Attempts to Save a People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Attempts to Save a People - Essay Example One of the problems with the advanced way in which human beings think is that great ideologies and mythologies about life can be envisioned. This means that there are great waves of innovation that sweep through political systems, scientific communities, and communities of those who wish to find something to believe in so that they can better understand their world. The problem comes when the thoughts of one people comes into contradiction with those of another. An assumption is made that the differences between two peoples means that one is right and one is wrong.  One of the problems with the advanced way in which human beings think is that great ideologies and mythologies about life can be envisioned. This means that there are great waves of innovation that sweep through political systems, scientific communities, and communities of those who wish to find something to believe in so that they can better understand their world. The problem comes when the thoughts of one people come s into contradiction with those of another. An assumption is made that the differences between two peoples means that one is right and one is wrong.   In particular, the rise of Western culture has created a definition of what is ‘civilized’, thus creating a great number of cultures outside of this definition for whom groups of people in the West have endeavored to find a way to ‘save’ them from the ‘backward’ nature of their culture. In addition, Christianity has been considered by many members of the religion to be the only way of life, thus furthering the interference that the West has made into indigenous populations.   Therefore, the attempts that the European settlers have made to interfere with the Native American populations created great changes that devastated those tribes. The nature of their culture was forever changed, through the introduction of disease, war, and vilification that took place during the great migrations of Euro peans into the Americas. Reforms that were attempted were too late and without effect as the tribes are now relegated to near extinction, their cultures almost completely lost, and their existence a mere fragment of their former rich heritage. The nature of the Native American in regard to his or her culture is to be lost within a world in which their culture and the rituals that defined that culture are now scattered. The Native American is an American, his or her existence defined by trying to fit the round peg of his ancestry into the square hole of the American landscape.   One of the concepts of anthropology is that one cannot study a culture without affecting it through the influence of one’s presence. The Native American tribes had more than the affect of someone looking at their culture.  

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse - Essay Example The novel can be interpreted from a Buddhist stand point- Siddharta is in pursuit of his innermost essence (Atman); it is made possible only when he denounces his ego, his own selfish identity (Self). When he has got rid of his selfish ego and is moved by universal love, he experiences eternal bliss, happiness and peace (Nirvana). The major theme of the novel is enlightenment. From the start of Siddharta’s journey he seeks salvation. He joints the Samanas (People who live a life of piety, self- denial, free of possessions and desires), visits Buddha, embraces his earthly desires, and finally communes with nature, all in an attempt to obtain Nirvana. His search for his inner life comes to an end finally; he comes to a complete self –realization. In the end, he grasps the wholeness of life, experiencing the sense of fulfillment and wisdom, which come with it. In short the novel is a classical work dealing with the meaning of life. Self-realization is the key word behind siddartha’s enlightenment and his whole life was a pursuit to listen to the voice within him and respond to it positively. As a child when he was living with his father he knew how to recognize the Atman within the depth of his being, undestructable, at one with the universe. Everybody gave him knowledge but he felt that the vessel was incomplete as his heart was not still, as his soul was not at peace. His knowledge couldn’t locate the self, the innermost. He wanted to press towards the Self, towards Atman, but nobody showed the way, nobody knew it- neither his father, nor the teachers and wise men nor the holy songs. His determination to seek Atman was so strong that he remarks: â€Å"One must find the source within one’s own self, one must possess it. Every thing else was seeking- a detour, error† (Siddharta, Page No.6). Unable to find an answer to his quest, Siddharta joins the