Life History of Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was born on August 27,1910 in Skopje,Macedonia. Mother Teresa's original name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. The youngest of the children born to Nikola and Drane Bojaxhiu. Her father was a successful merchant and she was youngest of the three siblings. She received her First Communion at the age of five and a half and was confirmed in November 1916. From the day of her First Holy Communion, a love for souls was within her. Her father’s sudden death when Gonxha was about eight years old left in the family in financial straits. Drane raised her children firmly and lovingly, greatly influencing her daughter’s character and vocation. Gonxha’s religious formation was further assisted by the vibrant Jesuit parish of the Sacred Heart in which she was much involved. At the age of 12, she decided that she wanted to be a missionary and spread the love of Christ. At the age of 18 she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. There she received the name Sister Mary Teresa after St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

After a few months of training at the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dublin Mother Teresa came to India on 6 January 1929. On May 24, 1931, she took her initial vows as a nun. From 1931 to 1948, Mother Teresa taught geography and catechism at St. Mary's High School in Calcutta. On 24 May 1937, Sister Teresa made her Final Profession of Vows, becoming, as she said, the “spouse of Jesus” for “all eternity.” From that time on she was called Mother Teresa. She continued teaching at St. Mary’s and in 1944 became the school’s principal. A person of profound prayer and deep love for her religious sisters and her students, Mother Teresa’s twenty years in Loreto were filled with profound happiness. Noted for her charity, unselfishness and courage, her capacity for hard work and a natural talent for organization, she lived out her consecration to Jesus, in the midst of her companions, with fidelity and joy.

Mother Teresa's words are

“By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus. ”Small of stature, rocklike in faith, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was entrusted with the mission of proclaiming God’s thirsting love for humanity, especially for the poorest of the poor. “God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion to the poor.” She was a soul filled with the light of Christ, on fire with love for Him and burning with one desire: “to quench His thirst for love and for souls.”

On 10 September 1946 during the train ride from Calcutta to Darjeeling for her annual retreat, Mother Teresa received her “inspiration,” her “call within a call.” On that day, in a way she would never explain, Jesus’ thirst for love and for souls took hold of her heart and the desire to satiate His thirst became the driving force of her life. Over the course of the next weeks and months, by means of interior locutions and visions, Jesus revealed to her the desire of His heart for “victims of love” who would “radiate His love on souls.” “Come be My light,” He begged her. “I cannot go alone.” He revealed His pain at the neglect of the poor, His sorrow at their ignorance of Him and His longing for their love. He asked Mother Teresa to establish a religious community, Missionaries of Charity, dedicated to the service of the poorest of the poor. However, the prevailing poverty in Calcutta had a deep impact on Mother Teresa's mind and in 1948, she received permission from her superiors to leave the convent school and devote herself to working among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta . On August 17, 1948, she dressed for the first time in a white, blue-bordered sari and passed through the gates of her beloved Loreto convent to enter the world of the poor.

After a short course with the Medical Mission Sisters in Patna, she returned to Calcutta and found temporary lodging with the Little Sisters of the Poor. She started an open-air school for homeless children. Soon she was joined by voluntary helpers, and she received financial support from church organizations and the municipal authorities. On 21 December she went for the first time to the slums. On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Vatican to start her own order. Vatican originally labeled the order as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese, and it later came to known as the "Missionaries of Charity". The primary task of the Missionaries of Charity was to take care of those persons who nobody was prepared to look after.

She visited families, washed the sores of some children, cared for an old man lying sick on the road and nursed a woman dying of hunger and TB. She started each day in communion with Jesus in the Eucharist and then went out, rosary in her hand, to find and serve Him in “the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for.” After some months, she was joined, one by one, by her former students. By the early 1960s, Mother Teresa began to send her Sisters to other parts of India. The Decree of Praise granted to the Congregation by Pope Paul VI in February 1965 encouraged her to open a house in Venezuela. It was soon followed by foundations in Rome and Tanzania and, eventually, on every continent. Starting in 1980 and continuing through the 1990s, Mother Teresa opened houses in almost all of the communist countries, including the former Soviet Union, Albania and Cuba.

The physical and spiritual needs of the poor, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity Brothers in 1963, in 1976 the contemplative branch of the Sisters, in 1979 the Contemplative Brothers, and in 1984 the Missionaries of Charity Fathers. She formed the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa and the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, people of many faiths and nationalities with whom she shared her spirit of prayer, simplicity, sacrifice and her apostolate of humble works of love. This spirit later inspired the Lay Missionaries of Charity. In answer to the requests of many priests, in 1981 Mother Teresa also began the Corpus Christi Movement for Priests as a “little way of holiness” for those who desire to share in her charism and spirit.
She has received a number of awards and distinctions Numerous awards, beginning with the Indian Padmashri Award in 1962 and notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, honoured her work, while an increasingly interested media began to follow her activities. She received both prizes and attention “for the glory of God and in the name of the poor.” These include the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971), Nehru Prize for Promotion of International Peace & Understanding (1972), Balzan Prize (1978), Nobel Peace Prize (1979) and Bharat Ratna (1980).

The whole of Mother Teresa’s life and labour bore witness to the joy of loving, the greatness and dignity of every human person, the value of little things done faithfully and with love, and the surpassing worth of friendship with God. On March 13, 1997, Mother Teresa stepped down from the head of Missionaries of Charity. On 5 September Mother Teresa’s earthly life came to an end. She died on September 5, 1997, just 9 days after her 87th birthday. She was given the honour of a state funeral by the Government of India and her body was buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity. Her tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage and prayer for people of all faiths, rich and poor alike. Mother Teresa left a testament of unshakable faith, invincible hope and extraordinary charity. Her response to Jesus’ plea, “Come be My light,” made her a Missionary of Charity, a “mother to the poor,” a symbol of compassion to the world, and a living witness to the thirsting love of God. Following Mother Teresa's death, the Holy See began the process of beatification, the second step towards possible canonization, or sainthood.

Less than two years after her death, in view of Mother Teresa’s widespread reputation of holiness and the favours being reported, Pope John Paul II permitted the opening of her Cause of Canonization. On 20 December 2002 he approved the decrees of her heroic virtues and miracles.

Sarojini Naidu - The Nightingale of India

Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu, The Nightingale of India, was a famous Indian poet and a famous freedom fighter. She was the first Indian woman to be appointed the President of the Indian National Congress and the Governor of Uttar Pradesh in India. Most of all, she was a noted child prodigy and a master of children's literature.

Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879 at Hyderabad in a Bengali Hindu family. She was the eldest daughter of scientist, philosopher, and educator Aghornath Chattopadhyaya, and Barada Sundari Devi, a poetess. Sarojini was a very bright girl. At a very young age of 12, she topped the entire Presidency in Matriculation examination from Madras University. Due to her passion for reading, she took a break from studies and involved herself in extensive reading on various subjects.  In 1895, at the age of sixteen, she traveled to England to study first at King's College London and subsequently at Girton College, Cambridge.

Whilst still in college, Sarojini met Dr. Muthyala Govindarajulu Naidu and both grew closer. Upon finishing her studies in 1898, they got married. This was a time when inter-caste were marriages were rare and considered a crime in the Indian society. Nonetheless, the successful marriage of the couple prevented people from intervening with their personal lives.

Sarojini Naidu will be always remembered for her notable contribution to the Indian Independence Movement. She joined the movement in 1905 and was totally committed to the cause ever since. While working for the Indian National Congress, she was introduced to many eminent personalities such as Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi with whom she shared a special bond and a very good rapport. 

During 1915-1918, she traveled across India, lecturing on social welfare, women empowerment, emancipation and nationalism. Inspired by Jawaharlal Nehru, she embarked on providing help and support for the indigo workers in Champaran who were being subjected to violence and oppression.

She was responsible for awakening the women of India. She re-established their self-esteem and often said, "When there is oppression, the only self-respecting thing is to rise and say this shall cease today, because justice is my right”.

With the introduction of the Rowlatt Act in 1919, Sarojini joined the Non-Cooperation Movement organized and led by Mahatma Gandhi. In the same year, she was appointed the Home Rule League's ambassador to England. In 1924, she became a delegate to the East African Indian Congress. In 1925, Naidu was appointed the President of the National Congress thus making her the first Indian woman to hold the post. With the Indian Independence in 1947, Sarojini Naidu was made the Governor of the Uttar Pradesh in the wake of her contribution to the movement.

The Nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu was a prolific writer and poet. She published many notable volumes of poetry such as The Golden Threshold, The Bird of Time, The Broken Wing. Some of her acclaimed poems are The Wizard Mask and A Treasury of Poems. Other selected works written by her include The Magic Tree and The Gift of India. Gopal Krishna Gokhale once advised her to use her poetry and her beautiful words to rejuvenate the spirit of independence in the hearts of villagers and also asked her to use her talent to free Mother India. She was given the name Bharat Kokila on account of the beautiful and rhythmic words of her poems that could be sung as well.

On March 2 1949, she took her last breath and India lost her beloved child, “Bulbul”. She died in her office at Lucknow at the age of seventy. Nevertheless, her name will be written in Gold in the history of India as an inspiring poet and a brave freedom fighter.

Swami Vivekananda – The Journey from Narendranath to Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda was born as Narendranath Dutta in Kolkata (Calcutta) on January 12, 1863. His father Viswanath Dutta, a man of liberal and progressive outlook, was an attorney at Calcutta High Court. His mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi was pious and had practiced austerities. It is believed that she had prayed to Vireshwar Shiva of Varanasi for a son. She reportedly had a dream in which Shiva rose from his meditation and said that he would be born as her son.

 

Young Narendranath's thinking and personality were highly influenced by his parents—he had his father’s rational mind and his mother’s religious inclination. From his mother he learnt the power of self-control and truly believed and practiced her teaching - "Remain pure all your life; guard your own honor and never transgress the honor of others. Be very tranquil, but when necessary, harden your heart." He was very adept at meditation and could enter the state of samadhi. It is alleged that he would see a light while falling asleep and he would have a vision of Buddha during his meditation.

Narendranath had varied interests and a wide range of scholarship in philosophy, religion, history, the social sciences, arts, literature, and other subjects.  He was very interested in the Hindu scriptures like the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. He was also well versed in classical music, both vocal and instrumental and is said to have undergone training under two Ustads, Beni Gupta and Ahmad Khan. Since boyhood, he took an active interest in physical exercise, sports, and other organizational activities. Even when he was young, he questioned the validity of superstitious customs and discrimination based on caste, and refused to accept anything without rational proof and pragmatic test.

His family moved to Raipur in 1877. At that time there were no good schools in Raipur so he spent his time with his father and had discussions on spiritual topics. He learned Hindi there and for the first time the Question of existence of God came to his mind. The family returned to Calcutta in 1879 but the two years in Raipur were the turning point in his life. Raipur is sometimes termed as the "Spiritual Birthplace" of Swami Vivekananda. In the same year, he passed the entrance examination for Presidency College, Calcutta, entering it for a brief period and subsequently shifting to General Assembly's Institution. During the course of his study there, he studied western logic, western philosophy and history of European nations. In 1881 he passed the Fine Arts examination and in 1884 he passed the Bachelor of Arts.

Narendranath is said to have studied the writings of several Westerners like  David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, John Stuart Mill, and Charles Darwin. He became fascinated with the Evolutionism of Herbert Spencer, and translated Spencer's book on Education into Bengali. Simultaneously, he was thoroughly acquainted with Indian Sanskrit scriptures and many Bengali works. According to his professors, student Narendranath was a prodigy.

Narendranath’s initial beliefs were shaped by Brahmo Samaj concepts, which include belief in a formless God and deprecation of the worship of idols. Not satisfied with his knowledge of Philosophy, he wondered if God and religion could be made a part of one's growing experiences and deeply internalized. He went about asking prominent residents of contemporary Calcutta whether they had come "face to face with God", but could not get answers which satisfied him. That was the point when he was first introduced to Ramakrishna Paramhansa. The introduction occurred in a literature class in General Assembly's Institution. Principal Reverend W. Hastie was lecturing on William Wordsworth's poem The Excursion and The Poet's nature-mysticism. In the course of explaining the word ‘trance’, Hastie told his students that if they wanted to know the real meaning of it, they should go to Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar. This prompted some of his students, including Narendranath to visit Ramakrishna Paramhansa.

Narendranath met Ramakrishna for the first time in November 1881. This proved to be a turning point in his life. He asked Paramhansa the same questions that he had been asking others - "Do you believe in God, Sir?" "Yes", he replied. "Can you prove it, Sir?" "Yes".  "How?" "Because I see Him just as I see you here, only in a much intense way." This impressed young Narendranath and from that day he began to visit Ramakrishna Paramhansa regularly. Even though Narendra did not accept Ramakrishna as his guru initially, he was attracted by his personality. He initially looked upon Ramakrishna's visions as mere figments of imagination and hallucinations. And as a member of Brahmo Samaj, he revolted against idol worship and polytheism, and Ramakrishna's worship of Kali. He tested Ramakrishna, who never asked Narendra to abandon reason, and faced all of Narendra's arguments and examinations with patience—"Try to see the truth from all angles" was his reply. During the course of five years of his training under Ramakrishna, Narendra was transformed from a restless, puzzled, impatient youth to a mature man who was ready to renounce everything for the sake of God realization. In time, Narendra accepted Ramakrishna as his guru.

After the death of their master, Ramakrishna’s disciples, under the leadership of Vivekananda formed a fellowship at a half-ruined house at Baranagar near the river Ganga. This became the first building of the Ramakrishna Math. Vivekanada and other members of the Math often spent their time in meditation and discussing different philosophies and teachings of spiritual teachers including Ramakrishna, Adi Shankara, Ramanuja, and Jesus Christ. In the early part of 1887, Narendra and eight other disciples took formal monastic vows. Narendra took the name of Swami Bibidishanand. In January 1899, the Baranagar Math was shifted to a newly acquired plot of land at Belur in the district of Howrah, now famous as the Belur Math.

In 1888, Vivekananda left the math as a Parivrâjaka—the Hindu religious life of a wandering monk. His sole possessions were a kamandalu (water pot), staff, and his two favorite books—Bhagavad Gita and The Imitation of Christ. Narendranath travelled the length and breadth of India for five years, visiting important centers of learning, acquainting himself with the diverse religious traditions and different patterns of social life. He developed a sympathy for the suffering and poverty of the masses and resolved to uplift the nation. Living mainly on Bhiksha or alms, Vivekananda traveled mostly on foot and railway tickets bought by his admirers whom he met during the travels. During these travels he gained acquaintance and stayed with scholars, Dewans, Rajas and people from all walks of life—Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Pariahs (low caste workers) and Government officials. In Madurai, he met the Raja of Ramnad, Bhaskara Setupati. The Raja became the Swami's disciple and urged him to go to the Parliament of Religions at Chicago. With the aid of funds collected by his Madras disciples and Rajas of Mysore, Ramnad, Khetri, Dewans and other followers, Vivekananda left for Chicago on May 31, 1893. At this time, he assumed the name Vivekananda as suggested by Ajit Singh, the Maharaja of Khetri.

On his way to Chicago, Vivekananda visited Japan. He called the Japanese "one of the cleanest people on earth", and was impressed not only by neatness of their streets and dwellings but also by their movements, attitudes and gestures.

His journey to America took him through China, Canada and he arrived at Chicago in July 1893. But to his disappointment, he learnt that no one without credentials from a bonafide organization would be accepted as a delegate. He came in contact with Professor John Henry Wright of Harvard University. After inviting him to speak at Harvard and on learning from him of not having credentials to speak at the Parliament, Wright, "To ask for your credentials is like asking the sun to state its right to shine in the heavens." Wright then addressed a letter to the Chairman in charge of delegates writing, "Here is a man who is more learned than all of our learned professors put together." Parliament of Religions opened on September 11, 1893 at the Art Institute of Chicago. On this day Vivekananda gave his first brief address representing India and Hinduism. He bowed to Saraswati, the goddess of learning and began his speech with, "Sisters and brothers of America!" To these words he got a standing ovation from a crowd of seven thousand, which lasted for two minutes. When silence was restored, he began his address. He greeted the youngest of the nations in the name of "the most ancient order of monks in the world, the Vedic order of sannyasins, a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance." And quoted two illustrative passages in this regard, from the Bhagavad Gita—"As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea. So, O Lord, the different paths which men take, through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee!" and "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths that in the end lead to Me."  Despite being a short speech, it voiced the spirit of the Parliament and its sense of universality. He spoke several more times at the Parliament on topics related to Hinduism and Buddhism. The parliament ended on September 27, 1893.

Emperor Ashoka The Great

Emperor Ashoka The Great

Emperor Ashoka is considered one of the most influential figures in India's history. He was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the great Mauryan empire. He is believed to have lived between 304–232 BC. Popularly known as Ashoka The Great, he ruled over most of present-day India during the years 269 - 232 BC. After numerous conquests, including the powerful Kalinga empire, his kingdom stretched from present-day Pakistan & Afghanistan in the west, to the present-day Bangladesh and Assam (Indian state) in the east, and ranged as far south as northern Kerala. His empire was headquartered in Magadha (modern day state of Bihar).

Ashoka, his name meaning "painless, without sorrow" in Sanskrit, was born to King Bindusara and Queen Subhadrangi, the daughter of Champa of Telangana. He had several elder siblings, all of whom were his half-brothers from other wives of Bindusāra. From a very young age, Ashoka received military and warfare training. He was an accomplished hunter, and according to a legend, he killed a lion with just a wooden rod. He was a skilled fighter, whose expertise with the sword was well known. He acquired the reputation of a fierce warrior and a heartless general.

Bindusara's death in 273 BC led to a succession war. Bindusara wanted his son Sushim to succeed him but Ashoka was supported by his father's ministers. According to one legend, Ashoka became the king by getting rid of the legitimate heir to the throne, by tricking him into entering a pit filled with live coals. Another legend states that he killed 99 of his brothers, sparing only one, named Tissa. Ashoka’s coronation took place in 269 BC, four years after his succession to the throne.

In the initial years of his reign, Ashoka is said to have had bad temper and was wicked by nature. Legend goes that he administered a loyalty test to his ministers and killed those that failed. He also kept a harem of hundreds of women and burnt many of them to death when he felt that they insulted him. He built an elaborate and horrific torture chamber which earned him the name of Chand Ashoka, meaning Ashoka the Fierce.

Although the early part of Ashoka's reign was violent and gory, the war with Kalinga became a key turning point in his life. The kingdom of Kalinga was situated on the east coast of India (present-day states of southern Orissa and north coastal Andhra). It prided itself on its sovereignty and monarchial democracy. This was quite an exception in ancient Bharata (India) where the prevalent custom was that of an absolute monarchy. The Kalinga battle was bloody and left more than 100,000 soldiers and many civilians dead or deported. It is said that when Ashoka was walking through the grounds of Kalinga after his conquest, rejoicing his victory, he was moved by the horrific sight of thousands of bodies strewn across the landscape. The piercing wails of the kith and kin of the dead made a lasting impression on his mind. He cried out -

What have I done? Is this a victory or a defeat? Is this justice or injustice? Is it gallantry or a rout? Is it valor to kill innocent children and women? Do I do it to widen the empire and for prosperity or to destroy the other's kingdom and splendor? One has lost her husband, someone else a father, someone a child, someone an unborn infant. What's this debris of corpses? Are these marks of victory or defeat? Are these vultures, crows, eagles the messengers of death or evil?

Mauryan Empire During the Reign of Ashoka

The brutality of the Kalinga conquest led Ashoka to embrace Buddhism, and marked the beginning of a peaceful and glorious chapter of his life. He was so influenced by the teachings of Gautam Buddha that he made Buddhism his state religion around 260 BC, and preached it within his domain and worldwide from about 250 BC. It is said that he propagated it as far as ancient Rome and Egypt. He whole heartedly adopted the principles of Dhamma (righteousness) namely, ahimsa (nonviolence), love, truth, tolerance and vegetarianism. He constructed hospitals for animals, renovated major roads throughout India, attempted to raise the professional ambition of the common man by building universities for study, and water transit and irrigation systems for trade and agriculture. He undertook many philanthropic and developmental activities for his subjects. After this transformation, Ashoka came to be known as Dhammashoka, meaning Ashoka, the follower of Dharma.

Ashoka established many monuments such as stupas, viharas and stambhas venerating Buddhism. The most famous among them are the Sanchi stupa, the Ashoka stambha of Sarnath and the Lion Capital with Ashoka Chakra carved at its center. The Lion capital is a sculpture of four "Indian lions" standing back to back. It was originally placed atop the Ashoka stambha at Sarnath, but is now in the Sarnath Museum in Uttar Pradesh. This Lion Capital has been adopted as the National Emblem of India and the Ashoka Chakra (wheel of Dharma or Sharmachakra) has been placed onto the center of the Flag of India. Ashoka played a critical role in making Buddhism a world religion. As the peace-loving ruler of one of the world's largest, richest and most powerful multi-ethnic states, he is considered an exemplary ruler, who tried to put into practice a secular state ethic of non-violence.

The source of much of our knowledge of Ashoka is the many inscriptions he had carved on pillars and rocks throughout the empire. All his inscriptions have the imperial touch and show compassionate loving. He addressed his people as his "children". These inscriptions promoted Buddhist morality and encouraged nonviolence and adherence to Dharma (duty or proper behavior), and they talk of his fame and conquered lands as well as the neighboring kingdoms holding up his might. One also gets some primary information about the Kalinga War and Ashoka's allies plus some useful knowledge on the civil administration. Ashoka's own words as known from his Edicts are: "All men are my children. I am like a father to them. As every father desires the good and the happiness of his children, I wish that all men should be happy always."

Sanchi Stupa

Ashoka ruled for an estimated forty years. After his death, the Mauryan dynasty lasted just fifty more years. Ashoka had many wives and children, but many of their names are lost to time. Mahindra and Sanghamitra were twins born by his first wife, Devi, in the city of Ujjain. He had entrusted to them the job of making his state religion, Buddhism, more popular across the known and the unknown world. Mahindra and Sanghamitra went into Sri Lanka and spread Buddhism there.

In his old age, he seems to have come under the spell of his youngest wife Tishyaraksha. It is said that she had got his son Kunala, the regent in Takshashila, blinded by cunning. The official executioners spared Kunala and he became a wandering singer accompanied by his favourite wife Kanchanmala. In Pataliputra, Ashoka heard Kunala's song, and realized that Kunala's misfortune may have been a punishment for some past sin of the emperor himself. He condemned Tishyaraksha to death, restoring Kunala to the court. Kunala was succeeded by his son, Samprati, but his rule did not last long after Ashoka's death.

The great monarch Ashoka will always be remembered as a wise, compassionate and philanthropic king. In the history of India he will always be Samraat Chakravartin Ashoka - the Emperor of Emperors Ashoka.

Gautam Buddha - Story of Siddharth

Gautam Buddha - Story of Siddharth

Gautam Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautam in India. The name “Siddhartha” means “he who achieves his aim”. His lifetime is placed around 420 BCE- 380BCE or 583 BCE – 463BCE. He founded Buddhism.  He is also known as “Shakyamuni” or the sage of Shakyas. Shakya was an independent kingdom from Iron Age (around 1000 BCE, it followed the Late Harappan Culture). Their Kingdom was in the foothills of Himalayas with the capital at Kapilavastu (located in modern day Nepal). He was born a prince to King Shuddhodana and Queen MahaMaya. As was the custom, when Queen MahaMaya was pregnant, she was on her way to her father’s house for delivery. The party had stopped at the gardens of Lumbini. Queen MahaMaya gave birth to Siddhartha in the gardens of Lumbini.

A great sage Asita was passing through the kingdom and predicted that the child would either become a great King (Chakravati) or a holy man (Buddha – the enlightened one). Hearing this Shuddhodana invited 8 brahmins to read the child’s future. All but one gave the same dual prediction. The eighth Brahmin called Kaudinya predicted the child would grow up to be the enlightened one – Buddha. King Shuddhodana wanted Siddhartha to be a Chakravarti, so he made sure the little child led a very sheltered life. He was raised in luxury away from any sufferings and any influence of religious teachings. At the age of 16 he was married to his cousin Yashodara. They had a son Rahula. Siddhartha thus led a princely life for 29 years in Kapilavastu. One day he decided to go and meet his subjects. There for the first time in his life he saw an old man. When Channa his charioteer told him “He is an old man. All of us will one day get old and die. Your father, mother, me, your wife everyone will become old one day.” Then he saw a diseased man, a decaying corpse and an ascetic. Depressed by these sights he decided to overcome death, illness and old age by becoming an ascetic. And one day he ran away from the palace with his charioteer Channa on his horse Kanthaka.

Initially he went to Rajagaha or Rajagriha. There he met Bimbisara, the king of Magadh. He promised Bimbisara to visit him once he achieved enlightenment. He tried to follow the path of self mortification in order to attain enlightenment. After nearly starving himself to death but finding no enlightenment, Siddhartha found the Middle Way. He sat under the Bodhi (Pipal) tree in Bodh Gaya and decided not to get up until he found enlightenment. He is said to have attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree on the first full moon in the month of May. That day is celebrated as Buddha Poornima.

He founded Buddhism and for the next 45 years preached in the Gangetic Plains (modern day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and southern Nepal). Eventually, Buddhism spread to China, Japan, Sri Lanka and South East Asia.

The main teachings of Buddha begin with the “The four noble truths”.

1. suffering is an inherent part of existence
2. the origin of suffering is ignorance
3. the main symptoms of that ignorance are attachment and craving;
4. that attachment and craving can be ceased by following the “Noble Eightfold Path”

The Noble Eightfold path is

1. right understanding,
2. right thought,
3. right speech,
4. right action,
5. right livelihood,
6. right effort,
7. right mindfulness, and
8. right concentration

The Life of Buddha

The Life of Buddha

Gautama Buddha, the historical Buddha, lived between 563 and 483 BC in the area known now as the Indo-Nepalese region. As a bodhisattva, he had passed through thousands of existences before coming to Earth for his ultimate transmigration.

This last lifetime he began as a son of the King of the realm Sakya, Sudhodana, who ruled at Kapilavastu, in Ancient India on the border of present-day Nepal, and was born in a village called Lumbini into the warrior tribe called the Sakyas (from where he derived the title Sakyamuni, meaning "Sage of the Sakyas").

According to ancient tradition, Queen Maya, his mother, first had a dream of a beautiful white elephant coming down into her womb, and this was interpreted as a sign that the Buddha, or a universal emperor, was about to be born. When her time came, Queen Maya went into the garden and gave painless birth to the bodhisattva. He immediately walked, spoke, and was received by Brahma.

Five days after his birth, the young prince received the name of Siddhartha. When his parents took him to the temple, the statues of the gods prostrated themselves before him, great were the rejoicings of the people over the birth of this illustrious prince. Also at this time a devout old man named Asita came down from the Himalayas to meet the newborn prince. An ascetic of high spiritual attainments, Asita was particularly pleased to hear this happy news. Having been a tutor to the King, he visited the palace to see the royal baby. The king, who felt honoured by his unexpected visit, carried the child up to him in order to make the child pay him due reverence. To the surprise of all, the child's legs turned and rested on the matted locks of the ascetic.

Instantly, the ascetic rose from his seat and recognizing in the young child the 80 signs that are pledges to a highly religious vocation, and foreseeing with his supernormal vision the child's future greatness, saluted him with clasped hands. The Royal father did likewise. The great ascetic smiled at first and then was sad. Questioned regarding his mingled feelings, he answered that he smiled because the prince would eventually become a Buddha, an Enlightened One, and he was sad because he would not be able to benefit from the superior wisdom of the Enlightened One owing to his prior death and rebirth in a Formless Plane.

After seven days Queen Maya died, and her place as mother was taken by her sister, whose devotion and love became legendary.

When the young prince was in his twelfth year, the king called the wise Brahmans in council. They revealed that Siddhartha would devote himself to asceticism if he cast his eyes on age, sickness, or death ~ and, if he were to meet a hermit.

Wanting his son to be a universal monarch instead, the king surrounded the palace with a triple enclosure and guard and proclaimed that the use of the words death and grief were forbidden. The most beautiful princess in the land, Yasodhara, was found for his bride, and after Siddhartha proved himself in many tournaments calling for strength and prowess, when he was 16, the two were wed.

Siddhartha was kept amused and entertained for some time by this privileged life behind the palace walls until one day his divine vocation awoke in him, and he decided to visit the nearby town. The king called for everything to be swept and decorated, and any ugly or sad sight to be removed. But these precautions were in vain for while Siddhartha was travelling through the streets, an old wrinkled man appeared before him. In astonishment the young prince learned that decrepitude is the fate of those who live life through. Still later he met an incurable invalid and then a funeral procession. Finally heaven placed in his path an ascetic, a beggar, who told Siddhartha that he had left the world to pass beyond suffering and joy, to attain peace at heart.

Confirmed in his meditation, all these experiences awakened in Siddhartha the idea of abandoning his present life and embracing asceticism. He opened his heart to his father and said, "Everything in the world is changing and transitory. Let me go off alone like the religious beggar."

Grief-stricken at the idea of losing his son, the king doubled the guard around the walls and increased the pleasures and distractions within. And at this point, Yasodhara bore him a son whom he called Rahula (meaning "chain" or "fetter"), a name that indicated Gautama's sense of dissatisfaction with his life of luxury, while the birth of his son evoked in him much tenderness. His apparent sense of dissatisfaction turned to disillusion when he saw three things from the window of his palace, each of which represented different forms human suffering: a decrepit old man, a diseased man, and a corpse.Yet even this could not stop the troubling thoughts in his heart or close his eyes to the realizations of the impermanence of all life, and of the vanity and instability of all objects of desire.

His mind made up, he awoke one night and, casting one last look at his wife and child, mounted his horse Kataka and rode off accompanied by his equerry Chandaka. At the city gates Siddhartha turned over his horse to Chandaka, then he cut off his hair, gave up his sumptuous robes, and entered a hermitage where the Brahmans accepted him as a disciple. Siddhartha had now and forever disappeared. He became the monk Gautama, or as he is still called, Sakyamuni, the ascetic of the Sakyas.

For many years Gautama studied the doctrines until, having felt the need to learn more elsewhere, he traveled and fasted. His two teachers had showed him how to reach very deep states of meditation (samadhi). This did not, however, lead to a sense of true knowledge or peace, and the practice of deep meditation was abandoned in favour of a life of extreme asceticism which he shared with five companions. But again, after five or six years of self-mortification, Siddhartha felt he had failed to achieve true insight and rejected such practices as dangerous and useless.

Resolved to continue his quest, Siddharta made his way to a deer park at Isipatana, near present day Benares. Here he sat beneath a tree meditating on death and rebirth. Discovering that excessive fasts destroy strength, he learned that as he had transcended earthly life, so must he next transcend asceticism. Alone and weak, he sat beneath the sacred Bodhi tree of wisdom, and swore to die before arising without the wisdom he sought.

Mara, the demon, fearful of Gautama's power, sent his three beautiful daughters to distract him. When that failed, Mara sent an army of devils to destroy him. Finally Mara attacked Gautama with a terrible weapon capable of cleaving a mountain. But all this was useless, and the motionless monk sat in meditation.

It was here that Siddharta attained a knowledge of the way things really are; it was through this knowledge that he acquired the title Buddha (meaning "awakened one"). This awakening was achieved during a night of meditation, which passed through various stages as the illumination that Gautama had sought slowly welled up in his heart. He knew the exact condition of all beings and the causes of their rebirths. He saw beings live, die and transmigrate. In meditating on human pain, he was enlightened about both its genesis and the means of destroying it.

In this first stage he saw each of his previous existences, and then understood the chain of cause and effect. In the second he surveyed the death and rebirth of all living beings and understood the law that governs the cycle of birth and death. In the third he identified the Four Noble Truths: the universality of suffering, the cause of suffering through selfish desire, the solution to suffering and the way to overcome suffering. This final point is called the Noble Eightfold Path, this being eight steps consisting of wisdom (right views, right intention) ethics (right speech, right action, right livelihood), mental discipline (right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration), which ultimately lead to liberation from the source of suffering.

When day came, Gautama had attained perfect illumination, and had become a Buddha. The rays emanating from his body shone to the boundaries of space. He stayed in meditation for seven more days, and then for four more weeks he stayed by the tree. Through his process of enlightenment he discovered that all sentient beings in this universal life possess buddhahold, and all are future potential buddhas.

From that time he had two alternate paths: he could enter Nirvana immediately, or else he could stay and spread enlightenment. After Brahma came in person to beg him to preach the law, Buddha yielded and stayed on the earth. For many years he traveled and taught his wisdom about the force of love and the destruction of all desire.

Although initially hesitant to share his insight on the grounds that humanity might not be ready for such a teaching, the Buddha decided to communicate his discovery to those willing to listen. His first converts were the five ascetics with whom he had lived when he himself followed the lifestyle of the ascetic. To these he preached his first sermon in the Deer Park at Benares, outlining to them the Four Noble Truths. Out of this small group the community of monks (or Sangha) grew to about 60 in size and came to include Buddha's cousin, Ananda, and his son, Rahula. Later the Buddha was persuaded by his stepmother and cousin to accept women into the sangha.

The remaining 45 years of the Buddha's life were spent journeying around the plain of the Ganges, teaching and receiving visitors.

"There are two extremes which are to be avoided: a life of pleasure ~ this is low and ignoble, unworthy and useless, and runs counter to the affairs of the spirit; and a life of fasting ~ this is sad, unworthy and useless. Perfection has kept its distance from these two extremes, and has found the middle way which leads to repose, knowledge, illumination, and Nirvana. So here is the sacred truth about pain: birth, old age, sickness, death, and separation from that which one loves, are pain. And this is the origin of pain: it is thirst for pleasure, thirst for existence, thirst for impermanence. And here is the truth about the suppression of pain: it is the extinction of that thirst by the destruction of desire.

"Charity, knowledge and virtue are possessions that cannot be lost. To do a little good is worth more than accomplishing works of a difficult nature. The perfect man is nothing unless he pours out kindness on his fellow creatures, unless he consoles the abandoned. My doctrine is a doctrine of mercy. The way of salvation is open to all. Destroy your passions as the elephant would trample down a reed hut. But I would have you know that it is a mistaken idea to believe that one can escape from one's passions by taking shelter in hermitages. The only remedy against evil is healthy reality."

And so Buddha travelled and preached. He performed many miracles, and converted his family and many followers. During his life the Buddha had taught that no one was to succeed him as leader of the Sangha. Instead, his followers were to take his teaching and rule as their sole guides. By the time he reached the age of 80, Sakyamuni began to feel old. He visited all of the monasteries he had founded and prepared to meet his end.

Before the Buddha's death, he became severely sick. He journeyed northwest to the banks of the river Hiranyavati, walking with his disciples, and ate the food offered by a blacksmith. His illness had progresses, and at the end, he came to the river and took a bath. Then he made a rope bed among eight sal trees, with each direction having two. He lay down on his side, right hand supporting his head, the other resting on his body. All later reclining Buddhas (called Buddha's Nirvana) are in the same posture.

The Buddha's disciples kept watch on him after they were told the Buddha was going to nirvana. At night, a scholar of Brahman went to see the Buddha, but was stopped by the Buddha's disciple Ananda. Hearing this, the Buddha called the scholar Subhadda to his bed and spoke him. Thus the scholar became the Buddha's last disciple. The final exhortation of the Buddha to his disciples was that they should not be sorry for losing their tutor. (See the last sermon of the Buddha for further elaboration.)

Growing weaker, he spoke one last time: "Do not say we have no master now. The doctrine I have preached will be your master when I have disappeared. Listen, I beg you: ALL CREATIONS ARE IMPERMANENT; work diligently for your liberation."

Having pronounced these final words, Buddha went into the jhana stages, or meditative absorptions. Going from level to level, one after the other, ever deeper and deeper, he reached ecstacy. Then he came out of the meditative absorption for the last time and passed into nirvana, leaving nothing whatever behind that can cause rebirth again in this or any other world.and finally passed into Nirvana.

After his death, Buddha's remains were cremated, as became the Buddhist tradition. The passing away, or the final nirvana, of the Buddha occurred in 483 BC on a full moon day in the month of May, known in the Indian calendar as Wesak.

Portable google crome (বহনযোগ্য গুগোল ক্রোম)

আপনারা যারা ইন্টারনেট ব্যবহার (brows)করে থাকেন তাদের মধ্যে অনেকে হয়ত google crome ব্যবহার করে থাকবেন। আমি নিজেও এটিকে খুব পছন্দ করি কারন এটি বেশ user friendly এবং মোটামোটি fast কাজ করে। এই software টিকে internet থেকে live download করে install করতে হয়। এবং এটির কোন রুপ copy/backup রাখা যায় না। ফলে কোন কারনে যদি আপনার google crome কাজ না করে বা কোন কারনে uninstall করেন অথবা আপনার pc টি কে windows setup করতে হয় তাহলেই পড়েছেন বিপদে। কারন আমাদের internet speed নিয়ে আমরা সন্তুস্ট নই, ফলে নতুন download এর জন্য আবার সময় ব্যয়,অর্থ ব্যয় (pripaid/package user এর ক্ষেত্রে), অধৈর্য হয়ে বশে থাকা.........

এর একটি সহজ সমাধান হচ্ছে বহনযোগ্য গুগোল ক্রোম (portable google crome)। এটি download করার জন্য এখানে ক্লিক করুন,অথবা brows করুন রাশেদ লিঙ্ক । download শেষে ফাইল টি run করান।

এটি একটি zip file । যে কোন একটি নিরাপদ partition এ unzip করুন install এর প্রয়োজন নাই। ChromeLoader.exe ফাইলটির একটি shortcut ( mouse এর right button চেপে drag করে dextop এ ছেড়ে দিয়ে creat shortcut here এ ক্লিক করে) তৈরি করুন।

ইচ্ছে করলে এটিকে pendrive এ রেখে ব্যবহার করতে পারেন। এতে সুবিধা হল, আপনার browsing history, bookmark ইত্তাদি আপনার সাথে থাকবে।

 

ধন্যবাদ

GMail Drive-online stor/harddisk (জি-মেইল অনলাইন স্টোর/হার্ডডিস্ক )

আমরা যারা কম্পিউটার ব্যবহার করি, তাদের মধ্যে প্রায় সবাই আমাদের বাক্তিগত তথ্য (Personal Data), ছবি (Image), ডকুমেন্ট (Document), ইত্তাদি সব সময় নিরাপদ এবং সুরক্ষিত (Saif and Secure) স্থানে রাখতে চাই তাদের মধ্যে অনেকে আমরা file গুলো hidden করে রাখি। আবার অনেকে CD তে Write করে রাখি। কেউ বা আবার Password দিয়ে রাখি। এর কোনটিই কার্জকর ভাবে নিরাপদ নয় কারন, কমবেশি অনেকেই Hidden file Un-hidden করতে জানে। CD নস্ট হতে পারে, ভেঙ্গে যেতে পারে, চুরি হতে পারে, Copy ও করা যেতে পারে। আবার Password দেয়া File Delete করা যায়। তাহলে কি উপায়।

আমার মনে হয় ইন্টারনেট ব্যবহারকারি প্রত্যেকের একাধিক Email Account আছে। তবে যাদের Gmail Account আছে তারা নিশ্চই জানেন যে Gmail আমাদের ৭ গিগাবাইট (7GB) Email Store দিয়ে থাকে, যা আমাদের আগত Email দিয়ে পরিপুর্ন করা সম্ভব নয়। আমরা এই Store কে আমাদের Impotent File Backup রাখার জন্য ব্যবহার করতে পারি।

এ জন্য ১৫৫.৫ কিলোবাইট এর ছোট্ট একটি software (gmailfs114) Internet থেকে Download করতে হবে। Gmailfs114 Download করার জন্য এখানে ক্লিক করুন।

Download শেষে Fileটি Open করে PC তে Install করুন।

MyComputer Open করুন। Gmail Drive নামে একটি Drive দেখতে পাবেন। Gmail Drive Open করুন।

আপনার Gmail Username ও password লিখে (log in করুন) enter দিন এবং অপেক্ষা করুন। দেখুন আপনার অন্নান্য Drive এর মত এটি Open হয়েছে।

আপনার Impotent File এখানে Copy করুন, Send to, অথবা Drag করে ছেড়ে দিন। দেখুন আপনার File Internet এর মাধমে Gmail Drive এ Upload হতে শুরু করেছে।

যাদের Gmail Account নাই তারা Free Registration করার জন্য এখানে ক্লিক করুন অথবা Gmail এ sign up করার জন্য এখানে ক্লিক করুন এবং প্রদত্ত Form পুরন করে Gmail Drive ব্যবহার করুন।

A.K Fazlul Huq

Sher - A - Bengla Abul Kashem Fazlul Huq (October 6, 1873 - April 7, at 1962), the politician. In the first half of the twentieth century, was known as a diplomat. Political corridors and common people of 'Sher - at - Bengali' and 'All that is known. 

 He served in many adhistana by the Mayor of Calcutta (1935), Prime Minister of undivided Bengal (1937 - 1943), Prime Minister of East Pakistan (1954), Pakistan's Interior Minister (1955), the Governor of East Pakistan (1956 - 1958) is one. He was one of the leaders in the yuktaphranta structure.

Early life :  
At. A. By 6 October 1873 in Barisal district phajaluka Rajapur police saturiya was born in the village and lost at home. He Kazi Wazed and saidunnesa khatunera I was the only son.

At. A. Phajaluka Haque primary education starts at home. He was later admitted to rural pathasalaya. House of the teachers in Arabic, Persian and Bengali languages ​​in education. Barisal Zilla School in 1881, he was admitted to the third category. Occupation of the eighth grade in 1886 and 1889 in the then Dhaka Fazlul Haque Entrance exam in the first section of the space.

Innings:
In 1897, TP from Ripon College, Kolkata Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee of the Calcutta High Court passed its own name as listed in the Novice. A. Phajaluka out. Sikhanabisa after two years as a direct act of 1900, he started his business. After the death of his father in 1901 and returned to Barisal Barisal to join the court.



Literature - Art - Culture: 
With the industry literature. A. Phajaluka Haque Barisal offer details. He started his own editing for kisoridera teenage "boy" was published in a magazine. Sometime later, he's "friend of India" is a weekly magazine published by the joint editors.

 

Juktophrant Structure:
4 December at 1953. A. Phajaluka Haque, Hossain Shahid Suhrawardy and Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan bhasanike consists of yuktaphranta. Yuktaphrantera a spokesman at the Weekly 'Nation' is a conversion of a daily newspaper. Taphajjala Hossain Manik Miah was the editor of the Nation.