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A sacred place (of shrine) is first of all a defined place, a [[space]] distinguished from other spaces. The [[rituals]] that a people either [[practice]] at a place or direct toward it mark its sacredness and differentiate it from other defined spaces. To understand the [[character]] of such places, Jonathan Z. Smith has suggested the helpful [[metaphor]] of sacred space as a "[[focus]]ing lens." A sacred place focuses attention on the forms, objects, and actions in it and reveals them as bearers of religious [[meaning]]. These [[symbols]] describe the fundamental constituents of [[reality]] as a religious [[community]] perceives them, defines a life in accordance with that view, and provides a means of access between the human world and [[divine]] realities.

A sacred place (of shrine) is first of all a defined place, a [[space]] distinguished from other spaces. The [[rituals]] that a people either [[practice]] at a place or direct toward it mark its sacredness and differentiate it from other defined spaces. To understand the [[character]] of such places, Jonathan Z. Smith has suggested the helpful [[metaphor]] of sacred space as a "[[focus]]ing lens." A sacred place focuses attention on the forms, objects, and actions in it and reveals them as bearers of religious [[meaning]]. These [[symbols]] describe the fundamental constituents of [[reality]] as a religious [[community]] perceives them, defines a life in accordance with that view, and provides a means of access between the human world and [[divine]] realities.

As meaningful space, sacred space encompasses a wide variety of very different kinds of places. It includes places that are constructed for religious purposes, such as temples or temenoi, and places that are religiously interpreted, such as mountains or rivers. It includes spaces that can be entered physically, as the outer [[geography]] of a holy land, [[imagination|imaginatively]], as the inner geography of the [[body]] in [[Tantric yoga]], or visually, as the space of a [[mandala]]. Sacred space does not even exclude non-sacred space, for the same place may be both sacred and non-sacred in different respects or circumstances. In [[tradition]]al [[Maori]] [[culture]], for example, the latrine marks the boundary between the world of the living and that of the dead. As such, it is the ritual place at which an unwanted spirit can be expelled or the help of the spirits obtained. Therefore, it is sacred. And it is still a latrine. Similarly, a house is a functional space, but in its construction, its design, or the rites within it, it may be endowed with religious meaning. A shrine that is the focus of religious activity on certain occasions may be ignored at other times. In short, a sacred place comes into being when it is interpreted as a sacred place.

As meaningful space, sacred space encompasses a wide variety of very different kinds of places. It includes places that are constructed for religious purposes, such as temples or temenoi, and places that are religiously interpreted, such as mountains or rivers. It includes spaces that can be entered physically, as the outer [[geography]] of a holy land, [[imagination|imaginatively]], as the inner geography of the [[body]] in [[Tantric yoga]], or visually, as the space of a [[mandala]]. Sacred space does not even exclude non-sacred space, for the same place may be both sacred and non-sacred in different respects or circumstances. In [[tradition]]al [[Maori]] [[culture]], for example, the latrine marks the boundary between the world of the living and that of the dead. As such, it is the ritual place at which an unwanted spirit can be expelled or the help of the spirits obtained. Therefore, it is sacred. And it is still a latrine. Similarly, a house is a functional space, but in its construction, its design, or the rites within it, it may be endowed with religious meaning. A shrine that is the focus of religious activity on certain occasions may be ignored at other times. In short, a sacred place comes into being when it is interpreted as a sacred place.

 

This view of sacred space as a lens for [[meaning]] implies that places are sacred because they perform a religious function, not because they have peculiar physical or aesthetic qualities. The [[tradition]] articulated by [[Friedrich Schleiermacher]] and developed by [[Rudolf Otto]] links the [[perception]] of holiness to religious [[emotion]]. Originally or authentically, therefore, sacred places ought to have had the [[power]] to evoke an affective response. And many sacred places do precisely that: The sacred mountains of China, the Gothic cathedrals of Europe, and the sources and the estuaries of India's holy rivers have a [[beauty]] and a power that are elements of their religious [[dimension]]. But such qualities of place are not inevitable. Many sacred places, even places that are central in the religious life of the community, are unimpressive to someone outside the tradition. The form of the place, without a knowledge of what and how it signifies, may not convey any religious sense whatever. [[Rddhipur]], for example, is the principal pilgrimage place of the Mhānubhāvs, a Krsnaite Maharashtrian [[sect]]. It is the place where [[God]] lived in the incarnate form of Gundam Rāül, where he deposited divine power, and where he performed acts that revealed his divine nature. It is the place visited by another [[divine]] [[incarnation]], Cakradhar, who founded the Mhānubhāv community. But Rddhipur itself is completely unexceptional, and the places where Gundam Rāül performed his deeds are indicated only by small stone markers. There is nothing there that gives rise to a sense of awe or [[mystery]], and yet the village is revered and protected by religious restrictions. The place is not aesthetically profound, but it is nonetheless religiously powerful.

This view of sacred space as a lens for [[meaning]] implies that places are sacred because they perform a religious function, not because they have peculiar physical or aesthetic qualities. The [[tradition]] articulated by [[Friedrich Schleiermacher]] and developed by [[Rudolf Otto]] links the [[perception]] of holiness to religious [[emotion]]. Originally or authentically, therefore, sacred places ought to have had the [[power]] to evoke an affective response. And many sacred places do precisely that: The sacred mountains of China, the Gothic cathedrals of Europe, and the sources and the estuaries of India's holy rivers have a [[beauty]] and a power that are elements of their religious [[dimension]]. But such qualities of place are not inevitable. Many sacred places, even places that are central in the religious life of the community, are unimpressive to someone outside the tradition. The form of the place, without a knowledge of what and how it signifies, may not convey any religious sense whatever. [[Rddhipur]], for example, is the principal pilgrimage place of the Mhānubhāvs, a Krsnaite Maharashtrian [[sect]]. It is the place where [[God]] lived in the incarnate form of Gundam Rāül, where he deposited divine power, and where he performed acts that revealed his divine nature. It is the place visited by another [[divine]] [[incarnation]], Cakradhar, who founded the Mhānubhāv community. But Rddhipur itself is completely unexceptional, and the places where Gundam Rāül performed his deeds are indicated only by small stone markers. There is nothing there that gives rise to a sense of awe or [[mystery]], and yet the village is revered and protected by religious restrictions. The place is not aesthetically profound, but it is nonetheless religiously powerful.

==Establishment of Sacred Space==

==Establishment of Sacred Space==