“Windows To Spirituality”
Folk Religion In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized religion. The precise definition of folk religion varies among scholars. Sometimes also termed popular belief, it consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of...
Occult The occult (from the Latin word occultus “clandestine, hidden, secret”) is “knowledge of the hidden” or “knowledge of the paranormal”, as opposed to facts and “knowledge of the measurable”, usually referred to as science. The term is sometimes taken to mean knowledge that “is meant only for certain people” or that “must be kept...
Day Of Arafah The Day of Arafah (يوم عرفة, Yawm Arafah) is an Islamic holiday that falls on the 9th day of Dhu al-Hijjah of the lunar Islamic Calendar. It is the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage and the day after is the first day of the major Islamic holiday of Eid...
Stoning Of The Devil The Stoning of the Devil (رمي الجمرات ramy al-jamarāt, “throwing of the jamarāt [place of pebbles]”) is part of the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. During the ritual, Muslim pilgrims throw pebbles at three walls (formerly pillars), called jamarāt, in the city of Mina just east of Mecca. It...
History Of The Hajj The History of the Hajj is not clear as there is no evidence of its existence in its current practice until the start of islam in the mid 7th century. Islamic writers claim it started from the time of Abraham through the establishment of the Islamic Hajj by Islamic...
Mount Arafat Mount Arafat or Mount Arafah (جَبَل عَرَفَات transliterated Jabal ʿArafāt) is a granite hill about 20 km (12 mi) east of central Mecca in the plain of Arafat. Mount Arafat reaches about 70 m (230 ft) in height, and is also known as the “Mount of Mercy” (جَبَل ٱلرَّحْمَة, Jabal Ar-Raḥmah). According to Islamic tradition, the hill is the place...
What Is Shinto Music? Shinto music is the ceremonial and festive music of Shinto (神道), the native religion of Japan. Its origin myth is the erotic dance of Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto which lured Amaterasu from her cave. Kagura Kagura (神楽) or ‘entertainment of the gods’ includes music, dance and poetry and comprises mi-kagura of the court, o-kagura of major shrines such as Ise Jingū, and village sato-kagura....
Buddhist Music Buddhist music is music created for or inspired by Buddhism and part of Buddhist art. The teachings or Dharma of the Buddha mention music on many occasions. It is written in an important Buddhist text the Amitabha Sutra, that heavenly singing and chanting is heard all day and night in the world around...
What Is Wicca? Wicca, also termed Pagan Witchcraft, is a Contemporary Pagan new religious movement. Gardnarian Wicca was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. Since the last of the Witchcraft...
Black Magic Black magic has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes. With respect to the left-hand path and right-hand path dichotomy, black magic is the malicious, left-hand counterpart of the benevolent white magic. In modern times, some find that the definition of “black...
Rastafari The Rastafari movement (or “Rasta” for short) is a Jamaican religion that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former emperor of Ethiopia, as “Jah” (the Rasta name for God incarnate – a shortened form of Jehovah). The term Rastafari derives from “Ras (Duke or Chief) Tafari Makonnen,” the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie I, who, in the Rastafari view,...
What Is Tantra? Tantra (तन्त्र, literally “loom, weave, system”) denotes the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that co-developed most likely about the middle of the 1st millennium AD. The term tantra, in the Indian religions, also means any systematic broadly applicable “text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice”....
What Is Sikh Music? Sikh music or Shabad kirtan is Kirtan-style singing of hymns or Shabad from the Guru Granth Sahib, the central text of Sikhism. It began in the late 16th century as the musical expression of mystical poetry, accompanied by a musical instrument rabab, by Bhai Mardana an early follower of Guru Nanak –the founder...
What Is Jewish Music? Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may originate in biblical times, differences of...
Christian Music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world. Like other forms of music the creation, performance,...
What Is Hindu Music? Hindu music is music created for or influenced by Hinduism. It includes Indian classical music, Kirtan, Bhajan and other musical genres. Raagas are a common form of Hindu music in classical India. The most common Hindu bhajan in North India is “Om Jai Jagdish Hare.” The...
What Is Oriental Orthodoxy? Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Christian Churches that adheres to Miaphysite Christology and theology, with 60 to 70 million members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Armenia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and parts of the...
What Is Islamic Music? Islamic music may refer to religious music, as performed in Islamic public services or private devotions, or more generally to musical traditions of the Muslim world. The classic heartland of Islam is the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia, and it also included the medieval Iberian peninsula (al-Andalus). Due...
Hajj The Hajj (حَجّ; “pilgrimage”) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey,...
What Is Taqwa? Taqwa is an Islamic term for being conscious and cognizant of God, of truth, of the rational reality, “piety, fear of God”. It is often found in the Quran. Al-Muttaqin refers to those who practice taqwa, or in the words of Ibn Abbas — “believers who avoid Shirk with Allah and...
