Some time ago I was in Costco, looking at DVDs and saw a boxed set of six titled Mystic Lands. It looked good, came home, and then sat on the shelf for an undetermined time. In January, with the nights long, the days sometimes difficult, Farm Boss and I began to watch them and found we were looking forward to each one.They are not only informative about mankind's many versions of faith, but show the lands from which these religions have sprung. Does land impact the kind of religion it will grow? Some say there are daemons or gods spread throughout the earth and it would be one explanation for this diversity-- if you believed in such.
The series covers briefly 13 spiritual places in the world. It goes from familiar religions to ones we may not have heard much about. The places are Bhutan, Greece, Peru, Egypt, Myanmar, the Taj Mahal, Four Corners of the United States, Haiti, Bali, Australia, Central America, Jerusalem, and Varanasi.
Because learning about other religions has always been of interest to me, I knew at least something about most of these cultures, but in each case, even with these brief looks, I learned at least one thing that I hadn't known.
It seems that the need in mankind, to find a belief system that explains birth and death, one that gives meaning to days, is a human trait. Most religions explain the cosmology of life. From where did we come? To where will we go? Burial rituals in each of these cultures were particularly interesting to me.
After I finished the 6-part series, I felt lucky to live where I have the freedom to follow many religions or none. Then I had a dream, which I might sometime write about, which gave me another thought on this. Maybe there is something to be said for those who have a culture and religion that they don't have to think about whether it's right. They belong and are comforted in that belonging; where we, with so much freedom, sometimes wander in the wilderness in our quest for spiritual certainty which we might never find.
Fear is a big part of many religions, and this series doesn't gloss over that. It doesn't sugar coat any of them, but it also presents them non-judgmentally. Briefly, this is what these cultures believe and it helps their daily lives-- or so most believe. You see the ecstasy on many faces as they follow patterns that might have been the case for their ancestors through many generations.
When I tried to decide which cover to scan as an example of the images, I chose my personal favorite-- Australia and Bali, two cultures not that physically far apart but with very different religious views of life. The culture of the Aborigines has been interesting to me for a long time. I did learn things I didn't know, but they keep a lot of their practices secret and sacred. Good for them!
I checked and this series is on Netflix.
7 comments:
I will definitely check this series on Netflix. Sounds very interesting. It is an interesting tension having the freedom not to believe and the concurrent disconnect from all the systems that grow from having religious belief.
Hi Rain . . I appreciate your comments, and I am pretty sure we can agree to disagree on a few things (a very few).
I may have been too critical of Tom D. and of MSNBC. Time will tell.
Hardball with Cris Matthews however, I firmly dislike.
Yes, I do get a little news from Fox, and I do listen to several right wing radio personalities. I like some and dislike others. Dennis Prager I believe, is very good. On the other hand, Rush Limbaugh is not one of my favorites.
But Rain, so what?
Your little essay on religion is right on the mark. Interesting and insightful.
Thank you.
yes, we can, Dixon, and maybe not disagree on as much as we think; but who we listen to does make a difference on what we believe. I am reserving judgment period right now on whether Obama will be able to do what he said or if he'll let Pelosi and Reid run the show (two leaders that amaze me that they got in but then I have never liked the Republican choices for House and Senate leadership either... Delay? ugh). So I hope for the best, but time will tell on this. When the moderate Republicans cut down aid to the states, I didn't like it one bit. The states are who should decide where this goes. Obama has to realize he has no friends in DC. It's what can he make them do because on their own, they got us where we are.
This is a very interesting post, Rain. I, too, will put the series on my Net Flix queue. Thanks for the information.
Yes, there is a sense of belonging in some cultures and religions, where you dont need to reason out many things. But that is because , the people and the world indulging in it has developed along with the culture in a very inclusive way. Education must be seen to be a tempering factor for practioners of a religion/culture, and not a threat. Some religions are historically percieved as militant. They are actually being misinterpreted by those opposed to education.
The main thing is that relgion has to intertwined with culture and practised as a way of life. Not a set of compulsory rituals.
Till this is understood, we stand to suffer from terrorism in the world.
You make a good point about the cost of freedom: too many choices. There is something liberating (albeit with its own costs) about not having a choice, only one religion or belief system possible. Sounds like a great series, I'll be looking for it. Unfortunately Netflix isn't available here.
THe Hospice where we have my brother is run by Buddhist Monks, and they have a very interesting website. I have really enjoyed the reading that I have done there, and the peace their way of life seems to give them and those who stay there.
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