Analogs of the Christian Bible’s Epic of Noah’s Ark

In London, England in 2014, Dr. Irving Finkel, one of, if not the worlds most foremost authoritive upon cuneiform writing, published a book entitled “The Ark Before Noah” which states that a 3700 year old Sumerian tablet translated by Finkel depicts the Christian biblical story of Noah and the flood which drowned the world. This tablet is at the very least 1000 years older than that of the Biblical epic. In the Christina Bible, Noah is warned of a cataclysmic flood by God. A similar story exists in ancient Indian Vedic texts in which King Manu was forewarned by Lord Vishnu in the form a fish, of a great flood impending, with Manu constructing a large boat and ultimately surviving. In the Babylonian poem the Epic of Gilgamesh, the protagonist Utnapishtim (pronounced “ut-nah-pish-tim”) is advised of an impending flood by the god Enki (pronounced “en-kee”). In ancient Aztec culture, a sacred male and female couple hide within a hollow tree with corn while holding steady as the deluge of a great flood envelops the Earth. Ancient Celtic, Norse, and Chinese mythology also account similar stories in which a great flood occurs and only some survive. The common denominator between all of these stories is intervention by a force which knew ahead of time of the impending cataclysm

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s Racist Remarks

Winston Churchill once said, “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion”. This is of course not true in the slightest, and was a marked example of prejudice and racism. Up to 3,000,000 (3 million) people starved to death while British officials begged Churchill to direct food supplies into India as Churchill bluntly refused. Churchill raged that it was the Indian populations own fault for “breeding like rabbits”. Churchill was known for being blunt, once stating that the “bubonic plague was merrily culling the population”

The Role of Dabbawalas Within Indian Society

Indian railways are unique in that they have what are referred to as “dabbawalas” which means “lunch box men” in Hindi as the term “dabba” means “box” or in this case “lunch box” in Hindi and the term “wala” means “man” in Hindi. These dabbawalas deliver food which has been cooked by the loved ones of the people who are eating it (e.g. spouse who cooks food while their significant other commutes to work. The first spouse has that food delivered to second spouse so that it is hot and ready to eat after having started the work day). This system works extraordinarily well as holding a bag while traveling upon any Indian train is nearly impossible due to the volume of people who use the railway each day. There are 5000 dabbawalas in Mumbai, India and this collective makes an astounding 200,000 deliveries per day, equating to each member of the group making an average of 40 deliveries each. Each dabbawala carries approximately 145 lbs. of food daily. The system is actually quiet elegant as some members pick up food, some members commute on trains with food, some members travel by bike or other vehicle with food, and all members typically share responsibility in that they trade meals if they run across a partner who is traveling the direction in which they need to go. This helps boost efficiency and allows for more income to be generated than if these individuals decided to work solo. Food is often marked with specialized code words so that dabbawalas know where something came from and where it is intended to be. Food is typically prepared by a clients wife, mother, or sister, but as India is changing and more women enter the workforce, shifts in who fills which role are beginning to emerge. Those who do not have a significant other at home who is available to cook for them will often have food prepared by restaurants or hotels and delivered via dabbawala. It typically costs 550 Indian Rupees ($7.75) per month which is affordable and within reach for most Indian citizens as even lower income members of society like dabbawalas earn 13,700 Indian Rupees ($192.00) per month. This system continues to flourish even as India moves into the 21st century with modern fast food and traditional restaurant establishments available to most people, as the cost is generally lower than eating out and the quality of the food is virtually always healthier. This is one of many reasons as to why leaders within this sector of business believe that the continued vitality of the industry will continue to last into the foreseeable future

The Origin of Kung Fu

The origin of Kung Fu started with Bodhidharma (pronounced “bo-dee-dar-ma”), an Indian monk who arrived in Shaolin, China during the 5th century. Bodhidharma meditated for 9 years in a cave at the top of Mount Songshan, next to the Shaolin monk monastery. After becoming enlightened, Bodhidharma descended back down to the monastery to teach his fellow monks what he had learned and encouraged physical activity through calisthenics as a way of training the body and mind. It is a 5 kilometer trek of stairs from the bottom to the top of Mount Songshan and Shaolin monks use this staircase as part of their physical and mental training, going up and down the stairs in various movements (e.g. walking, crouching, laying down etc.)