Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Jessica Ruby
In all times and places in our history,
What's our place in the world?
What happens to us after we die?"
Religions are systems of belief
that have developed and evolved over time
driven by the feeling that some questions
that there is something greater than ourselves,
a higher power we must answer to,
or some source we all spring from
Hinduism means the religions of India.
but rather a variety of related beliefs
that he became known as an avatar of Vishnu,
an incarnation of the god in human form.
He taught that all life follows karma,
and our job is to do our duty, or dharma,
according to our place in society
without worrying how things turn out.
When we die, we are reincarnated into a new body.
and did our proper duty in our past life,
which sends our soul upward in the social scale.
Our rebirth into the next life
is thus determined by what we do in this one.
The wheel of rebirths is called samsara.
It's possible for a very holy person
to lead a life with enough good karma
Hinduism teaches that everything is one.
one transcendent reality called Brahman,
and their roles, aspects, and forms differ
according to various traditions.
who sometimes takes on human form,
Durga is the fiercely protective divine mother.
and is the wise patron of success.
Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world.
And although most Hindus live in India,
they can be found on every continent,
to the fertile crescent about 4,000 years ago.
Judaism began with God calling
Abraham and Sarah to leave Mesopotamia
and migrate to the land of Canaan.
In return for their faith in the one true God,
in the polytheistic world of that time,
they would have land and many descendants.
From this promise came the land of Israel
and keeping those people together
was going to be very difficult.
The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt,
but God freed them with the help
who received the Ten Commandments
They conquered the Promised Land,
but could only keep it for a few hundred years.
the Romans destroyed the temple
So, the religion transformed itself
Because of this, Judaism is a faith
of symbolism, reverence, and deep meanings
tied to the literature of its history.
The many sacred scriptures make up
and hundreds of written discussions and interpretations
are contained in an expansive compendium
Jews find rich, symbolic meaning in daily life.
every item on the menu symbolizes
an aspect of the escape from slavery.
is emphasized when young people
reach the age of bar and bat mitzvah,
ceremonies during which they assume responsibility
into the faith, history, and texts
There are 14 million Jews in the world today,
following the horrors of genocide in World War II,
and 5 million in the United States.
But now let's go back 2500 years and return to India
with a young prince named Siddhartha.
On the night he was conceived,
is said to have been visited in her sleep
by a white elephant who entered her side.
Ten months later, Prince Siddartha was born
Venturing forth from his sheltered existence
he witnessed the human suffering
and immediately set out to investigate its sources.
Why must people endure suffering?
Must we reincarnate through hundreds of lives?
At first he thought the problem
was attachment to material things,
so he gave up his possessions.
which he discovered certainly made him no happier.
Then he overheard a music teacher telling a student,
"Don't tighten the string too much, it will break.
But don't let it go too slack,
that looking for answers at the extremes
The middle way between luxury and poverty
And while meditating under a bodhi tree,
the rest of the answer came to him.
All of life abounds with suffering.
It's caused by selfish craving
for one's own fulfillment at the expense of others.
can teach us to reduce that craving,
and thus reduce the suffering.
On that day, Siddhartha became the Buddha,
Not the only one, but the first one.
and though it is not easy to follow,
for millions to enlightenment,
which is what Buddhahood means,
From the time he got up from under that tree
to the moment of his death as an old man,
the Buddha taught people how to become enlightened:
a mind focused on what is real,
and a heart focused on loving others.
Many Buddhists believe in God or gods,
but actions are more important than beliefs.
There are nearly a billion Buddhists
mostly in East, Southeast, and South Asia.
2,000 years ago in Judaism's Promised Land,
Just as Hindus called Krishna "God in Human Form,"
Christians say the same thing about Jesus,
and Christianity grew out of Judaism
just as Buddhism grew out of Hinduism.
The angel Gabriel was sent by the God of Abraham
to ask a young woman named Mary
to become the mother of his son.
by Mary and her husband Joseph,
when he began his public career
Less interested in religiousness
Jesus healed the sick in order to draw crowds
and then taught them about his heavenly father --
affectionate, forgiving, and attentive.
Then, he would invite everyone to a common table
to illustrate his Kingdom of God,
outcasts, sinners, and saints all eating together.
before his unconventional wisdom
by which rabble-rousers were put to death,
But shortly after he was buried,
convinced that he had been raised from the dead.
The first Christians described
inspiring confidence that his message was true.
The message: love one another as I have loved you.
Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus
and his suffering, death, and resurrection
during Holy Week in the spring.
and welcoming into the Christian community,
when he left his life as a carpenter.
Christians eat the bread and drink the wine
blessed as the body and blood of Jesus,
recalling Jesus's last supper.
There are two billion Christians worldwide,
representing almost a third of the world's people.
He was visited by a divine messenger,
delivering to him the words of Allah,
and he memorized and taught them.
The verses he recited were full of wise sayings,
But Muhammad was a merchant, not a poet.
and these believers became the first Muslims.
The word Muslim means one who surrenders,
meaning a person who submits to the will of God.
A Muslim's five most important duties
Shahada, Muslims declare publicly,
there is no other God but Allah,
and Muhammad is his final prophet;
Salat, they pray five times a day facing Mecca;
Zakat, every Muslim is required
to give 2 or 3% of their net worth to the poor;
Sawm, they fast during daylight hours
for the lunar month of Ramadan
every Muslim who is able must make a pilgrimage
when they will stand before God
to be judged worthy or unworthy
revealed to the prophet over 23 years,
which literally translates into "the recitation."
Muslims believe it to be the only holy book
to be the finest work of literature
Islam is the world's second largest religion,
practiced by over one and a half billion Muslims around the globe.
Religion has been an aspect of culture
for as long as it has existed,
and there are countless variations of its practice.