Religion Religious activities around the world Many religions may have organized behaviors, clergy, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, holy places, and scriptures. The practice of a religion may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of a deity, gods or goddesses), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trance, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service or other aspects of human culture. Religions may also contain mythology.[2] Etymology Religion (from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem (nom. religio) "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods,"[11] "obligation, the bond between man and the gods"[12]) is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure. Many languages have words that can be translated as "religion", but they may use them in a very different way, and some have no word for religion at all. Definitions Theories Origins and development
George Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff /ˈɡɜrdʒiˌɛf/ (January 13, 1866-1877?)[1]|- October 29, 1949), also commonly referred to as Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff and G. I. Gurdjieff, was an influential spiritual teacher of the early to mid-20th century who taught that most humans live their lives in a state of hypnotic "waking sleep", but that it is possible to transcend to a higher state of consciousness and achieve full human potential. Gurdjieff developed a method for doing so, calling his discipline "The Work"[2] (connoting "work on oneself") or "the Method".[3] According to his principles and instructions,[4] Gurdjieff's method for awakening one's consciousness is different from that of the fakir, monk or yogi, so his discipline is also called (originally) the "Fourth Way".[5] At one point, he described his teaching as being "esoteric Christianity".[6] At different times in his life, Gurdjieff formed and closed various schools around the world to teach The Work. §Biography[edit] §Early years[edit]
Fourth Way enneagram Enneagram with point numbers and octave designations for octave beginning at point 9. Points 3 and 6 show "shock points" at which a new Do may enter and develop alongside the existing octave. Origins[edit] As reported by P. D. Ouspensky the enneagram was introduced by George Gurdjieff to his study groups in Saint Petersburg and Moscow in 1916. Idries Shah, a populariser of Sufism, has claimed that the enneagram has a Sufi provenance and that it has also been long known in coded form disguised as an octagram.[4] Another claim to a Sufi provenance is offered by the Sufi Enneagram website.[5] The archives of the Naqshbandi Sufi order of Daghestan have been claimed to provide an account of a meeting between Gurdjieff and Shaykh Sharafuddin Daghestani in which the secret of the nine points was transmitted to Gurdjieff.[6] Robin Amis claims an Orthodox Christian origin, claiming that both Gurdijeff and Ouspensky developed their teaching with insights gained from visits to Mount Athos.[7] [edit]
Sacred Sites at Sacred Destinations - Explore sacred sites, religious sites, sacred places Isha Upanishad The Isha Upanishad (Devanagari: ईशोपनिषद् IAST īśopaniṣad) is one of the shortest of the Upanishads, in form more like a brief poem than a philosophical treatise, consisting of 17 or 18 verses in total. The Upanishad constitutes the final chapter (adhyāya) of the Shukla Yajurveda and survives in two versions, called Kanva (VSK) and Madhyandina (VSM). Like other core texts of the Vedanta, it is considered revealed scripture (Śruti) by diverse traditions within Hinduism. The name of the text derives from the its incipit, īśā vāsyam, "enveloped by the Lord". It is grouped as a "Poetic Upanishad" with Kena, Katha, Svetasvatara and Mundaka by Paul Deussen (1908).[2] Its composition dates roughly to the second half of the first millennium BCE.[3] Text[edit] In the two shakhas of the Shukla Yajurveda (called the VSK and VSM) the order of verses 1–8 is the same, however VSK verses 9–14 correspond to VSM verses 12, 13, 14, 9, 10, 11. Content[edit] The first verse reads: See also[edit] References[edit]
Fourth Way enneagram Enneagram with point numbers and octave designations for octave beginning at point 9. Points 3 and 6 show "shock points" at which a new Do may enter and develop alongside the existing octave. Origins[edit] As reported by P. Idries Shah, a populariser of Sufism, has claimed that the enneagram has a Sufi provenance and that it has also been long known in coded form disguised as an octagram.[4] Another claim to a Sufi provenance is offered by the Sufi Enneagram website.[5] The archives of the Naqshbandi Sufi order of Daghestan have been claimed to provide an account of a meeting between Gurdjieff and Shaykh Sharafuddin Daghestani in which the secret of the nine points was transmitted to Gurdjieff.[6] Robin Amis claims an Orthodox Christian origin, claiming that both Gurdijeff and Ouspensky developed their teaching with insights gained from visits to Mount Athos.[7] Another proposal suggests the diagram is a map of the chakras from yogic schools.[8] At point 3, Mi-Fa, occurs a "shock". [edit]
Enlightenment - The Experience Festival Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE (born 21 March 1925) is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s. Biography[edit] Life[edit] Brook was born in London in March 1925, the son of Simon Brook and his wife Ida (Jansen), two Jewish immigrants from Latvia.[1] He was educated at Westminster School, Gresham's School and Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1951, Brook married the actress Natasha Parry; the couple have a son and a daughter. In 1970, with Micheline Rozan, Brook founded the International Centre for Theatre Research, a multinational company of actors, dancers, musicians and others which travelled widely in the Middle East and Africa in the early 1970s. Influences[edit] Brook was influenced by the work of Antonin Artaud and his ideas for his Theatre of Cruelty. His major influence, however, was Joan Littlewood. The Mahabharata[edit] Tierno Bokar[edit] Work[edit] Major productions for the RSC[edit] Other major productions[edit] Awards[edit]
Fourth Way According to this system, the chief difference between the three traditional schools, or ways, and the fourth way is that "they are permanent forms which have survived throughout history mostly unchanged, and are based on religion. Where schools of yogis, monks or fakirs exist, they are barely distinguishable from religious schools. The fourth way differs in that it is not a permanent way. It has no specific forms or institutions and comes and goes controlled by some particular laws of its own." It always has some work of a specific import, and is never without some task around which and in connection with which it can alone exist. The Fourth Way mainly addresses the question of people's place in the Universe, their possibilities for inner development, and transcending the body to achieve a higher state of consciousness. Overview[edit] Three ways[edit] Gurdjieff taught that traditional paths to spiritual enlightenment followed one of three ways: The Way of the fakir The Way of the monk
Jainism Jainism (/ˈdʒeɪnɪzəm/[1] or /ˈdʒaɪnɪzəm/[2]), traditionally known as Jin Sashana or Jain dharma (Sanskrit: जैन धर्म), is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of nonviolence (ahimsa) towards all living beings. Practitioners believe that nonviolence and self-control are the means by which they can obtain liberation. The three main principles of Jainism are non-violence (ahimsa), non-absolutism (anekantavada) and non-possessiveness (aparigraha). Followers of Jainism take 5 major vows: non-violence, non-lying, non-stealing, chastity, and non-attachment. Asceticism is thus a major focus of the Jain faith. Jainism is derived from the word Jina (conqueror) referring to a human being who has conquered inner enemies like attachment, desire, anger, pride, greed, etc. and possesses infinite knowledge (Kevala Jnana). Doctrine[edit] Non-violence (ahimsa)[edit] The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolizes Ahimsa (nonviolence). Non-absolutism[edit] Main article: Anekantavada Non-possessiveness[edit]
Walter Wriston Walter Bigelow Wriston (August 3, 1919 – January 19, 2005) was a banker and former chairman and CEO of Citicorp. As chief executive of Citibank / Citicorp (later Citigroup) from 1967 to 1984, Wriston was widely regarded as the single most influential commercial banker of his time.[1][2] During his tenure as CEO, the bank introduced, among other innovations, automated teller machines, interstate banking, the negotiable certificate of deposit, and "pursued the credit card business in a way that no other bank was doing at the time".[3][4] With then New York Governor Hugh Carey and investment banker Felix Rohatyn, Wriston helped save New York City from bankruptcy in the mid-1970s by setting up the Financial Control Board and the Municipal Assistance Corporation, and persuading the city's union pension funds and banks to buy the latter corporation's bonds.[5] Personal life[edit] In 1942, Walter Wriston married Barbara Brengle, with whom he had one daughter. Politics[edit] Quotes[edit]
Higher consciousness Higher consciousness is the consciousness of a higher Self, transcendental reality, or God. It is "the part of the human being that is capable of transcending animal instincts". The concept developed in German Idealism, and is a central notion in contemporary popular spirituality. Philosophy[edit] Fichte[edit] Fichte distinguished the finite or empirical ego from the pure or infinite ego. Fichte (1762-1814) was one of the founding figures of German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Kant. According to Michael Whiteman, Fichte's philosophical system "is a remarkable western formulation of eastern mystical teachings (of which he seems to have had no direct knowledge)." Schopenhauer[edit] In 1812 Schopenhauer started to use the term "the better consciousness", a consciousness ... According to Schopenhauer, The better consciousness in me lifts me into a world where there is no longer personality and causality or subject or object. Religion[edit]