The Shakers

[Gauracandra]

Last night there was a fairly interesting program on PBS about the Shakers. It wasn’t real in depth, but it did give a fairly good overview. I figured I’d give the highlights of this virtually extinct faith.

 

The Shakers were started by Ann Lee as a break off of the Quaker movement. They were known as shaking Quakers, and thus the term Shaker stuck. Officially their organization is titled the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Coming. At its peak it numbered about 6000 members in 19 different communes mostly in the Northeast of the United States.

 

Ann Lee is said to have become pregnant four times, each time having a miscarriage. [This is believed to be a main reason why she instituted complete and total celibacy for the Shaker faith.] In 1770 she had a dazzling vision of Christ and from there formed her religion. The Shaker faith believes that God’s nature is dual – male and female. The carnal affections of flesh must die in order for spiritual affections to live. The movement was pacifist, feminist, and viewed each member equally. In one example the community purchased a black slave in order to give him freedom. As pacifists they were also given exemption by Lincoln from enlisting in the Civil War.

 

Their communities were basically communes where everyone had equal share to the property. Each commune was governed by 2 elders (men) and 2 eldresses (women). The sexes were kept separate, even using separate stairs and doors. They were also highly ritualistic. They would step on the stairs with their right foot first, kneel on their right knee first etc…

 

The Shakers believed that song and dance brought them closer to God. Initially the Shaker dance had no pattern, but overtime rules and structure developed. For them simplicity was the key in song and workmanship. As one of their sayings went “Order is heaven’s first law.”

 

They were known as very good inventors and business people. A woman Shaker invented the circular saw and they were engaged in many different occupations as farmers, architects, beekeepers, etc…

 

They also apparently accepted mediums and contacting departed spirits as an acceptable practice. In one instance four children claimed visions of past Shakers, George Washington, the Indian chief Tecumsah and others who gave renewed inspiration to the Shaker faith.

 

Their downfall did come in the industrialization of America. Their code of strict celibacy made it very difficult to grow. With the industrial revolution they found that they could not compete economically with the outside world in goods or members. Many of the men left in order to earn wages. They even stopped producing their own cloth as it was just cheaper to buy it from the stores.

 

Overall the program was rather interesting. The few remaining women members seemed rather simple and pure. You could see in their face they were good hearted people. They seemed very austere, with gravity . Even despite the obvious fact that the faith was finished, still they seemed positive. You almost got the sense that they believed there would be a Shaker rebirth coming soon.

[Guest guest]

Not likely in a celebate culture unless spontaneous generation becomes a reality.

 

Kind of like when people dreaded seeing the monks of Buddha come into town as families were broken up it was the same with the Shakers. Sometimes either the husband or the wife would want to join and there was quite a bit of heartache when one would leave.

[Gauracandra]

There will be no Shaker rebirth. A successful religion is able to replicate itself into the future. The easiest way is through internal growth. Those policies that reduce this internal growth had better make up for it with external (conversion) growth. If they hadn't had this policy they'd likely be a somewhat powerful and influential organization by today. Somewhat a pity.

[Guest guest]

Most people pass down their own religion to their children.

 

While people in some religions are allowed to give up that religion, Islam does not allow it.

To quit Islam means to be killed by a Muslim.

That is Koran's message.

 

Zorothustrians (parsis) belive one's religion is that in which one is born. Consequently, they are about 60,000 in the world now. Their population growth rate is low.

 

In contrast, Muslims keep four wives as sex accessories and private property and multiply like pigs. So, this is like a time bomb if Muslims live in non muslim democratic countries.

 

The quality or a religion cannot be measured by the number of people who say they are following it.

 

One criteria to judge a religion is:

How much respect and freedom a religion gives to pagans (non believers)?

 

Measured against this criteria, Hinduism is seen as most tolerant, while Islam has no tolerance at all.

This fact can also be deduced from the real history of 1000 years of Islam and Hinduism in India.

 

Shaker movement has died, but the principles on which it was based, if they were good, can also be found in Hinduism.

From the waters of Ocean you can make many small ponds, and some of them will dry out, but the ocean will remain for ever.

 

Sanatana Dhama (eternal religion) cannot die. Just think,

Islam tried for 1000 years brutally to kill it, and still it is living and vibrant.

 

There are many companies who sell orange juice.

Some of these companies will vanish, but the orange and orange juice will always be. Same for good religious principles.

 

So, no need to feel sorry if shakers vanished.

They were following only a subset of sanatana dharma, may be mixed with some thing that may not be dharma.

 

Jai Sri Krishna!