RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD

JUDAISM


Founder              : Abraham (2000 BC) and Moses (1200 BC) born in Egypt

Date founded     : 2000 BC


Beliefs                 

• Unity of God
• God as teacher through instruction of Torah 
• God as redeemer
• Resurrection
• Coming of the 'Messiah' who will establish new age in Israel

Sacred texts         : The Hals, found particularly in the five books of the Bible; 
                            Commentary on Torah Known as Talmud and Midrash

Place of worship  : Synagogue


Sacred place         : Jerusalem

Followed in            : Worldwide with concentration in Israel and United States
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SHINTOISM

Founder                : No founder, began with Japanese culture and developed 
                           Out of tradition and ancestor worship

Date originated   : 6th AD, Japan

Beliefs               

• Polytheistic -- belief in 'Kami' (deities)
• Sincerity arising from awareness of the divine
• Spiritual and physical purification

Sacred text         : No specific text

Sacred places      : Central Shrine of Isle (Central Japan) and the Yasukuni 
                           Shrine in Tokyo

Followed in           : Japan
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SIKHISM 

Founder                : Guru Nanak (1469-1539) born in Talwandi village, now in 
                           Pakistan

Date founded       : 1500 AD

Beliefs                   : 

• Unity of God
• Birth, death and rebirth
• Guidance of the Guru to 'moksa' (release) and the way of God
• Worship of the Adi Granth

Sacred Text          : The Guru Granth Sahib


Place of worship  : The Guru Granth Sahib

Sacred place         : Golden Temple, Amritsar

Followed in            : India
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TAOISM 

Founder               : Lao Zi (600 BC). a Chinese philosopher

Date founded      : 600 BC, China

Beliefs                  :

• International of human society and the universe
• Cult of Heaven
• Law of return
• State of original purity
• Worship of ancestors

Sacred text        : The Tao-te-Ching

Followed in         : China, Taiwan, Nauru, Brunei, Singapore and Veitnam
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ZOROASTRIANISM (PARSI RELIGION) 

Founder                : Zoroaster (600 BC) born in Iran

Date founded      : 600 BC, Iran

Beliefs                  : 

• Viewing the world as being divided between the spirits of good and evil
• Worshipping Ahura Mazdah as the Supreme deity, who is forever in conflict with Ahriman, the spirit of evil
• Considering fire sacred

Sacred text          : The Zend Avesta

Place of worship : Fire temple

Followed in           : Iran and north-west India 

 

 

  

 

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RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD Part-1

HINDUISM


Founder            : Of divine origin

Date founded    : 1500 BC, India


Beliefs           

• Hindu Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh
• Authority of the Vedas
• Rebirth
• Soul emanicipated by the Three Margas -- duty, Knowledge and devotion

Sacred texts       : The Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavadgita and 
                         The Ramayana

Place of worship : Mandir (Temple)

Sacred places     : Ayodhya, Mathura, Amarnath, Hardwar, Varanasi, Tirupati,
                          Rameshwaram, Kedarnath

Followed in        : Concentrated in India and Nepal and also in Mauritius, 
                          Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Fiji, Indonesia, Gyuana and Trinidad 
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ISLAM

Fouder               : Prophet Muhammad (AD 570-632) born in Makha, Saudi 
                          Arabia

Date Founded  : 7th AD , Arabian Peninsula


Beliefs               : 

• Unity of God
• God (ALLAH) as creator and sustainer of the universe
• Prophets are recipients of revelations from God -- They, with God, show a person the 'right way'
• God, always ready to pardon -- repentance and redemption possible

Sacred texts         : The Holy Qur'an (words of God), the Hadis (collection of
                            Prophet's sayings)


Place of worship  : Masjid (Mosque)


Sects                     : Sunnis and Shias


Sacred places      : Makha and Madina


Followed in           : Spread all over the world
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JAINISAM

Founder                : Vardhamana Mahavira (599-527 BC) born in Kunda near 
                           Vaishali, India

Date founded      : 600 BC, India

Beliefs                  : 

• World eternal and uncreated
• All phenomera linked by chain of cause and dffect
• Non-violence to other living creatures (Ahimsa)
• Right conduct, right Knowledge, right belief
• Perfection and purification of soul leads to its emancipation and the ultimate attribute of omniscience

Sacred text          : No specific text

Place of worship : Temple

Sacred place        : Kunda near Vaishali, India

Followed in           : Mainly concentrated in India
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RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD

RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD

BUDDHISM

Founder                : Gautam Siddhartha Buddha (563-483 BC) born in Lumbini,                        Nepal

Date Founded     : 500 BC, India

Beliefs                : Four Noble Truths':

• All life is permeated by suffering
• Source of suffering is desire for existence
• This cause can be eliminated
• Way of doing this is by treading 'The Eightfold Path' which leads to 'Nirvana' -- the ultimate state of peace

Sacred text          : The Tripitaka (a collection of Buddha's teachings)

Place of worship   : Vihar (Temple) and Monastery (where monks reside)

Sects                    : Mahayana and Hinayana

Sacred places       : Lumbini (Nepal) where Buddha was born; Bodh Gaya 
                             (Bihar) where he received enlightment; and Kusinagara 
                             (UP) where he attained 'Nirvana'.

Followed in           : China, Tibet, Korea, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand,                                       Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Cambodia, Taiwan, Indonesia, and
                                           Vietnam
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CHRISTIANITY

Founder                   : Jesus Christ (4 BC-AD 30) born in Bethlehem, also called 
                             Jesus of Nazareth

Date founded        : 1 st AD


Beliefs                  : Trinity -- God as three in one (Father, Son, Holy

• God as creator of universe
• God is Love
• Incarnation of Jesus as Son of God

Sacred test          : Holy Bible consisting of the Old Testament (before Christ)
                             And the New Testament (during and after Christ)

Place of worship   : Church

Sects                    : Catholics and Protestants

Followed in           : Spread all over the world
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CONFUCIANISAM 

Founder                 : K'ung Fu-tzu, better known as Confuciuus (551-479 BC) 
                               Born in the State of Lu in China

Date founded         : 6th BC, China

Beliefs                  : 

• Human beings are improvable and perfectible
• Person can shape his/her own destiny
• Self-knowledge and self realization are attainable through learning sense of humanity should infuse society and politics (social participation)
• Ritual and tradition

Sacred text            : The Analects

Place of worship     : No church or temple

Sacred place          : Peking (Beijing) in China

Followed in            : China Taiwan, South Korea, Nauru and Vietnam
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The World Around US- I - Earth Electrical Appliances

The World Around US - I

Why do we need to earth electrical appliances ?

Electrical appliances are earthed for safety measures. As we Know, most of the non-current carrying metallic parts of an electrical appliance are well insulated and safe to use. But, in a faulty appliance current can pass through even these insulated parts and can create a risk to the life of the user as the human body allows an easy flow of electricity through itself to the ground. The earthing of the appliances prevents this risk because the earth wire offers an easier path as compared to the human body to the flow of leaking current to the ground, thus making the appliances safe to use.

Why were pyramids built ?

Pyramids were built as huge monumental tombs for Egypt's royalty. The Egyptians believed that dead people's spirits lived on after death if there bodies were carefully preserved, It was specially important to preserve the bodies of the pharaohs and nobles. Their spirits would help the kingdom of Egypt to survive. So the Egyptians preserved their dead bodies as mummies, and placed them in these splendid tombs, along with clothes, jewels and models of everything they would need in the afterlife.

What is a lightning conductor ?

A lightning conductor is a device that is used for protecting buildings and tall structures from lightning strikes. It consists of a metal rod, usually made of copper, placed at the highest point of a building or structure. The lower end of the rod is connected to an earth conductor buried 3 m or more in the earth. When lightning strikes, the conductor provides a safe path to the charge and the building is not affected. Other kinds of lightning protectors are used on power stations, telephone wires and electric structures.,

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