Archives November 2012

Although the Vedas and the Upanishads express common themes of the Aryan world view, they differ greatly in genre and emphasis. Underlying both texts are the core ideas of the religion: the iniquitousness of atman. Brahman's origins of non-being, the non-existence of physical reality, and the subtle, intangible existence of ultimate reality. But while the Vedas is mythical and ritualistic, the Upanishads is theological and devalues ritual. The major reoccurring theme of the Upanishads understands the inner Real Self, the attainment of atman. Through parable and narrative, the Upanishads repeatedly I caches of the atman and the path to atman. The favored type of parable is that of the teacher and student, such as in the rase of Uddalaka Aruni and his son Shvetaketu. The father patiently details example after example of the nature of ultimate reality: the lump of clay, and the ingot of iron, the fig seed, the more...

Child Labor Child labor refers to the economic active population under the age of 15 years employed in various     industries. According to the Microsoft Encarta, child labor is now used to denote the employment of minors in work that may interfere with their education or endanger their health, Child labor has grown to be a topic of widespread debate. It has many favorable and unfavorable points of view. In any case, child labor should be eradicated as it is harmful to the health of the children, it is an obstacle to their education, and a denies them a happy childhood. Child labor is common in agriculture, domestic service, the sex industry, the carpet and axtile industries, quarrying and brick making in countries in Asia and Africa. Employers in these industries buy children from their debtors or through the labor contractors. Sometimes children work to help pay off a loan incurred more...

The Indian subcontinent forms an inverted triangle extending from the snow-bound Himalayan ranges of Asia toward the equator. Known also as South Asia, the area includes the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan; artistically,, the Tibotan highlands also form part of the region. Stretching some 1,800 miles from north to south, and almost the same distance from west to east, the area is home to an ancient and diverse group of cultures. India is the largest single nation of South Asia. Its currently twenty-four states exhibit a cultural diversity comparable to that seen among the nations of Europe. The Tamil region of South India has a language, script, musical tradition, dance forms, and an artistic heritage that are quite distinct from those found in, say, Punjab in the north. It is this diversity that makes the artistic traditions of India so complex and rewarding to follow. more...

It seems that more and more marriages are falling apart every day. Divorce rates seen to be climbing astronomically. In so many of these divorces there are children to be considered. What is best for the child? Who will get custody? Will the child be scarred for life? It's really hard to say. The overall effects on our children vary according to the factor involved. I am going to attempt to discuss a few of the problems that can occur with children of divorced families and what parents can do to ease the transition. I will limit this discussion to infantile age thru early elementary aged children. Let's start with understanding the parents role concerning being together or being apart. Obviously, two parents can provide children with far more guidance, sustenance, and protection than one, and are more likely to prevent the kinds of psychological disturbance that may result from more...

Newspapers are a great power in themselves. They are a great power to be reckoned with so much so that even very mighty and influential persons in politics, industries or social life cannot dare to face their hostility. Their freedom and power is of vital significance in democratic countries like the U.S.A. and India. They work as the watchdogs of democracy, human rights and individual freedom. They fill the gap between the public and the government and administration by working as a bridge and meaningful means of dialogue. They are not only one of the mass media but much more. They keep the public informed about the policies, programmes and planning of the government and record the people's reactions, views, opinions etc. They help in making public opinion as nothirig else can do. Personal freedom is the essence of democracy and it is reflected in the freedom and influence of more...

Napoleon I (1769-1821), Emperor of the French, who consolidated and institutionalized many reforms of the French Revolution. One of the-greatest military commanders of all time, he conquered the larger part of Europe and did much to modernise the nations he ruled. Napoleon was born on August 15,1769, in Ajaccio, Corsica and was given the name Napoleone (in French his name became Napoleon Bonaparte). He was the second of eight children of Carlo (Charles) Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino Buonaparte, both of the Corsican-Italian gentry. No Bonaparte had ever been a professional soldier. Carlo was a lawyer who had fought for Corsican independence, but after the French occupied the island in 1768, he served as a prosecutor and judge and entered the French aristocracy as a count. Through his father's influence. Napoleon was educated at the expense of King Louis XVI, at Brienne and the Ecole Mihtaire, in Paris. Napoleon graduated in more...

The major theory that has been repeated throughout time, to interrupt the evolution of India and migration of man, has been the Aryan Invasion Theory. According to this account, India was invaded and conquered by a nomadic tribe of Indo- European tribes from Central Asia around 1500-100 BC. It was said that these light skinned nomads fought a major battle with the darker skinned "Dravidian Civilization, from which they took most of what later, became the Hindu culture." The Aryan Invasion Theory is based upon ruins that were : discovered in the Indus valley. The Aryan people also cite how the Aryan Vedic scriptures explain a war between the powers of light and darkness. This was therefore interpreted throughout time, to mean that the war occurred between a lighter skinned civilizations (Aryans) and more dark skinned civilization. Scholars believed that the Aryans came into India around the time of 1500 more...

Abdul Kalam was born on 15th October 1931 at Rameswaram in Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu, to a working class Tamil Muslim family. He received his degree in aeronautical engineering from the Madras Institute of Technology in 1958. After graduation he joined India's Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to work on a hovercraft project. In 1962, Kalam moved to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), where his team successfully launched several satellites. He made a significant contribution as Project Director to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully placed the Rohini space satellite into near earth orbit in July 1980. In 1982, Kalam returned to DRDO as Director, focusing on Indigenous guided missiles. He was responsible for the development and operationalisation of the AGNI and PR1THVI missiles. This earned him the sobriquet "India's missile-man". He also helped in the formulation of healthcare products using technology developed for missiles. more...

Indian press includes 41 centenarians. The Gujarati daily Bombay Samachar published from Bombay is the oldest existing newspaper which was started in "1822. Anand Bazar Patrika, Times of India and Hindustan Times retained the first, second and third positions respectively circulation-wise. At the end of 1992 the total number of newspaper was 31,957 compared to 30,214 in 1991 an increase of 5.8 per cent. Among them, 3,502 were dailies, 271 tri/bi-weeklies, 10,375 weeklies and 17,809 other periodicals. Newspapers are published from all states and union territories. Uttar Pradesh claimed the top position with 4,631 newspapers. It was followed by Delhi (4,226), Maharashtra (3,497), West Bengal (2,843), Rajasthan (2,253), Madhya Pradesh (2,235), Tamil Nadu (1,879), Karnataka (1,571), Andhra Pradesh (1,529), Bihar (1,432) and Kerala (1,376). In the case of dailies also, Uttar Pradesh maintained its top position with 535 newspapers, followed by Bihar (379), Madhya Pradesh (321) and Maharashtra (307). Apart more...

Stalin, Joseph (1879-1953), general secretary of the Communist Party of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 to 1953, the despotic ruler who more than any other individual moulded the features that characterized the Soviet regime and shaped the direction of Europe after World War II ended in 1945. Stalin was born losif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili in the town of Gori, Georgia, which at the time was part of the vast Russian Empire. He was the third and only surviving child of a cobbler and a housecleaner. In 1888 Stalin began attending the Gori Church School, where he learned Russian and excelled at his studies, winning a scholarship to the Tbilisi Theological Seminary in the Georgian capital in 1894. Stalin began his studies at the seminary as a devout believer in Orthodox Christianity. He was soon exposed to the radical ideas of fellow students, however and began to read more...