Free Essays on Three Hundred and Thirty Million Gods

â€Å"Three Hundred and Thirty Million Gods† The documentary â€Å"Three Hundred and Thirty Million Gods†, narrated by David Gyre, explores the ancient religion of Hinduism in it’s native India, elucidating its philosophies and offering first-hand accounts of its rituals and practices. By exposing western minds to the radically dissimilar mentality of Hinduism and the lifestyles if its practitioners, this film succeeds in explaining the central ideas of the practiced religion as well as the philosophy of Hinduism. Several of those concepts examined include: the many Gods and Goddesses; the ritual practice of image worship; and the lives of ascetics who denounce society and wander off alone in search of enlightenment. Throughout the fifty minutes of this film, Gyre introduces his viewers to the realities of rural Indian life; the modesty of their existence, their strife during difficult times of drought and famine, and the traditional caste system in which they live. Gyre explains the divergent practices of Hinduism throughout the country, the reverence of specific gods such as Krishna and Shiva, as well as the fundamental philosophies such as karma and reincarnation. By enforcing the idea that Hinduism is practiced differently, and has different meaning for every individual, Gyre succeeds in exposing the universal nature of Hinduism and its philosophy. In Hinduism, there are several main gods. Gyre introduces the audience to many of these deities, including Brahma, who is considered to be the creator God; he is traditionally depicted as having four faces, representing the four Vedas. The god Vishnu represents the preservation and salvation aspect of god, and is often represented as one of his ten avatars, or incarnations, such as Krishna or Rama. As Goddess worship in India can be traced back to the Indus Valley civilization, it is not difficult to imagine why he majority of Hindu gods are readily depicted in both art and lite... Free Essays on Three Hundred and Thirty Million Gods Free Essays on Three Hundred and Thirty Million Gods â€Å"Three Hundred and Thirty Million Gods† The documentary â€Å"Three Hundred and Thirty Million Gods†, narrated by David Gyre, explores the ancient religion of Hinduism in it’s native India, elucidating its philosophies and offering first-hand accounts of its rituals and practices. By exposing western minds to the radically dissimilar mentality of Hinduism and the lifestyles if its practitioners, this film succeeds in explaining the central ideas of the practiced religion as well as the philosophy of Hinduism. Several of those concepts examined include: the many Gods and Goddesses; the ritual practice of image worship; and the lives of ascetics who denounce society and wander off alone in search of enlightenment. Throughout the fifty minutes of this film, Gyre introduces his viewers to the realities of rural Indian life; the modesty of their existence, their strife during difficult times of drought and famine, and the traditional caste system in which they live. Gyre explains the divergent practices of Hinduism throughout the country, the reverence of specific gods such as Krishna and Shiva, as well as the fundamental philosophies such as karma and reincarnation. By enforcing the idea that Hinduism is practiced differently, and has different meaning for every individual, Gyre succeeds in exposing the universal nature of Hinduism and its philosophy. In Hinduism, there are several main gods. Gyre introduces the audience to many of these deities, including Brahma, who is considered to be the creator God; he is traditionally depicted as having four faces, representing the four Vedas. The god Vishnu represents the preservation and salvation aspect of god, and is often represented as one of his ten avatars, or incarnations, such as Krishna or Rama. As Goddess worship in India can be traced back to the Indus Valley civilization, it is not difficult to imagine why he majority of Hindu gods are readily depicted in both art and lite...

Pirate Ships - History and Culture

Pirate Ships - History and Culture During the so-called Golden Age of piracy (roughly 1700-1725), thousands of pirates terrorized shipping lanes all over the world, particularly in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. These ruthless men (and women) needed good ships to be able to run down their prey and escape from pirate hunters and navy vessels. Where did they get their ships, and what made for a good pirate craft? What Was a Pirate Ship? In one sense, there was no such thing as a â€Å"pirate† ship. There was no shipyard where pirates could go and commission and pay for a pirate ship to their specifications. A pirate ship is defined as any vessel whose sailors and crew are engaged in piracy. Thus, anything from a raft or canoe to a massive frigate or man of war could be considered a pirate vessel. Pirates could and did use very small boats, even canoes  when nothing else was at hand. Where Did Pirates Get Their Ships? Since no one was making ships exclusively for piracy, pirates had to somehow capture existing ships. Some pirates were crewmen on board naval or merchant vessels who took over by mutiny: George Lowther and Henry Avery were two well-known pirate captains who did so. Most pirates simply traded ships when they captured one that was more seaworthy than the one they had been using. Sometimes brave pirates could steal ships: Calico Jack Rackham was cornered by Spanish gunships one night when he and his men rowed over to a sloop the Spanish had captured. In the morning, he sailed away in the sloop while the Spanish warships shot up his old ship, still anchored in the harbor. What Would Pirates Do With a New Ship? When pirates got a new ship, by stealing one or by swapping their existing ship out for a better one belonging to their victims, they usually made some changes. They would mount as many cannons on the new ship as they could without significantly slowing her down. Six cannons or so was the minimum that pirates liked to have on board. The pirates usually changed the rigging or ship’s structure so that the ship would sail faster. Cargo spaces were converted into living or sleeping quarters, as pirate ships usually had more men (and less cargo) onboard than merchants vessels. What Did Pirates Look for in a Ship? A good pirate ship needed three things: it needed to be seaworthy, fast, and well-armed. Seaworthy ships were especially necessary for the Caribbean, where devastating hurricanes are a yearly occurrence. Since the best ports and harbors were usually off-limits to pirates, they often had to ride out storms at sea. Speed was very important: if they could not run down their prey, they would never capture anything. It was also necessary to outrun pirate hunters and navy ships. They needed to be well-armed in order to win fights. Blackbeard, Sam Bellamy, and Black Bart Roberts had massive gunboats and were very successful. Smaller sloops had advantages as well, however. They were quick and could enter shallow inlets to hide from searchers and evade pursuit. It was also necessary to careen ships from time to time. This is when the ships were intentionally beached so that the pirates could clean the hulls. This was easy to do with smaller ships but a real chore with larger ones. Famous Pirate Ships Model Of Queen Anns Revenge Blackbeard The Pirates Flagship On Display At The Maritime Research. John Pineda  /Getty Images 1. Blackbeards Queen Annes Revenge In November of 1717, Blackbeard captured La Concorde, a massive French slaving ship. He renamed her Queen Annes Revenge and refitted her, mounting 40 cannons on board. The Queen Annes Revenge was one of the most powerful ships around at the time and could go toe-to-toe with any British warship. The ship ran aground (some say Blackbeard did it intentionally) in 1718 and sank. Researchers believe they have found it in the waters off of North Carolina. Some items, such as an anchor, bell, and spoon have been found and are displayed in museums. Captain Bartholomew Roberts, engraving. Culture Club/Getty Images 2.  Bartholomew Roberts Royal Fortune Most of Roberts flagships were named Royal Fortune, so sometimes the historical record gets a little confusing. The largest was a former French man of war that the pirate had refitted with 40 cannons and manned by 157 men. Roberts was aboard this ship during his fateful final battle in February of 1722 3.  Sam Bellamys Whydah The Whydah was a massive merchant ship captured by Bellamy on her maiden voyage in 1717. The pirate modified her, mounting 26 cannons on board. She was shipwrecked off of Cape Cod not long after she was taken, however, so Bellamy did not do much damage with his new ship. The wreck has been found, and researchers have found some very interesting items which have allowed them to learn more about pirate history and culture. Sources Cawthorne, Nigel. A History of Pirates: Blood and Thunder on the High Seas. Edison: Chartwell Books, 2005. Cordingly, David. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 1996 Defoe, Daniel (Captain Charles Johnson). A General History of the Pyrates. Edited by Manuel Schonhorn. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1972/1999. Konstam, Angus. The Pirate Ship 1660-1730. New Vanguard, First Edition edition, Osprey Publishing, June 20, 2003. Konstam, Angus. The World Atlas of Pirates. Guilford: the Lyons Press, 2009 Woodard, Colin. The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down. Mariner Books, 2008.

ST. George implements market orientation (p26) Essay

ST. George implements market orientation (p26) - Essay Example Many commercial banks and investment banks were bound to close their shutters. Almost all of the major economies have suffered recession. Therefore, it is obvious that such a crisis would have effect on this leading bank of Australia. But the extent of the affect would be much less than its global peers. The reason behind such an impact is basically because of the strong regulatory norms prevalent in Australia. The micro environment of marketing includes the consumers, the suppliers and the stakeholders. The broader form i.e. the macro environment comprises of factors like political, social, environmental and technological. The bank has been undertaking various measures to ensure that the customer focus is maintained. It has developed new distribution channel and also trained the staffs such a way that can be beneficial to the customers and thereby providing for a new customer relationship management. With such emphasis on the customers, the bank can definitely hope to create value for the stake holders. The macro environmental factors also contribute towards the customer orientation. Politically the nation is quite stable. The take over of the St George Bank by the Westpac is expected to have long lasting effect on the economy of the nation. The technology has also been utilised prudently by the bank. Market orientation can be referred as the business philosophy that helps to identify the stated or the unstated need of the consumers. The objective of the bank is to utilise the environmental factors, both internal as well as external, towards customer satisfaction of the customers. Therefore, it can be well understood that the market orientation ultimately deals with the customers. St George Bank has taken steps to ensure that the organisation recruits team members with right blend of attitude and skill so that the customer orientation gets the maximum focus. The St George Bank has been doing quite well in the recent past. The bank is regarded as the

Legality of Drone Strikes by US Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Legality of Drone Strikes by US - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that the war on terror continues to bring about heated debates among most of the citizens of America, and in fact, the world. It is a wonder why the American government continues to preach for/ on a democratic front at home, and yet do the complete opposite when it comes to other nations, especially in the Middle East. The fact that America chooses to play big brother to nations that have problems of their own still remains a mystery. The wars America has been involved in over the last few decades have led to the loss of lives on both fronts  and has even led to the questioning of the financial strain the wars are causing. Recently, the U.S. has been called out by some of the many nations on the use of drones to target alleged Al-Qaeda territories. This has, however, not deterred the Obama administration from continuing their assaults on these foreign lands. The U.S. drone wars have affected regions such as Yemen and Pakistan, where the d eath of an unprecedented number of people has risen over the years. This has led to a public outcry, both at home and in the Middle East, as people are losing their lives over a war they feel is unwarranted. Al-Qaeda strongholds are the reasons for these attacks on the Middle East regions, where the Obama administration believes that they are responsible for rooting out the cause of all that is terror-related

When Buddhism was the dominant tradition in India Essay Example for Free

When Buddhism was the dominant tradition in India Essay Indian historical periods are related to the Buddhists Thought in terms of social ferment and intense intellectual social and cultural beliefs. The periods of how the religious groups evolved during the authority of the Vedas and their concept of the god they believed in. These periods range from the times at which there was consequential progress in the development of the religion in India. There were in certain hereditary statuses restrictions that had cast castle mobility of the implications of the rituals associated with the efficacy of Buddhism. The first periods of evolution of Buddhism started as early as 246 B. C in the northern parts of India. It then developed through very many empires and rulers to become a religion that is appreciated even today in all parts of the World. This paper will therefore analyze the periods of evolution of Buddhism and how it dominates the religious beliefs and minds of the ancient Indians and other people around the region. It will also look at how the religion was affected by the entry of other religious teachings including Islam and Christianity. It will find discuss the implications of the Thought of Buddhists with regard to the teachings of the founder of Buddhism by emphasizing the negative and positive aspects of the religion in the ancient and current Indians. Philosophical relevance of Buddhism to ancient India. Some sects associated with the religion are greatly contributing to the unified philosophical system of the cultural beliefs of the Indian population both in the past and in the early and mid twentieth centuries. Some critics both in India and other neighboring countries who had adopted the religion are pointing out several problems which prevent its acceptance by all people. They argue that Buddhists have in the past and still reject past action of deterministic behavior which keeps on changing as the technology changes . It is also considers that the soul and the body are inseparable and that it is not possible that the soul cannot survive death as claimed by some sects within Buddhism. Such kinds of teachings are considered to be mythical in nature and not the actual ones developed by Buddha himself at the time of conceiving the ‘knowledge’. While ethics and morals had to be emphasized during the time of Buddha, it should be done through judicial procedures which is currently overtaking the power and authority that religious leaders are having in their beliefs to punish offenders to some extent. Some scholars also believe that the views as expressed by the Buddhist religion are too advanced to be adopted by all societies considering the current diversity of societies, cultures, and religion. It evident that society has not reached a point where education needs to be universal and the society need to be developed further in the sense of prevalent superstitions and irrational beliefs. In this era where the society is limited when it comes to concepts and nature, religions are becoming increasingly controversial especially when it deals with patent issues of families, obedience, faith, God, life after death etc. the scholars also continue to analyze the impacts with which Buddhism has had on the current development of India when compared to the other cultures in other regions at the time of Buddhism in India. History of Buddhism Prince Siddhartha Guatama founded Buddhism in the kingdom of Shakwa in Nepal at the foothills of the Himalayas in the 500A. D which is approximately 2,500 years ago. It is believed that Siddhartha Guatama left his luxurious life in the palace to look for ‘better life elsewhere’. Buddhism was then conceived after the Prince moved around and met the poor who were suffering. After seeing this, Siddhartha Guatama recognized the fact that something was wrong with the societal order and it should be addressed very urgently. He therefore decided that he shares his wealth with the poor in the society with a view to making them equal with him. He spent most of his life doing this and God blessed him with immense knowledge that he got a revelation of life and the meaning of suffering. With this he was sure that he knew the real meaning of living. Thus the realization of Buddhism and the Buddhist Thought. The prince got the Buddhist Thought while sitting under the tree known as the papal tree and from that day, he was acknowledged by not only his admirers but also by other sympathizers of different religious beliefs. In the final barriers, Guatama achieved knowledge and he experienced a lot of truths that is all about suffering and life. The four noble truths as revealed by prince Guatama are; †¢ All of life is suffering †¢ The cause of suffering is desire †¢ Desire leads to suffering †¢ Desire can be ended by means of mediation and path discipline. Buddhists Thought With the achievement of this knowledge, Guatama was now the awakened one-Buddha meaning the birth of Buddhism. He thus spent most of his life traveling around India spreading the gospel of Buddha and the meaning of Buddhism in the ancient life of the Indians at the moment. More and more people continued to adopt the culture of the teachings of Buddhists while integrating the relevant principles of the religion to their daily needs. The principles of Buddhism encourage the teachings of Mahayana, Hinayana, Vayajarana teachings. These teachings encourages the upholding human life and assisting people to become equal in terms of food provision, culture, obedience, respect and punishment . Indian merchants and loyalty resulted and patronized monasteries for centuries after the introduction of the Buddhist Thought. In this period, hemispherical stone structures were erected in remembrance of the founder of the religion after he died after eighty years. Various temples were also built to signify the importance of the teachings to the ancient Indians. This is the first development of the Buddhists Thought impacted very strongly on the lives of the ancient people not only in India but also in neighboring countries that had received the message from the missionaries of Buddhism. Buddhism is also considered an organized religion with high philosophical orders within the Indian society. During the early twentieth century for example, Buddhism dramatically came back to spur a combination of philosophical interests and European antiquarian activities as practiced by the devotees available by then in the northern parts of the Indian region. This meant that all issues that were perceived to be supernatural to the normal man were enough to be adequately addressed by the Buddhists Thought and the principles as stated by Buddha. Forms of Buddhism The Himalayan communities practiced a form of Buddhism that shared same fundamental principles as those practiced by the Tibetan communities. This form of Buddhism is considered as promoting spiritual advancement, enhancing intercession, and enlightening human beings on their role on earth. Most of the forms of Buddhism are Adopted by different countries depending on their own understanding of the teachings. The ‘Doctrine of the elders’ is the most followed form of Buddhism that traces its origin to the first principle of the Buddhists Thought. It is being adored by the Indians and it traces its origin to scriptural traditions of the Pali community of eastern India. This doctrine stresses a more advanced human-like Buddhism that is coated with a democratic path which enables its followers to embrace unity, marriage simplicities, and abolition of marriage expenses, increased sense of identity, self-esteem, self-worth, and reducing alcoholism. Spreading the Buddhism Thought The religion from its inception in northern India spread to other parts of the country and within a short period of time it had spilled over to countries such as China, Korea and Japan. It is also believed that within India itself, Buddhism flourished against backdrops of various rulers in India who viewed it as a threatening and extreme religion which would interfere with their ruling capacitates. It is particularly believed that it was taken to higher levels by the emperors of Ashoka, Milinda, kanishka and Bimbishara who had all found the teachings of the religious practice useful top the Indian community and the whole societies at large. Around the thirteenth century, Buddhism disappeared slowly but not after leaving a legend on the religious beliefs in India. In fact, it is known that the prince who founded Buddhism did not even contemplate appointing a successor to continue with the teachings and the spreading of the religion. He rather advocated for each and every individual follower to maintain a personal form of salvation in which individuals regard all human beings as equal and worth in the eyes of the almighty. This meant that all followers of Buddhism had the moral responsibility of maintaining their own integrity as advocated by Buddha in his teachings in the eyes of other people. The main reason why Buddhism thrived and flourished in ancient Indian country was the support it received from the local kings and emperors such as Kosala. Guatama was known to be an intense austerity practitioner in that he was able to deny himself lots of luxuries and even starve himself to death if need be. At one point, he decided that self torture had weakened his mind for as long time and things needed to change. By failing to advance his enlighten status; he was reduced to a certain style of renunciation through dedicational mediation. Since Buddhism existed in the oral traditions only, it was necessary to have some kind of mechanisms to ensure that practices and doctrines of Buddhism are maintained. It was seen necessary to have a Council of Buddhists to do the job. These councils had their individual responsibilities. The first council This council arose out of Maha’s concern for the future of all Indians and the fate of the Buddha’s dependents. In this first council, the monks were required to deal with the disciplines within the Thought of Buddha. This first council was also to make recommendations and agreements on the controversial issues as singled out by the ancient rulers and scholars in India. The role of this council; became so complicated that after a couple of years, a second council was formed. The second council The responsibilities of the second council were to iron out differences that had arisen from the disagreements between the elders of the order and the monks. The monks had wanted to get exclusive powers to apply rules and regulations with regard to the believers who did not conform to the teachings of Buddha. This council was given the authority to iron out differences at all levels of leadership. However, most of the monks did not agree that the most attainable position would be the Arhat and that there would be other positions that can be attained by any other individual. Arhat was not measurable to Buddha and that is why it not possible to claim that Arhat is the highest point of holiness. The misunderstandings between the two groups of leaders led to the development of two Buddhist traditions. These are; the Great way and the Way of the Elders. Despite the fact that the two groups of the traditions give ultimate respect to the teachings of Buddha, they differ on issues such as monastic disciplines, Buddha-hood and obedience to the teachings. They were designed to meet challenges of misunderstandings of leaders in the councils The third council This council was held during the empire of emperor Ashoka who led the Buddhism monarchy at the third century B. C. It was held at the palatipultra reigns where most non-Buddhists joined the religious group mainly because they felt that it offered them some kind of royal patronage. Although most of the new members were finding it difficult to meet the expectations of their new religion, they had in some way retained their old beliefs. This third council was being formed at the height of increased membership to enable people disregard their old practices that do not conform to the teachings of Buddhism. The fourth and the fifth councils were all formed to counter moves by other religious groups to ouster Buddhism and its spread in and outside of India.

Lookin at the Law :: essays research papers

Looking at the Law: Drug Courts With the Hon. Paul F. Chaiet   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Drug Courts are new to the Monmouth county area but not new to the United States. The first Drug court was established in Miami, Florida in 1989. There is at least one Drug court in each of the 50 states. Camden, Essex, Passaic, Mercer and Union were the first five counties in the New Jersey to start the Drug courts in the states. The Hon. Paul Chaiet after being assistant persecutor for Monmouth County for 14 years, he was appointed the Judge of the Drug Court.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Drug team for Monmouth County consists of the Judge; Hon. Chaiet, Drug court coordinator; Noreen Carmoday, Assistant Prosecutor; Carol McConnell, Asst. Public Defender; John Brown Jr., Substance Abuse Evaluator; Adri Lieb, and Probation Officer; Sara Felle. All these people are trying help the people who have a substance abuse problem rather then just send them to jail. Not everyone is eligible for the Drug court program. They must fill out an application, they will be interview, they must want to be in the program, and must live in Monmouth county. Also no previous violence, no more than three offenses, must be a first-degree offense and no sex crimes. This program is for offenders who might have to serve jail time so this is an option rather than prison. One of the major reasons as to why they developed this program was to reduce the jail population. Since 1980 there has been a 467% increase in jail population and most of them are from drug cases. It cost $3 5,000 per prisoner in jail for one year and $17,000 per patient in treatment. So not only are they trying to reduce the jail population but trying to say the government money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Offenders shouldn’t just go into to the program to get out jail. It’s very hard. They must serve at least 6 months in the patient part of the program. They send the offenders to inpatient houses. There are eight inpatient programs in our state. The whole program is 5-6 years long from beginning to end. Once they are out of the first part of the program, the next year is the intensive part and they are assigned to a probation officer. There is one probation officer for every 50 kids, so the probation officer can keep a closer eye on the participants.

Joint Family is Better Than a Nuclear Family

Now days we rarely see joint family. But I believe that Joint family have more advantages than nuclear family. Basically we have to understand what a joint family means, our father says, his siblings and their families living together can be considered a joint family. In joint families all the family members sit together and discuss their own promblems with the family members. In nuclear families there are only the parents and the children. The advantage is that you can spends more time with your children and you become a person of your own will. And the disadvantage is that you do not have the guidance or the experience of the elders to help us in the difficult times. In joint family if any one person in the house is facing any kind of problem, all the people will come together to help him and will try to find the solution for that problem and will solve it. While in nuclear family we have to solve it own and no one is there to help us. Joint family is definitely a boon always. We learn so many things which help a person to build up his personality In the current scenario, both the couples have to work to run a family in that case, if there is some elder to take care of the kids at home, then the parents could work without much of stress. In urban areas like chennai you hardly get to see any joint family. We lose many valuable experiences when we grow in a nuclear family. But if you grow up in a joint family you naturally tend to be more adjusive and caring. You will be attached to your family members ,i am not saying people growing in nuclear family are not attached but they do not know how to express it. In joint family their is lot of love and affection for each and every member of the family, while in nuclear family love and affection is not as much which is their in joint family because everyone is busy in their own life and no one has time for each other. On the other hand joint family has some harmful effects also like In joint family their weaker person will always be weaker because He/she believe that other are their to help him out in problem, while in nuclear family the weaker will try to become strong as he/she knows that their is no one to help him out in the problem. .