Hi,
Day before yesterday I gave a GRE practise test -on the excellent software of GRE-Bible (available for Rs 895/- on www.grebible.com )
I got only 75% marks --it gave me an analysis of my performance too : it confirmed my fears that I was weak in reading and comprehending analyticall essays (perhaps because most articles are news reports oe story novels -which though helpful for TOEFL -just perplexed me in the GRE test -such long essays and so little time).
I decided to go thru such articles which analyse some theories and give their own interpretation -which I did today.
By-the-way in myyesterday's test I scored 760 out of 800 in the verbal (English) section --I still have to improve my data interpretation skills -overall I got 90% yesterday.
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Yesterday ,after completing "Rim of the desert -by Ernest Haycox --U S Armed forces edition -a western novel ---I was forced to admit that Bihar was no comparison to theWild West of USA --exccept perhaps in the brutality and lawlessness and the tough landowners (ranchmen) ----WildWest had people full ofspunk, ready to move on over thenext hill and see what lies beyond it. If someone harassed a woman -it was the most serious offence --a man could be strung for that -or someone (anyone) would "take him out". Very different from Bihar where rapes and women's kidnappings are the norm.
The caste struggle of landless Dalits and landed uppercastes in Bihar -mirrored the fight between the non-violent homesteaders of Silver Flats and Grat DePard -the most powerful cattleman of Prarie Town -in the book.
So perhaps the Marxists of Indian are righter than theChristian Evangelists in labelling the Dalit vs Upper caste wrestling as a "class struggle" rather than a caste struggle (as popularly held)
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Today Isearched thru the school library (Diwali hols have started) --leaving the major storybook section aside -I looked thru the more serious section --and saw 2 copies of Mein Kamph -my strugggle-(byAdolf Hitler),Jaico Books-- prominently displayed --one was new --so perhaps someone is seriously interested in our school in Hitler!
He was the most controversial person and his book could perhaps give me some practise for GRE --besides some info on Aryan (i was intregued about the German connection of Vedas -after reading about Odan (German Deatth God "Odin") in Atharva Veda -and the German surname Ohm -which rhymes with the Om or Aum --the Hindu equivalent of Amen (of Christians) and Aameen (of Muslims) -------perhaps they all are from the same source.
I did not get any specific info about Aryans origin -except that they were "perhaps" nomads. But I did learn a lot about Hitler's love for Christian propaganda techniques and why he -a son of a civil servant in Austrian Kingdom -- detested Socialism -who were against the Kingdom and his father.
Socialism was highly successful in Russia by then --after the Russian revolution ( of 1917 ??) -which was also anti God (read anti Christians for majority of Europeans) .& This all he blamed on a fellow German - Karl Marx --"The JEW" as Hitler calls him in this book . (I never knew Karl Marx was a Jew!! --that explains everything )
From this book -I now list some excerpts -if u don't mind -he eulogises the Evangelists and fears the Socialists (which he felt were brain washed by The JEW -Karl Marx --never mind that Karl was an agnostic)
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1. chapter XII (of the first volume -called A Retrospect)
"The greatness of Christianity did not arise from the attempts to make compromises with those Philosophical opinions ofthe ancient world which had some resemblance to its own doctrine, but in the unrelenting and fanatical proclamation ans defence of its own teaching"
2. chapter II (of the second volume - called The National Socialist Movement)
"They (TheChurch) talk about spirit , but they allow man, as embodiment of the Spirit, to degenerate to the proletarian level. Then they look on with amazement when they realise how small is the influence of the Christian Faith in their own country and how depraved and ungodly is this riff-raff which is physically degenerate and therefore morally degenerate also. To balance this state of affairs they try to convert the Hottentots and the Zulus and the Kaffirs and to bestow on them the blessings of the Church. Whileour Eiropean people, Godbe praised and thanked, are left to become the victimes of moral depravity, the pious missionary goes out to Central Africa (and now Asia) and establishes missionary stations for negroes.
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From my point of view --his diagnosis of evangelists -mentioned above seems okay --but his cure was worse than the disease
Perhaps Pope John Paul II -dislikes communists andnon believers as much as Hitler did -thats why his major thrust in the 80s and 90s was to reconvert the East European former communist countries to Christianity -and is showing the evangelists tactics and attitudes now in Asia -(remember what he said in India -on Diwali day- about all non Christian faiths --which he said were only partly correct --only that part of them was correct which was similar to Christian beliefs) --and coompare with Hitler's points mentioned above.
When the same Pope creates a big hue and cry after Mother Teresa is dead --I smell intrigue.
I ask u where was he when she was attending to the lepers -- I hear their is a great deal of politicking as to who will succeed him shortly --so perhaps all the time Teresa was servingg --he was trying to get into the Pope's Chair.
In India Saintly people and film stars are invited to parties etc -- so that their sheen may rub off on the hosts too --perhaps in the same vein the Vatican has now decided to 'honor" Mother TTeresa . Ihear he isin a desparate hurry to do so .
The Church took 500 years to declare Joan of Arc -a Saint ---long after it had burned her at stake as a heretic. (I saw a hollywood movie onher too!)
So why the hurry.
Perhaps her greatness would reflected on the evangelists in India --and they would "shine in reflected glory" .
Mahatma Gandhi did equally noble work - no world honors for him, neither for Martin Luther King Jr or Kiran Bedi (India's socially oriented female police officer)
Perhaps perhaps perhaps.
U decide and tell me ur view.
Umesh
PS --I took about and hour to write this --GRE will give me only 15 minutes --I must improve!! --though perhaps the topics wwould not be so complex
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