The Sacredness of Language
October 17, 2007
Jillian Snyder
I never really thought about the sacredness of language until I worked at a camp this summer at the University of Michigan. Eight of my thirteen campers were from Mumbai, India, several of whom practiced Jainism—an ancient faith from the 6th century BCE. One day, a few of them came into my dorm room to find my runners, discarded from an afternoon jog, thrown on a few papers near my bed. They looked at me, wide-eyed, and moved the shoes and the papers apart, with mutters of, “This is not good, not good.” When I inquired of them why, they explained that paper is the medium for words, sacred entities in themselves, and should not be contacted with the dirtiness of our feet.
As we approach language in the modern world, we often forget its sacred connotations. I often hear and believe the term “talk is cheap.” In an era where saving face and free speech seem to be cultural buzz words, refraining ourselves or considering the holiness of words appears to be restrictive to our individual rights. Perhaps then, it is time to stop and consider the power that language holds and consider how all of humanity regards it as holy.
The Holy Koran: Revering the Words of God
Islam, like some sects of Christianity, is sometimes referred to as a religion of the book. The words of the Koran came to the Prophet Mohammad in a series of revelations over the course of his lifetime to give instruction and to explain how he and his followers should live and properly react to varying circumstances. Muslims believe that the words of the Koran are from God. In fact, they believe that the Koran was already written in heaven in Arabic before it was conveyed to the Prophet.
Because of these circumstances, Muslims regard the words of the Koran much higher than the words of any other book—just as the words of God are differentiated from the words of man. Because of this, they take special care to not put the Koran in a circumstance where it would be defiled. These conditions would include: not placing the book on the floor unless a covering first is put down such as a blanket, putting it on the top of a pile of books, and only disposing a damaged Koran through burial or by means of recycling. In addition, this practise does not restrict itself simply to Koran itself, but also to any words taken from the book. Such respect upholds the book’s standards not simply as a creation of man, but as the words of God.
Buddism: Prayers to the wind
Jolene Hildebrand
Within the Buddhist tradition, different groups attribute varying levels of significance to the written text. In worship and meditation, however, language takes on a more visceral role.
According to the Buddhist scriptures, a council was held shortly after the Buddha’s death where his personal assistant was called upon to recite the discourses of the Buddha. This recitation was passed on orally through chanting, and was committed to text much later. Buddhism does not have any one singular text universally referred to by all of the various traditions, but is strongly based on meditative chanting. In the Mahayana tradition, Buddhist worshippers will sit barefoot, either in a temple or at home, facing an image of Buddha, and chant. If in a temple, monks will chant from religious texts.
Buddhism also uses mantra—a short prayer, syllable or phrase that is spoken either out loud or within one’s head, and is considered to have a profound spiritual effect on that person. Physical prayer devices are often used in Tibetan Buddhist communities, such as prayer beads that represent the number of repetitions of a mantra. Mantras can also be written on prayer flags, in which case the prayer is repeated every time the flag blows in the wind. When written on a prayer wheel, the mantra is repeated by the spinning of the wheel.
Judaism: The Silent Name of God
Jillian Snyder
In the book of Exodus, it is written, “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name” (20:7). To steer clear of even coming close to transgressing this commandment, the Jews decided to avoid the name of God altogether; therefore, in Judaism the name of God in general is relegated to the realm of silence.
The original name of God, the tetragrammaton YHWH, was never to be mentioned outside of the Temple courts in Jerusalem. Thus, with no vowels above the name, the true pronunciation has been lost. This has led to an amalgamation of other names to portray the name of God.
The word “Adonai,” the Hebrew word for “Lord” is, according to rabbis, only spoken in prayer. In spoken language, Jews use the word, “Hashem,” which simply means “the name.” “El,” which is common name for gods within the Mesopotamian region was often combined with descriptive characteristics such as “El Elyon” (the Most High God) or even the name “Daniel” (God is my judge).
Another particular regard for the name of God in Judaism is that scribes always pause before copying the names of God down in a book. It is through these names that the Jewish community comes into intimate contact with the sacred.
Christianity: Truth in the red letters
Jolene Hildebrand
In the movie, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, the main character Madea says, “Every time I try to read the Bible… and Jesus… the one with all the words in red… I open my Bible to that New Testimony and see all that red and I just give up. Jesus was talkin’ way too much.” Where did the words written in red come from?
This practice was initiated by an American named Louis Klopsch (1852 – 1910), the editor of The Christian Herald. Apparently, Klopsch was inspired by the passage from Luke 22:20, where Jesus says: “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which I shed for you.” This passage inspired him to rework versions of the New Testament in red ink, symbolizing the blood of Jesus. Klopsh noticed that in the King James Version of the Bible that the words of Jesus did not possess quotation marks surrounding them, and thought that the red letters would help distninguish the words of Christ.
Red-letter Bibles are now a staple in the Protestant Christian market, and have inspired everything from songs to Facebook religious views.
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