Sunday, April 5, 2020

"Holy" Week, Easter, Ramadan, Passover

JCSS; Sheldon S., Crystal Q., Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

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I'm better when I meditate. :)
There are three post-Zoroaster/Mithra "Abrahamic [non-Brahmanic] religions" (plus Yazidism). And there are three Dharmic religions: Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism (plus Sikhism).

This is a big week for Christianity, Islam, and Judaism as Christians, Muslims, and Jews enjoy the holiest time of year, even holier than Christmastide, the pale Christian version of joyous Saturnalia.

Paper Tiger: "Donny the would-be Dictator"
What are people up to in this time of universal quarantine, mandatory house arrest, police state powers flexing their muscle (to "protect" us), curfews, beatings, public shaming, neighbor-denouncing (paid reporting/snitching), enforced mask wearing, distancing, demoralizing autocratic leadership, and all that good stuff we love as a free country craving a military-dictatorship and centralized government (*Irony*).

It's at times like these that the real "essential services" are determined. The freedom to practice whatever form of spirituality/religion we choose is paramount.

Islam: Ramadan
Ramadan, also referred to as the "Fasting Month," is observed by Muslims worldwide in the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar year. Ramadan in Arabic means "scorching heat."

Ramzan's "scorching heat." Purify your gaze!
This is possibly because the holiday falls in a time when the temperatures are quite high in that part of the world [or more likely because of the heat of the austerities or Sanskrit tapas of religious exertion].

Let us remember our own hypocrisy and bias.
During this holiday Muslims are not supposed to eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset.

Fasting [which is also practiced by Buddhist monastics and intensive-meditators, whose restraint is to eat by day but only until noon and never at night] is one of the five pillars of Islamic principles.

Who Speaks for Islam?
They are also instructed to avoid evil thoughts and sinful behavior such as cursing, lying, [masturbating or viewing pornography and instead "purifying their gaze"], and fighting (except in self-defense).

Normally, the sighting of the crescent moon marks the end of the Holy Month. Muslims break their fasting by sharing meals with family and friends in a three-day festival known as Eid al-Fitr or the "Feast of Fast-Breaking."

What is the history [origin] of Ramadan? According to the Islamic belief, the Quran was first revealed to Prophet Muhammad during the holy month of Ramadan as he meditated in a cave outside the holy city of Mecca. More

Jews: Passover
It's not. But it is very poor framing that sounds defensive (jewishvoiceforpeace.org).
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"I'm only Jewish on my parent's side" - Ram Dass
(USA Today) Typically at sundown [at the beginning of this holiday], Jewish people around the world would gather at a table to commemorate Passover, one of the most important and widely observed Jewish holidays of the year.

The festival typically brings friends, relatives, and even [non-Jewish] strangers together for a celebration of freedom highlighted by a seder [lit., "order," like the famous Last Supper] dinner.

But this year, like many other events and celebrations, Passover plans probably will be cancelled because of the spread of the coronavirus. But what is it?

I'm the face of Judaism, right? - Well, Bibi...
Passover is an eight-day [African] holiday that commemorates [the passing over" of your house by rubbing blood on the door during] the departure [exodus] of the Jewish [or Canaanite] people from slavery in Egypt [in North Africa] more than 3,000 years ago.

The name is a reference to their holy book (Exodus 12:13), where it says their tribal God inflicts ten plagues on the Egyptians after the king (pharaoh) refuses to free the Israelites [or Canaanites, of neighboring Israel, North Africa].

God (YHWH) used to have a wife: Asherah.
During the final "plague," the killing [or purposeful murder] of the firstborn sons, their war-like tribal God “passed over,” or spared, the houses of the Israelites/Canaanites who rubbed blood of innocent slaughtered lambs on their doors, as their tribal God instructed them. [Why did the God want it to be innocent blood? Magic is magic, and the spirits demand specific ingredients for the magic to work.]

Thou shalt not mention my wife or Eve 1: Lilith
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, head of the Union for Reform Judaism (urj.org), the largest stream of Judaism in North America, explains: "When we ask people, 'What is the most important part of your Jewish identity?'" one answer stands out. "The dominant answer is, 'Standing up for equality, pursuing justice, and standing up for the rights of the marginalized.' These are core Jewish commitments. And if you ever had a ritual that teaches those commitments, it is Passover."
Christians: Easter
It's like neopagan Easter for Eostre when England celebrates The Lady of Cornwall.
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All Christians were forced to cover their heads
"Easter" began as the worship of sexy and fertile Eostre (the source of our English word estrus), a pagan fertility goddess appropriated by Christian yahoos.

Pagan Anglo-Saxons held feasts in Ēostre's honor, but the tradition died out by his time, replaced by the Christian Paschal month, a celebration of the resurrection (rebirth) of Jesus during Paschal ("Easter") month, during the time of renewal called spring. Astrotheology and archetypal religious themes explain it all.

What is a "Christian"? There are three types -- Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox. Catholics are far and away the most numerous, and Eastern and Greek Orthodox are likely the closest to the real thing, but the Protestants are revivalist movements trying to get back to the original form, as if there were one that weren't Jewish pre-Emperor Constantine.

Russian Orthodox: Story of  Easter with black African Jesus
Easter (pagan Eostre Feast), Pascha in Greek and Latin, or "Resurrection [Rebirth] Sunday," is an old pagan festival and Christian holiday.

It commemorates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament [the Roman Empire's new version of the Bible, which created "Caesar's Messiah," the blond Jesus we all know] as having occurred on the third day after his entombment following crucifixion for political crimes by the ruling Romans at Calvary circa 30 AD.

Easter is the culmination of the "Passion [Suffering] of Jesus," preceded by Lent or Great Lent, a 40-day period of austerities like vegetarian fasting, prayer, and penance.

Easter (Eostre, Ostara, Austro)
Today is Palm Sunday. Most Christians refer to the week before Easter as "Holy Week," which contains the days of the Easter Triduum, including Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper, as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.

In Western Christianity, Eastertide, or the Easter Season, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the 50th day, Pentecost Sunday. In Eastern Christianity, the season of Pascha begins on Pascha and ends with the coming of the 40th day, the Feast of the Ascension. More

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