The following is a brief summary of a talk given by Professor Nara 21 Dec 04

Hinduism and Shintoism

The afternoon session of the Zushi Monthly Retreat on December 21, 2004 was a talk on Hinduism and Shintoism by Mr. Tsuyoshi Nara, Professor Emeritus, Seisen University. This talk introduced some basic ideas and practises of Shintoism.  The professor gave the talk in both English and Japanese. He started off by saying that as Swami Medhasanandaji  had mentioned earlier in his comments that the Holy Mother manifested Herself through various mothers, he felt that the delicious lunch prasadam was prepared by the Holy Mother Herself through Her children.

Professor Nara pointed out that Shintoism was not founded by any one person or group and that nobody really knew how far back the belief system dated. He said that many Japanese practise it unconsciously in daily life. He explained that the word Shinto means Divine Path or the Way to God, and that there were no actual defining scriptures.  He said that fundamental Shinto rituals were related to the worship of nature and of ancestors and that while a Shinto shrine does not have images per se, a stone is kept in each shrine and the Universal Spirit is invoked in this stone. He pointed out that a Shinto shrine is secluded by trees and that the area inside the shrine is considered pure. Interestingly, scientists have taken readings which point to the fact that vibrations within the Shinto shrines were different.

Professor Nara stated that to be able to communicate with the Universal Spirit, truthfulness, sincerity, purity are all important, and that, in fact, there were some mystical practises which were known only to the Emperor in earlier times and possibly even to this day, since the Emperor is considered to be the spiritual head of Shintoism.

In contrast to Hinduism, he noted that in Shintoism there was no concept of reincarnation or rebirth of souls and that after death, all would finally merge in the Divine Spirit through graded steps. While on the other hand, there is a Shinto concept akin to the Jivanmukta of Hinduism, and such people are called Mikoto.

After the talk, there was a brief question and answer session followed by Bhajans by Shanti-san and Samudra Gupta-san.  After Bhajans, there was a guided meditation. After tea and snacks, devotees started taking leave of the Centre with hearts full of joy and the satisfaction which comes from a day well spent.

(From a report by Ashish Gupta)