The Life of Ashoka The Great

In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and their exalted majestic and so on. They shone for a brief moment and as quickly disappeared. But Asoka shines and shines brightly and bright star even unto this day.

The Indian history highlights emperor of the maurya Dynasty Asoka as Samrat implying the emperor of emperors. He is known to have ruled from 269B.C. TO 232 B.C. and stretched his empire from the present day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east and as far to the south including Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Asoka was born to the Mauryan emperor Bindusara and his queen Dharma and was the grandson of Chandragupta maurya founder of the mauryan dynasty. Legend is associated with the emperor that his birth had been predicted by Buddha in the story of the gift of dust. In his childhood he was trained with the royal military knowledge which led him turn to a fearsome hunter and he in no time grew into an excellent warrior general added to his repute. His wicked nature and bad temperament summarized his early life as an emperor and earned him the title depicting Asoka the fierce.

His post coronation period followed the war which is believed to have changed his life upside down. The exact reason for the battle is unknown. However it is believed that one of the Asoka brothers took refuge at Kalinga and this engaged Asoka.

While the early part of Ashoka's reign was apparently quite bloodthirsty, he became a follower of the Buddha's teachings after his conquest of Kalinga on the east coast of India in the present-day states of Odessa and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. Kalinga was a state that prided itself on its sovereignty and democracy. With its monarchical parliamentary democracy it was quite an exception in ancient Bharata where there existed the concept of Rajdharma. Rajdharma means the duty of the rulers, which was intrinsically entwined with the concept of bravery and dharma. The Kalinga War happened eight years after his coronation. From his 13th inscription, we come to know that the battle was a massive one and caused the deaths of more than 100,000 soldiers and many civilians who rose up in defense; over 150,000 were deported. When he was walking through the grounds of Kalinga after his conquest, rejoicing in his victory(Success).

The mauryan dynasty lasted just fifty more years after his death. Ashoka is known to have left behind the first written language in India after the ancient harappan civilization. He died in 232 B.C. after doing a great idol of good kingdom and the world at large. To commemorate his rule and its implications the Indian government adopted the Ashoka chakra as its national symbol which can be seen will today on the national flag.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Giving it Away is Great By Mike Martin

Giving it Away Is Great

I guess I always knew that it really was better to give than to receive but recently I have been reminded yet again of the power of this simple action. When I published my second book, "The Walker on the Cape", my first full book of fiction I was a little fearful of what the reaction would be for this work in the great wide world. This was a stretch for me. I have been comfortably writing about work and workplaces for the last fifteen years and I had already published a self-help book on this topic which was generally well-received.

I had written a few short stories, mostly for myself that I shared with family and a couple of close friends but now I was out there in a genre, mystery and crime, that had many, many excellent writers, and just as many ardent critics. I feared that my work wouldn't be seen as worthy to share the same bookshelves as these other authors, and that readers would see me as a fraud or a charlatan. With the active support of my life partner and children I finally took the plunge, got a publisher and set my little paper boat off on its voyage.

Having been through the publishing process once I at least knew the ropes and where to submit my work to try and get attention but something inside of me suggested a different approach that trying to cajole a handful of influential editors and reviewers to recommend my book. I would still do that but in addition it came to me that I should give my book away. Not all of the copies, obviously, my family and I still had to eat, but to give away copies of "The Walker on the Cape" to a number of people without asking a lot in return.

So when my book came out I decided to purchase an extra 100 copies of my book at the discounted author's price and to give them away. 25 copies to the usual suspects of book reviewers and editors as usual, but the other 75 I decided to give to friends, family and even to some strangers. To this second 75 I asked only that they read the book. If they liked it they could tell me. If they really liked it they could buy another copy and give it as a gift to a friend.

The most interesting thing that happened next was the reaction of the "non-business" people who received the book. My family were of course grateful to receive the book without a lot of conditions and pleadings to buy as many copies as possible. My friends, some of whom I had not seen in a long time were happy to receive the book and almost every single one contacted me to tell me that. Many of them immediately bought another copy and one person bought five so that he could repeat the magical experience with five others.

The hardest books to give away were the ones that I set aside to give people who I knew could not afford to buy them. Many did not want to admit this and I respect that. I was just trying to give a gift and perhaps they were not used to that in their day to day lives. I have decided to give the last few copies I have left to local libraries whom I'm hoping can make them available and free to more members of the public.

All in all this is and was a fabulous experience. Out of a small decision that I do not take credit for coming up with I have received smiles, thank you's, encouragement and love. No amount of money could have bought this and it came about just because I decided to give something away. It truly is better to give than to receive.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad