Every one step that you take towards coming to the House of Hazar Imam, He takes 100 steps towards you. As soon as you make a Conscious decision to leave your house and come to the House of Hazar Imam, the blessings start from there.
Coming to Jamatkhana is NOT your choice, it is an EXPECTATION of the Imam (also read out the farman where Hazar Imam says, "nothing will make me happier than to know that my Jamat is regular in attendance in Jamatkhana and nothing will HURT me more than to know that they are irregular in attendance in Jamatkhana.")
If you are not in the habit of attending Jamatkhana regularly, your faith will gradually be reduced. By coming to Jamatkhana your intellect is activated, illuminated and actualized. By not going to Jamatkhana you are saying, Hazar Imam, “I don't need that activation today”.
There are days when all of us cannot attend Jamatkhana for a REALLY GOOD reason, we must be a Judge of this. You shouldn't feel guilty for not coming to Jamatkhana if you REALLY CANNOT make it, be honest.
Before we enter the Jamatkhana, we remove our shoes to discard materialistic, egotistical thoughts and aspects in front of Allah. We want to show our respect and love in the House of Allah.
Prayer is a link between humans and Allah. What better place to make a link with the Eternal than the house OF the Eternal (Jamatkhana). Jamatkhana is always full of divine spirit and divine beings.
Haizanda means Imam is everliving. Kayampaya means Imam is eternal.
Divine Baraka - Niyaz, Sukhreet
Compulsory for ALL Ismailis:-
1. Dasond
2. Three Dua's
Everything else is voluntary but if YOU take the “Bol” then practicing is Compulsory.
Hazar Imam said you can practice your faith anytime of the day and the night.
By saying your prayers 3 times a day, you are breaking the dream of negligence.
Prayers’ also pulls us out of the world and connects us with the Creator. The more you pray the longer you are linked with the Creator.
Qasidas and Ginans are the same. Ginans speak about spiritual psychology of soul, journey of the soul and much more. You will find knowledge in Ginans that even modern scientists haven't discovered.
Allah has poured knowledge in Pirs who pour it in Ginans.
Ginan means divine & contemplating knowledge. Not a composition of ordinary people.
Very unique literature. Pir (highest in creation) how can anything that is composed by PIR be ordinary?
Aanant Akaro means final assemble of humankind. Aanant Akaro is the Treasure house of the past, present and future. There are 500 verses. Recitation of Aanant Akaro removes Grief and restores peace.
Performing CHANTAS: 3 times (for body, speech & mind sins).
1st Chanta - violence, murder and such, to forgive these kinds of sins.
2nd Chanta - lying, gossip, using insulting language.
3rd Chanta - negative thinking, greed, fault finding, blaming.
You are most closest to Allah when you bow down in Sujdo. If you are not humble while praying, your prayers aren't accepted. When doing Sujdo, you are reducing yourself to the level of the dust of the Jamatkhana. If you can't bend down completely, it's okay, the act of bending down as much as you can is acceptable.
Food you buy from Nandi is a Baraka. There is no buying/selling in Nandi, that is the property of Allah. We consider Allah a member of our family that's why we bring Nandi.
He who makes the highest sacrifice gets the barakat, Nandi (process of Nandi), there is no buying/selling.
Please do not recycle the nandis as Mawla has already accepted it and you cannot send the same nandi again.
Prophet Muhammed was the 1st Pir
Pir Hasan (Mowlana Hussein's brother) was the 2nd Pir
Hazrat Ali – was the 1st Imam
Hazrat Hussein was the 2nd Imam
*Hazar Imam is the 49th Imam and 50th Pir
It is incorrect to say Salwat when name of "Imam Begum" comes in Ginan because she was NOT a ‘PIR’. Submission is always given to Noor only. By saying the above, the Murid testifies that the Noor of Allah is present. The word "Shahpir" in the Ginan, meaning Hazar Imam – 49th Imam, 50th Pir.
When Mukhi/Kamadia accepts your prayers, Hazar Imam accepts your prayers. Mukhi / Kamadia are Mowla’s representatives. They represent the authority of the Imam.
Throne of Imamat – place/paat of Mukhi/Kamadia Saheb's. The hand of Mukhi/Kamadia is the hand of Hazar Imam.
Only Mukhi/Kamadia Saheb’s and Mukhiani/Kamadiani Maa’s have the authority to use the word "khanavadan" to convey blessings, [baraka that comes from the divine source].
Khanavadan means “May you and your family be happy, prosperous, promoted spiritually and materially.
If Mukhi/Kamadia gives permission for someone to say Khanavadan on their behalf, that's okay.
Go inside Jamatkhana and do ‘Dua Karavi’. Your sins will be forgiven and you will become pure, your soul will celebrate salvation. When you arrive or before doing your “Dua”, consciously or unconsciously try to remember your mistakes, sins and seek forgiveness.
Mukhi/Kamadia Saheb’s response to : Dua Karavi :- “Alliyuallah Niyat Murad Kabul Kare”.
Translation: May Hazar Imam accept your good intentions. i.e forgiveness, intention of not committing same sins again etc. That Dua encompasses everything of heaven and earth.
The above information can be found in ginans. Dua Niyat Khare..... Part of the translation:-
Accept our prayer, intention. Grant us good in this world, and hereafter. Ali grant onto us good. Accept our prayer.
Ameen – meaning acknowledgement of receiving the blessings.
Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply,Speak kindly...... Leave the rest to God
The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind.
But the goodness of a person spreads in all directions!
Seminar
Alwaez: Abdul Sultan Hasham
Jamatkhana is a place of worship, inspiration, progress, peace, & protection.
Jamatkhana is an earthly abode paradise. Allah's revelation (Qu'ran) says:
Enter the gateway with humility, posture & words. Allah has manifested his light in certain houses (Jamatkhanas).
Every one step that you take towards coming to the House of Hazar Imam, He takes 100 steps towards you. As soon as you make a Conscious decision to leave your house and come to the House of Hazar Imam, the blessings start from there.
Coming to Jamatkhana is NOT your choice, it is an EXPECTATION of the Imam (also read out the farman where Hazar Imam says, "nothing will make me happier than to know that my Jamat is regular in attendance in Jamatkhana and nothing will HURT me more than to know that they are irregular in attendance in Jamatkhana.")
If you are not in the habit of attending Jamatkhana regularly, your faith will gradually be reduced. By coming to Jamatkhana your intellect is activated, illuminated and actualized. By not going to Jamatkhana you are saying, Hazar Imam, “I don't need that activation today”.
There are days when all of us cannot attend Jamatkhana for a REALLY GOOD reason, we must be a Judge of this. You shouldn't feel guilty for not coming to Jamatkhana if you REALLY CANNOT make it, be honest.
Before we enter the Jamatkhana, we remove our shoes to discard materialistic, egotistical thoughts and aspects in front of Allah. We want to show our respect and love in the House of Allah.
Prayer is a link between humans and Allah. What better place to make a link with the Eternal than the house OF the Eternal (Jamatkhana). Jamatkhana is always full of divine spirit and divine beings.
Haizanda means Imam is everliving. Kayampaya means Imam is eternal.
Divine Baraka - Niyaz, Sukhreet
Compulsory for ALL Ismailis:-
1. Dasond
2. Three Dua's
Everything else is voluntary but if YOU take the “Bol” then practicing is Compulsory.
Hazar Imam said you can practice your faith anytime of the day and the night.
By saying your prayers 3 times a day, you are breaking the dream of negligence.
Prayers’ also pulls us out of the world and connects us with the Creator. The more you pray the longer you are linked with the Creator.
Qasidas and Ginans are the same. Ginans speak about spiritual psychology of soul, journey of the soul and much more. You will find knowledge in Ginans that even modern scientists haven't discovered.
Allah has poured knowledge in Pirs who pour it in Ginans.
Ginan means divine & contemplating knowledge. Not a composition of ordinary people.
Very unique literature. Pir (highest in creation) how can anything that is composed by PIR be ordinary?
Aanant Akaro means final assemble of humankind. Aanant Akaro is the Treasure house of the past, present and future. There are 500 verses. Recitation of Aanant Akaro removes Grief and restores peace.
Performing CHANTAS: 3 times (for body, speech & mind sins).
1st Chanta - violence, murder and such, to forgive these kinds of sins.
2nd Chanta - lying, gossip, using insulting language.
3rd Chanta - negative thinking, greed, fault finding, blaming.
You are most closest to Allah when you bow down in Sujdo. If you are not humble while praying, your prayers aren't accepted. When doing Sujdo, you are reducing yourself to the level of the dust of the Jamatkhana. If you can't bend down completely, it's okay, the act of bending down as much as you can is acceptable.
Food you buy from Nandi is a Baraka. There is no buying/selling in Nandi, that is the property of Allah. We consider Allah a member of our family that's why we bring Nandi.
He who makes the highest sacrifice gets the barakat, Nandi (process of Nandi), there is no buying/selling.
Please do not recycle the nandis as Mawla has already accepted it and you cannot send the same nandi again.
Prophet Muhammed was the 1st Pir
Pir Hasan (Mowlana Hussein's brother) was the 2nd Pir
Hazrat Ali – was the 1st Imam
Hazrat Hussein was the 2nd Imam
*Hazar Imam is the 49th Imam and 50th Pir
It is incorrect to say Salwat when name of "Imam Begum" comes in Ginan because she was NOT a ‘PIR’. Submission is always given to Noor only. By saying the above, the Murid testifies that the Noor of Allah is present. The word "Shahpir" in the Ginan, meaning Hazar Imam – 49th Imam, 50th Pir.
When Mukhi/Kamadia accepts your prayers, Hazar Imam accepts your prayers. Mukhi / Kamadia are Mowla’s representatives. They represent the authority of the Imam.
Throne of Imamat – place/paat of Mukhi/Kamadia Saheb's. The hand of Mukhi/Kamadia is the hand of Hazar Imam.
Only Mukhi/Kamadia Saheb’s and Mukhiani/Kamadiani Maa’s have the authority to use the word "khanavadan" to convey blessings, [baraka that comes from the divine source].
Khanavadan means “May you and your family be happy, prosperous, promoted spiritually and materially.
If Mukhi/Kamadia gives permission for someone to say Khanavadan on their behalf, that's okay.
Go inside Jamatkhana and do ‘Dua Karavi’. Your sins will be forgiven and you will become pure, your soul will celebrate salvation. When you arrive or before doing your “Dua”, consciously or unconsciously try to remember your mistakes, sins and seek forgiveness.
Mukhi/Kamadia Saheb’s response to : Dua Karavi :- “Alliyuallah Niyat Murad Kabul Kare”.
Translation: May Hazar Imam accept your good intentions. i.e forgiveness, intention of not committing same sins again etc. That Dua encompasses everything of heaven and earth.
The above information can be found in ginans. Dua Niyat Khare..... Part of the translation:-
Accept our prayer, intention. Grant us good in this world, and hereafter. Ali grant onto us good. Accept our prayer.
Ameen – meaning acknowledgement of receiving the blessings.
Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply,Speak kindly...... Leave the rest to God