THE SPIRITUAL SELF

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

The Spiritual
 One Self
of the four constituents
of the “self” according to
William James in his book,
The Principles of
Psychology
 The most intimate and inner
subjective part of the self
 The ability to use moral
sensibility and conscience
may be seen through the
expression of religion, its
beliefs and practices.
A SET OF CULTURAL BELIEFS AND PRACTICES
THAT USUALLY INCLUDES SOME OF THESE RELIGION
CHARACTERISTICS:

1. A belief in an anthropomorphic
supernatural being, such as spirit and gods
2. A focus on the sacred supernatural (sacred
refers to feeling of reverence and awe)
3. The presence of supernatural power or
energy that is found on supernatural beings as
well as physical beings and objects

RELIGIO
N
RELIGION

The performance of
ritual activities that
involves the
manipulation of sacred
object to communicate
to supernatural beings
and/or to influence or
control events.
The articulation of worldview
and moral codes though
narratives and other means.
Provide the creation and
maintenance of social bonds
and mechanism of social control
within a community; provide
explanation for unknown and a
sense of control for individuals.

RELIGIO
N RELIGION
 The choice of religious beliefs lies
within the spiritual self. Although
the choice maybe influenced by the
society and its culture.
RITUAL
The performance of ceremonial acts
prescribed by a tradition or sacred
law.
RITUAL HAS THE
CHARACTERISTICS OF:

A feeling or emotion of
respect, awe, fascination or
dread in relation to the sacred
Dependence upon a belief
system that is usually expressed
in the language of myth
Symbolic in relation to its
reference
PRACTICES AND BELIEFS OF
VARIOUS RELIGIOUS
ORGANIZATIONS
 BUDDHISM
Buddhism is a faith that
was founded by
Siddhartha Gautama
(“the Buddha”) more
than 2,500 years ago in
India. With about 470
million followers,
scholars consider
Buddhism one of the
 Buddha’s most important teachings,
known as the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS, are
essential to understanding the religion

1. The truth of suffering

2. The truth of the cause of
suffering
3. The truth of the end of
suffering
4. The truth of the path that
EIGHTFOLD PATH
Right
Understandin
Right
g
Thought
 Right
Speech
Abstains from wrong and harmful speech, one
naturally has to speak the truth, has to use
words that are friendly and benevolent, pleasant
and gentle, meaningful, and useful.
 Right Action
Abstain from destroying life, from dishonest
dealings, and that we should also help others to
lead a peaceful and honourable life in the right
way.
Right Livelihood

Abstain from making one’s

living through a profession
that brings harm to others,
such as trading in arms,
intoxicating drinks or
poisons, killing animals,
cheating, etc.
 Right
Right Effort Concentratio
It is an effort to n
leads to the four
prevent evil and to stages of Dhyana,
produce goodness
generally called
trance
 Right Mindfulness
With regard to sensations and feelings, one should
be clearly aware of all forms of feelings and
sensations, pleasant, unpleasant and neutral, of how
they appear and disappear within oneself.
 Right
Understandi Right
ng Thought
Denotes the
Understanding thoughts of
of things as selfless
they are, and renunciation or
detachment,
it is the four thoughts of love
noble truths and thoughts of
that explain non-violence,
things as they which are
really are. extended to all
beings.
 Customs and Practices
Samatha – • Vipassana –
practiced as practices aim at
mindfulness of developing insight
breathing and into reality.
development of • Acquiring wisdom is
loving-kindness by studying Buddha’s
(Metta Bhavana) teaching, the
Dharma.
 HINDUISM
 Hinduism is the oldest
religion in the world,
originating in Central
Asia and the Indus
Valley.
 Adherents of the faith
know it as Sanatan
Dharma (“eternal order”
or “eternal path”)
There is no founder of Hinduism, no
date of origin, nor – according to the
faith – a development of the belief
system; the scribes who wrote the
Vedas are said to have been simply
recording that which had always
existed
Customs and Practices

• Diwali – the Festival of Lights

• Navrati – the Festival of Nine Nights which
celebrate the triumph of good over evil
CHRISTIANITY
The Christian faith centres
on beliefs regarding the
birth, life, death and
resurrection of Jesus
Christ. Christianity is the
most widely practiced
religion in the world, with
more than 2 billion
followers.
 Christianity Beliefs

Christians are
monotheistic, they
believe there’s only
one Trinitarian God,
that consists of three
personas: the Father
(Creator) , the son
(Savior) and the Holy
Spirit (Sustainer).
Christians contend
that Jesus will return
to earth again in
what’s known as the
Second Coming.
The cross is a
symbol of
Christianity.
The Christian Bible
 Old Testament and New
Testament.
 The Old Testament describes
the history of the Jewish
people, outlines specific laws
to follow, details the lives of
many prophets, and predicts
the coming of the Messiah.
The New Testament was written after
Jesus’s death.
 The first four books are known as the
“Gospels,” which is about the life and
death of Jesus
 Letters written by early Christian
leaders, which are known as
“epistles,” make up a large part of the
New Testament.
 The Acts of the Apostles is an account
of the apostles’ ministry after Jesus’s
death.
 The final book in the New
Testament, Revelation, describes a
The most important Christian holidays:
 Christmas (which celebrates the birth of Jesus)
 Easter (which remembers the resurrection of
Jesus)
 Although the many sects of Christianity have
differing views, uphold separate traditions and
worship in distinct ways, the core of their faith
is centered around the life and teachings of
Jesus.
 A major world religion
ISLAM promulgated by the
Prophet Muhammad in Arabia.
The term islām in Arabic literally means
“surrender,” which reflects the fundamental
religious idea of Islam that believers accept and
surrender to the will of Allah.
 ALLAH
Viewed as the sole God—creator,
sustainer, and restorer of the world.
The will of Allah, to which human
beings must submit, is made known
through the Qurʾan which Allah
revealed to his messenger,
Muhammad.
 In Islam, Muhammad is
considered the last of a series
of prophets (including Adam,
Noah, Abraham, Moses,
Solomon, and Jesus) and his
message simultaneously
consummates and completes
the “revelations” attributed to
earlier prophets.
The Qurʾān is
regarded as the
verbatim word, or
speech, of God
delivered to
Muhammad by the
archangel Gabriel.
 The Five Pillars of Islam
 The
shahādah,
or
profession
of faith
 Prayer
 The zakāt
 Fasting
 The hajj
Profession of Faith
 The second pillar consists of five
Praye daily canonical prayers. The first
prayer is performed before sunrise,
r the second just after noon, the third
in the late afternoon, the fourth
immediately after sunset, and the
fifth before retiring to bed.

In strict doctrine, the five

daily prayers cannot be
waived even for the sick,
who may pray in bed and, if
necessary, lying down.
 The
Zakat
The third pillar is the
obligatory tax
called zakāt (“purification
,” indicating that such a
payment makes the rest
of one’s wealth
religiously and legally
pure).
 ZAKAT
The amount varies for different
categories. Thus, on grains and
fruits it is 10 percent if land is
watered by rain, 5 percent if
land is watered artificially. On
cash and precious metals it is
21/2 percent.
FASTING
Fasting during the month of Ramadan
(ninth month of the Muslim lunar
calendar) is the fourth pillar of the faith.
Fasting begins at daybreak and ends at
sunset, and during the day eating,
drinking, and smoking are forbidden.

For a person who is sick or on a

journey, fasting may be postponed
until “another equal number of
days.”
 THE HAJJ
The fifth pillar is the
annual pilgrimage to
Mecca prescribed for
every Muslim once in a
lifetime—“provided one
can afford it” and
provided a person has
enough provisions to
leave for his family in his
absence.
Ramadan is the ninth month
of the Muslim calendar when
most Muslims observe a
degree of fasting and
abstinence.
The end of Ramadan and the signal for a joyous, three-
day feast.
It is a time of thankfulness for Allah's blessings which
are better appreciated because of the experience of
fasting during Ramadan.

Eid al-Fitr
 Eid al-Adha This
The festival four-day festival
marks the time of
revolves around the the Haj, or
sacrifice of an pilgrimage to
Mecca.
animal that is
offered to Allah,
usually a lamb or a
cow. In this way,
the Old Testament
passage is
recreated in which
God intercedes to
JUDAIS
M
JUDAISM
Judaism is the world’s oldest
monotheistic religion, dating back
nearly 4,000 years B.C.
Followers of Judaism believe in one
God who revealed himself through
ancient prophets.
 One God who has established
a covenant with them. Their
God communicates to
Belief
believers through prophets
and rewards good deeds
s:
while also punishing evil.
Most Jews (with the exception
of Messianic Jews and a few
other groups) believe that
their Messiah hasn’t come
yet, but will one day
Founder of Judaism
God revealed
himself to
Abraham and
made a covenant.
Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob (Israel)
became central
figures in Jewish
MOSES came 1,000 years after
Abraham
According to
scriptures,
God revealed
his laws,
known as the
Ten
Commandme
nts, to Moses
at Mt. Sinai
Templ
es
 Around 1000 B.C., King David
ruled the Jewish people. His
son Solomon built the first
holy Temple in Jerusalem,
which became the central
place of worship for Jews.
• Babylonians destroyed
the first Temple and sent
many Jews into exile
The destruction of the second Temple was
significant because Jewish people no
longer had a primary place to gather, so
they shifted their focus to worshipping in
local synagogues.
  Tanakh (which includes the
Torah) is considered the sacred
text of Judaism

Holy  Talmud, a collection

teachings and commentaries on
of

Jewish law
Books  Gemara - examines the Mishnah
 Mishnah—a text that describes
and explains the Jewish code of
law that was previously orally
communicated
Shabbat is recognized as a day of rest
and prayer for Jews. It typically begins
at sunset on Friday and lasts until
nightfall on Saturday.
  Passover: celebrates Jewish freedom from
slavery in Egypt.
 Rosh Hashanah: celebrate the birth of the

Jewish universe and humanity, which is also known

as the Jewish New Year.
 Yom Kippur: This “Day of Atonement” is
Holida considered the holiest day of the year for
Jews who typically spend it fasting and

ys
praying.
 Hanukkah: “Festival of lights,”
commemorates the rededication of the
Jewish Temple in Jerusalem after the
Maccabees defeated the Syrian-Greeks over
2,000 years ago
When the Torah speaks of God as
our Salvation or our Redeemer, it is
not speaking of salvation or
redemption from sin; rather, it speaks
of salvation from the very concrete,
day-to-day problems that we face,
such as redemption from slavery in
Egypt, or salvation from our enemies
in war.