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The Hindu Un-Manifesto

A manifesto typically puts out the the main points of belief of an organization or a movement. What this un-manifesto aims to do is to call out the things that Hindus do NOT believe in. Why is this relevant? Hinduism is a vast tree that has evolved over the millennia and it is embedded into every aspect - from education, arts, crafts, medicine, and statecraft. It is difficult to have a single book encompass the vastness of this. So rather than saying what Hinduism IS might be easier to say what it is NOT.

European Travelog D4E2: The Labyrinths of the Louvre

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The Louvre is justifiably the most hyped museum in the world. It's got stuff, it's got history and it has an impeccable building to show off. Of course, many parts of the collection owe their origin to the Napoleonic looting of art that happened in the late 18th century, just as most of the British Museum in London was populated with loot from their colonies. The Louvre itself started life as a fortress in the 11th century, was transformed into a palace, and after the Revolution became a national museum. The numbers are staggering. It has close to half a million objects of which less than a tenth are displayed in over 750,000 square feet and it is estimated at at 30 seconds per object for 8 hours per day, it would take 36 days to view the entire collection.  Our first sight is the La Pyramide Inversée - the inverted pyramid. Appearing to float tantalizingly above the ground, it's the same size as the famous Pyramid outside the Louvre. Designed by I M Pei, its modernity and ...