Articles de revues sur le sujet « Praying with scripture »

Islamic spiritual counseling is based on views about God, human nature, the purpose of life, spirituality, morality, and life after death. Spiritual counseling is done by praying techniques, teaching spiritual concepts, scripture references, spiritual experiences, praying, encouraging forgiveness and using religious communities or groups. The research was conducted qualitatively using case studies in order to be described in depth and to understand the life and problems of the subject. Sampling used purposive sampling which experienced problems and needed counseling treatment through spiritual techniques. Collecting data using interview and assessment methods. The results of the study indicate that the client has been able to adapt well in managing problems and shows a commitment to solving these problems.

Abstract: this article examines the phenomenon of Living Islam in Eid al-Fitr with special reference to the people of Koto Padang Village, Sungaipenuh. It explains how the diversity of Islamic practices in local communities is influenced by differences in responses to the function of the scriptures and the local context surrounding them. It looks at how the reception of the local Islamic community towards the holy book and the pattern of interaction between religion and local culture in the tradition of visiting ulama’ houses. The function of the scriptures in history is not singular. Sources of Islamic teachings, apart from being interpreted in order to obtain the message and meaning in them (informative function), are also often understood to be actualized in concrete action (perfomative function). The comprehension process is also influenced by the local context and the situation of the reader. Based on religious and sociological studies, this paper finds that the tradition of visiting the ulamas house is one of the forms of the performing function of the scripture in the local community. The inteaction of religious understanding regarding Eid al-Fitr and respect for ulama with local culture has resulted in the practice of visiting ulamas’ houses during Eid al-Fitr. Nevertheless, this practice shows that the role of religion in influencing culture is more dominant. The values found in this tradition are this practice is a means of maintaining religious and cultural identity, respecting the ulama and moral education for the younger generation, praying as a form of good endeavor, enlivening Eid al-Fitr and fostering social cohesion

The article presents the problem of Jesus’ prayer both from the theoretical and practical side. It consists of several parts: an explanation of the concept and validity of this type of prayer, a brief presentation of its history, the transformation of structure, main elements, stages, practice and me- aning for spiritual life. The elaboration of the topic was made through analysis and then the synthe- sis of selected documents of the Church and publications on the Name of Jesus and the prayer with that Name. It was stated, inter alia, that Jesus’ prayer is a Trinitarian confession of faith, expresses the love for Christ, enables the activities of the Holy Spirit; brings inner peace, joy, warmth, li- ghtness. Jesus’ Prayer eases self-control, enlightens, permits a person to penetrate into the depths of God’s mysteries, reveals the meaning of Sacred Scripture, causes the person who is praying to consciously stay in God’s presence and to open himself to the saving presence and saving action of the Resurrected Christ. The awareness of God’s presence is in itself motivating to live for Christ.

Hãy đọc, lắng nghe, suy gẫm và cầu nguyện với Lời Chúa chúng ta sẽ được Lời Chúa uốn nắn, khuôn đúc, biến chúng ta thành công cụ ngoan ngoãn tới mức trở thành lời chứng sống động của Chúa trước mặt mọi người. Thật vậy Kinh Thánh là nơi ưu tuyển cho việc gặp gỡ giữa Thiên Chúa và con người. Abraham J. heschel viết :“Thánh Kinh không chỉ nói đến việc con người đi tìm Thiên Chúa, nhưng cũng mô tả việc Thiên Chúa theo đuổi con người” (Dio all ricerca dell’uomo, Roma 1983, Tr 156). Đó là lý do tại sao Thánh Kinh có thể đụng chạm tới sợi dây sâu thẳm nhất nơi hữu thể của ta để đi vào tận ngõ ngách bí ẩn nhất của đời ta. Trong những giây phút chúng ta thinh lặng chắc chắn Lời Chúa không những đem lại cho chúng ta sự bình an trong tâm hồn mà còn soi dẫn chúng ta đến nguồn ơn Cứu Độ của Ngài. Abstract By reading, listening to, meditating on, and praying with the Word of God, we will be molded and shaped by it, becoming obedient instruments to the point of becoming living witnesses of God before all people. Indeed, Scripture is the privileged place for the encounter between God and man. Abraham J. Heschel writes: "The Bible does not only speak of man's search for God, but also describes God's pursuit of man" (reference omitted). That is why Scripture can touch the deepest chords of our being and penetrate the most mysterious recesses of our lives. In those moments when we are silent, the Word of God surely brings us peace of soul and also leads us to the source of His salvation.

In the tradition of Christian contemplation, we find much encouragement to both contemplate nature and how we can discover God the Creator through it and how His love is imprinted on it. St Ignatius, however, in his Contemplation for the Achievement of Love, invites the praying person to contemplate not only creation, but also himself and his body. Since there is little research or literature on contemplation of the body, the author pays special attention to it in this article. He argues that the Triune God wants to reveal Himself to every man, not only through the book of nature and the Bible, but also through his body, and that contemplation of his body can be of great help to him in this. In the first chapter he briefly defines the meaning of contemplation and then turns to an understanding of the human body in the light of Scripture and spiritual theology. In the last part, he gives various examples of how we can contemplate the body and its various parts to allow the active presence and love of the Triune God to be revealed to us.

Elderly in aging process experienced physiological decline and loss and grieving. This can make elderly vulnerable to stress. Stress can make elderly not productive and focus on his/her losing. Stress might causes loss of interest, feelings of failure, and restless in physically and emotionally. Stress can impact to anger, anxiety, depression, pathological symptoms, and psychiatric illness. Thus, it require effective ways to manage stress which is experienced by older adults. Nursing management in handling stress can be done with holistic approach which one is spiritual care. Strong belief can make powerful positive effect to mind and body and can bring comfort. Goals : This study aim to know the relationship between spirituality with stress elderly in Palembang. Methods: Survey analytic design with cross sectional approach had done to 72 respondents by purposive. Data have been taken by Religious Commitment Inventory (RCI) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) then analyzed by Pearson’s correlation. Results : Results showed mean of RCI 31,03 (moderate religious) with standard deviation 7,551 and PSS mean 20,47 (moderate stress level) with standard deviation 5,642. Bivariate result showed there was negative relationship between spirituality and stress (r= –0,267; p= 0,023). Conclusion: Therefore, holistic nursing care with spiritual approach can be done by nurse in education to elderly so they can enhance their spirituality as positive and effective stress management with more intense praying, increase holy scripture learning and social interaction with other people with positive religious practice and activity.

Mona West shares her journey with the Bible as a feminist and a lesbian to articulate an approach to reading the Bible that claims it as a text to be trusted by queer people of faith. Drawing parallels with the ancient practice of lectio divina, she develops a method for praying the Scriptures using the process of coming out.

Based on the study in this paper, several things were found as the results of the study as follows. The forms of Balinese script used by shamans in traditional Balinese medicine include scripts that are classified as: wijaksara script, modre script, and wresastra/swalalita script with various script equipment as attributes. The functions of Balinese script which are classified as sacred scripts used in traditional Balinese medicine are: as a symbol of God in its various manifestations, as a symbol of the universe, and as a symbol of the human body. The meaning of the Balinese script used in traditional Balinese medicine is: praying to God in various holy powers of God, asking for life energy so that the person being treated can be healthy as before, can absorb magical religious energy so that the medicinal infrastructure used to treat the sick has power religious magical efficacious to treat.

This article addresses the distinctive spiritual qualities of aerial movement. Taking as a point of departure the feature lm Maria, Mãe do Filho de Deus (2003) played by famous Brazilian Padre Marcelo Rossi, it argues for an engagement with cinematic images in terms of aerial dynamic imagination. It will be shown that the “inspired breath” of Padre Marcelo organizes the universe and affects the constitution of subjects and space in the lm according to the Scriptures. The same aerial dynamic applies to his other contexts of performance such as Byzantine praying techniques and their relation to space. Subsequently, the article explores underlying analogies between electronic technology, acoustic environment, and pneumatic spirituality within common practices of embodied experience

This article addresses the distinctive spiritual qualities of aerial movement. Taking as a point of departure the feature lm Maria, Mãe do Filho de Deus (2003) played by famous Brazilian Padre Marcelo Rossi, it argues for an engagement with cinematic images in terms of aerial dynamic imagination. It will be shown that the “inspired breath” of Padre Marcelo organizes the universe and affects the constitution of subjects and space in the lm according to the Scriptures. The same aerial dynamic applies to his other contexts of performance such as Byzantine praying techniques and their relation to space. Subsequently, the article explores underlying analogies between electronic technology, acoustic environment, and pneumatic spirituality within common practices of embodied experience.

In 1937, the printing of the Tripitaka Koreana was carried out under the supervision of Gyeongseong Imperial University professor Dakahasi Toru(高橋亨) through the cooperation of the Japanese Government- General of Korea at the request and praying of KangDeok-je, the emperor of Manchukuo. In 1935, the KangDe Emperor visited Japan and observed old books and paintings from Joseon, China, and Japan in the collections of the Palace Museum and Jesil Museum, and was interested in the Goryeo Tripitaka and the Hwangbyeokpan Tripitaka. In 1936, the KangDe Emperor requested the Japanese Government-General of Korea to print the Tripitaka Koreana. It is presumed that Kang Deok-je's request for printing the Tripitaka was based on his devout Buddhist faith, and that he wished for merit or reward through the printing of the Tripitaka, a compilation of Buddhism. The printing of the Tripitaka in 1937 was requested by the KangDe Emperor, but 2 sets of Tripitaka were printed with one copy for the Central Buddhist College. In addition, the items required for printing were produced in Joseon, and printing and binding were performed by Joseon people in the traditional way of Joseon. Preparation for printing began in June 1937, printing was done from September 2nd to October 17th, and binding and box production were completed by December 1937. The Tripitaka arrived in Manchukuo on January 19, 1938. What was sent to the KangDe Emperor was 1,163 books of the Tripitaka, 3 lists, and 48 boxes, as well as 2 books of Daegakguksa-munjib大覺國師文集 and 1 book of Haejangsa-sajinjang 海印寺寫眞帳 in Haeinsa. The printed version was enshrined in Manchukuo and Bohyeonsa in Mt. Myohyang, Pyongan-do, and the Tripitaka in Manchukuo is unknown. Regarding the characteristics of the printing of the Tripitaka in 1937, the missing scriptures and supplementation of missing letters were reviewed. At the time of printing in 1937, 18 plates were engraved again with the intention of reproducing the original plate of the Goryeo Dynasty for the re-engraved plate to supplement the missing plate in 1915. The missing letters due to the damage of the Tripitaka scriptures were supplemented using 1,017 letters in 136 places produced in 1915.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an explanation of the characteristics of leadership in the Islamic religion which refers to the Koran, and Christianity which refers to the gospel. The research method used will be qualitative and literature. Leadership especially in Indonesia has always been a hot topic in this modern era. So, in Islam and Christianity also discusses the concepts of leadership that have been discussed in the respective scriptures for the sake of the smoothness of a nation, then referring to the holy book itself. Based on the entire discussion in writing, it can be concluded that in Islam That ideal is a good temper and a gentle heart, forgiving and praying, and the common interest is decided together. Meanwhile, according to Christianity, the ideal leader is a guide, who can be trusted, who lives in holiness, who lives in consistency, and leaders who have courage and humility.

Unrest in the community regarding sexual violence against women and its handling by providing rehabilitation, one by providing religious guidance and counseling, because religion is one of the media used for behavioral therapy and mental or psychological healing. Through a qualitative research method with a field research approach, the author examines the process of religious guidance and counseling for women victims of sexual violence, as well as the results after being given religious guidance and counseling to women victims of sexual violence. The results of the study found that the process of religious guidance and counseling to clients is given by strengthening nature and faith by praying, worshiping, reading and understanding the scriptures and giving motivation to clients to get closer and surrender to Allah, by adjusting their various profiles. both in terms of problems, age, and client's condition. However, the results or changes are influenced by the victim's cognitive level or knowledge of religious teachings, and the mental condition factors that experience mental disorders. The professionalism of the counselor in providing religious guidance and counseling can also have an influence on the success of the counseling process so that the client's feelings become calmer and can accept his situation. Keywords: Religious Guidance and Counseling, Women Victims of Sexual Violence.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the creation of the universe with the Dynic Paradigm according to the R12 Metamorphosis Reproduction (Metamorep) Theory in the 6 stages of the Covid economic era. The theory of R12 metamorphosis is based on the formula R12 and the Metamorphosis pattern. R12 is the Roikhan-12 formula that develops the Initial Edge Concept. The Metamorphosis Pattern is found in the changes in the Butterfly from the beginning. The Dynic Paradigm refers to the content of the scriptures according to truth and facts. This research was conducted in a desk study by collecting sources from scriptures, journals, books, and electronic media. The methodology used is Reflective Qualitative. The method used is metaphor and similarity. The result obtained is the Theory R12 Metamorphosis in the creation of the universe consists of 6 stages. This stage is a combination of the butterfly life cycle plus the creature's breeding cycle. It starts with 1 dot like an egg which contains high-density matter. Then there was a separation which was called the Early Edge Concept. Similar to this concept is the meaning of the Quran Surah Hid 11.114 which is interpreted as a separation from 1 solid dot into 2 parts, namely the edge of the universe's matter has 2 parts, and at the beginning of the universe's matter, there is 1 part in the caterpillar metaphor. Followed by the transformation into a Nebula with smoke covering the galaxy with the metaphor of a cocoon with the reflexivity of the universe praying. The last stage of Metamorphosis is the Butterfly which is represented in the form of the universe starting to develop at the beginning of its perfection. Two additional stages are before the reproductive period with the maturity level of the young universe. The last is the reproduction phase of the universe with a more mature maturity. The Dynic Paradigm is a solution for the development of the theory of the creation of the universe that combines existing theories with the contents of the holy book of the Covid economic era.

This essay, «Why pray? Augustine of Hippo’s multifaceted doctrine of prayer », will consist of three moments through which we shall progressively reveal the inner logic at work in Augustine’s understanding of prayer and how it is integrally connected with other aspects of his theological doctrine in general, and sapientia in particular, thus revealing the intrinsically mystagogical nature of prayer in Augustine’s mind-set. First, we shall explain how Augustine’s goal of arriving at sapientia became a matter of seeking Christ, the Incarnate Sapientia Dei. But Christ is most fully encountered in and through prayer, above all the prayer of His Body, the Church, in her scriptures, her sacraments, and above all, her divine liturgy, through which one is initiated into and progressively grows in one’s knowledge of the divine mysteries. Henee in order to attain to Wisdom, one had to engage in true worship, the point which will constitute our second focus. Finally, we shall consider two case studies of a sort, that is, Augustine’s exegesis of two biblical passages in which Christ Himself is depicted praying. The first is Matthew 6,9-13, in which Christ teaches His followers the Pater Noster, and the second John 17, the so-called High-Priestly Prayer, in which Christ is seen in a candid moment of profound communication with His Father. Paul van Geest understands a mystagogue as one who attempts «to kindle a desire in people for the incomprehensible and unspeakable mystery behind everything and everyone », and our contention in this essay will be that this reading of Augustine is confirmed when one examines Augustine’s theology through the lens of prayer and sapientia.

At a practical level, the atmosphere of religious culture could be established through activities that encourage cultural diversity in the school / madrassa, among others: firstly, conducting routine activities, namely the development of cultural diversity regularly taking place in the days of learning at school; secondly, creating a conducive school environment that becomes a laboratory for the delivery of religious education, so that the environment and the process of life for the students really can provide education about how to be religious; thirdly, not only is the Islamic religious education formally presented by teachers of religion with the subject matter of religion in a learning process, but it can also be done outside the learning process in their daily lives; fourthly, creating religious situations or circumstances; fifthly, allowing students to express themselves, develop their talents, interests and creativity of Islamic religious education in various skills and arts. Sixthly, organizing various religious competitions. Fostering cultural diversity in schools / madrassa that should be taken into acount is that the phenomenon of the praxis of worship and prayers conducted in an educational environment instead of being solely conducted ritually. The issue of moral destruction can not be solved by simply praying or just reading the scriptures. In addition, religious education in public schools in particular is in need of attitudes and perspectives of teachers to be open, inclusive, and capable of promoting dialogue and mutual understanding amid cultural and religous diversity in the school environment. For the writer, the Islamic religious education is an education that teaches universally good values and can be received by the plurality of community in the school environment.

This article aims to investigate the relationship between ethno-religious identity and the social distancebetween Muslims and Christians in Ambon and Yogyakarta, taking into account factors at the individual level.Also, this research is addressed to fll a gap in the literature between studies that emphasize economic andpolitical competition as the main sources of con?ict, and studies that focus on prejudice and discriminationas causes of con?ict. The central question is: to what extent is ethno-religious identifcation present amongMuslims and Christians in Ambon and Yogyakarta and observable in their daily lives? This research usessocial identity theory that attempts to question why people like their in-group, and dislike out-groups. Thetheory says that individuals struggle for positive in-group distinctiveness, and have positive attitudes towardtheir in-group and negative attitudes towards out-groups. This research uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A survey was conducted with 1500 university students from six universities in Ambon andYogyakarta. By using quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis, this study came up with several fndings. Firstly, the study found high levels of religious identifcation among Muslim and Christian respondents,demonstrated by their participation in religious practices, which we defne as frequency of praying, attendingreligious services, and reading the Holy Scriptures. Secondly, social distance consists of contact avoidance,avoidance of future spouses from another religion, and the support for residential segregation. Di?erencesfrom the mean show that Muslim respondents tend to display higher contact avoidance and support forresidential segregation compared to Christian respondents. Thirdly, analysis of variance demonstrates thatelements of ethno-religious identity are related signifcantly to elements of social distance.

This paper is about an out-of-date conception in religious anthropology, divine fatherhood. With this particular reference, it is a study concerning two divines (Harnack and Loisy) and a physician (Freud) living at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. All three were present and active when the Holy sciences became the Religious sciences. Ending with theoretical considerations, each section begins with a biographical sketch concerning successively H.'s, Fr.'s, L.'s attitudes to their father or to fatherly figures. Section I (Harnack) insists upon a focal idea in his theological views : considering God as a father, is the religious truth, the essence of Christianity, the core in the experience and the teaching of Jesus. This idea was permanent with him, whatever were the variations accepted in the detailed exegetical work. Section II (Freud) insists upon the relation between Freud's self-analysis and his ideas about divine fatherhood. Without this self-analysis and the discovery of the Oedipus complex, saying that, in the human thinking, a personal God is nothing more than a sort of a father, could just have been an expression of the religious attitudes in those days. According to Freud : (1) successions of events similar to the story of Oedipus were performed when new religions were founded, such as totemism, or when Moses (and Paul) were religious reformers ; (2) God is a father, but the devil is also a father ; (3) thinking of God as a father is important in maintaining religious institutions ; (4) but the existence of the "oceanic" sensation (this - religious ? - experience about which Romain Rolland wrote to Freud) is a problem for the theory of religion. At the beginning of section III (Loisy), two points can be noted : (1) his father was not for him an authoritarian figure ; (2) he had a difficult relationship with fatherly figures within the Roman church, including the Holy Father, until he became excommunicated. Besides, his faith and prayer were subjected to a crisis about the years 1885-1886. Before this happened, he had a mystical attitude when praying, while he was after this crisis morally faithful to God and to the Church. When he fights against protestant individualism, considering God as a father is to him only part of the religious feeling. In L'Evangile et l'Eglise, his critical study of Harnack's L'Essence du Christianisme, Loisy aims at psychological interpretations concerning scriptural expressions such as "the Son of God", "Father",.... After his excommunication, his religious thinking is still similar : God is the mystery ; religion is mysticism ; mystic, mystery, mysticism, and words alike, can be used concerning primitive magic, a sense of depersonalisation towards a cosmic unity, or the spiritual achievements of Monsieur Ollier as well. To be respectful - an ambivalent attitude - is also to him identical with religious feeling ; notwithstanding this ambivalence, he nowhere suspects that this respectful attitude could be equivalent to a son's reverence for his father. In the conclusion, this paper does not insist upon links connecting the temperamental biography (and/or the communautarian identity) with the religious thought of these three men. Harnack's ideas ar not far from a common religious feeling that was widespread in the XIXth century and which Freud studied. Although Freud and Loisy observed the existence of the same religious attitudes, including a son-to-father relationship and a sense of merging with boundless spaces and ages, their theories about the religious feeling are truly opposed. Consequently, questions must be asked about the use of the exact words and/or the unity of the subject matter, when we study religion, or religious feeling.

This study explored Christians’ view that living a healthy lifestyle by eating right and exercising was essential to what being a Christian meant to them, theoretically representing internalization of these health behaviors into one’s religious values and identity. Using a secondary data analysis of Pew Research Center survey data, we found that a minority of Christians (16%) internalized a healthy lifestyle; who also tended to be more religious, as expressed by believing in God, reading scripture, praying, and volunteering at church. The results provide preliminary support for the theorized disconnect in religious internalization of certain health behaviors, but not others. However, further exploratory analysis suggests that individuals who are a part of denominations that more recognizably express the importance of a healthy lifestyle as a part of their religious beliefs, and internalize this belief, might subsequently participate in and self-report healthier behavior.

The Lord’s Prayer seems to be the best-known prayer among Christian communities. In liturgical contexts, it appears to be the most memorized and recited text of the New Testament. The popularity of the Lord’s Prayer, on one hand, indicates its significance within Christianity. On the other hand, its popularity implies that many people recite it without reflecting on its theological meaning and significance. The main purpose of this work was to read the Matthean text of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) from the perspective of the Akan mother-tongue theological hermeneutics. The paper thus joins with a contemporary few selected voices in the African exegetical enterprise to suggest that a mother-tongue theological hermeneutical reading of scripture contributes to an enhanced understanding of biblical texts which is of ecumenical relevance in the contemporary glocal (global and local) contexts. Keywords: The Lord’s Prayer, Mother-tongue, Theological Hermeneutics, Akan, Matthew 6:9-13

Roughly two years after Metacom’s War, John Eliot published a Lord’s Supper preparativo titled, The Harmony of the Gospels, in the Holy History of the Humiliation and Sufferings of Jesus Christ from his Incarnation to his Death and Burial (1678). The book’s 130 pages provide a copious survey of various sufferings undergone by Jesus which Eliot parsed out of his reading of Scripture. Eliot posed several parallels between the experiences of Jesus, on one hand, and those of genuine Christians on the other. One of these parallels is the experience of poverty and what Eliot repeatedly called an “obscure low condition” that obtains from poverty. Considering Eliot’s long experience in cross-cultural ministry in a tenuous colonial context, this is one of the most striking features of the book. I believe it resonates with the Native Christian experience more than the white colonial Christian experience. Time and again Eliot makes an authorial movement from Gospel narrative and biblical commentary to contemporary application for Christian readers. I suggest that Eliot intended to voice comfort at times in The Harmony specifically to Native Christians by assuring them their experience of marginalization and suffering did not negate their status as a part of God’s people. What Eliot wrote about the low condition of being “a worm” reflects convictions likely forged in the fires of cross-cultural ministry in colonial context. Eliot’s multifaceted and expectant vision for the praying towns was a casualty of Metcom’s War. He seems to have changed his interpretation of 1 Corinthians 1:26–29. The theological motif of Zechariah’s temple rebuilding mission was replaced by the suffering Messiah’s rejection as the prominent biblical type informing Eliot’s expectations for the development of Native Christianity. In this carefully nuanced pastoral theology of poverty is also a prophetic critique of injustice toward the poor and marginalized.

Abstract J. E. Petersen’s Gespräche des Hertzens mit GOTT (Conversations of the Heart with GOD) is a soliloquy in the form of prayer that stages dialogue. Its complexity can be illustrated by two communication complexes. A first communication complex comprises the triadic dialogue between the Ego and an inner corresponding You – immanent in a single individual –, mediated by God. It can offer a moment of contemplation to the readers. In a scheme based on the religious history of Pietism the Ego in the confession of the Bible word turns equally to its inner You and to God. Mediated by the Holy Spirit, a personal experience of the scriptural word is evoked, leading to self-conviction. During this praxis pietatis, the reader takes over the position of the praying person – that is the Ego and the You. Petersen’s ‘Heart-Conversations’ are paradigmatic for a connection of literary studies and religious studies: on the one hand, for a communication scheme-based justification of the dialogical in the soliloquy and, on the other hand, as a communication complex of the staged, performative dialogue in pietistic written prayer.

There’s no reason to think that Jesus wouldn’t have Facebooked or twittered if he came into the world now. Can you imagine his killer status updates? Reverend Schenck, New York, All Saints Episcopal Church (Mapes) The fundamental problem of religious communication is how best to represent and mediate the sacred. (O’Leary 787) What would Jesus tweet? Historically, the quest for sacred connections has relied on the mediation of faith communication via technological implements, from the use of the drum to mediate the Divine, to the use of the mechanical clock by monks as reminders to observe the canonical hours of prayer (Mumford). Today, religious communication practices increasingly implicate Web 2.0, or interactive, user-generated content like blogs (Cheong, Halavis & Kwon), and microblogs like “tweets” of no more than 140 characters sent via Web-based applications like text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail, or on the Web. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project’s latest report in October 2009, 19% of online adults said that they used a microblogging service to send messages from a computer or mobile device to family and friends who have signed up to receive them (Fox, Zickuhr & Smith). The ascendency of microblogging leads to interesting questions of how new media use alters spatio-temporal dynamics in peoples’ everyday consciousness, including ways in which tweeting facilitates ambient religious interactions. The notion of ambient strikes a particularly resonant chord for religious communication: many faith traditions advocate the practice of sacred mindfulness, and a consistent piety in light of holy devotion to an omnipresent and omniscient Divine being. This paper examines how faith believers appropriate the emergent microblogging practices to create an encompassing cultural surround to include microblogging rituals which promote regular, heightened prayer awareness. Faith tweets help constitute epiphany and a persistent sense of sacred connected presence, which in turn rouses an identification of a higher moral purpose and solidarity with other local and global believers. Amidst ongoing tensions about microblogging, religious organisations and their leadership have also begun to incorporate Twitter into their communication practices and outreach, to encourage the extension of presence beyond the church walls. Faith Tweeting and Mobile Mediated Prayers Twitter’s Website describes itself as a new media service that help users communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to the question, “What are you doing?” Some evangelical Christian groups harness these coincident messaging flows to create meaningful pathways for personal, intercessory and synchronised prayer. Using hashtags in a Twitter post creates a community convention or grouping around faith ideas and allows others to access them. Popular faith related hashtags include #twurch (Twitter + church), #prayer, #JIL (Jesus is Lord) and #pray4 (as in, #pray4 my mother). Just as mobile telephony assists distal family members to build “connected presence” (Christensen), I suggest that faith tweets stimulating mobile mediated prayers help build a sense of closeness and “religious connected presence” amongst the distributed family of faith believers, to recreate and reaffirm Divine and corporeal bonds. Consider the Calvin Institute of Worship’s set up of six different Twitter feeds to “pray the hours”. Praying the hours is an ancient practice of praying set prayers throughout certain times of the day, as marked in the Book of Common Prayer in the Christian tradition. Inspired by the Holy Scripture’s injunction to “pray without ceasing” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17), users can sign up to receive hourly personal or intercessory prayers sent in brief verses or view a Tweetgrid with prayer feeds, to prompt continuous prayer or help those who are unsure of what words to pray. In this way, contemporary believers may reinvent the century-old practice of constant faith mediation as Twitter use helps to reintegrate scripture into people’s daily lives. Faith tweets that goad personal and intercessory prayer also makes ambient religious life salient, and preserves self-awareness of sanctified moments during normal, everyday activities. Furthermore, while the above “praying the hours” performance promotes a specific integration of scripture or prayer into individuals’ daily rhythms, other faith tweets are more focused on evangelism: to reach others through recurrent prayers or random inspirational messages sent throughout the day. For instance, as BBC News reports, religious leaders such as Cardinal Brady, head of Ireland’s Catholic Church, encourage parishioners to use Twitter to spread “the gift of prayer”, as they microblog their daily prayers for their friends and family. Cardinal Brady commented that, “such a sea of prayer is sure to strengthen our sense of solidarity with one another and remind us those who receive them that others really do care" (emphasis mine). Indeed, Cardinal Brady’s observation is instructive to the “Twitness” of faithful microbloggers who desire to shape the blogosphere, and create new faith connections. “JesusTweeters” is a faith-based social networking site, and a service which allows users to send out messages from any random tweet from the Bible Tweet Library, or their own personal messages on a scheduled basis. The site reports that over 500 members of JesusTweeters, each with an average of 500 followers, have signed up to help “spread the Word” worldwide through Twitter. This is an interesting emergent form of Twitter action, as it translates to more than 2.5 million faith tweets being circulated online daily. Moreover, Twitter encourages ‘connected presence’ whereby the use of microblogging enables online faith believers to enjoy an intimate, ‘always on’ virtual presence with their other congregational members during times of physical absence. In the recently released e-book The Reason Your Church Must Twitter, subtitled Making Your Ministry Contagious, author and self-proclaimed ‘technology evangelist’ Anthony Coppedge advocates churches to adopt Twitter as part of their overall communication strategy to maintain relational connectedness beyond the boundaries of established institutional practices. In his book, Coppedge argues that Twitter can be used as a “megaphone” for updates and announcements or as a “conversation” to spur sharing of ideas and prayer exchanges. In line with education scholars who promote Twitter as a pedagogical tool to enhance free-flowing interactions outside of the classroom (Dunlap & Lowenthal), Coppedge encourages pastors to tweet “life application points” from their sermons to their congregational members throughout the week, to reinforce the theme of their Sunday lesson. Ministry leaders are also encouraged to adopt Twitter to “become highly accessible” to members and communicate with their volunteers, in order to build stronger ecumenical relationships. Communication technology scholar Michele Jackson notes that Twitter is a form of visible “lifelogging” as interactants self-disclose their lived-in moments (731). In the case of faith tweets, co-presence is constructed when instantaneous Twitter updates announce new happenings on the church campus, shares prayer requests, confirms details of new events and gives public commendations to celebrate victories of staff members. In this way, microblogging helps to build a portable church where fellow believers can connect to each-other via the thread of frequent, running commentaries of their everyday lives. To further develop ‘connected presence’, a significant number of Churches have also begun to incorporate real-time Twitter streams during their Sunday services. For example, to stimulate congregational members’ sharing of their spontaneous reactions to the movement of the Holy Spirit, Westwind Church in Michigan has created a dozen “Twitter Sundays” where members are free to tweet at any time and at any worship service (Rochman). At Woodlands Church in Houston, a new service was started in 2009 which encourages parishioners to tweet their thoughts, reflections and questions throughout the service. The tweets are reviewed by church staff and they are posted as scrolling visual messages on a screen behind the pastor while he preaches (Patel). It is interesting to note that recurring faith tweets spatially filling the sanctuary screens blurs the visual hierarchies between the pastor as foreground and congregations as background to the degree that tweet voices from the congregation are blended into the church worship service. The interactive use of Twitter also differs from the forms of personal silent meditation and private devotional prayer that, traditionally, most liturgical church services encourage. In this way, key to new organisational practices within religious organisations is what some social commentators are now calling “ambient intimacy”, an enveloping social awareness of one’s social network (Pontin). Indeed, several pastors have acknowledged that faith tweets have enabled them to know their congregational members’ reflections, struggles and interests better and thus they are able to improve their teaching and caring ministry to meet congregants’ evolving spiritual needs (Mapes).Microblogging Rituals and Tweeting Tensions In many ways, faith tweets can be comprehended as microblogging rituals which have an ambient quality in engendering individuals’ spiritual self and group consciousness. The importance of examining emergent cyber-rituals is underscored by Stephen O’Leary in his 1996 seminal article on Cyberspace as Sacred Space. Writing in an earlier era of digital connections, O’Leary discussed e-mail and discussion forum cyber-rituals and what ritual gains in the virtual environment aside from its conventional physiological interactions. Drawing from Walter Ong’s understanding of the “secondary orality” accompanying the shift to electronic media, he argued that cyber-ritual as performative utterances restructure and reintegrate the minds and emotions of their participants, such that they are more aware of their interior self and a sense of communal group membership. Here, the above illustrative examples show how Twitter functions as the context for contemporary, mediated ritual practices to help believers construct a connected presence and affirm their religious identities within an environment where wired communication is a significant part of everyday life. To draw from Walter Ong’s words, microblogging rituals create a new textual and visual “sensorium” that has insightful implications for communication and media scholars. Faith tweeting by restructuring believers’ consciousness and generating a heightened awareness of relationship between the I, You and the Thou opens up possibilities for community building and revitalised religiosity to counteract claims of secularisation in technologically advanced and developed countries. “Praying the hours” guided by scripturally inspired faith tweets, for example, help seekers and believers experience epiphany and practice their faith in a more holistic way as they de-familarize mundane conditions and redeem a sense of the sacred from their everyday surrounds. Through the intermittent sharing of intercessory prayer tweets, faithful followers enact prayer chains and perceive themselves to be immersed in invariable spiritual battle to ward off evil ideology or atheistic beliefs. Moreover, the erosion of the authority of the church is offset by changed leadership practices within religious organisations which have experimented and actively incorporated Twitter into their daily institutional practices. To the extent that laity are willing to engage, creative practices to encourage congregational members to tweet during and after the service help revivify communal sentiments and a higher moral purpose through identification and solidarity with clergy leaders and other believers. Yet this ambience has its possible drawbacks as some experience tensions in their perception and use of Twitter as new technology within the church. Microblogging rituals may have negative implications for individual believers and religious organisations as they can weaken or pervert the existing relational links. As Pauline Cheong and Jessie Poon have pointed out, use of the Internet within religious organisations may bring about an alternative form of “perverse religious social capital building” as some clergy view that online communication detracts from real time relations and physical rituals. Indeed, some religious leaders have already articulated their concerns about Twitter and new tensions they experience in balancing the need to engage with new media audiences and the need for quiet reflection that spiritual rites such as confession of sins and the Holy Communion entail. According to the critics of faith tweeting, microblogging is time consuming and contributes to cognitive overload by taking away one’s attention to what is noteworthy at the moment. For Pastor Hayes of California for example, Twitter distracts his congregation’s focus on the sermon and thus he only recommends his members to tweet after the service. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, he said: “If two people are talking at the same time, somebody’s not listening”, and “You cannot do two things at once and expect you’re not going to miss something” (Patel). Furthermore, similar to prior concerns voiced with new technologies, there are concerns over inappropriate tweet content that can comprise of crudity, gossip, malevolent and hate messages, which may be especially corrosive to faith communities that strive to model virtues like love, temperance and truth-telling (Vitello). In turn, some congregational members are also experiencing frustrations as they negotiate church boundaries and other members’ disapproval of their tweeting practices during service and church events. Censure of microblogging has taken the form of official requests for tweeting members to leave the sanctuary, to less formal social critique and the application of peer pressure to halt tweeting during religious proceedings and activities (Mapes). As a result of these connectivity tensions, varying recommendations have been recently published as fresh efforts to manage religious communication taking place in ambience. For instance, Coppedge recommends every tweeting church to include Twitter usage in their “church communications policy” to promote accountability within the organisation. The policy should include guidelines against excessive use of Twitter as spam, and for at least one leader to subscribe and monitor every Twitter account used. Furthermore, the Interpreter magazine of the United Methodist Church worldwide featured recommendations by Rev. Safiyah Fosua who listed eight important attributes for pastors wishing to incorporate Twitter during their worship services (Rice). These attributes are: highly adaptive; not easily distracted; secure in their presentation style; not easily taken aback when people appear to be focused on something other than listenin; into quality rather than volume; not easily rattled by things that are new; secure enough as a preacher to let God work through whatever is tweeted even if it is not the main points of the sermon; and carried on the same current the congregation is travelling on. For the most part, these attributes underscore how successful (read wired) contemporary religious leaders should be tolerant of ambient religious communication and of blurring hierarchies of information control when faced with microblogging and the “inexorable advance of multimodal connectedness” (Schroeder 1). To conclude, the rise of faith tweeting opens up a new portal to investigate accretive changes to culture as microblogging rituals nurture piety expressed in continuous prayer, praise and ecclesial updates. The emergent Twitter sensorium demonstrates the variety of ways in which religious adherents appropriate new media within the ken and tensions of their daily lives. References BBC News. “Twitter Your Prayer says Cardinal.” 27 April 2009. ‹http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8020285.stm›. Cheong, P.H., A. Halavis and K. Kwon. “The Chronicles of Me: Understanding Blogging as a Religious Practice. Journal of Media and Religion 7 (2008): 107-131. Cheong, P.H., and J.P.H. Poon. “‘WWW.Faith.Org’: (Re)structuring Communication and Social Capital Building among Religious Organizations.” Information, Communication and Society 11.1 (2008): 89-110. Christensen, Toke Haunstrup. “‘Connected Presence’ in Distributed Family Life.” New Media and Society 11 (2009): 433-451. Coppedge, Anthony. “The Reason Your Church Must Twitter: Making Your Ministry Contagious.” 2009. ‹http://www.twitterforchurches.com/›. Dunlap, Joanna, and Patrick Lowenthal. “Tweeting the Night Away: Using Twitter to Enhance Social Presence.” Journal of Information Systems Education 20.2 (2009): 129-135. Fox, Susannah, Kathryn Zickuhr, and Aaron Smith. “Twitter and Status Updating" Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2009. Oct. 2009 ‹http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2009/PIP_Twitter_Fall_2009_web.pdf›. Jackson, Michele. “The Mash-Up: A New Archetype for Communication.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 14.3 (2009): 730-734. Mapes, Diane. “Holy Twitter! Tweeting from the Pews.” 2009. 3 June 2009 ‹http://www.nbcwashington.com/.../Holy_Twitter__Tweeting_from_the_pews.html›. Mumford, Lewis. Technics and Civilization. New York: Harcourt, 1934. Patel, Purva. “Tweeting during Church Services Gets Blessing of Pastors.” Houston Chronicle (2009). 10 Oct. 2009 ‹http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6662287.html›. O’Leary, Stephen. ”Cyberspace as Sacred Space: Communicating Religion on Computer Networks.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 64.4 (1996): 781-808. Pontin, Jason. “Twitter and Ambient Intimacy: How Evan Williams Helped Create the New Social Medium of Microblogging.” MIT Review 2007. 15 Nov. 2009 ‹http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/19713/?a=f›. Rice, Kami. “The New Worship Question: To Tweet or Not to Tweet.” Interpreter Magazine (Nov.-Dec. 2009). ‹http://www.interpretermagazine.org/interior.asp?ptid=43&mid=13871›. Rochman, Bonnie. “Twittering in Church, with the Pastor’s O.K.” Time 3 May 2009. ‹http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1895463,00.html›. Schroeder, Ralph. “Mobile Phones and the Inexorable Advance of Multimodal Connectedness.” New Media and Society 12.1 (2010): 75-90. Vitello, Paul. “Lead Us to Tweet, and Forgive the Trespassers.” New York Times 5 July 2009. ‹http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/technology/internet/05twitter.html›.

Abstract. Bandung is one of the diverse cities, we can see the diversity of the city of Bandung with its cultured and religious society, of course, the people of Bandung have the potential value of spreading religion in carrying out da'wah, this can be seen by the religiosity of the people of Bandung in their daily lives – a day where religiosity is an appreciation of religion or belief which is expressed by performing daily worship, praying and reading scriptures. With religiosity in the city of Bandung, of course, it will affect the lives of the people themselves, in other words this phenomenon of religiosity itself affects the lives of local people which is where today the city of Bandung is experiencing the phenomenon of religious conversion or conversion from one religion to another, on the other hand, Bandung is a city with a very high number of converts to Islam, where many residents of Bandung have converted to Islam and of course this is the case. this is dial The high number of converts to Islam in the city of Bandung is certainly an interesting thing that needs to be observed, behind the height of converts in the city of Bandung who have Chinese ancestry, it cannot be separated from the role and place of spreading da'wah carried out by the descendants of the Chinese community. which is where the Chinese community in the city of Bandung spreads Islam through da'wah from a mosque where the mosque itself is a place of worship for a Muslim. Abstrak. Bandung Merupakan salah satu Kota yang beraneka ragam, keberagaman kota Kandung bisa kita lihat dengan masyrakatnya yang berbudaya dan beragama, tentunya masyarakat kota bandung memiliki nilai potensi penyebaran agama dalam melakukan dakwah, hal ini bis akita lihat tingginya religuitas yang dilakukan masyrakat kota bandung dalam kehidupan sehari – hari yang dimana religuitas merupakan penghayatan kegamaan atau dalam kepercayaan yang di ekspresikan dengan melakukan ibadah sehari – hari, berdoa dan membaca kitab suci.Dengan tingginya religuitas di kota bandung tentunya akan mempengaruhi kehidupan masyarakat nya itu sendiri, dengan kata lain fenomena religuitas ini sendiri mempengaruhi kehidupan masyarakat setempat yang dimana hari ini kota bandung mengalami fenome konversi agama atau perpindahan agama dari satu agama ke agama yang lainnya, disisi lain bandung merupakan salah satu kota yang mualafnya sangat tinggi yang dimana banyak sekali warga kota bandung yang berpindah agama lain ke agama islam dan tentunya hal ini dialami langsung oleh masyarakat tionghoa di kota bandung itu sendiri.Tingginya mualaf di kota bandung tentunya menjadi hal yang menarik yang perlu diamati, dibalik tingginya mualaf dikota bandung yang memiliki keturununan tionghoa tidak terlepas dari peran dan tempat penyebaran dakwah yang dilakukan oleh keturunan masyrakat tionghoa itu sendiri yang dimana masyrakat tionghoa kota bandung melakukan penyebaran agama islam melaui dakwah dari suatu masjid yang dimana masjid itu sendiri merupakan tempat beribadah bagi seorang muslim.

Susheel Kumar Sharma’s Unwinding Self: A Collection of Poems. Cuttack: Vishvanatha Kaviraj Institute, 2020, ISBN: 978-81-943450-3-9, Paperback, pp. viii + 152. Like his earlier collection, The Door is Half Open, Susheel Kumar Sharma’s Unwinding Self: A Collection of Poems has three sections consisting of forty-two poems of varied length and style, a detailed Glossary mainly on the proper nouns from Indian culture and tradition and seven Afterwords from the pens of the trained readers from different countries of four continents. The structure of the book is circular. The first poem “Snapshots” indicates fifteen kaleidoscopic patterns of different moods of life in about fifteen words each. It seems to be a rumination on the variegated images of everyday experiences ranging from individual concerns to spiritual values. Art-wise, they can be called mini-micro-poems as is the last poem of the book. While the character limit in a micro poem is generally 140 (the character limit on Twitter) Susheel has used just around 65 in each of these poems. Naturally, imagery, symbolism and cinematic technique play a great role in this case. In “The End of the Road” the poet depicts his individual experiences particularly changing scenario of the world. He seems to be worried about his eyesight getting weak with the passage of time, simultaneously he contrasts the weakness of his eyesight with the hypocrisy permeating the human life. He compares his diminishing eyesight to Milton and shows his fear as if he will get blind. He changes his spectacles six times to clear his vision and see the plurality of a reality in human life. It is an irony on the changing aspects of human life causing miseries to the humanity. At the end of the poem, the poet admits the huge changes based on the sham principles: “The world has lost its original colour” (4). The concluding lines of the poem make a mockery of the people who are not able to recognise reality in the right perspective. The poem “Durga Puja in 2013” deals with the celebration of the festival “Durga Puja” popular in the Hindu religion. The poet’s urge to be with Ma Durga shows his dedication towards the Goddess Durga, whom he addresses with different names like ‘Mai’, ‘Ma’ and ‘Mother’. He worships her power and expresses deep reverence for annihilating the evil-spirits. The festival Durga Puja also reminds people of victory of the goddess on the elusive demons in the battlefield. “Chasing a Dream on the Ganges” is another poem having spiritual overtones. Similarly, the poem “Akshya Tritya” has religious and spiritual connotations. It reflects curiosity of people for celebration of “Akshya Tritya” with enthusiasm. But the political and economic overtones cannot be ignored as the poem ends with the remarkable comments: The GDP may go up on this day; Even, Budia is able to Eat to his fill; Panditji can blow his Conch shell with full might. Outside, somebody is asking for votes; Somebody is urging others to vote. I shall vote for Akshya Tritya. (65-66) “On Reading Langston Hughes’ ‘Theme for English B’” is a long poem in the collection. In this poem, the poet reveals a learner’s craving for learning, perhaps who comes from an extremely poor background to pursue his dreams of higher education. The poet considers the learner’s plights of early childhood, school education and evolutionary spirit. He associates it with Dronacharya and Eklavya to describe the mythical system of education. He does not want to be burdened with the self-guilt by denying the student to be his ‘guru’ therefore, he accepts the challenge to change his life. Finally, he shows his sympathy towards the learner and decides to be the ‘guru’: “It is better to face/A challenge and change/Than to be burden with a life/Of self-guilt. /I put my signatures on his form willy-nilly” (11). The poem “The Destitute” is an ironical presentation of the modern ways of living seeking pleasure in the exotic locations all over the world. It portrays the life of a person who has to leave his motherland for earning his livelihood, and has to face an irreparable loss affecting moral virtues, lifestyle, health and sometimes resulting in deaths. The poem “The Black Experience” deals with the suppression of the Africans by the white people. The poem “Me, A Black Doxy”, perhaps points out the dilemma of a black woman whether she should prostitute herself or not, to earn her livelihood. Perhaps, her deep consciousness about her self-esteem does not allow her to indulge in it but she thinks that she is not alone in objectifying herself for money in the street. Her voice resonates repeatedly with the guilt of her indulgence on the filthy streets: At the dining time Me not alone? In the crowded street Me not alone? They ’ave white, grey, pink hair Me ’ave black hair – me not alone There’s a crowd with black hair. Me ’ave no black money Me not alone? (14) The poem “Thus Spake a Woman” is structured in five sections having expressions of the different aspects of a woman’s love designs. It depicts a woman’s dreams and her attraction towards her lover. The auditory images like “strings of a violin”, “music of the violin” and “clinch in my fist” multiply intensity of her feelings. With development of the poem, her dreams seem to be shattered and sadness know the doors of her dreamland. Finally, she is confronted with sadness and is taken back to the past memories reminding her of the difficult situations she had faced. Replete with poetic irony, “Bubli Poems” presents the journey of a female, who, from the formative years of her life to womanhood, experienced gender stereotypes, biased sociocultural practices, and ephemeral happiness on the faces of other girls around her. The poem showcases the transformation of a village girl into a New Woman, who dreams her existence in all types of luxurious belongings rather than identifying her independent existence and finding out her own ways of living. Her dreams lead her to social mobility through education, friendships, and the freedom that she gains from her parents, family, society and culture. She attempts her luck in the different walks of human life, particularly singing and dancing and imagines her social status and wide popularity similar to those of the famous Indian actresses viz. Katrina and Madhuri Dixit: “One day Bubli was standing before the mirror/Putting on a jeans and jacket and shaking her hips/She was trying to be a local Katrina” (41). She readily bears the freakish behaviour of the rustic/uncultured lads, derogatory comments, and physical assaults in order to fulfil her expectations and achieves her individual freedom. Having enjoyed all the worldly happiness and fashionable life, ultimately, she is confronted with the evils designs around her which make her worried, as if she is ignorant of the world replete with the evils and agonies: “Bubli was ignorant of her agony and the lost calm” (42). The examples of direct poetic irony and ironic expressions of the socio-cultural evils, and the different governing bodies globally, are explicit in this poem: “Bubli is a leader/What though if a cheerleader./The news makes her family happy.”(40), “Others were blaming the Vice-Chancellor/ Some others the system;/ Some the freedom given to girls;”(45), and “Some blame poverty; some the IMF;/ Some the UN; some the environment;/ Some the arms race; some the crony’s lust;/ Some the US’s craving for power;/Some the UK’s greed. (46-47). Finally, Bubli finds that her imaginative world is fragile. She gives up her corporeal dreams which have taken the peace of her mind away. She yearns for shelter in the temples and churches and surrenders herself before deities praying for her liberation: “Jai Kali,/ Jai Mahakali, Jai Ma, Jai Jagaddhatri,/ Save me, save the world.” (47). In the poem “The Unlucky”, the poet jibes at those who are lethargic in reading. He identifies four kinds of readers and places himself in the fourth category by rating himself a ‘poor’ reader. The first three categories remind the readers of William Shakespeare’s statement “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” At the end of the poem, the poet questions himself for being a poet and teacher. The question itself reflects on his ironic presentation of himself as a poor reader because a poet’s wisdom is compared with that of the philosopher and everybody worships and bows before a teacher, a “guru”, in the Indian tradition. The poet is considered the embodiment of both. The poet’s unfulfilled wish to have been born in Prayagraj is indexed with compunction when the poem ends with the question “Why was I not born in Prayagraj?” (52). Ending with a question mark, the last line of the poem expresses his desire for perfection. The next poem, “Saying Goodbye”, is elegiac in tone and has an allusion to Thomas Gray’s “The Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” in the line “When the curfew tolls the knell of the parting day”; it ends with a question mark. The poem seems to be a depiction of the essence and immortality of ‘time’. Reflecting on the poet’s consideration of the power and beauty of ‘time’, Pradeep Kumar Patra rightly points out, “It is such a phenomena that nobody can turn away from it. The moment is both beautiful as well as ferocious. It beautifies and showcases everything and at the same time pulls everything down when necessary” (146). Apparently, the poem “The Kerala Flood 2018”is an expression of emotions at the disaster caused by the flood in 2018. By reminding of Gandhi’s tenets to be followed by people for the sake of morality and humankind, the poet makes an implicit criticism of the pretentions, and violation of pledges made by people to care of other beings, particularly, cow that is worshiped as “mother” and is considered to be a symbol of fertility, peace and holiness in Hinduism as well as the Buddhist culture. The poet also denigrates people who deliberately ignore the sanctity of the human life in Hinduism and slaughter the animal cow to satisfy their appetites. In the poem, the carnivorous are criticized explicitly, but those who pretend to be herbivorous are decried as shams: If a cow is sacrosanct And people eat beef One has to take a side. Some of the friends chose to Side with cow and others With the beef-eaters. Some were more human They chose both. (55) The poet infuses positivity into the minds of the Indian people. Perhaps, he thinks that, for Indians, poverty, ignorance, dirt and mud are not taboos as if they are habitual to forbear evils by their instincts. They readily accept them and live their lives happily with pride considering their deity as the preserver of their lives. The poem “A Family by the Road” is an example of such beliefs, in which the poet lavishes most of his poetic depiction on the significance of the Lord Shiva, the preserver of people in Hinduism: Let me enjoy my freedom. I am proud of my poverty. I am proud of my ignorance. I am proud of my dirt. I have a home because of these. I am proud of my home. My future is writ on the walls Of your houses My family shall stay in the mud. After all, somebody is needed To clean the dirt as well. I am Shiva, Shivoham. (73) In the poem “Kabir’s Chadar”, the poet invokes several virtues to back up his faith in spirituality and simplicity. He draws a line of merit and virtue between Kabir’s Chadar which is ‘white’ and his own which is “thickly woven” and “Patterned with various beautiful designs/ In dark but shining colours” (50). The poet expresses his views on Kabir’s ‘white’ Chadar symbolically to inculcate the sense of purity, fortitude, spirituality, and righteousness among people. The purpose of his direct comparison between them is to refute artificiality, guilt and evil intents of humanity, and propagate spiritual purity, the stark simplicities of our old way of life, and follow the patience of a saint like Kabir. The poem “Distancing” is a statement of poetic irony on the city having two different names known as Bombay and Mumbai. The poet sneers at its existence in Atlas. Although the poet portraits the historical events jeering at the distancing between the two cities as if they are really different, yet the poet’s prophetic anticipation about the spread of the COVID-19 in India cannot be denied prima facie. The poet’s overwhelming opinions on the overcrowded city of Bombay warn humankind to rescue their lives. Even though the poem seems to have individual expressions of the poet, leaves a message of distancing to be understood by the people for their safety against the uneven things. The poem “Crowded Locals” seems to be a sequel to the poem “Distancing”. Although the poet’s purpose, and appeal to the commonplace for distancing cannot be affirmed by the readers yet his remarks on the overcrowded cities like in Mumbai (“Crowded Locals”), foresee some risk to the humankind. In the poem “Crowded Locals”, he details the mobility of people from one place to another, having dreams in their eyes and puzzles in their minds for their livelihood while feeling insecure especially, pickpockets, thieves and strangers. The poet also makes sneering comments on the body odour of people travelling in first class. However, these two poems have become a novel contribution for social distancing to fight against the COVID-19. In the poem “Buy Books, Not Diamonds” the poet makes an ironical interpretation of social anarchy, political upheaval, and threat of violence. In this poem, the poet vies attention of the readers towards the socio-cultural anarchy, especially, anarchy falls on the academic institutions in the western countries where capitalism, aristocracy, dictatorship have armed children not with books which inculcate human values but with rifles which create fear and cause violence resulting in deaths. The poet’s perplexed opinions find manifestation in such a way as if books have been replaced with diamonds and guns, therefore, human values are on the verge of collapse: “Nine radiant diamonds are no match/ To the redness of the queen of spades. . . . / … holding/ Rifles is a better option than/ Hawking groundnuts on the streets?” (67).The poet also decries the spread of austere religious practices and jihadist movement like Boko Haram, powerful personalities, regulatory bodies and religious persons: “Boko Haram has come/Obama has also come/The UN has come/Even John has come with/Various kinds of ointments” (67). The poem “Lost Childhood” seems to be a memoir in which the poet compares the early life of an orphan with the child who enjoys early years of their lives under the safety of their parents. Similarly, the theme of the poem “Hands” deals with the poet’s past experiences of the lifestyle and its comparison to the present generation. The poet’s deep reverence for his parents reveals his clear understanding of the ways of living and human values. He seems to be very grateful to his father as if he wants to make his life peaceful by reading the lines of his palms: “I need to read the lines in his palm” (70). In the poem “A Gush of Wind”, the poet deliberates on the role of Nature in our lives. The poem is divided into three sections, perhaps developing in three different forms of the wind viz. air, storm, and breeze respectively. It is structured around the significance of the Nature. In the first section, the poet lays emphasis on the air we breathe and keep ourselves fresh as if it is a panacea. The poet criticizes artificial and material things like AC. In the second section, he depicts the stormy nature of the wind scattering papers, making the bed sheets dusty affecting or breaking the different types of fragile and luxurious objects like Italian carpets and lamp shades with its strong blow entering the oriels and window panes of the houses. Apparently, the poem may be an individual expression, but it seems to be a caricature on the majesty of the rich people who ignore the use of eco-chic objects and disobey the Nature’s behest. In the third and the last section of the poem, the poet’s tone is critical towards Whitman, Pushkin and Ginsberg for their pseudoscientific philosophy of adherence to the Nature. Finally, he opens himself to enjoy the wind fearlessly. The poems like “A Voice” , “The New Year Dawn”, “The New Age”, “The World in Words in 2015”, “A Pond Nearby”, “Wearing the Scarlet Letter ‘A’”, “A Mock Drill”, “Strutting Around”, “Sahibs, Snobs, Sinners”, “Endless Wait”, “The Soul with a New Hat”, “Renewed Hope”, “Like Father, Unlike Son”, “Hands”, “Rechristening the City”, “Coffee”, “The Unborn Poem”, “The Fountain Square”, “Ram Setu”, and “Connaught Place” touch upon the different themes. These poems reveal poet’s creativity and unique features of his poetic arts and crafts. The last poem of the collection “Stories from the Mahabharata” is written in twenty-five stanzas consisting of three lines each. Each stanza either describes a scene or narrates a story from the Mahabharata, the source of the poem. Every stanza has an independent action verb to describe the actions of different characters drawn from the Mahabharata. Thus, each stanza is a complete miniscule poem in itself which seems to be a remarkable characteristic of the poem. It is an exquisite example of ‘Micro-poetry’ on paper, remarkable for its brevity, dexterity and intensity. The poet’s conscious and brilliant reframing of the stories in his poem sets an example of a new type of ‘Found Poetry’ for his readers. Although the poet’s use of various types images—natural, comic, tragic, childhood, horticultural, retains the attention of readers yet the abundant evidences of anaphora reflect redundancy and affect the readers’ concentration and diminishes their mental perception, for examples, pronouns ‘her’ and ‘we’ in a very small poem “Lost Childhood”, articles ‘the’ and ‘all’ in “Crowded Locals”, the phrase ‘I am proud of’ in “A Family by the Road” occur many times. Svitlana Buchatska’s concise but evaluative views in her Afterword to Unwinding Self help the readers to catch hold of the poet’s depiction of his emotions. She writes, “Being a keen observer of life he vividly depicts people’s life, traditions and emotions involving us into their rich spiritual world. His poems are the reflection on the Master’s world of values, love to his family, friends, students and what is more, to his beloved India. Thus, the author reveals all his beliefs, attitudes, myths and allusions which are the patterns used by the Indian poets” (150). W. H. Auden defines poetry as “the clear expression of mixed feelings.” It seems so true of Susheel Sharma’s Unwinding Self. It is a mixture of poems that touch upon the different aspects of human life. It can be averred that the collection consists of the poet’s seamless efforts to delve into the various domains of the human life and spot for the different places as well. It is a poetic revue in verse in which the poet instils energy, confidence, power and enthusiasm into minds of Indian people and touches upon all aspects of their lives. The poverty, ignorance, dirt, mud, daily struggle against liars, thieves, pickpockets, touts, politician and darkness have been depicted not as weaknesses of people in Indian culture but their strengths, because they have courage to overcome darkness and see the advent of a new era. The poems teach people morality, guide them to relive their pains and lead them to their salvation. Patricia Prime’s opinion is remarkable: “Sharma writes about his family, men and women, childhood, identity, roots and rootlessness, memory and loss, dreams and interactions with nature and place. His poised, articulate poems are remarkable for their wit, conversational tone and insight” (138). Through the poems in the collection, the poet dovetails the niceties of the Indian culture, and communicates its beauty and uniqueness meticulously. The language of the poem is lucid, elevated and eloquent. The poet’s use of diction seems to be very simple and colloquial like that of an inspiring teacher. On the whole the book is more than just a collection of poems as it teaches the readers a lot about the world around them through a detailed Glossary appended soon after the poems in the collection. It provides supplementary information about the terms used abundantly in Indian scriptures, myths, and other religious and academic writings. The Glossary, therefore, plays pivotal role in unfolding the layers of meaning and reaching the hearts of the global readers. The “Afterwords” appended at the end, enhances readability of poems and displays worldwide acceptability, intelligibility, and popularity of the poet. The Afterwords are a good example of authentic Formalistic criticism and New Criticism. They indirectly teach a formative reader and critic the importance of forming one’s opinion, direct reading and writing without any crutches of the critics.