This books has a magnitude of information when it comes to Hinduism, Indian thoughts, our sacred scriptures, Indian philosophy etc. It sets a benchmark even higher in exposing the western attacks on Indian in a more detailed and sophisticated manner. It is not a regular tell-tale of India’s glorious past or our vase knowledge of philosophy or the mastery of the Sanskrit language. It focuses on the western view of India and how it has become wrong on so many levels, leave alone injecting the false doctrines. This book makes the westerners to see the real Indian side from an Indian point of view, rather than a typical western.
This book details out monotheism vs. polytheism, one sacred book vs. hundreds of religious book, history-centric religion vs. Sanathana dharma, Prophetic religion vs. Free –to-choose type of religion. The arguments are brilliant in order to state the truth and what is believed to be true.
In conclusion, none of the disagreements from the book dismisses the importance of Being Different. The most important aspects of the book are, as it reverses the gaze towards the west and evaluate it using the Dharmic paradigm. It will make every Indian Proud – Being Different & Being Indian.
The presentation slides, I used while presenting about Indian culture, to increase cultural understanding for domestic faculty and employees to better serve the Indian students on the campus of University of New Haven.
The presentation slides, I used while presenting about Indian culture, to increase cultural understanding for domestic faculty and employees to better serve the Indian students on the campus of University of New Haven.
Chapter 18 is the final & concluding chapter where the ideas expressed in all the previous chapters are summarised. It starts with the distinction between renunciation & relinquishment.Describes the 3 types of work, agent, intellect & resolve, & duties of the 4 classes of people. Finally, the Lord explain how one can become eligible for following the path of knowledge by selfless actions, & after attaining knowledge, how to attain the status of Brahman.
Religions - Jainism: Jainism at a glance.
"Attachment and aversion are the root cause of karma, and karma originates from infatuation. Karma is the root cause of birth and death, and these are said to be the source of misery. None can escape the effect of their own past karma "
BHAGVAD GITA CHAPTER 6 FLOWCHARTS
Chapter six of the Gita,
Abhyasa Yoga,
alternately entitled in Sanskrit
“Dhyan Yoga” (“The Yoga of Meditation”)
UNITIVE CONTEMPLATION,
or “ Atma Sanyam Yoga”
(“The Yoga of Complete Concentration on the Self”),
the "yoga of controlling the Âmâ
Ten Upanishads are considered as major texts in view of their indepth coverage of the specific aspects, the mentioning of these works by many spiritual masters.
Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism by Rajiv Malhotr...Ajai Singh
India’s integrity is being undermined by three global networks that have well-established operating bases inside India: (i) Islamic radicalism linked with Pakistan, (ii) Maoists and Marxist radicals supported by China via intermediaries such as Nepal, and (iii) Dravidian and Dalit identity separatism being fostered by the West in the name of human rights. This book focuses on the third: the role of U.S. and European churches, academics, think-tanks, foundations, government and human rights groups in fostering separation of the identities of Dravidian and Dalit communities from the rest of India.
Chapter 18 is the final & concluding chapter where the ideas expressed in all the previous chapters are summarised. It starts with the distinction between renunciation & relinquishment.Describes the 3 types of work, agent, intellect & resolve, & duties of the 4 classes of people. Finally, the Lord explain how one can become eligible for following the path of knowledge by selfless actions, & after attaining knowledge, how to attain the status of Brahman.
Religions - Jainism: Jainism at a glance.
"Attachment and aversion are the root cause of karma, and karma originates from infatuation. Karma is the root cause of birth and death, and these are said to be the source of misery. None can escape the effect of their own past karma "
BHAGVAD GITA CHAPTER 6 FLOWCHARTS
Chapter six of the Gita,
Abhyasa Yoga,
alternately entitled in Sanskrit
“Dhyan Yoga” (“The Yoga of Meditation”)
UNITIVE CONTEMPLATION,
or “ Atma Sanyam Yoga”
(“The Yoga of Complete Concentration on the Self”),
the "yoga of controlling the Âmâ
Ten Upanishads are considered as major texts in view of their indepth coverage of the specific aspects, the mentioning of these works by many spiritual masters.
Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism by Rajiv Malhotr...Ajai Singh
India’s integrity is being undermined by three global networks that have well-established operating bases inside India: (i) Islamic radicalism linked with Pakistan, (ii) Maoists and Marxist radicals supported by China via intermediaries such as Nepal, and (iii) Dravidian and Dalit identity separatism being fostered by the West in the name of human rights. This book focuses on the third: the role of U.S. and European churches, academics, think-tanks, foundations, government and human rights groups in fostering separation of the identities of Dravidian and Dalit communities from the rest of India.
Essay 1 generally good content; but some issues with content as n.docxYASHU40
Essay 1: generally good content; but some issues with content as noted and some writing issues
Essay 2: good content, but writing issues in several places
Essay 3: good content, but lots of writing issues
Religion and Society
1. What is the “sociological perspective” and how does it impact the way we study religion? How is it different from non-social scientific (philosophical, theological) approaches to the study of religion? From other social scientific (psychological, anthropological) approaches?
The sociological perspective is a way of looking at religion that focuses on the human especially social aspects of religious belief and practice. It has two characteristics that separate it from non-scientific approaches to religion. It is empirical and objective. Sociologists usually try as much as possible to base their interpretations on empirical evidence. “They verify their images and explanations of social reality by experimental or experienced evidence. The objectivity in the sense that they do not attempt to evaluate accept or reject the content of religious beliefs .In the sociological perspective there is no religion that is superior to the other. One religion is not superior to another. Indeed the perspective does not presume the merits of religious over non-religious approaches. But if a religion has ideas on these subjects, it examines them and tries to understand them.
There are two central sociological perspectives which are: substantative and functional. Substantative tries to establish what religion is. It attempts to establish categories of religious content that qualify as religion and other categories specific as non-religion. Functional describes what religion does. It emphasizes what religion does for individual and social group. Accordingly religion is defined by the social functions it fulfills in the society
It emphasizes on the provision of meaning because the establishing of shared meaning is an essentially social event.
The sociological perspective impacts on the way we study religion in various ways. The aspects of the sociological perspective on religion may create elude a bad feeling to students who find their cherished beliefs and practices dispassionately treated as object of study as stipulated in (http://fasnafan.tripod.com/religion.pdf).Normal human beings due to their nature tend to feel bad when they find their religion becoming the subject of discussion and study. They feel that those people are abusing and disregarding their religion. It may be disturbing to have one’s own religion treated as comparable to other religions and not as superior or uniquely true.maybe maybe not---you need proof to make this claim--not just ideas
Also true, but awkward writingwhat the sociologist and the believer hold about a certain religion may be contradicting. What is central to the sociologist may be irrelevant and uninteresting to th ...
En las sociedades multiculturales como Canadá, Estados Unidos de América o Europa, el problema de delitos de odio o por intolerancia racial han ganado interés dentro del sistema de justicia criminal, científicos sociales, defensores de los Derechos Humanos y los medios de comunicación. Para lograr prevenir estos tipos de delitos en una ciudad en donde las distintas posturas religiosas convergen, es importante tratar de conocer el diferente enfoque que cada uno le otorga a su religión para así crear puentes entre los diálogos y generar por consecuencia una mayor tolerancia a las otras formas de pensar.
An Invitation to the Study of World Religions Chapter 1ProfessorWatson
Exploring Chapter 1: An Invitation to the Study of World Relgions
Invitation to World Religions (2nd Edition)
Authors: Jeffrey Brodd, Layne Little, Brad Nystrom, Robert Platzner, Richard Shek, Erin Stiles
Sujay Religion in the twenty-first century and beyond FINAL FINAL FINAL.pdfSujay Rao Mandavilli
The term "Religion" refers to a wide range of social-cultural systems, which include beliefs, morals,
ethics, religious practices, thought worlds, worldviews, holy texts and scriptures, sanctified holy
places, and institutions that typically relate to the general belief in a God or a supernatural entity.
Religion has been known in a wide variety of geographical contexts and situations, and attested since
very early times; as a matter of fact, even before the dawn of human civilization. As a matter of fact,
there have been very few known human societies without some form of an organized or an informal
religion. In the past few centuries, technology has progressed at a rapid pace, and at a rate that
would have been unimaginable just two centuries ago. Many pundits predicted that the role played
by religion in society would invariably and inevitably diminish; alas, such prophecies have not come
to pass. Religion, and the role played by it in society, remains as deeply entrenched as ever before. As
a matter of fact, globalization has unleashed a clash of civilizations, and has brought different and
widely differing ideologies into direct contact with each other, often unleashing waves of terror. In
the wide array and assortment of papers that we have been publishing over the years, we have
introduced many different concepts that we believe can greatly help in understanding the role
religion plays in relation to society. Readers can easily reference these papers. In this paper, we
attempt to take our endeavours to a much higher level, to analyse how the beneficial aspects of
religion can be magnified and amplified, and the negative implications of religion curtailed. We also
lay out the contours of social science research that can effectively tackle the menace of religious
fanaticism and hatred, and draw out a road map and a course of action other researchers and
scholars can easily relate to.
Is your company’s human resources operation a true “business partner” that makes a major contribution to your bottom line? Or does it merely fulfil the daily tasks of hiring, firing and paying your employees? If the latter, don’t worry – that can change. So say the human resources experts who founded the RBL Group and the RBL Institute, a consultancy and an educational organization dedicated to helping HR leaders attain new levels of professionalism. Using the institute’s tools and tactics, you can “transform” your human resources department into a valued, knowledgeable and contributing member of your corporate team. While you don’t have to be a human resources professional to benefit from this book, its HR-speak presents a pretty dense thicket that might daunt a novice.
Why is a great company culture so rare? How can you make sure your organization has one? The good news is that creating an inspiring and sustainable culture is not as hard as you might think. Dr. David “Doc” Vik reveals the keys to success in The Culture Secret.
A remarkable culture begins with visionary leaders who help their teams take a holistic approach to creating engagement inside their companies and sharing it with customers. Discover how to take culture beyond casual Friday and into more meaningful conversations like:
•Driving Vision
•Defining Purpose
•Clear business model
•Unique/WOW factors
•Meaningful Values
•Inspired Leadership
•Great customers and customer service
•Brand enhancement
•Experience and the emotional connection
If you don’t think you have to focus on attracting—and retaining—the best employees in today’s hypercompetitive war for talent, you are living in the past. The employees and customers of today have a choice and a voice. The secret to culture is simple: take care of your people, never stop innovating, and leave customers wowed. Build a better culture to secure the future for any organization
Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies and studied each in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day -- as start-ups, as midsize companies, and as large corporations. Throughout, the authors asked: "What makes the truly exceptional companies different from the comparison companies and what were the common practices these enduringly great companies followed throughout their history?"
Filled with hundreds of specific examples and organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels, Built to Last provides a master blueprint for building organizations that will prosper long into the 21st century and beyond.
How Stella Saved the Farm is a simple and logical book based on a story which narrates the learning process about making innovation happen. The book is divided in two parts and consists of total nineteen chapters. First part carries nine chapters and remaining are under the second part, which explains the conversion of idea into innovation and then great success. The story is about the competition of two farms one run and managed by animals (Windsor farm) and another by human beings (McGillicuddys farm). Windsor farm is working through change and innovation where the status quo is no longer good enough. Interestingly, in view of poor performance of Windsor farm McGillicuddy is hoping to take over the Windsor farm, but due to the innovations, Windsor farm crosses all hurdles and gets a remarkable status in the business.
Rumelt describes strategizing as identifying pivotal issues within your market and your industry and making a plan focused on forceful, results-oriented action. He reminds readers that strategy has little to do with ambitious goals, vision, leadership, innovation or determination. For many business leaders, strategy means promulgating meaningless slogans that tout impressive but unrealistic goals. A sound business strategy presents a specific action plan to overcome a defined challenge. Rumelt says good strategy involves multiple analyses and the painstaking development of thoughtful, expertly implemented policies that surmount obstacles and move the firm profitably ahead.
Can passion be taught? Can it be fostered? The answer is yes. But perhaps more accurately, a team leader must create the right conditions for passion to emerge. Those conditions must be nurtured, not unlike a gardener creating the right conditions for his plants to flourish. Make your job easier. Get the inside scoop on the secrets of success that motivate teams to top performance. In the matrix of workplace roles and responsibilities, managers are pivotal to corporate success. Yet a manager is often the unsung hero who must adapt to demands from all sides—and do so with little or no training, and without mentorship for the role. Learn from Dan Bobinski, who draws from 20 years of consulting experience, extensive studies of best practices, and the latest in neuroscience research. You'll learn the principles and methods top managers use to develop passionate, engaged employees who are dedicated to success. You'll be able to:
— Motivate without manipulating
— Turn mistakes into a fervent drive for quality
— Equip teams to enthusiastically adapt to change
— Create environments in which people strive for excellence—and more
Today's workforce requires managers to be more than just a person in charge. Creating Passion-Driven Teams show you how to tap your team's natural motivations and achieve consistent, sustained top performance.
Whether corporate governance is a burden meant to report compliance on companies’ performance, or can it be used as a competitive advantage in view of the changing laws, awareness and scenario is the important question which is present in the minds of those at the top of the company affairs including the CEO, Directors and Boards.
The book under reference, “Boards that Deliver”, by Ram Charan attempts to answer this question in a certain and prudent manner. The author believes that with the right set of practices, any group of directors can become a board that delivers value to the management and to the investors and goes ahead to demonstrate his points giving directions on various steps to be taken to make this happen.
"I'm the boss!"
It's a common mistake to think management is defined by formal authority—the ability that comes with a title to impose your will on others. In fact, formal authority is a useful but limited tool.
People Want More Than a Formal, Authority-Based Relationship with the Boss
Many managers—especially those who were achievement-driven stars as individual performers—don't even think about relationships. They're so task oriented that they put the work to be done and their authority as boss at the heart of what they do and assume they can ignore the human aspects of working with others.
The problem is that most people don't want your authority to be the be-all and end-all of the relationship. They want a personal, human connection, an emotional link. They want you to care about them as individuals. They want you to encourage their growth and development. Research tells us this kind of human relationship with the boss is a key factor determining an employee's level of engagement with the work.
We know of a small-company owner, a warm, decent woman, so pressed for time she consciously decided to avoid small talk at the office. She never opened up to people about herself or asked about their lives and interests. She didn't, that is, until her people rose up and expressed, through an intermediary, that they hated how she treated them. They wanted a real human connection with her, even if she was "the boss."
In his previous bestseller, Built to Last, Jim Collins explored what made great companies great and how they sustained that greatness over time.
One point kept nagging him, though — great companies have, for the most part, always been great, while a vast majority of good companies remain just that: good, but not great. What could merely good companies do to become great, to turn long-term weakness into long-term supremacy?
Collins and his team of researchers used strict benchmarks to identify a group of eleven elite companies that made the leap from good to great and sustained that greatness for at least fifteen years. The companies that made the list might surprise you as much as those left off (the likes of Intel, GE
and Coca Cola are nowhere to be found).
The real surprise of Good to Great isn’t so much what good companies do to propel themselves to greatness — it’s why more companies haven’t done the same things more often.
Value for the Reader :
The reader will walk away with a set of highly referred tools for increasing the personal & professional Mojo, which the author defines as “ That Positive Spirit towards what we are doing now that starts from the inside and radiates to the outside”
He defines his purpose as “ helping successful people achieve positive, lasting change in behavior “ . It is a real world advice embodied in simple processes for the reader to consider using that can improve his or her thinking , behavior and results.
Very thought provoking book and helps the reader to lead a happier, more purposeful and more productive life.
Strong Leaders at all levels within an organization are a requisite for business success. Yet the leadership pipeline –internal architecture for growing leaders is often broken or
nonexistent. This updated edition of the bestselling book has been revised to help address the challenges of today’s business environment. Anchored in experience based case studies, this
remarkable book synchronizes a proven model for planning leadership succession and development for corporate organizations. The Second edition is an improvement based on
learning and review of the authors who have drawn their work at more than one hundred international companies over a period of ten years since the first edition of the book with the same title was published. The book under review is addressed to the leading corporate organizations, where the succession path of leaders/ chief executives is being formulated & executed on a continuous basis to perpetuate the organization and make it strong and robust while facing trials and tribulations of corporate growth and success.
We attempt or avoid difficult conversations every day-whether dealing with an underperforming employee, disagreeing with a spouse, or negotiating with a client. From the Harvard Negotiation Project, the organization that brought you Getting to Yes, Difficult Conversations provides a step-by-step approach to having those tough conversations with less stress and more success. you’ll learn how to:
· Decipher the underlying structure of every difficult conversation
· Start a conversation without defensiveness
· Listen for the meaning of what is not said
· Stay balanced in the face of attacks and accusations
· Move from emotion to productive problem solving
In the continual quest for sustainable growth, companies
have traditionally focused on the competition.
They have fought over the same customers, tried to
improve on the same benefits, and hoped to wring
profits from a shrinking revenue stream. In Blue
Ocean Strategy, professors W. Chan Kim and Renée
Mauborgne argue that the key to success is to make the
competition irrelevant. They offer a practical, tested
analytical framework that innovators in any sector
can use to create new, uncontested market space. In
this “blue ocean,” organizations can take advantage
of untapped demand and deliver powerful leaps in
value—both for their customers and for themselves.
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 , a self-help book by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, provides a toolkit and guide for readers to increase their emotional intelligence (EQ), which the writers say can be a benefit in business and personal relationships.
You can no longer count on a return to “ Normal” competitive conditions. The business world is flat, with capital & knowledge able to move anywhere instantly. Brands are losing value, regulations are increasing and competitors can come out anywhere. Filtered information, Selective hearing, Wishful thinking, Fear and Emotional over investment can all act to prevent an organization from Confronting and dealing with reality.
As a way to understand reality, the authors put a high premium on business savvy- the ability to understand the fundamentals of a business, and the connections between them. The book presents a model and process to help leaders learn business savvy to recognize the position of their business in wider external realities and to take action based on that understanding.
The triple bottom line consists of financial profit (or success), social justice, and environmental protection. It is sometimes summarized as “Profits, People, and Planet.” An intimately related concept is “sustainability”---corporations that are built to last, societies that are stable and just, and a global natural environment that is in a healthy equilibrium. The basic argument is that we live in a time when a narrow, short-term focus on the financial bottom line alone will generate dysfunctions among people and in the environment that will come back to bite the corporation.
Sustainability and the “3BL” are, instead, about mutual benefits flowing in all three directions. The challenge is to find the sustainability “sweet spot” (think golf) where all three interests coincide. Example: Toyota’s Prius low-fuel hybrid benefits the environment, the people who build or buy them, and the owners of the company. Certainly there will be trade-offs; 3BL choices and strategies will require negotiation and compromise. But this is now an economic reality, not just an altruistic dream
It could be argued that what’s new here is just a strong case that financially successful companies must think more broadly and holistically and be sure to take into account all their stakeholder interests, including the environment and society. But it is still the financial bottom line driving the business.
Business ethics is a huge canvas, bigger than sustainability, CSR, corporate governance, or the 3BL. Business ethics is about doing the right thing and building good organizations. Business ethics and values grow out of purposes, missions, and visions and are organically intertwined with corporate cultures. There are more than three bottom lines---there are bottom lines related to every stakeholder. Business ethics doesn’t just ask how to keep three of those stakeholders (owners, environment, society) going and make them last (sustain them) but about what is right and fair and just, about what would constitute excellence and success.
THE Bhagavad Gita is an Indian spiritual text of about 700 verses. The classic takes the form of a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna. The book by Debashis Chatterjee weaves their beautiful battlefield conversation into a narrative on the problems faced by leaders such as Arjuna and the solution provided by Krishna from a perspective that is both compelling and contemporary.
In this book, Krishna guides Arjuna through the ABCs of leadership. A for authenticity or truth; B stands for Being, which is the fundamental raw material for becoming a leader; and C stands for Convergence, which a leader achieves between his or her current reality and his & her goal, or between a problem/ challenges and its solution.
In the chapter “Leaders are Masters of their Minds”, the book poses the question: How does one begin the conquest of the turbulent mind? Krishna’s prescription is to return to the calm and stillness of the real self. Self-image is characterised by change and anxiety while the real self stands still in intense observation.
Stillness is the power behind intense action. Timeless leaders have taught us the art and science of always being still. Timeless leaders succeed only by the application of stillness. A mind that is restless, anxious, and nervous always misses the mark. Only a steady, controlled, almost machinelike hand can shoot the arrow that hits the bull’s eye. Krishna speaks of being indivisibly one with one’s goal, even like the arrowhead that has struck into the target.
An undivided concentration naturally brings about an absolutely unshakable stillness. The journey towards self-realisation involves the disciplines of silence and solitude. The Bhagavad Gita tells us: “The unreal has no being: the real never ceases to be. The final truth about them both has thus been perceived by the seers of ultimate reality”.
In the concluding chapter, the book relates the plight of the modern leader stuck on the information superhighway. Krishna argues that the busy mind is a mob of unprocessed thoughts and emotions. The only way to deal effectively with this mob is to create distance between the mob and the observer, who can now see the mob without being part of it. This observer within the leader is like the screen on which a filmed drama is projected.
By reading this book or the summary you learn about
· Why Leaders are effective because of who they are on the inside –Being of the person.
· How to go the highest level of leadership by developing character qualities from the inside out.
· How true commitment inspires and attracts people.
· How to start and sustain the process of continuous personal growth.
The commonly held belief that life gets easier at the top is partly true. The loftier your role in a large enterprise, the more control you have over your day-to-day activities and more you are compensated for them. But the challenges also get tougher. For one thing, you are more visible. Your mistakes, and your ability to recover from them will be noticed. Also, fewer positions exist at that rarefied level. To advance, you have to either displace someone above you or create an entirely new business. Failure is not an option, unless you can make it seem like success. To manage all this with Integrity- that is a challenge indeed.
There are two ways to proceed. You can practice relentless discipline: curbing every impulse, making every moment count , and preparing diligently for each potential challenge. Or you can approach the world with insouciant savoir-faire, trusting that your charm and resourcefulness will get you through while making it all look easy.
At the heart of this book is a question about the proper way to live. To what extent must we lead disciplined lives to be powerful people? Is that discipline a matter of duty, compensation for the original sin of being imperfect, or is it a matter of joy, of calling forth the inner golden virtue that lies deep within all of us ? In Goldsmith’s eye, it is both- and it is both- an if you dare to take on the practices he recommends, you may come to agree with him.
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way.pptxCelso Napoleon
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way
SBs – Sunday Bible School
Adult Bible Lessons 2nd quarter 2024 CPAD
MAGAZINE: THE CAREER THAT IS PROPOSED TO US: The Path of Salvation, Holiness and Perseverance to Reach Heaven
Commentator: Pastor Osiel Gomes
Presentation: Missionary Celso Napoleon
Renewed in Grace
The Chakra System in our body - A Portal to Interdimensional Consciousness.pptxBharat Technology
each chakra is studied in greater detail, several steps have been included to
strengthen your personal intention to open each chakra more fully. These are designed
to draw forth the highest benefit for your spiritual growth.
In Jude 17-23 Jude shifts from piling up examples of false teachers from the Old Testament to a series of practical exhortations that flow from apostolic instruction. He preserves for us what may well have been part of the apostolic catechism for the first generation of Christ-followers. In these instructions Jude exhorts the believer to deal with 3 different groups of people: scoffers who are "devoid of the Spirit", believers who have come under the influence of scoffers and believers who are so entrenched in false teaching that they need rescue and pose some real spiritual risk for the rescuer. In all of this Jude emphasizes Jesus' call to rescue straying sheep, leaving the 99 safely behind and pursuing the 1.
HANUMAN STORIES: TIMELESS TEACHINGS FOR TODAY’S WORLDLearnyoga
Hanuman Stories: Timeless Teachings for Today’s World" delves into the inspiring tales of Hanuman, highlighting lessons of devotion, strength, and selfless service that resonate in modern life. These stories illustrate how Hanuman's unwavering faith and courage can guide us through challenges and foster resilience. Through these timeless narratives, readers can find profound wisdom to apply in their daily lives.
What Should be the Christian View of Anime?Joe Muraguri
We will learn what Anime is and see what a Christian should consider before watching anime movies? We will also learn a little bit of Shintoism religion and hentai (the craze of internet pornography today).
Exploring the Mindfulness Understanding Its Benefits.pptxMartaLoveguard
Slide 1: Title: Exploring the Mindfulness: Understanding Its Benefits
Slide 2: Introduction to Mindfulness
Mindfulness, defined as the conscious, non-judgmental observation of the present moment, has deep roots in Buddhist meditation practice but has gained significant popularity in the Western world in recent years. In today's society, filled with distractions and constant stimuli, mindfulness offers a valuable tool for regaining inner peace and reconnecting with our true selves. By cultivating mindfulness, we can develop a heightened awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and surroundings, leading to a greater sense of clarity and presence in our daily lives.
Slide 3: Benefits of Mindfulness for Mental Well-being
Practicing mindfulness can help reduce stress and anxiety levels, improving overall quality of life.
Mindfulness increases awareness of our emotions and teaches us to manage them better, leading to improved mood.
Regular mindfulness practice can improve our ability to concentrate and focus our attention on the present moment.
Slide 4: Benefits of Mindfulness for Physical Health
Research has shown that practicing mindfulness can contribute to lowering blood pressure, which is beneficial for heart health.
Regular meditation and mindfulness practice can strengthen the immune system, aiding the body in fighting infections.
Mindfulness may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity by reducing stress and improving overall lifestyle habits.
Slide 5: Impact of Mindfulness on Relationships
Mindfulness can help us better understand others and improve communication, leading to healthier relationships.
By focusing on the present moment and being fully attentive, mindfulness helps build stronger and more authentic connections with others.
Mindfulness teaches us how to be present for others in difficult times, leading to increased compassion and understanding.
Slide 6: Mindfulness Techniques and Practices
Focusing on the breath and mindful breathing can be a simple way to enter a state of mindfulness.
Body scan meditation involves focusing on different parts of the body, paying attention to any sensations and feelings.
Practicing mindful walking and eating involves consciously focusing on each step or bite, with full attention to sensory experiences.
Slide 7: Incorporating Mindfulness into Daily Life
You can practice mindfulness in everyday activities such as washing dishes or taking a walk in the park.
Adding mindfulness practice to daily routines can help increase awareness and presence.
Mindfulness helps us become more aware of our needs and better manage our time, leading to balance and harmony in life.
Slide 8: Summary: Embracing Mindfulness for Full Living
Mindfulness can bring numerous benefits for physical and mental health.
Regular mindfulness practice can help achieve a fuller and more satisfying life.
Mindfulness has the power to change our perspective and way of perceiving the world, leading to deeper se
The PBHP DYC ~ Reflections on The Dhamma (English).pptxOH TEIK BIN
A PowerPoint Presentation based on the Dhamma Reflections for the PBHP DYC for the years 1993 – 2012. To motivate and inspire DYC members to keep on practicing the Dhamma and to do the meritorious deed of Dhammaduta work.
The texts are in English.
For the Video with audio narration, comments and texts in English, please check out the Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2g_43NEa0
The Good News, newsletter for June 2024 is hereNoHo FUMC
Our monthly newsletter is available to read online. We hope you will join us each Sunday in person for our worship service. Make sure to subscribe and follow us on YouTube and social media.
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile.
Tarot for Your Self A Workbook for Personal Transformation Second Edition (M...
Being different
1. Some Impressionistic takes from the book of
Rajiv Malhotra
“Being Different”
by Ramki
ramaddster@gmail.com
2. About the Author
At the peak of his career when he owned 20 companies in several countries, he
took early retirement at age 44 to pursue philanthropy, research and public
service. He established Infinity Foundation for this purpose in 1994.
Rajiv has conducted original research in a variety of fields and has influenced
many other thinkers in India and the West. He has disrupted the mainstream
thought process among academic and non-academic intellectuals alike, by
providing fresh provocative positions on Dharma and on India. Some of the
focal points of his work are: Interpretation of Dharma for the current times;
comparative religion, globalization, and India’s contributions to the world.
Rajiv Malhotra is an internationally known researcher,
writer, speaker and public intellectual on current affairs
as they relate to civilizations, cross-cultural
encounters, spirituality and science.
He studied physics and computer science, and served
in multiple careers including: software development
executive, Fortune 100 senior corporate executive,
strategic consultant, and successful entrepreneur in
the information technology and media industries.
3. Being Different is both a critical exploration of the two vastly different
metaphysical/ religious world views (the Abrahamic and dharmic
families of spiritual traditions) dominant in the United States and India
respectively, and a challenge to what the author finds to be an
asymmetric power relationship between them.
Malhotra does not take up these tasks from a neutral and
disinterested point of view.
He writes with passion from within an avowedly dharmic stance and
with the intention of undermining the attempts to domesticate and
expropriate the Indian traditions in a process of inter-religious
dialogue that is ultimately based on a Western cosmological
framework and religious assumptions.
In drawing out the contrast between "tolerance of other religions" and
"mutual respect between religions" in his "experiments in proposing
mutual respect" in chapter 2, he brilliantly exposes the pretense in
Western affirmations of cultural pluralism.
Prelude
4. He further insightfully suggests that the West—especially the United
States—suffers from what he calls "difference anxiety" that can be
controlled only by producing a worldwide religious homogeneity that
effectively contradicts the deceptively overt commitment to having a
diversity of cultures.
Against those within the dharmic framework who envy the "riches" of the
globalized world (a "difference anxiety" from below, compared to that of
the West), he shows that accepting Western cultural assumptions is not
essential to participation in the benefits of globalization.
An essential reading for Western scholars engaged in cross-cultural
studies. Malhotra espouses an "audacity of difference" in any such
enterprise that defends both the distinctiveness and the spiritual value of
Indian thought that effectively reveals the cultural chauvinism of much
Western thought in its encounters with other cultures.
Entertaining such audacity without assuming it is simply an apology for
Hinduism could well transform the current global multicultural dialogue
to positive effect.
Prelude
5. Why do religious differences have to be encouraged? Is it
better being different or getting digested?
What is cultural digestion and how does it create serious
problems?
Why mutual respect is better than tolerance?
How does the West and the East react to chaos,
complexities, and ambiguities?
How does Indian civilization differ from Western history-
centric religion?
The arguments which the author gives for all these questions
make the reader understand what is present in Indian civilization
or Hindu worldview and how is that gets digested in Western
universalism.
Questions raised by the author
6. The author states that Purvapaksha “is the traditional dharmic
approach to rival schools.
It is a dialectical approach, taking a thesis by an opponent
(‘Purvapakshin’) and then providing its rebuttal (‘Khandana’)
to establish the protagonist’s views (‘Siddhanta’).
The Purvapaksha tradition required any debater first to argue
from the perspective of his opponent in order to test the
validity of his understanding of the opposing position, and
from there to realize his own shortcomings.
The author strongly advocates mutual respect rather than
religious tolerance. He makes the readers to understand
easily by quoting ‘no husband and wife would appreciate
being told that his or her presence at home was being
tolerated
The Audacity of Difference
7. Tolerance, in short, is an outright insult. Whereas mutual
respect merely means that, ‘I am respected for my faith, with
no compulsion for others to adopt or practice it’.
In this chapter, adding to the terms religious tolerance and
mutual respect, the author has coined a term “difference
anxiety.” This term refers to ‘the mental uneasiness caused
by the perception of difference combined with a desire to
diminish, conceal, or eradicate it.’
This chapter describes the ways by which the difference
anxiety pushes the western thoughts towards the
homogeneous ideas, beliefs, and identity.
As a way of resolving difference, the western civilizations
take out the best elements of other religions, place them in
their own concepts, and formulate themselves as progressive
races.
The Audacity of Difference
8. This categorization privileges the western gaze and enables it to
declare itself as the universal norm for others to emulate.
Gives the historical evidence of slow invasion of the West in
Indian culture, which later made Indians feel proud to follow the
west and feel ashamed or inferior calling themselves as Indian.
This leads to the digestion of the so-called inferior religion by the
West. When a particular civilization labels itself in the position of
superiority, it tends to dominate the less powerful civilization and
kill the less powerful religion.
The author strongly claims ‘the cross-fertilization among cultures
can be sustained longer than the merging of one into another.’
To give more clarity, he speaks about the Indian traditions that
embody the approach of difference with mutual respect based
on the radical idea that differences are not a problem to be
solved
The Audacity of Difference
9. Chapter -1 Take away- Being different or Getting Digested ?
1 Digestible difference That which can be resolved by one
appropriating from other
Example : Inculturation
2 Non-Digestible difference Mutual contradiction, hence cannot be resolved
by appropriation
Example: Status of Jesus in Islam &
Christianity
Example: Karma-Reincarnation Vs. Nicene
creed ( core Christian Belief)
3 Poison Pill Dangerous to the host if swallowed
Example: Yoga undermines History-Centrism
of Nicene Creed.
10. This chapter mainly focuses on giving clarity to the readers
that Indian culture is not history-centric but inner science.
In Dharmic tradition, through spiritual practices, an ordinary
man can recover the ultimate truth and can understand the
true self and the highest truth.
Dharmic emphasis on an individual’s ever-present divine
potential runs contrary to the Judeo-Christian emphasis on
‘salvation from sin’.
From the Dharmic point of view, the Judeo-Christian fixation
on history is strange.
For the West’s continuous claim that the stories on India are
entirely mythical with no historical evidence, author explains
very clearly that Dharmic spiritual practices do not rely on
some anthropological values
Yoga: Freedom from History
11. Further he says ‘truth is not dependent on history; rather,
history is a manifestation of it’.
Thus, Dharmic relation between history and myth is not
comparable to Western relation between truth and fiction.
This understanding of highest truth never showed Indian
sense of manifest destiny to rule the world.
Having explained very clearly the inner science of Dharmic
worldview, he questions the western religion: Will the western
worldview exist if their history is destroyed?
Yoga: Freedom from History
12. Chapter -2 Take away -1/2
Embodied Knowing: Dharmic alternative to History-Centrism
1 Definition of
Embodied knowing
Each human has the innate potential to achieve the
highest state consciousness without recourse to any
historical events.
This is because the human being is inherently divine &
not a separate essence from God.
2 Implications No Limit to number of enlightened masters, hence no
exclusive prophets.
New enlightened masters refresh old canons,
challenge central institutions.
Pluralism galore; open source architecture of
knowledge.
Creative experimentation, no finality, closure or
imperialism .
13. Chapter -2 Take away -2/2
Western Religions are History-Centric
1 What is History-
Centrism ?
God’s truth accessible only via unique lineage of
prophets.
This history is exclusive, literal, absolute & universal
Non-negotiable because it is from God
All other accounts of history of God’s interventions
must be falsified or there will be chaos.
2 Implications One history, one truth, one institution to control it and
spread it uniformly, dissent in dangerous & chaotic.
Source of exclusivism, expansionism, religious
conflicts.
Religion=History club= centralized authority & control.
3 Secular versions (
Hegel’s influence)
Grand narrative of America, Founding father, Manifest
destiny.
Tens of thousands of historical societies across USA
14. Here he explains integral unity as “ultimately ONLY the whole
exists; the parts that make up the whole have but a
RELATIVE existence.
The whole is independent and indivisible.” It can be
discovered and experienced through spiritual practices.
According to the Dharmic worldview, creation is not separate
from God and God is not merely the creator (the external
force) of the world.
However, as per the Abrahamic faith, synthetic unity starts
with the parts that EXIST separately from one another.
According to the Western worldview, physical and non-
physical parts. have independent existence and are linked by
external force i.e. the divine power.
Integral Unity & Synthetic Unity
15. The Judeo-Christian worldview is based on the separate
essences for God, the world and the human souls.
This result has been a forced unity of separate entities, and
such a unity always feels threatened to disintegrate and
remains synthetic at its best. In Dharmic worldview,
everything emerges from unified WHOLE. Moreover, this
makes the readers understand God is the world.
Integral Unity & Synthetic Unity
16. Integral Unity vs. Synthetic Unity: The Idea
Integral Unity of the Dharmic world: Involution and Evolution cycle
Concept of infinity: Purna
Synthetic Unity: Creation and Evolution irreconcilable
Dharma Judeo-Christian
The Ultimate reality Belief independent
Impersonal, multiple forms
God not separate from
world
Belief based
Male, Father
God and world distinct
The Human Individual: sat-chit-anand
Reincarnation
Self-made destiny-karma
Moksha: individual effort
Individual: sinner
One life
Circumstances unexplained
Salvation: Grace of god
The World Infinite cycle of creation
No collective end; moksha
personal
Finite time and space, linear
Judgment day for humanity
17. Integral Unity vs. Synthetic Unity: Issue of Contention
Synthetic Unity: Binary world of True and False
Emphasis on reasoning to bifurcate promotes ego or isolation
Higher isolation/ inflated ego leads to higher needs
Inflated ego promotes selfishness and violence
Result, pursuit of infinite growth in a finite world
Focus on freedom to
A range of states: (7 in number) Negation, Approximation,
Absence, Difference (with some similarities), Reduction /
Diminution, Badness / unworthy, Opposite/ contradictory
Concept of prana –unifying mind and body focused on feeling
Process to integrate self with the ultimate reality, by eliminating
ego
Focus on freedom from
18. Integral Unity vs. Synthetic Unity: Implications
Description Dharmic Judeo-Christianity
World view Cosmic centered system Human centered system
Time horizon Infinite Finite
Relationship with nature Interdependence Subordinate to human
Approach to problem Discover solutions Invent solutions
Concept of Progress Sustainable co-
existence
Material progress
Binary mode of view vs. multiple hues of dharma is seen as
dharma being ‘unethical’
Means vs. end debate and Krishna in Mahabharata
A view that ethics as a guide applies only in self-centered
actions
19. Chapter -3 Take away
Nature of Unity : Integral Or Synthetic ?
1 Dharmic idea of
integral Unity
No “ thing” exists separately by itself; ( Brahmin in
Hinduism, Dependent co-rising in Buddhism) Unity in
diversity.
2 Biblical synthetic unity Separate essences of: God/humans; one soul from
another; God/Cosmos; human/cosmos
3 Secular: Aristotle to
Descartes
Inherent self –existence of “Building blocks”
Intellectual project is to create unity our of part =
synthesis.
Hellenism vs. Hebraism ; Science Vs Religion;
Colonial appropriations.
4 Implications for West Artificial unity always at risk of filing apart; need for
control, aggression
5 Implication of Dharma Comfort with diversity , “chaos” because unity is
inherent in existence.
20. After reading about the synthetic unity, readers can comprehend
very clearly the author’s view of the deep-rooted anxiety of
western worldview towards chaos, uncertainty, and complexity.
To make it clear that Dharmic worldview is decentralized and is
flexible with chaos, the author brings in Sri Aurobindo’s quotes
on decentralization that “unity must be created, but not
necessary uniformity.”
Adding to this, the chapter describes how Dharmic worldview
sees chaos as a creative catalyst built into the cosmos to
balance out order and hence it adopts a more relaxed attitude
towards it.
In this chapter, the author gives a beautiful analogy – Dharmic
as forest and Judeo-Christian as desert.
This analogy will help readers get a clear idea of Dharmic
worldview’s flexibility towards chaos.
Order & Chaos
21. Anxiety Over Chaos vs. Comfort with Complexity: The idea
Defined, permanent bifurcation vs. Subjective, temporary, classification
Biblical view: Good and Evil inherited, Noah and three sons: Ham,
Shem, Japheth
Dark-skinned Ham & ancestors punished for violating honor
Dharmic View: Good and evil, vision based
Kashyapa =Vision, Diti= limited/ divided, limited, Aditi= limitless
Source of Difference: Desert origin vs. Forest born
22. Anxiety Over Chaos vs. Comfort with Complexity: Issue of
Contention
Uni-dimensional Ethics:
Commandments or the one Right path for all
Push for Uniformity
Contextualized Dharma:
Universal dharma an oxymoron
Dharma is life-stage specific, occupation specific and era-
specific, Dharma is open ended and evolves
Practice can be both right and wrong; they are context specific
Push for unity
23. Anxiety Over Chaos vs. Comfort with Complexity: Implication
Satyam-Shivam-Sundaram implications
Western view:
True, good and beautiful is integrated
White skinned, symmetric gods and heroes, dark
skinned, malformed villains
Was used to justify slavery
Dharma View:
Beautiful need not be good, good need not be beautiful,
both good and beautiful need not be permanent, i.e. true
Dark skin seen as beautiful and good, : Rama, Krishna,
Vishnu
25. The author argues about the problematic impact of translating
and representing the Dharmic worldview in western
frameworks.
Dharmic worldview is in Sanskrit.
This is the reason why Hindu worldview cannot be translated
on western framework.
In Sanskrit, the fundamental sounds have a link to the
experience of the object they represent i.e. the root sound
and vibrations.
This chapter clearly states how the digestion happens due to
this kind of translation to western worldview, which actually
cannot be translated at all.
Non-translatable Sanskrit versus Digestion
26. Cultural Digestion vs. Sanskrit Non-translatebles: The Idea
Four levels of Vak (the root/ source of creation): un-manifest,
subtle potential, mental image and outer expression
Words have multiple meaning and is context specific
Bridaranyaka Upanishad: The 3 meanings of Da
Translating Sanskrit into other western languages misses the
essence
It is like assigning constant value to an algebraic variable
Brahman and Ishwara ≠ God, Impersonal vs. Personal,
universe vs. creator
Shiva ≠Destroyer, Shiva is transformer, there is no end
Atma ≠Soul; True self vs. waiting to be save by God
27. Cultural Digestion vs. Sanskrit Non-translatebles: Implication
Religion viewed Differently
Aspects Christian view Dharmic View
Divine Distinct from individual Within; but not essential as in
Buddhism, Jainism, Carvaka
Source of
Knowledge
Single source Multiple sources; library vs.
books
Governance Institution of Church Not essential
Route to
salvation
A standard set:
repentance and
acceptance
Multiple routes: Jnana, Bhakti,
Karma,
Membership Formally granted No formal membership, a way
of life
28. Chapter -5 Take away
Non-Translatable Sanskrit Mantras
1 Unique claim of
Sanskrit
Vibrations , not merely meaning, each
vibration has a defined effect.
One vibration cannot be substituted for
another, hence non-translatability.
2 Sanskrit protects
dharma from digestion
When fully translated , dharma dissolves as
subset of ludei-Christianity.
Add certain Sanskrit words into English;
potential as poison pills.
Sanskrit influence on pan-Asian Sanskriti
3 Examples of non-
translatables
Numerous mis-translations explained in the
book.
29. Western Universalization
Idea
Globalization means westernization
Progress is salvation or scientific secular progress
Concept of Universal History, linear in nature
Issues of Contention
Binary categories like sacred/ secular, monotheism/polytheism,
creation/evolution, political right/left cannot explain Dharma with
multiple hues
Implications
Other cultures selectively used to forward Westernization:
Germany and Sanskrit
Uni-dimensional concept of success
Cultural genocide in the name of development
Eliminating local production and seasonal eating
30. Chapter -6 Take away
Challenging Wester Universalism
1 Definition Use of west’s historical experiences, ideas &
assumptions as basis for a universal standard on
which all civilizations are mapped & judged.
Went hand in hand with conquests, genocides &
colonization.
Implicit toady in language, worldviews, “
development’ institutions.
2 Major
Challenges
Islamic Universalism & Confucian Universalism
Postmodern critiques within the west.
3 Expanding
western
Universalism by
digesting
others.
Book explains Hegel & colonialists using Indology to
appropriate & construct notions of European
selfhood, while trashing the source.
31. Purva Paksha
Use Western
Categories
Use Dharmic
Categories
Gaze at Indian
Civilization
Colonial Indology and
humanities in today’s
South Asian Studies
Pre-colonial Indian
intellectuals
Gaze at Western
Civilization
Postcolonial Indian
scholar who attack the
West using western
categories
Very rare but the Authors
goal
Effective prerequisites for Purva Paksha
Level playing field, terms of debate mutually agreed
Intention to pursue truth, not conversion
Pursue truth irrespective of ego impact, no compromises to get win-win;
Basic self-control /mastery a prerequisite for the practioner
Be well informed in both the schools
Best example: Mahatma Gandhi and his fight against Colonial rule
32. Purva Paksha-Take Away
Purva Paksha : Reversing the Gaze upon the West
1 Definition Understanding the other authentically, with mutual
respect.
Responding /evaluating through our own siddhanta/
lens
2 Indians gazing at
others
Traditionally a central part of education, research.
Inadequate purva paksha of the west
Postcolonialist gaze at west is not based on Indian
siddhantha.
3 Necessary today Undermines the fashionable teaching of “ Sameness”
Helps us understand “ Who we are” on own terms
Helps resist being digested into western civilization as
junior partner.
Dharmic universalism deserves a seat at the table