Eastern+Philosophy

Eastern philosophy
 * ** The Beginning ** || ** The Atmosphere ** || ** The Present ** ||
 * Race || Philosophy || Heritages ||
 * History || Culture || Tradition ||
 * Religion || Physical Geography || Games/sport ||
 * Society || Environment || Law ||
 * Birth of civilization || Weather || Food ||
 * Mentality of human || Livelihood || Lifestyle ||
 * Dress ||  || Education ||
 * Language ||  ||   ||
 * Civilization ||  ||   ||


 * Group A- Sahil, Sanjeeda, Binte and Lavlu (Atmosphere) **
 * Group B- Khaled, Mahmuda, Marufa and Orpita (Beginning) **
 * Group C- Sara, Sufia, Tanjina and Nadia, Mahmuda (The present) **


 * Discussion of Group A (The Atmosphere): **

2. In Western culture, the term Eastern Philosophy refers very broadly to the various philosophies of "the East," namely Asia, including China, India, and Japan. 3. Eastern thought developed independently of Western and Islamic thought, but has greatly influenced both in Modern times. 4. Eastern Philosophy does not have the rigid academic traditions found as in the Western way of thinking. || 2. Enough blabbering, lets’ simplify- if we ask ourselves, what culture are we really following? We will end up saying- we are motivated more by the westerners and leaving behind our eastern heritages. Thanks to the media and the paper fashion magazines! Well, if we believe Philosophy is the belief that a target/goal can be achieved through following certain guidelines/directions/steps. It is the mindset of people through which they believe on ways to live and make a living. Then we are dwelling on an uneven ground. How? With change in fashion comes change in our thought process. For example- a guy wearing lungi will not jump off stairs; he will climb down- in fear of ‘you know what’, while a guy wearing jeans will gallop down the stairs because he doesn’t have that ‘fear’. 3. It is our belief that is affecting our culture our thought process. Gradually, the culture as a whole is undergoing a philosophical change- in terms of how we live, our manner, our thought process and what not. || 2. Let’s simplify- Assume there were no oceans, no rivers or water-mass separating us from the land masses surrounding the Asia continent. What impact would that have brought to our philosophy? # Let’s begin with how it would have helped us. * Communication made easy  2. Now, let’s look at the loopholes: * There would been population movement from foreign land as well resulting in a mix of culture For example, a Chinese man marrying a Bangladeshi bride will certainly face obstacles in coping up with the tradition and to some extent the bride will have to cope up with the Chinese traditions. With tradition come philosophies. Just to remind, philosophies are beliefs, thoughts on how to do things the right way. It differs from one culture to the other. With this we can conclude that physical geography has barred us from mixing philosophies. || ** A. **** [|Dry climates] ** Now what has these got to do with the eastern philosophies one may ponder? Suppose all the peoples of Dhanmondi (or wherever you live) are transferred to the sub-tropical Sahara Dessert with supplies which would last only for a week.
 * < **The Atmosphere** ||< **Relativity with Eastern Philosophy** ||
 * < Philosophy ||< 1. Quite self-explanatory however **Eastern Philosophy** is a diverse approach to life and philosophizing, particularly centered on understanding the process of the Universe and the endless "becoming- its happenings".
 * < Culture ||< 1. In recent history how [|Socialism] and [|Communism] have tended to push people down and over run civilizations in debt and inefficiency. Yet all in all most of human history and the government structures they have chosen share many things. __All these scenarios and all the hybrids of each or all, seem to involve people who are of the ruling class who are motivated by those things humans are motivated by, similarly to those they rule, who are equally motivated by such things__//.- In other words- The rich has always run over the poor and the poor are motivated by the rich, so they too are up for ‘an eye for an eye’ leading to a silent battle for power and authority.//
 * < Physical Geography ||< 1. Physical geography equals the scientific study of the earth’s physical and biological environments and their interrelationships
 * Population movement would have been more flexible regardless of the international regulations and border constitutions (passports, visas, etc)
 * Export/import of foreign and domestic product would have multiplied leading to economical benefit
 * Cost of traveling would have come down, saving domestic income
 * Several other variables which is yet to click my mind!
 * I may not need to elaborate further on the economical, political and social attributes of this but simply put, the cultural difference will invite a philosophical change as well. Do you agree?
 * < Weather and Environment ||< The Asia Continent more or less comprise
 * B. **** [|Humid meso-thermal climate] **
 * C. **** [|Humid micro thermal climate] **

What ideas would crisscross or mind to save the supplies to last long which includes (food, medicine, clothing, etc)? Will any ideas gets generated conflict with the ethical part of you? The humane part of you? If one of the citizen aged-102 is dying and needs water. Would you provide him so? Or consider it to be a waste because he would die anyways of age and naturally will not last long in the hot Sahara sun. If you prefer the latter which is ‘let him die in peace’ ‘and save our precious water’ then didn’t the change in environment and weather has amended your ethics, your philosophies in life- live and let live?

The same way all the climatic change has one way or the other implications on our philosophical thought process. I can elaborate further if one needs. Just knock. || What do we mean by Eastern livelihood? It refers to how people of the East make their living. But what has that got to do with our philosophies? Before that let’s have an overview of the eastern civilization: i. For about 35% of the population of the East, agriculture is the main occupation ii. 47% of total cultivated area is under irrigation iii. Forests account for more than 48.41% of the total east. Now, as per the statistics above, we can guess that 65% of the eastern population has other way of livelihood, 53% of the total area is not under irrigation, and 52% of the east is not under the forest shade. These are obvious facts. How about pondering on the something more obvious and threatening? By year 2050, UN has declared that the eastern forestation would decline to 25% leading to severe threat of tsunamis, irregular vegetation, hampering tropical lifestyle, threatening animal population, etc. Today, if we judge ourselves from what contributions have we made to the environment through our livelihood; we may find ourselves in a crystal maze, searching for a delicate answer. But philosophically- we may find an answer. Through following the philosophical method of livelihood we can save nature, save earth. It is the very nature of life to strive to continue in being. Since this continuance can be secured only by constant renewals, life is a self-renewing process. Philosophy helps through giving proper guidelines to achieve the right goals in the right time. ||
 * < Livelihood ||< It is what we do to make a living. Farmers do farming, teachers teach, criminals do crime.

== I would very much expect the other groups to relate their topics to Eastern philosophy as Meherun Miss asked me to do. You may find some 'terminologies like socialism and communism' which are hard to understand at a glimpse. So, i have linked them to sites which will give you a broader definition of what they really mean. Just 'RIGHT' click on the words. ==

PLEASE POST YOUR VALUABLE COMMENTS!!! PLEASE!!!!

Thank you. Sahil


 * POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW:**

__ Sahil-Some points which crisscrossed my mind: __

__ 1. It's better if we start digging up philosophies which roamed around that period.. and which the culture is based upon. __ __ 2. Which 'physical geography' are we talking about? India? Or the whole EAST?? __ __ 3. Can anyone of my group mate please clarify what does 'environment' refers to? __ __ That would be all for now. __

__ Sz __

__binte- some questions hav to b discussed in dis page__

__1.at first we hav to know wht is called philosophy__ __2. before starting our discussion we can learn about eastern n western culture,society n environment may b this wil help us to find out any information of philosophycal atmosphere.__ __3.is philosophy is runing our life__

__binte__

__ Sz- Binte thanks for your brilliant words in the wiki. I feel proud of my team mates when they show the same level of enthusiasm as it is needed. To your first question, I hope my answers below will be able of help: __

__ "Philosophy is strictly an album by the British dance music group Coldcut released on 1993" __

__ Just kidding!! __

__ Philosophy is a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school. It is any personal belief about how to live or how to deal with a situation. (this is the book language). __

__ To me: Philosophy is what you think is prompt and ideal for a purpose. For example: Stitch in time saves nine. Is a philosophy first recorded in Thomas Fuller's Gnomologia, Adagies and Proverbs, Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British, 1732. It means- Do the right thing in the right time it will save you time and wealth. __

__ I hope I was able to put some light on your confusions. __

__ As to your second query: __ __ Eastern philosophy ranges much wider in parameters than western philosophy. If you are thinking about comparing both for our assignment- I appreciate the idea. But then we need to find some indicators through which we can compare. Ex- How the Cows of Western eat grass than their eastern brothers and sisters. So, Can you help us give any indicators to compare these two cultures and philosophies? __

__ To your third query: __ __ Philosophy is not running our lives its 'ruining' our lives, especially the 'eastern one'. __ __ On a serious note, philosophy helps us give guidelines as to 'how to live a good life'. __

__ I hope all your queries got discussed and answered. Now, SHOW ME SOME WORK!! __

__ Sz __

__ Hi, Environment may be the geographical condition. But I am confused on 'livelihood' __ __ Neela __

__ I was worried you won't participate here!!.. Anyways, better late than never. Livelihood in simpler terms means- What we do to make a living or the manner of living Ex- I go to office, earn salary with which run my family. You on the other hand do schooling to get pocket money and also the gold-smuggling business which is your prime- OOPooosss.. sorry to let out the secret. __

__** Now.. here are few steps to move ahead with our assignment- which may help our other groups (B and C) as well. **__

__** 1. Plan the content **__ __** 2. Design the content **__ __** 3. Design the content placement **__ __** 4. Prepare a presentation (may be on the yellow chart or a power presentation) **__ __** 5. Share it 'via email' among us. **__

__ Please let me know your thoughts. HEre are some tasks for all of my group mates: __

__ Binte- Dig out as much information as possible on Eastern culture, physical geography. __ __ Sanjeeda- Dig out as much information as possible on Environment and weather __ __ I'll dig out the livelihood. __

__ What you all need to do is.. prepare a 1 page summary of your findings. and send it to me via email by Wednesday. That is TOMORROW. Too short a time?? Well, DEAL WITH IT> LIFE AIN'T THAT EASY. __

__ Sz __

__sahil thks a lot ..... u r the mohan philosopher.m tryin ma best level to prepare our assignment...__ __bin__

__ Mohan or not.. I WANT THE WEDNESDAY WORK. Remember: Action speaks louder than words. __ __ Here is a PPT to help you get a good grip on the eastern civilization WHICH I BELIEVE ALL OF THE GROUPS- B AND C WILL FIND USEFUL- __ __ Sz __

__ Trying but not getting enough time. Motherhood is the most terrible time in life. Pray for me __ __ Neela __

__ Never give up. Instead- Give in!.. which means.. give your best when you think the worst is happening. As for the assignment- I see little activity of my grand team members which is demeaning. But I DON'T GIVE UP. hopefully, Meherun miss will atleast get a power presentation prepared by me this friday.No promises. I never promise. __

__Physical geography is a important part of Eastern philosophy, when the Medieval Europeans considered Asia as a continent a distinct landmass. The European concept of the three continents in the old world goes back to classical antiquity but during the Middle Ages was notably due to 7th century [|Spanish] scholar [|Isidore of Sevilla]. The demarcation between Asia and Africa is the [|Isthmus] of Suez and the [|Red Sea]. The boundary between Asia and Europe is conventionally considered to run through the [|Dardanelles], the [|Sea of Marmara], the [|Bosporus], the Black Sea, the Caucasus Mountains, the Caspian Sea, the [|Ural River] to its source and the Ural Mountains to the [|Kara Sea] near Kara, Russia. While this interpretation of tripartite continents remains common in modernity, discovery of the extent of Africa and Asia have made this definition somewhat anachronistic. This is especially true in the case of Asia, which has several [|regions] that would be considered distinct landmasses if these criteria were used (for example, [|Southern Asia] and [|Eastern Asia]).__ __In the far northeast of Asia, [|Siberia] is separated from North America by the [|Bering Strait]. Asia is bounded on the south by the [|Indian Ocean], on the east by the waters of the [|Pacific Ocean] and on the north by the [|Arctic Ocean]. Australia is to the southeast.__ __Some geographers do not consider Asia and Europe to be separate continents, as there is no logical physical separation between them. For example, Sir Barry Cunliffe, the emeritus professor of European archeology at Oxford, argues that Europe has been geographically and culturally merely "the western excrescence of the continent of Asia.Geographically, Asia is the major eastern constituent of the continent of [|Eurasia] with Europe being a northwestern [|peninsula] of the landmass–or of [|Afro-Eurasia]: geologically, Asia, Europe and Africa comprise a single continuous landmass (save the Suez Canal) and share a common [|continental shelf]. Almost all of Europe and most of Asia sit atop the [|Eurasian Plate], adjoined on the south by the [|Arabian] and [|Indian Plate] and with the easternmost part of Siberia on the [|North American Plate].__

__may be all the information helps us to prepare our assignment.__

__binte...__

__ Binte thanks for your generous contribution even under the critical condition you were in. Fortunately, I've completed that part already. However, will certainly add something more if found useful from your collected text. As i see, most of them are gathered from the internet. Answers.com! Right!?. Well, I appreciate your efforts. __

__ Thanks. __ _ I'm puffed up with pride. Know, why? Group A is experiencing sort of transformation in learning, I think! You've generated a very lively discussion, and I'm surprised to see your unity.

Sahil, your outline seems ok, but can you break down the main points in smaller sub points? That might help your members.

Binte, you've been really active in searching materials for assignment. D o you think geography influences man in deeper thoughts. When you climb a mountain, do you feel the loftiness of the mountain, and a sense of greatness in your inner being? Or when you just see a mountain from its base, you feel different? Or if you enter a cave, the silence, the emptiness of the cave can have an influence on your whole being. Can you think in this line and relate the origin of Eastern philosophy to your own explanation??


 * Binte sent her assignment through a personal e-mail and I'm posting it here for your comments. (Meherun) **

Miss

i dont know how much i satisfied u, but m sure dat i didnt tried ma best. but hop frm now i wil work for ur subjects. to me geography is one of the most impotant part of our life... its the main element of our livin. if we do not hav any geographycal issues in our life, then how do we live. in most of the time geography influences us from many ways not only thoughts. like we bron nd brought up in a perticular geographical environment, nd geography teaches us so many things.its gives us deeper thoughts and imotions also feelings to touch our nature.all the elements of the geographical environment like hills,rivers,sky,sea,soil, mountains,trees,flowers,airs etc. are helpin us to grown up nd live our life.different geographycal environment build up different characters human society, if we compare eastern nd western socity we can easily see what differences is between them.its happend because of the different geographical condition of those area. geography is our nature,climet,environment nd its influences us to thought our inner soul infact its so touchy,warm nd comfortable for us.if i climbed on a mountain then ofcourse i feel so proud,i woll feel that i have reached the higher place of my earth.nd my inner sense will be greetfull. if i see a mountain from its base i will feel different then the mountain will show me its idleness nd its higher positions to me nd from my inner soul i want to be higher like the mountain want to be get the higher positions of this world. this two feelings are different but the element is same ,a mountain.climbed on a mountain nd see a mountain from its base two situations nd feelings are different than each other. geography influences us in our every momment.also if i enter in a cave the silence,the emptiness of the cave will give me the feelings of loneliness,the emptyness of life,few feelings of our after death life.this silent momment will talk with my inner soul.it will influence me to think the depth of my life. all the different situations give me all the different feelings,thoughts nd momments because of i have a perticular origin in myself.i have born nd brought up in a perticular environment nd it help me to achieve my own philosophy.nd all my imotions nd feelings are based on in this line and related with the origin of eastern philosophy.if i bron nd brought up in western country the environment,the western socity should give me different philosophy in my life nd may be then i will think ,feel,touch my momments differently nd my life will situated in differernt way.

Binte

Sanjeeda, Can you collect some aspects of Veda & Upanishad? Will come back to you soon. (Meherun)

A Message to my group members: I have started working on our assignment, if anyone feel like to contact me regarding our assignment then you can email me at tutionhouse02@yahoo.com. Marufa
 * Discussions of Group B- Khaled, Mahmuda, Marufa and Orpita (Beginning) **

Marufa, good! I liked your leadership. Contact Khalid Arpita & Mahmuda. You need to present an outline of your assignment in the Wiki, and how are you designing it. I've seen your poster presentation, but I'll appreciate if simultaneously can produce an electronic version of your presentation, you may ask Sahil's help for it. And I'll love it if you can work in a group! (Meherun)

Sara & Nadia pls open your discussion. Take help from Sahil, if needed **. (Meherun)**
 * Discussions of Group C- Sara, Sufia, Tanjina and Nadia, Mahmuda (The present) **


 * Wiki Discussion for Mid-term & Final Examinations (6th November, 2010) **

Please find attached herewith the assignment Sanjeeda prepared on 'Hinduism' on behalf of her group.


 * Instruction for appraisal: Please comment on the article on 4 areas: (from now on try to comment on each others' assignments focusing these 4 areas, including your personal judgment) **

1**) Quality of the article** i) choice of words ii) sentence structure iii) coherence iv) transition v) organization (it must have an introduction stating what areas and issues the essay is containing, more than one paragraph for developing ideas mentioned in the introduction, and conclusion summing up the whole discussion. Write clear topic sentences for each paragraph). It would be much appreciated if you can add your own views on the topic of discussion, (here on Hinduism, you can add anything, but pls discuss ** why ** do you think so)

2 ) **Quantity of facts** Whether the facts mentioned are adequate to establish your theme and well organized.

3**) Manner** i) Is it a descriptive writing? (whether the writing is describing facts)

ii) Is it an argumentative writing? ( Whether the writing is developing an argument, i.e, taking a position for certain issues and can mention evidences for it)

iii) Is it a narrative? (presented in a story telling manner?)

You can choose any of the manners or combine them.

i ) Identify relationship between paragraphs, maintain time sequence, and sequences if incidences.
 * 4) Relation **

Believe nothing ! Belief is a confession of ignorance ! Therefore do not even believe what even I tell you ! All I can do is to teach you to enlighten yourselves. Your first duty is to abolish your ignorance, and only you yourselves can do this
 * Buddha **


 * Hinduism**


 * (-- Sanjeeda)**


 * Hinduism is considered as the oldest religion. According to historian’s thoughts it may be the oldest religion in the history of human civilization. The word “Hindu” has come from the name of river ‘Indus’ which was known as ‘Sindhu’ in ancient period of time. The Persian people who were migrated to India, called the river ‘Hindu’ as well they have given the name of this land is ‘Hindustan’ and called the people as ‘Hindus’. So the religion which is followed by Hindus are known as Hinduism.**


 * Faiths and Beliefs**


 * Hinduism has no founder or prophets. Actually in ancient period when people from different places were migrated to India, they brought their own religion, faith, culture etc. So when they were blended with them, their religious view, thoughts also blended. We can say that Hinduism is not a single religion; it is the mixture of different religions of different groups of people.**
 * Though we have seen many idols of God and Goddess in Hinduism but actually they also believe in universal soul or God Brahman who is the cause and foundation of all existence. According to Hindu believe Brahman takes on many forms that some Hindus worship as Gods, like: Vishnu, Shiva etc. These Gods are sent to help people to establish their faith with different types of powers.**
 * Hinduism believes in re-birth. They believe that a soul is eternal and can live seven lifetimes in different bodies, like: human, plants, animals etc. The soul will be born in different bodies according to their previous works. If a person do good works he will get a happy life in his next life but if he will do any bad deeds he will born as an animal, plant or any other bad condition of life.**
 * After death they burnt dead bodies in a belief that their souls will not get another life if it is not burnt with proper religious ceremony.**


 * Holy place and books**

Social view
 * The building where Hindus are gathered for worship is called Mandir. The Temples are dedicated to different gods and worship (puja) them. They also do this at home also by choosing a separate room or place and place a statue or picture of a god. Water. Fruit, flower and incense are offered to the god.**
 * Hinduism does not have one sacred book but several scriptures. The Vedas scripture is the one of them written in Sanskrit, guide Hindus in their daily life. Ramayana, Mahabharata, The Smrutis etc are also holy books of Hinduism.**

In Hinduism religious activities and social activities are almost mixed with each other. In Hinduism many people think that religion is a matter of activities rather than beliefs. They have celebrated all religious activities with a lot of religious, social and cultural activities. The caste system is a part of hindu society which is not appreciated now a day. Peoples of the society have been categorized into four classes. They are the Brahmins (teachers and priests), the Kshatriyas (warrior, noble and kings), the Vaishyas (farmer, merchants and businessmen), the Shudras (servants and labourers). Now a day educated peoples has not respect on this so-called caste system. Most of the Hindu families still like to live in a joint-family. Especially those businessman families peoples are do their business and live altogether. Elder son is the head of the family and will be the owner of the maximum property. Daughters don’t get much from the family.

Open opinion

Though there is no strong evidence of the faiths of Hinduism, still the religion is acceptable by a huge number of people. Specially in India and Nepal. About the idols of their Gods and Goddess, they believe that it is easy to believe on an imagery one rather than an no imagery one. ”The argument of scholars of Abrahamic faiths is that a human being with several heads or limbs is a false representation of God who is All-seeing and All-knowing. Hence they argue that such representations should not be worshipped. Further they argue that though God may have given certain qualities (agility, power etc.) to various animals, they cannot be in any way compared with the qualities of God Who is the Creator and Sustainer of everything in the universe.” Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry In their Holy books a people can find the guides of their daily life. It helps to preserve the religious dimension of family and society; there are lots of attractive tales etc. Their religious festivals are so colorful, chirming and attractive. According to philosopher Jeaneane Fowler, Hinduesm can never be neatly slotted into any particular belief system-monism, theism, monotheism, polytheism, panentheism-for all these systems are reflected in its many facets. Hi everyone I am waiting for your comments. Miss what should I do after getting comments. Any way be liberal don't ask me any hard question with attacking mood. I am not so good like Sahil or some other//. Sanjeeda Monowar//

Sanjeeda Like you, I'm also waiting for others comments. My ones are ready.. and they are not attacking at all infact you might find them quite informative. Sz

Oh Well, I guess it has to be me, I'm rephrasing her write-up and my comments can be found at the last:

Hinduism is the only major religion where the religion itself was developed from philosophy which came first than the former. The philosophy is called Vedanta which states “what we see is not the reality”.

**Faiths and Beliefs** The rhythm of life is based on some basic principles (in regards to religion) and necessities (food, shelter, clothing, etc). If one can fulfill all the principles and the necessities, he/she would certainly find peace and be content.But, the hard fact is before, we understand what the principles of living are we must look deeply into our actual self to realize whether we really ‘belief’ in those principles.

The basic principles are mostly religion based and religion comprises ‘faith and belief’. So one must first believe in his religion and have faith on it. (I will refer to the male gender from now onward- which you should interpret as male and female both, it’s easier to write this way- in development terms we call it ‘gender-balanced writing’).

This brings us to the million dollar question. What is faith? Is it the confidence you have about something’s goodness or abilities? Or is it the whole hearted trustworthiness on a person, an idea or a thing? We may agree to both the statement. On the contrary, belief doesn’t rest on logical proof or material evidence. So having faith and belief on something reflects sky-scraping sanguineness.

But why does faith and belief matters in pursuing a religion? It matters because religion itself is based on these dynamics. In regards to Hinduism, Hindu beliefs vary widely, with concepts of God and/or gods ranging from pantheism, monotheism and polytheism, with Vishnu and Shiva being the most popular deities. Other notable characteristics include a belief in reincarnation and karma, as well as personal duty, or dharma.

Some early Hindu philosophers’ (Rishis) believed ‘Hinduism Is the way Of Life’. On the same, even today, Hindu all over the world believes in reincarnation. That the soul rebirths in the form of maybe an animal, human being or any other living things alike. They strongly believe in the principles that ‘doing good deeds in the present life will bring omen in the rebirth.’

**Holy Place and Books** Sanjeeda’s research is absolutely correct that Hindu’s worship their ‘chosen ideal God’ in ‘Mandirs’ (temples). I said ‘Chosen’ as in the religion there are several Gods- God of Wealth- Ganesha, God of strength- Hanuman, and so on. Apart from these the common Gods worshipped by the Hindus are- Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, Kali, Murugan, Venkateshwara, Nataraja, Rama, Saraswati and Lakshmi, of which Krishna is sometimes also known as the ‘Avataar’.

Mahabharata and Ramayana (known as the greatest epic ever written) are the oldest of all scriptures found in the religion till date and has been followed as a guide. Ramayana was assumingly written by Maharishi Valmiki around 400BC. It was in pure Sanskrit which later over the consecutive years was translated into Hindi (The official language of Hindustan) and now it is also found in English. But some school of thoughts claim that the message which Maharishi Valmiki delivered has been partly lost in translation over the period.

In ‘The complete works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 1, Topic- Gita III’, Swami wrote: If you want to be religious, enter not the gate of any organized religion. They do a hundred times more evil than good, because they stop the growth of each one's individual development.... Religion is only between you and your God, and no third person must come between you. Think what these organized religions have done! What Nepoleon was more terrible than those religious persecutions? If you and I organize, we begin to hate every person. It is better not to love, if loving only means hating others. That is no love. That is hell! If loving your own people means hating everybody else, it is the quintessence of selfishness and brutality, and the effect is that it will make you brutes. (Source: []) **Overall view** According to many Hindu scholars, as far as the universe is concerned God has three functions of creation, maintenance, and dissolution. So the sages gave different names to these three aspects of God Brahma for the creator, Vishnu for the maintainer, and Shiva for the dissolver.
 * Critical Comments**

Sanjeeda's article is very much informative but it lacks coherence. For example, she could have given little details about the numerous Gods and Goddesses as present in the religion. She didn't mention Mahabharat as the 'holy' war which is very crucial in explaining the religion Hinduism, although she didn't miss about referring it as the greatest every 'epic' in literature apart from Ramayana. I'll quit for now but will be back with more comments. Thanks for your patient reading. Sz
 * Sahil, thanks for giving a better shape to Sanjeeda's assignment. Expecting others to comment on it as well. By the way, did you update your assignment on asceticism? Do you think you could post it here for other opinions? Meherun **


 * Marufa's criticism on Sanjeeda's article: **

The article is based on Hinduism. It has been divided under five sub-topics, which makes the context very clear and informative, as a result the reader finds it very easier to understand the theme and facts of the text.

The tone of the article is formal and the mood is mostly declarative. However, some of the spoken language features can be found in the article which make the text personal and the readers feel involve with the article, which is very unusual in a descriptive article. For example, the use of transitional phrase in the second paragraph creates spoken tone.

‘ **Actually in ancient period** when people from different places were migrated to India, they ---‘ (second paragraph first line)

‘---**but actually they also** believe in ---‘ (second paragraph sixth line)

The use of first person plural pronoun makes the reader feel involve in the text and makes it more interesting.

‘**We** can say that Hinduism is not a single religion;’(second paragraph third line)

‘Though **we** have seen many idols of God and Goddess---‘ (second paragraph sixth line)

The use of repetition highlights the prominent phrases but creates the tone spoken.

For example: ‘---it is the mixture of **different** religions of **different** groups of people’ (second paragraph fourth line)

There are some other examples of chatty tone can be marked in the article due to the use of contracted form or informal grammatical phrase. For instance, (Fourth paragraph last line) ‘ Daughters **don’t** get much from the family’ (Use of contraction)

(Fourth paragraph seventh line) Informal : Now **a day** educated **peoples has** not respect on this **so-called** caste system. Formal : Now a days educated people has no respect on the false caste system.

The last paragraph of the article is quite argumentive. The writer has given her negative view of the religion. She has also mentioned the view of a scholar and a philosopher, to prove her opinon.

‘ Though there is no strong evidence of faith of Hinduism, ---‘ (last para first line)

This article has been written in descriptive form and has a narrative tone. The writer has chosen lots of stylistic features to manipulate the language and draw the reader’s attention to the key features of the context by using slightly different language patterns. For instance, the writer has used listing in most of her sentences to create an accumulative effect which gives a range of impressions in a sentence.

‘Their religious festivals are so **colourful, charming and attractive’** (last paragraph tenth line) ‘---they brought their own **religion, faith, culture, etc**.’ (second paragraph second line)

End focus has been used to emphasis the end rather than the beginning to create a dramatic effect. For instance, by using existential ‘there’ the writer has made the subject more prominent.

‘Though there is no strong evidence of the faiths of Hinduism, still the religion is acceptable by a huge number of people.’ (last paragraph first line)

She has also used left branching to force the reader to wait for the main clause by using subordination at the beginning of a sentence to create a dramatic effect by making the reader wait for all the information, such as,

‘Though we have seen many idols of God and Goddess in Hinduism but actually ---‘( second paragraph sixth line)

The lexical choice of the article is related to the topic and the writer has maintained its cohesiveness. The writer has used some technical words by using proper noun, which proves that she has done a quite research before writing the article, for example,

‘Indus’. ‘Sindu’ (first paragraph third line)

She has also named some of the Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism, such as, ‘Vishnu, Shiva’ (second paragraph fourth line)

The connotation of words and varied choice of modifiers, abstract nouns and adverbials enhance the writing and create a combination of historical and religious atmosphere. Lets for instance,

‘**oldest** religion’ (first paragraph, second line) (modifier) ‘**ancient period** of time’ (first paragraph, third line) ( adverbial phrase) ‘**religion, faith, culture**, etc.’( second paragraph, second line) ( abstract noun) ‘**universal soul’** ( second paragraph seventh line) (modifier) (abstract noun) Varied form of sentence structures have been chosen by the writer to hold the readers’ interest. The writer has used typical opening of the article. The first sentence of the article is a simple sentence, which is short but interesting enough to grab the attention of the readers.

‘(Hinduism) (is considered) (as the oldest) (religion) (first paragraph first line)
 * S P Co O**

Simple sentence has been used in the opening sentence of the second paragraph also, to make the readers feel comfortable with the context.

‘ (Hinduism) (has) (no) (founder or prophets)’ (second paragraph first line)
 * S P A O**

On the other hand the use of complex sentence helps to maintain the reader’s interest and draw them into the world of religion and history.

(The word “Hindu”) (has come) (from the name of river ‘Indus’) (which was known as ‘Sindhu’) (in ancient period of time) (first paragraph second line)
 * S P O SCl**
 * ACl**

Though this is a formal context, there are some non standard grammatical choice of the writer.

Non standard grammar: ‘ thoughts also blended’ (second paragraph third line) Correct form : ‘- thoughts were also blended’

Non standard grammar: ‘--- many idols of God and Goddess in Hinduism ---‘ (second paragraph sixth line) Correct form: ‘---many idols of Gods and Goddesses in Hinduism’

Non standard grammar : ‘If a person do good works he will ---‘ (second paragraph thirteenth line) Correct form: ‘If a person does good works he will ---‘

There are also some incomplete sentence structures which probably occurred by mistake.

‘ Specially in India and Nepal.’ (last paragraph second line) ‘According to philosopher Jeaneane Fowler, Hinduism can never be neatly’ (last paragraph last line)

The paragraphs are well organized and well informed but the writer should use indentation. The writer could have prepare it in a more organized way. (Marufa)

** Please find below Khalid's assignment on Asceticism and provide your comments and queries on it. ( Much appreciated if you follow the 'Instruction for appraisal' section) (Meherun) ** ** Asceticism ** ** Ascetic came from a Greek word **// áskēsis // which means "exercise" or "training" in the sense of athletes. “Practice makes man perfect” we can derive from this proverb that if someone keeps on practicing a certain task to achieve a certain goal he/she can easily reach to it. The religious beliefs are to be practiced. Salah is the via by which we can get close to Allah so we need to practice to pray for five time as said in the holy book Quran. A religious teacher is meant to have a title called Pir, master, after he completes understanding the religion Islam by studying the holy book ‘Quran” and the Sunnah of the Prophet. Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by the aim of achieving religious and spiritual goals.Some forms of Christianity and the Indian religions, including yoga, teach that salvation and liberation involve a process of mind-body transformation effected by exercising self-control with respect to actions of body, speech, and mind.The founders and earliest practitioners of these religions lived extremely strict lifestyles refraining from physical pleasures and the increase of material wealth. This is to be understood not as an eschewal of the enjoyment of life but a recognition that spiritual and religious goals are hampered by such indulgence. Those who practice ascetic lifestyles do not consider their practices virtuous in themselves but pursue such a lifestyle in order to encourage, or 'prepare the ground' for, mind-body transformation. ** Sufism in Islam ** or ** taṣawwuf **  is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God.

**__ Asceticism in different religion __** 1. ** Jain ** ascetics practice complete nonviolence. // Ahimsa // is the first and foremost vow of a Jain ascetic. 2. In ** Buddhism **, Buddha  adopted an extreme ascetic life after leaving his father's palace, where he once lived in extreme luxury. 3. Different religious groups within ** Christianity ** have differing views on the subject of asceticism; the [|Catholic Church], [|Eastern Orthodox churches] and the rest see value in asceticism, while most of the Protestant denominations view asceticism generally in a negative light. 4.In ** Islam **, The Islamic word for asceticism is ** zuhd **. The prophet Muhammad is quoted to have said, "What have I to do with worldly things? My connection with the world is like that of a traveler resting for a while underneath the shade of a tree and then moving on." He advised the general people to live simple lives and himself practiced great austerities. Even when he had become the virtual king of Arabia, he lived an austere life bordering on privation. His wife Ayesha said that there was hardly a day in his life when he had two square meals. 5. In ** [|Zoroastrianism] **, active participation in life through good thoughts, good words and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep the chaos at bay I am sorry that I cannot address anyone for not mentioning its owner's name. Anyway the article is very organized. In my point of view the article is quite concise. So if there will be more informations and examples it will be better for me to understand clearly. May be you know I'm just like a tube-light so I need much time and power to be lit. SANJEEDA MONOWAR

Khalid's explanation is quite to the point I agree with Sanjeeda. However, as we have to be critical in commenting, the simplest of information has be to clearly defined in such a pattern that is understood by all. He has mentioned certain race/religion/culture like- Jain, Buddhism, etc. A little elaboration on these terms could have brightened the write-up. But, I think he was totally focused on the main topic.

the beginning para needs to be hand-crafted a bit more to give it the 'personal' touch. Reading it gives me the feeling of 'I'm reading an extract from 'wikipedia'.

That would be all for now. Thank you. My write-up on Asceticism is below. So get your gun ready and start aiming. Eid Mubarak to all.

Sz

It has been a common knowledge, and one of great concern to all, that the toughest stumbling block for democracy in Bangladesh is, and has always been, a stubbornly confrontational political culture and violence in its myriad forms. Among them, though hate speech, smear campaign, direct and oblique threats and intimidation, and speeches encouraging communal and aggressive attitude are generally considered less malignant than the more gory types of political and electoral violence, like physical assaults, lootings, killings, rapine etc, they are the real roots and sustaining factors of the confrontational political environment. No! We won’t discuss the violence marred in, more or less, almost all the elections to central as well as local government bodies since the country had reinstated parliamentary democracy in 1991. But, right at the moment, political and even non-political violence has assumed a particularly ugly and sinister look with the emergence and alarming spread of Islamist militancy and terrorism over the last few years. The nation is now treading on perilous grounds and apprehends a devastating outbreak of terror strikes, violence and confrontations among the contending political forces, and communal persecution centring the upcoming general elections.
 * Musing in the world of peace and austerity by Sahil Zulfiquer **

It is common knowledge that in this information age mass media plays the paramount role in shaping information, public opinion and public image on any subject. So, in a way, the nature and aspects, both positive and negative, of how media consumers perceive a subject depends when we are to see the end of this stigmatic horizon.

Under the purview of the said above, the world is at dire need of peace, inner contentment, serenity, a tranquil environment to breathe and live with harmony.

Peace, the word as defined by Cambridge is freedom from war and violence, especially when people live and work together happily without disagreements. We do not deny the statement nor do we agree that it really is practical. Human nature is attracted towards violence. However, in its broadest sense a man's practice of renunciation of his physical self and world is to attain a higher ideal or spiritual good, or in other words Asceticism.

It appears that the tension between the physical and spiritual has persisted within the world for as long as man can remember. It pervades most religions with the belief that the spiritual is superior to the physical. This spiritual-physical split obviously overlooks the fact that within the existence of human life both is necessary. The spiritual nature of humankind separates man from other creatures in the animal kingdom. But, without the physical, the body and vehicle of the spiritual, the spiritual side, or spirituality, of man could not exist. Within such an appraisal of the situation it appears somewhat imprudent to stress the physical should always be sacrificed for the spiritual; for, as with all vehicles, the physical must be maintained too to insure the existence of both.

Sufism in Islam or taṣawwuf is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God.”

Asceticism is not to be completely condemned. As previously mentioned every society has taught some form of asceticism to promote self-control within its members. Such social asceticism is justified for social existence. But, the key to its validity is in its function; to teach self-control without which there could be no social structure. This is far different than people practicing asceticism in order to commune with God, or condemning sexuality because they believe it to be sinful. If their reasoning is questioned it soon become fallacious or nonexistent. It soon becomes obvious for the individual wishing only to commune with God gains self-satisfaction rather than his proposed goal of the denial of self. The one who proclaims the sinfulness of sexuality seemed not to have considered the conclusion that God created sexual propagation for the continuation of people. Whether one includes God within this conclusion or not seems insignificant, to desire to eliminate sexual propagation because it is sinful seems to erroneously deny the fact of its necessity. Also denied are the natural love between mother and child, husband and wife, lovers, and the pleasure of sexual activity in general.

When discussing asceticism, William James said that it was the lack of self-consciousness that led to intolerance and persecution of every kind. "Between his own and Jehovah's enemies a David knows no difference; a Catherine of Siena, painting to stop the warfare among Christians which was the scandal of her epoch, can think of no better method of union among them than a crusade to massacre the Turks; Martin Luther King finds no word of protest or regret over the atrocious tortures with which the Anti-Baptist leaders were put to death; and a Cromwell praises the Lord for delivering his enemies into his hands for 'execution.' In the absence of intellectual criticism and widening, all the 'saintly virtues of the strenuous life' may become similarly corrupted. Thus purity may lead to escapism and the endless monotony of extreme forms of the monastic life; charity may turn the world over to unscrupulous aggression and the enemies of mankind; and asceticism may jeopardize the health for the sake of an unlimited mortification."

If for personal satisfaction, or self interest, or any other merely human reason, a man aims at the acquisition of the natural virtues, for instance, temperance, patience, chastity, meekness, etc., he is, by the very fact, exercising himself in a certain degree of asceticism.

In today’s world, we need asceticism to provoke peace.

** Marufa posted her assignment in an e-mail to me. Please comment on it. (Meherun) **
Hinduism By Marufa

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions. No one knows exactly how and when it began. According to some scholars it probably began 3,000 years ago near the Indus River of Northwestern India. This is how it spread across India and then to the rest of Asia. Hinduism has no original founder and no single holy text. The first Hindu teachers are known as Brahmins. In the beginning the teaching were done orally. Later on, at about 1,500 B.C in was written down in the Aryan’s language (predecessor of Sanskrit). The stories were known as Rig – Veda. Two important Hindu scriptures, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were written down by unknown authors or authresses, in the centuries before the birth of Christ. Hinduism is being practiced from centuries by the people and it is spreaded in the different parts of the world, most probably this is the main reason that it is sustaining for such a longer period.

I think Hinduism is one of the most colourful religions with it different festivals, gods and goddesses. Hinduism is the major religion in India. Therefore the channels of India, such as, Zee TV, Sony TV, Star Plus, etc, highlight their festival in their programs or daily soap. Diwali is being portrayed as full of lamps and lights, sweets, gifts and gorgeous dresses where as Durga Puja is portrayed as women wearing white luxurious sari with red par, as the traditional sari colour of West Bengal women. There are some other rituals also with make the bond of relations among family members even stronger. For example, Raksha Bandhan it is a ritual among brothers and sisters. In this ritual a brother promises his sister that he would protect his sister against all odds and the sister bind a sacred string on her brother’s hand. Another ritual is Karwa chowth in these ritual married women keep fast for their husbands’ longer life. Then at night they open their fast by observing the moon through net first and then their husband. Web cited:

Asceticism

The philosophy of Asceticism is originated during the spiritual struggle of the Greek Orthodox Church where meat, alchohol, sex and ostentatious clothing have to be avoided. The term ‘asceticism’ derived from Greek word ‘askein’ which meant ‘exercise’.

Some of the Greek philosophers such as Stoics, Sophists and Cynics consider asceticism as a system of moral practice to free men of vices. According to Plato asceticism not only condition the body but also condition it up to a point at which the soul – the sum total the ideals could be free.

Asceticism means to practice great self-denial, self discipline and to lead severe simple life in order to achieve a higher or spiritual ideal. Practice of the denial of physical or psychological desires in order to attain a spiritual ideal or goal. Most religions have some features of asceticism. The desire for ritual purity in order to come in contact with the divine, the need for atonement, and the wish to earn merit or gain access to supernatural powers all are reasons for ascetic practice.

The more I look out for the truth I get more confused. I think the truth come out automatically if the Divine wishes. So, I left everything to Allah. If the truth is good for me and Allah wishes then the truth will come out one day. []

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 * Dear All, I want you to generate a discussion on the Mid-term questions as well. Prepare your answers, and post here. Comment on each other. ** (Meherun)

**Set 1**

Q1. Discuss the ways society, mentality of citizens affect the philosophy of a nation. Qep2. Give a brief on ‘Hinduism’ and it’s relativity to other religions (you can pick one of your choices). Q3. The definition of family we understand for the eastern countries is different from that of the western culture and western philosophies. How far do you agree? Q4. What implications do education and livelihood have on eastern philosophy? Q5. Are you aware of the culture you live in? Describe from own experience the recent cultural or philosophical changes which occurred around you.

Q1. What do we mean by Asceticism? Give a brief on their relativity to your own culture. Q2. In the world we live in today, unrest and injustice is becoming an inevitable part of it. How can asceticism theory bring it back to life? Q3. What is the relation between philosophy and religion? Give brief with examples. Q4. Write a paragraph on ‘Hinduism’. Q5. What does the culture of the ‘east’ comprise of?
 * Set 2**