Tradition ! ! !

Just wanted to share this photo of Sasha during her presentation on Judaism today - music is an integral part of every culture and Sasha did a great job with the piece, "Tradition!" from Fiddler on the Roof as part of her presentation today.

Foundations of Christianity Class Presentation

In my absence today you are to work on a collaborative class presentation - here's the link to the Christianity 101 Class Presentation - where you can all add to and continue to work on your own slides simultaneously along with the rest of the class working on their slides.

"Duplicate Slide" to add slides that are IN THE SAME FORMAT as the original one (your name upper right, title upper left, font size 14 white Arial, picture somewhere in the middle) and then immediately change the name to your own and the title, picture, words etc.

You need to figure out who will be working with whom and on what topics.  I've included the beginning of the presentation (link above) as a starting point.

Here are the topics:

1. Four Gospels of the New Testament
2. Sermon on the Mount
3. The rest of the New Testament
4. Schism between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Churches (1054 CE)
5. The Crusades (started around 1095 CE)
6. Martin Luther leads the Protestant Reformation (1517 CE)
7. King Henry VIII creates the Church of England, aka Anglican Church (1534 CE)
8. First Vatican Council (1870 CE)
9. Second Vatican Council (1965 CE)
10. Modern-day Protestant Churches (Lutheran, Calvinist, Baptist, Methodist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness)
11. Modern-day Catholicism and the brand new Pope
12. Profile of a Great Christian Leaders of the Modern Day (2 only for the whole class, each to be done by one student only)
13. Cloning and genetic engineering - why is this an issue for many Christians?

For each you should focus on the facts and figures, the main events and then why it is all significant.  The significance to the "church" and to the history of the Christianity and to the modern day practice of Christianity as a tool for social justice and change should be your focus once you have set up the nuts and bolts of your topic.

I think 8 - 10 slides for each topic should suffice but you might need more.  Please limit the writing on each slide to the space available in size 14 Arial based on the first sample slide that I've included.  A sentence or three should suffice - this is to be picture rich, not too much text per slide.

You can work singly or in pairs (NO groups of three).  The entire class needs to spend five minutes, with the help of the supply teacher, picking topics and names for them.

We'll have a look at your work on Tuesday and then everyone can present, informally, your work for the class.

Christianity Terms and Beliefs

Some important terms in Christianity

apostle - Jesus chose 12 men to go out and teach the gospel to the world.

Ascension - the rising of Jesus' body up to heaven after his time here on earth (celebrated 41 days after  Easter).  

Resurrection - Rising of Jesus from the dead 3 days after his death.

baptism - Sacrament (action) of sprinkling water symbolizing washing away sins and entering the Church community.

confession - Sacrament (action) where a believer confesses their sins and is forgiven by God.

Crucifixion - Roman execution method of hanging (with rope and nails) a person to a large cross - Jesus was killed this way.

disciple - follow of Jesus during his ministry (it includes the 12 apostles)

Easter - the day that Jesus was resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven

gospel - "Good News", the teachings in the bible of the life of Jesus.

Eucharist (Communion) - Sacrament (action) of spiritual communion with God - often in the form of unleavened bread and wine.

Holy Spirit - one of the three persons in God, believed to bestow spiritual gifts upon people.

Judgement Day (Last Judgement) - Day of God's final final judgement at the end of the world - the faithful will go to heaven.

Messiah - The Saviour, the person sent from God to save all people - Christians believe this to be Jesus.

Original Sin - believe of our tendency to sin (Baptism will wash this away).

Purgatory - temporary stage in which souls of the dead are purified from sin.

Papal infallibility - The belief that the Pope (the head of the Catholic Church) cannot be wrong in matters of faith and morals in his role as head of the church.


BASIC BELIEFS
Creation - God created everything in the universe (no particular date, he just did it).

God - derived from Judaism, one god made up of three entities - the Father, The Son, Holy Spirit.

Salvation and Eternal Life - believers will be forgiven for their sins and will enter heaven for eternity.

Morality is derived from the 10 Commandments.

Gender Roles - men are priests (Catholicism), women are nuns.  But in most Christian denominations ministers can be either gender.


Further to our previous discussions, here's a list of various big ideas that we have been exploring: Questions Christians can grapple with.

Christianity Introduction - Meaning in Your Life?

We started today having a look at this information on the discovery (it was theorized in the 1960's but only proven last summer at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland) of the Higgs Boson - a particle that existed in abundance at the creation of the universe and, so the theory goes, the particle that gives mass to energy, in other words creating "something from nothing", a rather novel thing indeed!  And an appropriate point to interject into conversations about our origins in a religious context.  This little video explains how the Large Hadron Collider works.  

Brief introduction to Christianity including the birth of Jesus Christ in around 4-3 BCE and his subsequent crucifixion  about 30 years later.  Notice some strong parallels between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  The main area of focus is on the human needs that we all have and how Christianity (and any other religion) addresses those needs.  The need we focused on today was the need to have rules to govern our lives and the need to live a meaningful life.

Then we had a look at the Nicene Creed - in the first three centuries after Christ died, the church found itself in a hostile environment. The Roman Empire was starting to crumble and in A.D. 312 Emperor Constantine won control of the Roman Empire in the battle of Milvian Bridge. Attributing his victory to the intervention of Jesus Christ, he elevated Christianity to favored status in the empire. "One God, one Lord, one faith, one church, one empire, one emperor" became his motto.

The new emperor soon discovered that "one faith and one church" were fractured by theological disputes, especially conflicting understandings of the nature of Christ, long a point of controversy.  To counter a widening rift within the church, Constantine convened a council in Nicaea in A.D. 325. A creed reflecting the position of Alexander and Athanasius was written and signed by a majority of the bishops. Nevertheless, the two parties continued to battle each other. In A.D. 381, a second council met in Constantinople. It adopted a revised and expanded form of the A.D. 325 creed, now known as the Nicene Creed.

The Nicene Creed is the most ecumenical of creeds. The Presbyterian Church joins with Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and most Protestant churches in affirming it.
The Nicene Creed is the most ecumenical of creeds. The Presbyterian Church joins with Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and most Protestant churches in affirming it. 

We listened to Bruce Cockburn's "Shipwrecked at the Stable Door" and examined the meaning of the lyrics to that song.  There are many references to capitalist, materialistic society and there are biblical references too.  We then began to work through Rick Warren's TED Talks lecture on bringing meaning to one's life.

Judaism Intro - Main Concepts and Celebrations

Judaism Intro - Main Concepts and Celebrations

Here's an interesting idea regarding the Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D.  We had a discussion about it regarding whether seeing images from so far away can help us or hinder us in our own understanding and/or belief in a god.  For some it might make it easier to see God as an even more powerful entity than before.  And for others it might fuel the fires of rationality and make it more difficult to accept that there is a god of any sort considering how big this place we call the universe is.  Great discussion, folks, have another lookie at that short video and by all means show your parents, maybe it will be the catalyst for a great conversation!

Please see an earlier post for the Intro to Judaism slide show, (well, here it is again).

We began the class today with what I call "The Telephone Game."  There are enough cell phones and computers in the class that we made teams of 3 or 4.  each team was split and one part of the team was given a list of terms to look up and define but they had to text those terms to the other half of their team for them to look up.  In the old days the second part of the team then had to text back the answers . . . . today we can just sit together to see who can piece together all of the answers the quickest!

Anti-Semitism:  hostility and prejudice toward Jews

Ark of the Covenant:  the wooden chest that held the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments.  The temple in Jerusalem became the home of the Ark

bar/bat mitzvah:  the religious initiation ceremony of a Jewish boy who has reached the age of thirteen/Jewish girl who has reached the age of twelve or thirteen

chosen people:  the idea that God chose the Jewish people to be the keepers of his covenant.  The concept of “chosen” is reciprocal, with God choosing humanity and humanity choosing God.

Diaspora:  word used when referring to the Jewish population living outside of Israel

Exodus:  the significance event in which Moses lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land

Gerut:  the process of conversion to Judaism

Ghetto:  the area of a city in which Jews were required to live.  The first was in Venice in 1516.

Holy Ark:  a cabinet-like structure in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls

Kiddush:  a blessing recited when drinking wine that has been specially sanctified for the Sabbath or a holy day

Kippah:  a small circular cap worn by Jewish men, also known as a yarmulke

Kosher:  fulfilling the requirements of the Jewish dietary laws

Menorah:  a candelabrum with seven branches, used at home and in the synagogue on the Sabbath and holidays

Messiah:  means “anointed one”.  Jews believe that a great king will come to lead them

Rabbi:  a Jewish scholar or teacher, especially of Jewish law; a person appointed as a Jewish religious leader

Shiva:  a period of seven-day mourning for the dead beginning immediately after the funeral

Star of David:  a figure consisting of two interlaced equilateral triangles.  It is used as a Jewish and Israeli symbol

Synagogue:  central places of Jewish worship today

Torah:  the Laws of Moses, as well as the rest of the Hebrew scriptures

Judaism's Most Beloved Celebrations

Today we introduced the topic of celebration in our study of Judaism.  Here's a handout for the assignment, Judaism's Celebrations.  All cultures and religions celebrate rites of passage (Bar/Bat Mitzvah, etc), historic events (Passover) and other important aspects of what makes the culture or religion special, so everyone will "teach" the class about a special event on the Jewish "calendar".

The Pianist Project
This leads us to our next project which is called, The Pianist & Holocaust Survivors.  We spent a bit of time in the Library and everyone found a suitable print resource as the basis for your research into the life of one survivor.  We'll head back to the Library to get to work in earnest on this project, it shouldn't take more than two days to complete.  We'll do our Hinduism / Buddhism test next week, but not on Wednesday!

The Pianist

The Pianist

We continued watching the Pianist today.  Some of the points we discussed include:

Judaism vs. Being Jewish - we made the point that generally religious affiliation is a choice, albeit a choice often made by parents for their children early in life based on family tradition or regional/cultural/social norms. In the case of the Holocaust, Jews were targeted by the Nazis not so much for a religious affiliation, although this was obviously part of the story, but for what the Nazi's called racial inclusion, that is, Jews were Jews by birth and nothing could change that.  Therefore they were of an inferior race, according to Hitler, and thus should be eliminated because of the harm that the Nazis said Jews were responsible for in Germany and the rest of Europe.  I pointed out the statistic that in 1939 Europe's population was approximately 0.5 percent "Jewish" - it does not stand to reason that such a small proportion of the population could be responsible for the harms for which they were accused by the Nazis.

Instilling Fear - one of the strategies used in any conflict is to instil fear into the local populations.  In this case the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto were witness to daily killings at the hands of the Nazis which frightened everyone and decreased their sense of control over their own lives.

What Can Be Done About Injustice? - we discussed the fact that under the Nazis it was extremely dangerous to resist or comment or mount any kind of resistance, therefore most of those witness to injustices were helpless to change the situation.  Hopefully by witnesses some of these atrocities in a film like this you are more willing to stand up for injustices anywhere in the world - in Canada we have freedom of speech and association and it is, generally, very safe to stand up for what is right in a free country like ours.

Family - near the end of today's viewing we witnessed the death of Szpilman's family - he was rescued at the train transfer station while the rest of his family was sent on to Treblinka, an extermination camp in occupied Poland.  Every Jew today has family that was killed during WWII.  Yesterday I recounted a time when I met Spilman's daughter after she commented on a piano player's playing of a particular song that her father played often when she was a child, that is, Szpilman himself.  He was this woman's father.

Today's viewing is fairly self-explanatory and further depicts "in"humanity, that is, humanity at it's worst.  Many of you discussed wanting to do something about social injustice and today we saw the results of the uprising against the Nazi occupation of Warsaw - the ghetto was levelled and any resistors who were caught were quickly executed.

When Szpilman is finally confronted by an articulate and finely cultured German officer in the abandoned building in which Szpilman is hiding, the tone of the story changes dramatically (sorry for the pun).  We know that the young officer is cultured as we hear his music coming from the main floor - Beethoven's Sonata opus 27 #2, 1st Movement(popularly known as the "Moonlight Sonata").  For the first time we see exactly what it is about a human being that could account for him (in this case Szpilman) being fully human and not sub-human as was decreed by the Nazis at that time . . . through the eyes of a Nazi.  The officer asks Szpilman to play the piano and, despite years of not touching a keyboard, he sits at the piano and plays, quite beautifully I might add, Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G Minor(Op. 23, No. 1) - (in the actual event the real life Szpilman played Chopin's Nocturne No. 1 in C# Minor which is a much gentler tune, it's a nocturne, afterall, but it would have not been nearly as dramatic as the piece played in the film.  Notably, Nocturne No. 1 in C# Minor is the melancholy theme music throughout the music. This is seminal moment in the film as it depicts Szpilman as a human being, an entity worthy of protection, comfort and the rights of any other citizen.  The German officer begins to question his own views and the actions of the Germans in the war.

Introduction to Judaism

Introduction to Judaism

I don't need to introduce the geopolitical strife that plagues the "Middle East" region of the world.  A good insight on this topic can be gained through CBC's In-Depth feature on "The Middle East."

Here's a look at Cecil B. Demille's 1956 classic, The Ten Commandments.

And let's not forget Mel Brooke's version of the Ten Commandments (for levity's sake).

We introduced our next topic, Judaism with the discussion above and then we started our Introduction to Judaism Presentation to get a sense of some of the basic teachings and beliefs of Judaism.

Ideas Roundtable

A "Round Table" discussion is a form of academic discussion wherein participants discuss and debate a particular topic.  Each person is given equal opportunity to speak based on an equal right to speak, harking back to the legendary King Arthur's round table knights.   The main objective of our Round Table today is to provide everyone with a platform to discuss:

"Current thinking on the relationship between Religion and Science in the modern world."

Our Round Table aims specifically to:

• Increase our awareness of the background information we rely upon to make decisions on the topic.

• Highlight current thinking on the relationship between Religion and Science such that it can be considered more fully in everyone's own life.

• Bring together people whose views on the topic may be deeply rooted. 
• Improve everyone's understanding of how other people reach their own beliefs.
• Strengthen classroom partnerships.

Religion or Cult?  Webster's version

Religion or Cult? from the Wall Street Journal

Religion or Cult? from the BBC News Service

Sleepwalking to Extinction

Global Forest Loss Years 2000 - 2012

Earth's Most Irreplaceable Places Under Threat

Lenski and the 50,000 generation E. coli Experiment

It is as simple as this: the examples above are just sources of information.  What you do with that information is the key.

Brainstorming and Preparing

This picture also says a thousand words - Kiera and company trying on their saris, each of the four saris is hand-made, and Karoline had them for a wedding that she attended.

Fun Project Times Ahead ! !

The compassionate RAFT

As discussed in class, your next assignment is an open-genre brain-child that you will cultivate.  The idea of open-genre assignments is this:

R = Role of the creator (that’s you).  Are you the Buddha, The Dalai Lama, Lord Shiva, Ganesha, the real you?

A = Audience.  

F = Format - you choose the format

T = Topic

1. At least 15 concepts/terms/tenets from either/or Hinduism & Buddhism.

2. Symbols.

3. Cultural Connections, particularly as they connect with social justice issues.

Apres Kundun and the Hindu Temple

Yesterday we engaged in a great discussion about the field trip from the day before and about ideas for projects that you could do.

To get your thinking started, please have a look at these ideas derived from Kundun.  The ideas are connected to Buddhism, Hinduism (and many other religions too), but for your next project we'll just stick with Buddhism and Hinduism.

Apres Kundun

The Dalai Lama of Tibet is one of the world’s most revered leaders.  The film Kundun follows the journey of a young boy, Lhamo, as he becomes the spiritual and secular leader of Tibet.  We also see the struggles of the Tibetan People as they face conflict with China, embracing a stance of nonviolence and embodying what it means to be a compassionate human being.

Use the following questions to reflect on your own approach to conflict resolution.

Personal Practice

What does being compassionate mean? How do you practice compassion in your daily life? 

The Dalai Lama states that “all beings desire happiness…” How can remembering this help you in situations of managing or resolving conflict? 

While playing with one of his Teachers, the young Dalai Lama loses a game. In reaction to the Dalai Lama’s disappointment, the Teacher replies, “Today you lost. Tomorrow you may win. Things change.”  Though some games are designed to have a winner and a loser, does conflict always have to be a win/lose situation?  What does it mean to win or lose in a conflict situation?  Can you think of a time that you came to a mutually beneficial or win/win resolution to a conflict? What did it take to get there?

Family Interactions

How does Lhamo’s family interact with one another?  How much time do you spend talking about appropriate ways to handle conflict within your family?

Throughout the film there are varying degrees of sibling conflict, including feelings of jealously at points.  What are

ways you can help your siblings to manage their feelings and conflict situations in order to help foster close relationships that will last into adulthood?

School/Work Interactions

Throughout the film, the Dalai Lama is inquisitive and asks questions to find out more information in order to make

good decisions or to find another perspective.  How can this way of interacting help to create a more positive school or work environment or help to resolve conflict in your life?

Community and Political Interactions

When the Tibetan ambassadors refuse to meet with China to try to talk through a peaceful resolution, the Dalai Lama asks them to resign.  What does this say about his beliefs about conflict resolution on a political level?

When the Dalai Lama leaves his parents’ home and is placed in the care of the Tibetan Monks, they become a community of teachers in a variety of subjects, while still including his parents in the teachings of things like kindness and etiquette.  What places in your community do you find as resources for teaching yourself or your family about positive conflict resolution techniques?

General Practice

A running theme throughout the movie is the power of listening in conflict.  Challenge yourself two time per day to become a better listener and see how that impacts your relationships both inside and outside of conflict situations.

A guiding question in Buddhism is: 

“The path of nonviolence and compassion is often difficult;

what do you gain by taking this approach?

BAPS Swamanirayan Hindu Temple Trip - Toronto

This really is a case of a picture being worth a thousand words.

Kundun

After meditating each day we will be watching the film, Kundun, the story of the Dalai Lama.

Following that you will spend time connecting tennets of Buddhism with parts of everyday life.

After Kundun.

Buddhism and Morality

After meditating today we set to work on the Jatakas.  Read on.....

The main written source of Buddha's wisdom is the Tripitaka, or  Three Baskets.  It is called the Three Baskets because the palm leaf manuscripts written by the Buddha's followers were kept in three different baskets.  These basked are call the Vinaya-Pitaka, the Sutta-Pitaka and the Abhidhamma-Pitaka.  Many Buddhists consider the Tripitaka to be the most accurate record of the Buddha's teachings.

One of the most often translated elements of the Sutta-Pitaka is the Jatakas, a collection of 547 birth stories about the previous lives of the Buddha.  The aim of these popular stories is to illustrate morality.  In these stories the Buddha takes on the identity of on of the characters which might include a king, beggar, animal or other being who exhibits virtue.

From this website, Buddhist Tales, add to the shared Buddhist Tales presentation to teach the class about:

a.  The story
b. The significance of the story
c. Who you think the Buddha is in your story
d. Explain why you agree with or disagree with the moral of the story

The Noble Eightfold Path and Meditation

We started today with our introduction to meditation - here's a picture of some of the class being grounded at the end when Zoe took the group to their happy place and then back out and up.  I am so very impressed with everyone's efforts today, we'll continue for a couple of weeks.




Then, from our perches on the floor, you presented your own parts of the Noble Eightfold Path making the day entirely delightful and enlightening!  Here's a link to that shared presentation on the Eightfold Path.

Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path is the lifestyle to adopt, as a  Buddhist, which gives you the best chance of progressing in your life towards Nirvana.

Here's a shared presentation for you to add your information to.

Noble Eightfold Path Presentation.

Buddhism - Serenity, serenity, serenity

Because I was away sick you started the novel, Siddhartha, on your own and by now most of you are finished.  As you know it's the more modern version of the story of the original Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, an historical figure who was born in 563 bce.

You worked on some questions with the book and here are the questions with answers - we took them up in class today.

We then started the Introduction to Buddhism presentation.

You and the Principles of Hinduism

Here's the link to the Shared Hindu Principles Presentation.

Each of you will teach the class about the relevance of the principle or concept to modern Hinduism.  Some of the ideas are relics of the past, some are easy to attribute to modern Hindu ways of life.

You must address certain ideas in your work:

1. What strategies can you use to determine the relevance of the information you have gathered?   For example, if two information sources contradict each other, how might you determine which is more reliable? 

2. Name and explain at least two points of view that you should be considering in your work.

3. In what ways does globalization increase the need for us to learn about the belief traditions of Hindus in Canada today?

4. How does your principle of Hinduism depict the life journey of a Hindu?

5. How do the older beliefs conflict with the pressures of modern life?

6. How would your principle affect the conduct and behaviour of Hindus?

(Carissa) - Atman - the human soul, inseparable from the universe, in fact part of the universe.  Christians, Jews and Muslims believe that the soul will enter Heaven (or Hell) after death, while Hindus believe that the soul will live on as part of creation. 

___________________________

(Alanna) - Reincarnation - Hindus believe that the soul does not cease to exist after death.  Rather it lives on in another life form after death.

___________________________

(Blair) - Samsara - Hindu belief that reincarnation happens over and over again - this endless cycle is called Samsara

___________________________

(Zoe, Celine) - Maya - the temporary and imperfect nature of the physical world.  Because matter in the universe is constantly recycling through different forms, all life is caught in this endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth . . .
___________________________

(Katie, Landry) - Moksha - liberation from the endless cycle of birth, death, rebirth (Samsara) and to reunite Atman with Brahman.  This is the ultimate goal of Hindus.
___________________________

(Sarah S., Meghan) Karma - balance between good and evil in one's life.  A person's actions on earth will affect the reincarnation of a person - a person who lives a good life (on balance) will be reincarnated in a "higher" life form, and vise versa.
___________________________

(Jaz, Sasha, Oriana, Sarah F.) - Paths to Salvation - the way to "salvation" - how one attains Moksha - is to follow at least one of these paths.  These ways of life all contain good deeds, meditation, understanding holy scriptures, etc.

These are the FOUR paths to Salvation

Bhakti Yoga - path of DEVOTION.  A simpler path, it involves showing love towards personal deities, providing a lifetime of opportunity to worship Bramah in a concrete way. This is not an abstract way of life lived in one's mind, but a way of life involving regular worship of deities as a way towards Brahman.

Karma Yoga - path of ACTION.lifestyle of good deeds and good thoughts should lead to good Karma.

Jnana Yoga - path of WISDOM.  This is a challenging path requiring a guru to guide.  The nature of Braham and the nature of the Universe are what followers will gain.  This understanding should lead to the insight needed to achieve salvation.

Raja Yoga - path of MEDITATION.  Hindus can achieve salvation by thinking deeply about Brahman, particularly if you are able to reach a trance-like state - it requires years of training and discipline to achieve.
___________________________

(Hannah, Tahira) - Dharma - code of moral duty.  The idea of living a "good life" towards other people, in two ways: 
Two types - Sanatana Dharma - eternal religion, applies to all people on earth regardless of group that they may be a part of.

Varnashrana Dharma - applies to people specific to their status in society or specific to the group to which they belong.
___________________________

(Karoline, Curtis, Kiera) - Caste System - how Indian society has organized itself into several classes (castes).  Once born into a caste one cannot move up or down to a higher or lower caste. 

Brahmin - the highest class containing priests, religious elders, teachers of rituals and spirituality.  Goals are knowledge and education.  Elites in society are often Brahmin.

Kshatriya - Warrior and Ruling class.  Often run society, maintaining and leading society.  Known as physically courageous and showing traits of leadership.

Vaishya - Merchant class, including farmers, focussing on wealth creation and business.  Often thought of as entrepreneurs.

Sudra - lowest class, servants class, farm workers, basic tradespeople, working class.

Untouchables - outlawed in modern society so there is no longer an "untouchable" caste, they were considered the lowest of the low classes doing jobs of butchery, cleaning, jobs that no-one else would consider.  Because they were committed to a lifetime of poverty it was considered too unfair to keep untouchables in that caste so it was outlawed.

__________________________

(Samantha S., Stephen) - Caste System Today - there are legal bans on discrimination based on caste, class, religion, gender, etc. in the modern India of today, so the Caste system has fallen out of practice and favour.

__________________________

(Andrew, Samantha H.) - Four Stages of Life - represents the social aspect of Karma, in a general sense.  These cover actions and responsibilities of living a good life.
Stages are:
Student - learn discipline and knowledge and respect
Householder - to marry and have a family and to provide for them
Forest Dweller - give up duties to the rest of the family and participate in religious pilgrimages
Ascetic - to give up worldly, material life and to live a life of meditation consuming only a bare minimum

__________________________

(Breanna, Scott, Mackenzie, Lindsay) - Four Aims or Goals of Life - as way of life, Hindus follow a personal value system to meet their spiritual and material needs.

Dharma - conducting one's life with the absence of greed, compassion towards all living things. People are supposed to act with humility in all of their actions.

Artha - earning money honestly to provide for one's family.  To acquire wealth and power is fine but it must be done honestly and without harming others.

Kama - pursuing love and physical pleasure, meeting basic human needs.

Moksha - leading a life towards salvation through honesty and morality.

__________________________