Gandhi, Akbar among world's top icons: Time Magazine

Mahatma Gandhi, Mughal emperor Akbar and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama have been named by Time magazine among the world's top 25 political icons.
Deccan Herald, New Delhi, Feb 6 (IANS)

"Though the country was later divided (and Gandhi assassinated), his role in the bloodless revolution ... paved the way for other social movements including America's struggle for civil rights," Time added.

The magazine said Akbar helped a fragile collection of fiefs around Delhi to grow into what became the Mughal empire. He presided over a flourishing of the arts, sponsoring artisans, poets, engineers and philosophers.

Calling him a "canny warlod", Time said that while he was a Muslim, Akbar was spiritually curious and hosted religious scholars from Hindu gurus to Jesuits, besides trying to meld Hinduism and Islam.

"While the creed no longer lingers, the ethos of pluralism and tolerance that defined Akarb's age underlines the values of the modern republic of India."

The Dalai Lama, Time said, is "not only the greatest and most public advocate for Tibetan rights and the virtues of Tibetan Buddhism, but also for interfaith tolerance and peace as well to people around the world.

"To countless Tibetans, the Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader and a head of state in absentia. For decades - and from exile since 1959 - he has worked to resolve tensions between Tibet and China.

"And like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. before him, the Dalai Lama done so in a manner defined by non-violence and tolerance.

"The Dalai Lama's humility has endeared him to presidents and religious leaders of several countries, affording him the opportunity to raise awareness and drum up support for Tibet on a global scale," the magazine said.

Top 25 Political Icons
Feb. 6 marks the 100th birthday of the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Few political figures in recent memory have matched the Gipper's charisma or enduring appeal. We look at other world leaders whose legacies have stood the test of time

Full List
Some Famous Folk

Mohandas Gandhi
Alexander the Great
Mao Zedong
Winston Churchill
Genghis Khan
Nelson Mandela
Abraham Lincoln
Adolf Hitler
Ernesto "Che" Guevara
Ronald Reagan
Cleopatra
Franklin Roosevelt
Dalai Lama
Queen Victoria
Benito Mussolini
Akbar the Great
Lenin
Margaret Thatcher
Simón Bolívar
Qin Shi Huang
Kim Il-Sung
Charles de Gaulle
Louis XIV
Haile Selassie
King Richard the Lionheart &
Saladin

Give Respect and Get Respect - Excellent insights

Here is what I found on the subject of Respect:

“Hey you! RESPECT Me!!!” …(No! It doesn’t work that way now)

Kinds of Respect:

RESPECT FOR CULTURE

RESPECT FOR THE NATION

RESPECT FOR SUPERIORS

RESPECT FOR RELIGION

RESPECT FOR PARENTS AND ELDERLY

Julia Roberts’s conversion is among top ‘religion stories’ of 2010

Jan 1, 2011, DNA India

Extract:

The conversion of Oscar-winning Hollywood actress Julia 'Pretty Woman' Roberts to Hinduism is among the top-20 '2010 Religion Stories of the Year' list created by the Religion Newswriters Association (RNA).

In this list, Roberts, the only Hollywood personality to make the list, is in the company of Pope Benedict XVI, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and the Reverend Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham), among others.

An RNA release on the subject said: "Hinduism gains more of the spotlight through the... word of star Julia Roberts's conversion to it."

Roberts, who grew up with a Catholic mother and Baptist father, became interested in Hinduism after seeing a picture of Hanuman devotee Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba, who died in 1973 and whom she never met.

A Christmas Greeting From a Muslim Daughter

By: Kari Ansari
The Huffington Post @ IslamiCity 12/22/2010

Extract:

When I became a Muslim thirteen years ago this month, I left behind the Christmas traditions my family celebrated every year of my childhood. My mother was able to transform our Southern California home into a Winter Wonderland as soon as we walked in the door; it may have been 75 degrees and sunny outside, but inside we felt we were in a Currier and Ives world of red velvet beribboned pine boughs, twinkling lights and beautiful music. I loved it. The Christmas season and our small traditions remained the same no matter how many years passed. My mother worked extremely hard to build warm, and loving holiday memories, and I sincerely cherish them.Like many American homes, there wasn't much Christ in my family's Christmas. There would always be some discussion surrounding the reason for our celebration, but we didn't attend church services or talk too much about what my parents believed. The beautiful nativity on the mantle, hand-painted by my grandmother, was flanked by tasteful, secular decorations. This led to a kind of vague confusion between the miraculous birth of Jesus, and the magical feat of Santa Claus zipping around the world in one night.

Nostalgia not withstanding, thinking about Christmas is now far more meaningful to me on a spiritual level than it was when I was young. The fact that Muslims accept and believe in the virgin birth of Jesus has been a golden thread that links my childhood Christmas memories to my very fulfilling adult life as a Muslim. continue reading @ IslamiCity

Give Respect and Get Respect - Excellent insights

Here is what I found on the subject of Respect [image courtesy: www.slumdogging.com]:
“Hey you! RESPECT Me!!!” …(No! It doesn’t work that way now)

Kinds of Respect:

RESPECT FOR CULTURE

RESPECT FOR THE NATION

RESPECT FOR SUPERIORS

RESPECT FOR RELIGION

RESPECT FOR PARENTS AND ELDERLY

Can spirituality control scams?

by Gautam Chikermane on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, Hindustan Times Blog

Bottom line (extract):

If we have to fight this out as a nation, I think we’ll have to do with our spirit. The spirit will infuse our minds with a force that we once carried. It will dust off the ennui our bodies have been steeped in for decades now and perhaps open new doors to freedom.

Earlier this month, I was tailing the Dalai Lama as his shadow for the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. Among the many things he said, I pick up one here. Buddha was a great soul, he said, and Buddhists have a great religion. But the Buddha could not protect Tibet from China, he said. Action was needed, we need to act.

In the deep silence of his presence, I found his words hugely inspiring. Could the spiritual destiny that once belonged to us, be the vehicle for India’s redemption?

On the same shelf:

Google for more on spirituality & scam

Corruption needs to be uprooted: Baba Ramdev, DailyIndia.com - Vipul Kumar Shah - 23 Nov 2010

Seven big Indian corruption scandals
REUTERS - India has been rocked this year by a series of corruption scandals that have embarrassed the ruling Congress party, rattled markets and delayed reform bills as the opposition stalls parliament.

The country, 87th in Transparency International's rankings based on perceived levels of corruption, is no stranger to scandals.

Here are some of the biggest in the last two decades:
1. 2010 -- LOAN BRIBERY CASE
2. 2010 - TELECOMS LICENCE ROW
3. 2010 - COMMONWEALTH GAMES
4. 2010 - HOUSING SCAM
5. 2009 - SATYAM
6. 1992 - SECURITIES SCAM
7. 1986 - BOFORS GUN DEAL [also @ Deccanchronicle.com ]