Bach (Acorus Calamus) Essay Example for Free

Bach (Acorus Calamus) Essay Bach or Sweet flag is thought to have originated in Central Asia and probably indigenous to India, found common in areas that surround the Himalayas. As a result of cultivation, it has spread throughout the globe, found across Europe, in southern Russia, northern Asia Minor, southern Siberia, China, Japan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Australia, as well as southern Canada and northern USA. Calamus has long been a symbol of male love. The name is associated with a Greek myth on Kalamos, son of the river-god Maeander. In Japan, the plant is a symbol of the samurais bravery because of its sharp sword-like leaves. Teton-Dakota warriors chewed the root to a paste, which they rubbed on their faces. It prevented excitement and fear when facing an enemy. In Penobscot homes, the root was cut and hung up. Steaming it throughout the home is thought to cure sickness. have also been used as a thatch for roofs. Food and Flavouring: An essential oil from the rhizome is used in perfumery and as food flavouring, it has a fragrance reminiscent of patchouli oil. An essential oil obtained from the leaves is used in perfumery and for making aromatic vinegars. Insect repellent: The essential oil is also an insect repellent and insecticide. It is effe c t i ve a ga i n st houseflies. When added to rice being stored in granaries it has significantly reduced loss caused by insect damage because the oil in the root has sterilized the male rice weevils. All parts of plant can be dried and used to repel insects or to scent linen cupboards. Incense: The leaves and the roots have refreshing scent of cinnamon. They can also be burnt as incense. Medicine: In Ayurvedic system of medicine, the rhizomes of Sweet flag are considered to possess anti-spasmodic, carminative and anthelmintic properties and have been used for a number of beneficial reasons. Vacha is considered as a sattvic herb which feeds and transmutes the sexual kundalini energy. It is forms a popular remedy for cough and cold and also the other respiratory disorders like bronchitis. In raw form it is used as cough lozenge. Sweet flag provides aid to the digestive system and acts against flatulent colic, dyspepsia, and vomiting. Acorus calamus depresses central nervous system and is a well known ingredient in formulation for psycho-somatic disorders like epilepsy. The vapours of Sweet flag repel some insects. THE PLANT Sweet flag is a perennial, semi-aquatic and smelly plant, found in both temperate and sub temperate zones. It is up to 2m tall, aromatic, sword-shaped leaves and small, yellow/green flowers with branched rhizome. Plants very rarely flower or set fruit, but when they do, the flowers are 3-8 cm long, cylindrical in shape, greenish brown and covered in a multitude of rounded spikes. The fruits are small and berry-like, containing few seeds. CULTIVATION Its a hardy plant found growing from tropical to sub-tropical climates. Plenty of sunshine should be available to the plant during its growth and after harvesting for drying the rhizomes. This species comes up well in clayey loams, sandy loams and light alluvial soils of river banks. The land should be ploughed twice or thrice prior to the onset of rains. Acorus is propagated through rhizomes obtained from earlier planting. The best time for planting is the second fortnight of June. The river or canal bank where the land is saturated with water is very suitable for its growth. Timely weeding and hoeing to control the spread of weeds and to obtain good yield is essential. After each weeding the growing plants are pressed down into the soil. After 6-8 months, in December, the lower leaves turn yellow and dry indicating their maturity. The field should be partially dried only leaving sufficient moisture for uprooting the plant. The uprooted rhizome is cleaned after washing with water and cut into size and fibrous roots removed. The cut rhizomes are dried by spreading under the shade so that the amount of oil present in it is not harmed. TRADE AND COMMERCE Sweet flag has been an item of trade in many cultures for thousands of years. Sweet flag forms a useful adjunct to other tonics and stimulants. Its domestic demand is quite large. As the production is much less in India, the internal market itself is highly potential. Importers, buyers within the country, processors, traditional practitioners, Ayurvedic and Siddha drug manufacturers throng the markets for procurement of this plant every year.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Mississippi Burning :: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Essays

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Mississippi Burning Prejudice is just a word until a book or movie puts pictures in your mind. In Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Mississippi Burning, there are several scenes that have an impact on me. Both stories tell how badly the black families of Mississippi were treated, and they show how they suffered through it and came out the other end with courage and honor. It also tells how unfair the white men were to the blacks, inside and outside of the courtroom. Prejudice is an ugly subject, and is still taught today. The horrible things that the white man did to the colored man make me realize how ignorance certainly is bliss. In both Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and Mississippi Burning, the black people were tortured and tormented for no reason other than that they were black. The black families in the book Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry live in constant fear of the nightriders. The nightriders would kill a man for looking at them the wrong way in those days. It is for this reason that the black people tried to have as little to do with the white men as possible. In the book, Papa tries to explain to Stacey why it's not such a good idea to get involved with Jeremy. "We Logans don't have much to do with the white folks. You know why?" Papa says, " `Cause white folks mean trouble" p. 158. In Mississippi Burning, the FBI agent Mr. Anderson tries to explain to his partner how prejudice the white men of Mississippi are. In this movie, the members of the Ku Klux Klan kill black men because they stepped out of line. When trying to explain this to his partner, Mr. Anderson tells him " Down here, things are different; here, they believe that some things are worth killing for." He also tells how thirty years ago, a black man could be hung for stealing a watermelon. After all the bad things that the white man did to the black man, I wouldn't be surprised if they still didn't forgive us. When comparing the book and the movie, I can't help but notice the honor and confidence that the black people possess.

History of God Essay

1. Why you selected the particular book? The diverse religious activities and the differences in faith and belief have divided men into different denominational groupings. For several centuries, religious groupings have engaged in physical and verbal combat in an attempt to spread its faith. However the most fundamental conflict stems from an opposing belief coupled by a summary of socio-cultural differences. These differences have ushered in conflicts that escalated into atrocities and bloodshed. Other conflicts have made religious differences as the organizing point to justify their own superior ambitions. Armstrong however stressed on a comparative history of the three monotheistic religions and exposed the frailty in each belief. Her insistence on the monopoly of truth committed by Christianity, Islam and Judaism as superior to other sects has developed an idea of a supreme being with human similarities. The idea of a personal supreme being has been supported by these religions which condemns and marginalize others. Suc h idealistic behavior of presenting God as a bigger version of man retreats and spins man away from the virtue that the faith teaches. In our present era, God has been adapted to meet the demands of the fast-changing ideas. Armstrong believes that some religions would eventually die out while others would gain strength or change direction. This has actually seen proof in people changing their religious affiliations. Her book is an interesting read that awakens us to the struggle for a religious meaning to an aggressive and extreme personalized stance that totally erases the ethical proportions that embodies that teaching of God. Further in Armstrong’s book, a well-balanced critical perspective on how the Western faith catered to the rise of atheism is clearly presented. It exposed how atheism evolved not merely on the basis of disproving the religious scriptures but as a result of the theological excesses committed in the past years. 2. What is the author’s purpose in writing the book? In our own century, the idea attached to God has been revised several times to meet the demands of the present population. Armstrong believed that when religious ideas cease to be effective, they fade away (376). After so much tribulations and conflicts, the thought that religious roots may cease to exist provides a comforting scene for Armstrong who has seen a drastic shrinkage of religious denominations as common views changed. The reading public’s response in a book with Armstrong’s magnitude has indicated the public’s hunger a theological change. For her, God has been remade to portray a vision that endorses the history and supremacy of the strong to work for their cause. Religion thereby has a social purpose and the idea of God according to Armstrong serves a function for a culture to survive. People have always resisted any type change unless the proposed change fits in with their social and cultural order and lifestyle. This is what Armstrong has continued to stress in her book. Further this book Armstrong aims to express in her history that traditional society practiced spirituality. Men sought nature and use these forces to work for him. Somehow this was depicted in Genesis that was also suggested by Armstrong that Abraham’s God was El (14). Myths evolved around Abraham’s God that was not supposed to be taken literally according to Armstrong. However when behavior or actions of â€Å"God† enabled people to show their best and perform effectively, the concept became highly accepted. The Koran according to Armstrong also taught that God had created Adam in his own image which is why he ordered the angels to bow down and worship the first man (229). Armstrong’s work however signifies that God is either personal or transcendent. He can â€Å"encourage perpetual immaturity,† or be â€Å"essentially subjective and personal enlightenment† which Armstrong stresses can be a very good thing. She means to relay the message th at a transcendent God, when not planning a revolution, is subject to the manipulations of mankind. He could be a racist or a revolutionary depending on our personal views which has been mirrored after man’s own image to portray a supreme being. For modern religion, she stressed that Christianity is faced with atheism which evolved as a rational choice after the Reformation. She also exposed the limitations that Islam has also struggled in order to reconcile religious views with their economic and political position. Modern Islam seeks to either pattern their behavior from western views which altogether eased their strict sanctions over traditional religious practices like Iran and Turkey. The Jews after seeing the horrors of the century have lost forbearance and instead focused on a political battle over the Israeli state. One thing however continues to become a mundane search for everyone which is to seek the truth throughout the long history of God’s existence. 3. Review of the ideas presented The understanding presented in Armstrong was Christianity, Islam and Judaism’s belief that a one true God and religion would evolve (151). Armstrong presented that any conflict should have been erase as they all share a certain similarity existing along the same line of conflict. Biblical evidence according to Armstrong has suggested that the leader Moses convinced his people El and Yahweh were one and the same (21). For her, the call for a one true God is a call for unity among religion. This unity hopes to recognize the aspiration of others but will seemingly focus on a true worship. Additionally, excessive intellectualism is frowned upon which is damaging to the faith. Armstrong provided that is God is not to become an indulgent endorsement of our own egotism, religious experience must be informed by an accurate assessment of its content (205). She stressed a repeated warning against making God into an endorsement of egotism. The Koran is likewise clear that there is to be no compulsion in religion (155-6). God is love as further endorsed in Armstrong’s work which is positively effective in the history of monotheism which speaks of a God who is on the side of the impotent and the oppressed (20). Further she stressed that God would live in a loving brotherhood, and not in a stone temple (71).   Ã‚  It follows then that each human being is a unique epiphany of the Hidden God, manifesting him in a particular and unrepeatable manner (237). But the human mind has conceived concepts that go beyond reticence requiring considerable skill and mental balance when certain symbols emerged. Armstrong has established the roots of atheism were founded on the discovery of biblical errors. Mark’s gospel, which is the earliest of its kind to dismiss Jesus as a god, presents that Jesus was a perfectly normal man, with a family that included brothers and sisters (80). Although the reliability of Mark’s gospel is in question nevertheless Armstrong also insisted that Paul did not believe that Jesus was God incarnated and perfectly adding that the doctrine of incarnation developed only later (83). Christianity is heavily contradicted with atheism as a rational choice against the stringent doctrines of the Christian religion. 4. Analysis and evaluation of the author’s work History of God is a comparative study of monotheistic religions and their experience of the divine throughout history. Armstrong has capitalized that making God to suit one’s personal needs has been practiced all throughout history. The fame of this book certainly banks on how Armstrong seeks to diminish the faith of those who seek to live in within the doctrines of their faith. God comes out as callous, self-righteous and entirely lacking in the compassion and coherence to be worthy of veneration. The best seller status that Armstrong’s book has gained in England is a clear indication though that the public has a hunger to know the truth which has been hidden or concealed. Her apparent endorsement that persons of the cloth and religion might as well be dead serves to instigate lambaste against a belief that she had abandoned. Her distaste for Christianity is riddled by misleading statements that build up certain theories as an indubitable fact. God in Exodus was presented as an example for the people of Midian whom Moses lived in exile. She refused to present that scholars have discredited this belief and continued to bloat the theory as a fact. Theologians have also debated over the compression of several thousand years of history into over four hundred pages of Armstrong’s book. Everything is fast paced that endorsed the acceptance of non-western culture and frown upon the western culture. 5. Personal reaction and conclusion This book produces disorienting yet eye-catching effects as a reading inspires an uprising in history that proclaims God as a God of revolution. Given this build-up, her discussion over the mystical tradition leaves a void for she has nothing else to say after promoting immanence. While projecting religions, she does emphasize a tolerance for Islam and Judaism while castigating the western tradition of Christianity that she grew up in. These profound averments against â€Å"western† religion has created inattention and laxity on greater issues that passed off unscrutinized leaving the reader in midair like Armstrong’s lack of discussion over Newton’s obsession with the Book of Revelations. In conclusion, Armstrong’s book could have provided a better skill is balance was exercised in handling the three monotheistic religions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Her condescending tone reflects how she used the deity into a form that best suits her interest. Although she has exposed the struggles of Islam as it tries to suit to western behavior and the Jewish focus on a political status of Israel, the search for the truth prevails. Further she has reflected that a huge amount of strong adherence against excessive intellectualism is damaging to the faith. Her assessment and endorsement of how atheism evolved during the Reformation period is spun over a rational clamor for truth over the long history of God’s existence.

Why Students Have The Your Lives By Developing Their Own...

In the present world, there are students who live their lives by developing their own stories and identities. Everyone has different appearances, cultures, languages, thoughts, and their own stories. They share the stories about themselves or about others, get informations, and share informations to let others know. At this point, there may be a lot of errors and wrong points in the stories, but students usually do not have a chance to know if there is an error or not. They just believe what they heard from the story, and share only the story of what they heard before have their own experience, stereotypes are instilled into their minds unconsciously. Of course there will be no problem if the story is proven fact, but if the story is not†¦show more content†¦They make one story become the only story† (Adichie). She gives several examples of a single story, one of her example, she was talking with one of American student who read her written novel about Nigerian abusive . He sorrowed to Adichie that Nigerian men were abusive, that was the only single story of Nigeria. Adichie kept her mind cool and took his pity back. Having read American Psycho, she said, â€Å"all young Americans men are serial killers† (Adichie). For another example, Adichie addressed about her roommate when she left Nigeria to go to university in the United States. Her roommate was shocked by her, and asked where she had learned to speak English well, and was confused when She said that Nigeria happened to have English as its official language. Her roommate asked if she could listen to what she called her â€Å"tribal music,† and was very disappointed when she produced her tape to Mariah Carey. Her roommate had a single story of Africa, Adichie said â€Å" there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way, no possibility of feelings more complex than pity, no possibility of a connection as human equals† (Adichie). 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