"Mistake"

I was talking with a friend of mine who is much elder than me. We were talking about the aftermath of Godhra Case and i said it was a wrong done by some people. He corrected me by saying, it was a MISTAKE.

I was confused when i heard that it was a mistake. So i was asking myself, while making a mistake, can people kill more than a  thousand people, most of them from one particular community? But i feel both the Godhra fire incident as well as the aftermath killings were well planned, who ever have done both.

Mistakes can be corrected. But once mistake is made on a picture, the picture can not be corrected and remains Spoiled. I think a simple word "Mistake" is not a good explanation or justification for anyone who involves in killing of innocent people.

For tomorrow's India

May be they(BJP) do not have capable and energetic sons and daughters like the congress have today. also may be their modern children are not interested in thier parents' fanatic ideology...i think we should not take it from the dynastic angle. but india need younger generation to take the responibilities for our country. all the parties and our nationl leaders are all old and outdated...still upholding the colonial system of domination and exploitation. however, if only some young people join together regardless of parties and with the vision of future india as a nation, how beautiful that India would be! oldtimers  have forgotten what was India. India was, is and always will be India- the land of diversity. one ideology, one belief, one religion, one culture and many more oneness will not help India to move forward. none can rule india as a country or a nation with fanatic outlook. today's children of India wants to build our mother India strongest and powerful and not like a sick old man on a dying bed with thier outdated beliefs and weight.

Is LK Advani making way for Narendra Modi to be PM in 2014?

Published: Friday, Sep 23, 2011, 13:41 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA

When 84-year-old BJP patriarch LK Advani announced on Wednesday in Nagpur that he is not in the race for the prime minister’s post during the general elections in 2014, it came as no surprise to several BJP functionaries in Gujarat.
Not only Modi supporters, even his detractors concede that Modi has been RSS’s choice as the ‘leader of future’ for quite some time now. The race has been flagged off, but Modi is yet to sprint several hurdles before he eventually engages in a duel with Congress scion Rahul Gandhi. Janata Dal (United)’s Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar and credited with turning around the fortunes of the state, is a strong contender for the post.
Convincing him might not be as lucid for the RSS as convincing Advani. And though, Modi is believed to be a ladies’ man, his charm alone would not be enough to contain the political ambitions of possible allies like Tamil Nadu CM, J Jayalalitha and Mayawati, the dalit ‘icon’ from Uttar Pradesh.
Significantly, Modi’s sudden overt exhibition of love lost for minority communities has far from deterred the RSS’s faith in their man.
And amongst the main reasons behind this unshakable faith is an open secret that Modi is believed to be the biggest financier for the saffron fronts in the country today, especially after the fall of Karnataka CM, BS Yeddyurappa.

buddhism

source: http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/footsteps.htm

Following the Buddha's Footsteps
Instilling Goodness School
City of Ten Thousand Buddhas
Talmage, CA 95481
  INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM
As a child, Siddhartha the Buddha, was troubled by some of the same thoughts that children today have. They wonder about birth and death. They wonder why they get sick and why grandfather died. They wonder why their wishes do not come true. Children also wonder about happiness and the beauty in nature.
Because the Buddha knew what was in the hearts of children and human kind, he taught everyone how to live a happy and peaceful life. Buddhism is not learning about strange beliefs from faraway lands. It is about looking at and thinking about our own lives. It shows us how to understand ourselves and how to cope with our daily problems.
UNIT 1
THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA
Life in the Palace
Buddhism is one of the major religions in the world. It began around 2,500 years ago in India when Siddhartha Gautama discovered how to bring happiness into the world. He was born around 566 BC, in the small kingdom of Kapilavastu. His father was King Suddhodana and his mother was Queen Maya.
Soon after Prince Siddhartha was born, the wise men predicted that he would become a Buddha. When the king heard this, he was deeply disturbed, for he wanted his son to become a mighty ruler. He told Queen Maya, "I will make life in the palace so pleasant that our son will never want to leave."
At the age of sixteen, Prince Siddhartha married a beautiful princess, Yasodhara. The king built them three palaces, one for each season, and lavished them with luxuries. They passed their days in enjoyment and never thought about life outside the palace.
The Four Sights
Soon Siddhartha became disillusioned with the palace life and wanted to see the outside world. He made four trips outside the palace and saw four things that changed his life. On the first three trips, he saw sickness, old age and death. He asked himself, "How can I enjoy a life of pleasure when there is so much suffering in the world?"
On his fourth trip, he saw a wandering monk who had given up everything he owned to seek an end to suffering. "I shall be like him." Siddhartha thought.
Renunciation
Leaving his kingdom and loved ones behind, Siddhartha became a wandering monk. He cut off his hair to show that he had renounced the worldly lifestyle and called himself Gautama. He wore ragged robes and wandered from place to place. In his search for truth, he studied with the wisest teachers of his day. None of them knew how to end suffering, so he continued the search on his own.
For six years he practiced severe asceticism thinking this would lead him to enlightenment. He sat in meditation and ate only roots, leaves and fruit. At times he ate nothing. He could endure more hardships than anyone else, but this did not take him anywhere. He thought, "Neither my life of luxury in the palace nor my life as an ascetic in the forest is the way to freedom. Overdoing things can not lead to happiness. " He began to eat nourishing food again and regained his strength.
Enlightenment
On a full-moon day in May, he sat under the Bodhi tree in deep meditation and said. "I will not leave this spot until I find an end to suffering." During the night, he was visited by Mara, the evil one, who tried to tempt him away from his virtuous path. First he sent his beautiful daughters to lure Gautama into pleasure. Next he sent bolts of lightning, wind and heavy rain. Last he sent his demonic armies with weapons and flaming rocks. One by one, Gautama met the armies and defeated them with his virtue.
As the struggle ended, he realized the cause of suffering and how to remove it. He had gained the most supreme wisdom and understood things as they truly are. He became the Buddha, 'The Awakened One'. From then on, he was called Shakyamuni Buddha.
After his enlightenment, he went to the Deer Park near the holy city of Benares and shared his new understanding with five holy men. They understood immediately and became his disciples. This marked the beginning of the Buddhist community.
For the next forty-five years, the Buddha and his disciples went from place to place in India spreading the Dharma, his teachings. Their compassion knew no bounds, they helped everyone along the way, beggars, kings and slave girls. At night, they would sleep where they were; when hungry they would ask for a little food.
Whenever the Buddha went, he won the hearts of the people because he dealt with their true feelings. He advised them not to accept his words on blind faith, but to decide for themselves whether his teachings are right or wrong, then follow them. He encouraged everyone to have compassion for each other and develop their own virtue, "You should do your own work, for I can teach only the way."
He never became angry or impatient or spoke harshly to anyone, not even to those who opposed him. He always taught in such a way that everyone could understand. Each person thought the Buddha was speaking especially for him. The Buddha told his followers to help each other on the Way. Following is a story of the Buddha living as an example to his disciples.
Once the Buddha and Ananda visited a monastery where a monk was suffering from a contagious disease. The poor man lay in a mess with no one looking after him. The Buddha himself washed the sick monk and placed him on a new bed. Afterwards, he admonished the other monks. "Monks, you have neither mother nor father to look after you. If you do not look after each other, who will look after you? Whoever serves the sick and suffering, serves me."
                                                                        The Last Years
Shakyamuni Buddha passed away around 486 BC at the age of eighty. Although he has left the world, the spirit of his kindness and compassion remains.
The Buddha realized that that he was not the first to become a Buddha. "There have been many Buddhas before me and will be many Buddhas in the future," The Buddha recalled to his disciples. "All living beings have the Buddha nature and can become Buddhas." For this reason, he taught the way to Buddhahood.
The two main goals of Buddhism are getting to know ourselves and learning the Buddha's teachings. To know who we are, we need to understand that we have two natures. One is called our ordinary nature, which is made up of unpleasant feelings such as fear, anger, and jealousy. The other is our true nature, the part of us that is pure, wise, and perfect. In Buddhism, it is called the Buddha nature. The only difference between us and the Buddha is that we have not awakened to our true nature.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
Once there was a woman named Kisagotami, whose first-born son died. She was so stricken with grief that she roamed the streets carrying the dead body and asking for help to bring her son back to life. A kind and wise man took her to the Buddha.
The Buddha told her, "Fetch me a handful of mustard seeds and I will bring your child back to life." Joyfully Kisagotami started off to get them. Then the Buddha added, "But the seeds must come from a family that has not known death."
Kisagotami went from door to door in the whole village asking for the mustard seeds, but everyone said, "Oh, there have been many deaths here", "I lost my father", I lost my sister". She could not find a single household that had not been visited by death. Finally Kisagotami returned to the Buddha and said, "There is death in every family. Everyone dies. Now I understand your teaching."
The Buddha said, "No one can escape death and unhappiness. If people expect only happiness in life, they will be disappointed."
Things are not always the way we want them to be, but we can learn to understand them. When we get sick, we go to a doctor and ask:

• What's wrong with me?
• Why am I sick?
• What will cure me?
• What do I have to do get well?

The Buddha is like a good doctor. First a good doctor diagnoses the illness. Next he finds out what has caused it. Then he decides what the cure is. Finally he prescribes the medicine or gives the treatment that will make the patient well again.

The Four Noble Truths1. There is Suffering Suffering is common to all.
2. Cause of Suffering We are the cause of our suffering.
3. End of Suffering Stop doing what causes suffering.
4. Path to end Suffering Everyone can be enlightened.
THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH
When the Buddha gave his first sermon in the Deer Park, he began the 'Turning of the Dharma Wheel'. He chose the beautiful symbol of the wheel with its eight spokes to represent the Noble Eightfold Path. The Buddha's teaching goes round and round like a great wheel that never stops, leading to the central point of the wheel, the only point which is fixed, Nirvana. The eight spokes on the wheel represent the eight parts of the Noble Eightfold Path. Just as every spoke is needed for the wheel to keep turning, we need to follow each step of the path.
 
1. Right View. The right way to think about life is to see the world through the eyes of the Buddha--with wisdom and compassion.
2. Right Thought. We are what we think. Clear and kind thoughts build good, strong characters.
3. Right Speech. By speaking kind and helpful words, we are respected and trusted by everyone.
4. Right Conduct. No matter what we say, others know us from the way we behave. Before we criticize others, we should first see what we do ourselves.
5. Right Livelihood. This means choosing a job that does not hurt others. The Buddha said, "Do not earn your living by harming others. Do not seek happiness by making others unhappy."
6. Right Effort. A worthwhile life means doing our best at all times and having good will toward others. This also means not wasting effort on things that harm ourselves and others.
7. Right Mindfulness. This means being aware of our thoughts, words, and deeds.
8. Right Concentration. Focus on one thought or object at a time. By doing this, we can be quiet and attain true peace of mind.
Following the Noble Eightfold Path can be compared to cultivating a garden, but in Buddhism one cultivates one's wisdom. The mind is the ground and thoughts are seeds. Deeds are ways one cares for the garden. Our faults are weeds. Pulling them out is like weeding a garden. The harvest is real and lasting happiness.
THE FIVE PRECEPTS
All religions have some basic rules that define what is good conduct and what kind of conduct should be avoided. In Buddhism, the most important rules are the Five Precepts. These have been passed down from the Buddha himself.
 
1. No killing                              Respect for life
2. No stealing                            Respect for others' property
3. No sexual misconduct           Respect for our pure nature
4. No lying                                Respect for honesty
5. No intoxicants                       Respect for a clear mind

Narendra Modi's 2002

Narendra Modi's 2002 cannot be washed away so soon: Political analysts and critics

IANS Sep 18, 2011, 04.40pm IST

Tags:

NEW DELHI: He may have prime ministerial ambitions but Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's 2002 riots ghost will not leave him soon, say political analysts and critics.
On Sunday, the second day of his three-day hunger strike aimed at cementing communal relations in the state, criticism of Modi's past record continued, both in and outside the state.
B.R.P. Bhaskar, a Kerala-based political analyst, thinks Modi's fast has come too late and creates suspicion.
"He will have to prove the genuineness of his new proclamations as he has already destroyed the social fabric of the state," Bhaskar told IANS over telephone.

The Ten Commandments

I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD

YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME

YOU SHALL NOT MAKE IDOL OR BOW DOWN BEFORE THEM

YOU SHALL NOT MISUSE THE NAME OF THE LORD YOUR GOD

REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY BY KEEPING HOLY

HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER

YOU SHALL NOT MURDER

YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY

YOU SHALL NOT STEEL

YOU SHALL NOT COVET YOUR NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE