I have visited Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral in San Francisco. The building stands out of the neighborhood houses, as it has complex architecture and utilizes blue and white as primary colors. It reminds of a traditional orthodox cathedral, as it follows all characteristics. Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral majorly support the principles of Orthodox religion (“Holy Trinity Cathedral” par. 1).
However, as for the religion of the site, it has to be mentioned that Vedanta Community is an element of Hinduism tradition. In turn, Hinduism is an Indian religion, which focuses on worshipping various Gods, as Vishnu appears in different forms (Chander 111). According to Vedas, all Gods are diverse manifestations of Brahman, who is the creator and present in various shapes (Ellwood and Alles 200).
Karma plays a vital role, as it is believed to affect a future rebirth (Ellwood and Alles 200). Speaking of how Vedanta Society manifests Hinduism, the main goal of this community was to establish a Universal Religion in the United States of America, and it emphasizes and supports individual decisions in following his/her way to divine (Bruteau et al. 1).
It could be said that Vedanta Society supports a principle of unity of all religions. It is the primary reason for having strong ties with Christianity and attracting Christian believers, who are not satisfied with the order in the religion institution.
As for the sight’s architecture, symbols, images, and form of worship, all of these elements convey its unique religious charm. The pictures of Swami Vivekananda, Jesus, Buddha, Ramakrishna, and Ramakrishna’s wife Sarada Devi are present on the altar and the walls of the cathedral.
The images try to express and show the mission and meaning of life. It could be said that pictures imply that one should encourage the development of divine nature in our minds. A follower by looking at and exploring the inner understanding of the images can develop his inner sanctity and unity with Brahma.
Since Brahma is the first God, who was able to appear in three shapes (Lochtefeld 119). As harmony and agreement with self are the ways for inner improvement that can be reached by the acceptance of the union with the God. It helps a follower understand the presence of divinity in self and discover the presence of the multiple substances of the same God.
Speaking of a particularly sacred detail, which I found appealing in Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, it could be said that two primary Gods from different religions were located next to each other on the altar. It was surprising and unpredictable to discover that Jesus and Buddha could have this position in this cathedral. A question comes to mind whether both of them were dedicated and support the same religious ideal.
This fact sounds intriguing to me. There is only one God, and both Jesus and Buddha get a chance to experience strong connection and unity with this God. Any believer and follower seek a union with his/her ideal and ability to explore inner divinity of himself/herself (Watson 11). This particular fact seems appealing to me, as I want to dedicate myself to reach the union with God. I want to follow examples of Buddha and Jesus and reach the desired goal since any believer can pursue his path to explore his destiny.
Works Cited
Bruteau, Beatrice et al. “Vedanta and Christianity.” American Vedantist 10.2 (2004): 1. Print.
Chander, Prakash. India: Past and Present. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation, 2003. Print.
Ellwood, Robert and Gregory Alles. The Encyclopedia of World Religions. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2007. Print.
Holy Trinity Cathedral: Our Faith 2012. Web.
Lochtefeld, James. The Illustrated of Hinduism: A-M. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2002. Print.
Watson, Jasper. One: Discovering Unity with God and One Another. Bloomington: iUniverse, 2008. Print.