Islam

The idea of Islam being spread by the sword is one of the most common misconceptions among both the Muslims and non-Muslims. Many non-Muslims have written untold volumes of anti-Islamic literature propagating the fallacy of Muslims holding swords above the heads of Christians and forcing them to convert to Islam. This is total nonsense. On the other hand we have some Muslim apologists who, in their great fervor to defend Islam and portray it as the peaceful religion it is, seem reluctant to admit that Muslims did indeed fight wars to expand their territories. So what is the truth of the situation? I would like to begin our quest for the truth on this matter by quoting the Qur’an, the literal word of God and the primary source for Islam: “Say the truth from your Lord, then let whomsoever wills believe and let whomsoever wills reject.” 18:29

Let’s start with the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and look at his example. He did preach Islam peacefully in Mecca for 13 years without once raising a finger against his enemies even though he and his followers were harshly persecuted, tortured, mocked and sometimes murdered. The first wars with Mecca did not occur until after the hijra to Medina, and those battles were defensive against Abu Sufyan and his amassed troops. After the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, the peace treaty between the Muslims and the Meccans, was unilaterally broken by the Meccans, the Muslims conquered Mecca without any bloodshed. Tribal customs would dictate that the Meccans should then be slaughtered for their transgressions against the victorious Muslims, and indeed the Meccans anticipated this, but Muhammad (PBUH) granted them amnesty on the condition that they cease fighting the Muslims. This was a beautiful act of mercy which led to the majority of Meccans choosing to convert to Islam, though no person was ever forced to do so.

What is conversion to Islam? Converting to Islam is something that has to be done by choice, it is something that you believe in your heart, that there is only one God and that Muhammad is His prophet and messenger. Words without belief are meaningless. Of course God alone knows what is in each and every person’s heart, so you won’t be able to fool God by meaningless lip service to Islam, and religion is solely for God and the benefit of the individual. So, forced conversion is impossible. The Qur’an attests to this fact in 2:256 where it states: “There is no compulsion in religion.”

So how did Islam spread so rapidly across North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula and east across India and Central Asia all the way to Southeast Asia? Primarily it spread by trade. Very often while Muslim merchants were traveling abroad they would impress the people they did business with by their honesty and integrity, so much so that those people would ask questions, learn about Islam, and eventually choose to convert.

What Is Spirituality

Many people spend a lifetime looking for spirituality and they never find it; you cannot find what is not lost or already is. What they are really looking for is spiritual awareness, an awareness of that which gives us life and mobility; an awareness of self.
Many people confuse religion for spirituality, but religion is man's attempt to explain spirituality and is a part of being spiritual as all things are. You will hear people say, "This or that person is very spiritual" but that is not really accurate. There are people who are more spiritually aware than others. But you are also spiritual, so there is no need to feel left out or less spiritual. Your spirituality can be developed consciously as awareness, but your spirit is already complete as is.

You will not find your spirituality in Tibet or high on the mountain or in the hut of some spiritual guru. There is no place to look for it, because you are already there. The awareness of spirituality comes with the desire to be spiritually aware. Once you have decided that it is what you want, the opportunities will come to you automatically. The people who will best serve you will be drawn to you, and you will begin to notice them. You will begin to notice subtle changes in your environment and your life's circumstances.

You more than likely will begin to move away from your current friends and even relationships as they no longer serve your purpose. As cold as that may seem, it is because you have begun to learn a new language and they can no longer understand or relate to you. Many will try and discourage you because they don't want to be left behind. As you begin to develop this other part of self, you will start to notice things around you that eluded you before.

Your senses will become more acute, you will begin to care more about your body and your health. You will understand and have great empathy for how your ego struggles to survive in what sometimes seems to be a harsh world. You will also draw like minded people to you, to replace the ones left behind who are there to support you in your creations.

Fasting Without Prayer is Not Vailid

True biblical fasting requires prayer. You can pray without fasting but you can’t fast -God’s way prayer. If you’ve decided to fast, here are a couple things to keep in mind:

1. Numerous times in the New Testament, Jesus talked about fasting. He always said “when,” not “if” you fast. It is something Jesus expects from Christians. Although fasting should come from your heart’s desire, at first it may seem like a chore. That’s okay. Tithing isn’t always easy, either. But your obedience means more to God than your sacrifice. Like anything else, the more you do it, the easier it will become.

Fasting is not manipulation. You may be fasting to hear God more clearly or to receive an answer to a specific prayer, but you cannot fast God into doing something for you. God is always concerned about the condition of our hearts more than He is about giving us what we want.

Unless you hear differently from God on this issue, don’t think you need to be on your knees for the full fasting period. God understands that you have a family, a job and daily activities. Fasting and prayer can be done around these things. Again, it is an issue of the heart.

Twenty-Four Hour Fast – This is the most normal and convenient fast today. It takes place from sun-down to sun-set the following evening. Jewish tradition was to eat a full meal in the late afternoon and then fast until dinnertime the next day. You may want to eat a large early dinner and spend an hour with God after dinner, asking Him to bless your fasting time. Waking up the next morning knowing you will be able to eat that evening makes dealing with the hunger pains a little easier to bear.

Deffrent World religions

In the inherent account of every person. Humans are aces of respect, support, and caring artlessly because they are human. Unfortunately, we accept not accomplished a accord on if animal life, in the anatomy of an ovum and spermatozoon, becomes a animal person. On this matter, our abridgement of acceding mirrors that of affiliation at large.

bullet In alive appear a ability that is almost chargeless of bigotry on the base of gender, race, animal orientation, gender identity, religion, civic origin, concrete disability, age, etc.

bullet In the adherence of the animal person. We argue the use of ache and atrocious or abnormal abuse including the afterlife penalty.

bullet In the accent of capitalism aural religious, political and added structures.

bullet In the break of abbey and state; and the freedoms of speech, association, and expression.

bullet That the systems of accuracy that we accept advised on the capacity of morals, ethics, and religious acceptance are not absolute: they alter by culture, by religion, and over time.

bullet In the about absolute access that a lot of religions accept had on their followers and on society.

bullet In the accent of alone believers free angry influences and behavior aural their called acceptance group, and acerb apostle for their correction.

bullet In the accent of education. We accept that humans are not absolutely accomplished unless they accept advised the world's above religions and ethical systems. They charge to apprentice of the acceptable and bad impacts they accept had on society

Vedic Math Ancient Sutras - Basic Mental Math

The latest research in Vedic Math suggests that there are sixteen ancient Vedic Sutras which have been expanded upon by an additional thirteen sub-Sutras or math corollaries.

A brief discussion on each of these is in order.

The 16 Vedic Math Sutras as applicable to mathematics:

1. "Ekadhikena Purvena" (By one more than the previous one) The working of the Sutra is quite simple. In the case of the vulgar fraction 1/19 whose denominator ends with 9, in the normal method 18 steps are required. But with this Sutra it can be accomplished in only one step. The actual calculations and steps are beyond the scope of this writing. This is just to show the ease with which we can apply Vedic mathematics to everyday calculations as well as for solving complex equations.

2. "Nikhilam Navatascaramam Dasatah" (All from 9 and the last from 10) This is a cryptic Sutra for multiplying numbers. According to Vedic Math multiplication tables are not required beyond the 5 multiplied by 5. It is claimed that with this sutra multiplication becomes a Childs play.

3. "The Urdhva Tiryaghyam Sutra" (Vertically and crosswise multiplications) This is another short Sutra for multiplication

4. "Paravartya Yojayet" (Transpose and apply) This Sutra is used to solve simple equations

5. "Sunyam Samyasamuccaye" i.e. If the Samuccaya is the same (on both sides of the equation, then) that Samuccaya is (equal to) zero This Sutra is used to solve special type of equations. "Samuccaya" is a technical term which has several meanings in different contexts. In fact, a single word taking on different meanings is the beauty of Sanskrit text. At the same time it is also confusing and confounding to those who have not mastered the language. If looked at it from different angles, Sanskrit is a boon as well as a bane. Misunderstanding and misinterpreting is quite common among scholars. In as much as the scriptures are concerned, the meaning of words becomes all the more important.

6. "(Anurupye ) Sunyamanyat" ( If one is in ratio the other one is zero) There are some simultaneous equations which may involve large numbers and may therefore seem hard to solve, but owing to certain ratios between the coefficients can be readily and easily solved using this Sutra.

7. "Sankalana-vyavakalanabhyam"

8. "Puranapuranabhyam"

9. "Calana-kalanabhyam"

The above three Sutras are used in solving different types of quadratic equations.

10. "Yavadunam" This Sutra is used for squaring and cubing.

11. "Vyastisamastih"

12. "Sesanyankena Caramena"

13. "Sopantyadvayamantyam"

14. "Ekanyunena Purvena"

15. "Gunitasamuccayah"

16. "Gunakasamuccayah"

Spiritual Logic

Atheists point to these events to indicate how religion does not work in fairness to the very people it claims to serve. Yet, religionists look upon the same events to expose the blasphemies of those who were removed from the ranks of the believers. The same event produces radically opposing interpretations. One is the unfairness of the institutions.

The other is the unfairness of the dissidents. At this juncture is where the true religious moderates are needed to bridge the gap between the war holler to destroy religious institutions, and the equally abrasive shriek of religious fundamentalists with their "Our way or the high-way" banner raised up from on high. Religious Moderation is not a code for apathy, extreme relativism, new-age, or anything of the sort. It simply refers to people of all religious and spiritually based systems who don't throw away their convictions every time they are tempted by their egos, and likewise it indicates those who don't shun the rest of the world because they practice the wrong religion.

Skeptics may say, "This is all very well in theory, but fundamentalists learn this attitude from their own books and scriptures. They don't get this from thin-air." They are correct in saying that, without a doubt. All of the religious scriptures of the world contain attitudes of extremism, intolerance, absolutist, and everything under the sun that religious fundamentalists cling to. There is also evidence to the contrary in those self-same books.

This is the point of contention among religionists with non-believers, and with each other as well. Each "group" is selecting choice passages and phrases that bolsters their own point of view, and they begin throwing these at each other to see who wins the competition. It reminds one of a theological snowball fight. One could say that even religious moderates are guilty of this, and they would be correct. Thus, the human experience exposes its imperfection for eternity.

Introducing children to religion

These are questions that many parents grapple with. We want to instill our values in our children, without scaring them or turning them off altogether. But what’s the best way to accomplish this?

Here are some suggestions, gathered from parents of several different faiths, of how they successfully shared their personal beliefs about God, religion and their church (or place of worship) with their children.

1. Start early. Begin sharing some basic principles with your children at an early age in an age appropriate way.

2. Make religion fun. Don’t make religious discussions boring. Use arts & crafts, signing, stories and even baking to share your story. One family said that they bake a cake each year together on Christmas Eve. Before bed, they light a candle and sing Happy Birthday to the baby Jesus. This lets them tell the story of Jesus’ birth in a way that the children can relate to, and look forward to more than just Santa’s visit!

3. Use child-friendly examples. Many religious concepts and stories can be overly complicated for children. Bring the concepts down to a very basic level – love, sharing, helping, and forgiveness are all ideas that even very young children can grasp.

4. Set an example. Your children watch you as a role model. Your language and behavior will carry as much weight as the lessons you teach.

5. Make attending church (or your place of worship) a social activity. Study after study has shown that children who are actively involved with their church are far less likely to be involved with negative activities like drugs, sex and gangs. And of course it doesn’t take a study to tell us that a child – even a preschooler – who has fun with his friends at church will enjoy it more.

6. Let children help with rituals. Even very young children can assist with certain parts of rituals, from lighting candles to giving thanks for their blessings.