Interfaith Today, episode eight
The first segment of this episode is an essay by Tom Mahon who kindly stopped by my house and recorded his thoughts on Religions Yet to Be which were published in his blog, reconnecting.calm. Tom Mahon has written about technology for over 30 years as publicist, journalist, novelist, dramatist and activist. Since the early 1990s, he has spoken and written widely on the need to reconnect technical capability with social responsibility. Since 2005 he has written his blog. He also has a website for his book, Reconnecting.calm:
A user manual for balancing handwork, brainwork and heartwork in the age of science and technology.
Then we'll hear a chant to Saraswati by Fontain's M.U.S.E. from their album, Fire Trance. Saraswati of the Book is one of Rowan's matron Goddesses.
Lyrics:
Oh Goddess Saraswati
We adore you
With your magic and melody
Bring peace to our hearts
Bring peace to the world
Oh mother Saraswati
The third segment features a version of the talk Rowan did on her faith journey at the Interfaith Center at the Presidio on Memorial Day along with some thoughts on the International Day of Peace which is coming up on September 21st.
posted by Rowan Fairgrove @ 8:04 PM
3 Comments:
22.12.60
Greetings Friends,
May Peace Be With You.
Shalom. Namaste. Sabudicrom. Pax. A Salaam Alaikum.
The proceeding are responses to recent, respective broadcasts of the British Broadcasting Corporation ‘Reporting Religion’ and ‘Heart and Soul;’ InterFaith Today with Rowan Fairgrove; Public Broadcasting System’s WNET ‘Religion and Ethics;’ Faith Matters ‘InterFaith Voices,’ and American Taínoterranean Public Radio ‘Speaking of Faith.’
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Pertaining British Broadcasting Corporation ‘Reporting Religion’:
There is agreement in abstaining from the death penalty (one may refer to the recent ‘Heart and Soul’ episode featuring Magofe Helen Prejean, as well as to the ‘Speaking of Faith’ episode that also includes Magofe Helen Prejean, http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/deathpenalty/index.shtml). Yet one may consider that, within the Koran, there has been the command of fighting and even killing those who have caused oppression. A relevant consideration is determining the manner in which feminism and other forms of sexual liberation have been oppressive to both women and men (one may consider an episode included within the website of Current TV, www.current.tv/watch [tag: ‘Poverty;’ title: ‘Current Gigs: My Name is Jamie’]). Yet there is also the repeated teaching within the Koran to abstain from fighting and killing when the oppressor abstains from fighting and killing (and oppressing).
As communicated within previous correspondences, authority exists beyond the imitation of masculinity. And much of the Feminist Movement has simply been an argument for women being as selfish as men have been. Rather than categorically idealising the perceived equality within the religious adherence to Secularism, it is beneficial to consider the balance of consequences within the aggregate of fundamental adherence to Islam and the fundamental adherence to Secularism as well as the fundamental adherence to any religious tradition and ethos; so that men can respectively fulfil the respective responsibilities of being men (husbands and fars), women can respectively fulfil the respective responsibilities of being women (wives and mors), and all individuals, especially children, can experience enhanced and continuing wellbeing. And in the meantime, one may consider the benefit within outlawing adultery within Secular societies.
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Pertaining the British Broadcasting Corporation ‘Heart and Soul’:
There is appreciation for the sharing of Gianna Jessen’s story. There is also agreement with Gianna Jessen’s resolve in preserving the life of every child, even within cases of rape, threatened health, and/or incest. Life begins at conception. There is also the consideration for Gianna Jessen sharing her story with the leadership of Amnesty International whilst Amnesty International is in the process of determining policy specifically towards this issue.
The insight pertaining the ‘gift of cerebral palsy’ is enlightening. Gianna Jessen may be specifically interested in seeing another episode featured within Current TV, www.current.tv/watch [tag: ‘Hip Hop;’ title: ‘FEZO: Alter Ego’).
Gianna Jessen, there seems to have been some continuing anger within the decision of refusing to see your natural mor. This prompts the consideration of what forgiveness even is, because such a refusal has necessarily precluded an appropriate provision of an apology (irregardless of your natural mor’s difficulty in providing such). There is the consideration of continuing the forgiveness (continuing to soften your heart) to be able to accept the company of your natural mor. In coinciding with your Christian Faith, there is the teaching that Jesus provides to forgive somebody even ‘seventy times seven times,’ irregardless of how often a person has transgressed. There is also the teaching that Jesus provides to rush to make agreement with one’s adversary before going to court and receiving a judgment. There is also the mitzvot (command) that Moses provides and that Jesus emphasises: to honour one’s far and mor. This pertains to one’s natural parents and family as well as one’s adoptive parents and family. And also within the Torah of Judaism, there has even been the command of the death penalty for an individual who has struck or even cursed one’s parents.
Within the consideration of a ‘big adventure’ ‘around the World,’ there is the consideration of additional teachings pertaining forgiveness that are respectively provided from many of the respective religious traditions of the World. The Dhammapada of Buddhism begins with the proceeding teaching (Dhammapada 1:1 – 5):
‘All that we are is the result of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.
‘All that we are is the result of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
‘ ‘He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,’- in those who harbour such thoughts hatred will never cease.
‘ ‘He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me,’- in those who do not harbour such thoughts hatred will cease.
‘For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.’
The proceeding are passages respectively from the Koran of Islam that specifically pertain to forgiveness:
Sura 15:85
‘We created not the Heavens, the Earth, and all between them, but for just ends. And the Hour is surely coming when this will be manifest. So overlook any human faults with gracious forgiveness.’
Sura 45:14 – 15
‘Tell those who believe to forgive those who do not look forward to the Days of God. It is for God to recompense for good or ill each People according to what they have earned.
‘If anyone does a righteous deed, it enures to the benefit of his own soul; if he does evil, it works against his own soul. In the end will ye all be brought back to your God.’
Sura 3:133 – 135
‘Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your God, and for a garden whose width is that of the whole of the Heavens and of the Earth, prepared for the righteous,-
‘Those who spend freely, whether in prosperity or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon all men;- for God loves those who do good;-
‘For such the reward is forgiveness from their God, and Gardens with rivers flowing underneath; an eternal dwelling; how excellent a recompense for those who work and strive!’
Within the conversation on ‘Heart and Soul,’ there is the description of cerebral palsy being a genuine gift, providing an insight and experience of the intrinsic benevolence that exists within life and amongst people. In a True adherence to the belief of cerebral palsy being a gift, Gianna Jessen, there is the consideration of sharing with your mor the benefits (patience, understanding, compassion, tolerance) that cerebral palsy provides. And in this respect, there is another teaching from the Koran (Sura 3:92):
‘By no means shall ye attain righteousness unless ye give freely of that which ye love; and whatever ye give, of a Truth God knoweth it well.’
This can be compared to the rich man, the camel, and the needle that Jesus teaches. For those who are pious and righteous, wealth is understanding and compassion; and thus we maintain the responsibility of sharing such wealth, freely, with others (in the same manner that Jesus tells the rich man). And with such a perception, one may perceive the difficulty that the rich man experienced in hearing the lesson; and indeed, the difficulty in ‘loving the enemy.’
There is also this teaching within the Bhagavad Gita (Bhagavad Gita 6:32):
‘When a person responds to the joys and sorrows of others as if they were his own, he has attained the highest state of spiritual union.’
And from this specific teaching, Gianna Jessen, there is the consideration of understanding the difficulty that your natural mor has experienced and that has precluded her from acknowledging and properly apologising for the transgression that she has committed towards you. As George Arney mentions within the episode, there is the consideration of what your mor must have experienced in being discouraged into such a decision (the transgressions that have been committed towards your mor and that she has yet to reconcile, the evidence of which has existed within her refusal to effectively be reconciled with you). And thus, there is the propensity for the teaching of compassion: continuing to work on the log within our own respective eyes rather than pointing out the speck in each other’s eyes, even amidst the circumstances of a child who vehemently lives beyond an abortion. It is a matter of that child, you, Gianna Jessen, sharing the Grace of God that you experience through such vehemence and such life.
There is also an appropriate consideration of the respective fars of Gianna Jessen (interestingly, there is an absênce of any direct mention of her natural far or her adoptive far within this episode).
The notion of what forgiveness is remains continuously relevant, particularly when individuals have abstained from specifically soliciting forgiveness or have even abstained from admitting having committed any transgression. Admittedly, I have experienced difficulty in determining an appropriate reconciliation amidst similar circumstances. One particular difficulty has been responding to instances where individuals have made a pledge for continuously committing a transgression (similar to an individual soliciting an apology for what an individual plans to do). The pledge in promulgating the 3/5ths Compromise within the Constitution of the United States of America Taínoterranea is an example of such a difficulty.
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Pertaining InterFaith Today with Rowan Fairgrove:
Rowan Fairgrove, on behalf of the Asona Group within this InterFaith Settlement, I provide you with well regards for your continuing wellbeing proceeding your appendectomy.
The notion provided from Tom Mahon pertaining the two primary considerations of Creation and life, respectively maintained by all religious traditions, is interesting. Yet the Secular religion of Science has yet to definitively describe the origin of existence. Instead there has been the pattern, and the susceptibility, of one thesis replacing a previous thesis after a certain amount of time and evidence is gathered. Whilst certainly pragmatic and providing certain benefits, Science relies upon a limited scope of perception: measurement within the tangible realm of sênses. Old time religion, the respective, traditional religions of the World, remain constantly relevant in answering the questions from which Science hides: the questions and answers that exist beyond measurement.
In the concluding portion of your essay, Tom Mahon, there is a reference to the elements of Stardust, Seawater, and Sunshine. Yet, within a Theological and highly metaphysical manner, within the consideration of the equanimity of Stardust, there may similarly be considered an equanimity amongst Stardust, Seawater, and perhaps even Sunshine. Given the substantially Scientific content of your essay, you may be interested in considering a formula derived from e = mc, the formula being:
1 = x°∞ (that is ‘One = X, to the not, multiplied by infinity’)
1 = love of God (this is a progression from Albert Einstein’s perception of energy)
x = the material existence of a person (this is a progression from Albert Einstein’s perception of matter)
∞ = propensity of a person to share (this is a progression from Albert Einstein’s perception of the ‘square of the speed of light,’ or in other terms, the ‘field [or expanse] of the speed of light’)
One of the intrinsic factors within this formula is that irregardless of an individual’s pursuit for material possessions and progeny, x° (X, to the not) always equals one.
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The instrumentation (particularly the percussions and the sitar) and the female vocals within the chant are appreciated. Within the Faith that I share, there is simply one God, and there are celestial beings and sentient beings that manifest the will of God.
The explanation of Wiccan Theology, and the intrinsic modern feminism involved within the contemporary practice of Wiccan Theology, is appreciated. Within the Faith that I share, there is a mitzvot for us to honour our respective fars and mors. This necessitates that we only respectively utilise the terms ‘far’ (‘father’) and ‘mor’ (‘mother’) in specifically and respectively referring to our forebears; we are precluded from utilising these terms in describing any entity or being other than respectively towards our respective forebears. The Scientific description of the aggregate of human genealogy is interesting, yet the described thesis may be perceived within the context of a contemporary trend that remains until the next Scientific ‘discovery.’
Within the Faith that I share, we believe that God loves all individuals and that God exists within all individuals. There is the mitzvot within the Torah of Judaism for an individual to love the stranger because we know the heart of a stranger through the experience of the captivity in Egypt:
Leviticus 19:33
‘When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native amongst you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am God your God.’
Exodus 23:9
‘You shall not oppress a stranger; you know the hear of a stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.’
There is also the specific teaching within the Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism that specifically describes that God exists within all individuals, beyond the notion of biology and genealogy.
These teachings of the oneness of God throughout all existence, and even beyond existence, can be understood in a substantially abstract, Theological manner. Yet the emphasis within these teachings is that through promoting the respective wellbeing of others (cultivating the existence of God in others), we improve our own respective wellbeing. And this can be understood in a rather tangible and pragmatic manner. One may consider the elemental continuum that exists within each individual: each person’s body exists within a constant state of change. Within this constant state of change, elements enter the body (air, liquid, food), and elements leave the body (air, liquid, and food [even if we take issue with the smell]). There is the Scientific notion of oxygen being produced from trees and being respectively inhaled by individuals, travelling within the respective lungs of individuals, and becoming infused within the respective circulatory system of individuals, facilitating the transfer of nutrients throughout the respective bodies of individuals. Individuals then exhale carbon dioxide as air into the atmosphere and trees respectively receive the carbon dioxide and utilise this in conjunction with the process of photosynthesis within the respective leaves of trees, to cultivate and transfer nutrients throughout the respective entirety of these trees.
And when eating, people respectively receive the respective fruits of plants that are respectively harvested from the soil. The respective elements within these fruits are deconstructed within the respective digestive systems of individuals and similarly distributed to the blood within the respective circulatory systems so that the nutrients are shared to all the parts of the respective bodies of individuals (including the limbs, organs, and tissues, all of which are constructed of cells that are also within a constant process of change). All persons then respectively emit respective unutilised and/or processed portions of these fruits back into the environment and these respective unutilised and/or processed portions respectively maintain a balance of elements that are substantially nutritious for additional plants and animals (specifically, insects). And thus the food chain remains very much a food cycle; a continuum where the cultivation of the wellbeing in one factor, one entity, one individual, improves the aggregate wellbeing of all factors, all entities, all individuals, and thus, necessarily, improves the respective wellbeing in each factor, each entity, each individual.
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Pertaining Faith Matters ‘InterFaith Voices’:
You may be interested in receiving and sharing respective religious insights from, and experiences, of individuals and families from throughout the World, specifically from globally focusing organisations and institutions as well as organisations and institutions respectively based outside the United States of America Taínoterranea. At the InterFaith Forum web log, http://spaces.msn.com/interFaithforum, there are respective weblinks to respectively religious organisations and institutions, interFaith organisations and institutions, as well as additional (benevolent, advocacy, resource exchanging, and mas) organisations and institutions.
Within this episode, there is the description of the difficulty in ‘giving up stuff’ within a status quo based upon the pleasures of consumption; there has also been the perception of those ‘without’ substantial material possessions being the ones who have suffered when the whole of society must reconcile with the adversity of such indulgences. Yet it may also be considered that it is exactly those ‘without’ who maintain the substantial propensity for adjustment (being content without and throughout) amidst the consequences of indulgence.
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Pertaining Public Broadcasting System WNET ‘Religion and Ethics’:
Amidst the difficulties that have been experienced within the Northern coast of the Gulf of México, amidst the apparent pride that has previously precluded such cooperation in a substantial manner, and in addition to the contributions provided by respectively religious congregations, organisations, and institutions, there is the consideration of the benefit that can be provided to the inhabitants of the Northern coast of the Gulf of México (predominantly Louisiana and Mississippi) through the work and experience of the United Nations.
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Pertaining American Taínoterranean Public Radio ‘Speaking of Faith’:
Because the episode specifically provided this week is a rebroadcast of a previous episode to which I already listen, the episode specifically pertaining the story of Abraham is selected as an episode in which to listen this week. And in response to this episode, there is appreciation for the insight that is shared pertaining the story of Abraham amongst Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and there is encouragement for participants of this episode to consider an expansive cooperation that includes both Abraham and the Vedas.
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May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon The Rishis.
May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon Moses.
May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon The Buddha.
May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon Jesus.
May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon Muhammad.
May Peace And Blessings Of God Be Upon The Universe.
Amen.
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With humble and benevolent regards,
Peter Frank Womack (with the Asona Group within this InterFaith Settlement)
Peace belongs throughout the Universe.
Good thought, be long towards Nirvâna.
All Praise Belongs To God.
Thank you for your interesting comments. I could wish that, for length, you had only included the comments on my show. Thank you for listening and sharing.
Oakland is also honoring the International Day of Peace. An organization called Listen for Life is putting on a series of free concerts!
http://www.listenforlife.org/ListenForLife_Home.html
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