Lakshmi: I chose to start with Lakshmi because I noticed that for two separate stories for two separate reasons, I had used Lakshmi as my image. Her images always show such a beautiful elegant goddess and so I wanted to read a summary of why she is important as a Hindu deity.
Jainism: Lakshmi's article said that she is also an important goddess in Jainism. While I had heard of Jainism during my Intro to Asian Philosophy religion, I can't remember much about it now three years later. The article says that the main difference between Hinduism and Jainism is that the self is finite in Jainism.
Asceticism: Jainism has a strong ascetic tradition, and I wanted to learn more about this lifestyle. This means abstaining from material or physical pleasure. This can be either natural or unnatural asceticism. I thought it was interesting that unnatural asceticism includes self-harm and physical pain.
Simeon Stylites: I wanted to learn more about those who practiced unnatural asceticism which included self-inflicted pain to understand why they would do this. The article only specified one person who used self-inflicted pain and it was the Christian monk Simeon Stylites. He deprived himself of food and water often, and when he was sought out by so many for counsel, he sat a top a pillar so as not to be bothered and have time for devotion.
I really love the Wikipedia Trails assignments so much! I have learned a lot from them and it confirms my beliefs that everything in the world is intertwined. There was a Jain couple who worked for my parents long ago and I heard that the religion is super strict. It is really interesting too if you would like to read up on it!
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