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Cremation

Cremation

Cremation is the practice of disposing of a corpse by burning. This often takes place in a crematorium or crematory. Cremation and burial are the main ways of final disposition of the dead.

Reasons for choosing cremation

People choose cremation for a variety of reasons, including religious reasons, other personal reasons, environmental reasons, and cost. For all these reasons, more and more people are choosing cremation.

Religious reasons in Dharmic Faiths

final disposition of the dead]] While the Abrahamic religions do not prohibit cremation or prefer burial over cremation, the Eastern religions (i.e., Dharmic faiths) such as Buddhism and Hinduism mandate the use of cremation. However, two exceptions to cremation apply in Hinduism. For example, monks, Hijras, and children under five are buried. Sikhism, although it has been influenced by Abrahamic religions such as Islam, utilizes cremation. Cremation was also practised in the ancient world, being mentioned in the Old Testament and used widely in the Greek and Roman civilizations.

Resurgence of cremation in the Christian world

In Christian countries, cremation fell out of favour due to the Christian belief in the physical resurrection of the body. Beginning in the Middle Ages, rationalists and classicists began to advocate it. Much later, Sir Henry Thompson, Surgeon to Queen Victoria, was the first to recommend the practice on health grounds after seeing the cremation apparatus of Professor Brunetti of Padua, Italy at the Vienna Exposition in 1873. In 1874 Thompson founded The Cremation Society of England. The society met opposition from the church, who would not allow cremation on consecrated ground, and from the government, who believed the practice to be illegal. Cremation was finally made legal in England by a court judgment in February, 1884 in Cardiff. An Act of Parliament for the Regulation of burning of human remains, and to enable burial authorities to established crematoria was passed in 1902.

The Roman Catholic Church

For most of its history, the Roman Catholic Church had a ban in place against cremation. It was seen as the most sacrilegious act towards the Christians and their God, not simply blaspheming, but physically declaring a disbelief in the Resurrection. In 1963 the Pope lifted the ban on cremation, and in 1966 allowed Catholic priests to officiate at cremation ceremonies. The church still officially prefers the traditional burial of the deceased. However cremation is now permitted as long as it is not done to express a refusal to believe in the resurrection of the body. Until 1997, church regulations stipulated that cremation was to take place after the funeral service has taken place. The church still prefers that funeral services take place before cremation. Such funeral services are conducted in the same manner as those of traditional burials up to the point of committal, where the body is taken to the crematorium instead of being buried. A burial service is performed after the cremation has finished. In 1997 the funeral rite was modified so that church funerals can take place when the body has already been cremated and the ashes were brought to the church. In such cases the ashes are placed in an urn or another worthy vessel. They are brought into the church and placed on a stand near the Easter candle. During the church service, and during the committal rite, prayers that make reference to the body are modified. Any prayers that refer to the "Body" of the deceased are replaced with "Earthly Remains." Since the lifting of the ban, even with the official preference for burial, the church has become more and more open to the idea of cremation. Many Catholic cemeteries now provide columbarium niches for housing cremated remains as well as providing special sections for the burial of cremated remains. Columbarium niches have even been made part of church buildings. However church officials tend to discourage this practice because of concerns over what would happen to the niches if such a parish closed or decided to replace the current building. The church does specify requirements for the reverent disposition of ashes. This means that the ashes are to be buried or entombed in an appropriate container, such as an urn. The church does not permit the scattering of ashes or keeping them at home. Traditional Catholics have objected to the practice of allowing cremation, which they cite as one reason among others to suport their claim that the post-Vatican II church is no longer the true Catholic Church.

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church forbids cremation. Exceptions are made for circumstances where it may not be avoided (when civil authority demands it, or epidemics) or if it may be sought for good cause, but when a cremation is willfully chosen for no good cause by the one who is deceased, he or she is not permitted a funeral in the church and may also be permanently excluded from liturgical prayers for the departed. In Orthodoxy, cremation is a rejection of the dogma of the general resurrection, and as such is viewed harshly.

List of religions that permit cremation

Ásatrú, Baptist Church, Buddhism, Calvinism, Christian Science, Church of England, Church of Ireland, Church of Scotland, Church in Wales, Hare Krishna, Hinduism (mandatory except for sanyasis, i.e., monks and children under five); Jainism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Liberal Judaism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Moravian Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Presbyterianism, Roman Catholicism, Salvation Army, Scottish Episcopal Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Sikhs, Society of Friends (Quakers)., Unitarian Universalism

List of religions that forbid cremation

Bahá'í Faith, Eastern Orthodox Church, Islam, Orthodox Judaism, Zoroastrianism. Neo-Confucianism under Zhu Xi strongly discourages cremation of one's parents' corpses as unfilial.

Other personal reasons

Some people find they prefer cremation for other reasons. For some people it is because they are not attracted to traditional burial. The thought of a long, slow decomposition process is unappealing to some, and they find that they prefer cremation for that reason. Other people view cremation as a way of simplifying their funeral process. These people view a traditional burial as an unneeded complication of their funeral process, and thus chose cremation to make their services as simple as possible.

Environmental reasons

Others prefer cremation for environmental reasons. Some are concerned that during bodily decomposition body fluids and embalming chemicals could contaminate the Earth. Some locations have found that long-buried bodies are now causing groundwater contamination. Arsenic, used as an embalming chemical in the 19th and early 20th centuries, has been known to cause serious pollution later on. Another environmental concern is that traditional burial takes up a great deal of space. In a traditional burial the body is buried in a casket made from a variety of materials. In America the casket is often placed inside a concrete vault or liner before burial in the ground. While individually this may not take much room, combined with other burials it can over time cause serious space concerns. Many cemeteries, particularly in Europe and Japan as well as those in larger cities are starting to run out of space. In Tokyo for example, it is almost impossible to find a traditional funeral plot. One item of concern has been that the exhaust systems of cremation ovens may contribute to air pollution. In response crematorium manufacturers have built computerized control systems that regulate the exhaust systems to keep crematoriums from contributing to air pollution. Additionally some crematoria remove all plastic handles and fittings from a coffin before cremation and these are disposed of separately for the same reason.

Cost of cremation

The cost factor tends to make cremation attractive. Generally speaking, cremation costs less than traditional burial services, especially if direct cremation is chosen, in which the body is cremated as soon as legally possible without any sort of services. However, there is wide variation in the cost of cremation services, having mainly to do with the amount of service desired by the deceased or the family. A cremation can take place after a full traditional funeral service, which adds cost. The type of container used also influences cost. Cremation makes possible the scattering of remains over an area, eliminating the need for and expense of a burial space. However, some religions such as Roman Catholicism require burial or entombment of cremated remains. Burial or entombment also adds to the cost. The price will depend on what the deceased and/or the family has chosen. Cremated remains require far less space than a traditional burial or entombment. Cremation plots or columbarium niches usually cost less than a burial plot or mausoleum crypt.

Cremation process

Roman Catholicism

Cremation furnace

A cremation furnace is a large furnace capable of reaching high temperatures, with special modifications to ensure the efficient disintegration of the corpse. One of these modifications is the aiming of the flames at the corpse's torso, where a majority of the corpse's mass rests. The furnace may be part of a funeral home, or it may be part of an independent facility or a service offered by a cemetery. cemetery The furnaces use a number of different fuel sources, such as natural or propane gas. Modern cremation furnaces include control systems that monitor the conditions inside the furnace while a cremation is taking place. The operator can make adjustments to provide for more efficient burning, as well as ensuring that minimal environmental pollution occurs. A cremation furnace is not designed to cremate more than one body at a time, and to do so is against the law in all 50 US states and many other nations. The chamber where the body is placed is called the retort. It is lined with special bricks to help retain the heat. These bricks require replacement after about five years because of continual expansion and contraction due to temperature cycling.

Body container

cemetery A body to be cremated is first placed in a container for cremation, which can be a simple corrugated cardboard box or a wooden casket. Most casket manufacturers provide a line of caskets specially built for cremation. Another option is a cardboard box that fits inside a wooden shell designed to look like a traditional casket. After the funeral service the interior box is removed from the shell before cremation, permitting the shell to be reused. Funeral homes may also offer rental caskets, which are traditional caskets used only for the duration of the services, after which the body is transferred to another container for cremation. Rental caskets are sometimes designed with removable beds and liners, replaced after each use.

Burning and ashes collection

Funeral homes The box containing the body is placed in the retort and incinerated at a temperature of 760 to 1150 °C (1400 to 2100 °F). During the cremation process a large part of the body—especially the organs and other soft tissue—is vaporized due to the heat and is discharged through the exhaust system. All that remains after cremation are bone fragments, representing about five percent of the body's original mass, and the ashes of the cardboard box or wooden container. The entire process usually takes about two hours. After the incineration is completed, the bone fragments are swept out of the retort, and the operator uses a pulverizer called a cremulator to process them into a consistent powder. The cremulator (also known informally as a 'crembola') is essentially a rotating drum similar to a spindryer, except filled with steel ball bearings whose disturbance powders the weakened bones. spindryer This is one of the reasons cremated remains are called ashes although a technical term sometimes used is "cremains". The ashes are placed in a container, which can be anything from a simple cardboard box to a fancy urn. An unavoidable consequence of cremation is that a tiny residue of bodily remains is left in the chamber after cremation and mixes with subsequent cremations. Ashes can be kept in an urn, sprinkled on a special field or in the sea, or buried in the ground. The final disposition depends on the personal wishes of the deceased, as well as their religious beliefs. Some religions will permit the ashes to be sprinkled or kept at home. Other religions, such as Roman Catholicism, insist on either burying or entombing the ashes.

The Pyre alternative

An alternative method used in some cultures, such as Hinduism, is burning the corpse on a pyre. A pyre is a mound of wood upon which the deceased's body is placed on top or inside of. The mound is lit on fire, the fire consumes the wood and the deceased. This method is not commonly found in the western world where crematorium ovens are used.

Negative recent history experiences with cremation

World War II

During the Holocaust, massive crematoria were constructed and operated round-the-clock by the Nazis within their concentration and extermination camps to dispose of the bodies of thousands of Jews, Gypsies, and other prisoners who were killed or died in the camps daily. In addition to the atrocity of mass murder, the remains of Jews were thus disposed of in a manner deeply offensive to Orthodox Judaism because Halakha, the Jewish law, forbids cremation and holds that the soul of a cremated person cannot find its final repose. Since then, cremation has carried an extemely negative connotation for many Jews. A similar attitude also remains prevalent in some countries which were occupied by Germans during WWII, such as Poland and parts of Russia.

The Tri-State Crematory Incident

A recent controversial event involved the failure to cremate, known as the Tri-State Crematory Incident. In the state of Georgia in the United States in early 2002, three hundred thirty-four corpses that were supposed to have been cremated in the previous few years at the Tri-State Crematory were found intact and decaying on the crematorium's grounds, having been dumped there by the crematorium's proprietor. Many of the corpses were beyond identification. In many cases the "ashes" that were returned to the family were not human remains - they were made of wood and concrete dust. Eventually Ray Brent Marsh - who was the operator at the time the bodies were discovered - had 787 criminal charges filed against him. On November 19, 2004 Marsh pleaded guilty to all charges. Marsh was sentenced to two 12 year prison sentences from both Georgia and Tennessee which he is serving concurrently. Afterwards he will then be on probation for 75 years - in effect he will be on probation for the rest of his life. Civil suits were filed against the Marsh family as well as a number of funeral homes who shipped bodies to Tri-State. These suits were ultimately settled. The property of the Marsh family has been sold, but collection of the full $80 million judgment remains doubtful. Families have expressed the desire to return the former Tri-State crematory to a natural, park like setting.

The Indian Ocean tsunamis

The magnitude 9.0-9.3 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake triggered a series of lethal tsunamis on December 26, 2004 that killed over 175,000 people was the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. The tsunami killed people over an area ranging from the immediate vicinity of the quake in Indonesia, Thailand and the north-western coast of Malaysia to thousands of kilometres away in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and even as far as Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania in eastern Africa. The Authorities had difficulties dealing with the large numbers of deceased people and therefore thousands of bodies had to be cremated together. Many of these bodies were not identified or viewed by relatives prior to cremation, which would have helped families better cope with their grief. A particular point of objection was that the bodies of Westerners were kept separate (officials understanding the dire long-term consequences for tourism if they were not identified and repatriated) from those of Asian descent, who were mostly locals. This meant that tourists from other Asian nations, such as Japan and Korea, were mass cremated rather than returned for funeral rites in their country of origin. However it is very important to note that after one to two weeks of decomposition in the heat it becomes nearly impossible to differentiate one body from another, even to normally obvious things such as age, race or at times even gender.

External links

- [http://www.srgw.demon.co.uk/CremSoc/CremHomeAlt.html The Cremation Society of Great Britain]
- [http://www.cremationassociation.org/ Cremation Association of North America]
- [http://www.cremate-me.net/ Detailed but possibly offensive description of the cremation process] Category:Death customs ja:火葬

Combustion

Combustion or burning is a chemical process, an exothermic reaction between a substance (the fuel) and a gas (the oxidizer), usually O₂, to release heat. In a complete combustion reaction, a compound reacts with an oxidizing element, and the products are compounds of each element in the fuel with the oxidizing element. For example: CH₂S + 6 F₂ → CF₄ + 2 HF + SF₆ + heat

Rapid combustion

Rapid combustion is a form of combustion in which large amounts of heat and light energy are released. This often occurs as a fire. This is used in forms of machinery, such as internal combustion engines, and in fuel-air explosives.

Slower combustion

Slow combustion is a form of combustion which takes place at low temperatures. Respiration is an example of slow combustion.

Complete combustion

In complete combustion, the reactant will burn in oxygen, producing a limited number of products. When a hydrocarbon burns in oxygen, the reaction will only yield carbon dioxide and water. When elements such as carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and iron are burned, they will yield the most common oxides. Carbon will yield carbon dioxide. Nitrogen will yield nitrogen dioxide. Sulfur will yield sulfur dioxide. Iron will yield iron(III) oxide. Complete combustion is generally impossible to achieve unless the reaction occurs where conditions are carefully controlled (e.g. in a lab environment).

Incomplete combustion

In incomplete combustion there is an inadequate supply of oxygen for the combustion to occur completely. The reactant will burn in oxygen, but will produce numerous products. When a hydrocarbon burns in oxygen, the reaction will yield carbon dioxide, water, carbon monoxide, and various other compounds such as nitrogen oxides. Incomplete combustion is much more common and will produce large amounts of byproducts, and in the case of burning fuel in automobiles, these byproducts can be quite lethal and damaging to the environment

Chemical equation

Generally, the chemical equation for burning a hydrocarbon (such as octane) in oxygen is as follows: :C_xH_y + (x + y/4)O₂ → xCO₂ + (y/2)H₂O For example, the burning of propane is: :C₃H₈ + 5O₂ → 3CO₂ + 4H₂O The simple word equation for the combustion of a hydrocarbon is: :Fuel + Oxygen → Heat + Water + Carbon dioxide.

Combustion phases

The act of combustion consists of three relatively distinct but overlapping phases:
- Preheating phase, when the unburned fuel is heated up to its flash point and then fire point. Flammable gases start being evolved in a process similar to dry distillation.
- Distillation phase or Gaseous phase, when the mix of evolved flammable gases with oxygen is ignited. Energy is produced in the form of heat and light, flame is often visible.
- Charcoal phase or Solid phase, when the output of flammable gases from the material is too low for persistent presence of flame and the charred fuel does not burn rapidly anymore but just glows and later only smoulders.

Combustion temperatures

Assuming perfect combustion conditions, such as an adiabatic (no heat loss) and complete combustion, the adiabatic combustion temperature can be determined. The formula that yields this temperature is based on the first law of thermodynamics and takes note of the fact that the heat of combustion (calculated from the fuel's heating value) is used entirely for warming up fuel and gas (e.g. oxygen or air). In the case of fossil fuels burnt in air, the combustion temperature depends on
- the heating value
- the stoichiometric air ratio

- the heat capacity of fuel and air
- air and fuel inlet temperatures The adiabatic combustion temperature increases for higher heating values and inlet temperatures and stoiciometric ratios towards one. Typically, the adiabatic combustion temperatures for coals are around 1500 deg C (for inlet temperatures of room temperatures and

), around 2000 deg C for oil and 2200 deg C for natural gas.

Hijra (India)

In the culture of the Indian subcontinent a hijra is a physically male or intersex person who is considered a member of "the third sex." Hijras trace their historical roots to Hinduism where they mirrored androgynous deities, as well as to the royal courts of Islamic rulers.

Other names for Hijras

In the Punjab and much of northern India they are known as khusra or khoti, while in Tamil Nadu they are called aruvani. All of these names are now considered preferable to the English term, "eunuch". They usually refer to themselves as female at the language level.

Different kinds of hijras

Hijras include people born with a male body, but with a non-male or female gender identity; transgender, transsexual or androgynous people; individuals born with ambiguous genitalia (intersex or hermaphrodites); and individuals who have had castration/genital reassignment surgery performed on them, sometimes without their consent.

Hijras and religion

In Hindu contexts, hijras belong to a special caste and are special devotees of the mother goddess Bahuchara Mata. Within Muslim contexts, the hijra third gender is believed to be the result of Allah's will. All hijras, whether Hindu or Muslim, have been affected by Islamic practices. For example, they bury their dead instead of the normal cremating and are said to have guarded the gravesite of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Hijras resemble the galli of the ancient Cybele-cult to some extend.

Becoming a hijra

Becoming a hijra is a process of socialization into a "hijra family" through a relationship characterised as chela "student" to guru "teacher", leading to a gradual assumption of femininity. Each guru lives with at least five chelas; her chelas assume her surname and are considered part of her lineage. Chelas are expected to give their income to their guru, who manages the household. Hijra families are close knit communities, which often have their own houses. The culmination of this process is a religious ritual that includes castration, an operation currently illegal in India and referred to by hijras as a nirvan, or rebirth. Although not all hijras do so, it is expected that a hijra's penis and testes will be removed . It is unknown what percentage of hijras are true eunuchs. In modern times, hijras may undergo sex reassignment surgery, but such cases are rare.

Making a living

Few employment opportunities are available to hijras, who must often resort to begging or prostitution (as Hindu temple prostitutes in premodern times). The men who have engage in sexual relations with hijras are not condidered gay in the Western sense, just as hijras are not gay but instead members of the third gender. In fact, some Hijras find husbands. They also perform traditional religious ceremonies at marriages and the birth of male babies. Hijra attendance at birth and wedding ceremonies are usually uninvited, involving music, singing, and sexually suggestive dancing. These are intended to bring good luck and fertility. As per societal norms, the host pays the hijras a fee. It is believed in India that the new born baby will be blessed if exposed to the Hijra's manhood. In recent times, foreign negative attitudes have affected the Hijra's cultural status. Some now view them with contempt and bribe hijras to shorten their ceremonies. No matter what attitude individuals have toward hijras, most people believe they have supernatural powers attributed to their castration that, if offended, bring bad luck. In Islamic societies, they were associated with the ruling class and hired as court eunuchs.

History

As mentioned above there is some resemlence between hijras and the ancient galli of Cybele. But it is not known, if there is a link between the two. The ancient Kama Sutra mentions the performance of oral sex on male parishioners at Hindu temples by hijras. During British colonialism, negative attitudes towards hijras were imported from Europe. The British passed laws outlawing their practices. Homosexual depictions in many Hindu temples were effaced. After independence, anti-hijra laws were repealed, but a law outlawing castration, a central part of the hijra community, was left intact, though rarely enforced. Hijras as servants and sexual companions for the muslim nobility were not unusual until the 1950s. Many modern Hijras, faced with health concerns and discrimination, have become politically active. For example, they have formed HIV/AIDS awareness groups to combat health problems within their communities. Other Hijras have been elected to high political positions.

Koothandavar festival

Every April, an annual Koothandavar temple festival is celebrated in the village Koovagam in the Ulundurpet taluk in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, where the temple for the hijras is located. The hijras marry the Lord Vishnu/Krishna and then the next day, mourn his death through ritualistic dances and by breaking their bangles. An annual beauty peageant is also held. Hijras from different places travel to this festival, and a personal subjective experience of the hijras in this festival is shown in the fascinating documentary India's Ladyboys, by BBC Three.

Miscellaneaous

Commonly the Hijra-rights groups support gay rights issues in the Indian subcontinent, but this is a newly-emerging situation. In November of 2000, Asha Devi - a hijra - was elected mayor of Gorakhpur, a post reserved for a woman. The city had a population of approximately 500,000 as of 1991. She was unseated when a court decreed that she was a man [http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/may/13up.htm], but was later reinstated.] The term "hijra" in this context is to be distinguished from an Arabic word of the same transliteration. The last consonant in the South Asian term is not pronounced like the English "r" or the Arabic ra or Ray. The Arabic word means "migration". See Hijra (Islam).

External links

- [http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/PUCL/PUCL%20Report.html Report]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/tv/indias_ladyboys.shtml India's Ladyboys: BBC Three]
- [http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/hijras.html GLBTQ.com: Hijras]
- [http://androgyne.0catch.com/hijrax.htm Collected Information About the Eunuchs of India Known as the Hijra]
- [http://home.interlink.or.jp/~takeshii/ The Works on Hijra in Indian Sub-Continent - Photographs]
- [http://www.librarygirl.org/hijras.html The Hijras of India Research Guide]
- [http://www.msu.edu/~lees/Kristina/Hirjas.htm The Hijras: Transgenderism in India]
- [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_212.html Why are Indian eunuchs warned about unsafe sex?]
- [http://www.worldpress.org/Asia/845.cfm World Press: Pakistan's Hijras]
- [http://www.columbia.edu/~blw2102/ Columbia University: Magical Stories of the Hijras]
- [http://www.geocities.com/leylasuhagi/hijra.html Islamic Hijras]
- [http://www.sangama.org Sangama: Leading Hijra Human Rights Organisation in India]

References

# Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India by Serena Nanda. Wadsworth Publishing, 1998. (ISBN 0-53450-903-7) # Lovemaps, p. 106, by John Money. Irvington Publishers, Inc., 1988. (ISBN 0-87975-456-7) Category:Transgender in non-western cultures Category:Transgendered (Male-Bodied) Category:Pakistani culture Category:Indian culture Category:Bangladeshi culture Category:Islamic law Category:Hindu law

Sikhism

Sikhism () is a religion based on the teachings of ten Gurus who lived primarily in 16th and 17th century India. It is one of the world's major religions with over 23 million followers. Sikhism comes from the word Sikh, which in turn comes from its Sanskrit root 'śiṣya' () which means "disciple" or "learner", or from the Pāli word 'sikkhā' (). The two core beliefs of Sikhism are:
- The belief in one God. The opening sentence of the Sikh scriptures is only two words long, and reflects the base belief of all who adhere to the teachings of the religion: - Ek Onkar
- The teachings of the Ten Sikh Gurus (as well as other accepted Muslim and Hindu figures) as enshrined in the Guru Granth Sahib. The Guru Granth Sahib is a sacred text considered by Sikhs to be their eleventh and final Guru. Sikhism was influenced by both reform movements in Hinduism (e.g. Sant Mat, Bhakti, monism, guru ideal, and bhajans) as well as Islam, particularly Sufism. It departs from some of the social traditions and structure of Hinduism and Islam (such as the caste system and purdah, respectively). Sikh philosophy is characterised by logic, comprehensiveness, and a "without frills" approach to both spiritual and material concerns. Its theology is marked by simplicity.

History of Sikhism

philosophy|right]]Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1538), considered to be the founder of Sikhism, was born in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana Sahib, near Lahore in present-day Pakistan. His father, Mehta Kalu was a Patwari- an accountant of land revenue in the government. Guru's mother was Mata Tripta and he had one older sister, Bibi Nanki. From the very childhood, Bibi Nanki saw in him the Light of God but she did not reveal this secret to anyone. She is known as the first disciple of Guru Nanak. Even as a boy, Nanak was fascinated by religion, and his desire to explore the mysteries of life eventually led him to leave home. He wandered all over India in the manner of Hindu saints. It was during this period that Nanak was said to have met Kabir (1441–1518), a saint revered by both Hindus and Muslims. He made four distinct major journeys, which are called Udasis spanning many thousands of miles. In 1538, Guru Nanak chose Lehna, his disciple as a successor to the Guruship rather than his son. Bhai Lehna was named Guru Angad and became the second guru of the Sikhs. He continued the work started by the Founder. Guru Amar Das became the third Sikh guru in 1552 at the age of 73. Goindwal became an important centre for Sikhism during the Guruship of Guru Amar Das. He continued to preach the principle of equality for women, the prohibition of Sati and the practise of Langar. In 1567, Emperor Akbar sat with the ordinary and poor people of Punjab to have Langar. Guru Amar Das also trained 140 apostles of which 52 were women to manage the rapid expansion of the religion. Before he died in 1574 aged 95, he appointed his son-in-law, Jetha as the fourth Sikh Guru. Jetha became Guru Ram Das and vigorously undertook his duties as the new guru. He is responsible for the establishment of the city of Ramdaspur later to be named Amritsar. In 1581, Guru Arjan- youngest son of fourth guru - became the Fifth Guru of the Sikhs. In addition to being responsible for the construction of the Golden Temple, he prepared the Sikh Sacred text and his personal addition of some 2,000 plus hymns in the Guru Granth Sahib. In 1604 he installed the Adi Granth for the first time as the Holy Book of the Sikhs. In 1606, for refusing to make changes to the Guru Granth Sahib, he was tortured and killed by the Mughal rulers of the time. Guru Har Gobind, became the sixth guru of the Sikhs. He carried two swords – one for Spiritual reasons and one for temporal (worldly) reasons. From this point onward, the Sikhs became a military force and always had a trained fighting force to defend their independence. In 1644, Guru Har Rai became Guru followed by Guru Har Krishan, the boy Guru in 1661. Guru Teg Bahadur became Guru in 1665 and led the Sikhs until 1675, when he sacrificed his life to save the Kashmiri Hindus who had come to him for help. In 1675, Aurangzeb publicly executed the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur. Sikh mythos says that Guru Tegh Bahadur sacrificed himself to protect Hindus, after Kashmiri pandits came to him for help when the Emperor condemned them to death for failing to convert to Islam. This marked a turning point for Sikhism. His successor, Guru Gobind Singh further militarised his followers (see Khalsa). After Aurangzeb killed four of Gobind Singh's sons, Gobind Singh sent Aurangzeb the Zafarnama (Notification of Victory). Shortly before passing away Guru Gobind ordered that Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Scripture, would be the ultimate spiritual authority for the Sikhs and temporal authority would vest in the Khalsa Panth – The Sikh Nation. The first Sikh Holy Scripture was compiled and edited by the Fifth Guru, Guru Arjan in AD 1604, although some of the earlier gurus are also known to have documented their revelations. This is one of the few scriptures in the world that has been compiled by the founders of a faith during their own life time. The Guru Granth Sahib is particularly unique among sacred texts in that it is written in Gurmukhi script but contains many languages including Punjabi, Hindi-Urdu, Sanskrit, Bhojpuri and Persian. Sikhs consider the Guru Granth Sahib the last, perpetual living guru.

The Gurus of Sikhism

The Ten Gurus of Sikhism

Sikhism was established by ten Gurus — teachers or masters — over the period 1469 to 1708. Each master added to and reinforced the message taught by the previous, resulting to the creation of the religion of Sikhism. Guru Nanak was the first Guru and Guru Gobind Singh the final Guru in human form. When Guru Gobind Singh left this world, he made the Sri Guru Granth Sahib the ultimate and final Sikh Guru. The Gurus are believed to have the same spirit, or "jot", but different bodies.

The Sri Guru Granth Sahib

Guru Granth Sahib.]] The Guru Granth Sahib is the eleventh and final Guru of the Sikhs, is held in the highest regard by the Sikhs and is treated as the Eternal Guru, as instructed by Guru Gobind Singh. It is perhaps the only scripture of its kind which not only contains the teachings of its own religious founders but also writings of people from other faiths. Besides the Banis of the Gurus, it also contains the writings of saints like Kabir, Namdev, Ravidas, Sheikh Farid, Trilochan, Dhanna, Beni, Sheikh Bhikan, Jaidev, Surdas, Parmanad, Pipa and Ramanand. The Granth forms the central part of the Sikh place of worship called a gurdwara. The Holy Scripture placed on the dominant platform in the main hall of the gurdwara during the day. It is placed with great respect and dignity upon a throne with beautiful and colourful fabric. The Guru Granth Sahib is separated into musical measures, called Raags. There are 31 raags within the Guru Granth Sahib. Interpretations of the Guru Granth Sahib, although translated into English and many other languages, vary from person to person. Its interpretation is based on the mindset and perception of each individual, and its guiding advice can be used for any type of situation, both religious and non-religious.

Sikh religious philosophy

The Sikh religious philosophy can be divided into the following five sections:

Primary beliefs and principles

Sikhism advocates the belief in (Ek Onkar) who is omnipresent and has infinite qualities. This aspect has been repeated on numerous occasions in the Guru Granth Sahib. Sikhs do not have a gender for God nor do they believe God takes a human form. All human beings are considered equal regardless of their religion, sex or race. All are sons and daughters of Waheguru, the Almighty. Followers of Sikhism are encouraged to wake in the early morning hours, before the sun has risen, and meditate on God's name. They must work hard and honestly and never live off of others, but give to others from the fruits of one's own labour. A Sikh's home should always be open to all. Sikhs believe in the concept of reincarnation, yet other beliefs of the afterlife are also accepted. All creatures are believed to have souls that pass to other bodies upon death until liberation is achieved. Sikhs should defend, safeguard, and fight for the rights of all creatures, and in particular fellow human beings. They are encouraged to have a "Chardi Kala" or positive, optimistic and buoyant view of life. The Sikh religion is not considered the only way to salvation - people of other religions may also achieve salvation. This concept is shared with other Dharmic religions. Upon baptism, Sikhs must wear the 5Ks, and recite the 5 prayers. Sikhs do not believe that any particular day is holier than any other and tend to adopt the religious day of the country within which they reside. It is every Sikh's duty to defeat these five vices: ego, anger, greed, attachment, and lust. Sikhs are encouraged to 'attack' these vices with contentment, charity, kindness, positive attitude and humility.

Underlying values

The Sikhs must believe in the following values: #Equality: All humans are equal before God. #God's spirit: All creatures have God's spirits and must be properly respected. #Personal right: Every person has a right to life but this right is restricted. #Actions count: Salvation is obtained by one's actions, including good deeds, remembrance of God, etc. #Living a family life: Encouraged to live as a family unit to provide and nurture children. #Sharing: It is encouraged to share and give to charity 10 percent of one's net earnings. #Accept God's will: Develop your personality so that you recognize happy events and miserable events as one. #The four fruits of life: Truth, contentment, contemplation and Naam, (in the name of God).

Prohibited behavior

#Non-logical behavior: Superstitions and rituals are not meaningful to Sikhs (pilgrimages, fasting, bathing in rivers, circumcision, worship of graves, idols or pictures, compulsory wearing of the veil for women, etc.). #Material obsession: ("Maya") Accumulation of materials has no meaning in Sikhism. Wealth such as gold, portfolio, stocks, commodities, and properties will all be left here on Earth when you depart. Do not get attached to them. #Sacrifice of creatures: (Sati). Widows throwing themselves in the funeral pyre of their husbands, lamb and calf slaughter to celebrate holy occasions, etc. are forbidden. #Non-family oriented living: A Sikh is encouraged not to live as a recluse, beggar, yogi, monk, nun, or celibate. #Worthless talk: Bragging, gossip, lying, etc. are not permitted. #Intoxication: Alcohol, drugs, tobacco, and consumption of other intoxicants is not permitted. #Priestly class: Sikhs do not have to depend on a priest for performing any religious functions. They are not supposed to follow a class/caste system where the priestly class reigns highest. Everyone is equal.

Technique and methods

#Nām Japō: - meditation and prayer on the Name of God in Sikhism, which is "Waheguru", it is also called the 'Gur-Manter'. Naam Japna is the repetition of this name. #Kirat Karō: - Honest earnings, labor, etc. while remembering the Lord. #Vaṇḍ Chakkō: - Share with others in need, free food (langar), donate 10% of income Dasvand, etc.

Other observations

#Not son of God: The Gurus were not in the Christian sense “Sons of God”. Sikhism says all humans are the children of God and by deduction, God is mother/father. #All are welcome: Members of all religions may visit Sikh temples (Gurdwaras), but must observe certain rules: cover the head, remove shoes, no smoking or drinking intoxicants inside, and visitors must not be under the influence of any drugs, especially alcohol. #Multi-level approach: Sikhism recognises the concept of a multi-level approach to achieving one's target as a disciple of the faith. For example, "Sahajdhari" (slow adopters) are Sikhs who have not donned the full 5Ks but are still Sikhs nevertheless. Note: The Punjabi language does not have a gender for God. Unfortunately, when translating, the proper meaning cannot be correctly conveyed without using Him/His/He/Brotherhood, S/He etc., but this distorts the meaning by giving the impression that God is masculine, which is not the message in the original script. The reader must correct for this every time these words are used.

Observations

The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, was born in 1469 to a Khatri family in central Punjab (in what is present day Pakistan). After four epic journeys (north to Tibet, south to Sri Lanka, east to Bengal and west to Mecca and Baghdad) Guru Nanak preached to Hindus, Muslims and others, and in the process attracted a following of Sikhs or disciples. Religion, he taught, was a way to unite people, but in practice he found that it set men against one another. He particularly regretted the antagonism between Hindus and Muslims as well as certain ritualistic practices that distracted people from focusing on God. He wanted to go beyond what was being practised by either religion and hence a well-known saying of Guru Nanak is, "There is no Hindu, there is no Muslim." Guru Gobind Singh reinforced these words by saying, "Regard the whole human race as equal". Guru Nanak was opposed to the caste system. His followers referred to him as the guru (teacher). Before his death he designated a new Guru to be his successor and to lead the Sikh community. This procedure was continued, and the tenth and last Guru, Guru Gobind (AD 1666–1708) initiated the Sikh ceremony in AD 1699 ; and thus gave a distinctive identity to the Sikhs. The five baptised Sikhs were named Panj Pyare (Five Beloved Ones), who in turn baptised the Guru at his request. Guru Nanak's doctrinal position is clear, despite the appearance that it is a blend of insights originating from two very different faiths. Sikhism's coherence is attributable to its single central concept – the sovereignty of the One God, the Creator. Guru Nanak called God the "True Name" because he wanted to avoid any limiting terms for God. He taught that the True Name, although manifest in many ways, many places and known by many names, is eternally One, the Sovereign and omnipotent God (the Truth of Love). Guru Nanak's ascribed to the concept of maya, regarding material objects and realities as expressions of the creator's eternal truth, which tended to erect "a wall of falsehood" around those who live totally in the mundane world of material desires. This materialism prevents them from seeing the ultimate reality, as God created matter as a veil, so that only spiritual minds, free of desire, can penetrate it by the grace of the Guru (Gurprasad). The world is immediately real in the sense that it is made manifest to the senses as maya, but is ultimately unreal in the sense that God alone is ultimate reality. Retaining the Hindu doctrine of the transmigration of souls, together with its corollary, the law of karma, Guru Nanak advised his followers to end the cycle of reincarnation by living a disciplined life – that is, by moderating egoism and sensuous delights, to live in a balanced worldly manner, and by accepting ultimate reality. Thus, by the grace of Guru (Gurprasad) the cycle of re-incarnation can be broken, and the Sikh can remain in the abode of the Love of God. A Sikh should balance work, worship and charity - and meditate by repeating God's name, Nam japna (to enhance spiritual development). Salvation, Guru Nanak said, does not mean entering paradise after a last judgment, but a union and absorption into God, the true name. Sikhs believe in neither heaven nor hell. They strive for the grace of the Guru during the human journey of the soul. Political pressure from surrounding Muslim nations forced the Sikhs to defend themselves and by the mid-nineteenth century, the Punjab area straddling modern-day India and Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kashmir was ruled by them. The Sikh's Khalsa Army defeated the invading British army and signed treaties with China.

All welcomed

Members of all religions may visit Sikh temples (gurdwaras = the Guru's door) but are asked to observe the following rules out of respect for sikh sensibilities:
- To cover one's head (there will be bandana-like Rumāls available there)
- To take off one's shoes
- To not smoke or indulge in the consumption of alcoholic or tobacco-related materials (even in the vicinity of the gurdwara)
- Not to bring or possess any alcoholic or tobacco-related items, or be under their effects when entering the gurdwara.

Followers of Sikhism

Rumāl A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. The word Sikh is derived from its Sanskrit root 'śiṣya' () which means "disciple" or "learner", or from the Pāli word 'sikkhā' (). In the Punjabi language the word Sikh also means humble follower. So a Sikh is a disciple of the Ten Gurus and a follower of the teachings in Sikhism's holy scriptures who they regard as a living guru, the Guru Granth Sahib. Most Sikhs are of Punjabi background and live in the state of Punjab, India, but the Sikh community stretches over 100 nations and on all continents of the world. Today, Sikhs can be found all over India and elsewhere in the world. Sikh men as well as some Sikh women can be identified by their practice of always wearing a turban to cover their long hair. The turban is quite distinct and is not the same as those worn by others in the region. However, not all Sikhs in the modern era continue to wear turbans or grow long hair. Sikhism recognises the concept of a multi-level approach to achieving your target as a disciple of the faith. For example, Sahajdhari (slow adopters) are Sikhs who have not donned the full Five Ks but are still Sikhs nonetheless. The surname or more usually the middle name Singh¹ (meaning lion) is very common for males, and Kaur (meaning princess) for women. Of course, not all people named Singh or Kaur are necessarily Sikhs. The name Singh is closely linked to the martial antiquities of North India dating back to at least the Eighth Century CE. Sikh forenames tend to be unisex.

The Five Ks

Practicing Sikhs are bound to wear five Kakaars, or articles of faith, known as The Five Ks, at all times. It is done either out of respect for the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, or out of sense of duty or from understanding of their function and purpose and relevance in daily life. It is important to note that The Five Ks are not merely present for symbolic purposes. The tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, ordered these Five Ks to be worn so that a Sikh could actively use them to make a difference to their own spirituality and to others' spirituality. The 5 items are: Kesh (uncut hair), Kanga (small comb), Kara (circular bracelet), Kirpan (small sword) and Kacha (long underwear).

Sikhs around the world

A Sikh known as Yogi Bhajan brought the Sikh way of life to many young people in the Western hemisphere. In addition to Indian-born Sikhs, there are now thousands of individuals of Western origin who were not born as Sikhs, but have embraced the Sikh way of life and live and teach all over the world. In the late 1970s and 1980s a limited political separatist movement arose in India with the mission to create a separate Sikh state, called Khalistan, in the Punjab area of India and Pakistan. Currently, there are about 23 million Sikhs in the world, making it the fifth largest religion in the world. Approximately 19 million Sikhs live in India with the majority living in the state of Punjab ('greater Punjab' extends across the India-Pakistan border but few Sikhs remained in Pakistan after partition in 1947). Large populations of Sikhs can be found in the United Kingdom, Canada, and United States. They also comprise a significant minority in Malaysia and Singapore. Practices in Sikh communities around the world are standard with regard to behaviour in a gurdwara, or the manner of conducting certain ceremonies, but personal lifestyle often varies.

Sikhs and Punjabis

Since Sikhism originated in the Punjab region, most Sikhs trace their roots to that region (though in recent times, with the spread both of Sikhism and Sikhs, one might encounter Sikhs belonging to other geographical locations across the world). With the revisions of the state boundaries in 1966, 65% of the population in the Indian Punjab made up of Sikhs, whereas Sikhs comprise only 2% of the population in India as a whole. Consequently, and also because the Guru Granth Sahib is written in Gurmukhi, a script of the Punjabi language, most Sikhs are able to speak, read or write the language, or are at least familiar with it.

The Khalsa

A baptised Sikh becomes a member of the Khalsa or the "Pure Ones". When a Sikh joins the Khalsa, he/she is supposed to have devoted their life to the Guru, and is expected not to desist from sacrificing anything and everything in a struggle for a just and righteous cause. The word "Khalsa" has two literal meanings. It comes from Persian. One literal meaning is "Pure" and the other meaning is "belonging to the king". When the word "Khalsa" is used for a Sikh, it implies belonging to the King, where the King is God himself. To become a Khalsa, a Sikh must surrender themselves completely to the supreme King or God and obey God's will without question or delay.

ChristianIty

Christianity

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. The Middle Ages of Western Europe are commonly dated from the end of the Western Roman Empire (5th century) until the rise of national monarchies, the start of European overseas exploration, the humanist revival, and the Protestant Reformation starting in 1517. These various changes all mark the beginning of the Early Modern period that preceded the Industrial Revolution. The Middle Ages are commonly referred to as the medieval period or medieval times or simply medieval.

The Early Middle Ages

medieval flourished in the early Middle Ages: Hildesheim.]] As the authority of the Roman Empire dwindled in Western Europe, its territories were entered and settled by succeeding waves of "barbarian" tribal confederations, some of whom distrusted and rejected the classical culture of Rome, while others, like the Goths admired it and considered themselves the legatees and heirs of Rome. Prominent among these peoples in the movement were the Huns and Avars and Magyars with the large number of Germanic and later Slavic peoples. The era of the migrations is referred to as the Migration Period. It has historically been termed the "Dark Ages" by Western European historians, and as Völkerwanderung ("wandering of the peoples") by German historians. The term "Dark Ages" has now fallen from favour, partly to avoid the entrenched stereotypes associated with the phrase, but also partly because more recent research into the period has in fact revealed its surprising artistic sophistication, though its political and social senses were unevolved and its technologies undeveloped, compared to the preceding culture. Although the settled population of the Roman period were not everywhere decimated, the new peoples greatly altered established society, and with it, law, culture and religion, and patterns of property ownership. The Pax Romana, with its accompanying benefits of safe conditions for trade and manufacture, and a unified cultural and educational milieu of far-ranging connections, had already been in decline for some time as the 5th century drew to a close. Now it was largely lost, to be replaced by the rule of local potentates, and the gradual break-down of economic and social linkages and infrastructure. This break-down was often fast and dramatic as it became unsafe to travel or carry goods over any distance and there was a consequent collapse in trade and manufacture for export. Major industries that depended on trade, such as large-scale pottery manufacture, vanished almost overnight in places like Britain. The Islamic invasions of the 7th and 8th centuries, which conquered the Levant, North Africa, Spain, Portugal and some of the Mediterranean islands (including Sicily), increased localization by halting much of what remained of seaborne commerce. So where sites like Tintagel in Cornwall had managed to obtain supplies of Mediterranean luxury goods well into the 6th century, this connection too was lost. Administrative, educational and military infrastructure quickly vanished, leading to the rise of illiteracy among leadership.

A new order

Until recently it has been common to speak of "barbarian invasions" sweeping in from beyond Imperial borders and bringing about the end of the Roman Empire. Modern historians now acknowledge that this presents an incomplete portrait of a complex time of migration. In some important cases, such as that of the Franks entering Gaul, settlement of the newcomers took place over many decades, as groups seeking new economic opportunities crossed into Roman territory, retaining their own tribal leadership, and acculturating to or displacing the Gallo-Roman society, often without widespread violence. Other outsiders, like Theodoric of the Ostrogoths, were civilized, though illiterate patrons, who saw themselves successors to the Roman tradition, employing cultured Roman ministers, like Cassiodorus. Like the Goths, many of the outsiders were foederati, military allies of the Empire, who had earned rights of settlement, including among others the Franks and the Burgundians. Between the 5th and 8th centuries a completely new political and social infrastructure developed across the lands of the former empire, based upon powerful regional noble families, and the newly established kingdoms of the Ostrogoths in Italy, Visigoths in Spain and Portugal, Franks and Burgundians in Gaul and western Germany, and Saxons in England. These lands remained Christian, and their Arian conquerors were soon converted, following the example of the pagan Frank Clovis I. The interaction between the culture of the newcomers, the remnants of classical culture, and Christian influences, produced a new model for society. The centralized administrative systems of the Romans did not withstand the changes, and the institutional support for large scale chattel slavery largely disappeared. However beyond these areas of Europe were many people with little or no contact with Christianity or with classic Roman culture. Warrior people such as the Avars and the Vikings were still capable of causing major disruption to the newly emerging societies of Western Europe. The Christian Church, the only centralized institution to survive the fall of the western Roman Empire intact, was the sole unifying cultural influence, preserving its selection from Latin learning, maintaining the art of writing, and a centralized administration through its network of bishops. The Early Middle Ages are characterized by the urban control of bishops and the territorial control exercised by dukes and counts. The rise of urban communes marked the beginning of the High Middle Ages. bishop Outside the de-urbanized remains of cities, the power of central government was greatly reduced. Consequently government authority, and responsibility for military organization, taxation and law and order, was delegated to provincial and local lords, who supported themselves directly from the proceeds of the territories over which they held military, political and judicial power. In this lay the beginnings of the feudal system. The High Middle Ages would see the regrowth of centralized power, and the growth of new "national" identities, as strong rulers sought to eliminate competition (and potential threat to their rule) from powerful feudal nobles. Well known examples of such consolidation include the Albigensian Crusade and the Wars of the Roses. This hierarchy of reciprocal obligations, known as feudalism or the feudal system, binding each man to serve his superior in return for the latter's protection, made for a confusion of territorial sovereignty (since allegiances were subject to change over time, and were sometimes mutually contradictory). The benefit of feudalism however, was its resiliency, and the ability of local arrangements to provide stable government in the absence of a strong royal power in a political order distinguished by its lack of uniformity. Territoriality was reduced to a network of personal allegiances. In the east, the Eastern Roman Empire (called by historians the "Byzantine Empire"), maintained a form of Christianised Roman rule in the lands of Asia Minor, Greece and the Slavic territories bordering Greece, and in Sicily and southern Italy. The eastern emperors had maintained a nominal claim to rule over the west, reconquered by Belisarius, but this was a political fiction under Lombard rule and became strongly disputed from 800, with the creation of the so-called Holy Roman Empire, under Charlemagne, briefly uniting much of modern day France, western Germany and northern Italy. From now on, Europe was to be bi-polar, with east and west competing for power and influence in the largely un-christianized expanses of northern Europe. The spread of Christianity in the Migrations Period, both from the Mediterranean area and from Ireland, occasioned a pre-eminent cultural and ideological role for its abbots, and the collapse of a res publica meant that the bishops became identified with the remains of urban government. Christianity provided the basis for a first European "identity," Christendom, unified until the separation of Orthodox Churches from the Catholic Church in the Great Schism of 1054, one of the dates that marks the onset of the High Middle Ages.

A Carolingian renaissance

See also the careers of Charlemagne and Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor.
The High Middle Ages
:Main article: High Middle Ages From beginnings roughly about the year 1000, greater stability came to the lands of western Europe. With the brief exception of the Mongol incursions, major barbarian invasions had ceased. The advance of Christian kingdoms and military orders into previously pagan regions in the Baltic and Finnic northeast brought the forced assimilation of numerous native peoples to the European entity. The "High Middle Ages" describes the expansionist culture and intellectual revival from the late 11th century to the beginning of the 14th. In central and northern Italy and in Flanders the rise of towns that were self-governing to some degree within their territories marked a beginning for re-urbanization in Western Europe. In Spain and Portugal, a slow reconquest of the urban and literate Muslim-ruled territories began. One consequence of this was that the Latin-literate world gained access to libraries that included classical literature and philosophy. Through translations these libraries gave rise to a vogue for the philosophy of Aristotle. Meanwhile, trade grew throughout Europe as the dangers of travel were reduced, and steady economic growth resumed. This period saw the formation of the Hanseatic league and other trading and banking institutions that operated across western Europe. The first universities were established in major European cities from 1080 onwards, bringing in a new interest and inquisitiveness about the world. Literacy began to grow, and there were major advances in art, sculpture, music and architecture. Large cathedrals were built across Europe, first in the romanesque, and later in the more decorative gothic style.
The Crusades
:Main article: Crusade Following the Great Schism, prime examples of the force of the divided cultural identities of Christendom can be found in the unfolding developments of the Crusades, during which Popes, kings, and emperors drew on the concept of Christian unity to inspire the population of Western Europe to unite and defend Christendom from the aggression of Islam, often at the expense of the Byzantine Empire. From the 7th century onward, Islam had been gaining ground along Europe's southern and eastern borders. Muslim armies conquered Egypt, the rest of North Africa, Jerusalem, Spain, Sicily, and most of Anatolia (in modern Turkey), although they were finally turned back in western Europe by Christian armies at the Battle of Tours in southern France. Political unanimity in Europe was less secure than it appeared, however, and the military support for most crusades was drawn from limited regions of Europe. Substantial areas of northern Europe also remained outside Christendom until the twelfth century or later; these areas also became crusading venues during the expansionist High Middle Ages.
Technology
:Main article: Medieval technology During the 12th and 13th century in Europe there was a radical change in the rate of new inventions, innovations in the ways of managing traditional means of production, and economic growth. The period saw major technological advances, including the invention of cannons, spectacles and artesian wells; and the cross-cultural introduction of gunpowder, silk, compass and astrolabe from the east. There was also great improvements with ships and upon the clock. The latter advances made possible the dawn of the Age of Exploration.
The Late Middle Ages (circa 1300-1500)
:Main article: Late Middle Ages The 14th century witnessed a decline that began with the first economic retrenchment after the long, gently inflationary rise of a unified economy that had been under way since the 11th century. The European climate itself was worsening, after the long Medieval Warm Period, leading to the onset of the Little Ice Age. In the Black Death, large areas of Western Europe lost up to a third of their population, especially in the crowded conditions of the towns, where the heart of innovations lay. The Black Death sealed a sudden end to the previous period of massive change, which resumed centuries later in the Early Modern Period. Politically, the later Middle Ages were typified by the decline of feudal power replaced by the development of strong, royalty-based nation-states. Wars between kingdoms, such as the Hundred Years' War between England and France, weakened the Christian nations in their confrontations with Islam. Religously Christendom was increasingly divided during the Western Schism, which resulted in greater loyalty to national churches, though lay piety rarely wavered. The Great Famine of 1315-1317, the Black Death of 1348, popular uprisings all produced stresses while encouraging creative social, economic, and technological responses that signalled the end of the old medieval order and laying the groundwork for further great changes in the Early Modern Period. In the east, the Byzantine Empire followed a separate destiny, with its strongest period coinciding with the Western collapse during the Early Medieval period. After the Battle of Manzikert (1071), the former empire was reduced to a shell; it survived until 1453, but in a diminished and weakened form.
Historiography

Middle Ages in history
:Main article: Middle Ages in history After the Middle Ages ended subsequent generations imagined, portrayed and interpreted the Middle Ages in different ways. Every century has created its own vision of the Middle Ages, the 18th century view of the Middle Ages was entirely different from the 19th century which was different from the 16th century view. The reality of these images remains with us today in the form of film, architecture, literature, art and popular conception.
Medieval and Middle Ages

"Middle Age"
The term "Middle Age" ("medium ævum") was first coined by Flavio Biondo, an Italian humanist, in the early 15th Century. Until the Renaissance (and some time after) the standard scheme of history was to divide history into six ages, inspired by the biblical six days of creation, or four monarchies based on Daniel 2:40. The early Renaissance historians instead talked about two periods in history, that of Ancient times and that of the period referred to as the "Dark Age". In the early 15th Century it was believed history had evolved from the Dark Age to a Modern period and scholars began to write about a middle period between the Ancient and Modern, which became known as the Middle Age. This is known as the three period view of history. The plural form of the term, Middle "Ages", is used in English, Dutch, Russian and Icelandic while all other European languages uses the singular form. This difference originates in different Neo-Latin terms used for the Middle Ages before media aetas became the standard term. Some were singular (media aetas, media antiquitas, medium saeculum and media tempestas), others plural (media saecula and media tempora). There seem to be no simple reason why a particular language ended up with the singular or the plural form. Further information can be found in Fred C. Robinson: "Medieval, the Middle Ages" in Speculum, Vol. 59:4 (Oct. 1984), p. 745-56. The common subdivision Early, High and Late Middle Ages came into use after World War I. It was caused by the works of Henri Pirenne (in particular the article "Les periodes de l'historie du capitalism" in Academie Royale de Belgique. Bulletin de la Classe des Lettres, 1914) and Johan Huizinga (The Autumn of the Middle Ages, 1919). A medieval era can also be applied to other parts of the world that historians have seen as embodying the same feudal characteristics as Europe in this period. The pre-westernization period in the history of Japan is sometimes referred to as medieval. The pre-colonial period in the developed parts of sub-Saharan Africa is also sometimes termed medieval. Today historians are far more reluctant to try to fit the history of other regions to the European model and these terms are less often used.
"Medieval"
The term "medieval" was first contracted from the Latin medium ævum, or more precisely "middle epoch", by Enlightenment thinkers as a pejorative descriptor of the Middle Ages. The spelling of "medieval" may depend on context. Medieval is the modern English spelling, used in normal discourse in England and elsewhere. Mediaeval is a legacy of the Latin spelling Mediæval, which uses the diphthong ae rendered as a ligature; it is an antiquated spelling found in older works, or those that emphesis the words Latin origins. Medieval was originally a pejorative description, and as such it has taken on broader meanings that usually impart some kind of value judgement, such as things that are old, "byzantine", "gothic", crude, heavy, harsh, or dark in nature.
Periodization issues
:See also: Periodization It is extremely difficult to decide when the Middle Ages ended, and in fact scholars assign different dates in different parts of Europe. Most scholars who work in 15th century Italian history, for instance, consider themselves Renaissance or Early Modern historians, while anyone working on England in the early 15th century is considered a medievalist. Others choose specific events, such as the Turkish capture of Constantinople or the end of the Anglo-French Hundred Years' War (both 1453), the invention of printing by Johann Gutenberg (around 1455) or the fall of Muslim Spain or Columbus's voyage to America (both 1492), or the Protestant Reformation starting 1517 to mark the period's end. In England the change of monarchs which occurred on 22 August 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth is often considered to mark the end of the period, Richard III representing the old medieval world and the Tudors, a new royal house and a new historical period. Similar differences are now emerging in connection with the start of the period. Traditionally, the Middle Ages is said to begin when the West Roman Empire formally ceased to exist in 476. However, that date is not important in itself, since the West Roman Empire had been very weak for some time, while Roman culture was to survive at least in Italy for yet a few decades or more. Today, some date the beginning of the Middle Ages to the division and Christianization of the Roman Empire (4th century) while others, like Henri Pirenne see the period to the rise of Islam (7th century) as "late Classical". The Middle Ages are often subdivided into an early period (sometimes called the "Dark Ages", at least from the fifth to eighth centuries) of shifting polities, a relatively low level of economic activity and successful incursions by non-Christian peoples (Slavs, Arabs, Scandinavians, Magyars); a middle period (the High Middle Ages) of developed institutions of lordship and vassalage, castle-building and mounted warfare, and reviving urban and commercial life; and a later period of growing royal power, the rise of commercial interests and weakening customary ties of dependence, especially after the 14th-century plague.
Religion in the Middle Ages

- Holy Roman Empire
- The Crusades
- Pilgrimage
- Papacy
- Medieval Inquisition
- Heresy (for example, Arian; Cathar; John Wyclif)
- Alchemy
- Monastic orders
- Benedictines
- Carthusians
- Cistercians
- Mendicant friars
- Franciscans
- Dominicans
- Carmelites
- Augustinians
- Judaism
- Islam (Western Europe): Moors
- Islam (Eastern Europe): Sultanate of Rum & Ottoman Empire
See also

- Medieval art
- Medieval architecture
- Medieval climate optimum
- Medieval communes
- Medieval Chronological Timeline
- Medieval demography
- Middle Ages in film
- Medieval guilds
- Medieval hunting
- Medieval medicine
- Medieval music
- Medieval tournament
- Slave trade in the Middle Ages
- History of the Jews in the Middle Ages
Selected bibliography

- Monumenta Germaniae Historica
- Migne's Patrologiae
- Liber Pontificalis
- C. Warren Hollister and Judith M. Bennett, Medieval Europe, A Short History. McGraw-Hill, 2002.
- David Abulafia et al., The New Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge, 1995.
External links

- [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ Internet Medieval Sourcebook Project] Primary source archive of the Middle Ages. See also Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
- [http://www.the-orb.net/ The Online Reference Book of Medieval Studies] Academic peer reviewed articles. See also Online Reference Book of Medieval Studies.
- [http://the-orb.net/ The Labyrinth] Resources for Medieval Studies.
- [http://www.netserf.org/ NetSERF] The Internet Connection for Medieval Resources.
- [http://www.medievalmap.net Interactive Medieval Map] (Flash Plug-in Required.)
- [http://www.sca.org.au/cunnan/ Cunnan: A Wiki collecting information for re-enactors of the Middle Ages and Renaissance] with a heavy slant towards members of the SCA
- [http://www.shadowedrealm.com/ Shadowed Realm - Medieval Content and Discussion] Contains hundreds of glossary terms, a timeline, quotations, quizzes, a wiki, forums, and more.
- [http://www.medieval-castles.org Contains Medieval Castles and their history.] ja:中世 simple:Middle Ages

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and Empress of India from 1 January 1877 until her death. Her reign lasted more than sixty-three years, longer than that of any other British monarch. As well as being Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, she was also the first monarch to use the title Empress of India. The reign of Victoria was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. The Victorian Era was at the height of the Industrial Revolution, a period of significant social, economic, and technological change in the United Kingdom. Victoria was the last monarch of the House of Hanover; her successor belonged to the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Early life

Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent and Strathearn, was the fourth son of King George III. The Duke of Kent and Strathearn, like many other sons of George III, did not marry during his youth. The eldest son, the Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), did marry, but had only a daughter, Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales. When she died in 1817, the remaining unmarried sons of King George III scrambled to marry (the Prince Regent and the Duke of York were already married, but estranged from their wives) and father children to provide an heir for the king. At the age of fifty the Duke of Kent and Strathearn married Princess Viktoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the sister of Princess Charlotte's widower Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and widow of Karl, Prince of Leiningen. Victoria, the only child of the couple, was born in Kensington Palace, London on 24 May 1819. She was baptised in the Cupola Room of Kensington Palace on 24 June 1819 by Charles Manners-Sutton, Archbishop of Canterbury and her godparents were the Prince Regent, the Emperor Alexander I of Russia (in whose honour she received her first name), Queen Charlotte of Württemberg and the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Although christened Alexandrina Victoria, from birth she was formally styled Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Kent, but was called Drina within the family. Princess Victoria's father died of pneumonia eight months after she was born. Her grandfather, George III, died blind and insane less than a week later. Princess Victoria's uncle, the Prince of Wales, inherited the Crown, becoming King George IV. Though she occupied a high position in the line of succession, Victoria was taught only German, the first language of both her mother and her governess, during her early years. After reaching the age of three, however, she was schooled in English. She eventually learned to speak Italian, Greek, Latin, and French. Her educator was the Reverend George Davys and her governess was Louise Lehzen. When Princess Victoria of Kent was eleven years old, her uncle, King George IV, died childless, leaving the throne to his brother, the Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, who became King William IV. As the new king was childless, the young Princess Victoria became heiress-presumptive to the throne. Since the law at that time made no special provision for a child monarch, Victoria would have been eligible to govern the realm as would an adult. In order to prevent such a scenario, Parliament passed the Regency Act 1831, under which it was provided that Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent and Strathearn, would act as Regent during the queen's minority. Ignoring precedent, Parliament did not create a council to limit the powers of the Regent. Princess Victoria met her future husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, when she was sixteen years old. Prince Albert was Victoria's first cousin; his father was the brother of her mother. Princess Victoria's uncle, King William IV, disapproved of the match, but his objections failed to dissuade the couple. Many scholars have suggested that Prince Albert was not in love with young Victoria, and that he entered into a relationship with her in order to gain social status (he was a minor German prince) and out of a sense of duty (his family desired the match). Whatever Albert's original reasons for marrying Victoria may have been, theirs proved to be an extremely happy marriage.

Early reign

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha]] King William IV

Cremation

Reasons for choosing cremation

Religious reasons in Dharmic Faiths

Resurgence of cremation in the Christian world

The Roman Catholic Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

List of religions that permit cremation

List of religions that forbid cremation

Other personal reasons

Environmental reasons

Cost of cremation

Cremation process

Cremation furnace

Body container

Burning and ashes collection

The Pyre alternative

Negative recent history experiences with cremation

World War II

The Tri-State Crematory Incident

The Indian Ocean tsunamis

See also

External links

Combustion

Rapid combustion

Slower combustion

Complete combustion

Incomplete combustion

Chemical equation

Combustion phases

Combustion temperatures

See also

Hijra (India)

Other names for Hijras

Different kinds of hijras

Hijras and religion

Becoming a hijra

Making a living

History

Koothandavar festival

Miscellaneaous

See also

External links

References

Sikhism

History of Sikhism

The Gurus of Sikhism

The Ten Gurus of Sikhism

The Sri Guru Granth Sahib

Sikh religious philosophy

Primary beliefs and principles

Underlying values

Prohibited behavior

Technique and methods

Other observations

Observations

All welcomed

Followers of Sikhism

The Five Ks

Sikhs around the world

Sikhs and Punjabis

The Khalsa

See also

External links

Kirtan links

Sikh Communities Around the World

ChristianIty

Middle Ages

The Early Middle Ages

A new order

A Carolingian renaissance

The High Middle Ages

The Crusades

Technology

The Late Middle Ages (circa 1300-1500)

Historiography

Middle Ages in history

Medieval and Middle Ages

"Middle Age"

"Medieval"

Periodization issues