Defining the Sacred

The base of divinity lies in the fact that there is a sacred power that Transcends the ordinary view of the world. Christianity and Hinduism have similarities in divine power. They are both believe in monotheism, the oneness in God. The Hindu believes that the supreme God is without form, thought, and personality and that this is the only reality. Christians also believe in the supreme God, a God that can take many forms meaning a God without personality. This similarity in having a single supreme God is divine and makes them share some characteristics.

There are some characteristics of the mother Mary worship in Christianity and the Hindu. The Hindu in India is having some temples that are dedicated to this type of worship. The Hindu believes that mother Mary is a goddess. The Christians especially the Catholics of the early Church also prays through the Mother Mary to intervene and help them pass the prayers to the lord. This similarity has led to many Christians going to India to identify the worship of the Goddess.

Hindu just like Christians also has a way of worshiping and giving thanks to their gods. they both have the sacred bread, incense, and other decorations in their buildings of worship. The moral teachings and values in the Christians and the Hindu are the same. They both are for; forgiveness, nonviolence, love, generosity without expectations, not being attached to the world, self-control, and many more. These similarities are making the religion sacred in the way the worshipers in both religions carry out themselves. Finally, the Christians believe in the birth of Jesus while the Hindu believes in the birth of Krishna both of whom were born of virgin mothers and spiritual fathers. These similarities are many and almost close to having the same divine story.

The Sohrab and Sophocles Tale

The tale of Sohrab from Shahnameh who was killed by his father Rustam is similar in more ways to the tale of King Oedipus of Thebes who killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta.  They bring a clear case of fate and free will, how humans react after knowing the truth. In both cases, the fathers were aware that the was a future prophesy that the occurrences would take place and they reacted by trying to prevent it. For the Sohrabs story, the father sent the son he had with princess Tamhane to land away, unaware of the paths that come with fate. For the second story, the father ordered his son to be murdered to prevent fate. But the mother Jocasta did not do this instead he shipped the son to a far place out of reach of the father. This gives a clear picture that they did not accept fate and decided to prevent it. They were free to choose, which gives a proper view of what people believe and the freedom that comes with choices.

The other similarity is sight and blindness, they both had clear visions of protecting their kingdoms but lost sight of the consequences. In both stories, the fate of the kingdoms or their area of rules depended on the killing of the kingship in the area. Both were pursuing freedom when they committed the act.  People’s willingness to accept the truth comes after they both had committed the acts unknowingly. Rustam and Oedipus were both stubborn to admit the truth that these scenarios were both likely to occur until they took place. King Oedipus still choose to pursue the matter to investigate the killing of his father only to realize that he was the one who had committed the crime. Though in the case of Sohrab the father was notified in the process of his son losing his life by a bracelet, his son had suspicions that Rustam was the father.

The Question

The analysis of how people think and what people believe brings up several questions to humanity. Does fate scare the people? And how should we react with the knowledge of a future occurrence that we do not have control? The answer to this question brings the rubric to life and the base of many religious believes. The fact that there is a supernatural controller of the universe and no matter how hard one tries they can never escape their destiny. Most people find flavor in religion based on either the joy it brings or the fear of fate foretold. Just like in the case of Sohrab and Oedipus, both feared for their futures based on the fact that someone prophesized. This person whom they believed in so much, was not sufficient enough to make them change the foretold fate.

Religion is necessary as it keeps the world in good phycological shape and helps the people grow. the facts that characterized the behavior of a person may be determined by the knowledge of a future occurrence and so it is true that people are scared of the future. The problem is trying to change it when it is just out of the control of the people. The people should accept and not try to reshape the future that is sacred and out of their control.