Sacred Spaces: A Comparative Study

Describe briefly two examples of sacred time and two of sacred spaces.

What is sacred time? What is sacred Space? According to the textbook the definition of sacred is: “That which is ultimate, of either a spiritual or a secular nature, and which orders reality for believers.” (William, Young. The World's Religions. Fourth. Nancy Roberts, Print) “A sacred time would be when the believers set aside a "time out of time," to worship, renew, acknowledge their Ultimate”. (Davies- Stofka, Beth. "Patheos Library." Religion Library: Islam. Patheos, Web. 2 Sep 2014.) A sacred place would be a place where they meet. Ramadan is one example of a sacred time. Ramadan is the 9th months of the when Muslims worldwide observe this as a month of fasting and

Muslims are required to fast each day from sunrise to sunset. At this time Muslims are to also mandatory refrain any sinful that is not considered sacred. The evenings are reserved for nightly prayer from the Quran. Ramadan is a time to practice self- self-control; a time to cleanse the body and soul from impurities and transfer one’s self on the worship of the sacred. (God) Since I used Ramadan as an example of a sacred time; I decided to use Mosques as a sacred space. Mosques are a sacred space; that Muslims gather for worship and prayer. Many Muslims visit the mosque for all five of the daily prayers. ‘Muslims the most sacred place in the world is called the “House of God” the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The Grand Mosque holds the Kaaba Shrine’. My second example of a sacred time is Diwali. Diwali is the festival of lights. Light represents knowledge. Diwali is the biggest and the brightest of all Hindu festivals. The festival of lights is known as the New Year that’s marked by four days of celebration. Each day of Diwali has its own tale, legend and myth to tell. The first day marks the vanquishing of the demon Naraka; by Krishna and his wife Satyabhama. The

Next I would choose the Ganges River as my second sacred place example. I wanted to stick with Hinduism, but wanted to use a different example showing that, a sacred could be more than a building, church, or temple. The Hindus Ganges River is a very sacred place that the Hindus go to bathe in its sacred waters. They also go there to have their loved ones ashes scattered in the Ganges River after cremation. The Ganges River is located between the Countries of India and Bangladesh. The Ganges river basin has the highest population of any river basin in the world. They are several stories attached to the Holiness of the Ganges River. One of the stories; the King of Hastinapur name Shantanu conquered all nearby kingdoms expanded the borders of kingdoms to the river. When he was tired he would often go to the banks of the river Ganga where he would dream of a love life. One day he saw a beautiful woman he asks her name and she said Ganga. Both got married, but they were cursed by Bramma’s. If was said the Ganga gave birth to their children and she begins to drown them in the water. The curse was broken. Hinduism has worshiped the