BAHA'I
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MUSLIM |
| BUDDHIST |
RASTAFARIAN |
CHRISTIAN
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SHINTO |
| HINDU
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SIKH |
| JAIN |
TAOIST |
| JEWISH |
ZOROASTRIAN |
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"The earth is but one country and mankind
its citizens".
(Baha'u'llah)
Baha'i belief is that, through life, the soul-which
comes into being at conception and which exists after death
- develops spiritually and grows in knowledge either nearer
to God (Heaven) or more remote from God (Hell)
(1817) Baha'u'llah ('Glory of God'), Founder
of the Baha'i faith was born in Iran
Baha'is read daily from the scriptures written
by Baha'u'llah and his son. Baha'i s may meet for prayers, meditation
and readings in people's home or a Baha'i Centre.
This nine-pointed star symbolises completeness
for Baha'is a senses of unity arising from diversity.
Naw-Ruz (New Year) 21st Mar
1st day of Ridvan 21st Apr
9th day of Ridvan 29th Apr
12th day of Ridvan 2nd May
Declaration of Bab 23rd May
Ascension of Baha'u'llah 29th May
Martyrdom of Bab 9th July
Birthday of Bab 20th Oct
Birthday of Baha'u'llah 12th Nov
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"Impermanent are all created
things. Strive on with awareness".
(said to be The Buddha's last
words)
Buddhist wish to take advantage
of being born as a human being , by developing energetically
the qualities of kindness and awareness in order to achieve
freedom from suffering and to help others to do the same.
Siddharrtha Gautama, later 'The
Buddha' ('The Enlightened One'), was born in India.
Buddhists study the words of
The Buddha, meditate daily and accept guidance from Buddhist
teachers. They may meet at a 'Vihara' or Buddhist Centre.
The eight-spoked wheel symbolises
The Buddha's teaching of the Noble Eightfold Path as a way to
enlightenment.
Parinirvana Day 15th Feb
Bodhi Day 8th April
Wesak 20th May
Rains Retreat begins 18th June
Dhammackhakra Day 18th July
Padmasambharava Day 15th Sep
Sangha Day 13th Nov
Bodhi Day 8th Dec
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'I give you a new commandment; love one another;
as I have loved you, so you are to love one another;
(Jesus to his disciples)
Christian belief is to live according to the
loving nature of God as revealed by Jesus' life and death, helped
in this task by the Holy Spirit and by communicating with God
through prayer.
Jesus, 'The Christ' ('The Anointed One'), was
born in Bethlehem.
Christians study 'The Bible' and may meet for
worship in church, chapel, meeting house or in people's homes.
This symbol of Jesus' means of execution reminds
Christians of Jesus' redemptive love and triumph over death.
Ash Wednesday 6th Feb
Good Friday 21st Mar
Easter Sunday 23rd Mar
Easter Monday 24th Mar
Pentecost 11th May
Christmas Day 25th Dec
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'Who sees all beings in his own Self, and his
own Self in all beings, loses all fear.'
('The Upanishads')
Hindu belief entails learning, through life,
how to be reunited with God - of whom all living beings are
eternally part - and to learn this through study, devotion,
player and service to others.
Hindu tradition and way of life began. ('Hindu'
was the word historically used of people who lived by the River
Sindha.)
Hindus study 'The Vedas' and epics such as 'The
Ramayana'. They may worship at a shrine at home, or in a 'mandir'
or temple.
This symbol is believed to represent the primordial
sound from which the universe came.
Maha Shivaratri 16th
Mar
Holi 21st Mar
Chaitra 6th Apr
Rama Navami 14th Apr
Raksha Bandhan 16th Aug
Javamastami 24th Aug
Ganesh Chaturthi 3rd Sep
Navrathri Begins: 29th Sep
Dussehra 9th Oct
Diwali 28th Oct
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'Malice to none but love and
fraternity to all.'
(Jain greeting)
Jains wish to purity the reborn
soul from accumulated 'karma' (fate) and to guard against gathering
new 'karma' so as to escape from the cycle of death and rebirth,
and to do this by living a life based on right faith, right
knowledge and right conduct.
Mahavira, the revered twenty-fourth
'Jina' ('Spiritual Victor') was born in india.
Jains study scriptures called
the 'Shruta'. They may worship at a 'Derasar' (temple) or in
a meditation hall.
This Jain symbol is of an open
palm, with the word 'Ahimsa' ('non-violence') written on it.
Mahavira Jayanti 18th April
Paryushana Parva 28th August
Vira Nirvana 28th Oct
New Year 29th Oct
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'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord
is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your might.'
(The 'Shema')
Jews live according to God's laws, as revealed
by Moses, the most important of which is to believe in one God
and to learn to love God through study, through prayer and by
celebrating the yearly cycle of holy days.
Moses, who led the 'children of Israel' out
of slavery in Egypt, was born, and brought up as a prince in
Egypt.
The Jewish scriptures are known as the 'Tanakh',
and Jews meet for worship at a 'synagogue'.
This six-sided star, known as the 'Star of David'
or 'Seal of Solomon', is said to symbolise union between heaven
and earth.
Tu B'shevat 22nd Jan
Purim 21st Mar
Pessach 20th Apr
Shavuot 9th Jun
Tisha B'Av 10th Aug
Rosh Hashanah 30th Sep
Yom Kippur 9th Oct
Sukkot 14th Oct
Simchat Torah 22nd Oct
Hannukkah 22nd Oct
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'Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!
The compassionate, the merciful! Guide Thou us on the straight
path.'
(Sura 1 of the 'Qur'an')
Muslim belief entails submitting one's life
to the will of Allah as revealed by the Prophet Muhammad through
the 'Qur'an' and to do so through a declaration of faith, regular
prayer, almsgiving, fasting and pilgrimage.
The Prophet Muhammad was born in Arabia.
Muslims study the 'Qur'an' as the words of Allah
revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, and meet for prayers at a
'mosque'.
The crescent moon is a centuries-old Islamic
emblem: sighting of the new moon heralding Eid-ul Fitr which
is a very important event.
Al-Hirja (New Year) 20th
Jan
Ashura (Fasting) 19th Jan
Miraj-un Nabi 29th Jun
Lailat Ul Bara'at 16th Aug
Ramadan begins 2nd Sep
Laylat el Qadr 27th Sep
Ramadan ends 1st Oct
Eid Ul Fitr 1st Oct
Eid Ul Adha 8th Dec
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'O thou God of Ethiopia, thou
God if divine majesty, thy spirit come within our hearts to
dwell in the parts of righteousness. That the hungry be fed,
the sick nourished, the aged protected and the infant cared
for.'
(Rastafarian player)
Rastafarian belief entails revering
'Ras Tafari' (Emperor Haile Selassie 1) as a manifestation of
God (Jah) and opposing all forms of oppression, sustaining these
beliefs through self-discipline, meetings for drumming and prayers
and by studying the bible.
'Ras Tafari ('Prince of the Tafari
family') was born in Ethiopia.
Rastafarians study 'The Bible'
and worship at Nyahbingi' meetings.
The lion is a symbol for Rastafarians
of the Emperor Haile Selassie 1, one of whose titles was 'Lion
of Judah'.
Ethiopian Christmas 7th Jan
Ethiopian Constitution Day 16th Jun
Marcus Garvey's birthday 17th Aug
Ethiopian New Years Day 11th Sep
Crowning of Emperor Haile Selassie I 2nd Nov
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''In each and every new leaf, 1 see the 'kami'
of spring.'
(Japanese poet, Takahama Kyoshi)
Shinto belief entails venerating nature and
establishing communion with the 'kami' - its spirits and deities
- through prayer and ritual, so as to live harmoniously, peacefully
and fruitfully with the natural world.
Whilst the origins of Shinto belief go back
thousands of years, the revered Ise Shrine of Amaterasu, the
'kami' of the sun, was dedicated at this time.
Shinto worship takes place through 'matsuri'
(observation of festivals) at a shrine.
The way into a Shinto shrine is through a 'torli',
a gateway between the ordinary and the sacred.
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'There exists but one God, who
is called the True, the Creator, free from fear and hate, immortal,
not begotten, self-existent, great and compassionate.'
(from Guru Nanak's hymn)
Sikhs wish to enable the soul
at death to reunite with god - of whom it is part - and to achieve
this by remembering God constantly in daily life and by truthful
living, with service to others being particularly important.
The first Sikh Guru, Nanak, was
born in India.
The Sikh scriptures, 'Guru Granth
Sahib', are treated with utmost respect. Sikhs meet for worship
at the 'gurdwara'.
The Sikh emblem symbolises God's
love of truth (the central two-edged sword), the one-ness of
God (the circle) and God's spiritual strength (the two outer
swords).
Guru Gobindh Singh Birthday 5th
Jan
Martyrdom of Guru Arjan 16th Jun
Diwali 28th Oct
Birthday of Guru Nanak 13th Nov
Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur 24 Nov
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'In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation,
go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and
kind. In speech, be true. In ruling, be just.'
('Tao Te Ching')
Taoists accept what is, without wanting it to
be different, and study the natural order of things, working
with this order rather than against it, for the way lies in
'Tao' (Natural Law).
Lao Tzu, who wrote the 'Tao Te Ching', was born
in China.
Taoists study the 'Tao Te Ching' and religious
ceremonies take place at a temple.
This ancient Chinese symbol encapsulates Taoist
philosophy: the opposite forces of 'ying' and 'yang' are interdependent,
each containing a part of the other.
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ZOROASTRIAN
'Good thoughts. Good words. Good
deeds.'
(Zoroastrian Declaration of Intention)
Zoroastrians choose to aid Ahura
Mazda - the Absolute Creator who is responsible only for good
- to defeat evil and bring in the final judgment and the establishment
of Paradise.
The Prophet Zarathushtra (Greek
'Zoroaster') was born in Eastern Iran.
Zoroastrians study the 'Avesta',
which include the 'Gathas' ('hymns of Zarathushtra') and worship
at home or at a Fire Temple.
The Zorostrian symbol represents
a 'fravashi' ('guardian spirit') which is the good or spiritual
self which exists to aid each individual.
Noruz 21st Mar / 19th Aug
Birth of Zarathushtra 26th Mar / 24th Aug
Muktad 9th Aug
Death of the Prohpet 26th Dec / 26th May
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