Bal Gangadhar Tilak Essay

Born in a well-cultured Brahim family on July 23, 1856 in Ratangari, Maharashtra, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a multifacet personality. He is considered to be the ‘Father of Indian Unrest’. He was a scholar of Indian history, Sanskrit, mathematics, astronomy and Hinduism. He had imbibed values, cultures and intelligence from his father Gangadhar Ramchandra Tilak who was a Sanskrit scholar and a famous teacher. At the age of 10, Bal Gangadhar went to Pune with his family as his father was transferred. In Pune, he was educated in an Anglo-Vernacular school. After some years he lost his mother and at the age of 16 his father too he got married to a 10-year-old girl named Satyabhama while he was studying in Matriculation. In 1877, Tilak completed his studies and continued with studying Law. With an aim to impart teachings about Indian culture and national ideals to India’s youth, Tilak along with Agarkar and Vishnushstry founded the ‘Deccan Education Society’. Soon after that Tilak started two weeklies, ‘Kesari’ and ‘Marathi’ to highlight plight of Indians. He also started the celebrations of Ganapati Festival and Shivaji Jayanti to bring people close together and join the nationalist movement against British. In fighting for people’s cause, twice he was sentenced to imprisonment. He launched Swadeshi Movenment and believed that ‘Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it’. This quote inspired millions of Indians to join the freedom struggle. With the goal of Swaraj, he also built ‘Home Rule League’. Tilak constantly traveled across the country to inspire and convince people to believe in Swaraj and fight for freedom. He was constantly fighting against injustice and one sad day on August 1, 1920, he died. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one of the prime architects of modern India and is still living in the hearts of millions of India. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a man of an indomitable energy and a new vision, was born in Maharashtra in 1856, of the caste of Chitpavan Brahmins, who had ruled over Shivaji’s empire. He was born thirty-eight years after the final British conquest of Maratha power. He was a scholar of the first rank, educator, journalist and first among the leaders of new India. Tilak learned of the values of Bharatdharma as a child in his home at Ratnagiri. His father was an educator and he carefully tutored the boy in Sanskrit and Mathematics, and his mother helped to mould his firm character and to teach him the values of his classical heritage. From both parents he learned a healthy veneration for spiritual values, and he learned that he shared the history of the Marathas, that he was heir to a glorious martial tradition. His religious or spiritual orientation, the product of his family’s devoutness, was apparent in his later writings, as when he wrote, ‘The greatest virtue of man is to be filled with wonder and devotion by anything in the animate and inanimate creation that suggests inherent divinity.1 He also made continuous reference to the great Shivaji and the history of his Maratha people, the fiery tradition of their independence, their war against the Mogul Empire to restore Swaraj and to save the Dharma. The Maratha people had not forgotten that they had been free, that Swaraj had been their birth-right. From his childhood, he inherited a vision of a new India arising, firmly based on the spirit and traditions of her civilization and her past. Tilak had an English education, but he was far less denationalised than most students of his generation, for he specialized in Mathematics and Sanskrit, and, if anything, his education brought him closer to the sources of his heritage. When he studied law, he concentrated on classical Indian Law, reading nearly all the great books of law and legal commentaries in Sanskrit. His study of Sanskrit was a life-long occupation and he was recognised as one of India’s leading Sanskrit scholars. Relying upon his knowledge of this ancient language and his mathematical training, he wrote Orion, Studies in the Antiquity of the Vedas, in which he explored the thesis that the Rig Veda was composed as early as 4500 B. C., basing his evidence on astronomical calculations from the Sanskrit texts. This work  gained him recognition in the Western world for his scholarship in Oriental studies. His second great book was again on the Vedas, The Arctic Home of the Vedas, in which, relying upon astronomical and geological data, he argued that the Aryans probably originally lived in the far northern reaches of the Asiatic continent. This book is credited as being one of the most original and unusual works in Sanskrit scholarship. The Vedic Chronology was a posthumously published volume of his notes and further researches. His greatest work was the Gita-Rahasya, a philosophical inquiry into the secret of the teaching of the Gita, the holiest book of Aryadharma. In this volume he reinterpreted the Gita in its classical sense, restoring the proper emphasis to the philosophy of action, Karma-Yoga, and his is considered one of the outstanding studies of the Gita in modern Indian literature. The Gita-Rahasya assured Tilak’s place among the greatest of India’s scholars and philosophers. His classical studies enabled him to recapture the spirit of India’s classical philosophy of life. In his heart of hearts he always remained a humble student of India’s greatness. Even after he had become the foremost political leader of India, he often said that he wished he could devote his life to teaching Mathematics, and pursuing his scholarly researches into the wisdom of India’s ancient civilization. Soon after the completion of his university education, Tilak embarked upon his mission in life. As he was deeply interested in education and public service from his young age, he resolved to dedicate his life to the cause of reorientation of Indian education and drastic social and political reforms. In these ventures he was joined by his best friends, G. G. Agarkar and Chiplunkar. All of them wanted, as N. C. Kelkar has written, ‘the nation to know itself and its past glories, so that it may have†¦.confidence in its own strength, and capacity to adapt itself wisely and well to the new surroundings, without losing its individuality’. 2 Hence, Tilak, assisted by his friends, started the New English School in 1880. The institution was such an immediate success that they founded the Deccan Education Society in Poona, and the next year started the famous Fergusson College. Simultaneously, they began editing and publishing two newspapers, the Kesari, a Marathi-language Weekly, and The Mahratta, its English-language counterpart. All these young men dedicated themselves, their lives and their  fortunes to popular education through their schools and through their newspapers. But soon a sharp difference arose between Tilak and his friends over the question of social reform. As a result, Tilak could not remain for long associated with the Deccan Education Society, and he, ultimately parted with his co-workers. It was finally decided at the end of 1890 that Tilak should purchase the Kesari and The Mahratta and devote himself to journalism, while Agarkar and other social workers would have a free hand in the Deccan Education Society. As an editor, Tilak was unsurpassed. The Kesari and The Mahratta, under his guidance, were always tremendously influential and came to be financially successful. His sincerity and unflinching sense of dedication led him to champion the causes of his people against any and all who would be unjust, autocratic or opportunistic. As editor of the Kesari, Tilak became the awakener of India, the Lion of Maharashtra, the most influential Indian newspaper editor of his day. It was as editor that Tilak began his three great battles–against the Westernizing social reformers, against the inert spirit of orthodoxy, and against the British Raj. It was as editor that he became a leader of the new forces in the Indian National Congress and the Indian nation. Tilak’s first reaction was to the Western civilization’s system of values. He rejected the ideology of those intellectuals who based their programme of social and political action almost entirely on the philosophy of life of nineteenth century Europe. These intellectuals were truly more the products of Western civilization than Indian. Tilak, unlike them, was not prepared to reject India’s own philosophy of life in order to imitate the philosophy of the British. He recognised that the social order in India needed a drastic reform, but instead of judging Indian social practices by the standards of the West, he interpreted them and looked for their reform from Indian standards. Aurobindo Ghose exemplified this new approach in writing, ‘Change of forms there may and will be, but the novel formation must be a new self-expression, a self-creation developed from within; it must be  characteristic of the spirit and not servilely borrowed from the embodiments of an alien nature’. 3 Tilak knew that there must be change, but also he knew that a philosophy must guide the remaking of India, and that the crucial question for India’s future was whether that guide, that philosophy, would be Western or Indian in inspiration, He wrote, ‘It is difficult to see the way in darkness without light or in a thick jungle without a guide’. And he rejected the rationalism and scepticism of Western philosophy, when he remarked that ‘mere common sense without faith in religion is of no avail in searching for the truth’. In the era of the religious and philosophical renaissance of Bharatdharma, Tilak sought the guidance of India’s own philosophy. Undoubtedly, his initial motive was not to rediscover a theory of social and political action but rather to find a satisfying personal philosophy of life. In his private life, he attempted to rediscover and reapply the Indian philosophy of life. And his achievements in private and public life gave h im a basis for building up a new theory of political action, obligation and ordering. His first task was to look behind the atrophied forms of religious orthodoxy and custom, to find the values that had built the Indian civilization. Tilak recognised that ‘the edifice of Hindu religion was not based on a fragile ground like custom. Had it been so, it would have been levelled to the ground very long ago. It has lasted so long because it is founded on everlasting Truth, and eternal and pure doctrines relating to the Supreme Being’. 4 This truth was not recognised by the Westernized intellectuals, in their obsession with the remaking of India according to their own image. But, on the contrary, Tilak started with a faith in the spiritual purpose of human life, which the ancient Indian philosophy taught. And he regarded spiritual good as the basis of social good. He wrote: ‘The structure of faith collapses with and the collapse of faith in the existence of the soul. The doctrine of soul-lessness removed the need for faith. But when faith thus ceased to be an organic force binding society together, society was bound to be disrupted and individuals living in a community were sure to find their own different paths to happiness. The ties which bind society in one harmonious organization would be snapped, and no other binding principle would take their place. Moral ties would loosen, and people would fall from  good moral standards.5 His personal life was based on this ‘structure of faith’ and the moral purposefulness provided by this foundation remained with him throughout his life. No creed that doubted the existence of the soul or the spiritual purpose of human life could inspire Tilak or his people; thus the rediscovery of faith as the ‘organic binding force’ was the first principle in his emerging philosophy. From the idea of spiritual rediscovery Tilak, like Aurobindo Ghose and others, developed a personal philosophy of life, firmly based on the knowledge that ‘the individual and the Supreme Soul are one’, and that the ‘ultimate goal of the soul is liberation’. He explored the wisdom of the Real and the relative worlds, the meaning of creation, and the moral working out of the cosmic evolution towards liberation. From this foundation he understood the purpose of life, to live in accord with dharma, the integrating principle of the cosmic order. As Aurobindo Ghose wrote of the Indian philosophy of life, ‘The idea of dharma is, next to the idea of the Infinite, its major chord; dharma, next to spirit, is its foundation of life’. 6 Once these principles were accepted, Western rationalism and scepticism, materialism and utilitarianism could hold little appeal. It was from this basic understanding that he began his criticism of the Westernizers who would destroy this wisdom and these values. It taught them to love and respect, not the forms of atrophied orthodoxy, but rather the spirit of the total Indian philosophy, the way of life and wisdom of life of the Indian civilization. India’s civilization and her history provided Tilak the new insight for his theory of social and political action. He felt that there was no reason for India to feel ashamed of her civilization when campared with the West. On the contrary, India should feel great pride. Indian values were different from but not inferior to Western values. The Westernized intellectuals, who abhorred India’s value system and who wanted to change and remake India in an alien faith, were quite wrong, for as Tilak reminded them, ‘How can a man be proud of the greatness of his own nation if he feels no pride in his own religion?’ It was Bharatdharma that provided an understanding of the moral purposefulness of the universe, which is the necessary basis of a philosophy  of life, and it provided them with a guide to concrete action in personal, social and political matters. It was with this perspective and this inspiration that Tilak and other genuine nationalists began their battles for the creation of a new India. Relying on a realistic appraisal of the world as Tilak found it, he set about not to remake India in the image of an alien system of values, but to recreate India on the foundations of her own greatness. From an Indian philosophy of life he began to construct an Indian philosophy of social reform and of politics that was to become the political theory of the Indian Independence Movement. Tilak believed in Aryadharma, but he was never a blind follower of orthodoxy. He did not ignore the obvious evils of the atrophied social system which were repellent to the social reformers and instigated them to take action. But he became the foremost of those in India who opposed the extremist measures of these social reformers. But the very fact that he was educated and that he refrained from joining the reformers indicted him as a defender of orthodoxy in the eyes of the extremists. He was condemned by the extremists as a reactionary, as the spokesman for backwardness. Nothing could be farther from the truth. He earnestly hoped to see of the evils of the Indian social system removed, the entire system reformed, and to this end he brought forward his own concrete proposals for improving social conditions. He was a staunch advocate of progress. At the same time, he relentlessly fought against the grandiose schemes of the Westernizing reformers. Instead of schemes he wanted concrete programmes for the he alleviation of real and pressing needs of the people. His reform work was direct, as in the case of the famine relief programme, the textile workers’ assistance, the plague prevention work. Tilak was not an arm-chair reformer; he was a worker with and for the people. His objection to the social reformism of men like Mr. Justice Ranade and his disciple, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Professor Bhandarkar, Byramji Malbari, Agarkar and the others, was two fold. First, without a full appreciation of the values that had been preserved and transmitted by the social system,  these men were willing to discard virtually everything, to remake India almost totally in the image of the West, and to base Indian social forms on the values they had learned from their Western education. To Tilak, it was folly, it was criminal, to banish everything created by India’s civilization because Indian values and Indian religion did not coincide with the nineteenth century European notions of materialism, rationalism and utilitarianism. He knew their obsession was contrary to common sense and good practice. He once wrote: ‘†¦.a number of our educated men began to accept uncritically the materialistic doctrines of the Westerners. Thus we have the pathetic situa tion of the new generation making on their minds a carbon copy of the gross materialism of the West’. 7 And he went on to remind the social reformers that ‘our present downfall is due not to Hindu religion but to the fact that we have absolutely forsaken religion.’ Second, since the reformers could not inspire mass popular support for their imitative social reform programme, they sought to enforce reform through administrative fiat, to rely upon the coercive power of the state, the alien state of the British rule, to effect social change. From Tilak’s viewpoint, to remake India in the image of the West would mean to destroy her greatness; and to use the force of an alien rule to impose any kind of reform would be to make that reform itself immoral. Reforms, to Tilak’s mind, must grow from within the people. Since he accepted this proposition as true, it logically followed that attempts to coerce the community to accept them were absurd. Reform, according to him, would have to be based upon the value system of the people and not on the values taught to the Westernized few in an alien system of education. The answer lay, he believed, in popular education which must be initiated with an understanding of the classical values and must proceed to recreate the vitality of those values in the forms of social order. Since the classical values were thoroughly intermixed with popular religion, he believed that ‘religious education will first and foremost engage our attention.’ In this way a new spirit will be born in India. India need not copy from some other civilization when the can rely on the spirit of her past greatness. As D. V. Athalye has written ‘The difference was this, that while Ranade was  prepared, if convenient, to coquette with religious sanction to social order, Tilak insisted that there should be no divorce between the two’. 8 proceeded to take action in accordance with his conviction. Because he wanted genuine reform and not simple imitation of Western life and manners, and because he believed that such reform must come from the people themselves and not from a foreign government, Tilak was led to advocate two causes which were to become his life’s work. First, he fought to reawaken India to her past and to base her future greatness on her past glories. Second, knowing well that real progress can only be made by a self-governing people, knowing that moral progress can only be made through moral and democratic decisions, knowing, therefore, that Swaraj or self-rule was the prerequisite of real social, political, economic, cultural and spiritual progress, Tilak began to think in terms of the restoration of Swaraj. The social reformers were prepared to criticise almost everything Indian, to imitate the West in the name of improvement, and to rely upon the power of a foreign government to bring about this improvement. They were convinced that only by social reform would they earn political reform; that, therefore, social reform must precede political reform. Tilak argued just the contrary way, that political reform must precede social reform; for it is only popular self-government that is moral government, that it is only moral government that can create moral social change; and, therefore, self-rule is necessary, and the first object which must be pursued is the awakening of the people to their heritage of self-rule. Tilak’s approach being more realistic and founded on solid moral values, he could perceive more clearly the root causes of the Indian social evils than did his social reform opponents. He felt that it was not simply the forms and practices of Indian society which had to be changed if meaningful social reforms were to be brought about. He sensed that abusive social practices were the direct outgrowth of the ‘spirit of orthodoxy’ which filled the forms of social order and inertly resisted change. This spirit had resulted from a thousand years of instability, defeat, foreign overlordship, defensiveness and inflexibility. Therefore, effective reform, Tilak believed, must ultimately depend upon a reawakening of the true, vital,  life-affirming spirit of the Indian people and civilization. Instead of criticising social form as the great evil, he began his battle with the atrophied spirit of orthodoxy while still engaged in his battle with the Westernized reformers. He wrote: ‘†¦..just as old and orthodox opinions (and their holders the Pandits etc.,) are one-sided, so the new English educated reformers’ are also and dogmatic. The old Sastries and Pandits do not know the new circumstances whereas the newly educated class of reformers are ignorant of the traditions and the traditional philosophy of Hinduism. Therefore, a proper knowledge of the old traditions and philosophies must be imparted to the newly educated classes, and the Pandits and Sastries must be given information about the newly changed and changing circumstances.’ 9 His battle was not characterized by abhorrence for the old spirit because he understood it and the role it had played. The spirit was locked up in forms, rituals, and customs, that had become virtually dead things. The orthodox spirit had served its purpose because it has transmitted classical values to a new generation who could understand them and bring about the necessary rebirth and reapplication of those values. The degraded aspects of the spirit of orthodoxy were lethargy, indolence, exclusiveness and inaction. They had fed on disunity and divisiveness, born of defensiveness and rigidity, and from this had arisen casteism in all its worst manifestations, defeatism and fatalism, the loss of the ideal of harmonious social cooperation, of courage and of self-respect–in a word, the dynamics of the classical philosophy of life had been perverted into negation and passivity. This spirit, Tilak believed, was harmful to India’s progress, and it was with this spirit that he did battle. Atrophied orthodoxy had no religious justification. Its spirit was in part the perversion and negation of the world and of the classical concept of the fulfilment of the purpose of life, the union of man with his Creator. But Tilak also realized that mere philosophical disputation was not enough for the re-awakening of India, and it required change in the hearts of people and not, as the reformers believed, change in the forms of institutions. As an editor who had always dedicated himself to popular  education, he first reached the people. As his chief colleague, N. C. Kelkar, wrote, ‘Through his paper, the Kesari, he exercised an immense influence over the masses, and it is this influence that is mainly responsible for the infusion of a new spirit among the people’. 10 He was a sincere, forceful speaker, and he taught from both the classroom and the public platform his new message of awakening India. Perhaps, the most effective way in which he reached the people was through the celebration of national festivals. He was instrumental in popularizing two great festivals, one to Ganapati, the Hindu deity of learning and propitiousness, and the other, a festival to revive the memory and glo ry of Shivaji, the liberator of Maharashtra, and the restorer of Swaraj through his fight with the Mogul Empire. He especially emphasised the dynamic spirit of Shivaji. He wrote, ‘It is the spirit which actuated Shivaji in his doings that is held forth as the proper ideal to be kept constantly in the view of the rising generation’. To keep this spirit in constant view, Tilak worked ceaselessly to reach the people and to educate them through the festivals. Throughout Maharashtra, he carried his doctrine, he waged his battle. Education through religion and history, through the association in the popular mind with gods and heroes, through recreating an appreciation of the heritage of the past as a guide to the future–this was the way he conducted his battle. He soon became the first articulate spokesman for the no-longer silent, tradition-directed, masses of India. He became the defender and the awakener of India’s philosophy of life. He taught first the dharma of action. This philosophy of action he drew from the Gita. He reminded the people that India had not become a great nation through negativism and indolence, but rather through a dynamic willingness to meet the problems of the day and to solve them morally. This was the greatest need of the present day. He often said such things as, ‘No one can expect Providence to protect one who sits with folded arms and throws his burden on others. God does not help the indolent. You must be doing all that you can to lift yourself up, and then only you may rely on the Almighty to help you’. 11 Along with the dharma of action, Tilak taught the dharma of unity to the  people of India. The unity of India, the unity of the Indian civilization, is Bharatdharma, the spiritually-based and spiritually-dedicated way of life. The spirit of orthodoxy had done injustice to that way of life. It had compartmentalised society, it had placed men in segregated and exclusive caste communities that were inimical to the feeling of common heritage and common cause. The true spirit of Varnashrama-dharma was harmony and cooperation and unity, and this spirit Tilak sought to reawaken through religious education. He wrote, ‘It is possible to unite the followers of Hinduism by the revival and growth of the Hindu religion’, for ‘the Hindu religion does not lie in caste, eating and drinking’. The Ganapati and Shivaji festivals served the purpose of bringing people together. People who worship a common deity, people who recognise a common historical tradition will, in his mind, be able to stand together, to overcome the disunity of social form and to work together for the common good. Tilak envisaged a unity of all the people of India, united among themselves and united with their traditions, united to face the future by the common ideals they held. In this way, through common, united effort, social evils could be corrected by the people themselves, and, moreover, the spirit of national revival, the restoration of national self-respect, essential for gaining self-rule, depended upon the restoration of national unity and mutual respect. Thus through his messages of action and unity and as editor of the Kesari and The Mahratta, Tilak became the acknowledged ‘awakener of India’. As editor of his newspapers, he also became active in political affairs. After he left the Deccan Education Society in 1889, he joined the Indian National Congress, hoping that it would be instrumental in further uniting the nation and in securing political reforms. He held a post in the Congress as early as 1892, as secretary of the Bombay Provincial Conference. At the same time, he actively participated in public affairs, holding public office on several occasions. In 1894, he was elected a Fellow of the Bombay University, and next year he held a post in the Poona Municipality. For two years he was a member of the Bombay Legislative Council, but, he called the completely circumscribed powers and the work of this body a ‘huge joke’. He did not  seek public office because he desired a political or governmental career but rather because it was one means, among several, which he chose to utilize to further the causes in which he strongly believed. But he soon realized that holding public office was one of the least effective ways of promoting his ends, and, more important, he Soon realized public office under the alien raj was self-defeating. About this time he also began to become disillusioned with the programme and policies of the Moderate-dominated Congress. His fighting spirit was antagonised by the predominant Congress attitude of pleading for reform and passing mild resolutions of protest against the abuses of the administration. The Congress was not coming to grips with the real problems of the people. In 1896, he publicly announced his disagreement with the policies of the Congress in writing, ‘For the last twelve years we have been shouting hoarse, desiring that the government should hear us. But our shouting has no more affected the government than the sound of a gnat. Our rulers disbelieve our statements, or profess to do so. Let us now try to force our grievances into their ears by strong constitutional means. We must give the best political education possible to the ignorant villagers. We must meet them on terms of equality, teach them their rights and show how to fight constitutionally. Then only will the government realize that to despise the Congress is to despise the Indian Nation. Then only will the efforts of the Congress leaders be crowned with success. Such a work will require a large body of able and single-minded workers, to whom politics would not mean some holiday recreation but an every-day duty to be performed with the strictest regularity and utmost capacity.’ 12 As he had relied on democratic social action through religious education, Tilak now relied on political education to rally the people behind the cause of political reform. He, therefore, began, through the pages of the Kesari and through an organisation of volunteer famine relief workers, to inform the poverty stricken peasants of their legal rights. He urged the people to protest against govern ­mental inaction. He sent out volunteers to collect detailed informa ­tion on the devastation in rural areas which he then forwarded to the government to support his case. He printed and distributed a leaflet explaining the provisions of the Famine Relief Code to the people  and urged them to take their case to the government. His efforts informed and aroused the people and alienated the bure ­aucracy. On the heels of the famine Poona was stricken by an epidemic of plague. The city was in a panic. Tragically, many of the educated, many of the leading social reformers, fled the city; T ilak did not. He offered his services to the government and went through the plague infested districts of the city with the Government Sanitation Teams. He opened and managed a hospital for plague victims when government facilities proved inadequate. He established a free kitchen, and did everything within his power to alleviate the tragic condition of the people. If social reform meant anything, it meant tireless work on behalf of the people in the time of their greatest need. His famine and plague work marked Tilak as the greatest social reformer and national hero of the country. He was acclaimed the Lokmanya, the honoured and respected of the people. The British bureaucracy and the Anglo-Indian press recognised that Tilak was an emerging leader of the people and of a new spirit in India. Those who lacked foresight began to fear him. When, in the tense atmosphere of famine and plague-racked Poona, a young man assassinated Rand, the British official in charge of plague relief, many of those who feared him were quick to blame Tilak for the death, although he had no knowledge of the incident. Nevertheless, he was convicted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. This was not to be Tilak’s last imprisonment. For two decades he was persecuted by the British Indian Government because they saw in him the greatest challenge to their rule over the Indian Empire. But Tilak was not an ordinary man who could be cowed down by such threats and persecutions. He remained undaunted throughout. He had fought against injustice, he had argued against the placating policies of the Moderates, and he now began to put forward a positive political programme centred round the concept of Swaraj, self-rule for India. As early as 1895, he had begun to preach the necessity for Swaraj. He came to realize that self-rule must precede meaningful social reform, that the only enduring basis for national unity and national self-respect must be national self-rule, In 1895, he had reminded the people that Shivaji had recreated Swaraj as the necessary  foundation of social and political freedom and progress and morality. His historical and philosophic frame of reference is clearly set out in his writing, ‘One who is a wee bit introduced to history knows what is Swarajya (people’s own government) and Swadharma (people’s own religion), knows the extraordinary qualities that are needed for the founder to establish Swarajya and Swadharma when both of them are in a state of ruin for hundreds of years, knows the valour, courage, guts and brains of Shivaji Maharaj by the dint of which he saved the whole nation from bitter ruin’. 13 His insistence on Swaraj was completely consistent with his personal, social and political philosophy. He approached all issues as a realist. He had the example of his own Maharashtrian history and the categorical imperative of his nation’s philosophy. As Aurobindo Ghose has written, ‘To found the greatness of the future on the greatness of the past, to infuse Indian politics with Indian religious fervour and spirituality, are the indispensable conditions for a great and powerful political awakening in India. Others, writers, thinkers, spiritual leaders, had seen this truth. Mr. Tilak was the first to bring it into the actual field of practical politics’.14 Tilak examined the political problems of his day in the light of ‘the God-given Inspiration’ of India’s civilization. And with the urgency of the situation arising out of the partition of Bengal and the need for an effective programme of political action, he joined the group of the Nationalists and presented a programme and a line of action to the nation. The Nationalists initiated mass political education in terms understandable to the people. Tilak sounded the keynote in saying, ‘To spread our dharma in our people is one of the aspects of the national form of our religion’, because, in his opinion, ‘Politics cannot be separated from religion’. Exactly the same opinion was expressed later on by Mahatma Gandhi. The reason for political education and political action was not merely the injustice of foreign rule, not merely the arbitrary partitioning of Bengal. Self-rule was a moral necessity, the achievement of self-rule was the dharma of all self-respecting men. As he later wrote in the Gita-rahasya, ‘The  blessed Lord had to show the importance and the necessity of performing at all costs the duties enjoined by one’s dharma while life lasts’. And, for Tilak and the Nationalists, ‘Swaraj is our dharma’. Political action would alone accomplish the national dharma. In order that India solve her own destiny, the first essential, as in the case of the awakening of India, was the call for action, for a new spirit of courage and self-sacrifice. Only a pride in history and the values of India’s own civilization could inspire men to the task ahead. Tilak movingly wrote, ‘To succeed in any business with full self-control and determination, does not generally happen in spite of our valour, unless a firm conviction is engendered in our minds, that we are doing good work and God is helping us and that the religious instinct and the blessings of the saints are at our back’.15 It was with this firm conviction that Tilak and the Nationalists set out to arouse the nation to political action for the creation of its own destiny. Tilak and the Nationalists presented the nation with a three-fold programme for effective, practical, political action. The three principles were boycott, Swadeshi and national education. Originally, they were designed for use in Bengal, as the most effective way to bring the British administrators to their senses over the issue of the partition. But it was soon decided, however, that the entire nation could well cooperate with Bengal in following this threefold programme and thus increase tremendously the pressure on the British. And it was further taught that the great wrong, the significant evil, was not alone that an alien raj had partitioned the province of Bengal, but actually that Bengal was only a symbol, that an alien raj ruled autocratically over the whole nation of India, and that it was to alleviate this wrong that the programme was to be employed. Boycott initially involved the refusal of the people to purchase British-manufactured goods. It was started as a measure designed to bring economic pressure on the British business interests both in India and abroad. If British business could be moved, then the business could be counted on to move the British raj. But soon the boycott movement took on far more significant aspects than merely economic pressure. The Nationalists saw that the whole superstructure of the British Indian administration, that  the British system of rule over India, was based upon the willing, or at least unthinking, cooperation of the Indian people. Tilak was one of the first to discern this, and he realized that boycott could be expanded to the point of jeopardizing the foundation of the whole British administrative machinery in India. In a speech at Poona, as early as 1902, he urged, ‘You must realize that you are a great factor in the power with which the administration in India is conducted. You are yourselves the useful lubricants which enable the gigantic machinery to work so smoothly. Though downtrodden and neglected, you must be conscious of your power of making the administration impossible if you but choose to make it so. It is you who manage the railroad and the telegraph, it is you who make settlements and collect revenues, it is in fact you who do everything for the administration though in a subordinate capacity. You must consider whether you cannot turn your hand to better use for your nation than drudging on in this fashion. Boycott gradually moved from the economic into the political sphere; it moved from the arena of Bengal to all-India. Boycott as an all-India political weapon was the first principle of the programme of Tilak and the Nationalist leaders. Boycott fore-shadowed non-cooperation. Swadeshi initially began as a primary economic counterpart to the programme of economic boycott. Swadeshi meant self-help, to rely upon Indian-made goods rather than to patronize the retail outlets of the manufactured produce of Birmingham and Manchester. Beginning in Bengal, bonfires of European clothing lit the night sky, and the people turned to local Indian production of Swadeshi goods. Swadeshi was the first great impetus to industrial development in India. Local Indian production was given the stimulus for its natural growth. But like boycott, Swadeshi soon came to mean a great deal more than simple economic self-sufficiency. If there could be self-help in the economic sphere, then there most certainly could be self-help in all spheres of life. The dharma of action had taught self-respect and self-reliance, and Swadeshi extended self-reliance to self-help in all things. Swadeshi was a tangible way in which to demonstrate the new spirit, Tilak and the Nationalists had been teaching the people. The Swadeshi movement quickly became a movement of national regeneration. Swadeshi was a practical application of love of country. As Tilak said, ‘To recognise the land of the Aryans as mother-earth is the Swadeshi movement’. It was an economic, political and spiritual weapon. Swadeshi was Vande Mataram in action. The third element in the threefold programme for effective political action was national education. Tilak had long before realized that the Western education started by Lord Macaulay and pursued in all the Government-supported schools was ruinous to the future health and well-being of the nation. The younger generations were being educated away from not only their families and the great majority of the Indian people, but also away from the value system of India’s civilization. Government-supported Western education uprooted the youths from their ties to the past and made them Indians in name only. Hence such a system of Western education was repulsive to Tilak and the Nationalists. They pleaded for the establishment of national schools and colleges throughout the country to provide inexpensive and wholesome education emphasising the new spirit of self-help and self-reliance which young people could not expect to receive in the Government-supported institutions. And national education became an integral part of the nationalist programme for the India of the twentieth century. This threefold programme of boycott, Swadehsi and national education was presented to the country by Tilak and the Nationalists and was also presented to the Indian National Congress for its approval and adoption. The programme began primarily as an economic weapon but quickly its political importance was realized and became predominant. The impetus behind the programme was initially a reaction to the partitioning of Bengal, but it soon developed an all-India momentum. The first reason for its use was to induce the government to reunify Bengal, but it soon became a programme for national reawakening and national liberation–Swaraj. Thus, an economic programme became a political programme; a locally centred agitation became a national issue; the cause of altering a specific British policy evolved into the cause of gaining India’s self-determination. Swaraj became the reason and justification for the entire programme and movement led by Tilak and the Nationalists. Tilak realized that Swaraj, the goal of all efforts, was a moral national necessity. He held that the attainment of Swaraj would be a great victory for Indian nationalism. He gave to Indians the mantra: Swaraj is the birth-right of Indians (at the Lucknow Congress of 1916). He defined Swaraj as ‘people’s rule instead of that of bureaucracy’. This was the essence of Tilak’s argument with the social reformers when they sought to have the British Government legislate and enforce social reform measures. Tilak held that unless the people supported the reforms, in effect, unless the people exercised self-rule to legislate and enforce the reforms, the reforms were not only meaningless but also undemocratic and without moral significance. And for pushing his ideal of Swaraj forward, he started Home Rule Leagues in 1916 with the cooperation of Mrs. Annie Besant, which soon became so popular that the Government had to adopt severe repressive measures. But he went on undeterred with the propaganda of Home Rule throughout the country. He intended that a bill should be introduced in the British Parliament for Indian Home Rule, by the good offices of the Labour leaders, although he could not be successful in the attempt. However, the fact that Tilak began his Home Rule agitation in the year 1916 is an eloquent testimony to his keen perception of political realities. Tilak contemplated a federal type of political structure under Swaraj. He referred to the example of the American Congress and said that the Government of India should keep in its hands similar powers to exercise them through an impartial council. Although in his speeches and writings Tilak mostly stated that Swaraj did not imply the negation and severance of ultimate British sovereignty, we have every reason to believe that in his heart of hearts he always wanted complete independence. He once said that ‘there could be no such thing as partial Swaraj’. Self-rule under Dharmarajya either existed fully or did not exist at all. Partial Swaraj was a contradiction in terms. Only the Westernized few who could not understand this could talk in such contradictory terms, could agree to settle for administrative reforms, could not see that ‘Swaraj is India’s birth-right’. Through Swaraj, the revolutionary change in the theory of government, and  through Swaraj; alone, could the destiny of India be fulfilled! This is Tilak’s real meaning when he wrote, ‘Swaraj is our dharma’. Before the people of the nation he set this goal. Next he set about to make it a political reality, to implement the programme to bring about the goal. For the correct implementation of his programme, Tilak urged the method of non-violent passive resistance. Here it must be made clear that many foreign critics regard Tilak as a revolutionary. Chirol, 16 John S. Hoyland17, and several others, think that Tilak believed in armed revolution, that he was responsible for many political murders and that his speeches and articles contained â€Å"a covert threat of mutiny.† But it is not true. Undoubtedly, he supported the action of Shivaji in killing Afzal Khan. He appreciated the daring and skill of Chafekar, as also the patriotic fervour of the Bengal revolutionaries. But, as a moralist he put the highest premium on the purification of intentions. The external action could never be regarded as the criterion of moral worth. Hence if Arjuna or Shivaji or any other ardent patriot did commit or would commit some violent action, being impelled by higher altruistic motives, Tilak would not condemn such persons. But in spite of his metaph ysical defence of altruistic violence, Tilak never preached political murder; nor did he ever incite anybody to commit murder as a political means. A realist in politics though he was, he never taught the omnicompetence of force as Machiavelli or Treitschke did. His realism taught him to act in the political universe in such a way, that his opponents could not take advantage of him. Only by passive resistance and democratic means, he taught, could the united action of the people prove powerful enough to bring about the non-violent revolution that was Swaraj. Boycott and Swadeshi were, in effect, the precursors of the later non-cooperation movement. The passive resistance taught by him and the Nationalists was the precursor to non-violent civil disobedience. Tilak clearly foresaw that violence would be wasteful, and that it would ultimately be ineffectual. Being a realist, he recognised that ‘the military strength of the Government is enormous and a single machinegun showering hundreds of bullets per minute will quite suffice for our largest public meetings’.18 Action must be direct, but, realistically appraising the power of the Government, he urged that it be passive as well. He continually  taught, ‘As our fight is going to be constitutional and legal, our death also must, as of necessity, be constitutional and legal. We have not to use any violence’. 19 Thus Tilak’s method of action was democratic and constitutional. He had stirred the popular imagination and taught the people the necessity for united action. He had constructed a practical programme for the achievement of his political objective. He had defined for all time the purpose of the Indian movement for self-rule–Swaraj–and he had begun to develop the techniques that would be used in the popular movement to realize that goal effectively. Tilak left a monumental legacy to the independence movement. Gandhiji and those who came after Tilak could build upon the work and the victories which he had won. In his battles against orthodoxy, lethargy and bureaucracy he was largely successful. The independence movement, largely through his work, had been victorious, over stagnation, the spirit of orthodoxy that was negative, that compartmentalised rather than unified, and that could not rise to accept the challenges of the twentieth century. Tilak freed the nation from lethargy and stagnation, and in awakening the people, inspired them with a promise of awakening India, an India united, strong and capable of action, self-reliant and on the road to victory. 1 Kesari, june 1, 1897. 2 N. C. Kelkar, Pleasures and Privileges of the Pen, BK. I, p. 121. 3 A. Ghose, The Foundations of Indian Culture, pp. 8–9. 4 S. V. Bapat (ed.), Gleanings from Tilak’s Writings and Speeches, p. 346. 5 Kesari, Spt. 19, 1905. 6 A. Ghose, The foundations of Indian Culture, p 63. 7 Kesari, September 19,1905. 8 D. V. Athalye, The Life of Lokamanya Tilak, p. 54. 9 Kesari, Jan 21, 1904. 10 N. C. Kelkar, Landmarks in Lokamanya Life, p. 10. 11 B. G. Tilak, His Writings and Speeches, p. 277. 12 Kesari, January 12, 1896. 13 Kesari, July 2, 1895. 14 A. Ghose, in Introductory Appreciation to Bal Gangadhar Tilak, His Writings and Speeches, p. 7. 15 Gleanings from Tilak’s Writings and Speeches, p. 121. 16 V. Chirol, India, pp. 121-22. 17 John S. Hoyland, Gokhale, pp. 24-25. 18 B. G. Tilak, His Writings and Speeches, p. 64 and 69. 19 Ibid., p. 229-30. Back Independence Day Speech in English | Essay A very happy Independence day to my honorable Chief Guest, my respectable teachers & parents and all my lovely brothers and sisters. As You all Know Today we have gathered here for celebrating the 68th Independence day of our country. The day when India got freedom against the British Rule after so many years of struggle. On this day we pay tribute to our great freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sarojini Naidu and many others who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of our country. It is on this day in 1947 that Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru addressed the constituent assembly at the Parliament, delivering his famed, eloquent speech, Tryst with Destiny announcing India’s freedom at midnight. This announcement brought about a rise in spirits all over the country, for India was finally realizing a dream to be a free nation, free from oppression and domination under the British rule. It was a historic day as India finally shook off the shack les of British Rule and became free. It was a night of celebration all over the country. This year in 2014, India will complete 67 years of Independence from the colonial Rule and will celebrate it’s 68th Independence day. This day is started with Flag Hoisting ceremonies, Parades and whole day different types of cultural programs & events are organized in India in schools, colleges and offices. The President and PM of India give ‘messages to the country’ . After hoisti the National Flag at the Red fort, the PM give a speech on some past achievements, some moral issues of present time and calls for the  further developments. The PM also salutes and remember to the oblation of the legender patriots of our country in his speech. Despite these the people of India celebrate this day through display the flag at shop, accessories, Car/bicycle and they also watching patriot movies and listening patriot songs and many other things. Every Indians ‘s important duty is that to give full respect the Independence day & National Flag and also understand the importance of this day. But in this modern age, the peoples are enjoying their life as much that they are not giving so importance of this day. We request to that people that at list one time remember to our legender patriot on this day. In this present time in our country there increases a lots of evils issues like Terrorism, Corruption, Women oppression etc All these evils really destroy our culture very badly. We shoul all take pledge to make our country safe and worth living for each and every individual of the society. So, I request all of you to sing with me national anthem ‘Jan-Gan-Man†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ . Vande Mataram. Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Thank you everyone & JAI HIND. – See more at: http://www.happyindependenceday2014x.com/2014/07/Independence-Day-Speech.html#sthash.K4Di3xtF.dpuf SPEECH FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY 13/8/2014 A very happy Independence day to my honorable Chief Guest, Head Mistress and my respectable teachers & parents and all my lovely brothers and sisters As You all Know Today we have gathered here for celebrating the 68th Independence day of our country. The day when India got freedom against the British Rule after so many years of struggle. On this day we pay tribute to our great freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sarojini Naidu and many others who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of our country. Today I am going to tell you few words about Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a man of an spirited energy and a new vision, was born in Maharashtra in 1856. He is considered to be the ‘Father of Indian Unrest’  He was a scholar of Indian history, Sanskrit, mathematics, astronomy and Hinduism With an aim to impart teachings about Indian culture and national ideals to India’s youth, Tilak along with Agarkar and Vishnushstry founded the ‘Deccan Education Society’. Soon after that Tilak started two weeklies, ‘Kesari’ and ‘Marathi’ to highlight plight of Indians. He also started the celebrations of Ganapati Festival and Shivaji Jayanti to bring people close together and join the nationalist movement against British. In fighting for people’s cause, twice he was sentenced to imprisonment. He launched Swadeshi Movement and believed that ‘Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it’. This quote inspired millions of Indians to join the freedom struggle. With the goal of Swaraj, he also built ‘Home Rule League’. Tilak constantly traveled across the country to inspire and convince people to believe in Swaraj and fight for freedom. He was constantly fighting against injustice and one sad day on August 1, 1920, he died.

Principles of accounts Essay

1. Explain the concept of accounting; concept of â€Å"Accounting† and â€Å"Principles of Accounting† 2. State the purpose of accounting; Accounting as a business practice – the purpose of Accounting. 3. Identify the users of accounting information; Internal and external users Accounting information and their needs 4. Outline the distinguishing features of various types of business organizations; Types of business organizations: (i) Sole-Traders (ii) Partnerships (iii) Corporations (Limited Liability companies) (iv) Cooperatives (v) Non-Profit Organizations 5. Identify the main financial statements prepared by various business organizations; Financial Statements – Income statement, Trading and Profit & Loss A/C, Income and Expenditure A/C, Balance sheets, Cash Flow Statements. (Teachers are not expected to teach how to prepare the cash flow statements but it should be identified as one of the financial statements which must be prepared by corporations). 6. Describe the accounting cycle; The Accounting cycle with its diagrammatic representation. 7. Outline the concepts and conventions that guide the accounting process; Accounting concepts and conventions – principles which guide the accounting process: accrual and matching concept; prudence (conservation) concept; consistency concept; separate entity concept. 8. Assess the role and impact of technology on the accounting process; (a) accounting processes which could be readily preformed by the use of the computer, for example: payroll, stock control, debtors’ and creditors’ schedules. (b) What are the software currently being used in Accounting e.g. Peachtree, SimplyAccounting (c) Advantages and disadvantages of using the computer in accounting. CXC CSEC Principles of Accounts Exam Guide Section 1: Introduction to Principles of Accounts SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES The students should be able to: CONTENT 1. Explain the concept of accounting; concept of â€Å"Accounting† and â€Å"Principles of Accounting† 2. State the purpose of accounting; Accounting as a business practice – the purpose of Accounting. 3. Identify the users of accounting information; Internal and external users Accounting information and their needs 4. Outline the distinguishing features of various types of business organizations; Types of business organizations: (i) Sole-Traders (ii) Partnerships (iii) Corporations (Limited Liability companies) (iv) Cooperatives (v) Non-Profit Organizations 5. Identify the main financial statements prepared by various business organizations; Financial Statements – Income statement, Trading and Profit & Loss A/C, Income and Expenditure A/C, Balance sheets, Cash Flow Statements. (Teachers are not expected to teach how to prepare the cash flow statements but it should be identified as one of the financial statements which must be prepared by corporations). 6. Describe the accounting cycle; The Accounting cycle with its diagrammatic representation. 7. Outline the concepts and conventions that guide the accounting process; Accounting concepts and conventions – principles which guide the accounting process: accrual and matching concept; prudence (conservation) concept; consistency concept; separate entity concept. 8. Assess the role and impact of technology on the accounting process; (a) accounting processes which could be readily preformed by the use of the computer, for example: payroll, stock control, debtors’ and creditors’ schedules. (b) What are the software currently being used in Accounting e.g. Peachtree, SimplyAccounting (c) Advantages and disadvantages of using the computer in accounting.

Applebee’s International

Applebee’s International, Inc. is America’s largest casual dining restaurant chain in terms of size and sales, with positive net earnings for the past ten years. It is famed as â€Å"America’s Favorite Neighbor† by decorating its restaurants with local themes, such as local heroes, sports teams, and town history.It is based on a single-concept focus on the Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurants and has built strength by setting up outlets where big names in the food service industry have not yet been established. It popularizes the Applebee’s brand name by opening small-sized restaurants not far from one another.Aside from its dine-in program, it now has Carside To Go which allows customers to take out their orders. It has also improved its menu by teaming with Weight Watchers International and offering Weight Watchers selections. Under the leadership of Lloyd L. Hill, who became chief executive officer in 1998, the company has posted positive net e arnings, despite a fluctuating growth trend in total operating revenues in the past ten years.In the past, the company has faced legal entanglements that it had always dealt with promptly. It maintains close relationship with its franchisees and instills in its employees, the company’s core values embodied in the acronym BIG Fun TRIP (balance between work and home life, innovation, a guest-driven attitude, the ability to have fun, teamwork, a results-driven business approach, integrity and a passion for service).With over 1,800 restaurants nationwide and consistently good revenues, Applebee’s is considered an industry leader and it seeks to increase its size to 3,000 restaurants in the future.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Essay Example Elizabeth Stanton was born in 1815 in New York. She received the best education that was available during the time, in an academy but had regrets for not getting full- fledged college education. She got drawn to her husband to be who was a player in politics as well as reform, the world she was much more interested in. After marriage in the 1840, both had their honeymoon in London where they had to attend the antislavery convention of the world. It is in this convention where Mrs. Stanton met Lucretia Mott, who was a leading female abolitionist in America and they started studying the Anglo American women’s rights traditions. The efforts of Elizabeth Cady Stanton assisted in bringing about the 19th amendment eventual passing, which made it possible for every citizen to possess a voting right (A+E NETWORKS, 2015). In the year 1848, Elizabeth Stanton assisted in the organization of the world’s first rights convention of women, with her counterpart Susan Antony. Mott became reluctant but Mrs. Stanton persisted on inclusion of woman suffrage right in the in the convention’s resolutions. Cady Stanton came to meet the lady by the name Susan Antony in the year 185i, ad both of them created a long life partnership on the basis of their dedication to liberation of women.

Ethnic studies research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethnic studies - Research Paper Example When groups decided to change the schooling system for African – Americans, it took an entire group going to the school and pushing the children in the school for admittance. These types of actions began to change the mentality of those that were in the movement (Chong, 5). Comment: The African – American relationship to collective activism is one which was reflective of society and the changes which were being made at a grassroots level. It was the group initiatives that show the main changes made within society. Answer: The Mexican – American movement showed unified identity of Chicanos, but based the movement specifically on unifying working positions and moving outside of second class citizenship. Explain: Mexican – Americans were interested in gaining higher status and in showing that, while ethnicity may be different and diverse, they were also American with the culture that had been adapted. Support: The activism led to not only basic rights, but al so was linked to the class differences which were determined by race. The Mexican – Americans were typically migrants from a different country, which led to the inequality and lack of rights. Second class citizenship of Mexican – American citizens was the mentality, as opposed to the defined and sanctioned segregation of African – Americans. ... Comment: The concept of second class citizens unifying and using activism for change is the main point and shows how this relationship began to change the Civil Rights movement for Mexican – Americans. 2. Method: Answer: The methods of mobilization that were used to fulfill the Asian – American Civil Rights movements were inclusive of institutions first that led to a change in social stigma. Explain: Asian – Americans used resources in the community, such as schools, higher education, court systems and other valuable areas to show that they had the same capabilities as other Americans and were not recognized. Support: The Asian – Americans moved into institutions first to show their identity, such as schools, businesses and other areas. There was then a challenge within the community to show that all had the same potential within the community. After this, the society was able to accept the change with public opinions and moved into various applications to change policies that were based on second – class citizenship. The pressure from the community was created first from relating to the top resources in the country and changing policies as a result (Espiritu, 92). Comment: This resource shows that the concept of showing that Asian – Americans weren’t second – class citizens was done by showing that all were able to tap into and use the same resources while setting examples within society. Answer: The Native American movement used the approach of resources and unification of the tribes throughout America to gain rights that had before been taken away. Explain: Connecting to other tribes and initiating new components that were requested in the United States included changing the social status and connecting to the Civil Rights movement to show

Cruise line research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cruise line - Research Paper Example The Victoria Tourism is an enormous industry in the tourism of British Columbia, and it is worth to survey people who have chosen to come to Victoria. The research company will communicate with ten different Internet travel agencies in Europe and America who are willing to facilitate the research by allowing the company to access the contact information of the customers. These customers will be asked to participate by completing the survey via Skype or email. The questions on the survey will uncover the relevant reasons for their cruise ship vacation cancelation. This research survey will be conducted to bring a solution to the issue of the decreasing number of tourists who are cruising to Victoria, BC. According to Victoria News, there was a decrease in number of visitors from 481,733 passengers in 2013, to 465,065 in 2014 (Stewart,  2014). For this reason, the research will study the cruise ship industry and try to come up with the best ways to increase the number of visitors and implement a marketing strategy that would help the Victoria BC to regain and enlarge its customer base. The research will help to correct the problem of reduced numbers of tourists by surveying the real reasons behind the decline. In this way, the cruise ship companies will be able to correct their marketing efforts and planning immediately. The recommended methodology to conduct an effective survey is to have one-on-one Skype interviews with the 30 to 40 customers across European and American regions. Skype is a web conferencing tool that enables individuals to participate in a one-on-one interview; it facilitates an instant audio-video communication regardless of geographical location (Bembenutty, 2014). Good (Morning or afternoon), my name is Saud Bin Aqeel from Victoria Tourism. Your recent travel Agent gave us your contact information. Thank you for taking this time to participate

Old Spice verses Axe - Which is More Effective Research Paper

Old Spice verses Axe - Which is More Effective - Research Paper Example Some of the respondents answered that sexuality is natural and therefore it is alright to use axe for these experiences while other respondents felt annoyed that these aspects must not be used for commercial advertising. Axe incorporates much higher tendency of sexuality in its commercials while old spice keeps it moderate. Perhaps due to this reason, the effectiveness and popularity of old spice is way higher than axe till date. Brand Extension is defined as that marketing strategy of a company in which the company uses the same brand name for different products. An example of Dove can be taken in this regard. The company uses the same brand name that is ‘Dove’ for all its products which include bar soap, face wash, hand wash, body wash, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, moisturizers, hair color etc. The original brand name is Dove which is used for the entire product range of the company. Line Extension is that marketing strategy where the company uses the same brand name for launching new variants of the existing products. In this case, the company can introduce new flavors, colors, sizes, forms, packaging, added ingredients etc. An example of ‘Maggi’ can be taken in this case. The company uses the same brand name for all the new variants it launch be it noodles, soups, flavorings anything. Private Brand is those products which are produced, marketed, distributed and controlled by retailers. There is the famous example of Private Brand in U.K. the most popular examples are ASDA, Sainsbury, Tesco which produce, control and market products by their own names. There is a number of products produced and marketed by these famous stores.

Hierarchy and politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hierarchy and politics - Essay Example He is frustrated by his two daughters as a result of handing over power to them he says, â€Å"I would learn that; for by the marks of sovereignty, knowledge and reason, I should be false persuaded I had daughters† (I. 4, 755-756). In politics, hierarchy does not always provide the best alternative to leadership. The treatise written by James I, Basilikon Doran outline the true qualities of a leader. First, the king should keep track of his duties and responsibilities towards God, his roles and responsibilities while in office and lastly, he should have proper behavior regarding his day to day life (James I, 13). King Lear violates one of his roles as a king by dividing his kingdom to his three daughters other than giving it to the oldest son. â€Å"Tell me, my daughters, since now we will divest us both of rule, Interest of territory, cares of state†, (I. 1, 49-51). James I, also advised his son to be calm and watch his temper, â€Å"but I meane of that wise moderatio n, that first commaunding your selfe, shall as a Queene commaund all the affections and passions of your mind; and, as a Physician, wisely mixe all your actions according thereto† (James I, 28). The king should be slow to anger and wise in his judgment. King Lear does not apply this lesson before he dismisses his daughter Cordelia for her honesty. His daughter is open and she bluntly confesses that she loves him just as a daughter should love the father. â€Å"Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave My heart into my mouth. I love your Majesty According to my bond; no more nor less† (I. 1, 93-95). The king lets his anger control him and he disowns his honest daughter. He later makes a painful discovery that his two daughters whom he gave the kingdom were dishonest. The king violated the lesson regarding his day to day activities as a leader of the nation. Kings are expected to be in their modest behavior and are regarded as role models. They are the eye of the society; any act ivity done should be reasonable. â€Å"Remember therefore in all your actions, of the great account that yee are one daie to make: in all the daies of your life euer learning to die, and liuing euery day as it were your last† (James I, 37). The manner in which they eat, relate with their family and they sport they take. â€Å"Let me not stay a jot for dinner; go get it ready† (IV. 543). The king does not behave with authority and sanity when he decides to flee from his daughter’s house and run into the storm with his fool. It is inappropriate for the king to run away from leadership yet he is still regarded as the head of the family. He does not handle his daughters appropriately. According to James I, a king should be modest and behave in his best composure. He should rid himself off any circumstances that will destabilize his thinking in order to make clear judgment. He says,† be precise in effect, but social in shew: kythe [make known] more by your deed es then by your words the loue of vertue and hatred of vice: and delight more to bee godlie and vertuous in deede then to be thought and called so† (James I, 40). King Lear does not do this; he allows his madness to take the better part of him which makes him behave insanely. Cordelia finds out about his madness and seeks to help him. She says, â€Å"Alack, 'tis he! Why, he was met even now As mad asthe vex'd sea,

Legal Aspects of International finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Legal Aspects of International finance - Essay Example Stock is the type of equity security with which most people are familiar. When investors (savers) buy stock, they become owners of a "share" of a company's assets and earnings. In other words, the companies borrowed directly by issuing securities to investors in the capital markets. By contrast, indirect finance involves a financial intermediary between the borrower and the saver. Emerging market bonds is a Security markets in countries such as Mexico and Malaysia that are still developing their industrial base. Investments in emerging markets entail substantial risk with the potential for above-average returns. The direct or indirect benefits of international trade and finance come primarily from the enlargement of the market and the specialization and more efficient employment of productive resources, as well as technological advances. International transactions involve covenants agreed upon by different countries. The discussion of the paper is about the covenants involved. Debt covenants, also called banking covenants or financial covenants, are agreements between a company and its creditors that the company should operate within certain limits. Debt covenants are agreed as a condition of borrowing. They may be changed if debt is restructured.(www.moneyterms.co.uk). One of the importances of debt covenants is that it can impose heavy obligation. Companies are careful in dealing with the covenant; breach of a debt covenant allows creditors to demand immediate repayment. A breach of covenants usually leads to a renegotiation of the terms of debt. In order to prevent companies from meeting the requirements by adjusting their accounting practices rather than by genuinely maintaining the required level of financial health, debt covenants not only specify the numbers that should be met, but also exactly how they should be calculated for the purposes of the debt covenant. This means that if a company breaches, or is in danger of breaching its debt covenants, not only does this indicate that the company is not financially strong, but also that the problems are likely to become worse as lenders react. The following are reasons why covenants are important: (Noonan, 2005) 1. Covenant protect bondholders against a diminution in value of their investment through: Credit deterioration Loss of "equity cushion" Loss of control over assets Loss of seniority position 2. Covenants increase the chance of capital gains for bondholders because they force the company to Deleverage (or, more accurately, limit the company's ability to releverage) Reinvest earnings The typical restricted payments covenant requires the company to retain 50% of net income in the business and allows 50% to be dividended out to to stockholders 3. As a result, covenants lead to credit improvement which increases chance that bonds will trade above par High Yield Debt Covenant Optional Redemption - Most issues of tax-exempt bonds have "call protection" wherein the bonds may not be called (i.e. redeemed) by the issuer for a specified period after the date of issue. A typical call protection period on a 30 year bond is the first 10 years after the issue date. After the initial period, many tax exempt bonds contain optional redemption provisions which permit the issuer to call the bonds prior

Brief History of Istanbul Essay Example for Free

Brief History of Istanbul Essay Evidences obtained from archaeological remains indicate that people began to inhabit the proximities of contemporary Istanbul for approximately thousands of years ago. At about 5000 B. C. , a thick and sprawling population of individuals inhabited the fertile grounds of Istanbul. The Greek people all the way from Megara and Miletus started to rest upon the soils situated along the coasts of the Black Sea as well as the Bosporus back in the latter years of eight century B. C. The year 660 B. C. witnessed the colonization of Byzantium by Byzas, the founder of the colony whose origins trace to Megarian roots. As expected, the name of the colony was patterned after his name. Due to the strategic location of Byzantium, it easily gained dominance over the region in terms of economy which eventually led to the attention of numerous would-be conquerors. Along the path of the Golden Horn, Byzantium was founded which bestowed it with the most suitable harbour all-over the region. The agricultural prosperity of Byzantium can be largely attributed to the abundance of fish as well as the surrounding countryside which was fertile enough to support plants for agriculture. Next to Byzantium, a safe harbour was efficiently provided for by the inlet of the Golden Horn which was near Bosporus. This area was considered as a major maritime route back in those times as it linked the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea. Byzantium eventually found itself struggling amidst the powers trying to conquer and dominate over the city—Persians, Greeks, Spartans and Athenians all drew their swords and took away lives for the sake of taking the city under their control. Such was the major importance of Byzantium during those times where its prosperity was seemingly beyond imagination. Even the Gauls attacked the city during the third century and in 202 B. C. the city sought the help and protection from Rome after being taken over by Macedonians. Eventually, the city was absorbed as a vital part of the Roman empire back in 73 B. C. During 196 A. D. , the city was caught on the wrong side after the creation of a power struggle in the Roman empire. As economically powerful as Byzantium may seem, it was not able to respond and resist the struggle which eventually trickled down the capabilities of the cities as it paid dearly. A large number of the residents were murdered as well as a significant portion of Byzantium was obliterated through the leadership of the Roman emperor Septimus Severus. Apparently, the Rman emperor had to rebuild the entire city starting off with the ruins as the wake of the power struggle. In the process, Byzantium was able to manage itself and continue to progress amidst threats and occurrences of civil wars as well as rebellions which smothered all-over the Roman empire through the many years to follow. However, Constantine I routed his foe, emperor Licinius, on September 18, 324. Constantine I was able to unify the broad territory of the Roman empire and made it follow his leadership. The Roman empire eventually made Byzantium as the prime capital of the region which extended to as far as three continents. Byzantium eventually gained a new name—Constantinople—after being briefly known as the New Rome named in honor of Constantine who was the first Roman ruler to embrace the doctrines of Christianity. During its time, Constantinople gained much reputation and wealth making it one of the world’s most economically advanced cities. The city was almost untouchable in status, having the power to dictate the doctrines of the Christian religion and to amass huge amounts of wealth up until the eleventh century. As the meeting points between the East and the West became largely attributed to Constantinople, it was no surprise that all roads were now focused on the wealthy city of Constantine. In 395 A. D. the whole of the Roman Empire was divided into the West and the East especially after the death of Theodosius. The Eastern Roman Empire adopted Constantinople as its central city or capital which was later referred to as the Byzantine Empire as a reminder of its brilliant past. Through the course of time, Constantinople further advanced as the core of the Greek Orthodox Christian realm. With its immense financial resources, the wealth of the Byzantine Empire gave it the capacity to transform Constantinople as a beautiful city far beyond compare. The splendour and majesty of Constantinople is perhaps owed to the well-paid architects who designed majestic churches and splendid palaces as well as artists and sculptors also contributed a large fraction of the city’s aesthetic transformation. One notable structure ever to be erected is the hippodrome which could hold more than a hundred thousand spectators. Eventually, the walls of the city were further built into a seemingly impenetrable protective layer as threats of invasion from rivalling forces never dwindled. Almost half million citizens inhabited Constantinople under the rule of Emperor Justinian from 527 to 565 A.  D. The Emperor took full control of the creation of some of Constantinople’s most majestic buildings which include the Haghia Sophia, one of the largest churches during the height of the prosperity of Constantinople. The Byzantine empire’s capital reached its full blom under the helm of Emperor Justinian. Even though Constantinople continued to supplement its wealthy advancement with protective measures, enemies from the outside were inevitably attracted to the splendour of the city. A few years after, the city was devastated with a plague in 542 A. D. which claimed the lives of three of every five citizens. This, unfortunately, brought the beginning of the city’s fall. As the city weakened in terms of its population both in size and strength, the enemies of Constantinople took the opportunity to besiege the city. Apparently, the enemies were unable to successfully conquer the city as the walls of Constantinople proved impenetrable. Attacks on the city mounted between the seventh and eleventh century A. D. which include forces from Persian Sassanids, Bulgars, Avars, Russians, and Muslim Arabs. At the time of the Fourth Crusade, the Latins were able to break the walls of Constantinople and captured the capital of the Byzantine Empire in 1204 A.  D until 1261 less than a century of captivity when the Byzantine forces reclaimed the capital. At the height of captivity, however, Constantinople was greatly diminished in terms of wealth and infrastructure as the invading forces plundered precious jewels and any other item they deemed were of sufficient value. The entire population diminished to half a hundred thousand during that time, and the citizens suffered greatly from famine. In 1396, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople and built a fort on the Asian side of the Bosporus Sea in order to hinder aid from reaching the city. However, the capital would not fall for a few more years. On the 29th day of May, the Ottoman leader Mehmed was able to tear down the city walls and penetrate the city which ultimately signalled the fall of the era of Constantinople’s Christian church and the commencement of Muslim rule over the land. Apparently, the Muslims transformed the Haghia Sophia into a Muslim temple. In 1457, the capital of the Byzantine Empire was already known as Istanbul which later became the central point of the Ottoman Empire. Mehmed began to repopulate the city after the siege and within a few years time, Istanbul gained a considerable increase in population, roughly amounting to approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Ottoman Istanbul was able to achieve its peak during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent, and perhaps the most notable buildings ever to be erected during those times, roughly amounting to 300 buildings, were the creations of chief architect Sinan. These efforts to restructure Ottoman Istanbul were significant as it signalled the dawning of a new Istanbul, one which is uniquely Ottoman in identity. Throughout time, Ottoman Istanbul opened its doors to the outside world in order to obtain a harmonious relationship with the other cities and states. This resulted to the expansion of the city’s population, now having a mixture of different races such as Jews, Christians, Armenians and other citizens. Influence on Ottoman Istanbul rule was apparently being influenced by many different forces from these races. Eventually, Istanbul became influenced with the modernization of the world. Europeans began to build a railroad system which connects the whole continent with Istanbul by the 1870s. As a result, the Ottoman empire became placed under the debt of European powers. These would later result to power struggles from within the empire, complicated all the more by the struggling influences from the Europeans to whom they were indebted with. In consequence, these developments in the Ottoman empire especially in Istanbul uring the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries would signal the downfall of the Ottoman empire and would mark the commencement of the Turkish Republic. Today, Istanbul remains as a fervent reminder of how a city once so powerful became so absorbed into the desire for power which led to its own subjugation and diminishment of power in the following years.

Womens Rights in the 20th Century

Womens Rights in the 20th Century Throughout the history of the human race, women have been chastised, degraded and completely controlled by their male counterparts. Women have been oppressed and controlled without any room for retaliation. Whether it be an over-bearing father or an abusive husband, women had barely any say in what happened to them. They were housewives and child-bearers first and human beings second. Only during the 20th century did women make the most considerable progressions towards gender equality. Opportunities arose and women seized them, grasped for them; and used them to their full potential. Inter-related events throughout the 20th century allowed women to progress and they provided the necessary pushes towards gender equality. The women of the 20th century are responsible for the rise of gender equality in Canada The role of women in World war one (WW1), the Persons Case and the Famous five the first wave of feminism were important turning points in the beginning of the century as well as the roles of women in World War 2, their changing roles, and the actions of Agnes MacPhail which all lead to the second wave of feminism that instigated the alteration of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The beginning of the century was extremely important to the proclamation of gender Equality. It introduced Women as important figures in society and that they could make as much of a contribution to the world as men. Women participated in World War 1 and helped with the war effort; they combated womens rights on a legal scale for the first time via the Persons Case and sparked the first wave of feminism. Women sewed socks and attire for the men in the war and prevented them from suffering from diseases such as trench foot and they provided money for the war effort as well as took care of the children back at home; some women even worked in factories to make sure the economy was stable in Canada. In fact, by 1914, almost 20% of the workforce was female (Hundey and Margarry, 45). Almost 2400 nurses worked near the horrific battlefields in World War 1 and provided aid for the injured men (Santor, 36). These were important contributions because they gave women a base to fight with; they showed their capability and that they were not helpless individuals. This displayed that women could make just as much contributions to the world as men. Robert Bordens promise to allow women to vote after the war was important in starting the first wave of feminism because women could now vote. It allowed them to make a legitimate say in what occurred in the government by voting who becomes the leader of the government. In the beginning, it only permitted them to vote if they had husbands in the war or if they were participating in the war by being nurses. This eventually escalated to them being able to vote without complications which sparked the first wave of feminism. The first wave of feminism included the flapper movement which emancipated them from the bonds of traditional womanhood through the scandalous clothing and makeup (Hundey and Margarry, 118-119) also the previous events of World War 1 had more women going into the workforce. Women no longer had to have husbands to b e self-sustainable, independent women. Unfortunately, women did not earn as much as men and at the end of World War 1 were expected to step down from their jobs for men (Hundey and Margarry, 45). Regardless, some women proved that they were capable and even fought for womens rights more intensively. The first step into legal battles against gender equality was initiated by the famous five through the Persons Case. Famous women like Emily Murphy and Nellie Mclung petitioned and fought a legal battle to have women be considered as qualified persons recognizing their right to education and work, relinquishing them of their ambiguous person status (Historica). This was a vital step in setting up the stage for the Charter of Rights because it recognized women as legitimate members of society. Women tried hard to promote gender equality and it paid off. The efforts of the women in the beginning of the 20th century were the women who would be the initial instigators of the re-evaluation of the Charter of Rights and freedoms. At the start of World War 2 women had a chance to portray themselves as the useful and needed members they were of Canadian society. f They were not incapable second-class citizens. Women throughout the 1930s and World War 2(WW2) participated in World War 2, changed the role of women and portrayed their commitment to politics through Agnes MacPhail. Women played a pivotal role in World War 2 because the participated in directing planes in the RAF as well as cooking, cleaning and supporting the men in military bases, over 46,000 Canadian women were enrolled in military services (Hundey and Margarry, 221-222). On the home front, everyone relied on women to work and to take care of their children. Many women took care of the children back at home and worked in factories in order to provide munitions for the military, by 1944 1 million Canadian women were in the Canadian workforce (Hundey and Margarry, 221-222). Unfortunately, it seems like women made no advancement in the public mind be cause people still expected women to drop their jobs for men when they came back from the war but even so women kept fighting (Hundey and Margarry, 223). However, just like in WW1, it continued to give women a base to fight with. They used their participation to accentuate their contributions and once again to prove that they should not be enslaved to lives as housewives and child-bearers. By participating in WW2, women proved their worth once again and they had sewn the seeds for a new wave of feminism (Hundey and Margarry, 223). Women finally began to challenge their roles in society and began going into higher level careers as well as entering into politics, they had begun developing more community organizations and services for women (Hundey and Margarry, 223; Anderson). The Role of women was changing throughout World War 2 and they were slowly becoming accepted participants of the workforce. Although their wages were still minimal they were presenting themselves as a capable mi nority that was beginning to work in professions such as Medicine and Law. Agnes Macphail was the first female senator and the first woman with a political position in Canada. Although her term was short, she made contributions to feminist movements by constantly writing articles and performing at speeches (Hundey and Margarry, 129-130, Doris Anderson). Although she did not actively participate in womans suffrage she was good friends with suffragists like Nellie McLung and was a role model for women all throughout Canada (Anderson). By the mid 1940s, women were still fighting for gender equality; they did not forsake the efforts of the women who strived before them and instead built upon the efforts of those who had started the surge of gender equality. The second wave of feminism was an international surge of all women in the world that promoted gender equality. By the 1960s women were fed up with their conditions, they felt like they were treated as second class citizens because wages were going up, unemployment rates were going down, but women were still considered lesser to men (Bellamy, Liz, and Kate Moorse, 73) and therefore started the second wave of feminism or the Womens Liberation Movement (Hundey and Margarry, 277-278). Women finally had the resources to strongly campaign for gender equality: they had the media, television, radio as well as constantly increasing literacy and education rates for women (Bellamy, Liz, and Kate Moorse, 73). The second wave of feminism would be the final push needed to seal the deal with gender equality. In response, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women was created in order to recommend steps towards womens equality (Hundey and Margarry, 341) and was important because it gave a layout a s to how the Charter of Rights and freedoms would be altered in the upcoming years. The Royal Commission made sure that in the 1970s discriminatory employment on the basis of gender was illegal and it gave recommendations towards how gender equality would be achieved (Anderson). All of these events, in conjunction were crucial in battling the government to change the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. By the 1980s women were still frustrated because they were not considered equal, even though 45% of the workforce was female at this point, women only earned 72% of what men earned (Colyer et al. 32) it was evident that the RCAW was not helping and it was time for a change. It was a turning point in the century because the constitution was the highest law in Canada and no government was allowed to violate it to the point where a government that did could be struck down (Colyer et al., 377) and in 1982 the constitution was finally changed to include sex in the following passage Every indiv idual is equal before and under the law without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.(Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Section 15[1]). Women had finally achieved what they rightly deserved. Their intense lobbying managed to push the government to change the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which was considered the highest law in Canada, it was a pivotal moment for women but it could not have been achieved without the struggles prior to it. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms made sure that women had completely equal rights in all aspects and any violation of it could be challenged in court as an offense towards human rights. Women had succeeded in triumphing over the gender boundary that had kept them chained for millennia. They put a stop to the battle of the sexes and legally introduced gender equality through the Canadian charter of Rights and freedoms, the most vital document in the history of g ender equality. In conclusion, the women of the 20th century and their actions were indubitably the prime forces in the rise of gender equality. The 20th century was the turning point for how women would live their lives. It is sad to imagine that prior to the 20th century women were confined to being wives, child-bearers and basically objects for a mans desires. This has all changed thanks to the efforts of women through all the events that occurred. The role of women in World War 1, the first wave of feminism and the Persons Case as well as the role of women in World War 2, Agnes Macphail and the changing role of women were all events that set the playing field and boosted the status of women in society to have the required edge to begin the second wave of feminism that would lead to the Charter of Rights being changed once and for all. Through all of time women were oppressed, manipulated and used and it is only now that they finally get the opportunity to flourish and succeed in an equal and fai r country, Canada. Nonetheless, women had to work hard and fight for their right to be considered equal; Roseanne Barr once said that, The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power.ÂÂ   You just take it.

A Student Looks at Two Websites on Lasik Surgery (laser surgery) :: Sell Websites Buy Web Sites

A Student Looks at Two Websites on Lasik Surgery (laser surgery) Today there are so many choices in life and a person who wears glasses or contacts might decide to eliminate the need for such medical devices. Lasik (Laser assisted in situ keratomileusis), the most commonly performed type of laser surgery, is an effective treatment that can correct many vision problems by reshaping the cornea. Life without glasses or contact lenses would be easier and more enjoyable for any human being. But can a person’s vision get worse after the procedure? To be free from doubts and questions most people can turn to the Internet to search for needed information. The Internet is growing and is one of the most effective ways for businesses to advertise their products and services to customers. Everywhere one turns it is .com, .gov, .edu, .org, there are many choices. Web sites offer information on topics but they all have limits. Most Web pages on the Lasik topic are directed to the doctor’s office and there are thousands of these advertising sites. One site offers video information from doctors and other professionals. Another home page offers information and personal questions to ask the doctors. It’s very obvious that one Web page alone does not have enough information for the researcher. Two good sites that offer wonderful information on Lasik are www.fda.gov/cdrh/lasik/, www.lasikinstitute.org/. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration through the Department of Health and Human Services has a very informative page www.fda.gov/cdrh/lasik/. Many different links on this page can give a person easy ways to access and understand unbiased information. The first impression about this Web site is the co-ordinate between the title, the links, the graphics and the colors that are used. The title is big enough to get people’s attention and direct them to what they are looking for, not like some web sites which do not have well-balanced compositions. There are no bloated graphics on this site or scaling image problems. The text is not dense but well written with readable font size. The terms used are simple and professional with a provided glossary. An obvious distinction of this site from others is it seems to be very truthful when it shows all the risks that people could face after the surgery. Examples are losing vision, developing debilitating visual symptoms, and patients being under or over treated.

The Good Life in Epic Narratives :: Odyssey Iliad Essays

The Good Life in Epic Narratives Classic literature juxtaposes two ways of life that illustrate the poles of true happiness: a life of adventure, exemplified by Odysseus (The Odyssey), and the life at home, which poets and farmers represent. In The Iliad, Achilleus chooses to live a short, glorious life, even though he could have chosen to live a long life in anonymity. Arguments have been put forth that the life of adventure is a living hell, as Achilleus testifies from Hades after his death - in hindsight, he would have settled for the life of a slave and given up his glory, if only he could have lived longer. Alternately, the life of the (metaphorical) farmer has been despised as simple and ordinary, when true immortality is only attained with great accomplishments, such as sacking Troy or surviving heroic adventures which are then recorded. In a modern day autobiography of the 1996 ascent of Mt. Everest (Sagarmatha to the Nepalis, or â€Å"goddess of the sky†), Jon Krakauer reveals the human motivatio n behind adventure and tells the story of the men and women who lived and died on the expeditions to the summit during that spring (Into Thin Air). With epic literature and a recent epic, I will illuminate the values of a reflective life as well as the life of adventure, and delve into the necessary components of the ‘good life.’ The Choice of Achilleus I carry two sorts of destiny toward the day of my death. Either, if I stay here and fight beside the city of the Trojans, my return home is gone, but my glory shall be everlasting; but if I return home to the beloved land of my fathers, the excellence of my glory is gone, but there will be a long life left for me, and my end in death will not come to me quickly. -Achilleus (Iliad, IX.411) The decision of Achilleus is a crucial moment in understanding how fate works in epic (Homerian) literature. Thetis tells Achilleus of his opportunity to win renown as the greatest warrior of all time, earning glory through his fearless acts in battle against a foe who is sure to overcome the Achaians. The fate of ten years of attack on Troy hinge upon the decision of Achilleus, who is given the choice to win glory for the Achaians and, more importantly, himself.