revelationIn the final way, the stūpa (memorial mound) assumes the charismatic
focus. By journeying to a stūpa or temple that holds a relic, a devote
Buddhist can receive darśan (seeing) of the relic and the consequent
merit that accompanies such an act. In addition to power, relics are per-
formative acts that possesses political (e.g. legitimate kingship, guaran-
tee law and order, justify war, enhance peace, and promote rain), social
(affirm existing social structure), and economic (attract pilgrims and
created merit for devotees) consequences.
Further reading: Brown (1981); Strong (2004)REVELATION
This concept, derived from the Latin revelare (to unveil), suggests the
unveiling of something secret or hidden and its communication to others,
such things as truths that would otherwise remain hidden. It is possible to
make a distinction between natural and general revelations. The former
refers to truths within the natural order that can, for instance, be discerned
by reason and empirical observation, whereas general revelation tends to
refer to a supernatural revelation derived, for instance, from a divine
being, which often assumes the form of a God using language to com-
municate. The concept of revelation can be discovered cross-culturally.
The Torah (Law) of Judaism, the Gospels and other texts of Christianity,
and the Qur’an of Islam are considered texts based on divine revelation. The
process of revelation in Islam is called wahy in Arabic; it embodies the con-
notation of verbal inspiration through the mind or heart in the Qur’an
(25.193–195), representing the eternal word of God. Orthodox Muslims
believe that it is based on a heavenly book that is preserved in the presence
of God, and it is called the “Mother of the Book” (43.1–4). The aim of the
Qur’anic revelation is intended to function as a warning to hearers, and what
is revealed is the order (amr) or command of God. The command is revealed
in Arabic, a believed divine language, to facilitate understanding by humans.
The preferred way for a person to receive the message is to memorize it, a
practice that keeps the revelation alive in that person’s mind.
The Muslim and Jewish conception of revelation shares three features:
God’s oral communication with a chosen messenger (Muhammad or
Moses); the public proclamation of the message by the prophet; the oral
preservation of the message and finally its being written down for the
benefit of future generations. The revelation from God most often
assumes an oral form, although the law is written in stone in the case of