History project- religious development in India during medieval ages Essay

With the coming of the Mughals in India and the Turkish rule, there were many developments and changes in the Indian culture and religion. The Sultans of Delhi and Mughal tolerated different religions, especially Hinduism, though they were followers of Islam. This lead to the beggining of indo-islamic culture. Since dawn of history, India has been the cradle of religious developments. In the early medival period, two parrelel movements in Hinduism and Islam representing the Bhakti and Sufi movements emerged in India. The Indo-Islamic strands have been woven into the texture of India by intertwining Bhakti and Sufi traditions. Bhakti movement The Bhakti movement is a Hindu religious movement in which the main spiritual practice is loving devotion towards Shiva or Vishnu. Bhakti movement is also closely related to Sufism of Islam which rose in the same time period and both advocated ‘love of God’ as the easiest way to attain God. The Bhakti movement originated in ancient Tamil Nadu. The Nayanmars and the Alvars played a major role in the Bhakti movement. The Bhakti movement co-existed peacefully with the other movements in Hinduism. It was initially considered unorthodox, as it rebelled against caste distinctions and disregarded Brahmanic rituals, which according to Bhakti saints were not necessary for salvation. In the course of time, however, owing to its immense popularity among the masses it became ‘orthodox’ and continues to be one of the most important modes of religious expression in modern India. The world ‘Bhakti’ means devotion to God. The Bhakti movement had its origin in the Bhagavadgita and the Upanishads. The Bhaktas of God did not believe in any sort of caste distinctions. They advocated love and devotion to God and discarded all sorts of rituals and ceremonies. They preached oneness of God and â€Å"that all religions were but roads leading to the same goal†. Chief Principles of Bhakti Movement: The chief principles of the Bhakti movement were as follows: 1. It is Bhakti or devotion to God alone that can help man attain salvation. 2. It is important to follow a true guru for realizing God. 3. All men are equal and no one is superior or inferior. 4. Caste distinctions, rituals, fasts, etc. , are useless and lead to nowhere. 5. All men should be tolerant. Effects of the Bhakti Movement: The Bhakti movement had far-reaching effects on the people. Firstly, it helped a lot in removing the existing bitterness between the Hindus and the Muslims. Both became more tolerant towards each other. Secondly, the Bhaktas exposed the hollowness of empty rituals and ceremonies and taught the people to give up evils like belief in superstitions etc. This movement delta a blow to the superiority of the Brahmins, for it propagated the equality of all men. This also helped in checking conversions. Thirdly, the Bhakti reformers preached in the common language of the people, which gave rise to the vernacular languages such as Bengali in the east, Gujarati and Marathi in the west and Punjabi in the north. Important Bhakti Reformers Ramanuja : Ramanuja was one of the earliest reformers. His teachings were based on the Upanishads and Bhagwad Gita. he had taught in the language of the common man. Soon a large number of people became his followers. Ramananda was his disciple. Ramananda : Ramananda was the first reformer to preach in Hindi, the main language spoken by the people of the North. He was educated at Benaras. He preached that there is nothing high or low. He was an ardent worshipper of Rama. He considered God as a loving father. He lived in the 14th century A. D. Kabir : Kabir was an ardent disciple of Ramananda. He wanted unity between the Hindus and the Muslims. He preached that both the Hindus and the Muslims are the children of a single God. He had no faith in idol worship, religious rituals and ceremonies. The devotees of Kabir were known as Kabir Panthis. Chaitanya : Chaitanya, a great devotee of Lord Krishna, was a saint from Bengal. From his very childhood, he had showed great interest in education and studied Sanskrit. He married the daughter of a Saintly person. Later at the age of 24, he renounced the worldly life and became a sanyasin. His followers regarded him as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He helped the old and the needy. He was opposed to the inequalities of the caste system. He emphasised the need for tolerance, humanity and love. He spread the message of Bhakti in Bengal. He popularised ‘Sankritan’or public singing of God’s name. He was addressed `Mahaprabhu’ by his followers. Meera Bai : Meerabai was a Rajput princess. She married the Rana of Mewar. She was a pious devotee of Lord Krishna. Her songs or hymns are even today sung all over India. Her palace was kept open to people of all castes to join her Bhajans of Lord Krishna. She had lived for the most part of her life in Mathura, the birth place of Krishna and Vrindaban. There is a temple dedicated to Meerabai in Chittor, the capital of Mewar. Sufi movement Sufism was a reform movement within Islam which applies greater stress on free thinking, liberal ideas and toleration. The Sufis believed in the equality of all human beings and brotherhood mankind. The Sufi movement started in Persia. Some of the Sufi saints also came to India. They began to preach their liberal ideas and to remove the gulf between the Hindus and the Muslims and join them together. The word Sufi has been taken from the Arabic word ‘Suf’ which means wool. The movement may have been given the name Sufism because of the course wool garments they wore as a mark of their rejection of worldly things. Sufis have traditionally taken vows of poverty and celibacy. Sufism developed religious practices focusing on strict self-control that enable both psychological and mystical insights as well as a loss of self, with the ultimate goal of mystical union with God. The Sufi movement consists of fraternal orders in which leaders train and assist disciples in the mastery of Sufism’s philosophical principles and ritual practices. Such rituals and practices include writing and reciting poetry and hymns; some of the most famous and beautiful literature of the Islamic world has been written by Sufis. Sufis engage in a variety of ritual practices intended to help them realize union with God, such as distinct forms of ritual prayer including the recitation of God’s names, as well as bodily rituals such as those practices by the so-called â€Å"Whirling Dervishes,† a Turkish Sufi order that practices meditation and contemplation of God through spinning. Teaching of Sufism: 1. There is one God, the Eternal, the Only Being; none else exists save He. 2. There is only one Master, the Guiding Spirit of all souls, who constantly leads his followers towards the light. 3. There is one Holy Book, the sacred manuscript of nature: the only scripture, which can enlighten the reader. 4. There is one Religion, the unswerving progress in the right direction towards the ideal, which fulfills the life’s purpose of every soul. 5. There is one Law, the Law of reciprocity, which can be observed by a selfless conscience together with a sense of awakened justice. 6. There is one Brotherhood, the human brotherhood, which unites the children of earth indiscriminately in the fatherhood of God. 7. There is one Moral Principle, the love which springs forth from self-denial, and blooms in deeds of beneficence. 8. There is one Object of Praise, the beauty which uplifts the heart of its worshipper through all aspects from the seen to the Unseen. 9. There is one Truth, the true knowledge of our being within and without, which is the essence of all wisdom. 10. There is one Path, the annihilation of the false ego in the real, which raises the mortal to immortality and in which resides all perfection. The Sufi Movement there is no priesthood in the ordinary sense, the priesthood is only to conduct the service and to answer the need of a priest which always exists in our everyday life. Those ordained in the Sufi Movement are called Sirajs and Cherags. There is no distinction between women and men. The worthy soul is ordained; this gives an example to the world that in all places – in the church, in the school, in parliament, in court – it is woman and man together who make evolution complete. But at the same time every Sufi is a priest, a preacher, a teacher, and a pupil of every soul that he meets in the world. The Sufi prayers such as Saum and Salat are not man-made prayers. They have descended from above, just as in every period of spiritual reconstruction prayers were given. And there is every power and blessing in them, especially for those who believe. Sikhism Guru Nanak is the founder of the religion of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated world-wide on Kartik Puranmashi, the full-moon day which falls on different dates each year in the month of Katak, October-November. Guru Nanak travelled to places far and wide teaching people the message of one God who dwells in every one of God’s creations and constitutes the eternal Truth. He setup a unique spiritual, social, and political platform based on equality, fraternity love, goodness, and virtue. Nanak was born on 15 April 1469, now celebrated as Guru Nanak Gurpurab. Today, his birthplace is marked by Gurdwara Janam Asthan. His parents were Kalyan Chand Das Bedi and Mata Tripta. His father was a patwari (accountant) for crop revenue in the village of Talwandi, employed by a Muslim landlord of that area, Rai Bular Bhatti. He had one sister, Bibi Nanaki, who was five years older than him and became a spiritual figure in her own right. Nanak also found work with Daulat Khan, when he was around 16 years old. On 24 September 1487 Nanak married Mata Sulakkhani, daughter of Mul Chand and Chando Ra? i, in the town of Batala. The couple had two sons, Sri Chand and Lakhmi Chand. Inspite of his married life, he spent most of his time in the company of holy men. At the age of 29, he left his home to spread the message of faith far and wide. Sikh teaching emphasizes the principle of equality of all humans and rejects discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, and gender. Sikh principles encourage living life as a householder Sikh Religion and Worship: 1)A Sikh believes in, and worships only one God. 2)A Sikh regards the succession of ten gurus, and the written word of the Guru Granth, a channel through which divine light manifests as salvation. 3)Sikhs worship in the gurdwara, congregating with spiritual companions, and communing with God, by singing divine hymns selected from the Guru Granth. 4)Sikhs perform ardas, a formal prayer, and read from Guru Granth before embarking on important endeavors. 5)The uniqueness of Sikhism is upheld without any derogatory attitude towards others, or belittling of others faith. . A brief of the next 9 Gurus: http://www. sarabsanjhigurbani. com/ten-guru. asp

Case in motivation and teamwork of Starbuck Essay

                 Formal teams are teams whose structures are clearly defined mainly of the basis of specialization. In these types of teams, the members are not equal and every one of them has a rank (Moorhead & Griffin, 73). For example, there are managers, supervisors and other junior employees. It is worthy noting that every member of a formal team performs their specific duties. For example, managers stay in their offices and issues directives to their juniors. On the other hand, informal teams have no structure and all team members are seen as equal regardless of their specialty. In these types of teams, any member can perform any task. Question 2               A team in Starbucks consists of three to six people and this helps the employees to know each other well. Any opinion expressed by employees is given an equal significance regardless of their position.                The top management at Starbucks work together with their juniors which makes them more familiar and closer compared to other bureaucratic companies.               The management at Starbucks treats all employees as equals and this is aimed at reducing the gap between the employees and the management.                   The top management at the company believes that employees are its main spirit. Consequently, the management adopts an interactive organizational structure that makes the employees love their jobs and perform them with passion. Question 3 a) The size of a team is an important factor because it determines how well the team members know each other. This is important because it brings about cohesion in the work place. b) The first benefit of Starbucks having small teams of staff in every branch is that the team members get to know each other better. Secondly, it improves communication within the group. Question 4                From the Starbucks case study, it is clear that there are three major issues that the company needs to address in its planning process namely listening to the opinion of its employees, equal treatment and ensuring good welfare for the employees.               Equal treatment- this is one of the major issues that the company needs to address in its planning process. Equal treatment requires all employees to be treated equally regardless of their position. According to the case study, it is clear that the management at the company treats all employees as equals and refers to them as partners. This is important because it narrows the gap between the employees and the management. Treating every employees fairly and equally in the workplace results in a friendly working environment. Consequently, if the issue of equal treatment is addressed in the planning process, it will help in creating closer working atmosphere and good management (Rynes & Rosen 64).                Listening to the employees- listening to the employees is other issue that requires to be addressed in the planning process. From the Starbucks case, it is clear that the company wants every employee to take part in developing plans and work as a team to achieve the set goals. Consequently, the company’s principles and policies are communicated to all employees, and there is no restriction in the employee’s individual opinions. By listening to the employees, makes them feel important which in turn motivates them hence increasing their productivity (Rynes & Rosen, 83). References Moorhead, G., & Griffin, R. W. Managing organizational behavior. (10th ed.). Cengage Learning., 2012. Print Rynes, S., & Rosen, B. A field survey of factors affecting the adoption and perceived success of diversity training. Personnel Psychology, 1995. Print Source document

Healthy lifestyle Essay

A persons health is measured in various methods and achievements, whether it is measured by weight, levels of stress, or just overall quality of life. People are relentlessly searching for the most efficient way to be more physically, nutritionally, and emotionally fit. On this quest for superior health there are four habits that need to be recognized to reach this goal, and they are smoking, drinking, overeating, and exercising. (Berger, 502). Cigarette smoking is a common, unhealthy habit among American adults. With 20.8% of all adults smoking, its the most preventable cause of death in the US, making up one in every five deaths this year. (Center for Disease Control & Prevention, n.d.). It not only significantly increases your chance at getting lung cancer; it also increases the rate for getting cancer of the bladder, kidneys, mouth and stomach. (Berger, 503). These deaths are preventable by people quitting smoking. There are over-the-counter medications, prescription medications, as well as just cold turkey to quit smoking. Alcohol is another drug that can lead to bad health. Alcohol can produce significant problems with the lever, heart, stomach and increases the likelihood of getting cancer. (Berger, 504). With this danger, groups have been founded to help stop using alcohol. The most familiar group is Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935, has no affiliation to any company, government, or private enterprise, and only requires the members to have the want to stop drinking. (Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 2008). Overeating and obesity is a common health problem among Americans today. We live in a very hectic world with just as frantic schedules. With the onset of the technological world and hectic schedules, fast food restaurants have found their ideal target. With consumers not having to even get out of their cars to super-size their double quarter-pounder has made us obese. There is a solution to this problem though. Through a reasonable amount of caloric intake of the right foods and a moderate, convenient exercise plan American can win the battle of the bulgeExercise is a very proactive way of increasing ones health. Many people exercise to lose weight, but the  benefits of exercise is vast. Regular physical activity can reduce your risk for several diseases and conditions and improve your overall quality of life. Regular physical activity can help protect you from the following health problems: hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. (Berger, 507). References Berger, K. S. (2005). The Developing Person: Through the Life Span. (Sixth Ed.). New York, New York: Worth Publishers. Center for Disease Control & Prevention. (n.d.). Adult Cigarette Smoking in the United States:Current Estimates. Retrieved on July 13, 2008, from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/Factsheets/adult_cig_smoking.htm. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. (2008). A.A. Fact File. Retrieved on July 13, 2008, from http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/en_pdfs/m-24_aafactfile.pdf.

Business and Leisure Events Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business and Leisure Events - Essay Example All these activities come under the fold of business events. Before embarking upon the topic, it would be advisable to define business events. Business event simply refers to an event, arranged, administered or managed by the ownership, board of directors or executive of an organization, which contains the element of the corporate activity, and the purpose of such arrangement is the expansion and development of the organization. Such an event may be co-organized by the staff members and sponsor companies usually related to beverage and IT companies and news channels etc. The important business events have been briefly described as following: Training Sessions: Training sessions are an essential part of business events, and are carried out by all big and small companies, industries and business units. The main objective behind conducting training sessions is to make the employees, managers and workers obtain technical, theoretical and practical exposure regarding the tasks related to their corporate responsibilities while working at different departments of the organization. Training sessions increase workers’ efficiency, communication skills, IT expertise, customers’ satisfaction proficiency and employment adeptness. Educational Workshops: Like training sessions, educational workshops are also conducted by the corporations as business events. The main difference between the training sessions and educational workshops is this that in the training sessions, specific technical abilities related to the relevant department is concentrated upon by the trainers. On the contrary, in educational workshops, the employees learn some new course or skill essential for their professional liabilities. Staff Meetings: Staff meetings are frequently called by the directors, managers and owners in order to devise and revise strategies, make plans, articulate schemes and introduce projects as well as for

Number of hours worked out and number of calories burned Speech or Presentation

Number of hours worked out and number of calories burned - Speech or Presentation Example The data came from a random survey of 100 participants who actively exercised daily. They were asked to list the main form of exercise they partake. Their weight as well as the average hours of work out per day were recorded and the calories burnt computed based on the averages reported on literature. In particular its expected that a person weighing 70kg would burn 560,490, 245 and 420 calories by running, jogging, walking and cycling for one hour respectively. Statistica analysis was performed using simple tools such as graphs, table of summaries, correlation analysis and regression analysis. To begin with, the distribution of respondents with regard to their main form of exercise is summarized by the pie chart below. In this case, there were equal numbers of respondents per form of exercise (Kutner, et al., 2005). A summary of the various parameters of interested is presented in the following table. It is clear that the average weight of respondents was about 80Kg in all the categories. Moreover people worked out an average of 3.5 hours per day burning 1000 and 2600 calories. A look at the trend in the calories burn out for various forms of exercise was done by plotting line graphs. To begin with, a line graph of calories burnt against the hours worked our is presented hereunder. On average, the more hours of cyclingp, the more calories are

Ikea issues within th company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ikea issues within th company - Research Paper Example IKEA recognizes the contest and questions itself how severely the corporation wants to take on and to assist get rid of local social issues of child labor. At the early period, the manner that IKEA dealt with Formaldehyde and forestry issues illustrated its commitment in social accountability still remained at the imprudent step, but not yet at the practical step or interactive step. This insufficient commitment explains why the corporation keeps experiencing societal and ecological issues pushed by the community. IKEA is outstanding at new-fangled ideas for advertising, but the corporation is still submissive in social accountability battle. To fix this fault, IKEA needs to be extra aware of societal accountability and potential upcoming societal issues.Public issues: Big threatThe best loom is to hold off from societal and ecological issues right from the start as when these issues appeared, they instantly affect the products’ sales immensely. In the situation of the Formald ehyde predicament, the corporation sales dropped by fifteen percent in Denmark. Spoil to brand impression. IKEA’s chief tactic is to lessen the cost between IKEA and its clients to proffer the lowest promising price. In the situation, the corporation confronts child labor matter and clients make out that the low down price they gain is by child labor manipulation in India, clients will respond by keeping away from products from IKEA.To get out of this threat of shortfall in profit, IKEA may think about withdrawing from India.... ldren working at looms at Rangan Exports, a corporation used by IKEA and the manufacturer then requested IKEA to propel someone to join in a live debate during the exposure of the program. These events pressed the corporation to contemplate on ecological and societal issues more critically. Ecological and Societal Issues: Expense of Globalization On the course of globalization, IKEA desires to get the economical supplies and as a result, go to countries that proffer cheap labor. Nevertheless, these rising countries such as India, Nepal, and Pakistan are in front of many societal issues about individual rights. When IKEA set its base in these nations, it could not evade these tribulations. For instance in India, approximations of child labor in India differ from the government’s 1991 market research figure of 11.3 million kids under 15 functioning to Individual Rights Watch’s estimate of between Forty million and a hundred million child drudges and about One hundred and fifty were employed in the carpet business. Its company strategy method partly exacerbates, as an alternative of assists the situation. The reality that IKEA does not have its individual manufacturing amenities; as an alternative, it uses delegated manufacturers all over the globe for provisions makes it more multifaceted and hard to keep trace of the corporation’s suppliers and sub suppliers. It is even hard to keep trace of children functioning in homes where complete families worked on looms from the sub suppliers’ point. Nonetheless, on the optimistic side, this business strategy gives IKEA’s the benefit of being capable to alter its suppliers devoid of much expenditure. IKEA recognizes the contest and questions itself how severely the corporation wants to take on and to assist get rid of

Chapter seven Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chapter seven - Essay Example The discussions about inflation actually impacted on my thoughts. First, now I know that inflation results from the increase in the costs of production which compels producers/sellers to increase the prices of their commodities. In addition, I learnt about the negative impacts of inflation in an economy (Baumol, W.J. & A.S. Blinder, 2007). As these authors examine, inflation is not a good experience since it can lead to an increase the costs of living, unemployment and abandonment of a country’s currency. These are very important lessons that not only enlighten me, but prepare me as an economist. The knowledge about inflation can help me in making important decisions regarding finances. Since inflation destructive, it should be adequately controlled. If I become a policy maker, I would apply these scholars’ ideas on inflation control. In case it occurs, I can advocate for feasible monetary policies such as credit squeeze, increased interests rates and initiate projects that can stimulate economic growth. This can help in saving the economy from