FACES OF FAITH

AT STANFORD

Photos by Erica Heiman

This project, originally completed for a Photography II class, is an expression of the religious diversity that we at Stanford have the privilege of experiencing every day. Portraying ten individual conceptions of spirituality, it seeks to appreciate the ways in which the members of our community interpret and interact with the spiritual and religious. Although the complex issue of religion can't be dealt with through several photos and a few accompanying sentences, this exhibit will hopefully convey a sense of the beauty and diversity that religious and spiritual beliefs can exemplify.

Erica Heiman is a senior majoring in Human Biology. She is continually amazed by the diversity of belief at Stanford, and by the unique opportunity for learning that living here provides. She has always been interested in photography, but started her formal photography education last year. Since then, she has never been far from her camera.

Daraspreet Singh Kainth
Sikh

In Sikhism you can worship anywhere, at any time: on a train, in the middle of the night..... There is no idol worship, so there really are no holy objects. God is unity, and there's really no visual representation. But there are five symbols that remind us of our commitment to fighting for justice: Kes (hair), Kara (bracelet), Kirpan (sword), Kacha (shorts, worn during war), and Kanga (comb). The idea is we're willing to pick up the sword to defend ourselves and others -- but the sword is only a last resort. The most noticeable symbol is our hair; women wear it long, too, but usually don't cover it with a turban.

Eric Sabelman
Religious Society of Friends

We don't have sacred places. But out here, behind the meeting house, I like coming here very much. People should have their own sacred places -- you can find them everywhere. We have a very mystical ideal that says that everyone is equally capable of communicating with God. In the Quaker tradition, God talks directly to individuals, not to intermediates. Spirituality comes from the individual, and from sharing and community. Sometimes if a meeting is "covered," people will share their expressions of spiritual recognition, you'll listen carefully and internalize them, and everyone's thoughts will come together in a kind of unity. At the end you can't remember who spoke or what exact words were said -- it all flows together.

David Yin
Buddhist

There really is no holy place; you take concentration with you wherever you go. Meditation should be done throughout the day -- even just from thinking about your breathing while you're walking around campus and maintaining a certain stillness, insight arises. This particular posture is more conducive to concentration, though -- it's the one you see in the statues of Buddha. Your legs are folded, and your eyes are half-closed. When I'm meditating, I focus on my breathing or reciting the name of the Bodhisattva associated with great compassion. The Bodhisattvas are selfless beings -- when you can see yourself as one substance with everyone, that is great compassion.

Amelia Estrada
Catholic

When you say the Rosary you're praying with Mary about events in the life of Jesus. You're not worshipping Mary, you're praying with her. It seems like a lot of repetition to someone listening, but when you're saying it it doesn't seem like that. You're holding a particular event in the life of Christ in your mind, thinking of someone or something I want to pray for, and thinking about how I can model my life on Christ's virtues. I sometimes sleep with my Rosary --it's a comfort. Mine is a gift from a nun I met in Germany. Because the Rosary is such an intimate prayer, people are very attached to their Rosaries. And a rosary you receive as a gift from someone will hold a special meaning.

Geetika Agrawal
Hindu

The little idols are representative of Gods, so you treat them with respect -- you can give them water and fresh food, or flowers. You don't have to pray to an idol, though: you can just pray without anything in front of you. Most people don't pray in school, because it's hard to find a space to pray in. You have to keep the space clean, and you display the idol somewhere visible. Prayer is very individualistic; there's no set way to pray. Pooja is prayer for specific things, and it's also thanking. I pray usually when I'm worried about something, or during holidays, and I go to the temple once a month with my mom.

Noa Kushner
Jew

Coming to Lake Lag takes me out of my daily routine and reminds me why I'm a rabbi. The lake connects me with what I imagine is divine. I think God is everywhere, but I'm human and I forget, and coming here elevates and reconnects me. It evokes what is true and profound, it clears away all the debris and isolates inner truth. There's community truth here, too, because the Kennedy Kosher Co-op is on the lake, where the Jewish community here comes together and forms a family. There's something holy about being alive, about taking care of oneself and others, and when you're here you hear your own voice and that clear voice has something holy in it. Judaism is the thing I have in my life because I can't live at the lake.

Arthur Kornberg
Biochemist

Religion has been around for a long time and will remain, because it gives people faith, a sense of where they came from and what will happen in the future, and it gives them a way to plead their case in prayer with their community of friends and relatives. But science has been a good religion for me -- it's opened my eyes to a wonderful world that's biological and physical and given me an understanding of where I came from, where I can go, and how I relate to other organisms -- not only humans, but all organisms -- and it's very fulfilling. In the lab I can observe evolution in the space of days rather than millions of years. We used to have no understanding of heredity, but now we've sequenced the entire human genome. I'm in awe of nature, of the biological and physical world , and I find conventional beliefs unnecessary.

Sister Sumiya
Mormon

The book of Mormon is a collection of the writings of the prophets on the American continent before and after Christ. Because it tells us that Christ was resurrected to America, too, that he cares about all of the people of the world, not just the people in Jerusalem. When I read the book of Mormon, I can feel that Jesus Christ is my savior. The purpose of this life is to grow spiritually, to be closer to God, so that someday we will be able to live with God. The Book of Mormon tells us how. I decided to become a missionary because reading the testament makes me happy, and I can see the difference between me and other people who don't have the gospel in their life. God loves all people, and wanted all of them to know these things.

Mabrookah Heneidi
Muslim

Part of Islam is that is doesn't require any special place, as long as it's clean. I've prayed before in an alley in Disneyland, and at the beach. I dress modestly when I pray -- Islam has a strong stress on modesty for both men and women. It takes attention away from sexuality onto the intellectual and the spiritual. I've worn a scarf since I was 15, and it wear it completely by choice. Nothing in religion is compulsory. When Rania, my roommate, and I pray, we wear the thob, a kind of robe from Sudan. It's unique to Sudan, although in every Muslim country the women wear some sort of robe. I like this because it's easy to put on, and really warm. Islam is a huge religion, and it's practiced differently everywhere you go. In America, it's less cultural and more individual: each person looks to the Koran for answers. With an infinite God, anything's possible. God is who you perceive him to be--if a believer has faith that God is his or her protector, He will be. If a believer perceives God as his or her guide, He will be. But it is required of us to have that faith

Jim Burklo
United Church of Christ - Protestant

I have a "low church" way of being a minister -- I'm not big on rituals or objects. To me, the closest holy place is the Urban Ministry's Homeless Drop-in Center. Beautiful things happen there -- transformative experiences. Here at Stanford, there's a sort of dominant "engineering mind" that's always looking for the solution to the problem. What I think life is about is loving each other through our suffering. Spirituality is about confronting the truth about oneself and others, and by confronting the truth we transcend it. When you do service work, it forces you to look at yourself. I went to the drop-in center to help people, but the roles of the helper and helpee get confused, and they make me look at myself in a new way.