In our modern world we are crammed with images fed through electronic media and it is often violence that has an immediate impact on us. Suspicion and fear flare up when individuals are seen committing insane acts of terrorism to carry out a dogmatic proof of a belief or set of ideologies. This always gives rise to an environment where conflict and unpredictability prevails. And images and iconography which we encounter do play up with emotions and feelings; they work by either creating a desire to express a message or simply to reveal the darker side of mankind.

There are many creative minds putting up their works on internet to prove that art has some healing potency to erase tensions and hatred culminating from intolerance and lack of spirituality. There are entire communities on Facebook and YouTube dedicated to creating digital works of art and imagery to show that art can be about peace and shunning aside differences. There are societies and communities set up solely to share pictures to prove that our planet earth is Eden-like despite the destruction of the forests and global warming. Some are producing works of the ethereal and celestial worlds to give a glimpse of the visual conception and the mysteriousness of the other reality. Some seek to transform spirituality as an attainment of non-violence and developing a love for a cosmic feeling of one-ness with the universe, which is why Buddha regularly appears in these images. With scores of posters, wall art, and sculptures dedicated to him, the Buddha has attained a Hollywood star status.

Whether all this is going to make everyone put aside differences, and especially set aside conflict between different faiths, is yet to be proven. But art can certainly quell growing doubts that we are unaware of the need to create bridges to fill the gaps arising from lack of knowledge about other faiths. Many charities working to promote interfaith dialogue are utilizing art as a tool to raise awareness about the cause. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation has created a filmmaking competition for youth are encouraged to show how faith inspires them.

Heaven on Earth Creations is another charity that makes documentaries on interfaith dialogue. Their recent documentary Globalized Soul was filmed all over the globe and describes the emergent universal spirituality that is transforming our world and thus forming a unity from the diversity that the human family generates through art, music and literature. This all could be an indication that we are interested in seeing religion not merely dominated by politics and scholarly debate, and that art is relevant for us to understand the controversies and issues we are facing in today’s world.

I set out to explore how three artists have used faith as a backdrop in their paintings. When humans practice ideologies and beliefs that preach a sense of exclusion, art has an essential transforming effect on those practices because it can be surreal and elusive.

Jane Monica Tvedt, a self-taught Norwegian artist, believes this transforming potential is possible; she says, "[Art] can make human beings think differently, and through paintings we can create thoughts that have never been there before."

Surprised by the scale of the tragedy in her home country, Tvedt has worked out a mission for herself to reach out to people through Facebook and give them a glimmer of the hope of unity and love. Her hazy and romantic paintings seem to have layers of emotions, some brimming with gayety and a celebration of life and others giving expression to more mystical thoughts. Ethereal and delicate characters float in circles and dots of colors. Certainly the viewer experiences a light feeling of being transformed into a nirvana of blissful scenery and people from her paintings. Tvedt draws inspiration from her readings of Quran, Bible, Hindu and Bhuddist scriptures.

If attainment of mystical power can be accomplished from the study of the Holy Scriptures, artist Faiza Shaikh has worked out another medium to reflect her inner thoughts about what faith should generate. She left Pakistan in the early eighties and has been based in London--a city brimming with diversity. Over the years, coming into contact with people belonging to different faiths has enriched Shaikh's own knowledge and outlook, and she likes to believe that her paintings are generating a message that all faiths essentially uphold the same moral principles. Her canvases include raw and bold colors schemes in rich patterns creating a baroquee tapestry. Amidst tension, the viewer finds drama infused with a lyrical vivacity that is neither too subtle nor too direct by use of  gold leaf  etched with the Holy texts that take centre place in her compositions.

Anoma Wijewardene’s work breathes a new meaning to human suffering and the desperate need for peace. She has been drawn to the strife between humans and the environment, between faiths and people. The political strife and civil war of her home country of Sri Lanka leaves haunting traces in the symbolism she creates. Wijewardene's work appears to be a place of the soul; she evoke a sense of divine inspiration and the beauty of form, which comes across in fossil-like figures and icicles of collages or cutout surfaces. In 2002, she showed a collection of her paintings in Delhi seeking to reflect the incidence of the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. It was her cumulative desire to create a tension in bringing together images from diverse faiths like Buddhism and Islam and so mirror the concept of irreconcilable differences which are only generated by human intolerance.

Modern art has become a global medium, but it is much more than merely an extension of an individual story from the painter. Many artists want to do away with borders and boundaries of intolerance and hate, and seek to share this message in their work.

Yet, even as we are observing that this noblest of occasion, we find that it has seen custom transform into duty and practice descend into commercialization and waste: waste of money, waste of meat, waste of food.

In preparation for the feast, over the last three weeks, you would have been bombarded with emails, text messages, and adverts on who offers the better deal on doing one’s Qurbani at a competitive price.  The hadith of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) to “compete to outdo one another for the good things” has become symbolized by market forces as "charities" outbid each other to offer the best price to slaughter a cow, sheep, or goat around the world.

And so, the most noblest and holiest of acts of worship has been denigrated to shopping around like buying a car: "Where is the best price for a cow, goat, or sheep, so that I can get a happier recipient and thus a better reward in the Hereafter?"

And so like in any market system, there are problems such as the manipulation of prices, corruption, and abuse as suppliers try to meet the demands for slaughter.

In the essence of rushing to seek that instant satisfaction of redemption, we trivialize the essence of the need on the ground.  No--the poor, vulnerable and needy do not have meat, but no one stops to ask whether giving them meat for a day would help improve their lives or if doing something else is needed.

Therein lies the problem--the closure of  space for reasoning, debate, and rational thinking about faith, spirituality and practice. A symbolic and recommended (not obligatory) act of worship in remembrance of the Prophet Ibrahim’s (Peace be upon him) sacrifice becomes a literal obligation of animal sacrifice, so that the blood flows deep and the distribution of meat becomes the anchor for the duty.

We have forgotten what the sacrifice is supposed to symbolize.  The story and lesson of Prophets Ibrahim and Ismail (Peace be upon them) deserve to be shared, remembered, and celebrated.  The conversation between father and son in this most hardest of scenarios bears serious contemplation.  In the height of challenging circumstance, the consultation of a parent with his child and the firm but soft acceptance of a parent’s wish by a child highlights a dying relationship in the world today.

Very often, as older people, we neglect to pay those younger than us the respect of equal treatment, often speaking down to them or dismissing their views.  As younger people, we are often quick to rebel against the wishes of the older (and often wiser) generation.  Though such relationships can be open to abuse, this story reminds us of the delicate balance that is necessary in human relationships to ensure respect, understanding and acceptance.

Through showing the ultimate sacrifice of a parent’s closest and beloved possession for the sake of the One to whom you will eventually return, we are taught that whatever we own and are close to pales in comparison to the ultimate possession that we have: Our relationship with The One Most High.  This sacrifice coming at the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca is the very essence of the celebration. In our journey back to the beginning, how much will we be able to sacrifice?

This sacrifice not only reminds us to be thankful for all the blessings that we have, but to be content with them.  We are asked to keep in check our greed as whatever excess we have we are encouraged to share with those who deserve special attention - the poor and needy people, as well as the orphans.  This is the true meaning of the sacrifice that we make so that those in need will benefit.  So the question becomes, is it the principle or the actual act of sacrifice that we need to be thinking about during this time?

The significance of the hajj includes the principle of the sacrifice and the message: "To serve humanity, those in need; those without... To awaken your conscience in the proximity of the wounds and the injustices people face...To move away from your heart, your bad thoughts…To distance yourself from the darkest dimensions of your being, your violence, your jealousies, your superficialities."

By not allowing space for discussion to examine these ideas and principles, we negate the very concept of our heritage and teachings.

For the benefit of the voiceless, it is imperative that we not lose our way by being driven blindly by traditional practices or by commercialization, and to return to the very essence of the message that is part of all Abrahamic Faiths: respect and love of human beings (especially those who are vulnerable and have been unjustly treated). This is a manifestation of the love for the Almighty.

So this festive season, let us return to the essential.  Let us remember that this is, more than anything, a feast of fraternal atmosphere that is shared by all.  Thus, in reaching out to address the true objective of spirituality through prayers and good deeds, let us remember the responsibility we have to the poor.  Let us avoid the waste and, more importantly, the wasted sacrifices.

May the Almighty, who loves you, guide and protect you.  May there be peace and respite for all those who are suffering. May you spend time with your loved ones in an atmosphere of happiness; Happy Feast!

Madhvācārya, the 13^th century propounder of dualism, exemplifies a prophet whose prophetic witness was enacted in a kairos, which demanded his dualist response. The school of Vedānta that he founded was a radical corrective that urged the return to a theistic conception of the universe that was in accordance with the prescriptions of the śruti (the revealed canonical texts). I offer stipulative definitions of three terms and one phrase used in Catholicism, namely kairos, prophet, witness, and the combined, prophetic witness. I use these to show that he is a prophet, and a prophetic witness who acted during a kairos.

Wuthnow explains by saying that there are two mentalities, one interested in stability and security and the other which moves towards exploration and transition.  Many individuals now are looking for the sacred and the meaningful elsewhere than in traditional churches or religious institutions, and finding it in places not usually regarded as sacred.  As Wuthnow comments: “Rather than being in a place that is by definition spiritual, the sacred is found momentarily in experiences as different as mowing the lawn or viewing a full moon.” (1998, 3-5)  The purpose of this article is to build on Wurthnow’s idea and map the movement of spiritual seekers as they travel from their familiar locale in different directions by unknown paths to spiritual “fresh woods and pastures new.”

This article employs an extended metaphor of journey or passage, that is, someone goes from one place to another, chooses a route, makes discoveries on the way and arrives at a destination. The journey is the inner journey of a person seeking, looking and finding a new spiritual home.   The paper provides a framework or map, to enable one to observe where the journey may be headed.  After all, when travellers have a general sense of the countryside, then they are less likely to feel lost.