According to many traditions and teachers, the greatest spiritual benefit from portable repetition of a mantram or short prayer phrase comes from repeating it on as many occasions as possible. ...Christian Jesus Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me Mother of Jesus Hail Mary or Ave Maria Son of God Om Yesu Christu or Jesus, Jesus Muslim Lord God, the One Allah, Allah God is great Allahu Akbar In the name of God, merciful, compassionate Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim Hindu Eternal joy within Rama, Rama Invocation to beauty and fearlessness Om Namah Shivaya In honor of the Divine Mother Om Bhavani Names of God Hare Rama… Mahamantram Buddhist Jewel (self) in the lotus of the heart Om Mane Padme Hum I bow to the Buddha of Infinite Light Namo Amida Butsu Jewish Blessed art Thou, King of the Universe Barukh Atah Adonai Lord of the Universe Ribono Shel Olam The process of selecting a mantram is as personal as the mantram itself. ...when used consistently over time, mantram repetition also fosters long-term psychological capacities such as resilience—the ability to quickly recover balance after a crisis—and deepened mindfulness, including qualities such as equanimity and compassion.
PurposeWith the increasing realization of the importance of communication for sustainable development, strategic issues such as institutional alliances, public participation and media integration ...have emerged as indispensable tools in any environmental campaign. This study is an inquiry into India's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (2014–2019) which is one of the major strategic sustainable development campaigns of the 21st century. The twin research questions raised are (1) What were the major action-plans and the key outreach strategies adopted in SBA? and (2) How the discourse of swachhata (cleanliness) was propagated in SBA?Design/methodology/approachWith response to research question 1, a seven-fold analysis of the strategic aspects of the SBA is undertaken utilizing Willner's (2006) strategic approach to the promotion of sustainable development campaigns. Research question 2 is addressed through a multimodal analysis of the discourse of swachhata (cleanliness) following the Grammar of Visual Design framework of Kress and van Lieuwen (2006).FindingsThe campaign employed a 360-degree promotional strategy. It involved print, electronic and social media; promoted inter- and intra-institutional alliances; roped in opinion leaders and opinion formers; and encouraged massive public participation. Strategically, SBA's discourse of cleanliness adhered to the “3R” principles of the United Nation's Sustainability Goals: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Tactically, the discourse of cleanliness was framed in the ideas of shame versus dignity and was entrenched in the ideals of commitment to nation and neighborhood, and good citizenship.Research limitations/implicationsOne major limitation of this study is the exclusion of certain intervening variables such as (1) access to the state of the art of green technology, (2) green financing, (3) green incubation, (4) sustainable PPP models for SBA and (5) for-profit approach to environmental cleanliness. Future studies can expand the scope of research by incorporating these variables in their analytical frameworks.Originality/valueThis is the first study to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the communication aspect of SBA. This case study, in particular, can be useful for the young research scholars and postgraduate students of Communication, Management and Public Policy.
Child poverty is finally getting some attention thanks to the recent report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Child Poverty Action Group, as reported in The BMJ. 1 Is ..."policy lacking to prevent adverse health in poor UK children," as the Lancet asserts? 3 Indeed, the Welfare Reform and Work Bill actively pushed more children into poverty by introducing the income cap and changes to tax credits. 3 What's lacking,...
The world of yesterday Boyce, Niall
The Lancet (British edition),
04/2016, Letnik:
387, Številka:
10027
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Soviet structuralism of the 1960s argued that it was instructive to interpret culture--especially Russian culture--in terms of opposed pairs. Crime and Punishment; War and Peace; Fathers and Sons. To ...which, in 2016, London's National Portrait Gallery and Moscow's State Tretyakov Gallery might add another pair: the UK and Russia. The two institutions have temporarily swapped some of their most prestigious portraits in a cultural exchange celebrating their shared 160th anniversary.
Biographies of Mahatma Gandhi often begin with an examination of Gandhi's childhood and adolescence. Most coverage of the early life of Gandhi includes at least a mention of his first encounter with ...a Christian missionary in India and the negative effect that it had on Gandhi's perceptions of Christianity. In biographies and other studies of Gandhi, Gandhi's autobiography is the sole source of information on most of the events in his early life, including his initial encounter with Christianity. However, another generally neglected source on Gandhi's early life, Joseph Doke's M.K. Gandhi: An Indian patriot in South Africa, presents a different narrative of Gandhi's first encounter with Christianity that contrasts drastically with that in the autobiography. The paper explores the context of Gandhi's two contrasting descriptions of a missionary in Rajkot, the exchange of letters between Gandhi and Rev. Hugh Robert Scott, the missionary of whom Gandhi wrote, the controversy that ensued regarding Gandhi's description of Scott in his autobiography, and the writings and work of Scott. The disparity between Gandhi's two accounts of the missionary calls into question the reliance on Gandhi's narratives of his own life as an entirely accurate source of historical information.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how learners view peace and their role in peacebuilding. Peace is widely perceived as the absence of war and violence (Castro and Galace, 2010). The ...literature revealed that youths play an active role in peacebuilding. This study was designed to look into the journey of Grade 10 learners to becoming peacebuilders. Specifically, this sought answers to the following questions: What are the perceptions of the Grade 10 learners of peace? How do the Grade 10 learners contribute to peacebuilding? What are the learners’ dreams and aspirations for a culture of peace?
Design/methodology/approach
The research captured stories of the Grade 10 learners of a Filipino-Chinese school in Iloilo City who participated in the study voluntarily. The learners wrote an essay in one of their reflection sessions in social studies class completing the following phrases: Peace is …; I am a Peacebuilder …; My dreams and aspirations for a culture of peace …. The data gathered were analyzed following Creswell’s framework in data analysis in qualitative research which suggests a linear, hierarchical approach. The themes generated were interpreted as the final process of the data analysis.
Findings
Majority of the participants perceived peace positively rather than merely an absence of war. Peace means freedom. Moreover, peace improves society and brings in a new period of progress. Learners across cultures have common views of peace, and they believed that peacebuilding has to begin in themselves. Through positive action such as setting as a good example and influencing others to do the same, the learners contribute to peacebuilding. In times of conflict and misunderstanding, they act as agents of peace by being a mediator. During crisis in the community, they extended their helping hands to the needy wholeheartedly.
Research limitations/implications
Consistent with the prevailing views of peace, learners perceived peace positively and negatively. It is interesting to note that most participants had a positive perception of peace, which demonstrated a more profound conception of the topic. Their broader perspectives on peace may have been influenced by the author, who taught the participants for two years and who began as a peace advocate and incorporated peace ideas into class discussions in some instances. The findings from this study might only be the tip of the iceberg and far from being definitive given the small number of participants and the researcher’s relationship with them, which may have impacted their responses and created some concerns about authenticity and anonymity.
Practical implications
This study upheld the claim of Gandhi that youths are agents of positive change (Del Felice and Wisler, 2007). Young people are potential peacebuilders. This study provided encouragement for the truth that we should not undervalue youth’s ability to effect change. This can prompt greater discussion among scholars about peace in general inside the group, which might be viewed as being ignored on peace studies.
Social implications
The participants’ dreams and aspirations for a culture of peace went beyond just improving their own lives. They shared Gandhi and Rizal’s aspirations for a better world and a habitable Philippines. Their narratives exhibited that they wished for a common good, which was uplifting. Their expectations and aspirations might have varied because of their economic situation and cultural orientation.
Originality/value
Literatures revealed that youths play an active role in peacebuilding. In school, for instance, Jabor (2017) concluded that students are enablers and not only the prime recipients of peace process. In a bigger context, Del Felice and Wisler (2007) illustrated in their study how the youths spearheaded various organizations for the benefit of humanity. Despite the many attestations, the contributions of the youth to peacebuilding are still deemed understudied. Most of the studies were based on the dichotomous view of the youth: victims and perpetrators of violence (UNOY Peacebuilder, 2015).
In his work, Arvind Sharma daringly asserts the fundamental place of spirituality in Mohandas K. (“Mahatma”) Gandhi’s personal life and social and political activism. Sharma avoids any theoretical ...frameworks to elucidate Gandhi’s spirituality; but rather, he takes the reader through events in Gandhi’s life, his personal practices, and political actions that had synthesized the spiritual and political through living the apparent paradox of a saint-politician. Critiques of Gandhi’s spiritual practices attest to the fact that he remains a challenge to scholars as well as practitioners of nonviolence who seek to separate his political theories, nonviolent strategies, and social concerns from his spiritual commitments. Sharma claims that discerning the truth of his life—mixed as
nīr
(political, social, mundane) and
kṣīr
(spiritual, service, love, quest to see God)—mandates not ignoring his “Mahatma side” (
kṣīr
), the primary source of his fearlessness and strength (mental, physical, and public), notwithstanding many critiques that may render it as only an aberration.
Mahatma Gandhi has to be counted among the epoch-making philosophers in the history of India. He has a reputation as a pioneer of Satyagraha, a freedom fighter and a constructive social reformer. He ...believed that the laborintensive life of farmers and artisans was the best life. Gandhiji wanted to improve the economic life of the common man in India. The majority of people in India live in villages. Insufficient land in the village and unemployment are the main reasons for their poverty. So he undertook the program of reviving rural industries and making agriculture a secondary business. He gave Swadeshi vows to his followers so that industries could be created in the village. Although the ideal of economic decentralization seemed appealing to many, including Gandhiji, he did not provide clear guidance to his followers. So their thoughts were limited to a few villages. As an alternative to the capitalist economy, Gandhiji proposed the idea of a selfsufficient village state in the medieval period. But with the establishment of capitalism in India, the economic exploitation of the common people began. Because the establishment did not support them. Gandhiji's decentralization of the economy, his opposition to machine culture, the decentralization of economic power, etc., necessitated a collective movement to put them into practice. Gandhiji was not able to set up such a movement in India or his followers. That is why even though Gandhiji's ideas were good, they could not be put into practice. Objectives :- 1) To find out the reasons why the people of rural India are in the throes of economic and unemployment today. 2) To find out the real ideas of Gandhiji about the economic life of rural agriculture. Methodology :- Using this analytical and comparative method of historical research, the article presents research based on primary and secondary historical tools._
Research shows a growing attentiveness to the role of social and environmental influences on HIV risk behaviours. Moreover, the understanding of HIV risk behaviours has moved from an earlier ...consideration of individual risk, to ecological models, with the understanding that behaviours are rooted in the economic, environmental and social structure.
To explore how social capital, specifically on a social bonding level, operates as a risk or protective factor for the spread of HIV among French-speaking migrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), living in Durban, South Africa.
A qualitative approach using a case study design was used to conduct the study. Data were collected through focus group discussions and individual in-depth interviews from a purposive sample of French-speaking migrants from DRC, living in Durban, South Africa. Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained from the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Human and Social Science Research Ethics' Committee. Data were analysed thematically using Creswell's steps of data analysis.
This study found that social capital can act as both a protective factor in certain circumstances, and a risk factor in others. Trust, norms, reciprocity and social networks are complex elements in the refugee community and are influenced by a myriad of factors including the past and present stressors that are prevalent within this community.
The findings confirm the complexity of issues related to HIV prevention which necessitate policy and practice interventions to mitigate consequences that may result from the higher risks of HIV transmission in this community.
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