Ramana Maharshi

This was a very insightful read. The wisdom behind the words were very intriguing. The section that reads, "If the mind is happy, not only the body but the whole world will be happy..." was the best section i have read so far in this book because it reflects on something that i live my life by. The sense that if you are happy, you will reflect that happiness to people around you, in turn, making the world you live in a happier place. The passage continues on to say that, in summation, you can't change the world unless you know who you are. Relating to the last part, you can't make the world happy, if you yourself are not.

The Upanishads

My favorite part of this read was the quote, "If you think that you know God, you know very little; all that you can know are ideas and images of God." This stuck out to me because of the sheer truth behind it. No one can fully grasp the whole meaning and understanding of God. To me, i think that that is why people turn to religions in the first place. It is a belief in a higher being that no one can explain in which we enlist our trust. I feel that if God was something that was explained and proved to be either true or untrue, religion would in turn lose it's luster.

Chief Seattle

Although i found the story of Chief Seattle a bit confusing what i gathered from it was this: The white man offered to buy the land from Chief Seattle and his people. Chief Seattle continues on to say that no matter where the tribe resides, their practice of their religion will live on. Chief Seattle says, "The ground beneath your feet responds more lovingly to our steps than yours, because it is the ashes of our grandfathers." To me, this was his way of saying, our people are all around us, and that is how it will always be. He also states that the religion of the white man was given to them by the finger of an angry god, whereas the religion of the tribe was passed down from generation to generation and will not be easily forgotten, as opposed to the religion of the white man. My favorite quote from the story is as follows: "It matters little where we spend the rest of our days. They are not many." I like this because Chief Seattle knows that the days he and his tribe have left are limited, however he would rather spend his remaining days on a reservation, free to practice religion any ways he pleases, rather than to be bombarded with the pressures of converting on a daily basis.

Sa-go-ye-wat-ha

The story of Sa-go-ye-wat-ha was very interesting to me in the sense that he was not willing to accept that the religion of the white man was the best religion for his people. He points out that just like his religion, the religion of the white people is passed down from generation to generation. However, he recognizes that the white man has a book in which the religion is recorded and from which the religion is taught. He states, "If it was meant for us as well as for you [to have a book], why hasn't the great Spirit given it to us?". This quote shows the true differences between what Sa-go-ye-wat-ha believes, and what the white man is telling them they should believe. The white man's religion is based on a book and what someone has told them to believe. The tribe believes what The Great Spirit wants them to. In other words, they believe in fate. If they were meant to be blessed with a prosperous hunt, that is what they would receive. While the white man would believe that if they wanted a prosperous hunt, they would need to act accordingly.