Answers in the Sky

What I gathered from my elective.

    Once upon a time, we were new on Earth. Things happen on this planet that we never understood and had no explanation for. Weather, famine, and emotions you name it. In response, we turned it into something mythical and evil. Some created a deity, many deities, or none at all. For this, conflict arose and everyone was punished ever since then.

     Some faiths do not have a deity. Most indigenous civilizations do not have a God of any kind. Typically, they show the utmost respect for the planet and the species on it. In most cases, people are enlightened enough or motivated to make changes to believe in one God or none. Two of which were done by princes.

     Akhenaton was a pharaoh who was raised on Aton and Amon faith. Aton consisted of many Gods, while Amon was one. Although, the teachings were not new Akhenaton was the one who implemented the faith on an entire kingdom. The other was Siddhartha Gautama who was born of royalty.

     Siddhartha Gautama was sheltered and started off as a Hindu. Just like the Amon faith, Hinduism has many deities. The prince was sheltered from every aspect of life and one day he wandered from this sheltered life and witnessed what he was being shielded from. He was deeply saddened by what he saw. He abandoned the life that he knew and went on a journey to find happiness and rid the world of melancholy. This is where Buddhism came from and the faith remains.

     I think that Buddhism is one of the most misunderstood faiths. Just like any faith, Buddhists had faced many hardships. Out of every faith that has been massacred and segregated, I think the reason why people hate this faith so badly is because they do not understand the culture or the history of any culture for that matter.

     The only argument I hear is that Buddhism is about becoming a God. Well, it's not. It is about finding the answer to your strife. I have a slight understanding as to why people would think that it is about turning into a God. It was not the faith that turned Siddhartha Gautama into a God. It was his followers that did it.

     This is one of those topics you must think deeply about and be educated on. People once acted as though kings and queens were gods and goddesses. The Ancient Egyptian statues were meant to give royalty the likeliness of a deity. I think that Siddhartha Gautama was admired so much that people began making statues of him so that his enlightenment remained.

     If there was any faith I would choose it would be Buddhism. There is not a God to sing or pray to, which I think is ridiculous because we do not know if God really exists. I would better understand my life and know when to let go and not care. I would also communicate better with others. Before I learned about Buddhism, I was challenged with people who yelled at me. Now, I understand the meaning of their emotions. No, there is not turning into a God here. It is not about power or being powerful.

     What fascinates me most is that every culture started off somewhere. India, Egypt, and Rome were not the only regions chalk full of Gods and Goddesses. I do not think that anyone has really thought of this. People view Iraq and only see Islam and terrorists.

     Iraq was once Mesopotamia. Mesopotamian civilization was not only ahead of their time, they also believed in many Gods. There is a sun god and a moon god. There is a powerful being that created it all and also a god of the underworld. They even built a temple to reach the heavens.

     At some point, they did begin practicing Islamic faith as well as Christianity. At what point did all Muslims start praying in the direction of a meteor? I find the Kaaba to be one of the most fascinating and inspiring aspects of Islam. They are praying toward something that came out of the sky. Every year, Muslims go on pilgrimage to the Kaaba.

     We are still doing what we did in the past, only we have a better understanding today than what we did in the past.

     I am most intrigued with the fact that every faith is linked so closely together and we do not get along. Most people believe that there is only one true faith and one true faith only. What they do not understand is the similarities of each faith and where the information may have come from to create the Holy Scriptures that we read today.

     For instance, why do Jews and Muslims have similar customs? Neither believes that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Although, Jews have a different concept of what a Messiah is and according to Muslims Muhammad is the Messiah. Jews and Muslims will not eat pork. How come Christians eat pork and nobody else does? I think it is interesting that other faiths have restrictions on eating habits while Christians do not. I have noticed that Hindus are normally vegan and will not eat beef because they believe cows are sacred.

     I find that the stories are very similar. When I was studying Judaism, Christianity, and Islam they each had a story about The Good Samaritan. As I studied all faiths, I noticed a hint of Hinduism and Buddhism.

     The Last Temptation of Christ is a story that seems to be old as time. Buddhism has the same story. Buddha fought temptation on his journey. Mara, a demon, had come to Buddha and told him that if he went back he would have all of these riches and power.

     In Hinduism, the deities are very similar. In Christianity, there is God, the Devil, and Jesus Christ. In Hinduism, Brahman is the creator, Krishna is similar to Jesus, and Sheva is the destroyer of the universe and to me seems similar to the devil.

     Many of us look to the sky for answers. Many of us pray and fight to pray. We each have our own beliefs which should be respected and cherished. Native Americans believed in taking care of this planet and we ignored them. Ancient ruins are a reflection on how we treated people who believed in what they did. Our planet and lives are at stake.