Nalanda University reopens after hundreds of years!

[Indrani]

Each cycle (rakah/rakat) in Namaz must have the first Surah - Fatiha, which is then followed by verses from anywhere in Quran, but mostly one of last 20 or so short Surahs is recited. I could go on to explain more, but it is OT enough. Its best to avoid discussing personal religious practice, and I think I should have avoided the reference in my post. In any case, if you have specific questions, you may ask me in some generic thread or personal message.

Thank you for the explanation Chak Bamu. Yeah, if you could post more info on the prayer in a PM, I will be grateful.

 

[Chak Bamu]

Hmm, you went into cosmology to explain the events of the subcontinent. Yes, that is the nature of the world and universe itself, there is continuum followed by destruction and then continuum again followed by destruction, and that is how evolution takes place. There is no overlooking this fact. Cause and effect is also woven into the fabric of the universe. So is light and dark, good and bad, right and wrong, safe and dangerous, all the opposites. But then this discussion was not about the cosmology and the nature of the universe and evolution. We were talking at a much lower level than that. At a level of human behavior, history, and memories. The worm's eye view so to speak.

There would be no anguish for the bygone age if we did not see the replication of the same events in this age. They say those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. So when people talk about, discuss about, and analyse history here on PDF, it is just an engaging way of learning history and about ourselves.

If you were to make light of history and say oh it was meant to happen and so it happened, then remember the present too was meant to happen and will happen, so will the future. You can have a reductionist's view where everything is fragmented and history has no bearing on our present and the present is just a freak isolated instance in time and space and history serves no purpose, then I can only point to the realities of our nations and tell you it is not so.

Anyway, I am sorry you missed your prayers with the jamaat.

As far as being messed up goes, I see no evidence of that either. It is just my view of history and no, it has no bearing on how I treat people around me or how people treat me. Things are fine.

I was not discussing cosmology as such, though it may seem to be so. See, my faith informs my opinions and world-view just like yours. Muslims usually accept things as they are and make the best of it going forward,because that is what our religion teaches us. Hindu cosmology talks about cycles. Islam does not do so as such. Though there is some theological thought that emphasizes cycles, but evolution towards some end matters more and is therefore emphasized. I can recall a verse of Quran that clearly says that a person (humanity) progresses stage by stage. So you see Islamic cosmology differs significantly from Hindu cosmology and that impacts our respective views, actions, and thought.

History does repeat itself, because the essence of our humanity does not change in its expression. Despite our changing circumstances and changing state of knowledge our nature stays constant. Arab Bedouins have a theory about travel in a desert. They say that there is a slight difference of length between two legs. So as a person walks in a seemingly straight line, he eventually comes back to the same place after a very long walk. So History repeats itself. Immutable constants matter more than variables, apparently. The lesson of history, therefore seems to be that you can not do much about it repeating itself. One question though does arise: Does history repeat itself upon the same people twice? I think not, you may disagree.

What I am trying to get at is that if you insist on being the same people, history will roll over you like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Therefore nostalgia (for any reason) must not dictate our choices today. Nostalgia for Mughal empire, or Mauriya empire must not affect our choices today. Similarly, historical wrongs happened, but we can not allow them to affect our choices today.

I hope for a day when India and Pakistan resolve their issues and establish normal relations. That would go a long way in getting rid of rhetoric that gets in our way. Meeting face to face makes us respect one another. Indians and Pakistanis need to meet one another to bring a closure of sorts without forgetting ourselves.

Thank you for the explanation Chak Bamu. Yeah, if you could post more info on the prayer in a PM, I will be grateful.

Ummm.... I would not know from where to start. If you have specific questions, I can answer them. I will send you a PM.

 

[dil_dil]

Trolls have now launched attack in full strength and destroyed a beautiful thread!!

You tells us to learn our origin, we do. In return i tell you yours and you guys get offended. But keep trolling.

 

[KingMamba]

Lo aa gya, Arabon ka khoon. Punjabi bolne wala Arabi Syed!! Apne bloodline ka ata pta nahi doosre ko kanjar bolta hai.. Lol..

You will not find one post where I am claimed to be Arab. Being Syed is not equal to Arab there are even Chinese and Black Syeds. Anyway I know all about my bloodline but you should bemore worried about your own, concerning the prevalence of devdasis amongst your people I recommend yu get a paternity test done because your pops may not be your pop.

 

[Bang Galore]

I have read every page of this thread till now. But no body has said anything about Ashok the Great who spread Buddhism throughout Asia by sending his son and daughter (one to Srilanka and one to Japan). It is said that he changed from Chandashok to Dharmashok after he won battle of Kalinga and was at pain to see so much bloodshed and after that he met Buddha or his disciple (I do not know) under whose teaching he changed completely. But for him Buddhism would not have spread like this.

Asoka's story is pretty well known though the "chandashok" claim needs to be taken with a pinch of salt because it comes mainly from Buddhist texts which have a reason to play it up. Asoka was a tough administrator initially (when he was sent to Taxila by his father to put down a rebellion, the people were so scared that they stopped straight away telling Asoka that they were only against the local governor & not against him or his father). The Kalinga story is one that has passed on to legend though Asoka was probably a Buddhist for some 3 years before the Kalinga battle. What is undisputed was that he changed dramatically shortly after that & the rest is pretty well known.

One thing I personally do not appreciate about Buddha. Buddha left his wife and son (why did he married in the first place?),

The marriage had happened pretty early in his life . However Buddha's attitude to women was reflective of a common bias of the period, he was very prejudiced against them as being a block to the spiritual enlightenment of a man. He had to be persuaded (and even then was not totally persuaded) by Ananda to admit women into the sangha. Even the rules for the nuns that Buddha set were very discriminatory. While it reflected prevailing social values, that is always an aspect of Buddha that would probably not be seen in great light. It was Ananda, a champion for women who remained the favourite of the nuns and they principally honoured his stupa.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Asoka's story is pretty well known though the "chandashok" claim needs to be taken with a pinch of salt because it comes mainly from Buddhist texts which have a reason to play it up. Asoka was a tough administrator initially (when he was sent to Taxila by his father to put down a rebellion, the people were so scared that they stopped straight away telling Asoka that they were only against the local governor & not against him or his father). The Kalinga story is one that has passed on to legend though Asoka was probably a Buddhist for some 3 years before the Kalinga battle. What is undisputed was that he changed dramatically shortly after that & the rest is pretty well known.




The marriage had happened pretty early in his life . However Buddha's attitude to women was reflective of a common bias of the period, he was very prejudiced against them as being a block to the spiritual enlightenment of a man. He had to be persuaded (and even then was not totally persuaded) by Ananda to admit women into the sangha. Even the rules for the nuns that Buddha set were very discriminatory. While it reflected prevailing social values, that is always an aspect of Buddha that would probably not be seen in great light. It was Ananda, a champion for women who remained the favourite of the nuns and they principally honoured his stupa.

I don't know if it was prejudice. What he felt was that the moment women were admitted, monastic celibacy will be lost, that you can't stop that loss. At least that's what I have read.

 

[dil_dil]

Lol, another desperate troll attempt by fake Pendu Syed!! Don't worry about me, I am not the one having identity crisis. But you should certainly do DNA test to find out which sufi made you Punjabi a Syed. Lol

What is your caste? Kashatriya? Brahman?

 

[KingMamba]

Lol, another desperate troll attempt by fake Pendu Syed!! Don't worry about me, I am not the one having identity crisis. But you should certainly do a DNA test to find out which sufi made you Pendu, a Syed. Lol

I am well aware of my identity, the only one that matters which is Pakistani. You on the other hand need to get things sorted out, I heard they start randibaazi young in them temples. Ask your mom when she started "praying" to devi should give you some sort of rough estimate.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

"Over 1,000 students from 40 countries have sought admission in Nalanda University. But only 15 students have been selected, including one each from Japan and Bhutan and others from India," More students will be enrolled in September she adds.


BBC News - India: Ancient university reopens after 800 years

 

[KingMamba]

You tells us to learn our origin, we do. In return i tell you yours and you guys get offended. But keep trolling.

Don't get yourself banned again, they are well aware of their jangli origins despite their attempts to deny it.

 

[Bang Galore]

I don't know if it was prejudice. What he felt was that the moment women were admitted, monastic celibacy will be lost, that you can't stop that loss. At least that's what I have read.

Not just his opinion on women being admitted, even on a more general level. There is enough known commentary about the subject.

 

[KingMamba]

According to tibetan and mynamar buddhists the death blow to buddhism was from islamic invaders who destroyed buddhism in Afghanistan,Pakistan,Central Asia . Yes,there was a lot of infighting b/w hindu and buddhist philosophies and it was bloody many times ,but the main factor was islamic invasion which destroyed buddhism in Afghanistan,Central asia ,Xinjiang,Pakistan etc. Was it not for the mongol empire which turned the tide ,Islam would have destroyed Buddhism totally.

Revisionist bullshit, aka the usual.

 

[dil_dil]

Don't get yourself banned again, they are well aware of their jangli origins despite their attempts to deny it.

I don't know why he is avoiding question if he is that sure of his identity.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Not just his opinion on women being admitted, even on a more general level. There is enough known commentary about the subject.

We gotta turn this into the Hardvard of the East man. There seems to be a lot of traction around this

 

[KingMamba]

Love the source a blog by a Hindu nationalist .. Voice of dharma..

Man these saffron nut jobs are a riot. They are just as loony as zarvan but at least he is not outright dishonest.

I don't know why he is avoiding question if he is that sure of his identity.

Well I have not gone through the whole thread but if he is avoiding the question the answer is in my response to him, a dude who doesn't even know the identity of his father will not know his own caste lol. In our culture most family history is recorded paternally after all.