Brahman Is The Highest And Most Supreme Religion Essay

Brahman Is The Highest And Most Supreme Religion Essay Brahman is the highest and most supreme of all Hindu gods. It is the transcendent, immanent, infinite, unchanging, eternal reality. The Divine Ground that sums up all the being, space, time energy, matter and all within and beyond this universe. Brahams nature is described as impersonal, personal and transpersonal. Brahman, conceived from the Hindu verb brh, means infinity and greatness. Brahman was born from Brahma who is the creator, the source and the seed of all that is in this world. Brahman, due to his functions as the creator of all, is not allowed to have a lot of devotees and is thus unpopular among the Hindu pantheon since his wok demands attention, concentration and introversion. As there is no more creation, he lost his importance to other gods; Vishnu and Siva, of the Hindu trinity. He is said to be father of Manu, from whom all Hindus descended from. Brahman is the universal substrate or the absolute reality and should not be confused with Brahma, god and the creator. T hey say that Brahman cannot be known through material means, and we cannot be made to be conscious of it as he is our very own being and consciousness. Atman on the other hand refers to the true self of a person. Philosophically it is the soul either individually or globally. It could also b defined as the source o all the individual souls. It is the indistinguishable, unchanging and eternal essence. According to Hinduism, any mortal existence has an immortal aspect and this is always hidden within every created object and this includes man. Atman provides experience of the pleasures and pain of earthly life thus giving us reason to live and imparts divine possibilities and qualities. Atman being the silent partner and dweller within us and all our experiences and deeds, can only be felt when no other sensory activities impact the mind. This is attained through yoga. In Buddhism however, the cause of misery is ignorance which is a prime consequence of the belief that there exists an atman that is unchanging. Our soul or atman is identifiable readily with Brahmans greater soul. Buddhism In Buddhism, Anatta is the selfless idea of non-self. It means that everything perceived is not in the I or mine sense and thus one should not cling on to. It encourages people o develop a sense of willingness to let go at any time as these perceived objects become unnecessary to ones self. The rebirth doctrine should be well differentiated from the reincarnation theory which refers to the soul transmigration and its material rebirth invariable. Buddhism does not recognize the existence of an eternal or unchanging soul that emanates from divine essence. It is in sharp contrast to Hinduisms self awareness ideology of atman. According to Buddhism there is nothing that is fixed or permanent in our existence. Everything is subject to destruction and decay. No man should identify himself with any form or name but rather be aware of the continuous change process of becoming. In Japanese Buddhism, Satori means enlightenment. It is a surge o sudden individual enlightenment and/or awareness. It is coined from the Zen Buddhist culture and considered as the embarkation or earlier step towards nirvana. Satori can and is often juxtaposed to the term kensho meaning viewing ones nature and character. Satori however, is a deeper spiritual state than kensho. Being an intuitive experience, It has been described as a situation like waking up one day to find yourself with an extra pair of arms to later learn how to use them. Satori is commonly attained from personal experiences by the traditional use of koans like the collection found in the Gateless Gate. They are theoretical puzzles students use in assistance of Satori realization. It does not occur to individuals but rather all concept realization individuals included therein. The Zen Buddhist student need to prepare their minds first with rigorous study with koans and then meditation which clears their minds from all attachments to the physical existence. In many Japanese folktales, Satori was referred to as a mountain dwelling creature with the rare ability to read the human mind and thoughts. Thus the only way to defeat a Satori was to empty ones mind completely. This way it will run in fear, leave due to boredom or die. Confucianism Confucianism put much emphasis on filial piety. I is on of the most important virtues and should be held highly. It is defined as the respect for ones parents and ancestors. The Classic of Xiao, a Confucian book written during the 400 B.C. period in a conversation between Zeng Shen, a student and Confucius. Filial piety, in Chinese culture, is the fist and foremost virtue. These religious traditions were until recent years, been enforced by law at times. It is a form of ancestral worship and its avoidance was punishable by law. This virtue should be shown to both the dead and the living alike and is a respect that has over the years bee extended to cover other five forms; friend to friend, elder brother to younger brother, husband to wife, father to son and ruler to ruled. The respect for elders was held in high reverence in all these forms of relationships and the living stood as sons of the dead. This filial piety idea adversely influenced the legal system in china. The book of fil ial piety written in the third century is the major source of filial piety importance and it was attributed to Confucius as well as hi son. Li is a Chinese word that is extensively used in Confucianism. It meaning is rather vague but in most cases it is attached to the word ritual. I is just an abstract idea and not and object of definitive nature. It has also been described and translated s the morals, etiquette or customs. It is generally a collection of rules of proper and good behavior. It broadly deals with the entirely whole spectrum of the contacts and interaction with nature, material objects and other human beings. Confucius, in his discussions, encompasses diverse topics like governance, mourning, titles, drinking tea, and learning among other things. Li entails the norms of proper behavior socially taught to us by government officials, village elders or parents. The teachings encourage loyalty, god faith, righteousness, brotherliness and filial submission. The Li influence has guided public expectations and has enhanced the loyalty to the community superiors and elders. Religious impulse. Religion has always been there perhaps even longer than human beings. There was an understanding of a supernatural force showed by Neanderthals millions of years ago. The most common and weird thread among the various religions in the world is the impulse to worship a supernatural being or just generally something at that matter. Therefore, religious impulse can be defined universally as the urge to put faith in a form that is always beyond our perception and understanding. Even in our era, a time of technological and scientific advancements, a lot of people believe in the unknown. Religion therefore is the belief in supernatural powers that control our fate that is entitled to our obedience, respect and worship. In every great religion, three aspects are paramount; charity, faith and hope. These are the ethics, ritual and theology respectively. It should entail conservation of values and be a system that involves a world view, a philosophy and a code of ethics. Different religions have different characteristics however most features are similar in different religions and these are; specific rules of conduct, sense of community and family, ethics system, institutions that are well organized, supernatural belief and life after death, soul existence and sacred scriptures and writings. The factors and root causes that may lead people towards religious impulses are the fear of death and whatever is lying in wait beyond that. Also humans are a curious bunch and the mystery of their existence pushes them towards a spiritual angle. Since we are incapable of answering most of lifes questions, like the purpose of our lives and the immaterial or the spiritual part of us, it creates a belief towards religion as the best form of explanation. Finally one just feels the need of a spiritual conscience to the materialism of modern life. The nature of the divine varies in different religious settings. Hindus for example, often think of themselves as monothei sts worshiping various divine aspects and no various divinities. However, outsiders always see Hinduism as similar to faiths inclined to traditional polytheistic. Idealistic Religion Among the above religions, Confucianism is the most appealing while I find Hinduism the least appealing. Hinduism consists of so many beliefs with a lot of intertwined gods and goddesses. The caste system of classes is also unrealistic as all human bins should be equal and receive equal opportunities. For a very long time his has bee the factor that has served most disservice to he Hindu religion. The idea of recognizing inequalities based on the lineage, family and birth and stating it as the will of god is alarming. Though Confucianism has shortcomings as well, its ethics and morals have positive influence on the society as a whole. The teachings of Li and filial piety are greatly important especially to children growing up. It is common sense to respect and obey ones elders and putting that into law is a great way of ensuring a society with good and polite morals. It involved action internalization allowing one to be open to the sensations panoply of the experience. It maintains a healthy selflessness practices to oneself and as an example set to others. Personal approaches as well as the approaches of the at large demonstrates how these values are utilized in everything, the good and the bad, the detailed and the broad, the formlessness and the form. The rituals and practices in Confucianism are dynamic. These practices have been modified and revised in accordance to emerging societal beliefs. Though the practices are bound to change, the fundamental ideology remains the core of the religious beliefs.

Child Abuse and Neglect :: Child Abuse Domestic Violence

Child abuse has been here as long as the United States of America and throughout the history of the World. "Child abuse can cause serious harm to its victims. Estimates of the numbers of children who suffer physical abuse or neglect by parents or guardians range from about 1 percent of all children to about 15 percent, and figures are far higher if emotional abuse and neglect are included."(2. Quote from Encyclopedia Britannica 2007.) You see and hear about different cases of child abuse all the time in news reports, online, newspapers, film and sometimes by word of mouth in your community. We view these cases as deplorable acts of violence but why do we not we stop this altogether?

The Fall of the Roman Empire Essay -- Decline of Ancient Rome

The Roman Empire was, without a doubt, the most powerful governing body in the Mediterranean that ever was. At the peak of the Roman Empire, in the mid part of the first century, it covered about half of Europe, much of the Middle East, and the north coast of Africa. So why did Rome fall? There was not one cause that led to the fall of Rome, but many things occurring in succession to each other. After the reign of Tiberus, there were many poor leaders, two of which were Caligula and Nero. Caligula killed his sister, among many other people and made his favorite horse a senator. Nero murdered his wife and mother and was accused of setting fire to Rome. Such deeds were common because the laws of the empire favored the rich landowners and who ordered and were the target of many assassinations (Gibbon, 70). It is true when it is said that Rome was not built in a day. Nor did it fall in a day. Many factors contributed to the ruin of the Roman Empire. The two most important factors were this: the cities consumed without producing and disease ravaged the Roman world. After the Punic wars with Carthage, Rome acquired many new lands that it did not have before. The farmers of these lands came to the cities, only knowing how to farm and fight wars. With their farms were destroyed, some were able to fight for the professional army, but others were left with nothing to do. These first families had no skills to pass down to their descendants. Generations passed and soon there were no more people that knew how to farm or earn a living. The powers of Rome made this worse by not educating the masses that first came to the cities after the Punic Wars (Stambaugh, 125). During peace times it was easy to govern these areas but du... ... their entire civilization was based on war, greed, and arrogance. Bibliography Baker, Simon. "Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire" BBC Books; Reprint edition, 2007 Coolidge, Olivia E. "Lives of Famous Romans." American Home School Publishing, 2007. Gibbon, Edward. "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." Everyman's Library, 2010. Grant, Michael. "The Fall of the Roman Empire." Scribner, 1997. Web. 25 June 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23040343?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Guittard, Charles. "The Romans: Life in the Empire." Millbrook Press, 1996. Roberts, J. and Westad, O. "The History of the World" Oxford University Press, 2013. Stambaugh, John E. "The Ancient Roman City." Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988. Vickers, Michael J. "The Roman World (The Making of the Past)." Peter Bedrick Books, 1989.

American Beauty (movie)

The movie American Beauty bears the name of the most popular in the USA brand of roses. The roses are present in the picture everywhere. They are like a scarlet ribbon running through the canvas of the narration, each time concentrating audience’s attention upon themselves as upon the stereotype of American beauty. This is not a story about empty cellophane bag flying in the wind. This is not a saga about a masturbating wimp American man. And even not about that that life is a shit and women are you know who. This is rather the story of stereotypization of mass conscience that reached global proportion.This is a story about that that our life as any reality is a mosaic with different patterns – sometimes even ugly and detestable. Some of us see the life lines interlacing as a stifling web and others see it as roads running away beyond the skyline. Overall, American Beauty is a film about the life of an average American family, and problems experienced by each member of this family. And in this case it does not matter is the family American, English, French or any other as it was already mentioned the stereotypical conscience became global.Movie plot is simple enough and, to certain extent, hackneyed. To tell the truth the beginning of the picture evokes feelings of boredom as you expect a typical tearful story of jerk husband, stinker wife, their daughter suffering from loneliness and lack of understanding and their neighbors – a bit screwed guy, trading drugs and practicing voyeurisme with his video camera, his father, colonel retired, who hates homosexuals being himself a latent homosexual. However, the way all this story is presented makes this movie different and distinguished.American Beauty is impressive for the fact that there are no right or guilty characters in the story. For example, Lester (Kevin Spacey) is not a dull, horny jerk, he is rather an average man who could not achieve in this life anything or even establish a normal f amily, where al least someone would understand and support him. His wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) is not a stinker or a whore; she is a simply unhappy woman, which tries hard to bluster way out of difficult life â€Å"I will sell this house today, I will sell this house today†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Carolyn), but fails.And their daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is not a wicked child dreaming of killing her parents but rather a poor little girl, who feels awfully lonely and seeks for someone to understand her. The central event of the film is the moment when Lester is trying to free himself from the chains of commonness and dullness of the life surrounding him. He quits his well-paid position and starts working in McDonald’s and going in for sport. But the outward manifestation is not the point; the point is that Lester got free inward.He ceased being afraid of his wife, he has got that job which does not give you satisfaction and where you have to lick the boots of your boss is worthless. These changes made Lester feel free and happy! â€Å"I feel like I've been in a coma for about twenty years. And I'm just now waking up. † (Lester) But this is the moment when an inevitable end had to come. Lester is killed. Any person from his surrounding could have done it. Daughter Jane, who could not stand his lusty stare at her classmate: â€Å"I need a father who's a role model, not some horny geek-boy who's gonna spray his shorts every time I bring a girlfriend home from school.†(Jane); wife Carolyn, who hates him as she regards him as a sluggard and loser; Jane’s friend, Ricky (Wes Bentley), whom Jane asked to kill her father; Ricky’s father, crazy about patriotism and fascism colonel, who believes his son to have an affair with Lester; and even Lester who feels good and likes his new life. Why not to die at such a moment? To leave this world with pleasant emotions†¦ I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me †¦ but it's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world.Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst †¦ (Lester) The movie is masterfully shot in all respects. Young film director Sam Mendes has demonstrated fairly good sense of humor and style. Take for example red rose-petals emerging as soon as Lester gets absorbed in his erotic fantasies. Red petals serve as unambiguous, though delicate euphemism of orgasmic feelings of the main character. This cross-cutting image looks very nice though till the end of film it becomes exuberant and starts irritating.And finally the empty bag fluttering in the wind is like a key symbol of the film. It is noticed by Ricky through his camera lens, who looks at the world only in this way, through his camera, as it makes reality to be accepted easier. â€Å"Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember†¦ and I need to remember†¦ Sometimes th ere's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in† (Ricky) Ricky, as a real artist, sees beauty in the things which are seen by others as ugly.This is, as a matter of fact, the notion of â€Å"American beauty†, the world, which you see beyond U. S. model through this or that stimulating means. American beauty is a McDonald’s, but not as a place where you come to gorge fast, sooner as a place of inner freedom. This is a bright scarlet car, of which you dreamt all your life but had not bought because there were more â€Å"useful† things you had to buy. In the long run, American beauty is your inner freedom, freedom in mind and not under the canopy of Star & Stripes flag. Bibliography American Beauty. Dir. Sam Mendes. 1999. DVD, 2002.