Ïîñîáèå ïî ïåðåâîäó (Ðåëèãèÿ).

Site Map    What's New    Search     Home         411visits  



 

     Ââåäåíèå

       Äàííîå ïîñîáèå íàïðàâëåíî íà ðàçâèòèå íàâûêîâ ïåðåâîäà îðèãèíàëüíûõ íåàäàïòèðîâàííûõ òåêñòîâ è ðàçâèòèå  ñëîâàðíîãî çàïàñà.  Ïîñîáèå îñíîâàíî íà òåêñòàõ, êàñàþùèõñÿ âîïðîñîâ îñíîâíûõ ìèðîâûõ ðåëèãèé è íåêîòîðûõ âåðîâàíèé. Îíî ñîñòîèò èç 9 îñíîâíûõ ðàçäåëîâ, ïðèëîæåíèÿ è ãëîññàðèÿ. Êàæäûé ðàçäåë âêëþ÷àåò òåêñòû è óïðàæíåíèÿ. Óïðàæíåíèÿ íàïðàâëåíû íà àíàëèç ôîðìû ñëîâ, ðàñêðûòèå ñìûñëà íåèçâåñòíûõ ñëîâ íà îñíîâå ïîèñêà ðóññêèõ ýêâèâàëåíòîâ, ïîêàç îòñóòñòâèÿ ïîëíîé ýêâèâàëåíòíîñòè è îäíîçíà÷íîñòè ñëîâ àíãëèéñêîãî è ðóññêîãî ÿçûêîâ. Ñïåöèôèêà òåìàòèêè îáóñëîâèëà ïðèñóòñòâèå â òåêñòàõ óñòàðåâøèõ ôîðì ñëîâ.

CHRISTIANITY

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practise the reading of the following words and say what    Russian words help to guess their meanings:
spirit, disciple, to comfort, gentle, to satisfy, to locate, lamp, container, commandment, Pharisees
Give the initial forms of the following words:
belongs, hearts, hidden, thrown, highest, longer, does, better, heard, told, salty
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
righteousness, merciful,  container, commandment
Do you now the following words?
crowd, mountainside, disciple, to bless, kingdom, heaven, to mourn, to comfort, gentle , humble, to possess, earth, hunger, thirst, righteousness, to satisfy, merciful, heart, pure, peace, to prosecute, to insult, evil, account, to rejoice, reward, salt, to lose, taste, to trample, to hide, to locate, hill, to praise, to fulfill, truth, law, anyone, therefore, commandment, scribe, to murder, court, cause, hell, fire

Text. NEW TESTAMENT

MATTHEW
5th chapter

The Sermon On The Mount

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountainside. And when He sat down, His disciples came to him.
2 Then He began to teach them:
3 “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are those who are gentle (humble), for they will possess the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 Blessed are those who are merciful, for they will find mercy.
8 Blessed are those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are those who make peace, for they will be called the sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are prosecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, lie and speak all kinds of evil about you, on account of Me.
12 Continue to rejoice and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets who lived before you in the same way.”
13 “You are the salt of the earth. If salt loses its taste, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by people.
14 You are the light of the world. A town cannot be hidden when it is located on a hill.
15 And you do not light a lamp and put it under a container but on a lampstand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 So let your light shine before people that they may see the good you do and praise your Father in heaven.”
17 “ Do not think that I came to set aside the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to set them aside but to fulfill them.
18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not an i or the dot of an i will pass away from the Law until everything is done.
19 Anyone, therefore, who sets aside one of the least of thesecommandments and teaches others to do the same will be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven. But anyone who does and teaches what they say will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness is much better than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven.”
21 “ You have heard that long ago people were told: ‘Do not murder. Whoever murder must answer for it in court.’
22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brotherwithout a cause will have to answer for it in court. Anyone who calls his brother a ‘numbskull’ (empty-one) will have to answer for it  before the highest court (Sunhedrin - the highest Jewish court). Anyone who calls him a ‘fool’ will have to answer for it in hellfire (Greek:  “gehenna tou puros” - hell of fire).

MATTHEW
5th chapter 23-36

The Sermon On The Mount

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
25 Agree with thine adversary quikly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath commited adultery in his heart.
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcing:
32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all: neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shalt thou swear by the head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
 
 

JUDAISM

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practice the reading of the following words and say what    Russian words help to guess their meanings:
Lord, bondage, graven, image, generation, commandments, Honor, adultery.
Give the initial forms of the following words:
spoke, saying, brought, graven, showing, blessed, giving.
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
likeness, iniquity, generation, commandments, guiltless,
manservant, halted, seventh, blessed.
Prove that the words in capital letters are nouns:
a graven IMAGE, upon the fourth GENERATION, your GATES, your neighbor’s HOUSE.
Do you now the following words?
to bow, to serve, to show, to keep, to hold, to remember, to labor, to bless, to halt, to hallow, to honor, to hate.
Translate the following into Russian:
make for yourself, in the water under the earth, keep My commandments, neither you, nor your son, honor your father and your mother, you shall not commit adultery.
Guess the meaning of the words in capital letters from the context:
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and  all that is in them, and He HALTED His work on the seventh day. Six days shall you LABOR and do all your work. You shall not COVET your neighbour’s house.

Text. TORAH. EXODUS 20.

And God spoke all these words, saying:
I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other gods besides Me.
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor the likeness of any form that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto the thousands of generations of them that love Me and keep My commandments.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord your God. You shall not do any work thereon, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor the stranger that is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and He halted His work on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day, and hallowed it.
Honor your father and your mother, that your day may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is your neighbor’s.
(from The Prayer Book. Hebrew Publishing Co., N.Y. 1961.)

Text. OLD TESTAMENT. EXODUS 20.

1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of generations of them that love me and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within your gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12 Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy day may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

(The Holy Bible containing the Old and New testaments. London)

EXERCISES

1. Compare trasslations of the texts of Exodus 20 given above and write down as many differences as possible.
2. Explain the following expressions:
the house of bondage; no other gods besides Me; make for yourself a graven image; take the name of the Lord your God in vain; bear false witness;

ISLAM

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practise the reading of the following words and say what Russian words help to guess their meanings:
precise, calculations, traditional, reasonably, clan,
Give the initial forms of the following words:
became, born., believed, seems, routed, accepted
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
traditional, exactly, probable., certainly, dubious, calculations, commonl, traditional, incontestable, reasonably
Do you now the following words?
reign, untrue, precise, dubious, vary, to accept, to belong, statement, incontestable, regarded
Translate the following into Russian:
no one knows exactly; it was believed to have been; during the reign of; which seems probable; it was said to have been in the Year of Elephant; that is certainly untrue; as we sometimes call him. These traditional statements, while not wholly, incontestable, may reasonably be regarded as sure.

Text. Birth of a Prophet

No one knows exactly when Muhammad, who was to became the Prophet of Allah, was born. It was believed to have been during the reign of Khusro Anosharwan, that is before 579, which seems probable. It was said to have been in the Year of Elephant - the year, that is, in which the birds of the air routed the army of Abraha before Mecca - but that is certainly untrue. The precise date, arrived at by means of some highly dubious  calculations, varies between 567 and 573. The most commonly accepted year is 571.
Muhhammad, or Mahomet as we sometimes call him, was born in Mecca of a father called Abdallah and a mother whose name was Amina. He belonged on his father’s side to the clan of Hashim of the Quraysh. These traditional statements, while not wholly incontestable, may reasonably be regarded as sure.

(from Mohammed by M.Rodinson)

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practise the reading of the following words and say what   Russian words help to guess their meanings:
families, practice, traditionally, population, cleaver, hook, laborer, special, presentable
Give the initial forms of the following words:
cities, eaten, given, seen, being, herded, centres, died
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
traditionally, charitable, population, available, commemorate, salesman, alternatively, laborer, special, flawless, completion, presentable
Do you now the following words?
sacrifice, lamb, bullock, amongst, spare, meat, charitable, gifts, flocks, herded, population, markets, available, commemorate, piece, commemorate, butchers, casual, alternatively, salesman, appear, hook, rope, wages, laborer, site, animal, purpose, flawless, ram, completion
Translate the following into Russian:
sacrifice a lamb; the meat is eaten the same day; charitable gifts to the poor; large flocks of sheep are seen being herded towards the population centres, markets appear on any available piece of spare land, hook bound together with rope, a laborer on our site, this costs a lot more, an animal sacrificed for a special purpose needs to be flawless, had been washed and made presentable

Text. Kurban Bairami = Muslim Festival of Sacrifice.

During this four-day Muslim holiday many Turkish families sacrifice a lamb, sheep or bullock on the first day. The practice is still common amongst people living in the large cities. The meat is eaten the same day at a large family meal and spare meat or food was traditionally given away as charitable gifts to the poor.
During the weeks before Bayram, small and large flocks of sheep are seen being herded towards the population centres and impromptu livestock markets appear on any available piece of spare land.
To commemorate those who have died during the year a sacrifice is made on the day before Byram. During these two days butchers roam the streets on the lookout for casual work. Alternatively, salesman appear with knife cleaver and hook bound together with rope, for people interested in d.i.y!
In 1986 a lamb for sacrifice cost about 30,000 TL, half a month’s wages for a laborer on our site. An animal sacrificed for a special purpose needs to be flawless and this costs a lot more. The ram sacrificed for the completion of Elmali Viaduct cost 250,000 TL (110 pounds) and had been washed and made presentable.

(from Leaves from a turkish notebook by Philip Iddison, a  highway engineer /Petits Propos Culinaires 34/)

EXERCISES
1. Write an abstract of the text and compare it with that in the Appendix.
2. Answer the following questions:
a) Why does the author writes “a laborer on our site”?
b) What does ‘d.i.y.’ mean?
c) Explain why does an animal sacrificed for a special purpose needs to be flawless?
 

HINDUISM

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side.
Rigveda, 1-89-i

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practise the reading of the following words and say what Russian words help to guess their meanings:
history, biography, mythology, civilization, philosophy, ritual, religions, essentiality, myth
Give the initial forms of the following words:
knowing, grasped, preserved, conveyed, acknowledged
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
mythology, civilization, sufficient, ancient, attitude, particular, spiritual, essentiality
Do you now the following words?
to dispense, sufficient, ancient, attitude, particular, to grasp, to preserve, to convey, unless, to acknowledge, essentiality

Text. Ramayana

The Ramayana is not a history or biography. It is a part of Hindu mythology. We cannot understand Greek life and Greek civilization without knowing all about Zeus, Apollo, Hercules, Venus, Hector, Priam, Achiles, Ulysses and others. So also one cannot understand Hindu dharma unless one knows Rama and Seeta, Bharata, Laksamana, Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Hanuman. Mythology cannot be dispensed with. Philosophy alone or rituals alone or mythology alone cannot be sufficient. These are the three stands of all ancient religions. The attitude towards things spiritual which belongs to a particular people cannot be grasped or preserved or conveyed unless we have all these three. Even an iconoclast like Bernard Show has acknowledged the essentiality of myths.

(by C.Rajagopalachari)

Names

Bharata  - brother of Rama
Dharma  - duty as laid down by religion or custom
Hanuman - son of Wind-God, Vayu
Kumbhakarna - brother of Ravana
Laksamana - brother of Rama
Rama  - hero of Ramayana.
Ravana  - king of demons
Seeta  - wife of Rama
 

Text Hindu Tolerance

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practice the reading of the following words and say what  Russian words help to guess their meanings:
tolerance, basically, personality, attributes, limitations, proclaimed, doctrine, logical, hstorically, demonstrated, military,
Give the initial forms of the following words:
qualities, chosen, taken
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
remarkable, basically, personality, particular, limitation, weakness, originally, numerous, addition
Do you know this words?
remarkable, tolerance, deity, to impose, weakness, to hunger, mercy, seer, sage, worshipper, to conceive, attitude, path, convincingly, to molest, to settle
Translate the following into Russian:
are regarded as limitations; sages speak of it in different ways; invites the worshipper to choose; spiritual longing; the same tolerant
attitude is taken toward other religions; spiritual liberation; a military force;

Text. The Basis of Hindu  Tolerance.

The remarkable tolerance of Hinduism derives basically from the belief that Ultimate Reality or the supreme Spirit is without name, form, personality, or qualities. The particular name and attributes of any deity are regarded as limitations imposed on the Supreme Spirit by the weakness of man, who hungers for a god of love and mercy. The Vedic seer proclaimed, “Reality is one; sages speak of it in different ways.” The doctrine of the chosen deity (ishta-devata) invites the worshipper to choose, from among all the gods conceived by man in the past, the one which best satisfies his spiritual longing. While this doctrine was originally applied to the numerous deities mentioned in the Hindu scriptures, there is no logical stopping-place, and the same tolerant attitude is taken toward other religions.
Hinduism thus holds that there are many ways, many paths which lead toward spiritual liberation. Historically it has convincingly demonstrated this belief. In addition to Jains and Buddhists, communities of Jews, Syrian Christians, and Zoroastrians settled in India and lived unmolested. Muslims lived peacefully in India for three hundred years before Islam came as a military force in the eleventh century A.D.
 

YOGA

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practice the reading of the following words and say what   Russian words help to guess their meanings:
human, occupies, instrument, manifests, Spirit., physical, function, master
Give the initial forms of the following words:
greater, lesser, higher, occupies, clothes, decieved, knowing, covering, best
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
immortal , conscious, merely, manifestation, development, consequently, unhealthy, imperfectly, physical, properly, advantage, growth
Prove that the words in capital letters are nouns:
the YOGIS believe, the fleshy COVERING, development of the BODY
Do you now the following words?
to believe, to decieve, to cover, to grow, to develop, to function
Translate the following into Russian:
to a greater or lesser degree, puts on and off from time to time, while knowing these things, in this particularly stage of his development, the body is the Temple of the Spirit, an unhealthy and imperfectly developed physical body
Guess the meaning of the words in capital letters from the context:
the body is the instrument in which, and by which the Spirit manifests and works; the care and development of the body is as worthy a task as is the development of some of the higher parts of Man; the fleshy covering is necessary for Man’s manifestation and growth of Man

Text

The Yogis believe, you know, that the real Man is not his body. They know that the immortal “I” of which each human being is conscious to a greater or lesser degree, is not the body which it merely occupies and uses. They know that the body is but as a suit of clothes which the Spirit puts on and off from time to time. They know the body for what it is, and are not decieved into the belief that it is the real Man. But while knowing these things, they also know that the body is the instrument in which, and by which the Spirit manifests and works. They know that the fleshy covering is necessary for Man’s manifestation and growth in this particularly stage of his development. They know that the body is the Temple of the Spirit. And they, consequently, believe that the care and development of the body is as worthy a task as is the development of some of the higher parts of Man, for with an unhealthy and imperfectly developed physical body the mind cannot function properly, nor can the instrument be used to the best advantage by its master, the Spirit.
(from “Hatha Yoga” by Yogi Ramacharaka)
 

BUDDHISM

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practice the reading of the following words and say what   Russian words help to guess their meanings:
discussion, regulation, detailed, caste, regulation, minimal, respect, modern, social, protest, comparable, moral, code, speech, liquor, ritual, ceremonies, extremely
Give related words for the following words:
discussion, significantly, regulation, connection, relatively, unlawful, performed, religious, originate
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
discussion, significantly, comparison, organization, extremely, ordinary, relatively, institutionally, connection, regulation, comparable, unlawful, prescription, Hinduism, Buddhism
Do you know this words?
brief, to differ, significantly, several, point, comparison, ecclesiastical, caste, relatively, to bear, resemblance, connection, pattern, absence, law, comparable, relatively, percept, to refrain, to steal, indulgence, prescription, to establish, elder, funerals, tonsure, male, to conduct, monk, layman
Translate the following into Russian:
originated partly as a protest against; the moral code; the prescription of ritual; ceremonies are performed by the elder men of the family; religious ceremonies conducted by monks

Text. Buddhism

Our brief discussion here will deal with Theravada Buddhism, the principal religion of ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. Buddhism as practiced in China, Korea and Japan is of the Mahayana school and differs significantly from the Theravada in several points of doctrine and practice.
Buddhism and society.
An interesting comparison can be drawn between Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism there has been very little over-all ecclesiastical organization, but extremely detailed regulation of ordinary social life through the caste system and Hindu law. In Buddhism the reverse is true - ecclesiastical organization is relatively well developed, but the regulation of ordinary social life is minimal. In this respect the Theravada Buddhist countries may bear some resemblance to modern western
countries, where religion is highly organized institutionally but has relatively little connection with the pattern of social life.
Buddhism originated partly as a protest against the castle system, and it has continued to pride itself on the absence of caste in the Theravada countries with the exception of Ceylon. There is no Buddhist law comparable to Hindu or Islamic law. The moral code to be followed by the Buddhist layman is relatively simple one, centering on the Five Percepts - refraining from killing, stealing, unlawful sexual indulgence, wrong speech, and drinking liquor. As regards the prescription of ritual, “Indian Buddhism did not establish a system of ceremonies for family life comparable to those of Hinduism, nor have such ceremonies grown up in Theravada or Mahayana Buddhism” (Hajime Nakamura. “Unity and Diversity in Buddhism,” The Path of the Buddha, ed. Kenneth W.Morgan, p.398). Marriage ceremonies are performed by the elder men of the family and are not regarded as religious ceremonies. Funerals and the tonsure ceremony performed upon male children, however, are religious ceremonies conducted by monks.

(from “India as a secular state” by D.E.Smith)

SECULAR STATE

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practice the reading of the following words and say what  Russian words help to guess their meanings:
state, commonly, exist, religion, reason, term, equivalent, separation, contributed, conception, produced, vacuum, historical, indicate, general, orientation, liberal, democratic, tradition, motivated, aspects, essentially, definition, guarantees, individual, corporate, interfere, examination.
Give the initial forms of the following words:
using, closest, singularly, misleading, ideas, contributed, produced, shown, later, terms, derived, motivated, expounded, derived, guarantees, deals, connected, seen, involves, interrelated, concerning, mentioned, used, closer.
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
secular, commonly, relationship, sufficient, closest, singularly, historical, later, orientation, accomplish, contribution, essentially, definition, constitutionally, examination, relationships, freedom, citizenship, separation, religion, visualize.
Prove that the words in capital letters are nouns:
the TERM, to describe the RELATIONSHIP, the STATE and RELIGION, to the CONCEPTION, the closest EQUIVALENT, in the historical SURVEY, the historical ORIENTATION, the liberal democratic TRADITION, by an active HOSTILITY, the working DEFINITION, the secular STATE, the three SETS.
Do you now the following words?
to describe, ought, to exist, to contribute, to mislead, to produce, to accomplish, to distinguish, to constitute, to expound, to derive, to suggest, to guarantee, to connect, to seek, to promote, to interfere, to involve, to represent, to mention, to deal,it will be seen that to suffice, it may help to visualize,
Translate the following into Russian:
is commonly used, the relationship which ought to exist, the ideas which have contributed to the conception, as will be shown, can be derived from, while many aspects of our conception,
Guess the meaning of the words in capital letters from the context:
The term “secular state” is commonly used in present-day India TO DESCRIBE the relationship which exists, or which ought to exist, between the state and religion. This in itself is SUFFICIENT reason for using the term in this book. The ideas which have CONTRIBUTED to the conception of the secular state were not produced in a vacuum. It may be well to indicate the historical orientation of the conception we are EXPOUNDING. Our conception of the secular state is DERIVED from the liberal democratic tradition of the West. Deals with the individual as a citizen IRRESPECTIVE of his religion. It will be seen that the conception of a secular state INVOLVES three sets relationships concerning the state, religion, and the individual. It may help to VISUALIZE a triangle in which the two angles at the base represent religion and the state; the apex represents the individual.

Text. The concept of the Secular State.

The term “secular state” is commonly used in present-day India to describe the relationship which exists, or which ought to exist, between the state and religion. This in itself is sufficient reason for using the term in this book. In addition, the closest equivalent in Anglo-American usage, “separation of church and state,” would be singularly inappropriate and misleading in discussing a country in which the majority religion is Hinduism.
The ideas which have contributed to the conception of the secular state were not produced in a vacuum, as will be shown in the historical survey later in the chapter. However, it may be well at the outset to indicate in general terms the historical orientation of the conception we are expounding. Three brief points will suffice to accomplish this.
First our conception of the secular state is derived from the liberal democratic tradition of the West. It is thus to be distinguish from the secularism of the Marxian communist tradition, which is motivated by an active hostility to religion as such. Second, while many aspects of our conception of the secular state are common to all the countries within the democratic tradition, certain aspects constitute the particular contribution of the United States of America. Third, conception here expounded is essentially that can be derived from the Indian Constitution itself.
The working definition which I would suggest is as follows: The secular state is a state which guarantees individual and corporate freedom of religion, deals with the individual as a citizen irrespective of his religion, is not constitutionally connected to a particular religion nor does it seek either to promote or interfere with religion. Upon closer examination it will be seen that the conception of a secular state involves three distinct but interrelated sets of relationships concerning the state, religion, and the individual. The three sets of relations are:
1. religion and the individual (freedom of religion)
2. the state and the individual (citizenship)
3. the state and religion (separation of state and religion).
It may help to visualize a triangle in which the two angles at the base represent religion and the state; the apex represents the individual. The sides and base of the triangle represent the three sets of relationships mentioned above.

(Chapter 1. What is a secular state?  from “India as a secular state” by D.E.Smith (Princeton University Press, 1963, 518p.)

EXERCISES

Choose key words for the text.
Write an abstract of the text and compare it withthat in the Appendix.

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practice the reading of the following words and say what  Russian words help to guess their meanings:
region, aspect, relevant, doctrine, organization, history, human, history, favorable, course, central, political, correspondingly, diverse, tolerance, principle, realization, note, to demonstrate, institution, to confront, tradition, conception, practice, support, separation, basis, to tend, to regulate, social, ritual, ceremony, festival, virtually, caste, system, confront
Give the initial forms of the following words:
taken, greater, keeping, shown, difficulties, making, ceremonies
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
Hinduism, Buddhism, religions, particularly, organization, important, unreal, ultimately, temporal, favorable, secular, crucial, central, correspondingly, attitude, peaceful, coexistence, tolerance, obviously, intolerance, practically, impossible, realization, effective, ecclesiastical, highly, institution, majority, traditional, separation, prescribe, regulation
Prove that the words in capital letters are nouns:
the secular STATE, for effective ecclesiastical ORGANIZATION, a highly organized religious INSTITUTION
Do you know this words?
relevant, inquiry, concern, to relate, view, to regard, vital, ultimately, to assume, secure, to maintain, temporal, favorable, crucial, influence, challenge, correspondingly, attitude, coexistence, diverse, faith, tolerance, degree, majority, obviously, impossible, capacity, ecclesiastical, to confront, demand, to encounter, fusion, support, extent, significant, to prescribe, virtually, implement
Translate the following into Russian:
aspects which are particularly relevant to our inquiry; to regard history as unreal; on the other hand; a religion which regards the proper course of history as crucial and central to its task in the world; the peaceful coexistence; effective ecclesiastical organization; the more highly organized the majority religion; the greater the difficulties which will be encountered ; we must consider the historical traditions; it is obvious that; some go far beyond this

Text. The Nature of the Major Religions

Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam are the major religions of this region. There are five aspects of religion which are particularly relevant to our inquiry; the first two aspects concern doctrine, the other three relate to organization.
First, the view of history taken by a religion, that is, whether human history is regarded as real and important, is a vital point. A religion which regards history as unreal, or if real, ultimately unimportant, may be assumed to be unconcerned with securing or maintaining temporal power. This should be favorable to the secular state. On the other hand, a religion which regards the proper course of history as crucial and central to its task in the world, is more likely to rely upon political power in order to influence history. The challenge to the secular state would be correspondingly greater.
Second, we must consider the attitude of a religion toward other religions. Since the peaceful coexistence of diverse faiths is basic to the secular state, the degree of tolerance shown by the majority religion to other religions will obviously be important. Widespread intolerance would make the secular principle practically impossible of realization.
Third it will be important to note what capacity a given religion has demonstrated for effective ecclesiastical organization. A highly organized religious institution, like Roman Catholic Church in the West, is in a position to confront the state and to make demands upon it. In general, the more highly organized the majority religion, the greater the difficulties which will be encountered in making or keeping the state secular.
Fourth, we must consider the historical traditions of separation or fusion of political and religious functions. It is obvious that if the traditional conceptions and practices of a religion support the idea of separation, there will be some basis for the building of a secular state.
Fifth, the extent to which a religion has tended to regulate social life will be significant. All religions prescribe rituals, ceremonies, and festivals which are important to the social life of their peoples, but some go far beyond this to regulate virtually every aspect of society, as in the caste system or Muslim law. The greater the degree of such social regulation by a religion, the more difficult it will be to implement the principles of secularism.

(from ‘India as a Secular State’ by D.E.Smith )

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practice the reading of the following words and say what  Russian words help to guess their meanings:
theory, cycle, period, creation, system, process, to repeat, natural, experience, combination, matter, spirit, action, illusory, cosmic, energy, universal, classical, history, essential, reality, doctrine, to emphasize, fact, empirical, phenomena, contact, ultimate, original, ignorance, individuality, permanence, basis, effect, to operate, moral, liberation, realization, nature, identity, escape, affair, metaphysical, position, extremely, detail, regulation, individual, social, chiefly, expression, instinct, ethical, empirical, reality, political, institution, course, philosophical, contrast
Give the initial forms of the following words:
phenomena, highest, higher, lower
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
creation, destruction, eternally, natural, combination,action, illusory, creator, universal, dissolution, significant, vastness, essential, writer, emphasize, empirical, tangible, reality, ignorance, consequence, liberation, realization, identity, spiritual, essential, metaphysical, position, extremely, regulation, social, chiefly, expression, prosperity, reality, institution, secondary, conductive, development
Do you know this words?
to provide, to recur, creation, destruction, complete, eternally, experience, to create, dissolution, to vanish, view, significant, swallowed, vastness, essential, to emphasize, tangible, phenomenal, empirical, ignorance, to assume, permanence, consequence, deed, to perform, to reach, to attain, supreme, escape, to regard, to involve, affair, phenomena, to reconcile, extremely, prosperity, to pertain, secondary, conductive, development, value
Translate the following into Russian:
this process has been repeating itself eternally; was created out of the combination of matter and spirit; neither the empirical self nor the tangible phenomenal world possess any reality; with which the empirical self seems to come into contact; from the ultimate point of view; the permanence of the essential self is the basis for rebirth upon death; The law of cause and effect; Liberation from the cycle of rebirths; realization of the nature of the self; The highest spiritual goal; extremely detailed regulation of individual and social life; the contrast with Islam is quite marked;

Text.   The Hindu view of History.

Hinduism provides a theory of cycles or recurring periods of creation and destruction. Each world system makes one complete cycle of creation and destruction, and this process has been repeating itself eternally. The present natural world of human experience was created out of the combination of matter and spirit by means of the action of MAYA, the illusory cosmic energy of Brahma the Creator. The universal dissolution and destruction comes about when Brahma vanishes into himself. As S.J.Samartha puts it, “ In classical Hindu view history is not significant because it is swallowed up in the vastness of the cosmic process.”
Hindu thought holds that the essential self in man (ATMAN, sometimes translated as soul) and the ultimate Reality are one. This doctrine, according to a Hindu writer, “emphasizes the fact that neither the empirical self nor the tangible phenomenal world, with which the empirical self seems to come into contact, possess any reality from the ultimate point of view.” Through original ignorance the essential self assumes individuality, and the permanence of the essential self is the basis for rebirth upon death. The law of cause and effect, KARMA, operates in such a way that one’s lot in the succeeding life  will be moral consequence of deeds performed in this life. Liberation from the cycle of rebirths is reached by man’s attaining complete realization of the nature of the self, namely, identity with the Supreme Being. The highest spiritual goal of the Hindu is escape from the cycle of history.
Hinduism regards human history as a lower level of, experience, for the essential self of man is never involved in the affairs of this world of phenomena. How does Hinduism reconcile this metaphysical position with its extremely detailed regulation of individual and social life? Chiefly by its teaching regarding the four ends of man. The expression of man’s natural instincts (KAMA), material prosperity (ARTHA), and the ethical life (DHARMA), all pertain to the lower, empirical life. Spiritual liberation (MOKSHA) pertain to the higher level of reality, man’s essential self.
Hinduism’s concern with political institutions and the course of human history is thus a secondary concern at most. This view of history is conductive to the development of a secular state. That is, the ultimate philosophical and religious values of Hinduism do not require a Hindu state, or any political kind of a state, or any particular kind of a state, for that matter. At this point the contrast with Islam
is quite marked.

(from ‘India as a Secular State’ by D.E.Smith )
 

HOROSCOPES

Horoscope is a diagram of the heavens showing the relative position of planets and the signs of the zodiac, as at the moment of a person’s birth, used esp. to predict events in a person’s life; a prediction or advice for the future, based on such a diagram. The signs of the zodiac are used in astrology. The signs are: Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn.
Aries - the first sign of the zodiac, represented by a ram (male sheep); a person born between March 21 and April 20. Taurus - the second sign of the zodiac, represented by a bull; a person born between April 21 and May 22.
Gemini - the third sign of the zodiac, represented by a set of twins (two people born together); a person born between May 23 and June 23.
Cancer - the forth sign of the zodiac, represented by a crab (sea animal); a person born between June 22 and July 22.
Leo - the third sign of the zodiac, represented by a lion; a person born between July 23 and August 23.
Virgo - the sixth sign of the zodiac, represented by a young girl; a person born between August 23 and September 22.
Libra - the seventh sign of the zodiac, represented by a pair of scales; a person born between September 23 and October 22.
Scorpio - the eighth sign of the zodiac, represented by a scorpion; a person born between October 23 and November 21.
Sagittarius - the ninth sign of the zodiac, represented by an animal that is half horse half human shooting an arrow; a person born between November 22 and December 22.
Capricorn - the tenth sign of the zodiac, represented by a goat; a person born between December 23 and January 20.
Aquarius - the eleventh sign of the zodiac, represented by a person pouring water; a person born between January 21 and February 19.
Pisces - the twelfth sign of the zodiac, represented by two fish; a person born between February 20 and March 20.

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practice the reading of the following words and say what  Russian words help to guess their meanings:
cards, routine, horoscope, busyness, moment, personal, risk, impressed, financial, television, partner, problems, sum, surprised, situation, hesitation, football, chance.
Give the initial forms of the following words:
impressed, problems, changing, working, smoking, drinking, looking, exercises, surprised, taking.
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
important, personal, opportunity, financial, television,
venture, partner, possible, expensive, decision, carefully,
particular, loser.
Prove that the words in capital letters are nouns:
have some financial PROBLEMS, in your working ROUTINE, to win a television QUIZ.
Do you now the following words?
success, important, personal, slight, health, routine, quiz, outdoor, exercises, parties, venture,, offers, job, chance, diamond, overeat, decision, hesitation, discourage, carefully, step.
Translate the following into Russian:
There may be opportunity to travel. There is a chance to win a television quiz.  Miss your chance. Without hesitation.

Text. Horoscope 1

ARIES 21 March - 20 April
You may have  an opportunity to  change your place  of work, but the change may  be for the  worse. You should  think hard before taking  a  decision.  You  shouldn’t  tell anyone about possible offers of a new job.
TAURUS 21 April - 22 May
This is  a week  of success  in busyness.  You may  have to risk your  money.  Don’t  hesitate!  You  may not have another chance like that, and you must take it!
GEMINI (Twins) 23 May - 21 June
You may meet some one you’ll  be impressed by. Be careful!   You should spend more time at home with your family.
CANCER 22 June - 22 July
You may  have some  financial problems  at the  beginning of the week. Don’t be discouraged! You’ll have to learn how to be  good loser, but you shouldn’t lose hope. Things will improve  towards the end of the week.
LEO (Lion) 23 July - 22 August
There may be opportunity to  travel. You should take it  without hesitation. You may  want to talk  to someone about  it. This is something you mustn’t do because your chance may be lost.
VIRGO 23 August - 22 September
Someone may tell you that there is a chance to win a  television quiz. You shouldn’t believe it! Quizzes are not for you. But  at the weekend you may be  lucky at cards. You shouldn’t  miss your chance.
LIBRA (Scales or Balance) 23 September - 22 October
You shouldn’t play football. You may have an injury. A drive  to the country  and a  walk in  a wood  will do  you good,  but you shouldn’t leave expensive things in your car. You may be sorry!
SCORPIO 23 October - 21 November
There may be problems at work, but you shouldn’t take them close to heart. The situation will  improve soon. You won’t even  have to put in any particular effort.
SAGITTARIUS 22 November - 22 December
This  is  an  important  moment  in  your  personal  life. You shouldn’t  change  anything  if  you  want  to  be  happy. Think carefully before taking important steps.
CAPRICORN 23 December - 20 January
You may  have some  slight health  problems. Don’t  overeat! You should give up  smoking and drinking.  A holiday at  the seaside would put you right.
AQUARIUS 21 January - 19 February
If you  find a  large sum  of money  or a  diamond ring don’t be surprised. This  week begins  the period  of luck.  It is a good time to  begin business  venture, and  you should  begin looking for a good partner.
PISCES (Fish) 20 February - 20 March
There may be changing in  your working routine. You may  have to do  more  then  you  used  to.  You shouldn’t work too much. You
should leave time for outdoor exercises and parties.

Text. Horoscope 2

ARIES 21 March - 20 April
This week begins the period of luck.  It is a good time to begin business venture, and you should begin looking for a good partner.
TAURUS 21 April - 22 May
There may be opportunity to travel.  You may not have another chance like that, and you must take it!
GEMINI (Twins) 23 May - 21 June This is a week of success in busyness.  You should leave time for outdoor exercises and parties.
CANCER 22 June - 22 July
There may be changing in your working routine.  You shouldn’t work too much.
LEO (Lion) 23 July - 22 August
There may be problems at work, but you shouldn’t take them close to heart.  At the weekend you may be lucky at cards.
VIRGO 23 August - 22 September
You may have some slight health problems.  A holiday at the seaside would put you right.  Don’t overeat!
LIBRA (Scales or Balance) 23 September - 22 October
You may have to do more then you used to.  Things will improve towards the end of the week.
SCORPIO 23 October - 21 November
You may have some financial problems at the beginning of the week.  You should spend more time at home with your family.
SAGITTARIUS 22 November - 22 December
You may have some slight health problems.  The situation will improve soon. You won’t even have to put in any particular effort.
CAPRICORN 23 December - 20 January
You may have to risk your money.  You should think hard before taking a decision.
AQUARIUS 21 January - 19 February
This is an important moment in your personal life.  You shouldn’t miss your chance.  Think carefully before taking important steps.
PISCES (Fish) 20 February - 20 March
You may have an opportunity to change your place of work. You should give up smoking and drinking.  Be careful!

SOME TERMS

PRE-TEXT EXERCISES

Practise the reading of the following words and say what   Russian words help to guess their meanings:
limits, abstraction, image, atheist, philosophy, atheism, mystery, human, products, chance, agnostic, doctrine, agnosticism, truck, controlled, determined, fate, derived, fatalist, theory, fatalism
Give the initial forms of the following words:
theorizing, least, determined
State to which part of speech the following words belong:
closely, deity, minority, belligerently, figment, imagination, completely, irrevocably, nonexistant, atheist, atheism, reasonable, existence, purposeless, needless, benefactor, incidentally
Do you now the following words?
to approach, limit, abstraction, supernatural, to worship, to accept, deity, minority, to insist, belligerently, image, figment, imagination, hence, irrevocably, nonexistant, reasonable, existence, suprem, mystery, to fathom, purposeless, hope, to derive, to dart, huge, truck, bend, to explain, needless, to snuff, innocent, blind, cause, benefactor, humanity, event, to determine, fate, incidentally, to derive, to predict

TEXT

Is there a God? Nothing so closely approaches the outer limits of abstraction as theorizing about a supernatural and supreme being. Many of us worship, most of us at least accept, some form of deity. Do you belong to the minority who insists, often belligerently, that man makes God in his own image, that God is a figment of the imagination and hence completely, irrevocably nonexistant? Then you are an atheist and your philosophy is called atheism. The word is from Greek ‘A’ (without) and ‘THEOS’ (god).
To many other thinkers it seems more reasonable to say that existence or nonexistence of a supreem being is one mystery the human mind will never fathom. How did the world come into being? How did life begin? Is there a father who looks after his children, or are we the products of purposeless chance? Do you answer these questions by saying that no one knows and no one can never hope to know? Then you are an agnostic, and your doctrine is called agnosticism. The word, too, is from the Greek, derived from AGNOSTOS, “not knowing”.
Why did that young child dart across the roadway just as a huge truck rounded the bend? How do you explain the needless snuffing out of an innocent life? Is it due to blind chance? To cause and effect? Why should some great benefactor of humanity be cut off in his prime? Are such events controlled by accident? Or are they determined by fate?  (Fate, incidentally, is derived from the Latin FATUS,(‘spoken’ or ‘predicted’)
If you believe that everything that happens is predetermined, foreordained, written down, as it were on the far-off pages of some mighty
volume, you are a fatalist and your theory is called fatalism.

(from ‘30 days to a more powerful vocabulary’ by W.Funk and N.Lewis)
 

APPENDIX

KEY TO AFTER-TEXT EXERCISES

Islam

Abstract

Kurban  Bairami  =  Muslim  Festival  of  Sacrifice. During this four-day Muslim holiday many Turkish families sacrifice a  lamb, sheep or  bullock on  the first  day. To  commemorate those  who have died during the year a sacrifice is made on the day  before Byram. In 1986 a lamb  for sacrifice cost about 30,000  TL, half a month’s wages  for a laborer  on our site.  The ram sacrificed for  the  completion  of  Elmali  Viaduct  cost  250,000 TL (110 pounds) and had been washed and made presentable.

Secular state
1.
state, religion, secular, conception, individual, represent, relationships.

2. Abstract

The concept of the Secular State.  The term “secular  state”  is commonly used in present-day India to describe the  relationship which exists, or which ought to exist,  between  the  state  and religion.  The working definition which I would  suggest  is  as follows:  The  secular  state  is  a  state  which  guarantees individual and corporate freedom of  religion,  deals  with  the individual as a citizen irrespective of  his  religion,  is  not constitutionally connected to a particular religion nor does  it seek either to promote or interfere  with  religion.  The  three sets of relations are:
1. religion and the individual  (freedom of religion)
2. the state and the  individual  (citizenship)
3. the state and religion (separation of state and religion).
 

Glossary

Anglican - (a member) of the Church of England, a branch of the Christian religion
Bible - 1) (a copy of) the holy book of Christians, consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament 2) (a copy of) the holy book of the Jews; the Old Testament
Buddhism - a religion of east and central Asia growing out of the teaching of Gautama Buddha that one must become free of human desires in order to escape from suffering.
Christ - (Jesus Christ, Jesus) - the man on whose life, death, and teachings Christianity is based, considered by Christians to be the son of God
Christianity - the religion based on the life and teachings of Christ.
Confucianism - the system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by confucius and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct
destiny - 1) fate, what must happen and cannot be changed or controlled
2) the power that decides the course of events, thought of as a person or a force
Father - 1) a title of respect for a priest, esp. in the Roman Catholic Church; 2) /our, the / God
Hindu - a person whose religion is Hinduism
Hinduism - - the chief religion of India which includes belief in destiny and reincarnation
horoscope - a written or spoken description of someone’s character, life, and future, which is gained by knowing the positions of the stars or planets at the time of his/her birth and the effects these are said to have
Islam - the Muslim religion, started by Mohammed
Jew - a member of a people, whose religion is Judaism, who lived in ancient times in the land of Israel, some of whom now live in the modern state of Israel and others in various countries throughout the world
Judaism - the religion of the Jews; the religion based on the Old Testament of the  Bible, the Talmud and the later teaching of the RABBIS
Koran - the holy book of the Muslims
messiah - a great religious leader, arriving suddenly to save the world, esp. Christ in the Christian religion or the man still expected by the Jews
Muslim (also Moslem, Mohammedan, Muhammadan) - a follower of the religion started by Mohhammed; a believer in Islam
Nonconformist - (a member) of any of several Christian religious groups which have separated from the Church of England
nonconformist - (off or a being) a person who does not follow generally accepted way(s) of living, thinking, etc.
Orthodox Church - any of several Christian churches esp.  in eastern Europe
padre - a priest, esp. one in the Armed Forces chaplain - a priest or other religious minister responsible for religious needs of a club, a part of the armed forces, a hospital
parish - an area in the care of a single priest and served by one main church
priest - 1) (in the christian church, and esp. in the Roman catholic Church) a specially trained person, usu. a man, who performs various religious duties and ceremonies for a group of worshippers 2) (also priestess /fem./) - a specially-trained person with religious duties and responsibilities in certain non-Christian religions
USAGE PRIEST is a general word for someone who is in charge of the religious worship of a group of Christian people, but the word is used especially in the Roman Catholic Church.  A priest in the Church of England is called a clergyman, and in the Nonconformist churches the usual word is minister. A priest who is responsible for the religious needs of large organization, such as a university or hospital, is a chaplain or in the armed forces, a padre.

rabbi - a Jewish priest
reincarnate - to cause to return to life in a new body, after death
reincarnation - 1) the act or fact of being reincarnated 2) the
person or animal that results
Shinto - the native religion of Japan, primarily a system of nature and ancestor worship. Also Shintoism.
Yoga - 1) a Hindu philosophy which teaches control of the mind, senses, and body in order to reach union with God; 2) a branch of yoga (hatha yoga) which consysts of a system of exersises to gain control over the mind and esp. the body
yogi - a person who practises yoga, esp. one who teaches it to others
zodiac - 1) an imaginary belt through space along which the sun, the moon and the nearest planet appear to travel and which is divided into 12 equal parts (signs), each named after a group  (constellation) of stars which were once in them; 2) a circular representation of this with pictures and names for each of 12 signs of the zodiac, esp. as used by people who believe in the influence of the  stars on people’s character and fate - see also HOROSCOPE
USAGE The signs of the zodiac are used in astrology. The signs are: Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn

Zoroaster - flourished 6th century B.C., Persian religious teacher.  Also called Zarathustra.
Zoroastianism, also Zoroastrism - an Iranian religion, founded c600 B.C. by Zoroaster, based on beliefs in a supreme deity, Ahura Mazda, and a cosmic struggle between a spirit of good, Spenta Mainyu, and a spirit of evil, Angra Mainyu. Also called Mazdaism.



English   Russian  Personal   Site Map    What's New    Search     Home visits