Archives November 2012

The youngsters in the age group of thirteen and nineteen are called teenagers. They seem to stand at a crossroad and are a bewildered lot. They are restless to forge ahead in the fields of knowledge and careers and so are under great pressure and strain. The competition in schools, colleges and careers is growing tough day by day. Parents expect tailfin to have excellent grades in their examinations and tests. Many of them commit suicide every year as they fail to have results expected by their parents and elders. Failures make them frustrated and they revolt and become in disciplined. They do not conform to customs and traditions and follow the western styles of living and thinking. There is no proper guidance and understanding of these youngsters. There is hardly any role model on the regional or national levels to follow and they feel lost, neglected and uncared for. more...

Raja Ram Roy was born in Radhanagar village in Bengal's Hooghly district on May 22, 1772, to conservative Bengali Brahmin parents. Ram Mohans' parents, Ramakanta Roy and Tarini Mukherjee, were devout Hindus. His father was a worshipper of Lord Vishnu. Ram Mohan showed a religious disposition from an early age. At the age of 14 he wanted to be a "sanyasi" hermit, but his mother persuaded him otherwise. Another example of his devoutness was his habit of not even having water each morning until In- had recited a chapter from the Bhagvata Purana. Ram Mohan was reputed to have a "tenacious memory", and showed signs of intelligence at an early age. He learnt Bengali at school first. He also went to Tibet to learn about Buddhism. He learnt Persian, which was the court language. This gave him the ability to read the mystic poerty and philosophy of the Persian Sufis. more...

According to Judeo-Christian tradition, divine edict clearly relegates women to a position of subservience beneath men, as expressed in the Genesis creation account. This idea of female servility has dominated Western culture for thousands of years with virtually no significant changes; only in the past several decades has the notion of male dominance lost wide- spread acceptance in America. Prior to this cultural shift, American ideology mandated that women dutifully obey their husbands and confine themselves to managing the home and raising children, thus depriving them of any power beyond the sphere of the home and rendering them dependent on their husbands. This mentality is especially apparent in the movie the Sound of Music. In The Sound of Music, female characters are portrayed to be highly dependent upon men, a central aspect of the traditional woman's role. This is initially shown in the scene where Ralph and Liesi are singing more...

His Holiness, the XIVth Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso was born in a small village called Takster in northeastern Tibet. Born to a peasant family. His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama. His enthronement ceremony took place on February 22, 1940 in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people. Dalai Lama means Ocean of Wisdom. Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshin Norbu, the Wish- fulfilling Gem, or simply, Kundun, meaning The Presence. Born Lhamo Dhondrub, he was, as Dalai Lama, renemaed Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso - Holy Lord, Gentle Glory, Compassionate, Defender of the Faith, Ocean of Wisdom. He began his education at the age of six and completed the Geshe Lharampa more...

Long ago, the Earth had a green belt of rain forests around its middle that covered almost twelve percent of the earth's land surface. Today, the rain forest covers two percent of the earth's land surface and it is declining rapidly. The following will be a description of the rain forest, factors in its destruction and if there are any answers to slow or halt the process. Today, as we enter the last decade of the twentieth century, we have reached a turning point, we can no longer use the excuse of ignorance. People need to try harder to stop rain forest depletion. There are two major areas on earth where rain forests are located. One of these areas is called The Old World Tropics', which includes Africa and Asia. In Africa, the rain forests are primarily located around the Zaire River. The other area in which rain forests are more...

Buddhism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (Sanskrit, in Pali, Siddhattha Gotama), who lived between approximately 563 and 483 BCE. This religion originated in India and gradually spread throughout Asia, to Central Asia, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, as well as the East Asian countries of China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan. "To shun all evil. To do good. To purify one's heart. This is the teaching of the Buddhas." — Dhmmnapada, XIV, 5 Buddhism largely consists of the doing of good action, the avoidance of bad action and mental training. The aim of these practices is to put an end to suffering and achieve enlightenment, either for one or for all beings. Enlightenment is considered to be touching or abiding in nirvana, which means 'extinguishing'. Buddhist morality is guided by principles of nonviolence and moderation. Buddhists frequently use formal sitting meditation and also often more...

The earth is considered as one of the most beautiful planets in the universe. It is the only planet in our galaxy that has enough water to support life. Unfortunately our planet is suffering due to many problems which should be solved before it is too    late. The major problems that are facing our world today are population, pollution and animal extinction. One of the problems facing our world is population. It began about ten thousand years ago when the humans settled and began farming. The farming provides more food for the people thus making the population grow. Now we are about 6 billion in population and in a few years we will be around 10 to 11 billion. Therefore, our population will almost double in size. This means that we will need more food to support us. A study in 1986 by Peter Vitonesk, a Stanford biologist, showed that more...

Our Earth is a unique planet in the Universe. It is the only known planet to have lire on it. The mother earth provides us with water, air and land. In other words, it provides the essential spheres of life, that is, hydro-sphere, lithosphere and atmosphere. The narrow zone where the three spheres coincide is the only life sustaining part of the earth and the known Universe. This is called the 'BIOSPHERE'. The hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere and the biosphere together form the surroundings of everything and is known as the ENVIRONMENT, The Earth and its environment give way to life in a variety of forms-from the microscopic and simple bacteria to blue whale and complex human beings.  Particular organism is suited to a particular place and the environment, where it can flourish, breed and survive. This place is called its HABITAT or MICRO-HABITAT. The earth has a delicate ecosystem. Its more...

Christianity, the most widely distributed of the world religions, having substantial representation in all the populated continents of the globe. In the late 1990s, its total membership exceeded 1.9 billion people. Like any system of belief and values—be it Platonism/ Marxism, Freudianism or democracy—Christianity is in many ways comprehensible only 'from the inside', to those who share the beliefs and strive to live by the values and a description that would ignore these 'inside' aspects of it would not be historically faithful. To a degree that those o;-; the inside often fail to recognize, however, such a system of beliefs and values can also be described in a way that makes sense as well to an interested observer who does not or even cannot, share their outlook. A community, a way of life, a system of belief, a liturgical observance, a tradition—Christianity is all of these and more. Each of more...

Air Pollution and its effects Pollution is one of the most worrying problems of our time. This problem surfaced during the industrial revolution. The great industrial revolution brought about many positive changes to the world; better transportation, cheaper products, and a better life. However, with its riches came the price, pollution. At the beginning of the industrial revolution, no one paid any attention to the problem of pollution. As the science/ progressed people started to realize this problem. Air pollution arises from many sources. The burning of gasoline in automobiles produces harmful gases and incineration of products. From various factories come millions .of particles that are carried off in the air. Chemical plants produce gaseous by-products that are toxic when their concentration is high enough. As parts of the world become more industrialized, air pollution has generally increased and new health hazards have developed. Air pollution can result from causes more...