Religious_Education_Book 5_Pilot (1)

Religious Education Book 5



Introduction Religion helps us to be better people and to live harmoniously with everyone around us. In this multicultural, multi-religious, ever-changing world that we live in, it is important for all of us to learn about the many faiths that make society so rich and varied. This pilot is an initiative by Gateway College to help young learners understand the principles and practices of some of the major faiths of Sri Lanka and the world. Books in this series Religious Education – Book 1 Religious Education – Book 2 Religious Education – Book 3 Religious Education – Book 4 Religious Education – Book 5



Contents Chapter 1 – Loss and Comfort Chapter 2 – The Best Value



Religious Education Book 5 Loss and Comfort Divya was feeling very sad. Her kitten had not been feeling well for days now. And she had heard her mother tell her father that she didn’t think kitty would last the night. Divya knew what that meant. It meant that kitty would go away and never come back. She went outside and sat on the doorstep and cried and cried. Her grandfather saw Divya and came and sat next to her. “Why are you crying?” he asked her. “Because kitty is going to die!” Her grandfather said nothing. He just sighed and gently held Divya while she cried. He knew that in a while she would have questions to ask. Sure enough, eventually Divya wanted to talk. “What will we do with Kitty when she dies?” “Well, we can bury her in the garden, right next to your favourite tree.” 1

Religious Education Book 5 “Okay… But I don’t want her to go away forever and ever” “I know. But everyone has to go sometime.” “Everyone? And what do we do then?” Divya’s grandfather looked at her for a long time. “Well, that depends on what faith we follow.” Divya felt a little confused. Her grandfather smiled. “Come,” he said, “let’s go for a walk.” ….. 2

Religious Education Book 5 Eventually, Divya and her grandfather came to a place with a big gate and looked inside. It was mostly an open place, with trees everywhere and tombstones and other structures. There were people there too, grouped in different places. Some were near a burial, others near a cremation. Yet others had come to visit a grave of someone who had gone away a long time ago. Many wore white or black, but not everyone. Some had their heads covered and some hadn’t. Divya asked her grandfather about the different customs she saw, and he did his best to answer all her questions. Then it was his turn to ask her a question. “We have seen a lot today, and many groups of people.” “Can you tell me one thing that was the same?” Something similar? Thought Divya. But she had seen so many different customs! So she looked around again and thought a little. And being wise, as only a little child can be she said, “Everyone is sad. But some are very sad, and everyone else speaks to them or hugs them.” 3

Religious Education Book 5 “Yes,” said her grandfather, “to lose someone is very sad, and it is important to give comfort. All our traditions have many meaningful rituals that help us when we are sad. These give our friends and family opportunities to gather together so we can comfort each other.” Let’s look at some of these rituals and customs at times of loss from the four traditions. H In a Hindu family, when someone passes away the i funeral takes place within a day or two of the person n passing away. d The body is brought home and funeral rituals are done u there. Hindus don’t have a particular colour that is i s worn at funerals, but a tradition they follow is that m the body is dressed in grand clothing. After the cremation everyone comes back to the house. It is a custom to wash their feet near the gate, then bathe and afterwards to share a meal that is brought by family and friends. The ash from the cremation is collected and on a specific day as told by the priest, 4

Religious Education Book 5 Hindus hold an alms giving and the ash is immersed in the sea or a sacred body of water. But even before this, after the funeral, family and friends gather around the grieving family about a week after someone has passed away (the exact day can vary). On this day too, Hindus have an alms giving in the home. They keep a photo of the loved one who left them, and perform a puja in remembrance. On this day the family often serve the kinds of food that the person who passed away liked to eat. It is hard to forget a loved one and it is important to remember them and to wish them peace. Therefore, after one year, family and friends go to the Kovil to perform a puja and the benefits of such instances are twofold. Firstly, it is an opportunity to pray for the peace of the one who went away; secondly it is an opportunity to support those who were left behind. 5

Religious Education Book 5 Muslims too consider a funeral a community gathering, I because it is in times of sadness that people need each s other the most. Everyone who attends a funeral l participates in group prayers and family and friends a pray that Allah will have mercy on not only the person m who passed away but also on all Muslims who have left this life. On hearing about someone passing away, Muslims say, \"Inna Lillahi Wa inna ilaihi Raje'oon,” which means, \"Verily we belong to Allah, and verily to Him do we return.\" Something that is very important for Muslims is preparing the dead for burial. This consists of the following rituals: bathing the body by members of the family, wrapping the body with a shroud, praying for the person who passed away and burying the body. 6

Religious Education Book 5 Islamic funerals are held within a day of the passing, and Muslims too have no particular colour that they wear for a funeral. Muslims are always conscious that they should face difficult times with patience and support each other through both actions and prayer and do so during times of loss. 7

Religious Education Book 5 In a Christian family when someone passes they have a C funeral service at the house before the body is taken h away for burial. Those who come to pay their respects r often wear black or white though this is not a i necessity. s t A priest usually leads this service and at the burial site i too there is a service. At that time Christians pray for a the person who is not with them anymore and they n sing hymns as well that help them to come to terms i with loss. t y One way in which Christians remember a loved one and offer comfort to those who are grieving is through a memorial service. When such a service is held is something each family decides. A memorial service is held in church and this is an occasion where those close to the person, who has passed away, speak about that person. There is also a sermon at these services and hymns are sung. 8

Religious Education Book 5 In many Christian families it is a tradition to visit the grave on the anniversary of a death and on All Souls Day as well. Sometimes the family keeps flowers there and light candles to remember and bless the person who is gone. The prayers that Christians say is something that helps them to overcome loss. 9

Religious Education Book 5 B A phrase Buddhists often think of at a funeral is u “Aniccā vata saṅkhārā”. This means that everything is d impermanent and even as Buddhists gather around d the family who is grieving they all take comfort from h knowing that this is the nature of life. i It is customary to wear white when going to a s m Buddhist funeral. On the last day, before the body is taken away for cremation, monks will visit the funeral and perform a short ceremony followed by a brief sermon and chant gathas that reflect on the nature of life. At this time all gathered transfer merit to the person who has passed away. 10

Religious Education Book 5 Within a week after the funeral Buddhists often invite a monk to the home to deliver a sermon for family and friends. Usually there is also an alms giving on the next day. The sermon and the alms giving are opportunities for relations and friends to gather and offer comfort as well as to perform acts of merit on behalf of the person who has passed away. Such a sermon and an alms giving is usually held again in three months after the funeral and then annually afterwards. 11

Religious Education Book 5 In this lesson you have learnt about some of the customs connected with losing a loved one. When anyone loses someone close to them it is a very sad and difficult thing to deal with. Can you think of appropriate things you can say to or do for someone who is in grief so that you can offer them comfort? K Y Y Y Sf  12

Religious Education Book 5 The Best Value Yesterday, Sara had a fight in school and came home crying. Her mother asked what had happened….. “Rahil was angry with me,” “Why?” “I wanted the teddy bear and he wouldn’t give it to me. So I took it and then he got mad and shouted.” Mother sat down and took Sara into her lap. “Sara, I know the toys are for everyone in the class. But you can’t just take something. How would you like it if you had the bear first and Rahil just came and took it away?” “I would be mad too?” said Sara slowly. 13

Religious Education Book 5 “Yes! We all like to be treated nicely. So we have to do the same to others too. Tomorrow, if you want to play with the bear, why don’t you offer to share one of your toys with your friend first and see?” Sara was smart enough to listen to her mom, and the next day tried sharing her toy since that’s what she wanted Rahil to do too. Everyone likes to be treated well and to be happy. No one likes to be hurt. We hate it if anyone shouts at us or says mean things. We don’t like anyone else to take our things, or to lie to us or laugh at us. 14

Religious Education Book 5 If we don’t like it, then others won’t like it to. So if you really think about it, it makes sense to treat people the way you yourself want to be treated. C It is said many times in the Bible that it is the right h thing to do. r On one occasion, Jesus spoke to his disciples and to a i s large group of people who had come from many far off t places to hear him. i Jesus told them of many things that they should do a and things they shouldn’t do. And he said again and n i again to be good to people. He said that a person t should always bless other people even if they don’t do y the same. 15

Religious Education Book 5 Jesus also showed that although to treat everyone well may sometimes be hard, it is also the right thing to do. Treating others as one would like to be treated is so important to Christians that this is like the second commandment. What this means is that Christians should first love God with all their heart and soul, 16

Religious Education Book 5 and that secondly Christians should love their neighbour as they love themselves. Why is that? Because firstly, if people love God, then they try hard to live by His words and do good things. And then, if people care about others and treat others like themselves, they would never harm another person and would treat all people well. 17

Religious Education Book 5 B Living in harmony with others is very important. u Once, in the monastery of Jethavana, seventeen d young monks were cleaning an area for them to stay d in. h i While they were cleaning, six other older monks s arrived. It was a nice area and the older monks m wanted the place for themselves. This didn’t seem fair to the seventeen young monks because they had been there first so they didn’t want to give up the place. The older monks became so angry that they raised their fists and threatened the group of seventeen. Then the Buddha, who had come to know of this argument, intervened. He explained to all the monks that it is wrong to fight and to hurt others. 18

Religious Education Book 5 The well-known lines ‘ attanam uppamam kathwa, na haneyya na ghathaye’ were spoken by the Buddha at that time. Buddhists try to shape their lives by these words. It means ‘take yourself as your example and don’t hurt others’. This story shows that being good to others and respecting them is the same whether a person is young or old. It doesn’t matter whether the people one meets are young or old, rich or poor, a man or a woman. 19

Religious Education Book 5 Everyone is a person. So everyone deserves respect and should be treated the way you want to be treated. I In the Islamic tradition, one important way that s Muslims understand the world and how they should l act is through the hadiths. Hadiths are stories from the a time of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) that help m people understand their obligations. One such hadith speaks of how a Bedouin (a person who travels around and lives in the desert) came up to 20

Religious Education Book 5 the Prophet (pbuh) because he wanted to know how he could reach Jannah (heaven). The man was so anxious to know the answer that he grabbed the stirrup of the camel that the Prophet was on and asked, “O’ messenger of God! Please teach me something that will take me to heaven.’ To this the Prophet (pbuh) replied, “Things that you like others to do for you, do for them. And if you dislike certain things to be done to you, then don’t do those things to other as well.” He then asked the Bedouin to let go of the stirrup because that advice was enough and the Prophet could go on his way. Therefore, it is important then for Muslims to remember that treating others as they would like to be treated is a way to receive many blessings. It would even help Muslims to go to heaven. To be safe and well not only in this world but in the next is something everyone wants. 21

Religious Education Book 5 H In the Hindu epic, the Mahabharatha, Yudhishthira, i the eldest brother of the pandavas went to the n deathbed of Bhishma in order to pay his respects and d ask for advice. u i Bhishma was a great warrior, and a person of great s bravery and majesty. He was also Pitamah (similar to m a grandfather or family elder) to the whole family, and was considered an example and guide to others. One of the things that Yudhishthira learned was the value of treating others as one would like to be treated. 22

Religious Education Book 5 The sage Vrihaspati who was present there explained this in detail. He said that those who are selfish and hurts others, never become happy in the next world. Happiness is something people get when they think of everyone as they would about themselves and make sure that they don’t harm others in anyway. For Hindus, this is considered a dharma that they should follow. If people make sure others are well and happy, then automatically they will be happy themselves. 23

Religious Education Book 5 Let’s think about this a bit and circle one answer If you don’t like to be teased or bullied, would your classmate like it? Yes or No If you want others to share their food with you, wouldn’t your younger sister or brother like it too if you shared with them? Yes or No If you like it when your mother or father helps you with some work you find difficult, don’t you think they would like it of you helped them to collect the leaves in the garden or hangout clothes to dry? Yes or No If you get annoyed when someone plays loud music when you are trying to sleep, don’t you think your neighbor feels the same? Yes or No 24

Religious Education Book 5 All of us- you, your classmates, your teachers, your family, your neighbours… everyone you meet on the way to school… everyone likes to be treated well. And it is our duty no matter what faith we follow to treat others like we would like to be treated ourselves. 25

Religious Education Book 5 Image credits https://medium.com/@iamaarohipatel/why-asthi-visarjan-is- important-spiritual-process-after-death-27c2838db9cd https://www.wikihow.com/Have-an-Islamic-Funeral https://thatswhatshehad.com/sri-lankan-traditions-dana-pirit/ 26