Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Vedas

Bhagavad Gita: It is the most important holy book of the Hindus. The theme of the book is stated almost at the beginning of the book, when Arjuna, the disciple asks Lord Krishna to tell him how he can recognize a man who knows truth; that is how he can identify one who is illuminated. Krishna replies in effect, “A man who is not affected by achievement or failure, which is free of emotions such as anger, fear, pride, vanity, jealousy, hate; a man who has disciplined his mind-he is wise; he is illuminated.”

Ramayana: Another book which is loved by the Hindus is the Ramayana. It is the life history of Lord Rama, Hindu god next in importance to Lord Krishna. This book is an inspiration to the Hindus who wish to follow the path of devotion to elders, parents, and the maharishis and poets etc.

Vedas are the most ancient and sacred of Hindu scriptures. They are four canonical collections: Rig Veda, containing a thousand hymns, the Yajur Veda, rich in hymns and prayers, the Sama Veda, a book of revelations and chants and the religious services, and the Atharvana Veda replete with incantations. Veda means spiritual wisdom and the Vedas are so rich in knowledge that historians refer to the time in which they were formulated as the Vedic period, which was about 1500 BC.

Hinduism and Reincarnation

This is the third great truth of the Hindu religion. It means “recurring life.” It means that the soul of man-the atman or life essence-is ever on a round of births and rebirths. If a man dies, shall he live again? The Hindu answer is “Yes definitely. He will live again on this earth to work out his destiny and to reap the reward of his previous acts.” The theory of reincarnation explains the variety of personalities we find in the world, the striking gap between the rich and the poor, between the good and the bad, between the wise and not-so-wise. It explains all these seeming inequalities. It provides a solution to the perplexing puzzle of why one person dies young; another old. It explains the phenomenon of a genius. The doctrine of reincarnation prepares the Hindu for an eventual union with God in a state of immortal bliss. This union is the aim and purpose of life and in birth after birth the soul of the man has a chance to merge into the soul of God.

Hinduism and Karma

In the west Christians usually translate Karma as destiny or fate. They say that Karma is something to do with “good breaks” or “bad breaks” or with things that just seem to happen. To the Hindu, however, Karma is a law-an immutable law. A man is what he does, in respect of his fortune and his place in life because of Karma or deed. The Karma fixes the consequences of one’s acts. It cannot be tempered with or destroyed. Karma, strictly speaking, is neither good nor bad. It simply is. We make it. Our past deeds or acts make it. We are it. Karma is the heart of the principle “whatever a man sows that he will also reap.”

Three basic truths in Hindu religion

1. The law of identification, which can be stated in the old and oft-repeated Sanskrit phrase: Tat Twam Asi, (Sanskrit word) which is to say: “Thou art Thou” (Sanskrit word) or “God and I are one” or “He who is yonder, yonder person, I am he”.
2. In Hindus, the soul is everlasting in a sense that can hardly be grasped by other religions. The fact that it survives the body is no mystery, no miracle, for it existed before the body was formed. “Never have I not been” says Lord Krishna to Arjun, his disciple. “Never have thou not been and never shall the time come when thou shall not be.”

The soul, according to Hindus, Is the Atman(Sanskrit word) or the only true self. Everything else is illusion or Maya. The soul alone is real. A western Christian mystic Mister Ekhart, who was profoundly impressed by Hinduism, explained the law of identification by saying that the eye with which we see God is the same eye with which He sees us.
3. Every religious practice of a true Hindu is directed toward the realization of his oneness with God. To know oneness is to know God. To live as though the real “I” is eternal and indestructible is to live God. To discover that everything outside this reality is Maya is to discover God. To grasp the full meaning of this oneness is to realize the essence of Hinduism. This assumption on the part of a Hindu goes far beyond the customary Christian belief that our lives are a reflection of God’s life, or that we are the sons and daughters of God, or that God lives in us. To the Hindu the true self in each one of us is Atman(Sanskrit word). It is “tat twam asi” (Sanskrit words) and as the believing Hindu speaks the words flow out to the eternal God. A Hindu claims that an answer comes to him which says, “This and only this is truth.”

Hinduism – The Religion of the Philosophers

In India religion is a part of life for every Hindu. Marcus Bach, an American researcher, says; “Scratch a Hindu and you will find a philosopher. If you listen you will hear the ways and wonders of the Gods from Indians. If you look you will find a shrine in every village, and the telltale signs of worship in nearly every home. This is Hinduism, the faith about a billion people who not only believe that they will live again but are convinced they have lived before.”
The doctrine of the wheel of life is one of the principal characteristics of Hinduism. Whereas other religions believe that man’s life is a three-act play-birth, death and immortality- Hindus think in terms of an endless drama: birth, death and rebirth, death and rebirth, death and rebirth… They believe that the soul has always existed and will continue to exist until it is merged with God, who is the Soul of Universe.

Human Thinking

Thinking can be characterized in terms of knowledge, skill, intention, performance and achievements of the individual. Language and thought are the basic vehicles of problem solving which initially and ultimately would depend on the individual himself, the information available to him, his competence to use that information, his intention or desire to achieve a particular goal, and the kind of activities he engages en route the goal.
Early experimental psychologists attempted to identify the fundamental building blocks of thought. Just as it is possible to understand a substance in terms of molecular structure, a molecule in terms of its atoms, or atoms in terms of its elementary particles, it should be possible to understand its behavior in terms of its fundamental components and some forms of associations among them. The analysis of the structure of thought has led psychologists in several different directions.

Personality Theories – Psychoanalysis

Formulated by Sigmund Freud, this theory had such originality, depth, and complexity that its impact on western culture was deeply felt for seventy years. Freud’s conclusion about personality is being id, ego and superego. The id seeks only finding pleasure and to avoid pain. Since id operates in an undisciplined and immature way and cannot make rational decisions, the ego develops to guide these impulses and functions in accordance with the reality principle. A very important function of the ego is the satisfaction of the needs of the id but in a proper time, mode and place sequence. Besides governing the id and its impulses, ego must also control and direct the impulses of superego which consists of the conscience and the ego ideal. Freud believed that the energy for all motivation and the energy for the working together of the three components of personality-id, ego and superego, derives from instinctual energy of the id. The id energy is divided into other life instincts or death instincts. In Freud’s view personality develops and grows as a result of a variety of processes, stresses and experiences, such as maturation, deprivation, conflict and anxiety.

Personality Theories – Self theory

The best known self-theorist is Carl Rogers. The individual as a whole is the central focus of Roger’s theory of personality. He distinguishes between two components of the personality – the organism and the self. The organism is the center of experience, and experience is everything that is going on within a person at a particular time. The self, is best thought as the concept of ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘myself’. The self is in fact one’s own awareness of himself as he works, plays, studies, sings, relates to others, and so on. In order to achieve the goal of self growth, four conditions are necessary. First, the choices available must be clearly perceives, that is, the individual must be aware of alternatives. Second, the choices must be clearly symbolized. Third, he must be loved and respected by others. Stemming from positive regard by others is the fourth condition necessary for self growth.

Theories on personality

There is no single definition of personality. Nearly everyone, theorist and layman alike, has his own idea of what personality is. The term personality comes from the Greek persona which means “mask”. Thus personality is thought of as the appearance a person presents to the family and outsiders. The personality has, thus, been defined as a totality of a person’s manner or his general behavior pattern, that is, the sum of his knowledge, skills, motives, and actions. Another conception of personality involves mainly on surface characteristics such as social skills. A personality description typical of this notion might be. “He is outgoing, smooth and confident”.

Personality theories developed so far can be divided into five major schools of thought:

1.    Psychoanalytic

2.    Self-Study based

3.    Cognitive

4.    Trait

5.    Learning Theory Approach.

Let’s see in detail on the above five theories in further posts.

Goals of Psychology

The goal of psychology is to understand and explain behavior, that is, to isolate the reasons for the observed behavior. This process involves not only the formulation of the theories which are organized and consistent with known facts, but also development of hypotheses about relationships which are yet to be proved. A theory is also supposed to help us make reasonable guesses when we don’t know. Explanation is, in fact, the real basic field of research in psychology. The psychologist may be able to describe and measure anxiety. In principle, almost anyone with reasonable intelligence and relevant reference books may diagnose and treat any mental disease, without knowing what caused that disease. Basic psychology is an attempt to understand in detail many significant issues, including the processes of mental illness. The fundamental knowledge and skill involved in reading the basis of interaction between motivation and performance.

Inquiry and Replies letter

Letters concerning inquires should be clear, specified to the point.


State clearly what information you need. Be it a catalogue, a price list, an estimate, a quotation, a specimen or a sample.

Write specifically about the design, size, shape, price, and quantity, quality etc. about the product or service in which you are interested.

Be brief to the point in your inquiry. Once you have said what you want, stop there and finish your letter.

All inquiries should be promptly and carefully replied. It is discourteous to keep an inquiry for long. This can annoy your customer which means a loss in your business

Interview Letters - Reference Letter and Reply letter to reference

Taking up reference:

Confidential


Dear Mr. Dolly,

Mr. Peter, working with you as a clerk for the last eight years has applied for the office assistant post and has referred us to you for information about him.

I shall be grateful if you will say whether his services with you are satisfactory and if he can handle a responsible job like that of office assistance.

Any information you send will be much appreciated and kept confidential.

Yours sincerely,

M. Richard

Reply to above:

Dear Mr. Richard,

I am glad to have your letter of 18^th April, I have pleasure in informing you that Mr. Peter is very responsible person and has excellent of office routine. He is efficient, intelligent and always punctual. The job of an “Office Assistant’, you wish to offer, suits him most.

His services have been entirely satisfactory to us. We wish him all success. He is leaving us as we cannot offer him better prospects owing to limited scope of our business.

Yours sincerely,

M. N. Dolly

Interview Letters - Calling Letter for interview and Enquiring about the interview result

Calling for an interview:

Mr. Raj Dev,
Dear Sir,

With reference to your application for the post of a clerk, we shall be glad if you will call on us for a personal interview on 24th March at 3 P.M.
Please bring all certificates and testimonial in support of your application.

Yours faithfully,

Enquiring about the result of interview:

Advertiser,

Dear Sir,

You had been kind enough in calling me for an interview for the post of clerk in your office, on 24th March.

Since then more than two weeks have passed and I have not heard anything from you. As far as I can think I did fairly well in the interview.

May I request you to please communicate to me about your decision?

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

Interview Letter - Application for the post of a clerk

Dear Sir,

Sub: Application for the post of clerk

This has reference to your today’s advertisement in “Times”, for the post of a clerk. Since I can fulfill the requirement of the job advertised, I am submitting my application for your consideration.

I have passed B.Com from the University of Delhi in first class division with 88% marks in accountancy, this year.

During my four year, B.Com course, I was working as an honorary part-time clerk for the college Union and have thus gained sufficient practical experience of filling, dispatching, billing and drafting.

I am now 22 years of age and possess a sound physique. I am enclosing two testimonials- one from Mr. Brewer, our principal and another from Mr. Jack, former chairman of our collage trust.

I shall be glad to give you any further information you may require, at time of interview.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

Circular letters - Suggesting your client to buy before budget

Dear Sirs,

Re : D.E.K. Electronic Plastic Welders.
      Due to the recent amendment in the Minimum Wages Act, by the Government and heavy increase in the cost of Raw Materials and Components, the prices of D.E.K Electronic plastic Welders is likely to be raised in the forthcoming budget. The increase in price in expected between 15 & 20 %.
     If you are interested in the purchasing this machine, we would suggest that you should immediately place an order for the same at its existing price of Rs. 2,700/- ex-godown.
     Every order should be accompanied with a draft of Rs. 1000/- which should reach us before the afternoon of 27th February. All orders received after this will be executed on this revised prices.

Yours faithfully,

Thanking you,

Circular Letters - Annual Stock Clearance

Dear Sirs,
      We are pleased to inform you that our Annual Stock Clearance Sale will start from 13th March and will last one week.
      A special feature of this year's Stock Clearance Sale is that we have also added variety of leather goods and ready made garments apart from our usual stock of hosiery goods, cosmetics, raincoats, umbrellas, stationery articles, crockery and confectionery.
      There will be a separate bargain counter.
      Most of the stocks offered is fresh and some of the goods are even imported.
      We would suggest you to pay us a visit and make your selection.
     A complete list of goods offered for sale together with discount prices is enclosed for prior information.
Encl : Price List

Yours faithfully,

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