Religion and Culture
Final Exam

Hinduism, Islam (mainstream and Sufism) and Sikhism are complex and fascinating with its diverse culture and rich history. Although all have individual beliefs and practices, the way they all engage with their community hold some similarities. These faiths all have some type of worship and have some form of hospitality that they carry through their community and is dictated by their beliefs.
From an outsider’s point of view, Hindus are seen as those in India who worship many gods in the form of idols and wear colorful clothing. After visiting a Hindu temple, I view them as an open and welcoming community who value the Hindu traditions and practices, and the act of charity and hospitality. To Hindus, their temples are open to anyone who wants to visit. They hold many things, acts, and behaviors sacred as they perform devotional rituals in the temple.
Hindus often participate in worship and charity-giving to engage those within and outside the Hindu community. The most common worship ritual is puja. In puja, the devotees and the priest gather to give their offerings to the deities. Within puja, there is a series of devotional practices and behaviors when one engages in it. Darsan is the act of seeing and being seen by the deities. This is done with the use of murti, a material in which a deity is embodied in (Rodrigues, 227). To see and be seen by the sacred is to be in their presence of the divine and receive their blessings. This practice also contributes bhakti which is the union between the deity and the devotee. During puja, the devotees also participate in arti, which is the waving of a flame in front of a deity as an act of purification (Rodrigues, 233). Puja is a way for the Hindu community to worship together and be present with the divine (Hindu temple).
The way the Hindu community engages and invites those who are non-Hindus is through hospitality and charity. After worship services like puja, the Hindu community often hosts a free kitchen in which anyone could come in and eat usually called prasadam, food that is initially offered to Krishna and is later eaten. Taking prasadam is such a pure and holy act that it can be eaten off the ground and can give someone the power to jump through rebirths (Singer, 197). These people can be the poor or non-Hindus alike. The kitchens often serve vegetarian dishes and avoid any type of living thing to avoid eating anyone who might have been reborn as that living thing. Here everyone is served and treated equally (Hindu temple).
The Sharia, Five Pillars of Islam, and the Six Pillars of Faith are all customs, beliefs, and traditions that help guide a person’s life as a devout Muslim. The Muslim community recognizes those who those who follow these rules and believe the principles presented in the Five Pillars of Islam and the Six Pillars of Faith . Everyone in the Muslim community are accountable for each other to follow these rules and customs. The Sharia’s purpose is to uphold the good of society and to help human beings attain salvation (Ruthven). To devout Muslims, the recited Qur’an is the word of God revealed to the prophet Muhammad and it is the central religious text of Islam. As Muslim’s prophet, Muhammad was chosen by God and lived a virtually perfect life, so his words and actions were collected in Hadith as one of the foundations of Islamic law. Based on the reading, we also learned Sunna is the body of traditional social, custom, and practice of the Islamic community.
The Islam community is engaged through following the Islamic customs and traditions. The ‘Five Pillars’ of Islam are the foundation of Muslim life. According to the reading, “The Five Pillars of Islam, which are presented systematically for the first time in the Hadith of Gabriel, are relatively simple to carry out and can easily be learned by the person who wishes to convert to Islam” (Esposito, 77). The ‘Five Pillars’ are five religious duties for every Muslims. The first pillar is Shahadah, the statement of faith. For the mainstream of Islam, the “two witnessings” of the Shahadah reaffirms their faith and practice. The second pillar of Islam is Salat, which means “to make the required five prayers each day in the direction of the Great Mosque in Mecca” (Esposito, 77). The third pillar is called Zakah, which is “to pay a yearly poor-tax to a religious official or a representative of the Islamic state” (Esposito, 83). According to the Qur’an, the tithe is used to help feed the poor or wayfarers and “support those who devote themselves to the cause of God” (Esposito, 83). The fourth pillar is known as Sawn, which is to observe the fast during Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food, drink and sex during the daylight hours as sacrifice a person’s bodily desires for the sake the God alone as well as to give charity. Therefore, self-purification during Ramadan fast is seen by Muslims as an affirmation of ethical awareness as well. The fifth pillar of Islam is called Hajj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca. It takes place during the first ten days of the twelfth month of the Islamic lunar year. As the author stated in the reading, “pilgrimage to Mecca is obligatory for every believer who is physically and financially able to make the journey and perform the prescribed rites” (Esposito, 84).
Unlike orthodox Muslims, Sufis engage in many dance, music, and prayer activities during worship to express their devotion and longing for Allah. Music unites all Sufis in a universal prayer. Dhikr is the remembrance of God and this idea is often the center of many prayers, singing, and dancing. These short phrases are recited to show devotion, obtain a feeling of peace, and develop faith (Hamilton, Sufism, 1.13). In the Sufi community, musicians, singers, chanters, poets, and followers all join together to participate in sama, the listening of a prayer or poetry sometimes accompanied by music (Ernst, 180). In sama, Sufis can experience spiritual ecstasy, wajd. To outsiders, the Rumi dance is a dance full of whirling but to Sufis, it is considered a prayer. Today, Sufi music has attracted many music lovers from different backgrounds (Sufi Soul).
Sufi Muslims also engage in brotherhoods in which every Sufi disciple has a Sufi spiritual master to help them out in their spiritual journey. Sufis believe that there is always a barrier between them and Allah, and that mediator is Muhammad. These Sufi master-disciple chains trace back to Muhammad who is the “ultimate source of Sufi wisdom and the definitive model for Sufis” (Brown, 198-199). To be included in this discipleship, a Sufi master must deem the person worthy to receive the instructions of the Sufi master (Hamilton, Sufism, 1.14).
Like Hinduism and Sikhism, hospitality plays a major role in how Sufi Muslims interact with others within their faith community and non-Sufis. Mainstream Islam and Sufi Islam both value charity and this is done through almsgiving and providing hospitality to the poor. During Moulid, everyone is offered food and break fast. Nahfa, a gift from the saint, is offered to people to receive baraka, a blessing from the same saint. The hospitality of Sufis is extended through Ramadan and Moulid. In Egypt, long tables are built to feed a hundred people. Besides Muhammad as a mediator, Sufis also believe in saints and celebrate Moulid. Sufi Muslims celebrate the saints’ deaths during Moulid. The celebration of death signifies the soul’s destination in being one with Allah (Hoffman, 478-480).
In Sikhism’s community, one of the striking components is agriculture. During the visiting of Khalsa Gurmat School, Mr. Harjinder Sandhu introduced Guru Nanak believes practice faith should take participate in the world. Thus, Nanak started farming when he was young. (Sikh gurudwara). Nowadays, Sikhs in California still devote themselves to farming. The reason why they like farming is because it makes their mind and body into pure fields. They prepare a qualified land to plant, put the seeds in the ground and watering them with Amrit. When they did all of that, the Guru will come to meet with them and the world would be grateful for them. By taking all of these blessings, both of this and next life will be amazing.
Sikhs regards Guru Nanak as the founder of their religion. The central of Sikhs religion is music. Nanak believes music is the best and simplest medicine to cure and benefit people. His mission is to teach and spread his spiritual music, therefore, he made most Sikhs faith and practice along with music. (Embree, 499).
The veneration of the Guru Granth Sahib is the center of worship for Sikhs. The holy scripture that is the Guru Granth Sahib is placed in every gurudwara in the central of the shrine room. The teachings of Guru Nanak and the other gurus that succeeded him are compiled in the Adi Granth, the original copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, and are the core of the Sikh scripture. In the gurudwara, or the “gateway to the guru,” the Sikh community come and worship and venerate the “living guru.” Both Sikhs and non-Sikhs are welcome to enter the gurudwara (Embree, 500).
During the time we visited Gurudwara Singh Sabha, we covered our hair and body by using bandana and scarf. Followed by some temple-goers, we bowed and prostrate to honor the Guru Granth Sahib, then we line up to take kara prasad as taking a blessing from a guru. At the end of worship, we went to the “free kitchen” to experience ‘langar’ in Sikhism’s tradition. Just like other religious traditions, Sikhism highly value charity and almsgiving. Langar is a way for Sikhs to express the four core Sikh principles: equality, hospitality, service, and charity. Gurudwara leaders purchase food from donation funds and share food with those people who come participate in langar (Desjardins) (Sikh gurudwara).
Hinduism, Islam, and Sikhism have two things in common: a ritual for worship within the religious community and a service based on hospitality and charity to the poor and/or non-religious. Hinduism, Islam mainstream, Sufism and Sikhism all have rituals to worship the sacred and the divine along with following their own customs that dictate their own morality and provide the truth and goals for humanity. Like all other religions, morality is heavily embedded through worship and way of life. In the different holy scriptures, all mentioned charity as obligation and duty of devotees. Studying these four South Asian religions not only told me their beliefs and practices but also the wonderful effect they have both on their own community and surrounding community as I have experienced during the site visits.