The Upanishads place the supreme God force (Brahman) and the inner self (Atman) at the central of their teachings. The Isa Upanishad's greatest contribution to the history of religion has to do with its emphasis on acknowledging …show more content…
This extract is from Ngarlu Jukurrpa (Martin, 2010). This is not a written text, but rather an artwork and its description about a Dreaming story. The term ‘jukurrpa’ which refers to the concept of Dreamtime or the Dreaming, is an eternal process that preserves the life forces (Wierzbicka & Goddard, 2015, p. 43-44). The Dreamtime is important in the belief system of Indigenous Australians as it is the era of creation and these Dreaming stories explain the origin of the universe and human existence (“Aboriginal Dreamtime”, 2001).
In Ngarlu Jukurrpa, symbols are used as an alternative of written stories to illustrate the history of the site of Ngarlu. One of the most profound impact of this artwork on the history of religion is its method of conveying the cultural and historical stories and beliefs. The artist uses traditional symbols such as circles, dots and U shapes, to represent nature and ancestral beings. Through telling a love story, the painting explains why the physical site of Ngarlu looks the way it does. Wierzbicka and Goddard (2015, p. 57) suggest that although Aboriginal artworks have some parallels with the concept of God in the non-Aboriginal culture, the Dreaming concept is not theistic. This explains why although the creation process is sacred, every Aborigine is also part of this eternal process. Therefore, the site of Ngarlu represents connectedness, not