Can Sikhism continue to exist without the Guru Granth Sahib? Essay exam

Can Sikhism continue to exist without the Guru Granth Sahib? The Guru Granth Sahib is the active living Guru of the Sikhs: a long text with 1430 pages, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708. A collection of 5,894 hymns and 1430 pages, the Guru Granth Sahib describes the qualities of God and why you should meditate on God’s name. The hymns are arranged into 31 ragas, which are musical groupings. Every copy of the Guru Granth Sahib has an identical layout of pages. The Guru Granth Sahib was declared as Guru Gobind Singh’s (1666-1708) successor, by himself. It is the holy scripture of the Sikhs and is regarded as the teachings of the ten Gurus, as well as treated like as a sovereign living Guru. The Guru Granth Sahib has a pivotal role in Sikh worship, as a source or guide of prayer; and it in many ways defines Sikhism: outlining all of the laws, rules and ideas of it. It is written in the GurmukhÄ « script, in various dialects – including Lehndi Punjabi, Braj Bhasha, Khariboli, Sanskrit an d Persian – often merged under the broad title of Sant Bhasha. There are approximately 20 million followers worldwide of Sikhism, most of whom live in the Punjab province of India: a state in the northwest of India. The 2001 census recorded 336,000 Sikhs living in the UK. In this essay I am going to examine information surrounding the Guru, and I am going to analyse whether Sikhism could exist without it, and come to a conclusion that it could not. Firstly, I am going to look at the history of the Guru Granth Sahib. During the Guruship of Guru Nanak (1469-1539) collections of his hymns were compiled and sent to Sikh communities for use in worship. Guru Nanak wrote 974 published hymns. His successor, Guru Anga... ... a guide or leader, it is Sikhism. It embodies every aspect of it and contains the teachings of those who created Sikhism and lead it. So, in a nutshell, the Guru Granth Sahib is the gateway to Sikhism and the religion could not exist or function without it. Works Cited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Granth_Sahib http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/god/sikhrevelationrev3.shtml http://www.sikhs.org/art11.htm http://esikhs.com/ http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1162_sikhs/sikhism/sikhism.htm http://sikhism.about.com/od/gurugranthsahib/p/Guru_Granth.htm http://www.time4truth.com/sikhism.htm http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/sikh/blfaq_sikh_india.htm http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/sikhism-articles/sikhism-and-contemporary-problems-of-religious-philosophy http://www.alislam.org/egazette/updates/sri-guru-granth-sahib-a-brief-history/

Susan Griffins Our Secret and Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel Ess

â€Å"Our Secret† by Susan Griffin and â€Å"Are You My Mother?† by Alison Bechdel both present the issues of how control over all aspects of childhood continues to affect the victim much beyond childhood. Childhood is a time where children definitely need guidance, but it is also a time where the child should make some of their own choices. Children are naà ¯ve and see life in a more creative way than adults do. The dreams of a child may be far-fetched, such as becoming an astronaut or becoming the doctor who cures cancer, but these dreams should never be terminated by their parents. The childhood curiosity is what makes children better learners, and ultimately see the world without all of the dangers and flaws that adults see. Both parents in each of these novels deprived their children of the creativity that comes from being a child. A former U.S. lady once expressed her thoughts on parenting children by stating, "Children are likely to live up to what you be lieve of them." In â€Å"Our Secret† Heinrich Himmler is named after a prince, whom his father believes he can be like one day, as long as he makes the right decisions. Heinrich’s father controls what he writes in his journal, making Heinrich leave out emotions. Gebhard’s intimidating demeanor is exposed through the line, â€Å"He has the face of one who looks for mistakes. He is vigilant† (242). Growing up in a household where the only thing Heinrich’s father did was search for his mistakes must have been unsettling and stres...

Samson in the Bible

Samson’s life was filled with adventure as God blessed him and gave him strength to become one of the judges of Israel. Yet, he squandered all of his potentials and abdicated his responsibilities as a judge of Israel because he became proud of his strength and disobeyed God. Samson’s parents came from the tribe of Dan in Israel. Although his mother was sterile, she conceived Samson as a result of direct intervention from God. Even at a young age, the spirit of God was already evident in the life of Samson. This happened at a time when the Israelites were not following the statutes and the decrees of God. Samson was to become one of the leaders of the people and deliver them from oppression of foreigners. God gave Samson immense strength. While he was on the road one day, he encountered a lion, which he killed with his bare hands. Such was his strength that his potentials were definitely from God. Yet, Samson had one fatal flaw – his weakness for women. Because of women, he disobeyed the will of his parents and eventually was led away from his calling as a judge of Israel. The first occasion when he displayed this weakness was when he saw a Philistine woman and became obsessed with her. He engaged into a riddle with a hefty sum of properties as prize with the men of Ashkelon. The men, however, coaxed his wife to reveal the answer to them. Because Samson was so angry, he killed a lot of the men in that place. When he also learned that his wife was given to another man, he wrought havoc against the fields of the Philistines. As a result, the Philistines came against him. As a result, he set a trap for them. He allowed himself to be bound. But later on, he managed to get away from the rope and kill the men who went against him. His victory against the Philistines was brought about by God. Samson even saw a source of water when he was already very thirsty. After the incident with the Philistines, he became enamored with a prostitute and the men of the town decided to trap him in that place. Yet, his great strength aided him against their trap and managed to get away from them. The turning point in Samson’s life was his love affair with Delilah. Little did he know that Delilah was being used by his enemies all over again. He did not learn from his previous experiences and instead allowed his emotions and passions to cloud his wits. Not even once did he suspect Delilah to be the spy of his enemies. So great was his obsession for Delilah that he revealed the secret of his strength with her after several prodding. The end result was his imprisonment and being cut off from his family and his country. During his imprisonment, Samson called out to God during his distress and asked Him to bless him with strength although his hair was no longer long. God granted his request and for a final time, Samson brought havoc and destruction to the enemies of his people. Samson knew his calling as a judge. As a man, he was always aggressive and on the lookout for the next beauty to pursue. Perhaps, the reason why he behaved the way he did is that he was looking for adventure and he thought he will find it in the arms of the women that he loved. Perhaps he fell easily in love and after that, he became blinded to that love. A lot of people are just like Samson. They have great potentials and strength. They know that they are called to do good for God and their people. Yet, they choose to go their own way, choose their own paths that eventually lead to destruction. When people start doing as Samson did, they become blinded to whatever it is that they fall in love with—money, fame, power, other people—and forget about their mission in life. The end result is disaster and ensnarement with the effects and consequences of such choices. Some author may have considered Samson as a sociopath with anti-social personality disorder. This may seem to account for his aggressive behavior, his deceit, impulsiveness and even violence. Although this analysis may seem scientific and related to psychology, but Samson’s personality and impulses is similar to what most individuals encounter. Samson was aware of God’s calling in his life and he even calls out to God when he is deeply in need. Yet, like most men, he has lust for women and he is doing what he can to impress them and win them over. Likewise, he tends to be boastful and arrogant of the strength that he has, a trait which a lot of men display. Another possible reason why he engaged in his acts was loneliness. Calling that â€Å"antisocial† might seem more scientific. Yet, men who experience loneliness may try prostitution and other act just to get over with it. The bottom line is that Samson is an individual who was given immense strength and the potential to lead his people and overthrow the oppressors of his nation. Yet, because of his obsession with women, his lust, his aggressiveness and impulsiveness, he did not fulfill the role prepared for him. Individuals all over the world display just the same kind of attitudes and recklessness. The end result of such attitude and actions is an array of consequences and difficult circumstances. From Samson, individuals may learn that pursuing one’s passions and obsessions lead to harm.

My Gleaners Experience Essays

My Gleaners Experience Essays My Gleaners Experience Essay My Gleaners Experience Essay I am a member of the Eastern Star, my branch is the Pride of the East 524. We sponsor a group of young ladies from the age of eight to eighteen. These young In our care are been taught how to become responsible grown women. Our motto Is good behavior is always in style. I am one of the supervisor that teaches the girls the responsibility of giving back to their community. In the spring we work at the food bank, we pack, sort and help citizens take their things to their cars. We teach the young ladles to have compassion for their neighbors. The holidays we take gifts, play bingo and sing Christmas carols to seniors citizens In nursing homes. I set up meeting and contact each Gleaner of the next meeting and sometimes responsible for getting them to these meeting. I am responsible for setting up castles for our young ladles, so we have district day In our region where I set up competition for our girls to compete In dance, singing, poetry, oratorical and track and field against other girls In the district. I must find a venue for the competition to happen. If our girls wins, they get to compete in regional. In regional we compete with girls from across the eastern region of North Carolina. In July, we attend the Annual Assemblage where Gleaners and Knights assemble to pick their king and queen for the year. They also pick who would lead them in the following year. My role as supervisor is to help these young ladies in every possible way that I can to excel in school and at home. We expect so much of our youth that we must put our time in to get so much more from them.

Jean-Baptiste Bernadottes Role in the Napoleonic Wars

Jean-Baptiste Bernadottes Role in the Napoleonic Wars Born at Pau, France on January 26, 1763, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was the son of Jean Henri and Jeanne Bernadotte. Raised locally, Bernadotte elected to pursue a military career rather than become a tailor like his father. Enlisting in the Rà ©giment de Royal-Marine on September 3, 1780, he initially saw service in Corsica and Collioure. Promoted to sergeant eight years later, Bernadotte attained the rank of sergeant major in February 1790. As the French Revolution gathered momentum, his career began to accelerate as well. A Rapid Rise to Power A skilled soldier, Bernadotte received a lieutenants commission in November 1791 and within three years was leading a brigade in General of Division Jean Baptiste Klà ©bers Army of the North. In this role he distinguished himself in General of Division Jean-Baptiste Jourdans victory at Fleurus in June 1794. Earning a promotion to general of division that October, Bernadotte continued to serve along the Rhine and saw action at Limburg in September 1796. The next year, he played a key role in covering the French retreat across the river after being defeated at the Battle of Theiningen. In 1797, Bernadotte left the Rhine front and led reinforcements to the aid of General Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy. Performing well, he received an appointment as ambassador to Vienna in February 1798. His tenure proved brief as he departed on April 15 following a riot associated with his hoisting of the French flag over the embassy. Though this affair initially proved damaging to his career, he restored his connections by marrying the influential Eugà ©nie Dà ©sirà ©e Clary on August 17. The former fiancà ©e of Napoleon, Clary was sister-in-law to Joseph Bonaparte. Marshal of France On July 3, 1799, Bernadotte was made Minister of War. Quickly showing administrative skill, he performed well until the end of his term in September. Two months later, he elected not to support Napoleon in the coup of 18 Brumaire. Though branded a radical Jacobin by some, Bernadotte elected to serve the new government and was made commander of the Army of the West in April 1800. With the creation of the French Empire in 1804, Napoleon appointed Bernadotte as one of the Marshals of France on May 19 and made governor of Hanover the following month. From this position, Bernadotte led I Corps during the 1805 Ulm Campaign which culminated with the capture of Marshal Karl Mack von Leiberichs army. Remaining with Napoleons army, Bernadotte and his corps were initially held in reserve during the Battle of Austerlitz on December 2. Entering the fray late in the battle, I Corps aided in completing the French victory. For his contributions, Napoleon created him Prince of Ponte Corvo on June 5, 1806. Bernadottes efforts for the remainder of the year proved rather uneven. A Star on the Wane Taking part in the campaign against Prussia that fall, Bernadotte failed to come to the support of either Napoleon or Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout during the twin battles of Jena and Auerstdt on October 14. Severely reprimanded by Napoleon, he was nearly relieved of his command and was perhaps saved by his commanders former connection to Clary. Recovering from this failure, Bernadotte won a victory over a Prussian reserve force at Halle three days later. As Napoleon pushed into East Prussia in early 1807, Bernadottes corps missed the bloody Battle of Eylau in February. Resuming campaigning that spring, Bernadotte was wounded in the head on June 4 during fighting near Spanden. The injury forced him to turn command of I Corps over to General of Division Claude Perrin Victor and he missed the victory over the Russians at the Battle of Friedland ten days later. While recovering, Bernadotte was appointed governor of the Hanseatic towns. In this role he contemplated an expedition against Sweden but was forced to abandon the idea when sufficient transports could not be gathered. Joining Napoleons army in 1809 for the campaign against Austria, he took command of the Franco-Saxon IX Corps. Arriving to take part in the Battle of Wagram (July 5-6), Bernadottes corps performed poorly on the second day of fighting and withdrew without orders. While attempting to rally his men, Bernadotte was relieved of his command by an irate Napoleon. Returning to Paris, Bernadotte was entrusted with command of the Army of Antwerp and directed to defend the Netherlands against British forces during the Walcheren Campaign. He proved successful and the British withdrew later that fall. Crown Prince of Sweden Appointed governor of Rome in 1810, Bernadotte was prevented from assuming this post by an offer to become the heir of the King of Sweden. Believing the offer to be ridiculous, Napoleon neither supported nor opposed Bernadotte pursuing it. As King Charles XIII lacked children, the Swedish government began seeking an heir to the throne. Concerned about the military strength of Russia and wishing to remain on positive terms with Napoleon, they settled on Bernadotte who had shown battlefield prowess and great compassion to Swedish prisoners during earlier campaigns. On August 21, 1810, the Ãâ€"retro States General elected Bernadotte crown prince and named him head of the Swedish armed forces. Formally adopted by Charles XIII, he arrived in Stockholm on November 2 and assumed the name Charles John. Assuming control of the countrys foreign affairs, he began efforts to obtain Norway and worked to avoid being a puppet of Napoleon. Fully adopting his new homeland, the new crown prince led Sweden into the Sixth Coalition in 1813 and mobilized forces to battle his former commander. Joining with the Allies, he added resolve to the cause after twin defeats at Lutzen and Bautzen in May. As the Allies regrouped, he took command of the Northern Army and worked to defend Berlin. In this role he defeated Marshal Nicolas Oudinot at Grossbeeren on August 23 and Marshal Michel Ney at Dennewitz on September 6. In October, Charles John took part in the decisive Battle of Leipzig which saw Napoleon defeated and forced to retreat towards France. In the wake of the triumph, he began actively campaigning against Denmark with the goal of forcing it to cede Norway to Sweden. Winning victories, he achieved his objectives through the Treaty of Kiel (January 1814). Though formally ceded, Norway resisted Swedish rule requiring Charles John to direct a campaign there in the summer of 1814. King of Sweden With the death of Charles XIII on February 5, 1818, Charles John ascended to the throne as Charles XIV John, King of Sweden and Norway. Converting from Catholicism to Lutheranism, he proved a conservative ruler who became increasingly unpopular as time passed. Despite this, his dynasty remained in power and continued after his death on March 8, 1844. The current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, is a direct descendent of Charles XIV John.

Explain Stretegies to Overcome Barriers to Effective Communication Essays

Explain Stretegies to Overcome Barriers to Effective Communication Essays Explain Stretegies to Overcome Barriers to Effective Communication Paper Explain Stretegies to Overcome Barriers to Effective Communication Paper Developing effective communication in health and social care| P4: explain the strategies used in health and social care environments to overcome barriers to effective communication and interpersonal interactions. For this question I am going to explain strategies used in health and social care environments to overcome barriers to effective communication and interpersonal interactions. There are many different strategies can be used to overcome barriers of communication in a health and social care settings:   Building relationships and appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication. It is very important to build relationships with people who use services involve skills listening, together with appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication. It also may be important to use friendly, warm non-verbal behaviour that expresses interest in another person such as: * Making effective eye contact(varied and appropriate contact with another person’s eyes * Smiling-looking friendly rather than frozen or cold in expression * Adopting a relaxed and calm body posture * Using an appropriate gentle tone of voice Using hand movements and gestures that show interest * Nodding your head slightly while talking to communicate messages such as â€Å"I see,’ or ‘I understand’, or ‘I agree†. It is important to build an understanding of the needs of people we work with in health and social care. Very often, people will make their preferred method of communication obvious. Sometimes a medical or professional social work assessment may needs in order to clarify the person’s needs and their preferred method of communication. All the skills of recognising and overcoming barriers to communicate will be useful to avoid trigger situation, such as aggression. Reflective listening skills are vital in order to make the other person feel valued. 2. Staff training is possible strategy to overcome some barriers of communications. Communicating effectively with depressed, anxious or aggressive people cannot be developing simply by obtaining information. So, formal training courses usually provide opportunities to practise important skills as well as theories about how to overcome communication barriers. 3. Appropriate environment may help to reduce communication barriers by: Improving the lighting Reduce any nose. Move to a quieter or better room. Organize any seating so that people can see and hear each other Work with smaller groups to see and hear more easily. 4. Assessment of needs and using preferred methods of communication. It is very important to understand the needs of people you work with in health and social care. Very often, people will make their preferred method of communication obvious. So, sometimes a professional social work or medical assessment may be needed in order to clarify the person’s needs and their preferred method of communication. For example, people with visual disability can be use BSL (British Sign Language) and Makaton. The signs given help the person, because it gives them extra visual clues as to what is being said. When using Makaton the words are also said as Makaton is used to support what is being said as appose to its own language. Makaton includes not only signs, but also written symbols which are both used or either one is used depending on a persons particular needs and cultures. British Sign Language differs from Makaton, because with Makaton not all the words are signed, the signs are simpler and the words are spoken. For example, when saying Good morning, you first say Good by showing your thumb (fingers folded into palm), then for morning you touch your chest with your finger tips from left to right. This image is used as a symbol of the curtains opening in the morning. Also, may be used Braille (introduced by 1838 the Frenchman Louis Braille) – a system of imprinting dots on paper standing for letters of the alphabet, numbers and punctuation. With this system blind people can read by running their fingers across the dots, and can write by impressing the raised dots into paper using a frame called Braille slate, or a Braille writer. Other possible strategies are: * Use language to describe things * Assist people to describe things * Explain details that sighted people might take for granted * Check glasses. Other aids and equipment. Another example, people with hearing disability may use hearing aids. They are battery-powered electronic devices with small microphones to pick up and increase the volume of sound received by a person. Also, text phones, relay systems and minicoms may be used for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Other possible strategies are: * Don’t shout. Use normal clear speech and make sure your fase is visible for people who can lip-read * Show pictures or write messages. * Learn to sign (for people who used sign language) * Ask for help from, or employ, a communicator or interpreter for sign languages * Check that hearing aids and equipment are working. For people with physical and intellectual disabilities may be used strategies, such as: * Increase your knowledge of disabilities. * Be calm and patient * Use pictures and signs as well as clear, simple speech * Set up group meeting where people can share speech. Check that people do not become isolated * Use advocates- independent people who can spend time building an understanding of the needs of specific individuals to assist with communication work. 5. Learn Assertive Skills Assertive behaviour is where a care worker is in control of their own actions, it is a balance of an appropriate expression of your own need while understanding the needs and rights of others, therefore not behaving aggressive (anger) or submissive (fear) in a care environment as both emotions will have an effect on others and a possible short or long term affect on you. Being assertive will help to challenge how other people feel about you. Assertive behaviour in a person listens and shows respect to others, tries to solve problems, aiming that no one needs to lose, negotiating (come to an agreement) with others and maintaining a clear, calm voice. An assertive person is able to: * Understand the situation they are in. * Control their personal emotions and remaining calm. * Use the right non-verbal assertive behaviour including varied eye contact, relaxed facial muscles, looking in control, keeping hands and arms by their side. Use the right words and statements in any situation. If a care worker were to act aggressive, this is where they somehow threaten someone, put them down or make them feel inferior to you. This type of behaviour has long and short term affects; the short term affects are that you are releasing some emotions that have been building up or getting some sense of power. Whereas the long term affects may lead to you feeling guilty a nd over apologetic, and you blame others for your behaviour. This will all result in people mistrusting you which will make you feel isolated from others and will contribute in high blood pressure. Being aggressive not only affects you but it also affects others as they may feel hurt, angry or humiliated and therefore retaliate or they may stop being in your company. Some people are aggressive whereas others are indirectly aggressive; this means storing your aggression to be released later or onto someone not related to your aggression. Again this affects you long and short term, short term being that you are able to let off steam onto someone else, you have less anxiety because you are not confronting the cause for your aggression directly, you get what you want and enjoy working behind the scenes. The long term affects is that you could lose control of your aggression, suffer from stress and stop being honest with yourself. Others are also affected as they may feel unfairly criticised by you and come to distrust and distance themselves from you. This is why it is important for care workers to learn assertive skills by watching other professionals and doing the same, as being assertive will help to resolve and problems. Vulnerable people need to be empowered to control their lives, whilst rights and responsibilities also need to be thought through. Assertive behaviour from a member of staff in a care setting will lead to effective communication, as assertive skills. . References Books Portch, T. (1999). Communication and Interpersonal Skills. Great Britain: Hodder and Stoughton

Activties - Training and career Dev Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Activties - Training and career Dev - Essay Example The company tries to build strong communication with its customers, to get a better insight of their needs, and then formulates a technical team to work on it (Caterpillar). The business of the Caterpillar has a wide range, covering from mining equipments to electric power generators. Its core business is to provide mining solutions and to make the mining process easier and safer. Its manufacturing unit is a diverse one, which produces a number of equipments, mostly related to mining. These includes, drills, mining tractors, paving, backhoe and several other instruments, used in the mining and drilling process. Moreover, it manufactures gas and diesel high power generators, along with integrated systems panels, for petroleum and marine industries (Caterpillar). 2. Some of the core characteristics of the Caterpillar’s culture are, to work with zest and sincerity to deliver the best services to their customers. For this, a Worldwide Code of Conduct has been published, and the en tire staff follows that code. This helps in being connected with the suppliers, stakeholders and the customers, so to work as one big team (Caterpillar). Caterpillar also gives much importance to the personality and nature of the candidates, who wish to work for it. This is the reason that all the employees of it are passionate and loves their job. This helps in achieving optimum result from each employee, helping the company grow and progress.