Kabbala
Kabbala may be viewed in three ways: 1) a key for interpreting the Torah; 2) the essence of the Hebrew Bible; 3) and a system of religious mysticism in Judaism providing insight into the divine. Kabbala refers to the doctrines about God, the creation of the universe, the law of nature, as well as the path to discovering these doctrines. Originally, Kabbala refers to the full body of publicly known Jewish teachings that evolved to become Jewish oral law. In recent usage, the word refers to the reasons for understanding the commandments enshrined in the Torah and the unfolding of events contained in the Hebrew Bible. At present Kabbala integrates Jewish oral law and spirituality.
Despite the different ways of viewing Kabbala, its necessary ties to the Torah, as its context, is absolute. Kabbala represents the Torah’s expression of the way the world works. Relative to science and philosophy, where philosophy is a system of scientific beliefs, Kabbala is the system of beliefs associated with the Torah. Similar to science, the Torah provides people with perceivable facts using the senses and reason and similar to philosophy it provides a comprehensive abstract picture based on facts.
Kabbala is important because it provides a process for discovering meaning in the Torah and understanding the various commandments. It is also important as a system governing way of life consistent with the commandments and teachings derived from the Torah. It is a guide to spirituality because it serves as an important link of an individual with the divine that traverses all spheres of a person’s life from perceptions, actions and interactions.
Dhikr
Dhikr is an Arabic term translated in English as invocation, pronouncement or remembrance. Dhikr is the remembrance of God as enshrined in the Qur’an. Engaging in Dhikr is having awareness of God. This is a devotional act engaged into by Muslims, which involves the repetition of words and phrases such as the name of God, invocations or supplications and certain aphorisms from the Qur’an and hadith literature. Repeated phrases are subhanu llah translated as ‘Oh God Almighty’; al-hamdu li-llah translated as ‘praise be to God” laa ilaha illa llah translated as ‘there is no god but God’; Allah or God; allahu akbar translated as ‘God is greater’; and astaghfiru llah translated as ‘I ask for God’s forgiveness’. Dhikr involves musical recitations or spiritual songs different from ordinary songs. Dhikr represents the manner by which Muslims remember or become aware of God.
Dhikr is an important aspect of religious mysticism of Muslims because it is through engagement in this devotional activity that they experience the presence of God. Dhikr takes the form of a religious praise or devotion because it is a manner of glorifying God. It also takes the form of communicating with God to give praise or ask for forgiveness. Dhikr also serves as a path to being in the presence of God. The activity is done individually or as a group. Dhikr is a manner of expressing spirituality by individuals and as a manner of affirming one’s faith to God and to fellow Muslims when done in a group. This practice is an integral part of Muslim religious mysticism.
Mandala
Generally, mandala refers to a chart, plan or geometric pattern signifying the cosmos or a smaller representation of the universe from the human perspective.
In Buddhism, a mandala is used in meditation particularly the center of the circle as a focal point, which explains why mandala circles are crafted in geometric shapes that divert the attention of the eyes towards the center. Mandalas are representations of the landscape embodying Buddha or an enlightened visualization of Buddha. Mandalas are symbols of impermanence, which is a basic teaching in Buddhism. The purpose of the mandalas is the attainment of enlightenment and achievement of an accurate view of reality that when translated to action puts an end to human suffering. Meditations using mandalas is a way of discovering divinity that exist within one’s self.
In Hinduism, a mandala represents the human view of the universe. Although mandalas are circular, the patterns depicted around the circle shows Hindu cosmology with the surface of the earth as square representing the four corners of the earth correlated to the sunrise and sunset and the north and south. The mandalas also show the relations of the different planets and heavenly bodies and the presence of supernatural forces.
Mandalas are important as symbols of the worldview of Buddhists and Hindus. However, these are not mere symbols because these are integral to the meditation process in Buddhism in achieving enlightenment and essential to Hinduism as guides in finding their relation to the universe.
Ganesh
Ganesh is a Sanskrit word translated in English as ‘lord of the hosts’. Ganesh is a well-known and revered representation of god. He is the first-born son of the gods Shiva and Parvati. The first syllable of his name ‘ga’ means intellect and the second syllable ‘na’ means wisdom. Ganesh is considered as the epitome of intellect and wisdom. His physical depiction is a pot-bellied yellow or red god with four arms and the head of an elephant with only one tusk. Like every representation of god in Hinduism, the Ganesh archetype is accorded with various meanings and symbolism about a state of perfection and the different ways of achieving perfection. Ganesh represents cosmic balance, between different schisms such as male and female, force and kindness, power and beauty. He also represents the ability to discern or distinguish between truth and illusion or the real and unreal. Ganesh represents the attainment of balance and order in one’s life through the achievement of divinity within one’s self.
Ganesh is important not only as a spiritual icon but also as a guide to the day-to-day activities of people. He is the lord of good fortune so that people invoke his grace in every undertaking. His physical manifestation indicates the different values serving as guide to people seeking balance and order. The elephant head pertains to intelligence, fidelity and discriminative power, the single task with the ability to overcome dualism, wide ears denotes wisdom, curved trunk means intellectual potential, pot-belly means infinite universes, position of legs refers to the existence in both material and spiritual world, and four arms refers to the intellect, mind, ego and a conditioned conscience.
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