Religious_Education_Book 2_Pilot

Religious Education Book 2



Introduction Religion helps us to be better people and to live harmoniously with everyone around us. In the 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 – Festivals Chapter 2 – Being Kind



Religious Education Book 2 Festivals Festivals are about celebrating something special and good that is a part of people’s lives and religion. Festivals are a time of giving. People give each other gifts to celebrate their love for one another. It is a time of togetherness. People gather in homes and churches, temples and mosques to pray together and to share meals. 1

Religious Education Book 2 It is a time of remembering, because people remind themselves of their traditions and beliefs. It is a time of joy, because all festivals are about good things. Such as how good wins over bad. And also about all the wonderful things people can do. 2

Religious Education Book 2 The Sri Lankan calendar is full of important events of different religions. Some of these are celebrations. Others are more solemn events. Thaipongal 3

Religious Education Book 2 This country is very lucky to be home to four main H religions. I N This means that throughout the year there are D U many different festivals and events to celebrate! One of the F first E S festivals in T the year is I the Hindu V A festival, L Maha S Shivarathri. It usually falls on February or March. This is the night that the God Shiva danced the Thandavam. This is the dance of the universe. It is a dance of both beginnings and endings. 4

Religious Education Book 2 Think of school. There is a time that school starts H and there is a time that it ends. Every morning I you wake up and in the night when you are N sleepy, you go to bed. D U Life is full of beginnings and endings and Maha F Shivarathri is about that. So Hindus celebrate this E night where darkness and ignorance ended. S T In the morning of Shivarathri people bathe, apply I vibhuthi (holy ash) on their forehead and V sometimes fast. Hindus chant ‘om namah shivaya’ A and they meditate. In the evening they have a L puja at the temple and they bathe the S shivalingham with milk. The most important ritual is that Devotees stay awake the whole night and continue praying to Lord Shiva. 5

Religious Education Book 2 Another important Hindu festival is Deepavali, H I the Hindu N festival of D lights. U On this day F Hindus E celebrate the S victory of T Krishna, over I the Ashura V King A Narakasura L who caused S trouble to many people. Krishna (who is one of the reincarnations of Lord Vishnu) defeated Narakasura and freed the people. 6

Religious Education Book 2 People are happy that on this day good won over H evil. So Hindus decorate their homes with clay I lamps and even light up the streets. They also N wear new clothes and give each other sweets. D U Deepavali is also a festival where Hindus worship the Goddess Laxmi as she brings good fortune. F E S T I V A L S 7

Religious Education Book 2 Hindus celebrate Deepavali in the months of H October or November. But a few days before that I they have another very important festival which N is Navaratri. Navarathri means nine nights as the D U festival is celebrated over nine days.  The first 3 days are dedicated to the Goddess F Durga who is worshipped for her courage and E righteousness. S T  The next 3 days are I for the Goddess V Laxmi who is the A goddess of wealth L S and prosperity.  The last 3 days, which are popularly known as ‘Saraswathi Pooja’, are in honour of the Goddess Saraswathi, the goddess of knowledge and wisdom. 8

Religious Education Book 2 Did you know? Saraswathi Pooja is celebrated H in a large scale in schools to I In many parts of invoke blessings on students. N India, Saraswathi Puja D is celebrated as ‘Vasant During Navarathri a colourful U Panchami’. decoration of idols called ‘Golu’ This event indicates is set up in all houses and nine F the coming of spring. In different cereals are grown for E some homes small S children write letters T for the first time on I this day. V A prosperity. Everyday prayers for the respective L S Goddesses are chanted in houses and temples. 9

Religious Education Book 2 How can you join?  For Deepawali you could light lamps  Help draw a pretty kolum  If there is a Saraswathi Puja in school you could attend it with your parents  and even join in items organised by your classmates.  10

Religious Education Book 2 During the middle part of the year, in the months B of May and June, there are two important U festivals on the Sri Lankan calendar. D D These are the Buddhist festivals Vesak and Poson. H Vesak is celebrated on the day of the full moon in I May. S T This is the day that 3 very important things happened. F E S T I V A L S 11

Religious Education Book 2  Prince Siddhartha was born in Lumbini on B that day. His mother Maha Maya gave birth U to him holding a branch of a Sal tree. When D the prince was born, it is told, he took seven D steps. And for each step a lotus bloomed. H I  It was also on such a day that he became the S T Buddha under the shade of a Bo tree.  Finally, at the age of 80 he attained F Parinirvana on a Vesak poya day in the city E of Kusinara. S T Therefore, for Buddhists Vesak is a special time. I V Buddhists make lanterns and decorate their A homes. They go to the temple. L S Some Buddhists observe Sil. During Sil, they try to behave like the monks do. Those observing Sil don’t speak of bad things, think good thoughts and act in a calm manner. 12

Religious Education Book 2 In the evening Buddhists go around with family B and friends to see the lanterns and pandols that U are put up everywhere. D D Vesak H lanterns I S are often T not taken down till F Poson, E which is S the day of T the full I moon in V June. A L S 13

Religious Education Book 2 Poson is celebrated in remembrance that Arahat B Mahinda thero brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka. U D The year was 306 D BC. The king of Sri H I Lanka at the time, S King T Devanampiyatissa was hunting deer. F E He suddenly heard S a voice calling him T by name. He looked I around and saw a V group of monks. A The leading monk L S of the group was Arahat Mahinda who had been sent to Sri Lanka by the Indian Emperor Asoka. Arahat Mahinda taught the king about Buddhism and that was the day Buddhism began in Sri Lanka. 14

Religious Education Book 2 For Poson poya too, Buddhists go to the temple. B But a special feature is that they sing devotional U songs in schools and in many other places. These D D are called bhakthi gee. H I Buddhists also organise dan sal during this time. S People build temporary sheds on the roadside and T give food or something to drink to passersby. This happens during Vesak too, but much more during F Poson. Buddhists do this because giving to others E is an act that brings a lot of merit. S T I V A L S 15

Religious Education Book 2 How can you join?  For Vesak you could help make lanterns  For Poson you could join in singing bhakthi Gee  If you like, you could go out in the evening and eat or drink something from a Dan Sala  16

Religious Education Book 2 Islamic festivals take place according to the I Islamic calendar. S L This calendar is about 11 days shorter than the A regular calendar. M I So because of this Islamic festivals fall at a C different time each year. In the 3rd month of the Islamic calendar Muslims F celebrate the birthday of Prophet Mohammed E (pbuh). S T Muslims celebrate Milad Un-Nabi (Prophet I Mohammed’s Birthday) for 12 days. It begins V with raising a flag at the mosque and in the A evenings there are special recitals and prayers. L S The mosque is decorated with bright lights. Muslims are told the story of the Prophet’s (pbuh) life. This is also a time to reflect on all the good things that the Prophet (pbuh) taught people. 17

Religious Education Book 2 After Isha (evening I prayer) is over S Muslims have a L feast that is shared A with friends and M family. I C the Dewatagaha Mosque is is often lit up duringMilad Un-Nabi F E The 9th month of the Islamic calendar is called S Ramadan. This is the time that Muslims T commemorate the first revelation of the Prophet I Mohammed (pbuh). This is the event where the V archangel Jibril (Gabriel) revealed to the Prophet A (pbuh) the beginning of the Quran. L S 18

Religious Education Book 2 Ramadan is a month of fasting. I S Every morning Muslims wake up very early. They L have a meal called Suhur. Then Muslims pray and A M begin their fast which lasts from sunrise to sunset. I In the evening they end the fast with a prayer C and then have a meal which is called Iftar. People often have kanji (porridge) during this meal. F E Ramadan is a time for charity. It is a time to do S good things and to give to others. During Ramdan T Muslims try very hard I to think good thoughts V and become closer to A Allah. L S Ramadan ends after the new crescent moon is seen. On the day of the festival Muslims wear new clothes, bless one another and share their happiness. 19

Religious Education Book 2 Another important festival for Muslims is Eid-al- I Adha or the Hajj festival. This means ‘Feast of the S Sacrifice’. L A M Hajj is a pilgrimage to the Kaaba (House of Allah) I in Mecca. If Muslims are able to, they should all go C on this pilgrimage once in their lives. Even F though E everyone S doesn’t T go to I Mecca V A L S for Hajj, all Muslims celebrate this festival. During this festival Muslims pray and visit the Mosque to listen to sermons. They dress up in new clothes and visit relatives and friends. They also help families in their community so that everyone can celebrate Hajj. 20

Religious Education Book 2 How can you join?  If you are invited to Ifthar at a Muslim friend’s house, you can join them  Remember to wish your Muslim friends a very Happy Eid on Ramadan. “Eid Mubharak” is the term to use  You can join in the Islamic celebrations in your school. Y  21

Religious Education Book 2 C Christmas falls on the 25th of December, right H towards the end of the festival calendar. R Christmas is a time of bright lights, lots of S shopping and tasty things to eat. But the story of T I Christmas is very different. A N Christmas is when Christians celebrate the birth F of their Saviour, Jesus Christ who was the son of E S T I V A L S God. On that first Christmas, Joseph and Mary (Jesus’ parents) were travelling because they had to register their names in their hometown. In the night, they arrived in Bethlehem. They couldn’t find a place to stay. 22

Religious Education Book 2 So they had to stay in a cattle-shed and the baby C H Jesus was born in a simple manger. R S But this was such a special birth Did you know? T that the occasion was signaled by I a bright star in the sky. Wise Many well-known A men from different parts of the N world followed the star and Christmas Carols are came to offer gifts to the new F born baby. In other parts of about these events, for E Bethlehem, where shepherds S example, “We Three T I Kings” and “Away in a V A Manger”; while other L S carols celebrate the spirit of Christmas which is one of peace and goodwill to everyone on this Earth. were grazing their sheep, angels appeared to give them the good news. This made everyone very happy. The real meaning of Christmas is the happiness Christians feel at the birth of Jesus. People give each other gifts to remember that Jesus was God’s gift to the world. Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ message of peace and love. 23

Religious Education Book 2 For C Christmas, H Christians R go to S church for T the service I and they A also sing N Christmas carols. Christians decorate their homes and very F often they have a Christmas tree at home. People E make it a point to spend time with family, visit S relatives, help those in need and share the T meaning of Christmas with others. I V Two significant events in the Christian calendar A fall in April. Both these days are part of the Holy L Week where Christians remember special events S in Jesus’ life. The week begins on Palm Sunday and ends in Easter. 24

Religious Education Book 2 The Friday of that week is called Good Friday and C H it is a very important day for Christians. It isn’t a R S festival. It is a T I very serious A N and F meaningful E S day for them. T I Because this is V A the day Jesus L S gave up His life for people by dying on a cross to overcome their sins. Jesus did this willingly because He wanted to make up for all the wrong things people do. 25

Religious Education Book 2 So on this day Christians go to church and C remind themselves of the great sacrifice He H made for humanity. Even though it is a sad day, R it is called Good Friday. Because Jesus had to die S to make others good. T I A N The Sunday after Good Friday is called Easter F Sunday. This is the day that Jesus rose from His E tomb S so T that I good V could A rise L again. S 26

Religious Education Book 2 This makes it the most joyful day for Christians. Some churches have an Easter Vigil. This service is held in the night and at the start the church is dark. Like it must have been in the tomb. Then one candle is lit and everyone lights their own candle from this. After a little time the church is filled with light. This is a symbol of the resurrection. It is a reminder that goodness and light returned to the world at Easter. 27

Religious Education Book 2 How can you join?  Make a Christmas Tree  Perhaps make Christmas decorations for the classroom  You could even make Christmas decorations and gift them to your Christian friends so that they can hang them on their tree at home.  Send Christmas cards to your Christian friends  If there is a carol service in school, you could always go for it with your parents  You could even join in the singing with your classmates   28

Religious Education Book 2 Being Kind Here are some situations that you come across all the time. What can you do in each situation? Fill in the blanks using the words in the box. If a friend is carrying something heavy, you can ___________ them carry it. If someone is hurt, you can put a _____________. If you have two sweets, you can __________ one with a friend. 29

Religious Education Book 2 If someone drops something, you can help them __________ ____ _____. If a friend is sad, you can ____________________ them. If an elderly person needs help walking, you can ______________ them. Band-Aid assist share comfort help pick it up 30

Religious Education Book 2 All these are examples of being kind. Every religion teaches that kindness is the best way to treat others. People need to be thoughtful, People need to be kind. Everyone needs to help others whenever they can. I Muslims know that the Prophet Mohammed s (pbuh) said that kindness added to anything l makes it beautiful and when kindness isn’t there, a m there is always a feeling that something is missing. Isn’t this true? Close your eyes and think of the kindest person you know. It could be a friend, a parent, a teacher or just anybody. Doesn’t the picture of their face make you smile? Don’t they look beautiful to you? 31

Religious Education Book 2 If you like, you can draw that person here. 32

Religious Education Book 2 The Prophet (pbuh) spoke about kindness often. One such story speaks of how a man became very thirsty while he was going on a journey. Suddenly, he found a well and climbed down into it and drank water. When he came back out he saw a dog there. It was very thirsty and so was licking the dry ground. The man thought, ‘this animal is suffering just as I was.” So he climbed back inside the well; filled his shoe with water and held the shoe in his mouth so that he could come back out. He then gave the water to the dog. Allah was pleased with this 33

Religious Education Book 2 action and blessed the man. The Prophet (pbuh) explained that even kindness towards animals is rewarded. Muslims know then that Allah blesses people for their kindness and charity to others. In fact, The Opening of the Quran (Surah Al Fatiah) begins with the words, “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful’ showing that this is one of the highest qualities of Allah that Muslims must all try to follow. Kindness, then, is truly a divine quality. B Four such high qualities in Buddhisim are u called the sathara bhrama viharana - the d d four highest virtues. These are metta, h karuna, muditha and upeka and are very i important to Buddhists. s m 34

Religious Education Book 2 Karuna is the quality of kindness. It Did you know? is one person’s ability to feel another person’s pain and to help The term Bhrama them. Viharana means Buddhists often speak of a special practice of the Buddha – that highest or divine every morning he would look across dwellings. Isn’t it interesting that these four important qualities take their name from the Creator God Bhraman of the Hindu tradition? the world with his eyes brimming with kindness and see whom he could help on that day. Once, there was a monk(named Puthigatta Tissa) in the temple the Buddha was residing in who had become very ill. His whole body was covered with sores and his robes were stuck to his body because of the pus. The other monks couldn’t even look at him and had stopped looking after him. The Buddha saw this monk. He felt no disgust; only pity and kindness. He bathed the monk himself and dressed him in clean robes. 35

Religious Education Book 2 The Buddha then preached to him and the monk became an arahat and attained nirvana. Looking after the sick was greatly valued by the Buddha. He once said that to treat the sick was to serve the Buddha himself (yo mam upatthaheyya so gitaanam upatthaheyya). This was how much he valued kindness. 36

Religious Education Book 2 This story shows that the Buddha showed kindness even to those whom others couldn’t bear to help. Sometimes people think that others won’t help them because they are different. But that is not true. Kindness is universal. C Christians often narrate the following story that h Jesus once told as an example of kindness (Luke r 10: 25-37). i s Once a Jewish traveller was attacked by robbers. t They took everything from him, beat him badly i a n i t y 37

Religious Education Book 2 and left him injured by the roadside. Others passed him but didn’t stop to help. Finally a Samaritan (a person from Samaria) came by. In those days the Jewish people and the Samarians were not friends. But still the Samarian was kind to the injured traveller. He took care of the sores and then lifted the traveller onto his own donkey and took him to an inn where he could stay. He even paid the innkeeper and promised that when he came this way again he would pay more if necessary! Isn’t this a wonderful example of kindness? From this story it is understood that a person’s true friends are those who help him or her regardless of where they come from or what community they belong to. Jesus was the very example of kindness. He showed it to everyone he met. 38

Religious Education Book 2 The Bible tells people to be kind and compassionate to one another and to forgive each other just as God forgives them. (Ephesians 4:32) All religious traditions teach that kindness has no limits. It doesn’t always have to be about helping those who are sick, or hurt or in great difficulty. Kindness can even be about answering the prayers of a child! A well-known Hindu story is about a boy called H Upamanyu who lived a long, long time ago in i India. His parents were very poor. Instead of milk n his mother gave him water mixed with a little d flour to drink. u i Once he visited his uncle’s house and tasted milk s there. m When he came back he troubled his mother to give him milk. His mother told him that they couldn’t 39

Religious Education Book 2 afford it but that he should pray sincerely to Lord Shiva for help. Upamanyu followed his mother’s advice and prayed. Lord Shiva heard this child’s prayer and was touched. He showed the boy kindness by coming to the boy himself and granting him not just a glass of milk but the whole Ocean of Milk itself! Later in life Upamanyu became a great rishi who helped others to lead good lives. The Bhagavad Gita says that when a person responds to the joys and sorrows of others as if they were his own, he has reached the highest place spiritually (Gita 6:32). 40

Religious Education Book 2 From these examples, you see that kindness is a quality that spreads happiness far beyond the simple thing a person does. It makes everyone happy and helps all people to live together in peace and happiness and harmony. In the space given below, write about one act of kindness that someone did for you, or you did for someone recently. 41

Religious Education Book 2 Image credits https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Figure1-Treating-and-caring-a- sick-monk-by-Buddha_fig1_291274315 https://www.shivgyaancharcha.com/2020/06/shivaji-gave-this-sea-of- milk-curd-to.html 42