Grr
While browsing the Web for the meanings of a Hindu prayer shawl, most of the search results I got were from fanatic Catholics screaming how evil and bad interfaith and multicultural things are and what grotesque sacrilege it is to even *suggest* that there could be other equally valid paths to divinity. Wankers. How fucking ironic that one of the definitions of Hinduism is the acceptance of different religious paths... *headdesk*
And here I am, angry at fanatic fuckwits. Which just goes to show how hatred and anger just perpetuate more hatred and anger. I shouldn't be, if only to stop such idiocy where it started, but... blind stupidity and hostility are infuriating, and intolerance is intolerable. Grah.
What fucking weakness, what insecurity, what spinelessness--that's the only thing "I'm right and you're wrong and must shut up/die" springs from. And that's not just religion, it's everything else as well, just in case someone was smugly thinking they were above that because they weren't religious (i.e. being not only just as stupid as the nutters they despise, but also hypocritical). It's... not faith, it's a *lack* of faith, to be so furious at anything that differs from your own way of thinking--it's exposing your weakness. Real faith does not need to prove itself to others, it's perfectly happy where it is. Even if you're persecuted. The best way is to just shrug and move on and be different, since in the end you can only be responsible for yourself. Providing information is one thing, brainwashing is something else entirely. The former allows and even encourages thinking for yourself, the latter forbids it.
Meh. Anyway. Even Exotic India (which has wonderful in-depth articles on Indian art and philosophy and everything, much kickarse) doesn't have info on prayer shawls even if it sells them... hmpfh. If anyone knows about their significance, feel free to inform me...
To end this on a more cheerful note, this month's Exotic India article on dance as a spiritual medium is interesting, and the intro to it is beautiful and made me smile.
And here I am, angry at fanatic fuckwits. Which just goes to show how hatred and anger just perpetuate more hatred and anger. I shouldn't be, if only to stop such idiocy where it started, but... blind stupidity and hostility are infuriating, and intolerance is intolerable. Grah.
What fucking weakness, what insecurity, what spinelessness--that's the only thing "I'm right and you're wrong and must shut up/die" springs from. And that's not just religion, it's everything else as well, just in case someone was smugly thinking they were above that because they weren't religious (i.e. being not only just as stupid as the nutters they despise, but also hypocritical). It's... not faith, it's a *lack* of faith, to be so furious at anything that differs from your own way of thinking--it's exposing your weakness. Real faith does not need to prove itself to others, it's perfectly happy where it is. Even if you're persecuted. The best way is to just shrug and move on and be different, since in the end you can only be responsible for yourself. Providing information is one thing, brainwashing is something else entirely. The former allows and even encourages thinking for yourself, the latter forbids it.
Meh. Anyway. Even Exotic India (which has wonderful in-depth articles on Indian art and philosophy and everything, much kickarse) doesn't have info on prayer shawls even if it sells them... hmpfh. If anyone knows about their significance, feel free to inform me...
To end this on a more cheerful note, this month's Exotic India article on dance as a spiritual medium is interesting, and the intro to it is beautiful and made me smile.