Do you Know ?

[Perfection]

Drinking water

• Never drink tap water.
  
  Bottled water is generally safe - check the seal is intact at purchase.
  Avoid ice.
  
  Avoid fresh juices - they may have been watered down.
  
  Boiling water is the most efficient way of purifying it.
  
  The best chemical purifier is iodine. It should not be used by pregnant women or those with thyroid problems.
  
  Water filters should also filter out viruses. Ensure your filter has a chemical barrier such as iodine and a small pore size, eg less than four microns.

[regev]

good to know! i didnt know that!

[Perfection]

For travel health advice on the net,

Centres of disease control and prevention www.cdc.gov

Health recommendations for every country www.mdtravelhealth.com

International travel and health - e book by WHO www.who.int/ith/

Other sites : www.travellingwell.com.au

Government Sites :

Australia : www.dfat.gov.au/travel/
Canada : www.travelhealth.gc.ca
US : www.cdc.gov/travel/

[kurosakirain]

now i know more about it, thx

[Mohammed_Adel]

thanks for the Information :)

[Perfection]

Jet lag & Motion sickness (Air travel) : Jet lag is common when crossing more than five time zones; it results in insomnia, fatigue, malaise or nausea. To aviod jet lag try drinking plenty of fluids (nonalcoholic) and eating light meals. Upon arrival seek exposure to natural sunlight and readjust your schedule (for meals, sleep etc) as soon as possible.

Antihistamines such as dimenhydrinate (Dramamine), promethazine (Phenergan) and meclizine (Antivert, Bonine) are usually the first choice for treating motion sickness. Their main side effect is drowsiness. An herbal alternative is ginger, which work like a charm for some people.

[Perfection]

Hinduism has no founder, central authority or hierarchy and isn't a proselytising religion. Essentially Hindus believe in Brahman, who is eternal, uncreated and infinite; everything that exists that emanates from Brahman and will ultimately return to it. The multitude of gods and goddesses are mererly manifestations.

Hindus believe that earthly life is cyclical; you are born again and again, the quality of these rebirths being dependent upon your karma (conduct or action) in preious lives. Living a righteous life and fulfilling your dharma will enhances your chandces of being born into a higher caste and better circumstances. Alternatively if enough bad karma has accumulated, rebirth may take animal form.But it is only as a human that you can gain sufficient self-knowledge to escape the cycle of reincarnation and
achieve moksha (liberation). The main gods of Hinduism are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - Trimurti.

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions of the world. Majority of Hindus live in India. Nepal is the only Hindu Kingdom. There are about 330 million deities in the Hindu pantheon.

[Perfection]

"We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made!"
Albert Einstein

"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!"
Mark Twain

"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked."
Mark Twain

[Perfection]

Buddhism

Buddhism : Buddhism arose in the 6 th century BC as a reaction against the strictures of Brahmanical Hinduism. The Buddha (Awakened one) is believed to have lived from about 563 to 483 BC. Formerly a prince (Siddartha Gautama), the Buddha, at the age of 29, embarked on a quest for emancipation from the world of suffering. He finally achieved 'nirvana' (the state of full awareness) at Bodhgaya (Bihar), aged 35. Critical of the caste system and the unthinking worship of gods, the Buddha urged his disciples to seek truth within their own experiences.

Buddha taught that existence is based on four noble truths - that life is rooted in suffering, that suffering is caused by craving worldly things, that one can find release from suffreing by eliminating craving, and that the way to eliminate the craving is by following the Noble eightfold path. This path consists of right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right awareness and right concentration. By successfully complying with these one can attain 'nirvana'.

Buddhism had almost vanished in much of India by the turn of the 20 th century. However, it saw a revival from the 1950s among intellectuals and Dalits, disillusioned with the caste system. The number of followers has been further increased with the influx of Tibetan refugees.

Gautama or Siddhartha (566-486 B.C), who later came to be known as the Buddha or 'The Enlightened One' was born into a wealthy Kshatriya family, in Lumbini, at the foothills of Nepal. He founded the religion of Buddhism after he attained true wisdom under a pipal tree at Bodhgaya. Buddha delivered his first public address at Sarnath Deer park in Benares, where he spoke of the four noble truths which are, (i) the world is full of suffering (ii) suffering is caused by desire (iii) suffering can be removed (iv) in order to remove suffering one has to overcome desire.

The main spiritual goal of Buddhism is to attain 'Nirvana', which means the spiritual liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Buddhism religion does not believe in the existence of god and questions the Hindu practice of elaborate ceremonies, image worship, suppression of women and the elevation of Brahmins. Its core lies in the philosophy that every one is equal and that nothing lasts forever and nothing happens by chance. The teachings of Buddha teachings were first compiled on the Pali script as the 'Tripitakas'. King Ashoka (250 B.C) was one of its chief believers and propagators. Buddhism is divided into 2 major sects - Huinayanas (travellers by a lesser vehicle) & Mahayanas (travellers by a greater vehicle). Huinayana Buddhism flourished in Sri Lanka, Burma and South East Asia, while Mahayana Buddhism flourished in India, China, Japan, Tibet & Central Asia. Buddha created monasteries for praying and preaching and till date the paintings of his life and stupas can be seen in the Ajanta & Ellora caves. Schools of Nalanda and Vikramshila in Bihar and Valashi in Gujarat were famous institutes of learning and Ashwaghosha and Nagarjuna were responsible for the spread of Buddhism after Buddha's death.

[Perfection]

Islam

Prophet Mohammed founded Islam. He was born in 570 A.D. at Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia) and got his first revelation of 'Allah' (God) in 610 A.D. All these revelations or visions are compiled in the 'Koran' - the Muslim holy book. Unlike Hinduism, Prophet Mohammed preached against idol worship and even today the Muslims believe that the search of God through images is a sin. Friday is the holy day for Muslims and the main mosque in each town is known as Jamma Masjid. The spiritual goal of each Muslim is to make the pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj) and to become a Hajji.

India saw numerous conversions to Islam during 1200 to 1707 A.D. (the era of Muslim domination), which were of two types - (i) those forced by foreign invaders and (ii) those that took place voluntarily by members of lower castes & other sections. The third category of Indian Muslims consists of foreigners who came here & settled down during invasions. The first clash between Hindus and Muslims came in the 12th century when Mahmud of Ghazni & Mohammed Ghori carried out a succession of raids. They constitute only 10% of the country's population and are India's largest minority community. The Hindus and Muslims were united until Independence when there was an unhappy division of the nation into India & Pakistan. The Hindu-Muslim interaction is bitter in some regions but their influences on each other has produced a culture, extraordinarily rich in music, architecture, literature and cuisine.