Thursday, September 21, 2017
Friday, July 24, 2015
3 Headed Snake
There are many pictures getting circulated about 3 headed snakes and 5 headed snakes.
All of them are fake. It is time to acknowledge the fact that these multiheaded snakes do not exist.
A rare genetic disoreder or a birth defect may cause 2 headed snake,
but 3 headed or 5 headed or 7 headed ir 9 headed??????
THEY DO NOT EXIST !!!!!
Here is the original picture.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Gora
Goparaju Ramachandra Rao was a prominent rationalist, social reformer and freedom fighter in southern India. He...
Posted by Irreligion on Monday, May 4, 2015
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Different Classes of Indian Railways
Indian railways is one of the world largest railway networks comprising a distance of 65436km.
It has many classes.
1.UR/GEN Gerenal Class
This is the cheapest class and although entry into the compartment is guaranteed, a sitting seat is not guaranteed. Tickets issued are valid on any train on the same route if boarded within 24 hours of buying the ticket. These coaches are usually very crowded and are usually positioned at front and back of the train2) 2S 2nd Class Sleeper
This is a non-AC seater class. Available in short distance trains and can accomodate 108 passengers in each coach. They are numbered D1,D2,etc.3)SL Sleeper Class
Sleeper class This is the most common coach and found in almost all trains and commonly known as second class. It has berths for sleeping and accomodates 72 passengers. They are costlier than 2s. They are numbered S1,S2,etc4) CC Chair Car
Chair Car This is an air conditioned version of 2S, but with better seats and services. Some trains like shatabdi express provide bottled water, juice, coffee or tea, and meals relevant to time of day of the journey. The coaches are numbered C1,C2, etc. Garib Rath trains have chair cars numbered J1,J2,etc.5. EC Executive class
This class almost like the chair car but with better services and more spacious The coaches are numbered E1,E2,etc6) 3E Ac three tier economy
This is an AC version of SL, but less spacious and more crowded. They are only present in Garib Rath Trains. The passengers are not given bedding and is availble for extra payment. Garib Rath trains have coaches numbered G1,G2,etc7) 3A AC Three tier
This is an AC version of SL with 8 bays of 8 passengers each totalling 64 passengers in each coach. The coaches are numbered B1,B2,etc8) 2A AC Two Tier
These ac coaches have ample leg spaces and curtains for privacy. They accomodate 46 passengers in a coach They are numbered A1,A2,etc9)FC First class
This is a non AC coach and it is priced between 1ac and 2AC. Since 2A is cheaper, bookings were low and hence manufacture of this cach has been stopped and is now present in ver few trains. It is numbered F1,F210) 1A Flrst class AC
This is the most expensive class in Indian Railways with fares costlier than Airways for long distance trains. It carries only 18 passengers per coach. The coach is carpeted and passengers have very high privacy. It is numbered H1,H2, etc ...........Friday, March 6, 2015
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Apollo 11 - Space mission
- Apollo 11 was the spaceflight which landed the first humans.
- Neil Armstrong, the commander was the first person to step on the moon.
- Buzz Aldrin landed after him.
- According to different NASA accounts, he had originally been proposed as the first to step onto the Moon's surface, but due to the physical positioning of the astronauts inside the compact lunar landing module, it was easier for the commander, Neil Armstrong, to be the first to exit the spacecraft.
- "That's one small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind". This was said by Neil Armstrong, when he stepped on the moon.
- Luna 15 was a Soviet probe designed to collect lunar soil and return it to Earth and study circumlunar space and the lunar gravitational field, which could have given the Soviets more Moon glory. The mission along with Apollo 11 played a important role in the culmination of the Space Race. Luna 15 was launched 3 days before Apollo 11 and reached lunar orbit before Apollo 11. During descent, a malfunction caused Luna 15 to crash on the Mare Crisium of the Moon, just after Armstrong and Aldrin completed their moon walk.
- The Commander Neil Armstrong died aged 82 on 25th August 2012
Crew
Position Astronaut Commander Neil A. Armstrong Command Module Pilot Michael Collins Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin
- This is Buzz Aldrin. His footprint can still be seen even today on the moon.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Pakistan
- Pakistan is officially known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
- It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and Western Asia.
- The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze AgeIndus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures.
- Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed forces in the world and is a declared nuclear weapons state, being the only nation in the Muslim world
- Pakistan has the second largest Muslim population in the world. It is second to Indonesia.
- About one fifth of the population live below the international poverty line
- The official and national sport of Pakistan is Field hockey.
- The modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 in the eastern and northwestern regions of British India, where there was a Muslim majority.
- Dispute over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir led to the First Kashmir War in October 1947.
- Pakistan is a democratic parliamentary federal republic with Islam as the state religion.
- The Kashmir conflict is a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region, the most northwesterly region of South Asia. The two countries have fought at least three wars over Kashmir—the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1947, 1965 and 1999 and several skirmishes over the Siachen Glacier.
- India claims the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir and administers approximately 45.1% of the region, including most of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen Glacier.
- Pakistan, which controls approximately 38.2% of Kashmir, consisting of Azad Kashmir and the northern areas of Gilgit and Baltistan.
- More than sixty languages are spoken in Pakistan, including a number of provincial languages. Urdu, the lingua franca and a symbol of Muslim identity and national unity, is the national language and is understood by over 75% of Pakistanis.
- English is the official language of Pakistan, used in official business, government, and legal contracts.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature.
The five largest religious groups by population, estimated to account for between 5 and 7 billion people, are Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism (with the relative numbers for Buddhism and Hinduism dependent on the extent of syncretism) and Chinese folk religion.
| Five largest religions | Adherents in 2000[42] | % of world population[42] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christianity | 2.0 billion | 33% | |
| Islam | 1.2 billion | 19.6% | |
| Hinduism | 811 million | 13.4% | |
| Chinese folk religion | 385 million | 6.4% | |
| Buddhism | 360 million | 5.9% |
The countries mapped to the prevailing religion.
Abrahamic religions
Judaism is the oldest Abrahamic religion, originating in the people of ancient Israel and Judea. Judaism is based primarily on the Torah, a text which some Jews believe was handed down to the people of Israel through the prophet Moses. This along with the rest of the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud are the central texts of Judaism. The Jewish people were scattered after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. Today there are about 13 million Jews, about 40 per cent living in Israel and 40 per cent in the United States. Abrahamic religions are monotheistic religions which believe they descend from Abraham.
- Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (1st century) as presented in the New Testament. The Christian faith is essentially faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and as Savior and Lord. Almost all Christians believe in the Trinity, which teaches the unity of Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead. Most Christians can describe their faith with the Nicene Creed. As the religion of Byzantine Empire in the first millennium and of Western Europe during the time of colonization, Christianity has been propagated throughout the world. The main divisions of Christianity are, according to the number of adherents:
- Catholic Church, headed by the Pope in Rome, is a communion of the Western church and 22 Eastern Catholic churches.
- Protestantism, separated from the Catholic Church in the 16th-century Reformation and split in many denominations,
- Eastern Christianity which include Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and the Church of the East.
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- There are other smaller groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses and the Latter Day Saint movement, whose inclusion in Christianity is sometimes disputed.
- Islam refers to the religion taught by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a major political and religious figure of the 7th century CE. Islam is the dominant religion of northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. As with Christianity, there is no single orthodoxy in Islam but a multitude of traditions which are generally categorized as Sunni and Shia, although there are other minor groups as well. Wahhabi is the dominant Muslim schools of thought in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There are also several Islamic republics, including Iran, which is run by a Shia Supreme Leader.
- Smaller regional Abrahamic groups, including Samaritanism (primarily in Israel and the West Bank), the Rastafari movement (primarily in Jamaica), and Druze (primarily in Syria and Lebanon).
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Indian religions
- Hinduism is a word describing the similar philosophies of Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and related groups practiced or founded in the Indian subcontinent. Concepts most of them share in common include karma, caste, reincarnation, mantras, yantras, and darśana. Hinduism is the most ancient of still-active religions,.with origins perhaps as far back as prehistoric times. Hinduism is not a monolithic religion but a religious category containing dozens of separate philosophies amalgamated as Sanātana Dharma, which is the name with whom Hinduism has been known throughout history by its followers.Indian religions are practiced or were founded in the Indian subcontinent.
- Jainism, taught primarily by Parsva (9th century BCE) and Mahavira (6th century BCE), is an ancient Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence for all forms of living beings in this world. Jains are found mostly in India.
- Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gotama in the 6th century BCE. Buddhists generally agree that Gautama aimed to help sentient beingsend their suffering (dukkha) by understanding the true nature of phenomena, thereby escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth (saṃsāra), that is, achieving Nirvana.
- Theravada Buddhism, which is practiced mainly in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia alongside folk religion, shares some characteristics of Indian religions. It is based in a large collection of texts called the Pali Canon.
- Mahayana Buddhism (or the "Great Vehicle") under which are a multitude of doctrines that began their development in China and are still relevant in Vietnam, Korea, Japan and to a lesser extent in Europe and the United States. Mahayana Buddhism includes such disparate teachings as Zen, Pure Land, and Soka Gakkai.
- Vajrayana Buddhism, sometimes considered a form of Mahayana, was developed in Tibet and is still most prominent there and in surrounding regions.
- Two notable new Buddhist sects are Hòa Hảo and the Dalit Buddhist movement, which were developed separately in the 20th century.
- Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak and ten successive Sikh Gurus in 15th century Punjab. Sikhs are found mostly in India.
[edit]Iranian religions
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster in the 6th century BC. The Zoroastrians worship theCreator Ahura Mazda. In Zoroastrianism good and evil have distinct sources, with evil trying to destroy the creation of Mazda, and good trying to sustain it.Iranian religions are ancient religions whose roots predate the Islamization of Greater Iran. Nowadays these religions are practiced only by minorities.
- Mandaeism is a monotheistic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Mandaeans are sometime labeled as the "Last Gnostics".
- Kurdish religions include the traditional beliefs of the Yazidi, Alevi, and Ahl-e Haqq. Sometimes these are labeled Yazdânism.
[edit]Folk religions
Folk religion is a term applied loosely and vaguely to less-organized local practices. It is also called paganism, shamanism, animism, ancestor worship, matriarchal religion, or totemism, although not all of these elements are necessarily present in local belief systems. The category of "folk religion" can generally include anything that is not part of an organization. Modern neopagan movement draws on folk religion for inspiration to varying degrees.
- African traditional religion is a category including any type of religion practiced in Africa before the arrival of Islam and Christianity, such as Yoruba religion or San religion. There are many varieties of religions developed by Africans in the Americas derived from African beliefs, including Santería, Candomblé, Umbanda, Vodou, and Oyotunji.
- Folk religions of the Americas include Aztec religion, Inca religion, Maya religion, and modern Catholic beliefs such as the Virgin of Guadalupe. Native American religion is practiced across the continent of North America.
- Australian Aboriginal culture contains a mythology and sacred practices characteristic of folk religion.
- Chinese folk religion, practiced by Chinese people around the world, is a primarily social practice including popular elements ofConfucianism and Taoism, with some remnants of Mahayana Buddhism. Most Chinese do not identify as religious due to the strong Maoistinfluence on the country in recent history, but adherence to religious ceremonies remains common. New religious movements include Falun Gong and I-Kuan Tao.
- Traditional Korean religion is a syncretic mixture of Mahayana Buddhism and Korean shamanism. Unlike Japanese Shinto, Korean shamanism was never codified and Buddhism was never made a social necessity. In some areas these traditions remain prevalent, butKorean-influenced Christianity is also influential in society and politics in South Korea.
- Traditional Japanese religion is a mixture of Mahayana Buddhism and ancient indigenous practices which were codified as Shinto in the 19th century. Japanese people retain nominal attachment to both Buddhism and Shinto through social ceremonies, but irreligion is common.
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Shinshūkyō is a general category for a wide variety of religious movements founded in Japan since the 19th century. These movements share almost nothing in common except the place of their founding. The largest religious movements centered in Japan include Soka Gakkai,Tenrikyo, and Seicho-No-Ie among hundreds of smaller groups.New religious movements, which may be novel in origin or part of a wider established religion, include:
- The Bahá'í Faith was founded in the 19th century in Iran and since then has spread worldwide. It teaches unity of all religious philosophies and accepts all of the prophets of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well as additional prophets including its founder Bahá'u'lláh.
- Cao Đài is a syncretistic, monotheistic religion, established in Vietnam in 1926.
- Hindu reform movements, such as Ayyavazhi, Swaminarayan Faith and Ananda Marga, are examples of new religious movements within Indian religions.
- Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning," and has no acceptedcreed or theology.
- Scientology teaches that people are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature. Its method of spiritual rehabilitation is a type of counseling known as auditing, in which practitioners aim to consciously re-experience painful or traumatic events in their past in order to free themselves of their limiting effects.
- Eckankar is a religion with the purpose of making God an everyday reality in one's life.
Sociological classifications of religious movements suggest that within any given religious group, a community can resemble various types of structures, including "churches", "denominations", "sects", "cults", and "institutions".
Irreligion
Irreligion may be defined as the absence of religion, an indifference towards religion, a rejection of religion, or hostility towards religion. When characterized as the rejection of religious belief, it includes atheism and secular humanism. When characterized as hostility towards religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as indifference to religion, it includes apatheism. When characterized as the absence of religious belief, it may also include agnosticism, ignosticism, nontheism,religious skepticism, and freethought. Irreligion may even include forms of theism depending on the religious context it is defined against, as in 18th century Europe where the epitome of irreligion was deism.
It has been estimated that 16% of the world population (1.1 billion people) are "non-religious" including agnostic, atheist, secular humanist, and people who answer 'none' or 'no religious preference' when asked an open-ended question about what is their religious preference. However, at the same time, it is also estimated that 40 to 50% of the people in this highly disparate grouping have a stated traditionally "theistic" belief in God, deities or a Higher Power. Some evidence suggests that the fastest growing religious status in the United States is "no religion".
Below is a table of countries, where many atheists are present
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Atheism in Hinduism
Generally, atheism is valid in Hinduism, but some schools view the path of an atheist to be difficult to follow in matters of spirituality.
Most Hindu atheists treat Hinduism as a "way of life" but not as a religion. Their day-to-day lifestyle will be almost similar to most Hindu theists but they do not believe in a God. They live by their Hindu values and traditions
Saturday, November 26, 2011
The Three R's of the Environment
The Three R's of the Environment
Every year, Americans throw away 50 billion food and drink cans, 27 billion glass bottles and jars, and 65 million plastic and metal jar and can covers. Similarly, many other countries have followed their example and started wasting. More than 30% of our waste is packaging materials. Where does it all go? Some 85% of our garbage is sent to a dump, or landfill, where it can take from 100 to 400 years for things like cloth and aluminum to decompose. Glass has been found in perfect condition after 4,000 years in the earth!
We are quickly running out of space. It's time to learn the three R's of the environment: reduce, reuse, recycle. Then practice what you preach: don't buy things you don't need or items that come in wasteful packaging or that cannot be recycled. Reuse and recycle whatever you can.
Reduce
Reducing the amount of waste you produce is the best way to help the environment. There are lots of ways to do this. For example:
- Buy products that don't have a lot of packaging. Some products are wrapped in many layers of plastic and paperboard even though they don't need to be. You can also look for things that are packed in materials that don't require a lot of energy or resources to produce. Some products will put that information right on their labels.
- Instead of buying something you're not going to use very often, see if you can borrow it from someone you know.
- Cars use up energy and cause pollution. Some ways to reduce the environmental damage caused by cars include carpooling with friends, walking, taking the bus, or riding your bike instead of driving.
- Start a compost bin. Some people set aside a place in their yard where they can dispose of certain food and plant materials. Over time, the materials will break down through a natural process called decomposition. The compost is good for the soil in your yard and means that less garbage will go to the landfill.
- You can reduce waste by using a computer! Many newspapers and magazines are online now. Instead of buying the paper versions, you can find them on the Internet. Also remember that you should print out only what you need. Everything you print that you don't really need is a waste of paper.
- Save energy by turning off lights that you are not using.
- Save water by turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth.
Reuse
Instead of throwing things away, try to find ways to use them again! For example:
- Bring cloth sacks to the store with you instead of taking home new paper or plastic bags. You can use these sacks again and again. You'll be saving some trees!
- Plastic containers and reusable lunch bags are great ways to take your lunch to school without creating waste.
- Coffee cans, shoe boxes, margarine containers, and other types of containers people throw away can be used to store things or can become fun arts and crafts projects. Use your imagination!
- Don't throw out clothes, toys, furniture, and other things that you don't want anymore. Somebody else can probably use them. You can bring them to a center that collects donations, give them to friends, or even have a yard sale.
- Use all writing paper on both sides.
- Use paper grocery bags to make book covers rather than buying new ones.
- Use silverware and dishes instead of disposable plastic utensils and plates.
- Store food in reusable plastic containers.
Recycle
Many of the things we use every day, like paper bags, soda cans, and milk cartons, are made out of materials that can be recycled. Recycled items are put through a process that makes it possible to create new products out of the materials from the old ones.
In addition to recycling the things you buy, you can help the environment by buying products that contain recycled materials. Many brands of paper towels, garbage bags, greeting cards, and toilet paper, to name a few examples, will tell you on their labels if they are made from recycled materials.
In some towns you can leave your recyclables in bins outside your home, and a truck will come and collect them regularly. Other towns have recycling centers where you can drop off the materials you've collected. Things like paper and plastic grocery bags, and plastic and aluminum cans and bottles can often be brought to the grocery store for recycling. Whatever your system is, it's important to remember to rinse out and sort your recyclables!
Friday, October 21, 2011
India
- India is officially known as Republic of India.
- It is the 7th largest country and 2nd most populous country and the largest democracy in the world.
- It is the world's 10 largest economy.
- It was first gradually ruled by the British east India company. From mid 19th century, it was ruled directly by UK.
- It gained independence on 15 august 1947.
- British Raj was separated into India and Pakistan.
- India currently has 28 states and 7 Union Territories.
- Islam came to India in the 10th century.
- India's population is forecasted to overtake china's population to become the most populous country.
- It has 2 major languages, Indo-Aryan and Dravidian.
- India has no national language(not mentioned in the constitution). Hindi and English are the official languages
- Hinduism is followed by 81% of the population.
- Islam is 2nd largest religion both in India and the world.
- India is known for its religious diversity with all religions living unitedly. It is a secular country and anyone can follow any religion.
- The earliest text were epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana written in Sanskrit. Following this, Tamil texts were found dated 1st century BC. Out of Indian languages, Tamil in the most non-sanskritised language. So, if you know both Tamil and Sanskrit, you can understand most of the Indian languages.
- The staple food is Rice(South and East), Wheat(North) and lentils.
- India has 3 national days - Republic day, Independence day and Gandhi Jayanthi declared by the Indian government.
- It also has other religious holidays declared by the state government.
- India was the richest country before European invasion.
- India was the only source of Diamonds for 5000 years. It was discovered in Brazil in 700, but only Indian diamond was known to the rest of the world until 18th century.
- The traditional dress varies with region, but the primary cloth is Saree for women and Dhoti for men.
- Martial arts went to China through Buddhist monks.
- Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism originated in India.
- The national emblem is Ashoka Emblem, which has 4 lions in different directions.
- National Animal - Tiger
- National Bird - Peacock
- National Dance - Bharata Natyam
- National Flower - Lotus
- National Fruit - Mango
- National Tree - Banyan
- National Song - Vande Mataram
- National Game - Hockey
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