A Reflection On Bad Blood Essay - 1472 Words

Bad Blood Have you ever been wrong? Have you ever pushed aside the opinions of everyone who matters in your life when they were screaming the opposite of your feelings and gone with your gut feeling? Maybe you have. Maybe it was something as small as a place you picked for dinner that accidentally gave your entire family food poisoning. Maybe it was a friend. Maybe it was a significant person in your life. For me it was ever putting my trust in Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, Ted, Cosmos and many other animated programs on Fox, despite the fair warnings from everyone from my mentor to his assistants to my friends phone calls as there were actual fools. My friends forwarding me very subtle articles from Rolling Stones entitled â€Å"A Brief History in Hating Seth MacFarlane†. No one ever questions the benefits of positive emotions, especially in America, but nearly no one assumes that there could possibly be a negative side-effect of the sunny joyous feelings. 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The And Gold Tour Bus From Louisiana State University

On Losing Everything This past week I saw that purple and gold tour bus from Louisiana State University in my town, not only surprising me but also forcing me to think back on my childhood in the south. Growing up in southern Louisiana one must be prepared for major storms and flooding at less than a day’s notice. Hurricanes are powerful storms that can ravish towns and can be deadly for people and animals alike. Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast in August of 2005, and I was in the midst of that wreckage. My family and I were living in a small, close-knit community, named St. Amant, about an hour west of New Orleans. On the third day of the hurricane, my family experienced a loss greater than we could have ever imagined. This†¦show more content†¦In no way do I mean to trivialize the severe and deadly effects hurricanes can potentially bring, but not all hurricanes are the same. Most storms that would make it to the area I used to live usually lost strength by the time it got to us. For the weaker storms, the kids would get a mini vacation from school, and the parents got a much-needed break from work. At the time, I thought everyone in Louisiana and especially New Orleans were not ready for what was coming. Louisiana is a laid back state, due to its French roots. The catch-phrase for the state was always â€Å"Laissez Les Bon Temps rouler,† or â€Å"Let the good times roll!† So, it’s easy to see why the media portrayed Louisianan’s as â€Å"not caring† about the tropical storm that was headed our way. We did care, we were just expecting much less than what we received. I think a good way to describe this is that people from California have been through many earthquakes and are prepared for them, but would you stop living your life for a small earthquake that might not happen? Probably not. My family tried to be as prepared as we possibly could, but there is only so much money to go around buying things for situations that might not even happen. My dad purchased our first gasoline generator earlier that year which sadly put a dent into our emergency savings. Nevertheless, we had enough supplies, water, and food to last about a week if necessary. From my memories, about a week

Sustainable Building Construction Guidelines

Question: Discuss about the Sustainable Building Construction Guidelines. Answer: Introduction The definition of green building can be given as a structure which has no negative impacts and effects on the environment or on the human society. Every aspect of the buildings formation starting from design, construction to execution and completion of the project are economical and beneficial to both the human society as well as the ecology. Certain strategies that can make at least some aspects of a building sustainable are reduction in the level of energy consumed conservation of water resources and recycling and reusing of waste materials. These small steps will ensure sustainability without decreasing any of the creature comforts of the inhabitants of the buildings. People living in sustainable buildings have been found to live a healthier and happier life. (Green, 2016) There are three dimensions of sustainability and these are known as economy, ecology and socio cultural aspects. These three dimensions consist of several components and these are written in the below table: Figure 1: (Guidelines for sustainable building, 2002) Scope Qualities and dimensions of sustainable building: Ecological quality: It refers to the natural environment and this quality has two protective goals that are known as protection of natural resources and protection of the eco system. These two are explained below: Protection of natural resources has several objectives and these are written below and it includes the reduction of land use, the reduction of resource demand that are related to the building and construction work, use of rain water or grey and reduction of consumption of the fresh water. It also includes the use of the construction materials that can be recycled or reused. This approach tends to reduce the demand of energy during the phase use. It also uses the regenerative energy. On the other hand, protection of the eco system has different goals and these include the protection of the global environment. It is generally supported by the Integrated energy and climate programme. Eco balance: In order to analysis the eco balance of the building three types of analysis can be done and these are known as eco balance, material flow analysis and ecological risk analysis. Eco- balance contains the assessment of life cycle (LCA) of the materials used in the construction and their impacts of the environment. On the other hand, material flow analysis is capable of providing a balance between the input flow and output flow. The analysis known as ecological risk analysis is capable of assessing the ecological application compatibility for the data that are not reliable. Though this method is capable of executing assessments, but it is capable of qualitative results in a better way than quantitative results. Economic quality: The economic quality of any building contains protective objectives and these are known as optimisation of the life cycle costs, protection of capital and the value of the building and enhancement of the resource productivity using economic efficiency. These are explained below: Analysis of life cycle cost includes the costs of construction, operations used in the construction, costs that are related to maintenance, cleaning and services, cost for replacement, and the costs of disposal and demolition. On the other hand, economic efficiency is capable of explaining the economical benefits that are related to the construction of the building. Figure 2: (Guidelines for sustainable building, 2002) Figure 3: (Guidelines for sustainable building, 2002) Value stability: The objective of value stability s to protect the assets and the economic capital and these two are known as protective targets in the dimensions of sustainable development. The economic value of a property can be defined in several ways but the most proper economic value can be defined as its present market value. The factors that are related to buildings are known as space efficiency, durability, resilience, energy characteristics, adaptability and flexibility. Socio cultural and functional quality: It includes all the factors that are capable of making an impact on the socio cultural and functional identity. These factors include the functionality, quality of design, satisfaction to the users, health and comfort. Functionality can be defined as the capability of the property in order to complete the definite functions which depends on the requirements that are given. There are some crucial parameters and these include head room, break down of space such as floor area, circulation area, and other parts. It also includes the access cores and design, technical utility shafts, spatial structure, partition walls for transferring loads and similar aspects. Designing quality (Archive.epa.gov, 2016): Generally the public sectors and the buildings made by it are visible to the ordinary public. Therefore, they have to consider the quality of the design while constructing the building. In order to maintain this quality the architectural design is known to be the key strength and it must be maintained. The principles of Design Competition Guideline must be maintained as it is capable of maintaining proper frame work to the construction quality. Health, satisfaction of the user and comfort must also be maintained. It must be taken care that no hazardous substances can be generated in the construction site in order to maintain the health and to reduce the health risks f the workers. The materials must not emit any type of hazardous substances so that the users do not suffer from health problems. In order to provide comfort to the users, proper and pleasant indoor atmosphere must be maintained and it must include the aspects like visual comfort, thermal comfort, acoustic comfort and o ther similar comforts. The degree of safety for the users must be maintained at proper level. Safety is an aspect that can also control the comfort of the users. If proper safety is not provided to the user then even after giving all types comforts the users may not feel comfortable due to the lack of proper safety. Arrangements of insulating heats must also be provided. Process quality (Rosales, 2015): There are several process qualities and these are known as quality of preparation for operation, quality of the construction of the building, and the quality of the process of planning. Quality of planning must be maintained as this is known as first process in the construction and it is done before designing. Figure 4: (Guidelines for sustainable building, 2002) There are some factors that are capable of determining the quality of a building and these are listed below: Construction quality that are monitored by planners and architectures Degree of the construction site Control of cost Construction method and co ordination Quality management system of the contractor Project management services quality Assurance of the project Project integration Proper training Specific Requirements System Interface Requirements Assessment and evaluation of the construction procedures and building design can be done through the utilization of certain effective tools. Various tools can now be availed to perform comprehensive designing and planning and also gauge certain factors pertaining to sustainability in the construction industry and real estate sector. These tools help in determining and analysing a particular structures life performance throughout its estimated life cycle. Cost of construction, structural properties and environmental effects of construction methods of the building as a whole are obtained with proper utilization of these tools. Various information portal sites, databases, sustainable building assessment techniques, documented rules and guidelines help in eth implementation and integration of sustainable measure into every aspect of a construction project such as designing, planning, execution of plans etc. Many information systems dealing with sustainable building construction methods provide a wide range of tools for life cycle analyses of structures and are useful in performing a complete assessment of each and every aspect of the building. These information portals are obviously connected with large databases where different and wide varieties of data related to sustainability in construction industry are categorically arranged. Certain examples can be given in this respect. The kobau.dat is a database that stores large volumes of data pertaining to maintenance of ecological balance and tools that can assess whether said balances are maintain at construction projects. WECOBIS information systems are another type of database management system. This particular database deals with data about health, safety and ecological effects that construction products have. (Jong-Jin and Brenda, 1998) A buildings sustainability can be understood and determined using certain guidelines and strict rules that are applicable regarding the usage of the assessment systems in gauging the sustainability factor of a project or building. These assessing systems are used as a standard method of verifying sustainability. The guidelines state that design competitions amongst different construction projects should take into consideration several aspects like urbanization in the immediate surroundings, architectural blue print qualities and deign criterions, in addition to many sustainability criteria like economic, environmental, social, cultural and technical aspects. Constructional management rules should always be laid down in proper documentation as its the basis of proper successful management of the project and involved operations. A number of vital details and facets should be documented in writing, for example, design plans and blueprints with detailed descriptions ; gradation details of construction materials according to their quality; manuals and guidelines that cover every aspect of servicing maintenance; all necessary certificates of all levels of energy consumption. The data obtained from databases related to sustainability assessment must be analyzed and arranged accruing to the respective conventions and rules for interfacing, in order to make sure that said data can be successfully used and imported into primary federal databases. This helps in properly assembling and organizing all relevant data related to sustainable design actions and plans, as well as virtual simulations where new innovative construction procedures can be tested for their sustainability factors. New construction modules of BNB have been developed to enable a complete and comprehensive assessment of the sustainability of building construction methods. There are mainly two modules and their criteria are based on the national directory of the Federal Building Ministry that has been developed with assistance from German Sustainable Building Construction. This system helps in identifying any exceptional design or planning feats that have been achieved in the construction sector and thus helps in introducing fluidity and transparency in all associated processes. These assessment procedures have a scoring and rating system that assigns scores for various criterions according to some laid down rules in the modules. The final results of the scores are obtained from each individual criteria score that are given according to the weighting of each group of factors related to eth construction process. Any building can be assessed many times during its complete life cycle. A sectioned and modular structure of this building assessment system is very useful in this regard. A number of modules have been derived by properly dividing categorizing the entire involved assessment criterion. Proper application of all these modules requires correct and perfect decision making capabilities in any kind of situation. The modules are as follows: - Development Phase; Regular Phase of Operation; and finally, the Adaptation phase. The development phase module deals with assessing of new project that re in eth design, planning and early construction phase. The development phase model is applied as a measure to manage quality of methods and materials to maintain sustainability. (Margareta et al., 2014) The adaptation phase module is involved with the refurbishment processes of existing buildings and deals with the monitoring the various impacts and effects of the refurnishing procedures. Conclusion The guidelines laid down by the federal authorities will help in proper evaluating and understanding whether the construction procedures, materials and techniques used in development of a particular project adhere to the set sustainability guidelines. Assessments can be done in various different ways and done multiple numbers of times during a buildings whole life cycle. Different buildings have different criterions through which they are judged regarding their sustainability factors. These assessment tools are useful in assessing various vital qualities of a building like ecological quality which deals with sewage waste management, economic quality which deals with cost effective techniques useful in maintaining sustainability, socio-cultural quality and technical quality. References Green, B. (2016).Build Green: Definition. [online] Buildgreen.co.nz. Available at: https://buildgreen.co.nz/definition.html [Accessed 24 May 2016]. Jong-Jin, K. and Brenda, R. (1998). Sustainable Architecture Module: Qualities, Use, and Examples of Sustainable Building Materials. Margareta, W., Jutta, L., Helena, J., Tommi, K., Martin, E., Anna, P., Ola, W., Pascal, S., Anke, O., Ole, H., Harpa, B., Stefania, B., Thomas, F. and Andreas, J. (2014). Environmentally Sustainable Construction Products and Materials Assessment of release. Archive.epa.gov. (2016).Green Building |US EPA. [online] Available at: https://archive.epa.gov/greenbuilding/web/html/ [Accessed 24 May 2016]. Guidlines for sustainable building. (2002).Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building, and Nuclear Safety. rosales, i. (2015).Green Building Concepts | Green Building Concepts supplies information exchange on a more resource and energy efficient lifestyle. [online] Greenconcepts.com. Available at: https://www.greenconcepts.com/ [Accessed 24 May 2016].

Taoism And Buddhism Essays (2219 words) - Taoism, Reincarnation

Taoism And Buddhism Taoism and Buddhism are the two great philosophical and religious traditions that originated in China. Taoism began the sixth century BCE. And Buddhism came to China from India around the second century of the Common Era. These two religions have shaped Chinese life and thought for nearly twenty-five hundred years. One dominant concept in Taoism and Buddhism is the belief in some form of reincarnation. The idea that life does not end when one die is an integral part of these religions and the culture of the Chinese people. Reincarnations, life after death, and beliefs are not standardized. Each religion has a different way of applying this concept to its beliefs. This paper will discuss the reincarnation concepts as they apply to Taoism and Buddhism, and then provide a comparison of both. Taoism The goal in Taoism is to achieve Tao, to find "the Way". Tao is the ultimate reality, a presence that existed before the universe was formed and which continues to guide the world and everything in it. Tao is sometimes identified as "the Mother", or the source of all things. That source is not a god or a Supreme Being, as Taoism is not monotheistic. The focus is not to worship one god, but instead to come into harmony with Tao. Tao is the essence of everything that is right, and complications exist only because people choose to complicate their own lives. Desire, ambition, fame, and selfishness are seen as hindrances to a harmonious life. One can only achieve Tao if he rids himself of all desires. By shunning every earthly distraction, the Taoist is able to concentrate on the self. The longer the person's life, the more saintly the person is presumed to become. Eventually the hope is to become immortal, to achieve Tao, to reach the deeper life. This is the after life for a Taoist, to be in harmony with the universe, and to have achieved Tao. The origin of the word Tao can explain the relationship between life, and the Taoism concept of life and death. The Chinese character for Tao is a combination of two characters that represent the words as head and foot. The character for foot represents the idea of a person's direction or path. The character for head represents the idea of conscious choice. The character for head also suggests a beginning, and foot, an ending. Thus the character for Tao also conveys the continuing course of the universe, the circle of heaven and earth. Finally, the character for Tao represents the Taoist idea that the eternal Tao is both moving and unmoving. The head in the character means the beginning, the source of all things, or Tao itself, which never moves or changes; the foot is the movement on the path. Taoism upholds the belief in the survival of the spirit after death. Taoist believes birth is not a beginning, and death is not an end. There is an existence without limit. There is continuity without a starting point. Applying reincarnation theory to Taoism is the belief that the soul never dies, a person's soul is eternal. In the writings of the Lao-Tzu Te-Tao Ching, Tao is described as having existed before heaven and earth. Tao is formless, it stands alone without change and reaches everywhere without harm. The Taoist is told to use the light that is inside to revert to the natural clearness of sight. By divesting oneself of all external distractions and desires, only then can one achieve Tao. In ancient days a Taoist that had transcended birth and death, achieved Tao, was said to have cut the Thread of Life. In Taoism, the soul or spirit does not die at death. The soul is not reborn, it simply migrates to another life. This process, the Taoist version of reincarnation, is repeated until Tao is achieved. The following translation from the Lao-Tzu Te-Tao Ching summarizes the theory behind Tao and how a Taoist can achieve Tao. The Great Tao flows everywhere. It may go left or right. All things depend on it for life, and it does not turn away from them. It accomplishes its task, but dies not claim credit for it. It clothes and feeds all things but does not claim to be master over them. Always without desires, it may be called the Small. All things come to it and it does not master them; it may be called the Great. Therefore (the sage) never strives himself for the great, and thereby the great is

AniSci Lesson Plan 2 Essays - Articles, Nutrition, Free Essays

AniSci Lesson Plan 2 Essays - Articles, Nutrition, Free Essays Lesson Plan #2 Age: K-2 Subject: Animal Science Topic: Nutrition Time + Pacing Central Focus of Lesson: At the end of the lesson, students should feel comfortable recognizing the things that both they and animals have in common when it comes to nutrition. Part 2: Content Objectives SWBAT give an accurate definition of nutrition SWBAT list 2 things that that both they and animals need (water, food, specific nutrients) Key Vocabulary Nutrition Nutrient Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills: Students should have prior experience on classifying things as living or nonliving, and characteristics of living things This lesson plan should be taught after the lesson plan pertaining to fiber and eggs Students have very little prior knowledge of the subject of animal science and these topics. Students should also have a prior knowledge of how to use art supplies such as markers, colored pencils, or crayons. Students should be aware of typical classroom procedures. Materials Needed Cereal or snacks (several kinds, but a minimum of three) Containers with lids Plastic cups Plastic sandwich bags Board Part 3: Lesson Introduction Gather the children and begin the discussion by reviewing concept of living and nonliving things "Are animals living or nonliving?" "What makes them living?" The students should give examples such as: eating, breathing, moving, sleeping, etc. If incorrect suggestions are given, discuss and clear any misconceptions. After the list is complete, explain that today they are going to be talking about the things that both they and animals have in common when it comes to nutrition. Ask students if they know what the word nutrition means. When suggestions are given, write them on the board. If incorrect suggestions are given, write them on the board, discuss, and correct misconceptions before erasing incorrect information. This is the working definition for nutrition, and they will be able to come to the correct definition throughout the lesson. Definition they are working towards: Nutrition is defined as the use offoods by living things and represents how the body uses nutrients consumed to sustain life and production.Nutrition work, growth, and change of an animal Nutrition supports growth, tissue maintenance and repair, and production of meat, milk, eggs, fiber, etc., (Ties into previous lesson) 5-10 min Introduction of New Information Do you eat like an animal?" Students will most likely answer NO, but explain that YES they do because this means that both they and animals are eating a very healthy and balanced diet, which contains all the nutrients their bodies need in the most appropriate amounts to promote energy, growth, and health Begin the discussion on the concept of nutrients: Information to give: A nutrient is any chemical element or compound in the diet that is needed for animals to grow and change and perform daily tasks. Humans need nutrients too. There are six types of nutrients that humans and animals both need:water,carbohydrates,lipids (fats),proteins,vitamins, andminerals. Water is one of the most important nutrients "Do humans need water to grow and change and to do daily activities?" "Both humans and animals can get very sick if you don't have enough water" Carbohydrates are very important so that animals have energy Fats are part of the type of nutrient called lipids. They are also very important for energy Proteins are another very important part of an animal's nutrition so that they remain healthy Vitamins are made up of a lot of different things. "How many of you take vitamins in the morning?" Discuss the importance of vitamins so that animals stay healthy. Minerals are needed by all animals If you have too much or not enough of these, you can get sick. It is important to have a good balance of minerals. Next, begin the discussion on the concept of animal food Information to give: The food that many farmers give animals has to be ground up. It is made up of several different types of things so that the animal gets all the nutrients they need to remain healthy. It is typically ground up so that animals are not able to pick out their favorite parts of the food. "How many of you like trail mix?" "Do you pick out your favorite things from the trail mix?" "Animals can do this too! They might pick out things of a certain color, texture, or taste. If they do this they may not be getting all the nutrients they need" Ask students if there are any questions, and clear any misconceptions that

Alternatives to Affirmative Action

Alternatives to Affirmative Action Free Online Research Papers Affirmative Action is one of the most controversial policies ever enacted by the United States government. Under Affirmative Action, women, African Americans, and other minorities are given preferential treatment when they apply for jobs and/or admission to college. In some cases, this has meant that qualified applicants who are white males have been passed over in favor of less qualified minority or female applicants. Those who support Affirmative Action claim that the policy is necessary to overcome centuries of previous discrimination and other disadvantages that minorities and women have faced. Those who oppose the policy point out that that Affirmative Action is just another form of discrimination, except in this case it is discrimination that is deliberately directed against white males. Opponents of Affirmative Action also claim that the policy lowers academic standards and takes away from the accomplishments of truly qualified women and minorities. Affirmative Action programs have significantly improved diversity on America’s college campuses. However, there have been many legal and legislative challenges to preferential treatment based on race (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2002, Executive Summary). Various alternatives to the quotas and preferential treatment of minorities under Affirmative Action have been proposed, including the alternative of ending Affirmative Action altogether. An acceptable alternative would need to provide opportunities for minority students without discriminating against white males. Californias approach to admissions Schools in California are prohibited by state law from using race, religion, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin as criteria for college admission (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2002, Chapter Two Percentage Plans). California has tried several different admission policies for its University system. Under one plan, no less than 50 percent to 75 percent of students would be admitted based solely on their academic achievements. This plan was phased out and replaced with a plan that provided automatic admission for students who graduated in the top 4 percent of their high school class. This plan was replaced in November 2001 with a plan in which students were considered not just for grades and test scores, but also for evidence of such qualities as motivation, leadership, intellectual curiosity, and initiative (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Chapter Two Percentage Plans). Each of these plans shows promise. Percentage plans provide some guarantee that non-minority students will not be discriminated against on the basis of their race. At the same time, these plans also provide a way for minority students who might not otherwise qualify for admission to be considered. The 4 percent plan rewards the best students for their accomplishments without penalizing other students. Although the percentage plans are not perfect, they are more fair than systems that place more emphasis on race than they do on academic achievement. Texas Top Ten Texas guarantees college admission to the top ten percent of students from every graduating class (Watson Levin, 2004). Like the California plan, the Texas Top Ten plan guarantees that no highly qualified students will be passed over on the basis of race. The plan does not, however, guarantee that lower achieving students will have equal access. Unfortunately, the Texas plan has resulted in some problems. The plan makes no distinction between students from higher achieving schools and students from schools that are less rigorous. Some top ten students are arriving at college to find that they are not prepared. Universal Admissions Another possible alternative to Affirmative Action would be to allow all students who want to attend college to do so. Under the current system, a college education is a privilege, not a right. A universal admission policy would change that and would provide all students with the right to a college education, just as all children in the United States are now entitled to a free education in grades Kindergarten through High School. One of the arguments made for Affirmative Action is that minority students can succeed when they are given the chance. Lower admission standards for minorities are designed to compensate for any lack of educational opportunities these students may have had while they were growing up. The theory is that once these students are provided with the same opportunity, they will be able to catch up. A universal admission policy would eliminate all academic and other criteria for college admissions and allow all students, regardless of their past academic performance, to attend college. Under a universal admission policy, the only criteria that would be applied would be whether the student could afford to pay for classes. This may seem unfair to some. However, students who could not afford tuition could qualify for scholarships, grants, and loans just as they do now. One potential problem with a universal admission plan is the lack of space at colleges. If everyone is allowed to attend for at least one year, then it is possible that there would not be enough teachers and other resources to go around. However, this problem could be solved through the use of Community Colleges, distance learning, and other alternatives. Universal admission is the only truly fair way to provide equal opportunity to all students. It eliminates the bias of Affirmative Action and allows students who may have performed poorly in high school to have at least a chance to prove that they can succeed in college. References U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (2002). Chapter Two-Percentage Plans Beyond Percentage Plans: The Challenge of Equal Opportunity in Higher Education. Retrieved on October 12, 2004, from usccr.gov/pubs/percent2/ch2.htm U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (2002). Executive Summary. Beyond Percentage Plans: The Challenge of Equal Opportunity in Higher Education. Retrieved on October 12, 2004, from usccr.gov/pubs/percent2/summ.htm Watson, B. and Levin, M. (2004) The Texas Top Ten Percent Rule: Bad Policy, Good Politics. Austin Review. July 9, 2004. Retrieved on October 12, 2004, from texastop10.princeton.edu/publicity/AustinReview070904.pdf Research Papers on Alternatives to Affirmative ActionStandardized Testing19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesPETSTEL analysis of IndiaCapital PunishmentHip-Hop is ArtPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyOpen Architechture a white paperWhere Wild and West Meet

Hinduism and Buddhism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hinduism and Buddhism - Assignment Example Although it has well defined doctrines, in many ways Buddhism is identical to its mother religion Hinduism. However, there are numerous differing aspects that make both religions classical. Indian society during the Vedic period (Aryan Culture) consisted of four castes such as Brahmans (priests), Kshatriyas (kings), Vaishyas (farmers and business men), and Sudras (slaves). The noble castes Brahmins and Kshatriyas enjoyed all social privileges; and menial jobs were allotted to lower castes. Social and religious injustice prevailed over the community in the forms of ‘untouchability’ and discrimination. The Sudras in fact were the invaded Dravidians who were not at all considered as human beings. Brahmins were cherished as the noblest status of birth to attain God; and lower castes did not have access to spiritual secrets or Vedas. Buddha was born in the royal family of Shakya clan but relinquished all worldly possessions in search of the real cause of human suffering. Unlike others he showed great compassion to all human beings irrespective of their castes. His broad concept of human brotherhood gained wide appreciation among people of all classes and sects. Although Buddha wanted to renovate the social setup, he believed that it could be possible only through self reformation. According to Hinduism, human life is bound to unending cycle of death and rebirth. One needs to realize the individual soul that is ‘Atman’ as the initial step to attain the ultimate freedom. If Atman is the individual self, Brahma/God is the supreme universal self that is the true treasure of eternal happiness. Therefore the meaning of individual life is to attain the Brahma. This actualization or salvation is known as Moksha. However, one can not easily attain it because it is determined by the law of cause and effect that is Karma. To illustrate, the status of one’s birth is determined by the deeds/karma