The five major world religions - John Bellaimey
The five major world religions - John Bellaimey
Explore the intertwined histories and cultures of the major religions: Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam.
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It’s perfectly human to grapple with questions, like ‘Where do we come from?’ and ‘How do I live a life of meaning?’ These existential questions are central to the five major world religions — and that’s not all that connects these faiths. John Bellaimey explains the intertwined histories and cultures of Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam.
Lesson by John Bellaimey, animation by TED-Ed.
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Content
0 -> Transcriber: Andrea McDonough
Reviewer: Jessica Ruby
7.445 -> In all times and places in our history,
9.421 -> human beings have wondered,
10.938 -> "Where did we come from?
12.192 -> What's our place in the world?
14.165 -> What happens to us after we die?"
16.505 -> Religions are systems of belief
18.568 -> that have developed and evolved over time
20.634 -> in response to these
21.803 -> and other eternal mysteries,
23.924 -> driven by the feeling that some questions
25.66 -> can only be answered by faith
27.834 -> and based on an intuition
29.214 -> that there is something greater than ourselves,
31.385 -> a higher power we must answer to,
33.584 -> or some source we all spring from
35.927 -> and to which we must return.
39.342 -> Hinduism means the religions of India.
41.695 -> It's not a single religion
42.91 -> but rather a variety of related beliefs
44.933 -> and spiritual practices.
46.858 -> It dates back five millennia
48.907 -> to the time of Krishna,
50.373 -> a man of such virtue
51.85 -> that he became known as an avatar of Vishnu,
54.441 -> an incarnation of the god in human form.
57.402 -> He taught that all life follows karma,
59.637 -> the law of cause and effect,
61.337 -> and our job is to do our duty, or dharma,
64.561 -> according to our place in society
66.473 -> without worrying how things turn out.
69.048 -> When we die, we are reincarnated into a new body.
72.19 -> If we followed our dharma
73.655 -> and did our proper duty in our past life,
75.814 -> we get good karma,
77.185 -> which sends our soul upward in the social scale.
80.352 -> Our rebirth into the next life
81.934 -> is thus determined by what we do in this one.
84.888 -> The wheel of rebirths is called samsara.
88.253 -> It's possible for a very holy person
90.199 -> to lead a life with enough good karma
92.611 -> to escape the wheel.
94.409 -> This escape is called moksha.
96.869 -> Hinduism teaches that everything is one.
99.817 -> The whole universe is
100.765 -> one transcendent reality called Brahman,
103.856 -> and there's just one Brahman
105.717 -> but many gods within it,
107.26 -> and their roles, aspects, and forms differ
110.179 -> according to various traditions.
112.47 -> Brahma is the creator,
114.387 -> Vishnu is the preserver
116.089 -> who sometimes takes on human form,
118.624 -> and Shiva is the transformer,
120.91 -> or Lord of the Dance.
122.572 -> Durga is the fiercely protective divine mother.
126.069 -> Ganesha has an elephant head
127.939 -> and is the wise patron of success.
131.486 -> Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world.
134.717 -> And although most Hindus live in India,
137.075 -> they can be found on every continent,
139.123 -> one billion strong.
142.01 -> Now, let's travel west,
143.366 -> across deserts and mountains
144.978 -> to the fertile crescent about 4,000 years ago.
148.253 -> Judaism began with God calling
150.04 -> Abraham and Sarah to leave Mesopotamia
152.842 -> and migrate to the land of Canaan.
155.486 -> In return for their faith in the one true God,
158.481 -> a revolutionary concept
159.885 -> in the polytheistic world of that time,
162.436 -> they would have land and many descendants.
165.652 -> From this promise came the land of Israel
167.736 -> and the chosen people,
169.436 -> but staying in that land
170.734 -> and keeping those people together
172.236 -> was going to be very difficult.
174.356 -> The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt,
176.947 -> but God freed them with the help
178.897 -> of the prophet Moses,
180.456 -> who received the Ten Commandments
182.112 -> and later hundreds more.
184.532 -> They conquered the Promised Land,
186.296 -> but could only keep it for a few hundred years.
189.376 -> Israel sits at a crossroads
191.402 -> through which many armies
192.771 -> marched over the centuries.
194.309 -> And in the year 70,
195.509 -> the Romans destroyed the temple
196.912 -> in their capital, Jerusalem.
199.277 -> So, the religion transformed itself
201.154 -> from a temple religion
202.487 -> with sacrifices and priests
203.897 -> to a religion of the book.
205.97 -> Because of this, Judaism is a faith
208.263 -> of symbolism, reverence, and deep meanings
211.27 -> tied to the literature of its history.
213.901 -> The many sacred scriptures make up
215.366 -> the Hebrew bible, or Tanakh,
217.358 -> and hundreds of written discussions and interpretations
219.572 -> are contained in an expansive compendium
222.238 -> of deeper meanings,
223.458 -> called the Talmud.
225.061 -> Jews find rich, symbolic meaning in daily life.
227.977 -> At the Passover meal,
229.11 -> every item on the menu symbolizes
230.946 -> an aspect of the escape from slavery.
233.696 -> The importance of growing up
235.016 -> is emphasized when young people
236.867 -> reach the age of bar and bat mitzvah,
239.171 -> ceremonies during which they assume responsibility
241.443 -> for their actions
242.38 -> and celebrate the weaving
243.644 -> of their own lives
244.692 -> into the faith, history, and texts
246.678 -> of the Jewish people.
248.357 -> There are 14 million Jews in the world today,
251.266 -> 6 million in Israel,
252.738 -> which became independent
254.119 -> following the horrors of genocide in World War II,
257.233 -> and 5 million in the United States.
260.408 -> But now let's go back 2500 years and return to India
263.806 -> where Buddhism began
265.116 -> with a young prince named Siddhartha.
267.883 -> On the night he was conceived,
269.137 -> his mother, Queen Maya,
270.696 -> is said to have been visited in her sleep
272.886 -> by a white elephant who entered her side.
275.809 -> Ten months later, Prince Siddartha was born
277.806 -> into a life of luxury.
279.558 -> Venturing forth from his sheltered existence
281.974 -> as a young man,
283.088 -> he witnessed the human suffering
284.516 -> that had been hidden from him
285.926 -> and immediately set out to investigate its sources.
289.31 -> Why must people endure suffering?
291.502 -> Must we reincarnate through hundreds of lives?
294.605 -> At first he thought the problem
296.019 -> was attachment to material things,
298.055 -> so he gave up his possessions.
299.943 -> He became a wandering beggar,
301.669 -> which he discovered certainly made him no happier.
304.994 -> Then he overheard a music teacher telling a student,
307.693 -> "Don't tighten the string too much, it will break.
309.947 -> But don't let it go too slack,
311.657 -> or it will not sound."
313.584 -> In a flash, he realized
314.752 -> that looking for answers at the extremes
316.916 -> was a mistake.
318.343 -> The middle way between luxury and poverty
320.847 -> seemed wisest.
322.133 -> And while meditating under a bodhi tree,
324.419 -> the rest of the answer came to him.
326.588 -> All of life abounds with suffering.
329.344 -> It's caused by selfish craving
331.209 -> for one's own fulfillment at the expense of others.
334.556 -> Following an eight-step plan
336.058 -> can teach us to reduce that craving,
338.224 -> and thus reduce the suffering.
340.641 -> On that day, Siddhartha became the Buddha,
343.799 -> the enlightened one.
345.307 -> Not the only one, but the first one.
347.681 -> The Buddhist plan is called
349.152 -> the Eightfold Path,
350.414 -> and though it is not easy to follow,
351.916 -> it has pointed the way
352.991 -> for millions to enlightenment,
355.06 -> which is what Buddhahood means,
357.144 -> a state of compassion,
358.285 -> insight,
359.08 -> peace,
359.934 -> and steadfastness.
361.807 -> From the time he got up from under that tree
363.989 -> to the moment of his death as an old man,
366.097 -> the Buddha taught people how to become enlightened:
368.251 -> right speech,
369.008 -> right goals,
369.805 -> a mind focused on what is real,
371.939 -> and a heart focused on loving others.
374.688 -> Many Buddhists believe in God or gods,
377.181 -> but actions are more important than beliefs.
380.269 -> There are nearly a billion Buddhists
381.808 -> in the world today,
383.117 -> mostly in East, Southeast, and South Asia.
387.948 -> 2,000 years ago in Judaism's Promised Land,
391.221 -> Christianity was born.
393.237 -> Just as Hindus called Krishna "God in Human Form,"
396.439 -> Christians say the same thing about Jesus,
398.609 -> and Christianity grew out of Judaism
400.361 -> just as Buddhism grew out of Hinduism.
403.463 -> The angel Gabriel was sent by the God of Abraham
405.946 -> to ask a young woman named Mary
407.86 -> to become the mother of his son.
410.195 -> The son was Jesus,
411.694 -> raised as a carpenter
413.214 -> by Mary and her husband Joseph,
415.136 -> until he turned 30,
416.859 -> when he began his public career
418.644 -> as the living word of God.
420.808 -> Less interested in religiousness
422.816 -> than in justice and mercy,
424.06 -> Jesus healed the sick in order to draw crowds
426.612 -> and then taught them about his heavenly father --
429.608 -> affectionate, forgiving, and attentive.
432.524 -> Then, he would invite everyone to a common table
434.737 -> to illustrate his Kingdom of God,
437.489 -> outcasts, sinners, and saints all eating together.
441.576 -> He had only three years
442.612 -> before his unconventional wisdom
444.381 -> got him into trouble.
445.659 -> His enemies had him arrested,
446.86 -> and he was executed by Rome
448.635 -> in the standard means
449.84 -> by which rabble-rousers were put to death,
452.511 -> crucifixion.
454.114 -> But shortly after he was buried,
456.197 -> women found his tomb empty
458.194 -> and quickly spread word,
459.52 -> convinced that he had been raised from the dead.
462.553 -> The first Christians described
463.94 -> his resurrected appearances,
466.023 -> inspiring confidence that his message was true.
469.118 -> The message: love one another as I have loved you.
473.307 -> Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus
475.35 -> in December at Christmas,
477.443 -> and his suffering, death, and resurrection
479.706 -> during Holy Week in the spring.
481.915 -> In the ceremony of baptism,
483.246 -> a washing away of sin
484.686 -> and welcoming into the Christian community,
486.961 -> recall Jesus's own baptism
488.787 -> when he left his life as a carpenter.
490.958 -> In the rite of Communion,
492.43 -> Christians eat the bread and drink the wine
494.461 -> blessed as the body and blood of Jesus,
497.127 -> recalling Jesus's last supper.
499.593 -> There are two billion Christians worldwide,
502.017 -> representing almost a third of the world's people.
507.081 -> Islam began 1400 years ago
509.568 -> with a man of great virtue,
511.359 -> meditating in a mountain cave
513.028 -> in the Arabian desert.
514.743 -> The man was Muhammad.
516.997 -> He was visited by a divine messenger,
519.249 -> again the angel Gabriel,
521.162 -> in Arabic, Jibril,
523.335 -> delivering to him the words of Allah,
526.002 -> the one God of Abraham.
528.028 -> In the next few years,
529.212 -> more and more messages came,
530.849 -> and he memorized and taught them.
533.108 -> The verses he recited were full of wise sayings,
535.814 -> beautiful rhymes,
536.846 -> and mysterious metaphors.
538.981 -> But Muhammad was a merchant, not a poet.
541.764 -> Many agreed the verses
543.321 -> were indeed the words of God,
545.015 -> and these believers became the first Muslims.
548.011 -> The word Muslim means one who surrenders,
551.016 -> meaning a person who submits to the will of God.
554.334 -> A Muslim's five most important duties
556.368 -> are called the Five Pillars:
558.516 -> Shahada, Muslims declare publicly,
561.626 -> there is no other God but Allah,
564.681 -> and Muhammad is his final prophet;
567.502 -> Salat, they pray five times a day facing Mecca;
571.436 -> Zakat, every Muslim is required
574.05 -> to give 2 or 3% of their net worth to the poor;
577.852 -> Sawm, they fast during daylight hours
581.163 -> for the lunar month of Ramadan
583.001 -> to strengthen their willpower
584.551 -> and their reliance on God;
586.598 -> and Hajj, once in a lifetime,
589.51 -> every Muslim who is able must make a pilgrimage
591.605 -> to the holy city of Mecca,
593.499 -> rehearsing for the time
594.44 -> when they will stand before God
595.941 -> to be judged worthy or unworthy
598.061 -> of eternal life with Him.
600.388 -> The words of God,
601.522 -> revealed to the prophet over 23 years,
604.34 -> are collected in the Quran,
606.161 -> which literally translates into "the recitation."
609.995 -> Muslims believe it to be the only holy book
612.355 -> free of human corruption.
614.244 -> It's also considered by many
615.745 -> to be the finest work of literature
617.157 -> in the Arabic language.
619.315 -> Islam is the world's second largest religion,
621.662 -> practiced by over one and a half billion Muslims around the globe.
627.02 -> Religion has been an aspect of culture
628.973 -> for as long as it has existed,
630.803 -> and there are countless variations of its practice.
634.137 -> But common to all religions
635.572 -> is an appeal for meaning
637.72 -> beyond the empty vanities
638.861 -> and lowly realities of existence,
641.634 -> beyond sin,
642.732 -> suffering,
643.564 -> and death,
645.665 -> beyond fear,
647.248 -> and beyond ourselves.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6dCxo7t_aE