Volume 7 - Issue 08
August 2009
Other Articles

MULTI-FAITH QUIZ

ON SAINTS AND HOLY MEN - I

Right answer on your 1st attempt
3 Points
Right answer on your 2nd attempt
2 Points
Right answer on your 3rd attempt
1 Point

In general, the term Saint refers to someone who is exceptionally virtuous and holy. It can be applied to both the living and the dead and is an acceptable term in most of the world's popular religions. The Saint is held up by the community as an example of how we all should act, and his or her life story is usually recorded for the edification of future generations.

Swami says: “Learn from the saints and sages who have realized the Truth about the path you shall tread and the goal you have to attain.” In the current quiz we take you through the lives of many such ideal men and women who have become lighthouses of inspiration and direction for generations to come.

1. In Islam, a Sufi is one who is a lover of Truth, who by means of love and devotion moves towards the Truth, towards the Perfection which all are truly seeking, and who dedicates himself to the quest after mystical union (or, better said, reunion) with his Creator from whom he has been cut off and become aloof – and his longing and desire to restore it.

Jalalud'din Rumi is one of the world’s most revered mystical Sufi poets, whose outpourings capture the hearts of spiritual seekers because of their depth and beauty. 

For Rumi, religion was mostly a personal experience and not limited to logical arguments or perceptions of the senses. “The religion of love is separate from all forms of religions. Lovers are of one nation and one religion – love. And that is God.”

In essence, what was the nature of Rumi’s teachings through his poetry?




 

2.A Tulku is an enlightened Tibetan Buddhist Lama who is believed to be the manifestation of the ‘Bodhisattva’ - of Compassion, who is consciously determined to take birth, often re-incarnate many times, to serve the people.

Dalai Lama means Ocean of Wisdom. The current Dalai Lama, is often called "His Holiness” (HH) by Westerners. His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama.

How do the Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness, the current XIVth Dalai Lama as?




 

3. In Jainism, when a person renounces the worldly life and all the attachments, and is initiated into monk hood or nun hood, the man is called Sadhu, Shraman or Muni and the woman is called Sadhvi, Shramani, or Arya. However, the chief among saints, the topmost in Jain hierarchy of saints is called Acharya.

Acharya Bhikshu was one of the great revolutionary saints of Jainism. He was a staunch disciple of Lord Mahavir and completely immersed his life on the path given by Him. In pursuit of finding Truth, he sacrificed material goals, honor and luxuries and studied and analyzed the various disciplines of the Jain religion thoroughly and on this basis, compiled his own ideologies and principles of the Jain way of life.

In the initial phase of his spiritual revolution, he had 13 saints,13 followers and 13 basic rules. This coincidence resulted in "Terapanth" – “tera” represented the number 13, panth meaning religious order.

What was the most important principle observed and stressed upon in this religious order of Terapanth that Acharya Bikshu propagated?




 

4. Living a hidden, simple life of prayer, St. Therese was gifted with great intimacy with God. Through sickness and dark nights of doubt and fear, she remained faithful to God, rooted in His merciful love. Christians around the world came to know Therese through her autobiography, "Story of a Soul". She described her life as a "Little way of spiritual childhood." She lived each day with an unshakable confidence in God's love. "What matters in life," she wrote, "is not great deeds, but great love."

Therese lived and taught a spirituality of attending to everyone and everything well and with love. She believed that just as a child becomes enamored with what is before her, we should also have a childlike focus and totally attentive love. Therese's spirituality is of doing the ordinary, with extraordinary love.
What was St. Therese also popularly known as?




 

5. Saint Kabir is one of the major inspirations behind Sikhism. His name, ‘Kabir’, is often interpreted as Guru's Grace. A substantial amount of Kabir's verses (dohas) are pious songs sung in deep meditation and are present - about 500 of them - in the Sikh scripture, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, that is considered the living Guru by the followers of Sikhism.

What method of attaining salvation did Kabir advocate the most in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib?

He insisted on forming a special group amongst Sikhs


 

6. For Hindus, it is extremely difficult to find a parallel to the wonderful Mirabai, a saint, philosopher,  poet and sage. She was a princess, but she abandoned the pleasures and luxuries incident to her high station, and chose instead, a life of poverty, austerity, renunciation and solitude. She was a magnanimous soul whose life had a singular charm of extraordinary beauty.

Many of the tales of Mirabai’s life focus on her struggles with her husband’s royal family. They apparently did not approve of her constant devotion to God to the neglect of her husband and family.

Towards the end of her life, when Maharana, her husband, asked her to leave the Krishna Temple located in the palace, Mira in all agony and anxiety went to Dwaraka. And upon reaching there she found the temple doors of the city closed. What happened next?




 

7. A group of devoted young seekers, led by Mullá Husayn, set out from the holy city of Karbilá (near Baghdad) in search of the Promised One, a Bahá’í Messianic figure, whose coming had been prophesized for more than a thousand years.

On reaching Shiraz, Mullá Husayn was approached by a young man wearing a green turban, an indication that the wearer was a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad. The stranger invited Mullá Husayn to his home. After being asked by him as to what he was doing in Shiraz, Mullá Husayn replied that he was searching for the Promised One.

The young man then asked how would the Promised One be recognized, to which Mullá Husayn replied, "He is of a pure lineage, is of illustrious descent, is endowed with innate knowledge and is free from bodily deficiency."

To the shock of Mullá Husayn, when the young man declared, "Behold, all these signs are manifest in Me.” How did Mullá Husayn react?


He grilled Him with questions

 

8. Zarathushtra used fire as the central symbol of his teachings, and the ‘fire guardians’ became Zoroastrian priests. Dastur are high priests and in addition to being learned in the entire Avesta (Holy Scripture) and proficient in conducting all the ceremonies, Dasturs are leaders, administrators, spiritual guides and teachers.

Revered Priest of Priests, Dr. Dastur Maneckji N. Dhalla, whose 'way of life' was an object-lesson to humanity, and whose day-to-day life-style shaped a living, loving volume of ethical import was the orator and speaker eagerly sought for speaking engagements all over India, UK, and the US. When he rose to speak, his countenance radiated light. He spoke with flaming enthusiasm and animation, stirring up religious enthusiasm among his hearers. He held his audience spellbound and his listeners felt that their souls had awakened to a new life.

How many major books did the genius Dastur M.N. Dhalla write on the Zarathushti religion?




 

9. According to Jewish tradition, God gave both the Written Law (Torah) and the Oral Law (additional laws and customs meant to be passed down from teacher to student). "The Law" in Judaism refers primarily to Biblical Law, given to the Israelites by God through Moses, as well as interpretations of the meaning and application of those rules.

The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages, and as teachers of the Oral Law, were direct transmitters of passing it from teacher to student. According to tradition, the Tannaim were the last generation in a long sequence of oral teachers that began with Moses.

Since for centuries, only the Torah appeared as a written text, fearing that the oral traditions might be forgotten, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi undertook the mission of compiling them in what became known as the Mishnah.

What does the title “Nasi” mean in his name Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi?




Enlightened One

 

10. Narendra, reverently later known as Swami Vivekananda (Vivekananda means ‘joy of discrimination’), always remembered to mention the name of his pious mother Bhuvaneshawari Devi, as the one who in his childhood, played a very important role in his spiritual development. One of the sayings of his mother he quoted often in his later years was, "Remain pure all your life; guard your own honor and never transgress the honor of others. Be very tranquil, but when necessary, harden your heart."

When young Vivekananda showed great inclination towards spirituality and God realization, he searched for a man who could directly demonstrate the reality of God. He finally came to Ramakrishna Paramahansa and became his disciple. As a Guru, Ramakrishna taught him that all religions are true, and service to man was the most effective worship of God.

Living by such divine principles, he came to America and spoke as an unknown monk at the World Parliament of Religions. Instead of addressing the audience as “Ladies and Gentlemen”, which words did Swami Vivekananda use to address the audience which gained a standing ovation?


“Sincere Seekers of God”

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- Heart2Heart Team

 
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