Tantra ist die Erforschung des Universums
aus der Perspektive des Individuums.
Die praktische Anwendbarkeit der tantrischen Lehren
macht Tantra zu einer einzigartigen Wissenschaft,
die alle anderen Wissenschaften miteinander verbindet
und aus ihrer Essenz brauchbare Formeln schafft.
Tantra beschränkt sich nicht darauf,
eine Ebene des Lebensbaumes zu untersuchen –
Tantra ist die Erforschung des Lebensbaumes.
http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/
“It isn’t academic education alone that makes people happy. It is “how-to-live” education — how to develop a harmonious, moral life, stronger will power, and spiritual understanding — that will bring happiness.” — Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda (Bengali: পরম Pôromohôngsho Joganondo, Sanskrit: परमहंस योगानंद Paramahaṃsa Yogānaṃda; January 5, 1893–March 7, 1952), born Mukunda Lal Ghosh (Bengali: মুকMukundo Lal Ghosh), was an Indian yogi and guru who introduced many westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his book, Autobiography of a Yogi. Yogananda was born in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India to a devout Bengali kshatriya family. According to his younger brother, Sananda, from his earliest years young Mukunda’s awareness and experience of the spiritual was far beyond the ordinary. In his youth he sought out many of India’s Hindu sages and saints, hoping to find an illuminated teacher to guide him in his spiritual quest. Read more: > HERE <
Thousands of SRF members and friends from around the world participated in our annual World Convocation. SRF monks and nuns joined them to lead group meditations, kirtans, classes on the SRF techniques of meditation, and inspirational talks on the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda.
Paramahansa Yogananda in New York / On February 2, 2002, Roy Eugene Davis, founder and spiritual director of the Center for Spiritual Awareness, visited Paramahansa Hariharananda, a brother disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, at his ashram in south Florida. Mr. Davis was asked to speak to the ashram residents about some of his experiences as a disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda.
Programs for Youth – Paramahansa Yogananda felt deeply for the welfare of children and took a lifelong interest in their all-around education. Carrying on in this tradition, Self-Realization Fellowship continues to offer programs that teach young people how to live a balanced life of meditation and right activity.
SRF Sunday Schools, teen programs, and summer youth programs provide children with a solid spiritual and ethical foundation on which to build throughout life. Emphasis is given to the practice of the science of meditation taught by Paramahansa Yogananda for personal experience of God. Children are shown how to develop moral character and the noble qualities exemplified in the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita, such as faith in God, respect, kindness, consideration for others, courage, and evenmindedness.
These qualities then act as spiritual building blocks for the right development of a child’s character and help to establish positive habits such as self-discipline, service to others, truthfulness, and the use of common sense — as countless participants over the decades have attested. Read more: > HERE <
http://notonourwatchproject.org/
http://www.fao.org/acacia senegal
Darfur (Arabic: دار فور dār fūr, lit. “realm of the Fur“) is a region in Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur which are coordinated by a Transitional Darfur Regional Authority. Because of the War in Darfur waged by the Sudanese government against the non-Arab indigenous population, the region has been in state of humanitarian emergency since 2003. Read more: > HERE <
CASH CROP – The term is used to differentiate from subsistence crops, which are those fed to the producer’s own livestock or grown as food for the producer’s family. In earlier times cash crops were usually only a small (but vital) part of a farm’s total yield, while today, especially in the developed countries, almost all crops are mainly grown for cash. In non-developed nations, cash crops are usually crops which attract demand in more developed nations, and hence have some export value. In many tropical and subtropical areas, jute, coffee, cocoa, sugar cane, bananas, oranges and cotton are common cash crops. In cooler areas, grain crops, oil-yielding crops and some vegetables and herbs are predominate; an example of this is the United States, where cannabis, corn, wheat, soybean are the predominant cash crops. Read more: > HERE <
Not since baking soda has there been a natural commodity that has so many different uses. In the days of the Egyptian Pharaohs, gum arabic was essential to mummification, and since Biblical times, it has been used to maintain the integrity of paints.It can also soothe a worried belly, diarrhea, and constipation, and it’s a key ingredient in soft drinks.
Gum arabic is sap from the branches of Acacia Senegal trees. It’s a natural emulsifier, which means that it can keep together substances which normally would not mix well. Pharmaceutical companies use it to keep medicines from separating into their different ingredients, and a dab of gum arabic makes newspaper ink more cohesive and permanent.
Sudan’s Miracle Commodity – The Acacia Senegal tree grows all over Africa and even on the Indian subcontinent. Most of the world’s gum arabic, however, comes from Sudan, where a thick belt of Acacia Senegal trees stretches from one end of Sudan to the other. Hassan Osman Abdel Nour is the general manager of Sudan’s largest exporter of gum arabic, the Gum Arabic Company.
“The botanist who identified Acacia Senegal first saw it in Senegal, but it turned out to be Acacia Senegal is more common in Sudan than anywhere in the belt. . . It’s an endowment from God. We did nothing about it,” Nour says.
But extracting gum arabic from thorn-covered Acacia Senegal trees is not easy. When the amber-colored gum begins bubbling up, farm workers handpick chunks from the trees and sometimes get scratched in the process.
Still, Sudan reportedly exports tens of thousands of tons of raw gum arabic ( 60 – 70 % of the World Market) each year, feeding the high global demand. The raw sap is sent to Europe for processing and afterward is disseminated to customers worldwide.
An Industry in Decline – These days, however, business is down. Sudan’s output has dropped to nearly half of what the nation produced in its heyday. As the once abundant belt of Acacia Senegal trees across Sudan shrinks, climate change appears to be one of the culprits. Farmer Adil Basheer remembers better harvests. “In the 1990s—’e're talking about hectares—one hectare was equivalent to seven and eight bags every two weeks. But nowadays, a hectare cannot bring a half bag or two and a half b”gs.”
The humanitarian crisis in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have died and more than two million have been displaced, is also having a negative impact on the global gum arabic industry.
The Bush administration calls the conflict “government-sponsored genocide,” and around the world, the Darfur crisis appears to have sullied Sudan’s reputation to that point that many companies do not want to admit that they buy a Sudanese commodity.
Coca-Cola, which uses gum arabic to keep the sugar from precipitating to the bottom of its sodas, won’t say where it gets the emulsifier. However, company representatives insist they do not buy directly from Sudan. Gum Arabic Company board president Mansour Khalid says otherwise. “They buy processed gum and the processed gum comes from Europe, and Europe buys from Sudan. And you know, the whole thing is silly.” Staying Afloat – Some Sudanese businessmen believe that widening gum arabic’s appeal internationally is the way forward. Isam Siddiq runs the privately-owned Dar Savannah Gum Arabic processing company. He says manufacturers around the world are trying to create manmade emulsifiers as powerful as gum arabic. Siddiq wants to maintain Sudan’s competitive edge by altering the high-fiber, nonfat emulsifier’s identity from an additive to a food, and he’s ready with his sales pitch:
“America is aware of good health and good food. The American people. And they want it—fiber…The people of the world must really complement each other. We have here fiber, and they have their wheat in America. So Sudan and American could be a good partnership for the benefit of the two nation”. > Related NPR Stories <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_clooney Not On Our Watch: Official site for charity founded by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Jerry Weintraub, David Pressman
ECONOMY – In the last ten years, the Sudanese economy has undergone a drastic change. Instead of been an agriculture-based economy it has turned into an OIL DEPENDEND ECONOMY which in turn has marginalized agriculture. At a time when the world is suffering a food crisis, which is especially afflicting Africa, food production should offer the main productive future for the Sudanese economy.
During the last year, oil revenues represented more than 65% of the Government of National Unity income and more the 90% of the revenue for the Government of South Sudan. In the last four months, oil prices have dropped by around 70%. This is a huge blow. Meanwhile, others sectors of the economy have been weakened by a combination of poor policies followed by the regime in the in the 1990s, and the failure to adapt the non-oil sectors to the impact of the growth in petroleum production. Most of the agricultural sector has been neglected and the economy is now driven by the trading sector and the informal sector, which do not contribute in a major way to creating jobs or generating income in the shape of direct or indirect taxes.
The Sudanese people are still waiting for the peace dividends in shape of economic development which will help in alleviating poverty and raising the standard of living to the majority. At the time when market economy has been tested to the limit in western countries and governments are now nationalizing banks and taking control of key economic sectors, the opposite is happening in Sudan. Instead we have a market dominated by a number of monopolies in most economic sectors, controlled by private individuals who are well-connected to the government. It is not the state that regulates the country’s leading businessmen but a cosy partnership between the two. Read More: > HERE <
The issues of the Darfur war are economical. One of them is due to rice a produce. Farmers fear the construction of dams which are made possible by the strength of the River Nile Waters.
There are places in the world that you can hardly forget like Uganda. This last country is in East Africa and has no opening on the Ocean. So, this makes it a landlocked country that needs to negociate with other countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia and Eritrea to import goods by boat and there is the river Nile on which boats can sail from Cairo. Uganda is a very known country these days because of the conflit in Sudan.
This conflit is known as the Darfur war. Sudan is in the south of Egypte and that is where most of the rice plantation are. Probably thank to the river Nile rice is available in large quantities and it constitutes the major dish of the inhabitants in West Africa. The problem with rice is that it needs to be eaten reasonable other wise you gain weight which is difficult to loose especially if you don’t do a lot of activities.
Rice is a major issue. That is all the question of construction of dams which have said to be destructive for plantation. Rice is sometimes transformed into an alchoolic beverage called sake and it is a produce from Japan. So, one may think that it is important to regulate to make sure that nobody get drunk and is treated in case of fetal alchool syndrom. Actually, the population growth in Japan slowed down in the nineties. Rice grows in water and in the mountains. The well known varieties of rice are from the United States of America and France. Rice is grown in the South of the United States of America in the states of North Carolina and South Carolina. France grows rice on its south west border with Spain a place called Camargue where horses run freely.
Thus, the war in the Darfur is an economical and social problem. Rice is a cereal and can accompany many meals.
If the war continues in the Darfur there will be a food security issue. There is a need to control the cereal markets because they can often be stocked for a long time without preservatives and then some other ingredients can be neglected. This is a tragedy that happened everywhere in the world where populations thought that cereals when in large amount are able to cover all the food intake. It is good to know that there is some for eating and that all is not wasted in alchoolic beverages that can put society in danger because of risk of accidents for example and of wars. Read more in > International Business and Trade <
www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/ The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council, with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.
www.ethicalconsumer.org – Ethical consumption stresses the role of the consumer in preventing the exploitation of women and children in sweatshop factories overseas and in the U.S. It also considers the environmental costs of production. These costs include the depletion of natural resources, as well as human costs. For example, when a corporation like Unilever, producer of Dove and Lever soaps, Vaseline Intensive Care lotion, Finesse shanpoo, Surf detergent, and Mentadent toothpaste, employs women in the jungle areas of Bihar, India to collect seeds from the sal tree for use in lipstick, the women are deprived of control over what was formerly a resource for their own use.
Consumption in North America today will eventually destroy the environment and is in general hazardous to human health. According to the 1998 United Nations Development Report, 20% of the world’s population consumes 86% of the world’s resources, while the poorest 20% consume only 1.3%. “Not everyone has been invited to the party,” said U.N. administrator James Gustave. “Expectations have gone global but affluence has not.”
Obviously, consuming less on a personal level in the United States does not directly ensure that people in other parts of the world will immediately be able to meet their basic needs. Changing social patterns of consumption, however, will eventually make a difference. Once individuals begin to understand how their purchases are connected within a global framework, they can demand new, sustainable methods of production. Living with fewer “things” and assuring that all resources, including labor, are used wisely and fairly will help create a more equitable and ecological world.
By consuming consciously and ethically we can realistically create change. Being aware of current issues in labor exploitation, environmental conservation, and human rights is the best way to spend ethically. Before buying anything ask: Who makes it? Who needs it? and Who profits from it? > Here are some links to informational sites <
Roshi’s new book, Being with Dying
Joan Jiko Halifax (born 1942) is a Zen Buddhist roshi, anthropologist, ecologist, civil rights activist, hospice caregiver, and the author of several books on Buddhism and spirituality. She currently serves as abbot and guiding teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a Zen Peacemaker community which she founded in 1990. Halifax-roshi has received Dharma transmission from both Bernard Glassman and Thich Nhat Hanh, and previously studied under the Korean master Seung Sahn. She is founder of the Ojai Foundation in California, which she led from 1979 to 1989. As a socially engaged Buddhist, Halifax has done extensive work with the dying through her Project on Being with Dying (which she founded). She is on the board of directors of the Mind and Life Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated in exploring the relationship of science and Buddhism. Read More: > HERE <
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Japanese word Zen is derived from the Chinese word Chán, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which means “meditation” or “meditative state.” Zen emphasizes experiential prajñā in the attainment of enlightenment. As such, it de-emphasizes theoretical knowledge in favor of direct realization through meditation and dharma practice. The teachings of Zen include various sources of Mahāyāna thought, including the Prajñāpāramitā literature and the teachings of the Yogācāra and Tathāgatagarbha schools. The emergence of Zen as a distinct school of Buddhism was first documented in China in the 7th century CE. From China, Zen spread south to Vietnam, and east to Korea and Japan. As a matter of tradition, the establishment of Zen is credited to the South Indian prince-turned-monk Bodhidharma, who came to China to teach a “special transmission outside scriptures, not founded on words or letters”. Read More: > HERE <
Meditation, Zen Buddhist Retreats, Chaplaincy Training and End-of-Life Care – Upaya Zen Center is a residential Buddhist community located in beautiful Santa Fe, NM. As a Zen center, we offer daily meditation which is open to the public, a weekly public Dharma talk which often highlights Buddhist teachings, a residential Path of Service and work exchange program, and weekly retreats and workshops focusing on practices related to engaged Buddhism, how to live in our world responsibly, with affection, kindness and wisdom. For your convenience, here is a downloadable document representing a synopsis of Learning and Buddhist Practice at Upaya.
Upaya Zen Center also offers a two-year Certificated Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program in the areas of Prison, End of Life Care, Peacemaking, Women’s, Youth and Environmental Ministries and a Professional Training Program in Contemplative End of Life Care.
Upaya Zen Center is a Zen Buddhist practice, service, and training center. Our vision focuses on the integration of practice and social action, bringing together wisdom and compassion.
Our mission is to provide a context for community practice, education in Buddhism and social service in the areas of death and dying, prison work, the environment, women’s rights, and peacework. It endeavors to fulfill the vision of the Five Buddha Family Mandala, by understanding the integration of all of its functions.
The Five Buddha Family Mandala is based on the Five Meditation Buddhas of traditional Buddhism from India. It is a vision of Buddhism that is integrated, interconnected, and process oriented and is based on the integration of our spirituality, education, livelihood, service, and community into a whole cloth.
Joan Halifax Roshi is a Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and author. She is Founder, Abbot, and Head Teacher of Upaya Zen Center, a Buddhist monastery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
She has worked in the area of death and dying for over thirty years and is Director of the Project on Being with Dying. For the past twenty-five years, she has been active in environmental work.
A Founding Teacher of the Zen Peacemaker Order, her work and practice for more than three decades has focused on engaged Buddhism. Of recent, Roshi Joan Halifax is a distinguished invited scholar to the Library of Congress and the only woman and buddhist to be on the Advisory Council for the Tony Blair Foundation.
She is Founder and Director of the Upaya Prison Pro ject that develops programs on meditation for prisoners. She is founder of the Ojai Foundation, was an Honorary Research Fellow at Harvard University, and has taught in many universities, monasteries, and medical centers around the world.
She studied for a decade with Zen Teacher Seung Sahn and was a teacher in the Kwan Um Zen School. She received the Lamp Transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh, and was given Inka by Roshi Bernie Glassman. A Founding Teacher of the Zen Peacemaker Order, her work and practice for more than three decades has focused on engaged Buddhism.
Conservation International (CI) is a nonprofit organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, that seeks to protect Earth’s biodiversity “hotspots,” high-biodiversity wilderness areas as well as important marine regions around the globe. The group is also known for its partnerships with local non-governmental organizations and indigenous peoples. CI was founded in 1987 by Spencer Beebe and Peter Seligmann and now has a staff of more than 900 employees. Its work occurs in more than 45 countries, primarily in developing nations in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Central and South American rainforests. Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership, and field demonstration, Conservation International empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature for the well-being of humanity. Read More: > HERE <
Hans Rosling (born July 27, 1948 in Uppsala, Sweden) is Professor of International Health at Karolinska Institute and Director of the Gapminder Foundation, which developed the Trendalyzer software system. From 1967 to 1974 he studied statistics and medicine at Uppsala University, and in 1972 he studied public health at St John’s Medical College, Bangalore. He became a licenced physician in 1976 and from 1979 to 1981 he served as District Medical Officer in Nacala in northern Mozambique. Rosling’s research has also focused on other links between economic development, agriculture, poverty and health in Africa, Asia and Latin America. He has been health adviser to WHO, UNICEF and several aid agencies. In 1993 he was one of the initiators of Médecins sans frontières in Sweden. Read More > Here <
Conservancy Yunnan The alpine ecosystems mountain areas that lie above the treeline – of northwestern Yunnan are some of the most biologically rich systems in the world. Home to such endangered species such as the snow leopard and blue sheep, this unique area provides important ecosystem services such as water storage, medicinal plants, and grazing for livestock. For example the rare snow lotus, which grows in the rocky upper slopes at elevations over 4,000 meters, is used by Tibetans to treat high blood pressure.
Unfortunately, these ecosystems are currently under siege by incompatible land uses and climate change. The Nature Conservancy has joined together with the Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge (CBIK) and academic researchers to initiate a project focused on protecting these treasured and threatened ecosystems.
Goals • Gain a clear understanding of northwest Yunnan’s alpine ecosystem and identify immediate threats • Develop and implement climate adaptive conservation strategies based scientific, social, cultural, political, and economic factors • Maintain a healthy alpine ecosystem
What the Conservancy is Doing – During October 2003, the Conservancy and its partners traversed the mountain ranges of northwestern Yunnan collecting mapping data and investigating the ecological, political, and economic status of alpine areas across the project area. We interviewed local villagers, gathered information on ecological health, and set up initial photo monitoring sites to serve as the baseline for annual monitoring of these systems. During the course of 2004, we will work with partners and communities to continue research as well as begin to implement “no-regret” conservation strategies.
http://carlsafina.org , www.gapminder.org
http://www.ted.com The Gulf oil spill dwarfs comprehension, but we know this much: it’s bad. Carl Safina scrapes out the facts in this blood-boiling cross-examination, arguing that the consequences will stretch far beyond the Gulf — and many so-called solutions are making the situation worse.
Blue Ocean Institute - From Arctic Alaskan fishing villages to Zanzibar’s shores, the staff of Blue Ocean Institute studies and articulates how the ocean is changing and how everything humans do—both on land and at sea—affects the waters, wildlife, and people of our world. But gloomy environmental warnings and predictions don’t move people to make changes that can help our shared ocean. MacArthur Prize-winning scientist/author Dr. Carl Safina and Mercédès Lee created Blue Ocean Institute in 2003 as a unique voice of hope, guidance, and encouragement.
Blue Ocean Institute is the only conservation organization that uses science, art, and literature to inspire a closer bond with nature, especially the sea. We translate scientific information into language people can understand and use to make better choices on behalf of the sea. Whether you’re a fisherman, seafood lover, student, faith leader, parent, artist, or chef, our programs help you learn how and why you should protect our planet’s life-giving ocean.
Ocean Climate Change – This project is dedicated to turning the science of climate change effects on ocean life into stories that are accessible to policy, public, and scientific communities. We seek to identify those areas of research that are lacking attention, or are particularly complicated, and write articles in both academic and popular media formats about these underrepresented or important subjects.
“Climate change” is really “carbon change” and is not just about warming. We currently focus on how climate change alters ocean chemistry, and how that can affect every creature in the sea by forcing them to devote more energy to coping with excess carbon dioxide in the ocean. Since January, this initiative has already produced several articles, ranging from online journals to environmental faith-based magazines. Our published articles call for a wider appreciation and reporting of climate change effects on marine life. Please see our staff publications page to see articles on this issue.
http://athene.geo.univie.ac.at/project/nako
Kinnaur is one of twelve administrative districts of Himachal Pradesh, India. The district is itself divided into three administrative areas – Pooh, Kalpa, and Nichar – and has five Tehsils or counties. The administrative headquarter for Kinnaur district is at Reckong Peo. Due to the network of motorable roads all the essential facilities are available. According to ancient Hindu texts Kinners are halfway between humans and gods. From here Sangla valley, and district headquarters Recong Peo, Kalpa, Kinnaur Kailash, considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva, can be viewed. Read More: > HERE <
While the 10th and 13th centuries, the Western Himalayan region developed a refined and complex artistic culture under Western Tibetan Buddhist patronage. Some of this tradition’s most striking examples are found in the seven temples of Nako village, Upper Kinnaur, in the province of Himachal Pradesh, India. These temples are not only witness to the long history of this region, but also lie at the heart of the communitity’s religious life, in which even today a Tibetan form of Buddhism flourishes.
These temples are now endangered due to the structural fragility of their architecture, and by the infiltration of rain and melt water. For these reasons amongst others, a major preservation program was necessary, which primarily involved large scale stabilization work, as well as cleaning and conservation of the unique wall- and ceiling paintings. Due to the large scope of the project, for the time being this work has been accomplished exclusively for the Lhakhang Gongma (Upper Temple), while work has now also begun on the Lotsawa Lhakhang (Translator’s Temple).
Some of the major objectives of the NRPP have been (a) providing technical expertise and modern technology to the Nako community, (b) examining and analysing indigenous building techniques and traditional artistic handicrafts, which have contributed to the continued existence of these exquisite monuments, and (c) merging these activities with the ongoing preservation work, while taking into account local economic and technological resources. Therefore, the NRPP is to be considered a model for the future conservation and preservation of this region’s rich cultural heritage. The villagers of Nako have greatly supported and contributed to the efforts and aims of the NRPP, and the ongoing process of consultation between the NRPP, the Buddhist Association and the Nako Village Council remains central to the preservation work.
In order to establish the proper methods and priorities of the preservation process, information needs to be gathered and brought together from technical, social, economical, as well as from historical sources and, in the case of Nako, this information is neither readily available nor easily accessible. Therefore, the research conducted by the NRPP team in Vienna over the last 15 years includes scholars of art history, Tibetan language, religious history, Buddhist philosophy and cultural anthropology, in addition to architects and painting experts. Each of these disciplines provides a distinct methodology for understanding the fragmentary evidence, and their findings serve as the outset for an in-depth study and research of this region’s cultural heritage and it’s preservation.
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Woodstock, NY, USA, which serves as the North American seat of His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu lineage. It was founded in 1976 by the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. The present abbot is Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. Read More: > HERE <
The monastery was built through the blessings and inspiration of His Holiness the 16th Gwalya Karmapa, the Head of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. His Holiness’ vision came in response to the sincere supplication of students in the West who yearned for an authentic Tibetan Buddhist monastery for the study and practice of the Buddha’s teachings.
This summer, hundreds of monks and lay people will gather at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD) on Overlook Mountain above the artist village of Woodstock, N.Y., to participate in the North American Kagyu Monlam, a five day festival of prayers for world peace. This historic event, an extension of the annual Kagyu Monlam Chenmo in Bodhgaya, India, will be the first of an annual tradition to be held at sacred places across the U.S. and Canada.
Tuesday, July 13 – 17, 2010 at 8:30am
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD)
335 Meads Mountain Road, Woodstock, NY
“Kagyu Monlam is an avenue whereby we can spread, at times of great need, the genuine spirit of love and compassion to all the people of the world, like a great ripple, first in Bodhgaya, then in Bihar, and so on. As we continuously offer these prayers for world peace, it is our intention and our wish that peace and happiness extend to all.” — His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa.
Your prayers and aspirations will help spread the spirit of compassion and love, supporting the mission of His Holiness and other great masters. Highlights of the event include daily teachings by the Very Ven. Thrangu Rinpoche and an Akshobhya Empowerment. The complete daily schedule of events, personally composed by His Holiness the Karmapa, can be viewed at https://www.kagyu.org/monlam/schedule.php
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, July 13-17 2010
The many recreational opportunities of the Catskill Mountains make this an ideal location to bring the family. Whether you come for one day or for the entire program, your participation will support His Holiness’s efforts to promote world peace and harmony.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email monlamregistration@kagyu.org or contact the KTD front office at 845-679-5906 x3. For more information, please visit www.kagyu.org/monlam. We look forward to seeing you at the first North American Kagyu Monlam.
www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info
www.vedantasociety-chicago.org
Dakshineswar Ramkrishna Sangha Adyapeath – In 1915, a young Brahmin named Annada Charan Bhattacharya was setting up a successful practice in Ayurvedic medicine in Calcutta. A capable scientist, he had discovered seven patent medicines and went on to become a renowned doctor all over Bengal.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (Bangla: রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস Ramkṛiṣṇo Pôromôhongśo) (February 18, 1836 – August 16, 1886), born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay (Bangla: গদাধর চট্টোপাধ্যায় Gôdadhor Chôţţopaddhae), was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu renaissance during the 19th and 20th centuries.Many of his disciples and devotees believe he was an avatar or incarnation of God. Ramakrishna was born in a poor Brahmin Vaishnava family in rural Bengal. He became a priest of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, dedicated to the goddess Kali, which had the influence of the main strands of Bengali bhakti tradition. Read More: > HERE <
Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are twin organizations which form the core of a worldwide spiritual movement (known as Ramakrishna Movement or Vedanta Movement), which aims at the harmony of religions, harmony of the East and the West, harmony of the ancient and the modern, spiritual fulfillment, all-round development of human faculties, social equality, and peace for all humanity, without any distinctions of creed, caste, race or nationality.
RAMAKRISHNA MATH is a monastic organization for men brought into existence by Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886), the great 19th century saint of Bengal who is regarded as the Prophet of the Modern Age.
RAMAKRISHNA MISSION is a registered society in which monks of Ramakrishna Math and lay devotees cooperate in conducting various types of social service mainly in India. It was founded by Sri Ramakrishna chief apostle, > SWAMI VIVEKANANDA (vedanta, jnana yoga )< (1863-1902), one of the foremost thinkers and religious leaders of the present age, who is regarded as ‘one of the main moulders of the modern world’, in the words of an eminent Western scholar A. L. Basham.
The ideology of Ramakrishna Math and Mission consists of the eternal principles of Vedanta as lived and experienced by Sri Ramakrishna and expounded by Swami Vivekananda. This ideology has three characteristics: it is modern in the sense that the ancient principles of Vedanta have been expressed in the modern idiom; it is universal, that is, it is meant for the whole humanity; it is practical in the sense that its principles can be applied in day-to-day life to solve the problems of life.
The motto of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is: Atmano mokshartham jagad hitaya cha, “For one’s own salvation, and for the welfare of the world”. The main goals and objectives of these twin organizations, based on the principles of Practical Vedanta, are:
Sarada Devi (Bengali: সারদা দেবী) (1853—1920), born Saradamani Mukhopadhyaya, was the wife and spiritual counterpart of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth century mystic of Bengal. Sarada Devi is also reverentially addressed as the Holy Mother (Sri Maa) by the followers of the Ramakrishna monastic order. Sarada Devi played an important role in the growth of the Ramakrishna Movement. Read More: > HERE <
Endearingly known as ‘Holy Mother’, Sri Sarada Devi, the spiritual consort of Sri Ramakrishna, was born on 22 December 1853 in a poor Brahmin family in Jayrambati, a village adjoining Kamarpukur in West Bengal. Her father, Ramachandra Mukhopadhyay, was a pious and kind-hearted person, and her mother, Shyama Sundari Devi, was a loving and hard-working woman.
HEARTLAND LEARNA CENTER - UNITY IN DIVERSITY
http://meena-chopra.fineartamerica.com
http://learnaheartland.blogspot.com/
http://meenasartworld.blogspot.com
Let us Celebrate Unity in Diversity with children and spark their creative power. This is the Motto of Unity in Diversity Arts Competition.
UNITY IN DIVERSITY – The events has been created to celebrate the essence of life and that is ‘UNITY IN DIVERSITY Children’s Art Competition’. Competition. Hopefully we will have this event every year.
All of us have a rainbow of attributes within ourselves and this colourful rainbow unites us in our personalities to create that one shining flame of everlasting sunshine, one spirit that we all seek. That is how we want to see a blossoming Canada under the one sunshine of Unity in Diversity, always celebrating the light and the rainbow at the same time and with the same spirit.
This event has come up with the support of many. Mississauga Arts Council. Art Unit of City of Mississauga has been behind us and encouraged us at every step. Learna Education Inc. as our main sponsor helped us in organising this event. We received a lot of support and congratulatory messages from many including community leaders, our sponsors and volunteers. I extend my thanks to everybody.
About Meena Chopra – A multi faceted person, painter and poet, Meena Chopra now settled in Mississauga, Canada, for 5 years after migrating from New Delhi India, hails from Nainital, a hill resort in India. She has had several art exhibitions in many countries, which includes India, Canada, England. An avid reader of prose and poetry, she writes both in English and her native language Hindi. Her first collection of poems, “Ignited Lines” was published in 1996 was released in London, England the same year. At the moment she is working on two collections of poems one in Hindi and one is translations from English to Hindi. These are to be released by the end of this year(2009). Her poems have been published in many national and inter-national journals. They have also been translated into German by Carla Kraus, a well known Austrian author.
She represented Canada in New Delhi India in 7th Inter-national Hindi Celebration Meet in December 2008 organized by Akshram in association with ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations). She has also represented India in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Artists Meet, New Delhi in December 2002. She received Honourable Mention at Poetry Writing Contest 2003 held by the Mississauga Library System Canada when she landed in Canada.
Her paintings are with many Corporates, Government Bodies, Embassies, Hotels and Private Collections in India, Canada, Australia, England, Switzerland, Dubai and many other countries
She qualified as a textile and fashion designer and worked in this industry for for six years, then got into advertising.
She has had an intense career in advertising for twenty years and was heading an advertising agency in New Delhi, India. Now she runs an Entertainment & Life Style news weekly called “STARBUZZ” along with her husband in GTA, Canada and also runs an after school learning centre in Mississauga.
Meena is also passionately involved in community arts and has directed many art events and curated many art exhibitions. Most of these have been done under the aegis of ‘CROSS CURRENTS – Indo Canadian International Arts’ which has a mission of embracing diverse cultures and origins and bringing them on a common platform through arts there by ‘taking arts beyond boundaries’. The organization has had several successful art events in past. This includes an art exhibition “Confluence”, which was taken to India, ” “Children’s Art Competition, Unity In Diversity” and “Beyond Boundaries International Arts Festival”.
She is also a qualified art educator (Learning Through the Arts) from The Royal Conservatory School (The RCM) Ontario, which means to implement an arts-infused approaches in developing the potential of every child and adult.
Meena Chopra, President
CROSS CURRENTS Indo Canadian International Arts
(Also Director Learna Education Centre, Heartland, Mississauga)
Email: crosscurrents.ca@gmail.com
www.unpo.org/Uyghuren Nederland (VUN)
http://turkmenfriendship.blogspot.com
The Uyghur (Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر, Uyghur?; simplified Chinese: 维吾尔; traditional Chinese: 維吾爾; pinyin: Wéiwú’ěr; are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China. An estimated 80 % of Xinjiang’s Uyghurs live in the southwestern portion of the region, the Tarim Basin. Large diasporic communities of Uyghurs exist in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Smaller communities are found in Mongolia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Russia and Taoyuan County of Hunan province in south-central Mainland China. Uyghur neighborhoods can be found in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney, Washington D.C, Munich, Tokyo, Toronto, Istanbul. Read More: > HERE <
Erkin Alptekin (born on July 4, 1939 in East Turkistan) is a noted international advocate for the rights of native and indigenous people. Among the organizations he has led are the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, of which he was formerly the chairman, and the World Uyghur Congress, of which he was the first president. Read More: > HERE <
Erkin Alptekin is one of the foremost human rights advocates for the Uighur people of Eastern Turkestan, also known as the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. Mr. Alptekin was employed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty from 1971 to 1994. He is one of the founders of the Unrepresented Nations and People’s Organization (UNPO), and currently serves as its General Secretary. www.dalailamafoundation.org
Uyghur Medicine – The Uyghurs had an extensive knowledge of medicine and medical practice. Sung (Song) Dynasty (906-960) sources indicate that an Uyghur physician, Nanto, traveled to China, and brought with him many kinds of medicine not known to the Chinese.
There are 103 different herbs for use in Uyghur medicine recorded in a medical compendium completed by Li Shizen (1518-1593), a chinese medical authority. The Tartar scholar Rashit Rahmeti Arat has written two valuable books in German entitled Zur Heilkunde der Uighuren (Medical Practices of the Uygurs) , in 1930 and 1932, relying on Uyghur documents discovered in East Turkestan. In his book, Arat gives important information on Uyghur medicine and medical treatment.
Among other documents he studied he found a very important sketch of a man with an explanation of acupuncture. Relying on this document, some western scholars claim that acupuncture was not a Chinese, but a Central Asian invention and the Uyghurs perfected the method. Traditional Uyghur medicine, which can be traced back for more than 2,700 years through written records, is still very popular in East Turkestan today.
Tibetan Buddhist Medicine/Ancient Uyghur Civilization
Medicine - The Uyghurs had an extensive knowledge of medicine and medical practice. Chinese Song Dynasty (906-960) sources indicate that an Uyghur physician named Nanto traveled to China and brought with him many kinds of medicine unknown to the Chinese. There were 103 different herbs used in Uyghur medicine recorded in a medical compendium by Li Shizhen (1518-1593), a Chinese medical authority.
Tatar scholar, professor Reşit Rahmeti Arat in Zur Heilkunde der Uighuren (Medical Practices of the Uyghurs) published in 1930 and 1932, in Berlin, discussed Uyghur medicine. Relying on a sketch of a man with an explanation of acupuncture, he and some Western scholars suspect that acupuncture was not a Chinese, but an Uyghur discovery. Today, traditional Uyghur medicine can still be found at street stands. Similar to other traditional medicine, diagnosis is usually made through checking the pulse, symptoms, and disease history, and then the pharmacist pounds up different dried herbs, making personalized medicines according to the prescription. Modern Uyghur medical hospitals adopted the Western medical science and medicine and adopted Western pharmaceutical technology to discover new and produce traditional medicines.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid, and breast milk.This transmission can involve anal, vaginal or oral sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids. AIDS is now a pandemic.In 2007, it was estimated that 33.2 million people lived with the disease worldwide, and that AIDS killed an estimated 2.1 million people, including 330,000 children. Over three-quarters of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. Genetic research indicates that HIV originated in west-central Africa during the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. AIDS was first recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1981 and its cause, HIV, identified in the early 1980s. Although treatments for AIDS and HIV can slow the course of the disease, there is currently no vaccine or cure. Antiretroviral treatment reduces both the mortality and the morbidity of HIV infection, but these drugs are expensive and routine access to antiretroviral medication is not available in all countries.Due to the difficulty in treating HIV infection, preventing infection is a key aim in controlling the AIDS pandemic, with health organizations promoting safe sex and needle-exchange programmes in attempts to slow the spread of the virus. Read More: > HERE <
XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010), 18-23 July 2010, Vienna, Austria. The IAC is the premier gathering for those in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, PLHIV and others committed to ending the pandemic.
Conference Overview – The International AIDS Conference is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic. It is a chance to assess where we are, evaluate recent scientific developments and lessons learnt, and collectively chart a course forward.
Given the 2010 deadline for universal access set by world leaders, AIDS 2010 will coincide with a major push for expanded access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. With a global economic crisis threatening to undermine public investments, the conference will help keep HIV on the front burner, and is a chance to demonstrate the importance of continued HIV investments to broader health and development goals. AIDS 2010 is also an opportunity to highlight the critical connection between human rights and HIV; a dialogue begun in earnest in Mexico City in 2008.The selection of the AIDS 2010 host city is a reflection of the central role Vienna has played in bridging Eastern and Western Europe, and will allow for an examination of the epidemic’s impact in Eastern Europe.
The AIDS 2010 programme will present new scientific knowledge and offer many opportunities for structured dialogue on the major issues facing the global response to HIV. A variety of session types – from abstract-driven presentations to symposia, bridging sessions and plenaries – will meet the needs of various participants. Other related activities, including the Global Village, satellite meetings, exhibitions and affiliated events, will contribute to an exceptional opportunity for professional development and networking. Following the success of the pilot programme at AIDS 2008, the XVIII International AIDS Conference will provide or facilitate hubs (centres) where selected sessions of the conference will be screened, to increase the access to the conference programme.
Welcome to www.aids2010community.org, a Guide to Community Involvement to AIDS 2010. This Guide was created by the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO) to help you better understand and participate in the international AIDS conference in Vienna, Austria, next year, from July 18-23.
As Executive Director of ICASO, and having been to many conferences, I know that international conferences can be overwhelming, as much as they can be educational and inspiring, allowing you to network with others doing similar work. I recognize that thinking about how and why you might get involved in AIDS2010, it is often difficult to put all the pieces together. This guide will help you navigate the next international AIDS conference and provide you with what you need to know to make decisions on what resources you or your organization should commit and the best way to get the most out of it.
The Life Ball in Vienna, www.lifeball.org , is the biggest charity event in Europe supporting people with HIV or AIDS. The event is organized by the non-profit organization AIDS LIFE, which was founded in 1992 by Gery Keszler and Torgom Petrosian.
AIDS LIFE supports non-profit aid organizations for people who are HIV-positive or have AIDS. The team entrusted with the allocation of funds thoroughly examines each petition to make sure that it is a worthy cause. Moreover, it is an explicit goal of AIDS LIFE to inform the public about the risks of HIV/AIDS and to raise awareness for this disease. Read More: > HERE <
Serbian Church North & South America
Motive on the poster: The White Angel, a dominant detail from the fresco Angel on the tomb, from the scene The Resurrection of Christ, painted in the church of the Mileševa monastery, built and painted in 1234-1236. Mileševa monastery is the endowment of King Vladislav, it is located in the South of Serbia, near Prijepolje.
The Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian: Српска православна црква / Srpska pravoslavna crkva; СПЦ / SPC) or the Church of Serbia is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia. It is the second oldest Slavic Orthodox Church in the world (after the Bulgarian Orthodox Church), as well as the westernmost Eastern church in Europe. It exercises jurisdiction over Orthodox Christians in Serbia and surrounding Slavic and other lands, as well as exarchates and patriarchal representation churches around the world. The Patriarch of Serbia serves as first among equals in his church; The current patriarch is His Holiness Irinej. The Serbian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Orthodox communion, located primarily in Serbia (including Kosovo), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Republic of Macedonia[4], as well as Croatia. Since many Serbs have emigrated to foreign countries, there are now Serbian Orthodox communities worldwide. Read More: > HERE <
The Dommuseum, in cooperation with Matica Srpska, the oldest cultural and scientific institution of Serbia, and the collaboration of the ecumenical foundation Pro Oriente under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Serbia Boris Tadić, and the President of the Republic of Austria Heinz Fischer, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Municipality in Vienna, presents Serbia’s rich cultural heritage of the past twelve centuries.
It is generally considered that the nature and direction of the development of Serbian culture was determined long ago by the medieval educator and founder of the autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church, Rastko Nemanjić, St. Sava (1175–1235), who saw Serbia, in his speeches and writings, as a bridge connecting the eastern and western parts of the world. During a period that lasted for many centuries and under the influence of Byzantium, Turkey, Russia and countries of Central and Western Europe, a specific culture originated representing the bond between the East and the West. This culture, however, does not represent a mere combination of the different foreign traditions, but a new culture of great spiritual value as recognized specially through Serbian Orthodoxy (Svetosavlje), the Serbian architectural style, an unique Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, rich literature, a distinctive philosophy of life within which elements of eastern collectivism and western individualism interlace, a rich history of endowments, significant contribution to science and fine arts.
The exhibits are of great historical and artistic value and together with multimedia presentations reflect the permeation of the East and the West in Serbian tradition and culture.
From the permanent exhibitions and collections of the National Museum in Belgrade, the Matica Srpska Gallery in Novi Sad, the Matica Srpska Library in Novi Sad, the Gallery of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade, the Serbian Orthodox Church Museum in Belgrade, the Belgrade City Museum and the Serbian Historical Museum, have singled out items presenting fresco art and icons from the most significant medieval Serbian monasteries built under the influence of Byzantine culture, art of the baroque era, as turning points in the approach towards and acceptance of the Western European cultural model, and finally, the rebuilding of social institutions, following the emancipation from the centuries-long Turkish domination. The exhibition presents renowned personalities from Serbian history that have given a significant contribution to humanity in the fields of culture and science.
The following portraits are presented in the exhibition: Mihailo Pupin, world renowned scientist and professor at Columbia University in New York; Nikola Tesla, one of the most deserving inventors in the field of electrical engineering in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; Milutin Milanković, founder of theory of cyclical climatic changes; Ivo Andrić, Noble Laureate for literature in 1961.
In five rooms of the Dommuseum are presented five eras:
www.native-americans-online.com
http://rainforests.mongabay.com/medicine
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North, Central, and South America, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples. They are often also referred to as Native Americans, Aboriginals, First Nations and by Christopher Columbus’ geographical and historical mistake, Indians, now disambiguated as the American Indian race, American Indians, Amerindians, Amerinds, or Red Indians. According to the New World migration model, a migration of humans from Eurasia to the Americas took place via Beringia, a land bridge which connected the two continents across what is now the Bering Strait. The most recent point at which this migration could have taken place is c. 12,000 years ago, with the earliest period remaining a matter of some unresolved contention. These early Paleo-Indians soon spread throughout the Americas, diversifying into many hundreds of culturally distinct nations and tribes. According to the oral histories of many of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, they have been living there since their genesis, described by a wide range of traditional creation accounts. SEE NATIVE AMERICANS may be refering to: > HERE <
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous or folk medicine) comprises medical knowledge systems that developed over generations within various societies before the era of modern medicine. Practices known as traditional medicines include herbal, Ayurveda, Siddha medicine, Unani, ancient Iranian medicine, Islamic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, Muti, Ifá, traditional African medicine, and other medical knowledge and practices all over the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as: “the health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral-based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and prevent illnesses or maintain well-being.” Read More: > HERE <
The healing traditions of Native Americans have been practiced in North America since at least 12,000 years ago and possibly as early as 40,000 years ago. Although the term Native American medicine implies that there is a standard system of healing, there are approximately 500 nations of indigenous people in North America, each representing a diverse wealth of healing knowledge, rituals, and ceremonies.
Many aspects of Native American healing have been kept secret and are not written down. The traditions are passed down by word of mouth from elders, from the spirits in vision quests, and through initiation. It is believed that sharing healing knowledge too readily or casually will weaken the spiritual power of the medicine.
Native American medicine is based upon a spiritual view of life. A healthy person is someone who has a sense of purpose and follows the guidance of the Great Spirit. This guidance is written upon the heart of every person. To be healthy, a person must be committed to a path of beauty, harmony, and balance. Gratitude, respect, and generosity are also considered to be essential for a healthy life. Ken Cohen writes, “Health means restoring the body, mind, and spirit to balance and wholeness: the balance of life energy in the body; the balance of ethical, reasonable, and just behavior; balanced relations within family and community; and harmonious relationships with nature.” Read More: > HERE <
The meaning of the term medicine to an American Indian is quite different from that which is ordinarily held by modern societies. To most American Indians, medicine signifies an array of ideas and concepts rather than remedies and treatment alone. There is no separation between religion and medicine in tribal culture and healing ceremonies are an integral part of the community experience. To the American Indian, the natural or correct state of all things, including man, is harmony. Far from being dominant over nature, man is seen as interdependent with other living beings and physical forces. All thinking is grounded in relationships. More emphasis is given to the connectedness of one thing to another than to the individual thing itself. To maintain a correct or natural relationship is to be in harmony. The universe is a complex matrix of interdependence. There is a proper set of relationships for each being, a proper existing in harmony with the universe. Read More: > HERE <
Jammu and Kashmir (Dogri: जम्मू और कश्मीर; Urdu: جموں اور کشمیر) is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People’s Republic of China to the north and east and the Pakistani administered territories of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to the west and northwest respectively. Formerly a part of the erstwhile princely state of Kashmir and Jammu, this territory is disputed among China, India and Pakistan. Jammu and Kashmir is referred to in Pakistan as Indian-occupied Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir consists of three regions: Jammu, the Kashmir valley and Ladakh. Srinagar is the summer capital, and Jammu is the winter capital. While the Kashmir valley, often known as Paradise on Earth, is famous for its beautiful mountainous landscape, Jammu’s numerous shrines attract tens of thousands of Hindu and Muslim pilgrims every year. Ladakh, also known as “Little Tibet”, is renowned for its remote mountain beauty and Buddhist culture. Read More: > HERE <
Kashmiri Pandit (Hindi: कश्मीरी पण्डित) refers to a person who belongs to a sect of Hindu Pandits who originate from the Kashmir region in the Indian subcontinent. Many honest and credible experts are of the opinion that the original home of the Aryan race is the Kashmir Valley and its vicinity. Also the fact that all Hindus of Kashmir are Brahmin Pandits retaining their rich traditions by large since several millennia point to the tradition that in ancient times all Aryan Indian Hindus were of a single Brahmin caste but later split into occupation based several castes.Read More: > HERE <
The KOA organization has its origins in the early meetings of History several Kashmiri Pandit families in the Washington D.C. and Maryland areas. These families soon came to realize the importance of building a community structure which could include other families too in a bond for mutual preservation and growth. As more families and members joined the founding group, the organization evolved to become a national outfit with regional chapters, documented bye-laws, systems and procedures as well as a non-profit status to better seek donations and pursue community actions.
This is the beginning of the process to document and detail the history and origins of KOA. At the present time, this document is a simple chronological representation from materials available in various KOA publications. The eventual document will trace the past 30 years and list important milestones that have brought the organization to the present point. > HERE <
KOA Annual National Camps – KOA organizes two national camps every year, one each in east-coast area and west-coast area. Camps like these serve the members an avenue to mingle, catch up and reminisce with friends, the most cardinal objective is to create a vibrant opportunity and a very conducive environment for our youth (our future pillars) to make new friends and hopefully progress to potential relationships that are everlasting. What better way to preserve our culture, keep our community involved and most significantly contribute towards the survival of our progeny within our cultural milieu? This in any account is huge benefit to the members. Arranging and organizing the camps like these are only possible if the organization has strength and infrastructure and KOA gets its strength from its members. Click on the following links for more details > HERE <
Ganden Monastery (also Gaden or Gandain) or Ganden Namgyeling is one of the ‘great three’ Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located at the top of Wangbur Mountain, Tagtse County, 36 kilometers ENE from the Potala Palace in Lhasa, at an altitude of 4,300m. (The other two ‘great monasteries’ are Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery.) The Ganden Monastery has been re-established in Karnataka, India by the Tibetan population in exile. The Ganden Monastery is located in the Tibetan settlement at Mundgod. This settlement of Tibetan refugees is the largest of its kind in India and was first established in 1966, from land donated by the Indian government.
Its full name is Ganden Namgyal Ling (dga’-ldan rmam-rgyal gling). Ganden means “joyful” and is the Tibetan name for Tuṣita, the heaven where the bodhisattva Maitreya is said to reside. Namgyal Ling means “victorious temple”. Read More: > HERE <
Ganden Monastery is located on Wangbur Mountain, on the southern bank of Lhasa River in Tagtse County, 47 kilometers (29 miles) from Lhasa City. It stands at an altitude of 3,800 meters (12,467 feet) above sea level! Ganden Monastery is one of the earliest and largest Buddhist monasteries in Tibet, and stands atop of the six famous temples of Gelugpa – a branch of Tibetan Buddhism. Its significance as a religious, artistic, political and cultural relic led to it being preserved by the National Key Cultural Relic Preservation scheme in 1961, and is now known as being one of the ‘Three Great Temples’, together with the Sera Monastery and the Drepung Monastery . Every year, one of the grandest of Buddhist activities – Buddha Painting Unfolding Festival – is conducted in the monastery, attracting thousands of visitors and disciples. Read More: > www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction <
Shar Gaden Library came to life very soon after the monastery was founded and it is located underneath the new assembly hall. It is also a non-profit organization, like the clinic association. The main aims and objectives of the library are to preserve and promote Pure Buddha Dharma, the uncommon monastic education and traditions and to fulfil the hard-working students’ wishes by producing necessary holy texts of Buddha Shakyamuni, as well as commentaries of highly realised Buddhist masters of India and Tibet, especially Panchen Sonam Drakpa, the unrivalled scholar of his time, who is the composer of our monastic syllabus texts and many more. Currently the association is run by the director Ven. Lobsang Jamyang, along with seven members of staff, who are highly capable in terms of computer and other related technologies. It plays a significant role during Shar Gaden School’s yearly and monthly examinations, where all the question papers, booklets, etc are designed and produced by the library with strong involvement of the director of the association. The printing press machine is not available presently, therefore we type, design, etc and take the documents to be printed elsewhere. Since it has a great role to play in terms of development of education and production of better facilities for the students, it has been given the highest priority on the monatery’s agenda so far.
Shar Gaden Altruistic Clinic Association came into being on February 26th, 2008. One of the classrooms is being used as clinic due to insufficient space and is located within the grounds of Shar Gaden school, near the library. Earlier it was known as Shar Gaden dispensary, which provided free First Aid and general medicines to the young students of the school. But later, with generous support from our benefactors and close friends, we expanded medical services by including elder monks and lay people, as well as locals. Since the monastery was established in South India, the population of the monastery has been rising rapidly day by day. A vast amount of young students have been enrolled who came from Tibet, the Himalayan region, Nepal, Mongolia, etc. The climate we have here is not very suitable for most of them and there have been many cases of allergic infections among new-comers.
This scenario has given rise to many mysterious diseases so far and many of them are beyond our ability to treat, hence, we frequently invite well-versed doctors from outside to check up on sick and feeble monks and sometime patients have to visit well known hospitals outside of the monastery if the invited doctor diagnoses the patients with serious infections. We strive to run the medical services only in order to benefit inner and outer monks and lay people who need medical help despite lack of sufficient financial foundation. So, the Shar Gaden Altruistic Clinic Association fully depends on your generosity.
http://sivanandaonline.org/gangadussehra
Gangapujan Dashahara or Dussehra *
* The Descent of the River Ganges, Srimad Bhagavatam 5th Canto 17the Chapter Summary by HDG Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad.
Ganga Dussehra is the annual celebration of the most sacred of Hindu rivers, Ganga, or the Ganges. The celebration lasts for ten days from the new moon at the beginning of Jyaistha (amanta reckoning). The last day, 10 Jyaistha, is the holiest of them all (this normally occurs in June in the Gregorian calendar, or occasionally at the end of May). Devotees are expected to bathe in the Ganga. If they cannot reach the banks of the river, many devotees will use water drawn from the Ganga that is kept at home to bathe. Alternatively, the devotee will bathe in ordinary water whilst invoking Ganga by prayer. This bathing is considered to impart purity from sin.
Ganga Dussehra: Swami Sivananda’s “Hindu Fasts and Festivals” and Swami Krishnananda’s “Spiritual Import of Religious Festivals” have detailed descriptions of the festivals listed here. Click here for ordering details. This Spiritual Calendar is for worships held at the Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, India. Some of the dates may not necessarily hold true for other parts of the world. http://www.dlshq.org/calendar.htm
Sri Ganga Dussehara (Jayesht Shukl Dashmi) 21st June 2010 – This day is auspicious because on this day the sacred Ganges descended in the earth. It can be called birthday of Ganga. A dip in the Ganges or in any other river invoking Goddess Ganges, is beneficial and is said to be purified from ten sorts of sins. Worship of the river deity is done by incense, light, sandal wood, flowers, milk, etc.. Flour balls are fed to aquatic animals.
There was a ruler named Sagar. He performed Ashua Medha Yageya. God Indra stole away the ashva (Horse). Sagar’s grandson Anshuman took over the responsibility of the search of the horse. After searching all over, he reached Netherlands with 60,000 followers, where he saw god personified as Kapil saint, was under meditation and the horse was grazing nearby.
The followers of Anshuman shouted, “thief-thief”. Thereupon Kapil rishi opened his eyes and by the blazing lighting of which all were reduced to ashes. For the final cremation ritual of those dead, Bhagirath undertook severe austerities. B’rhma when pleased and asked him to demand a boon. Bhagiratha requested for the descent of Ganges on land. B’rhma agreed but expressed his apprehension if the earth could shoulder the weight and flow of the Ganges, in that case of Bhagirath should invoke God Siva. When Siva agreed to hold the fall of Ganges, B’rhma let it loose from the heavens (swarga lok). The Ganges was then interlocked in the tufts of Siva and Bhagirath’s purpose, of washing the ashes of this ancestors in the water of the Ganges, remained still. There upon Bhagirath invoked Siva, who when please, released the Ganges as river Ganges on the land. The release of the sacred water of the Ganges and its flow through different cities of India is very fortunate, pious, and auspicious for the Hindus of India.
Ganges was not merely a river. She (Goddess Ganga) was devoted to the service of lord K’rsna in the heavens (Swarge-Baikunth). She was thus very near the lord, which made Radha jealous. later cursed her to go down to earth and flow as a river. Ganga, in retaliation, also cursed Radha that you will be close to K’rsna, yet you will always imagine him far away, tolerate separatism and never be peaceful. Thus since then Gange flows as a Ganges river, under the ancient curse of Radha and under the modern curse of city pollution. In the modern times of Kaliyuga, Ganges is of utmost and importance, as according to Narade Purana, all pilgrimages were of influence in Sateya yuga then Pushkar in Treta and Kurukshtra in Dwapar Yuga.
Article by Prof. Chitralekha Singh
Dean: Institute of Visual, Performing Arts & Research, Mangalayatan University, Beswan, Aligarh. Arts Visit at: www.artistchitralekha.com, e-mail: chitralekha@artlover.com, mob . 91 9319103482
http://www.freetibet.org/events/tashi-lhunpo-monks-acton
Tashilhunpo Monastery (Tibetan: བཀྲ་ཤིས་ལྷུན་པོ་), founded in 1447 by Gendun Drup, the First Dalai Lama, is a historic and culturally important monastery next to Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet. It was sacked when the Gurkhas invaded Tibet and captured Shigatse in 1791 before a combined Tibetan and Chinese army drove them back as far as the outskirts of Kathmandu, when they were forced to agree to keep the peace in future, pay tribute every five years, and return what they had looted from Tashilhunpo. The monastery is the traditional seat of successive Panchen Lamas, the second highest ranking tulku lineage in the Gelukpa tradition. The “Tashi” or Panchen Lama had temporal power over three small districts, though not over the town of Shigatse itself, which was administered by a dzongpön (prefect) appointed from Lhasa.
Located on a hill in the center of the city, the full name in Tibetan of the monastery means: “all fortune and happiness gathered here” or “heap of glory”. Read More: > HERE <
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery is seat to the Panchen Lama, the second most important spiritual leader of Tibet. In 1447 the Monastery was founded by His Holiness the 1st Dalai Lama, Gyalwa Gendun Drup, in Shigatse, Tibet’s second largest city. It is one of the four great monasteries of Central Tibet and was supervised and looked after by the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas of the Gelugpa, or Yellow Hat tradition. It has the glory of producing thousands of renowned scholars in the field of Mahayana Buddhist Philosophy and Tantra.
During the lifetime of the 4th Panchen Lama, Lobsang Choekyi Gyaltsen, there were more than 3,000 monks in the Monastery and by 1959 there were 5,000, with another 2,000 monks affiliated to the monastery living outside Tibet. The Communist Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959 and the Cultural Revolution from 1966-80 both wreaked destruction on Tibet’s monastic institutions, which lost many precious scriptures, statues and images. Many monks were killed or imprisoned and only 250 were able to follow the Dalai Lama into exile.
www.tibettours.com , In 1972, by the order of the 14th Dalai Lama, the Tashilhunpo Monastery was re-established in Karnataka, the southern state of India. From early1980’s, entry to the general public has been allowed, although one cannot visit all the parts of the monastery, but still Tashilhunpo Monastery has become an important tourist destination in Tibet.
Tibet Reiseführer – Das Tashilhunpo-Kloster, der Sitz der Panchen Lamas aller Generationen. Das Tashilhunpo-Kloster gehört zu den unter staatlichen Denkmalschutz stehenden bedeutenden Kulturstätten Chinas. Es liegt am südlichen Fuß des Berges Nyimarie im Westen der Stadt Xigaze. Es ist das größte Kloster der gelug-Sekte in Westtibet und der Hauptort der religiösen und politischen Angelegenheiten der Panchen Lamas aller Generationen. Das Tashilhunpo-Kloster und die oben genannten drei Klöster Lhasas sind die vier berühmtesten Klöster Tibets.
Tashilhunpo bedeutet auf tibetisch “Glückliches Sumera”. Das Kloster wurde am Berghang gebaut und umfasst Hauptsutrahallen, die Qamba-Buddha-halle, die Gyina Lhakang-Halle, Gedenkhallen mit Stupas für die Panchen Lamas fünf bis neun, die Gedenkhalle Shesong Namgyi mit dem Stupa für den zehnten Panchen Lama, die Terrasse zum Ausrollen großer Buddhabilder sowie Arbeitszimmer früherer Panchen Lamas. Es gibt außerdem noch vier Zhacangs (buddhistische Kollegien), 64 Dörfer mit Wohnhäusern, in denen die Mönche, nach Herkunftsorten zusammengefasst, untergebracht waren, und 56 Gebetshallen. Read More: > www.china-guide.de <
Monasteries Enviromental Himalayaprotection
www.alternative-energy-news.info
Sustainable energy is the provision of energy such that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. A broader interpretation may allow inclusion of fossil fuels as transitional sources while technology develops, as long as new sources are developed for future generations to use. A narrower interpretation includes only energy sources which are not expected to be depleted in a time frame relevant to the human race, which can potentially also include nuclear power if it is utilized differently from the current manner. Sustainable energy sources are most often regarded as including all renewable sources, such as plant matter, solar power, wind power, wave power, geothermal power and tidal power. It usually also includes technologies that improve energy efficiency. Conventional fission power is sometimes referred to as sustainable, but this is controversial politically due to concerns about peak uranium, radioactive waste disposal and the risks of disaster due to accident, terrorism, or natural disaster. Read More: > HERE <
The 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Cancún, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010.The conference is officially referred to as the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 6th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties (CMP 6) to the Kyoto Protocol. Read More: > HERE <
The STYRIAN ACADEMY is a unique international European life-long learning platform organised by Graz University of Technology in cooperation with Strategic Partners. The STYRIAN ACADEMY addresses business, science and politics as well as excellent students and an interested public.
The unique feature of the STYRIAN ACADEMY is that it combines internationally recognised research across disciplines with entrepreneurial experience to provide participants with the skills and knowledge to develop innovative solutions.
The STYRIAN ACADEMY offers 2010 the following events:
Kick-Off-Event 15 June 2010
Download Programme Kick-Off-Event (PDF)
International Summer School 5-16 July 2010
Download Programme International Summer School (PDF)
International Business Seminar I, 6/7 July 2010
Download Programme International Business Seminar I (PDF)
International Business Seminar II, 7/8 July 2010
Download Programme International Business Seminar II (PDF)
Garden Talks, 7 July 2010
Download Programme Garden Talk (PDF)
In 2010 and 2011 the STYRIAN ACADEMY is dedicated to the European key topic of future Sustainable Energy Systems. The STYRIAN ACADEMY taps into the know how of top-class scientists and entrepreneurs from the European Sustainable Energy Innovation Alliance (eseia) (www.eseia.eu).
The 2010/2011 STYRIAN ACADEMY provides participants with the necessary knowledge and entrepreneurial skills to turn dwindling fossil resources and the challenge of climate change into a chance. The high level training covers the whole innovation field from sustainable energy resources to efficient infrastructure to rational provision of energy services.
One of the senior disciples of Swami Vishnudevananda and who spent 18 years with gurus mission International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta centre as a Director in different branches. Swamiji is the author of poetry Kaliyuga Vahini in Kannada language. His poetry is coming in all major languages shortly. Swamiji is teaching yoga and Meditation and conducting Satsanga and giving spiritual guidelines to sadhakas all over the world. Swamiji is traveling across the globe in spreading Gurus message.
Sri Swami Krishnananda Saraswati Maharaj (April 25, 1922 – November 23, 2001) was a Hindu saint. He was a foremost disciple of Swami Sivananda and served as the General Secretary of the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh, India from 1958 until 2001.He was one of the most important theologians and philosophers of the 20th century. Author of more than 200 texts, Krishnananda wrote and lectured prolifically on yoga, religion, and metaphysics. His lectures, though delivered extempore (without rehearsal), were known for their structure, style and sophistication, and have been widely published in text form. The works for which Krishnananda is best known are The Realization of the Absolute, The Philosophy of Life, and The Philosophy of Religion. Read More > HERE <
Yoga is a divine knowledge taught by Rishi’s to gain Physical, Mental, Spiritual well being and to attain our Divine quality through following the eight limbs of Raja Yoga called Astanga Yoga. Yoga means union of human sole with the supreme – sole or Almighty god means join Divine & human spirit. This is a Process which liberates the human soul from the bondage of Maya (attachment to worldly things and makes the sole free from rebirth) Only Maya is a strong bondage.
The ultimate Aims of Yoga practice is to get Self –Realization to merge our tiny spark of soul in the ocean of God consiousness.To remove our ignorance due to Maya, to know our own ego, to get freedom from bondages of birth and deaths, to remain in permanent eternal peace, bliss and joy and to realize the complete ultimate knowledge of everything in the universe we should practice this techniques with devotion, faith and proper understandings . Without devotion we never reach any where in this practice.
Love yoga? Want to get started? Become a teacher?
SURYA JYOTHI YOGA CENTRE offers an amazing range of yoga retreats and trainings for people at all levels of experience.
Sivananda Ashram (Headquarters of The Divine Life Society) Rishikesh, Himalayas, India.
The Divine Life Society was founded by the great Saint and Sage of modern times, Swami Sivananda, in the year 1936. It was founded for resuscitating the higher values of life beyond the limitations of perceptional and cognitional evaluations of life. The Founder’s main intention was to awaken humanity towards the ways and means of imbibing in one’s life the characteristics of Ultimate Reality, veritably God-realisation.
Towards this end a vigorous disciplinary process has to be undergone by imbibing in one’s personal life the other associated values, such as the social, ethical, and austere principles, all which have to be set in tune harmoniously with everything that is considered as part of one’s life at any stage of one’s existence in this world. This is briefly the great vision of the Founder, Swami Sivananda.
All material on this website is copyright. This website is independent of the Divine Life Society.
www.businessweek.com/june 2010
Muhammad Yunus (Bangla: মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস, pronounced Muhammôd Iunus) (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi banker, economist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. He previously was a professor of economics where he developed the concepts of microcredit and microfinance. These loans are given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Yunus is also the founder of Grameen Bank. In 2006, Yunus and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.” Yunus himself has received several other national and international honors. He is the author of Banker to the Poor and a founding board member of Grameen America and Grameen Foundation. Read More: > HERE <
This third book by Professor Yunus, following Banker to the Poor and Creating a World Without Poverty, is dedicated solely towards the concept of social business, its implementation, and its maintenance. Social business is an innovative business model which promotes the idea of doing business in order to address a social problem, and not to maximize profit. As the title suggests, this complement to traditional capitalism truly can serve humanity’s most pressing needs, especially poverty. Each and every social business creates employment, good working conditions, and of course, addresses a specific social ill such as lack of education, healthcare, and good nutrition.
In simple terms, a social business is a non-loss, non-dividend company dedicated entirely to achieve a social goal. In social business, the investor gets his investment money back over time, but never receives dividend beyond that amount. The Grameen Bank is a prime example of social business, with the Grameen borrowers themselves being its shareholders!
Building Social Business consists of case studies, anecdotes, and solid advice from Professor Yunus himself. This “Social Business Manual” is a must read for anyone who wants to use his or her creativity to make a positive impact in their neighborhood, town, country, and world.
The Nobel Peace Prize-winner shows how the social business model can harness the entrepreneurial spirit to address poverty, hunger, and disease
Muhammad Yunus, the practical visionary who pioneered microcredit and, with his Grameen Bank, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, has developed a visionary new dimension for capitalism which he calls “social business.” By harnessing the energy of profit-making to the objective of fulfilling human needs, social business creates self-supporting, viable commercial enterprises that generate economic growth even as they produce goods and services that make the world a better place.
Company Overview – Grameen Bank provides credit to rural poor in Bangladesh. It offers small loans for women. The company also provides training programs to individuals in the forms of Grameen basics course, exposure programs, international dialogue programs, research, internships, workshops, and media. It offers its services to villages of Bangladesh. Grameen Bank was founded in 1976 and is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
www.unwatch.org/The Right of Food
Jean Ziegler (born April 19, 1934) is a former professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris. He was a Member of Parliament for the Social Democrats in the Swiss federal parliament from 1981 to 1999. Nominated by Switzerland, he was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food from 2000 to April 2008. On 26 March 2008, he was elected for one year into the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee. Despite objections from UN Watch he received 40 out of 47 votes to finish first in a field of seven candidates. He is also member of the advisory board of the human rights organization Business Crime Control. Read More: > HERE <
The Codex Alimentarius (Latin for “food code” or “food book”) is a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations relating to foods, food production and food safety. Its name derives from the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus. Its texts are developed and maintained by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a body that was established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Read More: > Here <
Jean Ziegler: “This World Order is not just murderous, it is absurd” - Jean Ziegler is a senior professor of sociology at the University of Geneva and the Sorbonne, Paris. He is one of the leading protagonists in the world for the anti-globalization movement and has taken a continued stand for human rights, the right to food and a decent livelihood for all people. In 2000, he was appointed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. He kept this position until March 2008 in spite of much hard criticism from the neoliberal leaders of the U.S. and the UN for his categorical stand for equal rights for all people. His continued fight against poverty, hunger and chronic malnutrition in the world has been a constant embarrassment to the West.
He is now the Swiss member of the UN Human Rights Council. His is one of the very few voices heard on the international scene speaking out loudly against the criminal financial system that has put the world in its present tailspin with hunger and lack of human rights, devastating a continually increasing mass of the world’s 6.6 billion population. Unfortunately he is not very well known in the Anglophone world, where, for obvious political reasons, his humanitarian message is hushed up. He says in “Empire of Shame”: “One thing is certain: world agriculture, in the current state of productivity, could feed twice the number of today’s global population. So it is not a matter of fate: hunger is man made.”
“Empire of Shame – A Conversation with Jean Ziegler” He has written several books on the lack of justice in the world, condemning the vicious global power system that allows close to a billion people to be the chronic victims of hunger and permanent malnutrition and denouncing crimes committed in the name of global finance and capitalism.
See: Hunger in the Midst of Plenty, By Girish Mishra. FULL ARTICLE: * HERE *
> Books from Jean Ziegler by Amazon < / Codex Alimentarius Video
In your opinion, has anyone measured the scale of the impact of this crisis on the South? Jean Ziegler. “When the rich lose weight, the poor die,” says a proverb. World hunger is increasing at a breathtaking rate. Every five seconds a child under ten dies of hunger in the world and 100 000 people die every day from hunger or its immediate after-effects.
Since 2000, the West said there was no money. However, on October 12, at the Élysée Palace, in three and a half hours, the 27 EU countries released €1 700 billion for credit to be used between banks and to raise the floor of pure capital for the banks from 3 % to 5%. 1% of these €1 700 billion would suffice to eliminate the eight tragedies afflicting the Third World countries. This world order is not only mortal, it is absurd.
www.fairtrade.org.uk/sportsballs
FAIR TRADE SPORTS BALLS (UNHEP)
KS3 Citizenship – Fair Trade Video
Sialkot (Urdu: سیالکوٹ) is a city situated in the north-east of the Punjab province in Pakistan at the foothills of the snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District and, formerly, it has been the winter-capital of the State of Kashmir. The city is about 125 km (78 mi) north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometres from Indian controlled Jammu. The recorded history of Sialkot covers thousands of years. Sialkot has, since its foundation, changed hands from Hindu, Buddhist, Persian, Greek, Afghan, Turk, Sikh and British rule to that of present-day Pakistan. Read More: > HERE <
Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers. Read More: > HERE <
An innovative company with history – SELECT Sport is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of hand-sewn balls and produces approx. 2 million balls a year. SELECT Sport is recognised as an innovator in quality balls and is represented by its own sales network or distributors in large parts of the world. We export to a total of more than 50 countries.
SELECT’s head office is located in Glostrup near Copenhagen. Our balls are produced in Pakistan by Anwar Khawaja Industries (AKI). We have never used child labour to produce our balls. SELECT’s workers and their families receive free medical assistance and medication through our SAHEP programme. This programme also provides education and schooling for all of the workers’ children.
A short look at how footballs are really made.
FIFA standard balls are hand-stitched in Pakistan for Fair Kick Soccer. In a size 5 ball, there are 690 stitches. As each of the five-sided pieces of polyurethane artificial leather are stitched to the others, the ball’s sphere gradually closes. The last stitches are done ‘blind’. That is, they use a pair of long needle-pullers, threading between stitches that they have already made, because they cannot get their hands inside the ball. At the same time, they have to be careful that they do not puncture the butyl air bladder inside. > http://de.fifa.com/<
There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World’s Religions, most notably the World’s Parliament of Religions of 1893, the first attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another conference on its centenary in 1993. This led to a new series of conferences under the official title “Parliament of the World’s Religions”. Read More: > HERE <
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948 in London, England),commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is a British musician. He is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam. Read More: > HERE <
The Interfaith Centre of Melbourne emphasizes the development of events and programs that involve and attract youth who are searching for deeper meaning in their lives, and who show deep concern for the future of humanity and the planet.
Building Harmony - The State of Victoria is one of Australia’s most multi-cultural States. It comprises people from more than 208 countries. Victorians speak over 150 languages and follow more than 100 faiths. Whilst there are no large-scale community relation’s conflicts, the report tabled in the Commonwealth Parliament in November 2000, “Conviction with Compassion: A Report into Freedom of Religion and Belief”, suggests that elements of racism and religious intolerance remain endemic in our society. Our broader community is not always aware of the level of distress and harm experienced by members of minority groups.
Combating prejudice and assisting people to overcome disadvantage are two of the Victorian Government’s key priorities. Our mission and educational/cultural programs seek to complement the Victorian Government’s promotion of racial and religious tolerance, and issues of social justice.
Miami (pronounced /maɪˈæmi/ or /maɪˈæmə/) is a major city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida. It is the principal city and the center of the South Florida metropolitan area, which had a 2008 population of 5,414,712; ranking 7th largest in the U.S.In 2008, the population of the Miami urbanized area had increased to 5,232,342, becoming the fourth-largest urbanized area in the United States, behind New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Miami is a well-known global city due to its importance in finance, commerce, culture, media, fashion, education, film, print media, entertainment, the arts and international trade.Known as The Gateway to the Americas, Miami is an international center for entertainment, education, media, music, fashion, film, culture, print media, and the performing arts. Read More: > HERE <
Tibet (Tibetan: བོད་; Wylie: bod, pronounced [pʰø̀ʔ]; Chinese: 西藏; pinyin: Xī Zàng) is a plateau region in Asia and a disputed territory, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft). It is sometimes referred to as the roof of the world. Read More: > HERE <
The Venerable Tulku Tsori Rinpoche is the founder and spiritual leader of the Yogi Tsoru Dechen Rinpoche Foundation based in Miami, Florida. He is recognized as a Lama – a term reserved for senior members of the Tibetan Order.
Lama Tulku Tsori Rinpoche (aka Tulku Karma) was born in a Tibetan refugee settlement in India in 1974. During his childhood, he was recognized as the incarnation of Yogi Tsoru Dechen Rinpoche of Chamdho, Tibet. At the age of seven, he was received at Namdroling Monastery in Bylakuppe, India where he completed his education.
Dalai Lama teaching at TCV Dharamsala India
Rinpoche has devoted his life to champion humanitarian efforts. He travels throughout the world teaching the Buddha Dharma (Path of Awakening), and speaking on the greater good of empowering humanity and revitalizing society. Presently, Rinpoche is overseeing various charitable programs including construction of the Children’s Monastery in Mainpat, India while continuing to help establish new Dharma centers throughout the world.
http://ilmalinsaan/islamic-calligraphy
Calligraphy, by definition, the art of “beautiful writing” is one of the oldest artistic and literary forms known to mankind. Ancient scribes writing on papyrus, clay tablets, and vellum strove to make their writing very special. Monks in monasteries and medieval professional scribes brought their writing to a high form of artistic expression as they inscribed scriptures, sacred writings, and other works of literature and poetry. Scribes and calligraphers have that same passion today as they endeavor to make the written word an artistic treasure to be admired and treasured. Calligraphy (from Greek κάλλος kallos “beauty” + γραφή graphẽ “writing”) is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering. A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is “the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner”. The story of writing is one of aesthetic evolution framed within the technical skills, transmission speed(s) and materials limitations of a person, time and place . Read More about Calligraphy in East & West: > HERE < .
IRCICA is an international institution active in the fields of research, publishing, documentation and information. Its mandate covers multifarious themes in the fields of the history of Muslim nations, history of arts and sciences in Islam, and other subject areas in Islamic culture and civilisation. By means of these activities, IRCICA aims at studying and better introducing the Islamic culture and civilisation throughout the world and acting as a catalyst for research and cooperation in these areas to promote mutual understanding between Muslims and with other nations and cultures of the world.
IRCICA started its activities in 1980 as the first subsidiary organ of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) concerned with culture. The headquarters of IRCICA are located in the three buildings named Seyir Pavilion, Cit Qasr and Yaveran Building in the historical Yildiz Palace in Besiktas, Istanbul. These buildings were allocated to the Centre by the Government of the Republic of Turkey.
Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, was the Director General of IRCICA from 1980 to December 2004. Prof. İhsanoğlu was elected Secretary General of OIC by the 31st Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (Istanbul, 14-16 June 2004). Dr. Halit Eren, who was the Deputy Director General, was appointed Director General of IRCICA as of 1st January 2005. INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF FEMALE CALLIGRAPHERS June 4th -6th, 2010: > HERE <
Muslim Heritage: Professor Al-Hassani on the History Channel. More Muslim Heritage Videos: > HERE <
Centre’s Programs - The scope of IRCICA’s work plans expanded steadily over the years, as completed activities were replaced by new projects and ongoing ones grew to cover new themes of interest. The majority of research projects are implemented on a long term basis, in several successive and/or simultaneous stages related to various aspects of a given theme or involving various types of activities, such as data collection and treatment, contacts and cooperation with the Member States, institutions and organisations concerned, convening of scholarly meetings, editing, publishing, etc. From its earliest years onwards, the Centre disseminated the results of its activities in the OIC Member States as well as in academic, cultural and artistic circles world-wide by its publications, paper presentations at conferences, exhibitions of documents and illustrations, communication and cooperation with universities and cultural institutions throughout the world, and by offering library and archive services to researchers and students. This section outlines the activities carried out by IRCICA within the framework of its programs and projects, from its establishment in 1980 until the beginning of 2000.
Jews, Christs & Muslims ~ Intercultural Dialog
Isralestinian Ghandis – Meditation for Peace
Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Yisrā’el; Arabic: إِسْرَائِيلُ, Isrā’īl), officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: About this sound מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā’el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ, Dawlat Isrā’īl), is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, the Gaza Strip and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is the world’s only predominantly Jewish state, with a population of 7.5 million people, of whom 5.7 million are Jewish. Arab citizens of Israel form the country’s second-largest ethnic group, which includes Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Samaritans.
The modern State of Israel has its historical and religious roots in the Biblical Land of Israel, also known as Zion, a concept central to Judaism since ancient times. Political Zionism took shape in the late-19th century and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 formalized British policy preferring the establishment of a Jewish state. Following World War I, the League of Nations granted Great Britain the Mandate for Palestine and the responsibility for establishing “the Jewish national home” within it. Read More: > HERE <
Tamil Nadu (Tamil: தமிழ்நாடு “Country of the Tamils”, pronounced [t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ]( listen)) is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai (formerly known as Madras). Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the States of Puducherry (Pondicherry), Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is bound by the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Nilgiri, the Anamalai Hills, and Palakkad on the west, by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait in the south east, and by the Indian Ocean in the south. Read More: > HERE <
Leadearth is an 8 months leadership program of Environmental and Social projects in Israel and India. LeadEarth is an eight-month leadership program for young professionals who wish to gain experience in the fields of social action, community empowerment and environmental and international development.
The LeadEarth program was designed to foster social entrepreneurs in the fields of environmental sustainability and informal education and enable them to acquire the skills, knowledge and hands-on experience to initiate, develop and lead projects in their own communities and in developing countries.
LeadEarth offers professional training, personal growth, self empowerment and a unique opportunity to initiate, develop and lead community projects.
The LeadEarth program includes a five-month training program in Israel followed by three months of field work in India and a closing seminar to prepare participants for further professional work and studies.
During the first five months of the program, participants live on Kibbutz Ein Zivan, where you will study and volunteer. Here you will receive professional training in the fields of sustainable ecological development and project management.
In the second part of the program, volunteers will travel to the Tamil Nadu state of India where you will live in an international volunteer community and work with grassroots NGOs, including the Center for Culture and Development (CCD) and Sadhana Forest. These organizations, together with an Adam LeAdam professional team leader, guide the volunteers in the initiation, development and operation of community projects, while focusing on promoting environmental awareness through informal education.
As LeadEarth graduates, you will receive ongoing support to enable you to sustain social and environmental involvement and activities in India or in your home community.
As a participant of the program you will: Prepare for further studies and professional job opportunities in the fields of environmental studies, ecological sustainability, international development and project management. Gain knowledge of Israel and India through living and working with local communities. Work and train with the next generation of international, young, Jewish, social entrepreneurs. Receive professional training in sustainable living including: clean energy, building planning, composting, chemical-free products and organic farming. Undergo survivor training in order to learn to deal with uncertainty in outdoor conditions. Receive accreditation from leading NGOs in Israel and India.
www.hinduism.co.za/Brahmacharya
http://www.sanandayoga.com/workshop
http://archives.digitaltoday.in
Brahmacharya – Sri Swami Sivananda
Brahmacharya (pronounced [brʌmatʃərɪə], Devanagari: ब्रह्मचर्य) whose literal meaning is under the tutelage of Brahman refers to a period of spiritual education in the traditional scheme of life in Hinduism that takes place during the teenage years. This period of time in which the student becomes inculcated in the mystical doctrine contained within the Upanishads is characterised above all else by the practice of strict celibacy. As such, in non-Hindu traditions (see nastika) Brahmacharya denotes a mode of life devoted to spiritual endeavour in which sexual continence is the guiding factor. A Brahmachari therefore is a male (and brahmacharini a female) who observes sexual abstinence unless intentionally procreating. These characteristics correspond to Western notions of the religious life as practised in monastic settings. Read More: > HERE <
Just like his life and his death the origin of Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari is shrouded in mystery. Some sources say that he was born in a respected Brahmana family of Chandpura, a small village in Bihar in Northern India. Others say that he came from a village in Kashmir. There are no records of the day of his birth, and during his lifetime the public was speculating about his real age. He never talked much about his past, but when he remebered his early childhood he used to say that he was a wild and naughty boy with a great sense for adventure, which often put him in difficult and dangerous situations. When he was twelve years old he started to read the Bhagavad Gita and he was deeply impressed when Krishna says to Arjuna: “The Yogin is verily superior to the Tapasvins (those observing austerities), Jnanins (the knowledge-ables) and Karmakandins (those who perform the ceremonial rites). Therefore you should try to become a Yogin!” So he decided to become a Yogi. From this moment he pursued this arduous path with great devotion and deep interest, and he left his family to search for a true Guru. During these years of wandering he met many masters and holy men, but in spite of his ardent efforts it seemed impossible to find the one personal Guru. Many so-called masters turned out to be charlatans or they were demanding a certain hairstyle or dress from him, changes which the stubborn young man wouldn`t accept.
After years of restless search he ended up in great poverty, and he seemed to be stranded. He said about this dark period of desperation: “I had completely lost the idea of a Guru, my mind was absolutely empty. But only when life becomes dark and black like a slate, you can start to write something new. Only where there is absolute emptiness you can fill in something new. Only when his own ideas are wiped out, man is ready to perceive and accept the Absolute. It is a balance between complete devotion and the openness for the Divine or even for what you can call its opposite.” While this struggle between light and darkness was in full swing, he finally met his Guru Maharshi Kartikeya, whose Ashram stood at Gopal-Khera, about twelve miles from Lucknow. There his Guru initiated him into the untold secrets of Yoga. He practiced Pranayama in an underground cave and reached a state of perfect mental equilibrum, which made him enter the realms of higher Yoga. Now he was a Swami, a Siddha and Yoga-Master, and he was directed by Maharshiji to propagate the Yogic Kriyas.
It was in the Bengal capital Calcutta that his first work “Yogic Sukshma Vyayama” was published in Hindi in 1956. Thereafter he came to Delhi and people of all walks of life and from all over the world were attracted to him to learn the yogic practices that he demonstrated.
He taught the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, and was the yogic mentor to his daughter Indira Gandhi and her family. 1970 he published his second book “Yogasana Vijnana”, doubtless the best work ever about the correct practice of Yoga-Postures. Because of his extraordinary powers and his charismatic personality he became the counsellor and trustee of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and therefore a political issue. He was running big Ashrams in Delhi, Jammu, Katra and Mantalai (J & K), and thousands of people from all over the world were eager to learn from him.
In the year 1981 he was asked by some journalists if he would leave his body as old as his own Guru Maharshi Kartikeya, who entered Maha-Samadhi 1953 in the age of 336 years, while he was meditating with his favourite Chelas. He answered: “I would gladly do that, if I shouldn`t die in a plane-crash.”
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Oil sands, also known as tar sands, or extra heavy oil, are a type of bitumen deposit. The sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand or clay, water and an extremely dense and viscous form of petroleum called bitumen. They are found in large amounts in many countries throughout the world, but are found in extremely large quantities in Canada and Venezuela. Oil sands reserves have only recently been considered to be part of the world’s oil reserves, as higher oil prices and new technology enable them to be profitably extracted and upgraded to usable products. Oil sands are often referred to as unconventional oil or crude bitumen, in order to distinguish the bitumen extracted from oil sands from the free-flowing hydrocarbon mixtures known as crude oil traditionally produced from oil wells. Read More: > HERE <
What Are Tar Sands? - Tar sands (also referred to as oil sands) are a combination of clay, sand, water, and bitumen, a heavy black viscous oil. Tar sands can be mined and processed to extract the oil-rich bitumen, which is then refined into oil. The bitumen in tar sands cannot be pumped from the ground in its natural state; instead tar sand deposits are mined, usually using strip mining or open pit techniques, or the oil is extracted by underground heating with additional upgrading. See the Photos page for additional photos of tar sand and tar sand mining. FULL ARTICLE: > TAR SANDS BASICS < (Basic information on tar sands technology, resources, and issues of concern.)
Greenhouse gas emissions from tar sands production are three times those of conventional oil and gas production [currently tar sands production emits 27 megatonnes per annum and is expected to rise to 108-126 megatonnes by 2015]. Thus, the tar sands are now poised to become Canada’s largest single emitter of greenhouse gas, compounding this country’s contribution to global warming. Additionally, tar sands production is expected to multiply as much as four to five times by the year 2015 to meet growing demands in the U.S. As a consequence, conservative estimates show that greenhouse gas emissions from the tar sands could well leap from 27 to 126 million tonnes by 2015.
Read more — http://www.tarsandswatch.org/global-warming
BYB-Yoga University Bihar Bharati
The International Samarpan Yoga Awareness Foundation (ISYAF) is situated at Tapovan, Shivanandanagar in the Tehri-Garhwal District of Uttaranchal, Himalayas, India which is wonderfully laid out on the foothills of the Himalayas on the right valley of the holy Ganga. The mission serves as a heavenly peace and harmony to the spiritual seekers from the all over world. The Foundation is at a distance of about 7 kilometres from Rishikesh town and it served by autorickshaws and taxis. Rishikesh itself is 24 kilometres away from the renowned pilgrim centre, Haridwar, and is linked by rail and road. Regular buses, autos and taxis are available throughout the day. Haridwar is also on the banks of the river Ganga at a distance of 263 kilometres to the North-East of Delhi on the Delhi-Haridwar-Dehradun Rail route.
The Bihar School of Yoga is an organization founded by Swami Satyananda Saraswati in 1964 to impart traditional yoga teachings to the world. Its headquarters are located in Munger in the Indian state of Bihar. In addition to providing spiritual instruction to aspirants, the school also guides yoga projects and medical research in association with various corporations and public works.Read more: > HERE <
Aims and Objects – This unique mission ISYAF is founded by Yoga-Vedantaacharya Himalayan Master Swami Samarpanananda Saraswatiji Maharaj in 2000. ISYAF has been registered in sub-registration office in Trivandrum, Kerala, India in 2001.Estd. 2000 and Regd. No: IV – 1/2001. ISYAF is a non-profitable, educational, spiritual, psychological, philosophical, social, cultural & charitable trust.
Aim of the mission is to promote Yogic-Vedic-Tantric science all over the world for the attainment of Self-enlightenment. Anyone can join the mission, if she/he is really eager to practise sadhana and attain perfection. She /he must be able to adapt, adjust and accommodate, to the circumstances that prevail here. She/he must be must be active, peaceful, kind and mindful of his/her own development. She/he must be humble, simple and eager to learn. She/he must be obedient and imbued with a spirit of self-sacrifice. Such a one will surely profit by his stay here.
About Swami Samarpanananda Saraswati (Swamiji): Swamiji is the disciple of Swami Niranjananandaji of the Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar, which is in the lineage of Swami Shivanandaji of the Shivananda Ashram, Rishikesh, Himalayas, India. Since 1998 Swamiji guiding spiritually and academically the seekers of Yogic science from all over the world.
Since1997 Swamiji has completed spiritual tours in many countries: Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Srilanka, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Italy, France, Austria, Hungary, Denmark, Slovenia, Latvia, Norway and Sweden.
Swamiji has a special, inspiring and compassionate energy which is a rare gift from the Lord Almighty, because of which whosever came in touch with him felt elated and peaceful. The International Samarpan Yoga Awareness Foundation (ISYAF) is founded by Swamiji and presently he is the president of the ISYAF.
What is the syllabus of the course? The Ancient Culture & History of India, Advait Vedanta (Ten Principal Upanishads), Bhagavadgita, Philosophy & Psychology of Patanjali Yoga Sutras, Brahma Sutras (Science of Absolute) , Hatha Yoga (asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha & kriya), Raja Yoga, Asthanga Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Kundalini Yoga (Science of Tantra), Bhakti Yoga, Mantra Yoga, Dhyana Yoga, Sanyass Yoga (yoga of compassion), Samarpan Yoga and Vedic Sacred Fire, etc.
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EUROPE 2010 (June to October 2010) – Swami Samarpan and his assistants Yoga teachers, are conducting programmes in places and dates mentioned below:
KALARIPPAYAR – KALARI TRADITION
* The elder generations still believe that the Kalari Guru is the sage Parasurama himself, who after creating the land of Kerala, taught Kalarippayatt to 21 disciples in order to protect and maintain peace. Lord SIVA is considered to be the father of Kalarippayatt. Parasurama has propagated in Northern style and Sage Agasthya in Southern style.
Kalarippayat is one of the oldest living traditions of Martial training, Physical culture and self defence method in the World. The Kalarippayat is derived from two words in Malayalam, Kalari and Payatt. Kalari means the place, where any particular art form is taught. Payatt literally means practice or exercise. In the present context it means in the traditional style of combat. It is the Martial Art form of Kerala, the Southern most state of INDIA.
Kshatriya (Hindi: क्षत्रिय, kṣatriya from Sanskrit: क्षत्र, kṣatra) or Kashtriya meaning warrior is one of the four varnas (social orders) in Hinduism. शर्म ब्राहमणस्य वर्म क्षत्रियस्य गुप्तेती वैश्यस्य Prasar grhaysutras). It traditionally constituted the military and ruling elite of the Vedic-Hindu social system outlined by the Vedas and the Laws of Manu. Read More: > HERE <
ENS Kalari Centre was established in 1954 at Nettoor, Ernakulam Dist., Kerala, South India by E.N. SREEPATHY EMBRNTHIRI GURUKKAL. This Kalari gives training in both Northern and the Southern systems of Kalarippayat. This may perhaps be only Kalari of this type in Kerala blending both systems. Here, training is given in a Kalari constructed accordingto the time honored principles of the Kalari traditions and according to accepted methods of worshipping the Kalari Gods and Guru, and performing the necessary rituals.
This institute, affiliated to the Kerala Kalarippayat Association [Govt. of Kerala], is the only one of its kind to authorize by Enakulam District Tourism Promotion Council. ENS Kalari collects and systematically arranges [for the benefit of students both Indian & Foreign] printed book, videocassettes etc. More and more foreigners visit ENS Kalari for studying and for seeing Kalarippayat. Lately South Africa for demonstrating and teaching Kalarippayat sponsored two of the scholars of ENS Kalari. Every day there is a demonstration from 7 pm to 8pm. The special visit to Kalariis allowed between 3pm to 7pm every Sunday evening. Those who are interested in watching Kalarippayat can make use of this opportunity.
This Kalari started new certificate courses ranging from ONE WEEK to ONE YEAR and Various SPECIAL COURSES also.
Ayurvedic Treatments: We have every facility to conduct various traditional ayurvedic treatments.The main treatment is UZHICHIL [massage]. Massage has been in vogue all over the world since time immemorial. Massage is being used of curing diseases in Kerala. But this science and art has not developed enough in this present age. Even today there are experts who massage the nerves and veins of patients for curing diseases and people do regard them highly. In olden time warriors used to get initiates into the Martial Arts after massage, which used to continue through out life. In kerala even now, before practicing Kalarippayat it is customary to massage the whole body and make it ready. Massage helps to attain a compact physique and to easily and to easily bend or turn any part of the body. Once you become a warrior, massage is necessary to shed physical fatigue. Exercises and massage are essential to build a healthy body.
In Kalari, massage is done by the GURUKKAL. UZHICHIL is a system of full-body massage to improve muscle tone, flexibility, stimulate the circulation of blood and to give long life. Kalari massage can also provide benefitsin relation to headaches, depression, sexual functioning, and back pain. It is intended to cure Kalari – related orthopaedic injuries and spasmodic diseases. For the students of Kalarippayat who with to take up the position of GURU, they should become well versed in the ART of treatment. Massage has one more important benefit, which concerns the flow of lymph in the body. Lymph is a vital fluid, which purifies the blood, thereby enhancing the health and beauty of the body. As massage givens an equal effect, it helps those who cannot do or are not able to do exercises.
kalari oil massage – Ancient time warriors used to get initiates into the Martial Arts after massage, which used to continue through out life. In Kerala even now, it is customary to massage the whole body and make it ready to practice Kalarippayat. Massage helps to attain a compact physique easily and to bend or turn any part of the body. Once you become a warrior, massage is necessary to shed physical fatigue. Exercises and massage are essential to build a healthy body.
This is the unforgettable experience to the visitors. Two type of massage is using in kalari Massage – using Hand and Massage – using foot. All over the Kerala is sinking with Ayurvedic massage.
But this is the unforgettable experience for visitor, he/she can choose the massage they like- foot massage or hand massage. After the massage the kalari disciples are practicing kalari. Same way after the Kalari massage the person will become fully energetic. So we can understand how much energy and stamina will attain after the kalari massage. Commonly ‘Mahanarayan Thilam’ [Herbal oil] is using for massage and Steam Bath and Herbal Bath are also available. The duration of the Massage is 45mts to 1hour.
ENS Kalari conducting Uzhichil [massage] treatment courses varying from 5-7days, 14days, and 21days. It is available through prior booking. Full-body massage help to improve muscle tone, flexibility, stimulates the circulation of blood and give long life. Kalari massage is using to treat headaches, depression, sexual functioning, back pain etc.
Syrian Jews (Arabic: يهود سوريون) are Jews who inhabit the region of the modern state of Syria, and their descendants born outside Syria. Syrian Jews derive their origin from two groups: from the Jews who inhabited the region of today’s Syria from ancient times (known as Musta’arabi Jews, and sometimes classified as Mizrahi Jews, a generic term for the Jews with an extended history in the Middle East or North Africa); and from the Sephardi Jews (referring to Jews with an extended history in the Iberian Peninsula, i.e. Spain and Portugal) who fled to Syria after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492 CE).
There were large communities in Aleppo and Damascus for centuries, and a smaller community in Qamishli on the Turkish border near Nusaybin. In the first half of the 20th century a large percentage of Syrian Jews emigrated to the U.S., Central and South America and Israel. Most of the remaining Jews left in the 28 years following 1973, due in part to the efforts of Judith Feld Carr, who claims to have helped some 3,228 Jews emigrate; emigration was officially allowed in 1992. Today there are about 25 Jews in Syria, all of them living in Damascus. The largest Syrian Jewish community is located in Brooklyn, New York and is estimated at 75,000 strong. There are smaller communities elsewhere in the United States and in Latin America. Read More: > HERE <
Jewish Cuisine is the collection of cooking traditions of the Jewish people. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws (kashrut) and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions. Jewish cooking has also been influenced by the economics, agriculture, and culinary traditions of the many countries where Jewish communities have existed since Late Antiquity. Kashrut and holiday traditions provide unifying elements in the cuisine, while geographic dispersion has led to a diversity of styles. Read More: > HERE <
Claudia Roden, author of The Book of Jewish Food, has done more than simply compile a cookbook of Jewish recipes–she has produced a history of the Jewish diaspora, told through its cuisine. The book’s 800 recipes reflect many cultures and regions of the world, from the Jewish quarter of Cairo where Roden spent her childhood to the kitchens of Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Both Ashkenazi and Sepharidic cooking are well represented here: hallah bread, bagels, blintzes, and kugels give way to tabbouleh, falafel, and succulent lamb with prunes, which are, in turn, succeeded by such fare as Ftut (Yemeni wedding soup) and Kahk (savory bracelets).
The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York: Interwoven throughout the text are Roden’s charming asides–the history of certain foods, definitions (Kaimak, for instance, is the cream that rises to the top when buffalo milk is simmered), and ways of preparing everything from an eggplant to a quince. In addition, Roden tells you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Jewish dietary laws, what the ancient Hebrews ate, and the various holidays and festivals on the Jewish calendar. Detailed sections on Jewish history are beautifully illustrated with archival photographs of families, towns, and, of course, food. The Book of Jewish Food is one that any serious cook–Jewish and non-Jewish alike–would gladly have (and use often) in the kitchen. Buy this Book: > HERE <
From Publishers Weekly – As the biblical echo of the title indicates, this collection is as instructive and comprehensive as a textbook. Roden (Mediterranean Cookery, etc.) divides the territory in two parts: “The Ashkenazi World” and “The Sephardi World.” She chronicles the lives of Jews all over the world in short segments on unusual Jewish communities past and present, such as those of Salonika, Greece, and China. These sections, and the many other notes on subjects ranging from the New York Deli to salt herring are gems. Recipes are numerous and diverse: Yellow Split Pea Soup with Frankfurters, Pumpkin Tzimmes, Small Red Kidney Beans with Sour Plum Sauce, Cold Stuffed Vine Leaves, and Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce. Some highlights include the chapter on Sephardic breads (Algerian Anise Bread, North African Sweet Breads with Nuts and Raisins) and the one on Ashkenazic desserts (Mandelbrot, Hanukah Jam Doughnuts). All of this can be a little overwhelming at times (and, as Roden acknowledges in the introduction, many Jewish foods simply reflected the cuisines of the places where Jews were living rather than their own specific culture). Yet with few omissions (e.g., the instructions for making pasta specify rolling out the dough “as thin as possible” but don’t explain how), Roden proves a practiced, reliable guide.
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The Maccabi World Union is an international Jewish sports organisation spanning 5 continents and more than 50 countries, and boasting some 400,000 members. Maccabi World Union organises the Maccabiah Games, a prominent international Jewish athletics event. The organisation comprises six confederations: Maccabi Israel, European Maccabi confederation, confederation Maccabi North America, confederation Maccabi Latin America, Maccabi South Africa and Maccabi Australia.
The origin of the word is not clear but the common opinion is that the word “Maccabi” (מכבי) is an acronym of the biblical sentence: “Who is like unto Thee, O LORD, among the mighty?” (Exodus 15:11), in Hebrew: “‘מי כמוך באלים י”, “Mi kamocha ba’elim YHWH”. Read More: > HERE <
YHWH – Yahweh is the personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible. This form is a modern scholarly convention: Hebrew scripts write it as four consonants, rendered in Roman letters as YHWH, due to the fact that most alphabets, prior the Greek alphabet, did not display vowels, and required that vowels be mentally pronounced in the proper places. The most likely meaning of the name may be “He Brings Into Existence Whatever Exists,” but there are many theories and none is regarded as conclusive by scholars. Read more: > HERE <
Mission statement - European Maccabi Games – Vienna 2011 – The Maccabi Games are the biggest Jewish sports events and are organized in a similar way to the Olympic Games. The Games are one of the five biggest international sporting events worldwide.
The Israel Maccabiah is organized by the Maccabi World Union (MWU), which is the umbrella organization overseeing all regional Maccabi unions. Although the history of the Maccabi Games is not as old as the Olympic Games the first Maccabiah did take place in Tel Aviv as far back as 1932. Meanwhile the Maccabiah has become a sporting anchor event which takes place regularly every four years in Israel.
The European Maccabi Games – Exciting and in our case very interesting are the European Maccabi Games. They also take place every four years, however always two years after the Maccabiah in Israel.
The participating European Delegations send their best Jewish athletes to this event. The organization of the Games is carried out in very close cooperation with the European Maccabi Confederation (which currently has 36 member nations) and the national Maccabi Confederation (in Austria the Jewish Sport Union, to which the Unions of the Hakoah Vienna and Maccabi Vienna belong).
17th Maccabiah Games To Love To Live To Win – — Go to www.maccabiusa.com to learn how you can compete in the 18th Maccabiah Games in July 2009.
The “White Horse Olympics” – It was in 1932 that the first Maccabiah was held in Mandate-era Palestine. Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv, decided to lead a parade in honour of the Games riding his notorious white horse, and that is why the event is remembered as the ”White Horse Olympics”. In order to spread the news of the first Maccabiah to the world, 120 pigeons, ten for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, were released.
Maccabi and Politics - Due to the rise of Nazism, World War II and the Holocaust, the Maccabi movement suffered a setback. A large group of Young Maccabi members decided to join the British Army during the Second World War. Many served in the Underground Movement and subsequently were active in the establishment of the new State of Israel.
In the early nineties, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Maccabi has played an important role in ending the isolation of Jews in Eastern Europe and given fresh impetus in the former Soviet republics.
Taoism (or Daoism) refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions that have influenced Eastern Asia for more than two millennia, and have had a notable influence on the western world particularly since the 19th century. The word 道, Tao (or Dao, depending on the romanization scheme), literally translates as, “path” or “way” (of life), although in Chinese folk religion and philosophy it carries more abstract meanings. Taoist propriety and ethics emphasize the Three Jewels of the Tao: compassion, moderation, and humility, while Taoist thought generally focuses on nature, the relationship between humanity and the cosmos (天人相应), health and longevity, and wu wei (action through inaction), which is thought to produce harmony with the Universe. Read More: > HERE <
Tao (pronounced “Dow”) can be roughly translated into English as path, or the way. It is basically indefinable. It has to be experienced. It “refers to a power which envelops, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living. The Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites (i.e. there would be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female.)”
The founder of Taoism is believed by many religious historians to be Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), whose life overlapped that of Confucius (551-479 BCE). (Alternative spellings: Lao Tze, Lao Tsu, Lao Tzu, Laozi, Laotze, etc.). However other historians suggest that he is a synthesis of a number of historical figures. Others suggest that he was a mythical figure. Still others suggest that he lived in the 4th century BCE.
He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime. The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching (a.k.a. Daodejing). Others believe that he is a mythical character.
A Taoist priest (Sai Kong) chanting the scripture in Hokkien for the Nine Emperor Gods Festival in Tao Bo Keong, Penang.
Taoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion. At that time Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became one of the three great religions of China. With the end of the Ch’ing Dynasty in 1911, state support for Taoism ended. Much of the Taoist heritage was destroyed during the next period of warlordism. After the Communist victory in 1949, religious freedom was severely restricted. “The new government put monks to manual labor, confiscated temples, and plundered treasures. Several million monks were reduced to fewer than 50,000″ by 1960. 3 During the cultural revolution in China from 1966 to 1976, much of the remaining Taoist heritage was destroyed. Some religious tolerance has been restored under Deng Xiao-ping from 1982 to the present time.
Taoism currently has about 20 million followers, and is primarily centered in Taiwan. About 30,000 Taoists live in North America; 1,720 in Canada (1991 census).
Taoism has had a significant impact on North American culture in areas of “acupuncture, herbalism, holistic medicine, meditation and martial arts…
The Yin Yang symbol: This is a well known Taoist symbol. “It represents the balance of opposites in the universe. When they are equally present, all is calm. When one is outweighed by the other, there is confusion and disarray.” One source explains that it was derived from astronomical observations which recorded the shadow of the sun throughout a full year. The two swirling shapes inside the symbol give the impression of change — the only constant factor in the universe. One tradition states that Yin (the dark side) represents the breath that formed the earth. Yang (the light side) symbolizes the breath that formed the heavens.
One source states: “The most traditional view is that ‘yin’ represents aspects of the feminine: being soft, cool, calm, introspective, and healing… and “yang” the masculine: being hard, hot, energetic, moving, and sometimes aggressive. Another view has the ‘yin’ representing night and ‘yang’ day.
Another source offers a different definition: A common misconception in the west is that “…yin is soft and passive and yang is hard and energetic. Really it is yang that is soft and yin that is hard, this is because yang is energetic and yin is passive. Yin is like a rock and yang is like water or air, rock is heavy and hard and air is soft and energetic.”
Allan Watts, describes the yin and yang as negative and positive energy poles: “The ideograms indicate the sunny and shady sides of a hill….They are associated with the masculine and the feminine, the firm and the yielding, the strong and the weak, the light and the dark, the rising and the falling, heaven and earth, and they are even recognized in such everyday matters as cooking as the spicy and the bland.”
However, since nothing in nature is purely black or purely white, the symbol includes a small black spot in the white swirl, and a corresponding white spot in the black swirl.
Ultimately, the ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ can symbolize any two polarized forces in nature. Taosts believe that humans often intervene in nature and upset the balance of Yin and Yang. Full Article: http://www.religioustolerance.org
108 Upanishads | Vedanta Spiritual Library
Mess.166: A Holy Trip to Arunachaleshwara
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Śrī Vidyā (also spelled “Shri Vidya”) is the name of a Hindu religious system devoted to the goddess Lalitā Tripurasundarī or simply Tripurasundarī (’Beautiful Goddess of the Three Cities’). According to British scholar Gavin Flood she is a tantric form of the goddess Śrī (also called Lakṣmī), consort of Vishnu. However, the late orthodox leader of the largest Samaya school of Śrī Vidyā, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal, says that the Śrī in Śrī Vidyā is a title of respect meaning The Vidyā and has no connotation to Lakṣmī. And Indian scholar V.R. Ramachandra Dikshitar states she is a form of Durga or Paravati, consort of Shiva , as well as several names from the Lalitā Sahasranāma which call her the beloved of Shiva. The Sanskrit word vidyā means “knowledge” or “lore.” A thousand names for this form of Devī are recited in the Lalitā Sahasranāma, which includes Śrī Vidyā concepts. Read More: > HERE <
The Sri Yantra (shown here in the three-dimensional projection known as Sri Meru Chakra or Maha Meru used mainly in rituals of the Srividya Shakta sects) is central to most Tantric forms of Shaktism.
Meru Chakras are frequently a central focus and ritual object for this worship of the Goddess. They are a more potent form of the Sri Yantra, since they are three-dimensional. Meru Chakras can be found in rock crystal and in metal, often a traditional panchaloha formula of silver, antimony, copper, zinc, and pewter, which enhances the flow and generation of Sri’s beneficial energies, covered in gold.
In the theology of the Śrī Vidyā the goddess is supreme, transcending the cosmos which is a manifestation of her. The school has an extensive literature of its own. The details of the beliefs vary in different texts, but the general principles are similar to those found in Kashmir Shaivism.
The goddess is worshipped in the form of a mystical diagram (Sanskrit: yantra) of nine intersecting triangles, called the śrīcakra (”Chakra of Śrī”) that is the central icon of the tradition.
SRI CHAKRA by S. SHANKARANARAYANAN – SRI CHAKRA, the king of chakras is a master plan of manifestation drawn by the divine Draughtsman on the board of the infinite, a transcript of the Transcendent, a symbol-image of the supernal verities. The spiritual and occult tradition of the worship of the Mother Goddess and the Sadhana of Srividhya are explained in sixteen chapters in terms of modern thought and understanding. Based on authentic and authoritative Tantric texts the exposition in English is inspiring and original, almost a classic in the field of esoteric literature.
About the Author: Though his academic attainments are in Mathematics and his professional interests lie in a specialised field of industrial management, Sri S. Shankaranarayan has retained his first love for Sanskrit. In his childhood he was introduced to the ancient Sanskrit lore by his grandfather, Sri S. Narayana Iyer, who was himself a deep initiate in Sri Vidya, Later he came under the dynamic influence of Sri Kapali Sastriar. Shankaranarayanan cherishes a special regard for this tradition of the worship of the Divine Mother and his treatises on Devi Mahatmyam-both in Tamil and English have acquired an authenticity of their own. The present work on Sri Cakra, revealing as it does the depth of his scholarship, practical insight and occult knowledge, promises to be a classic on the subject. Endowed with luminous intellect, well-versed in the modes of esoteric worship and awake with an active spiritual aspiration, Shankaranarayanan is marked out to play a singular role in the resuscitation of the spiritual and occult tradition of India in terms of modern thought and understanding. -M. P. PANDIT
Buy the Book here: > www.exoticindiaart.com
Tibetan medicine is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior and dietary modification, medicines composed of natural materials (e.g., herbs and minerals) and physical therapies (e.g. Tibetan acupuncture, moxabustion, etc.) to treat illness. The Tibetan medical system is based upon a synthesis of the Indian (Ayurveda), Persian (Unani), Greek, indigenous Tibetan, and Chinese medical systems, and it continues to be practiced in Tibet, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Ladakh, Siberia, China and Mongolia, as well as more recently in parts of Europe and North America. It embraces the traditional Buddhist belief that all illness ultimately results from the “three poisons” of the mind: ignorance, attachment and aversion. Read more: > Here <
The first illustrated guide to this holistic healing system, The Book of Tibetan Medicine, explains how the ancient Tibetan medical wisdom can be used to achieve spiritual well being in the modern world. Forward by His Holiness The 17th Karmapa.
Tibetan Medicine is an ancient medical system that has been successfully practiced for over 1,000 years and saved by His Holiness The Dalai Lama. A holistic approach combining dietary and behavioral changes, herbal cures, massage and meditation, this unique approach to healing utilizes the ancient wisdom of Tibetan masters. As well as the science of Tantric Buddhism.
http://thebookoftibetanmedicine.blogspot.com/ www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/medicine-books.htm
The Book of Tibetan Medicine is now available in 11 languages worldwide. The forward has been written by His Holiness The 17th Karmapa. The book has been given excellent reviews by Shambhala Magazine, Mandala Magazine and Yoga Abode to name a few. The author is Ralph Quinlan Forde – Holistic Medicine Consultant – who is the founder of The Medicine Buddha Foundation.
http://www.myspace.com/lamagyurme
Lama Gyurme (born in 1948), or Lama Gyourmé, is a Buddhist Bhutanese monk and musician. He has lived in France since 1974, and he is the director of the Kagyu-Dzong center in Paris and, since 1982, the Vajradhara-Ling center in Normandy. Read More: > HERE <
Born in Bhutan in 1948, he was entrusted by his family at the age of four to the monastery of Djang Tchub Tcheu Ling in Bhutan where his interest in sacred music appeared quickly. At the age of nine, he became a permanent resident of the monastery where he received Buddhist teachings, completed by an initiation to traditional arts, including music.
At the age of 20, he followed his first spiritual retreat of three years, three months and three days, necessary to the formation of Lama, at the monastery of Sonada in India of which the director is Kalu Rinpoche. During this retreat, he was given the title of “Oumze” — master of music — by Kalu Rinpoche. After a stay at the monastery of Rumtek in Sikkim, he fulfilled his religious education in Bhutan before obtaining his diploma of teacher of the Kagyupa tradition that was given to him by the 16th Karmapa.
Lama Gyurme – For the Light
In 1995 and in 1998, Gyurme went on a pilgrimage to Tibet and visited the 17th Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje in the Monastery of Tsurphu. He presented him his project of construction of the Temple for Peace.
Gyurme also participated in the music of the 1999 film Himalaya’.
www.littlelama.org Little Lama at fb
http://architecturefortibet.org
Light of Compassion: A Spectacular Evening for a Noble Cause – Come join our Circle of Friends at the Rubin Museum of Art, a treasure of architecture in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, to celebrate the accomplishments of the Manjushree Orphanage and Free School in Tawang, India — and to help fund a planned Academic Center. An optimal learning environment will foster academic success and enable these disadvantaged children to flourish.
WHEN: Tuesday, May 25, 6pm to 9pm
WHERE: Rubin Museum of Art (150 West 17th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues)
New York, NY
Time: Tuesday, May 25, 2010, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
WHAT: A Gala Reception with open bar. Vikas Khanna’s famously tasty hors d’oeuvres. A Silent Auction (starting at 6pm sharp) with unique offerings from the travel, culinary and fashion industries. A special musical performance by Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo. > Listen to Yungchen´s Music <
Exclusive guided tours of the Rubin Museum galleries. And a presentation of the impressive building project designed for the children of Manjushree Orphanage. An all around incredible experience in the service of a noble cause.
To date, Robert Thurman, noted Buddhist scholar; Lobsang Nyandak, representative to His Holiness the Dalai Lama; and Dr. Tatsumura Hillyer of Tibet House are scheduled to speak.
http://sthk.dabis.cc/ (Online Library)
For USA see:
For Europe, Asia, Australia & South America see:
Heiligenkreuz Abbey (Stift Heiligenkreuz, Closter Heiligen Creyz or Santa Crux) is a Cistercian monastery in the village of Heiligenkreuz in the southern part of the Vienna woods, eight miles north-west of Baden in Lower Austria. It has existed without interruption since its foundation in 1133 and is thus the second oldest continuously occupied Cistercian monastery in the world. The monastery was founded in 1133 by Margrave Leopold III of Austria, also known as Saint Leopold, at the request of his son Otto, abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Morimond in Burgundy and afterwards Bishop of Freising. Its first twelve monks together with their abbot, Gottschalk, came from Morimond at the request of Leopold III. The date of consecration was 11 September 1133. They started by clearing the wood and tilling the land. They introduced the Christian faith into the region. They called their abbey Heiligenkreuz (Holy Cross) as a sign of their devotion to redemption by the Cross. On 31 May 1188 Leopold V of Austria presented the abbey with a relic of the True Cross, which is still to be seen and since 1983 is exhibited in the chapel of the Holy Cross. This relic was a present from Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, King of Jerusalem to duke Leopold V in 1182. Read More: > HERE <
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services. It is named after Pope Gregory I, Bishop of Rome from 590 to 604, who is traditionally credited for having ordered the simplification and cataloging of music assigned to specific celebrations in the church calendar. The resulting body of music is the first to be notated in a system ancestral to modern musical notation. In general, the chants were learned by the viva voce method, that is, by following the given example orally, which took many years of experience in the Schola Cantorum. Read More: > HERE <
CHANT – MUSIC FOR PARADISE - You can find a lot of information about us and the making of the album “Chant – Music for Paradise” –> here. There is even more information about the album –> here (but this is in German).
If you are looking for pictures of our prayer and work on the album, just click –> here.
You will find even more pictures of our beautiful abbey and also of our monastic life in the service of God –> here. Just open each picture and click on the symbol in the right edge above to download. The download is free.
The sensational YouTube video by Brother Martin.You just have to see it! God bless you.
If you are a journalist and wish to interview some monk from Stift Heiligenkreuz about the album please do not call the monastery direct, but:
For international media (outside Austria): Ed SCOTT (Director Of International Promotions – UM Group International) Tel +44 207 471-5646, Fax +44 207 471-5683 mobile +44 7785 950 792, E-Mail: Ed.Scott(at)umusic.com
For Austrian media: Anna TSCHIRKO (Promotion Manager – Universal Music Austria), A-1010 Wien, Schwarzenbergplatz 2, Tel +43 1 81121-211, Fax: +43-1-81121-232;, Mobile: 0664-8294558 , E-Mail: anna.tschirko(at)umusic.com
Iyengar Vedic Students 1909
The World’s First Sage Patanjali temple
“Health is firmness in body, stability in mind, and clarity in thinking. If a mirror is clean, it reflects objects clearly….health is the mirror of man.” – B.K.S. Iyengar
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (Kannada: ಬೆಳ್ಳೂರ್ ಕೃಷ್ಣಮಾಚಾರ್ ಸುಂದರರಾಜ ಐಯಂಗಾರ್, Tamil: பெல்லூர் கிருஷ்ணமாச்சார் சௌந்தரராஜா ஐயங்கார்), (generally known as Yogacharya B. K. S. Iyengar) (Born December 14, 1918 in Bellur, Kolar District, Karnataka, India) is the founder of Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written many books on yogic practice and philosophy, and is best known for his books Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. He has also written several definitive yoga texts. Iyengar yoga centers are located throughout the world, and it is believed that millions of students practice Iyengar Yoga.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002. In 2004, Iyengar was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine. Read More: > HERE <
The Patanjala Yoga Kendra was established in 1993 on the banks of the Holy River Ganges in Rishikesh, the world capital of Yoga. The method of Yoga that is taught is Iyengar Yoga, as developed and taught by Shri Guruji, B.K.S. Iyengar, the world-famous Yoga Teacher. Guruji’s method is firmly based in the ancient Indian tradition of Yoga as defined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Usha Devi is the resident Yoga Instructor.
Iyengar Yoga teaches strength and stamina, flexibility and balance, concentration and meditation. Iyengar Yoga begins with physical awareness, but goes beyond to embrace emotional and spiritual growth. As students learn to extend consciousness to each part of their bodies, they experience a concentrated focus on the moment. In time, this concentrated focus (Pratyahara) becomes an integral part not just of a yoga practice, but of daily life.
Welcome to Save Ganga Movement – A Gandhian Non-violent Movement to Save the Ganga, symbolizing all rivers and water bodies and the Giriraj Himalayas, symbolizing all mountains, forests and wildlife. Gandhi symbolizes a culture of Truth and non-violence, i.e. a culture of pursuit of ethical perfection as the ultimate goal of life and pursuit of selfless ethical life of universal love as it’s means. The Surest and Perhaps the Only Solution to Our Impending Catastrophic Global Ecological Crises: Go Through Gandhi the Apostle of Truth and Non-violence of our Age.
Systematische Übersicht der Materia medica homeopathica
Stiftsbibliothek Admont/Monastery Library
( Herbal garden, handwritten Materia Medica, Monastery Guide etc.)
Abū ‘Alī al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā’, known as Abū Alī Sīnā(Persian: ابوعلی سینا) or, more commonly, Ibn Sīnā(Arabic: ابن سینا), but most commonly known in English by his Latinized name Avicenna (Greek: Aβιτζιανός, Avitzianós), (c. 980 – 1037) was a polymath of Persian origin and the foremost physician and philosopher of his time. He was also an astronomer, chemist, geologist, Hafiz, Islamic psychologist, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, logician, paleontologist, mathematician, Maktab teacher, physicist, poet, and scientist.
Ibn Sīnā studied medicine under a physician named Koushyar. He wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived. In particular, 150 of his surviving treatises concentrate on philosophy and 40 of them concentrate on medicine.His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopaedia, and The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard medical text at many medieval universities. Read More: > HERE <
Materia medica is a Latin medical term for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing (i.e., medicines). In Latin, the term literally means “medical material/substance”. The term was used from the period of the Roman Empire until the twentieth century, but has now been generally replaced in medical education contexts by the term pharmacology. Read More: > HERE <
Ibnsina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences - Abu Ali Ibn Sina is a well-known personality among the physicians of Unani medicine and scientists of physical sciences since medieval times. To commemorate and to institutionalize an academy named after him, Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine & Sciences, was founded on March 1, 2000. The Academy has been registered under Indian Trusts Act, 1882 on August 14, 2000. Mr. M. Hamid Ansari, Vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh formally inaugurated it, on April 20, 2001. Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India gave accreditation to the academy in 2004. The Academy is now a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organization with multiple aims and objectives.
Abu Ali al-Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina was born in 980 A.D. at Afshaneh near Bukhara. The young Bu Ali received his early education in Bukhara, and by the age of ten had become well versed in the study of the Qur’an and various sciences. He started studying philosophy by reading various Greek, Muslim and other books on this subject and learnt logic and some other subjects from Abu Abdallah Natili, a famous philosopher of the time. While still young, he attained such a degree of expertise in medicine that his renown spread far and wide. At the age of 17, he was fortunate in curing Nooh Ibn Mansoor, the King of Bukhhara, of an illness in which all the well-known physicians had given up hope. On his recovery, the King wished to reward him, but the young physician only desired permission to use his uniquely stocked library.
He was the most famous physician, philosopher, encyclopaedist, mathematician and astronomer of his time. His major contribution to medical science was his famous book al-Qanun, known as the “Canon” in the West. The Qanun fi al-Tibb is an immense encyclopaedia of medicine extending over a million words. It surveyed the entire medical knowledge available from ancient and Muslim sources. Due to its systematic approach, “formal perfection as well as its intrinsic value, the Qanun superseded Razi’s Hawi, Ali Ibn Abbas’s Maliki, and even the works of Galen, and remained supreme for six centuries”. In addition to bringing together the then available knowledge, the book is rich with the author’s original eontribution. His important original contribution includes such advances as recognition of the contagious nature of phthisis and tuberculosis; distribution of diseases by water and soil, and interaction between psychology and health.
In addition to describing pharmacological methods, the book described 760 drugs and became the most authentic materia medica of the era. He was also the first to describe meningitis and made rich contributions to anatomy, gynaecology and child health.
Avicenna wrote 99 books, almost all in Arabic, the language of religious and scientific expression in the entire Muslim world at that time. However, two of his works, the `Daneshnameh-e-Alai’ (Encylopedia of philosophical sciences) and a small treatise on the pulse, were written in Farsi, his native language. He wrote about natural philosophy and astronomy, theology and metaphysics, medicine, psychology, music, mathematics and physical sciences and he is also the reported author of Persian quatrains and short poems:
“Up from Earth’s Centre through the Seventh Gate I rose, and on the Throne of Saturn sate, And many a knot unravelled by the Road, But not the Master-knot of Human Fate.”
His philosophical encyclopaedia Kitab al-Shifa was a monumental work, embodying a vast field of knowledge from philosophy to science. He classified the entire field as follows: theoretical knowledge: physics, mathematics and metaphysics; and practical knowledge: ethics, economics and politics. His philosophy synthesises Aristotelian tradition, Neoplatonic influences and Muslim theology.
Ibn Sina also contributed to mathematics, physics, music and other fields. He explained the “casting out of nines” and its application to the verification of squares and cubes. He made several astronomical observations, and devised a contrivance similar to the vernier, to increase the precision of instrumental readings. In physics, his contribution comprised the study of different forms of energy, heat, light and mechanical, and such concepts as force, vacuum and infinity. He made the important observation that if the perception of light is due to the emission of some sort of particles by the luminous source, the speed of light must be finite. He propounded an interconnection between time and motion, and also made investigations on specific gravity and used an air thermometer.
In the field of music, his contribution was an improvement over Farabi’s work and was far ahead of knowledge prevailing else- where on the subject. Doubling with the fourth and fifth was a ‘great’ step towards the harmonic system and doubling with the third seems to have also been allowed. Ibn Sina observed that in the series of consonances represented by (n + 1)/n, the ear is unable to distinguish them when n = 45. In the field of chemistry, he did not believe in the possibility of chemical transmutation because, in his opinion, the metals differed in a fundamental sense. These views were radically opposed to those prevailing at the time. His treatise on minerals was one of the “main” sources of geology of the Christian encyclopaedists of the thirteenth century. Besides Shifa his well-known treatises in philosophy are al-Najat and Isharat.
Neveh Shalom – Dwelling Place of Peace - was one of the first synagogues built in Spanish Town, Jamaica during the 17th century. The Neveh Shalom Institute is chartered to promote projects to preserve the history, culture, and artifacts of the Jewish existence in, and contribution to Jamaica, from the 17th century. > “Holy Congregation Dwelling Place of Peace” <
The Jüdisches Museum Wien, or the Jewish Museum Vienna, is a museum of Jewish history, life and religion in Austria. The present museum was founded in 1988 in the Palais Eskeles in the Dorotheergasse, Vienna, and has distinguished itself by a very active programme of exhibitions. Read More: > HERE <
Sephardi Jews (Hebrew: סְפָרַדִּי, Modern Sefaraddi Tiberian Səp̄āraddî, plural: Hebrew: סְפָרַדִּים, Modern Sefaraddim Tiberian Səp̄āraddîm; Spanish Sefardíes; Portuguese Sefarditas, Greek Σεφάρδοι Sefardoi, Bulgarian сефаради sefaradi, Turkish Sefarad, Judaeo-Spanish Sefardies, Arabic: سفارديون) are Jews who define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and traditions which originated in the Iberian Peninsula before the expulsion of Jews from that area in the late fifteenth century (after Islam left it), and usually defined in contrast to Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews. The Sephardim have distinguished themselves as physicians and statesmen, and have won the favor of rulers and princes, in both the Christian and the Islamic world. That the Sephardim were selected for prominent positions in every country in which they settled was only in part due to the fact that Spanish had become a world-language through the expansion of Spain into the world spanning Spanish Empire—the cosmopolitan cultural background after long associations with Islamic scholars of the Sephardic families also made them extremely well educated for the times, even well into the European Enlightenment. Read More: > HERE <
The year 1492 was a fateful one for Spain. It was the year in which the Reconquista finally ended eight hundred years of Arab Muslim rule, the Jews were expelled from the country, and Christopher Columbus set off on a journey that was to lead to the discovery of the New World.
The exhibition “The Turks in Vienna” looks at the impact of one of these significant historical events that marked the end of the Middle Ages in Europe, namely the expulsion from Spain of the Jews, who found refuge in North Africa, some Italian cities and, above all, in the Ottoman Empire. They fled initially to Portugal before leaving the Iberian Peninsula for Holland and northern Germany. Following the Ottoman conquests, Jews of Spanish descent-called “Sephardim”-were able to form culturally and economically significant communities in the Balkans. There were contacts between the Jews in Vienna and the Sephardim, or Turkish Jews, even during the era of the ghetto in Unterer Werd, but it was not until the peace treaties between the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire in the first half of the eighteenth century that Turkish Jews were able to move freely in the Habsburg Empire.
After the establishment of the Turkish Jewish community in Vienna, an imperial patent gave it permission to hold religious services. The community had its prayer house from the outset in the 2nd district. In 1887, the impressive Moorish-style Sephardic-Turkish temple was inaugurated in Zirkusgasse, with portraits of the Habsburg and Ottoman regents in the foyer as indication of the community’s loyalty to both rulers and countries. In November 1938, this jewel of Jewish sacral architecture was destroyed along with practically all other synagogues and Jewish prayer houses in Vienna, and most of the community was subsequently deported and exterminated.
The Sephardic Jews in Vienna were in many ways communicators between East and West, Orient and Occident, Asia and Europe, a role that was performed in the first place as merchants and dealers importing wool and cotton, silk and tobacco, sugar and spices to the West. Their function as active exponents of the Austrian post office in Constantinople and the Levant, Austrian Lloyd, and the Orient Express is also highlighted in the exhibition “The Turks in Vienna.”
The Sephardic Turks played this communicating role at the cultural level as well. They set up the first printing works in Constantinople and the Sephardic press in Vienna. There rabbinical tradition also received significant stimulus from the Sephardic Jews. The treasures of medieval Spanish-Turkish poetry were passed on and translated, and the Sephardim were also responsible for developing Jewish mysticism. Moreover, they were the first to make Arab philosophy and medicine available to the Western world. Sephardic scholars became famous as scientists and rabbis, as translators, philosophers, and Hebrew studies specialists. Sephardic publishers distributed their writings throughout the Ladino-speaking world and produced writers of the caliber of Elias Canetti, to mention but one example. Info: www.jmw.at
All of these facets of the Sephardic Diaspora and its contribution to the cultural history of the Eastern and Western world can be seen in the exhibition “The Turks in Vienna” from May 12 to October 31, 2010, at the Jewish Museum Vienna.
The > Türkischer Tempel < (English: Turkish Temple) was a synagogue in Vienna. It was built specifically for a community of Sephardi Jews, who originally came from Turkey. The synagogue was built in a Turkish, almost Islamic style, with a dome. The building was destroyed during the Reichskristallnacht in 1938.
Sephardic music has its roots in the musical traditions of the Jewish communities in medieval Spain. Since then, it has picked up influences from Morocco, Argentina, Turkey, Greece, and the other places that Spanish Jews settled after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. There are three types of Sephardic songs — topical and entertainment songs, romance songs and spiritual or ceremonial songs. Lyrics can be in several languages, including Hebrew for religious songs, and Ladino.
KHALIL GIBRAN – Works, Arts & Museum
Maronite Center for Documentation & Research
http://www.tlig.org/en/interreligious/
* A 1920 photograph of four prominent members of The Pen League (from left to right): Nasib ‘Arida, Kahlil Gibran, ‘Abd al-Masih Haddad, and Mikhail Naimy.
Khalil Gibran (born Gubran Khalil Gubran bin Mikhā’īl bin Sa’ad; Arabic جبران خليل جبران بن ميکائيل بن سعد, January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931) also known as Kahlil Gibran, was a Lebanese American artist, poet, and writer. Born in the town of Bsharri in modern-day Lebanon (then part of the Ottoman Mount Lebanon mutasarrifate), as a young man he emigrated with his family to the United States where he studied art and began his literary career. He is chiefly known for his 1923 book The Prophet, a series of philosophical essays written in English prose. An early example of Inspirational fiction, the book sold well despite a cool critical reception, and became extremely popular in the 1960s counterculture.Gibran is considered to be the third most widely read poet in history, behind Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu. Gibran was born in the Christian Maronite town of Bsharri (in modern day northern Lebanon) to the daughter of a Maronite priest. Read More: > HERE <
The Maronite Church (Arabic: الموارنة, Turkish: Maruni, Syriac: ܡܪܘܢܝܐ, Latin: Ecclesia Maronitarum) is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. It traces its heritage back to the community founded by Maron, an early 5th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint. The first Maronite Patriarch, John Maron, was elected in the late 7th century. Before the conquest by Arabian Muslims reached Lebanon, the Lebanese people including those who would become Muslim and the majority who would remain Christian, spoke a dialect of Aramaic.Syriac (Christian Aramaic) still remains the liturgical language of the Maronite Church.The members of the Maronite Church are a part of the Syriac people. Read More: > HERE <
Kahlil Gibran – The Prophet - Much of Gibran’s writings deal with Christianity, especially on the topic of spiritual love. His poetry is notable for its use of formal language, as well as insights on topics of life using spiritual terms. Gibran’s best-known work is The Prophet, a book composed of twenty-six poetic essays. The book became especially popular during the 1960s with the American counterculture and New Age movements. Since it was first published in 1923, The Prophet has never been out of print. Having been translated into more than forty languages, it was one of the bestselling books of the twentieth century in the United States.
Khalil Gibran – A Retrospective
The Prophet is a book of prose poetry that made its Lebanese-American author famous. Commonly found in gift shops and frequently quoted at weddings or any occasion where uplifting ’spiritual’ thoughts are required, the work has never been a favorite of intellectuals – to some readers it may seem a bit twee or pompous – yet its author was a genuine artist and scholar (see bio, below right) whose wisdom was hard-earned.
The Prophet provides timeless spiritual wisdom on a range of subjects, including giving, eating and drinking, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, teaching, time, pleasure, religion, death, beauty and friendship. Corresponding to each chapter are evocative drawings by Gibran himself.
Final word - Taken as a whole, Gibran’s book is a metaphor for the mystery of life: we come into the world and go b
