MRE
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Reflection #8 Islam: Two Perspectives
Monday, 29 November 2010
Personal Commemoration- Reflection #7
Something that my family and friends say to me on my birthday or something we all say on someone's birthday is:
Happy birthday!! That is what all my friends say but to my family, these words mean a lot and do not just say it to wish me but they actually feel something that makes them want to make me feel special since its my birthday. People also say that "MAY THE PAST BE THE WORST OF YOUR LIFE AND MAY THE FUTURE BE THE BEST YEARS OF YOUR ENTIRE LIFE". This is something that really changes the way i think about the people who say this to me.
On birthday, we generally go out and not tend to do the usual thing. We go out and have fun. In the Indian culture, it is said that you are supposed to wear new clothes on your birthday and forget about what memories have you have with the other clothes. It is the way to start a new year and have the time of your life ahead.
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
The Morality of Greek Myths- Reflection #6

Apollo
In the skit that we did in class, I was Apollo. He is basically the messenger and comes in only in the part where Persephone gets kidnapped/forced to go with Hades. Hades falls in love with her but she hates him and doesn't want him to even touch her. She asks him, if she can go but he doesn't want her to leave and live with him. Apollo goes to Persephone's mother and tells her about what has happened and she gets emotional and starts crying. She thinks about what to and tells Apollo to go to Hades. Apollo goes there and tells Hades that Persephone has to go back (it was an order) and she cannot stay with him and everybody is really angry at him. Apollo takes Persephone and Hades want her to eat pomegranate with him and she agrees that she will go and do that and leaves as soon as she is done with the fruit. They leave and then, the people find Hades and hit him since they are taking out their anger at Hades. This is the part of the the story that my friends and i took part in. This is the end of the story but watching the skit was really a good moment of life and i think that doing skits leads us into learning things in an easier way and can remember it for a long time.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #5: Bongwonsa Temple and Nature Walk
While walking towards the Zen Buddhist temple, Bongwonsa and attempting to see nature as a Taoist I realized that there are similarities between nature and religion. The total environment was pure and peaceful and similarly we turned towards god to attain peace and tranquility. I think that nature was made by god so that people could just release their stress into the air and stay calm. When I think about nature, it leads me to think about Buddha sitting under the fig tree meditating for long hours and how he released his stress and tried to not think about anything. People spend lives seeking out religious truth because they want to know how, why they were created in this world. What was the reason for god to create all this beautiful stuff in the world? Personally I believe that religion and nature are very closely related. When I get stressed of school, I go outside, a place where I can rest in peace and I just breathe there for a few minutes, I release my stress and fill myself with fresh air, happiness and energy.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #4: Buddhist Meditation
Thursday, 16 September 2010
Reflection #3- Gandhi: Hindu and Activist
Gandhi idea of Hinduism was that if people do good things in there life, they will be rewarded with good things too. This can be proved by looking at the scene when a Hindu man comes and throws bread and says eat. Gandhi tells him that if he has another child, he should raise it as a Muslim. The man said that he was going to go to hell because of this, and Gandhi said that if he raises the child as a Muslim then he will not. Another idea of Gandhi was the acceptance of all the other religions in the world. This was shown in the movie when Gandhi was in the car and a person says kill Jinnah, and Gandhi gets frustrated and says i am a Hindu, Muslim, Jew, Christian and other religions. This shows us that he appreciated all the religions in the world and didn't let anyone say anything bad about other peoples religion.
"A vow is a purely religious act which cannot be taken in a fit of passion. It can be taken only with a mind purified and composed and with God as a witness." Gandhi lived a very pure and simple life. He practiced what he preached. Gandhi used to meditate everyday for his entire life. He made no discrimination between rich and poor and a Brahman and Dalit. Anyone could talk to him anytime, he did not give preference to people, believing everyone was equal. This was seen in the seen where the man throws the bread at him as mentioned in the previous paragraph. He would sit next to a Dalit or eat along with them whereas everyone else would stay far away from them. Gandhi had a very balanced thinking and never took any decisions in haste.
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Prehistoric Symbol Poem

Lotus flower, grwoing in muddy water
Rising above surface beautiful and clean
Standing so strong even when sun is hotter
Everything around pure and green.
Lotus flower, the symbol of purity and peace
Symbolizing that life is simple and beautiful
Importance of lotus on the increase
To god be always dutiful.