What Is NRO ( Pakistan politics), Understanding NRO

Definition:

• The NRO ( National Reconciliation Ordinance) was an Ordinance issued by General Pervaiz Musharraf on 5th October 2007.

Overview:

 • It was an amnesty scheme for those politicians, political workers, and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, robbery, money laundering, terrorism, and murder between 1 January 1986 and October 12, 1999.

• The supreme court of Pakistan declared this Ordinance unconstitutional on 16 December 2009.


 • This supreme court declaration threw the country into a crisis.


 • The motto of the ordinance was, to allow Benazir Bhutto ( the once prime minister of Pakistan) to return to Pakistan from exile without any legal consequence due to some pending politically motivated corruption cases.


 • The ordinance was suspended by the former Chief Justice, Saad Bashir on 12 October 2007, but he was dismissed by Musharraf. The new Chief Justice, Abdul Hameed Dogar revived it again on 27th February 2008.


 • A list of the beneficiaries of NRO was released in 2009, consisting of 8041 names of bureaucrats and some politicians.

 • On 16 December 2009, the supreme court declared NRO unconstitutional. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry headed the bench.

Short Summary Of “ Forty Rules Of Love” Brief summary of "Forty Rules of Love" by Elif Shafak

Elif Shafak is a Turkish feminist writer, born in Strasbourg, France in 1971. She is an award winning writer, and her books are translated in more than twenty languages. She has been living in different cities including Ankara, Michigan, Berlin, Boston, Amman and especially Istanbul, with whom she has a special affinity. In this regard she has written a novel, “The Bastards of Istanbul”.

 

Themes of her novels are chiefly, feminism, mysticism and love. She has been interested in mystic beliefs in Islam. Shafak's first novel, Pinhan (The Mystic) was awarded the "Rumi Prize" in 1998, which is given to the best work in mystical literature in Turkey. Her second novel, ŞehrinAynaları (Mirrors of the City), brings together Jewish and Islamic mysticism against a historical setting in the seventeenth century. Shafak's recent novel, The Forty Rules of Love, focused on Love of East and West, past and present, spiritual and mundane, all in the light of the spiritual harmony between Mowlana Rumi and Shams Tabriz. This novel is a reflection of her interest with Sufism (shafak).

“THE FORTY RULES OF LOVE” is a novel based on the spiritual friendship of a great Islamic scholar and Sufi poet, Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi and a wandering dervish Shams of Tabriz. Elif Shafak has used a second narrative technique. The novel has two plots; the main plot revolves around the story of an unhappy married woman, Ella Rubinstein cheated by her husband. She gets a job as a reader for a literary agency.  Her first assignment is to read Sweet Blasphemy, a novel by an unknown author Aziz Z. Zahara. The Sweet Blasphemy; a story of the friendship of Rumi and Shams Tabriz serves as a second narrative and subplot of the novel.

THE FORTY RULES OF LOVE deals with the theme of feminism and Sufism or mysticism. Main or primary plot reveals the feminist elements of the novel set in the recent era, while the second narrative of sweet blasphemy focuses on the Sufism in the 13^th century; the protagonist of the second narrative, Shams Tabraiz is a wandering dervish, who meets with a great Islamic scholar, Jalaluddin Rumi and invert the course of his life. In the first narrative,  as Ella Rubinstein struggles with growing dissatisfaction with her home life, Zahara’s novel opens up a new world where love takes center stage in the search for the truth and oneness with God. Intrigued, Ella locates Zahara’s blog and begins corresponding with him, an exchange that grows into an unexpected love.

The peculiarity of the novel is the forty rules of love designed by Shams Tabriz. Elif Shafaq has created the different situations to speak the rules of love one by one through characters. Most of the rules are told by Shams Tabriz or some other character becomes the mouthpiece of wandering dervish. These rules are the pearls of wisdom which describe the Sufi philosophy of love, oneness, and revelation of inner-self. As stated in the following rules:

Ø  How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blames welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we. Likewise

Ø  Loneliness and solitude are two different things. When you are lonely, it is easy to delude yourself into believing that you are on the right path. Solitude is better for us, as it means being alone without feeling lonely. But eventually, it is best to find a person who will be your mirror. Remember only in another person’s heart can you truly see yourself and the presence of God within you (Tabriz's).

 These rules are created by Shams Tabriz and are passed onto Rumi and finally to Ella who ultimately explores their-self and follows the course of truth, love, and oneness.

Shafak has depicted many features of a Sufi through the forty rules of Shams and her characters. Shams Tabriz looks the world differently and transfers his mystic philosophy of love in Rumi and ultimately Rumi becomes a mystic poet who propels a message of love through his poetry. Novel’s main focus is on Sufism which leads the characters towards the depths of love and it also deals with the self-exploratory journey of its characters and especially of Rumi. 

SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF

•SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF

• What is SELF:

  The sum total of people conscious perception of their own identity as distinct from others is the self.

§Three step process

i.Our perception how we look to others

ii.Our perception of their judgement

iii.Our feeling about their judgement

§As the mirror gives an image of physical self, society gives an image of social self

§We learn who we are by interacting with people

§Self is the product of our social interaction with other people

•

•MEAD AND GENERALIZED OTHERS

•To internalize the attitudes of others

•Generalized others

•Composite of expectations one believes other hold towards me

•Personality expectations, My expectations from you, your family’s expectations

•To internalize those expectations

•THREE STAGES IN THE PROCESS OF ROLE-TAKING AND ROLE PLAYING

I.PREPARATORY STAGE: 

 Child imitates the behaviour without any real understanding

II.PLAY STAGE: 

 Some understanding of the behaviour but switches role. Understand and respond to symbols

III.GAME STAGE:

  Consistent and purposeful role-playing and child has the ability to sense the roles of the others. Response to imagined point of view

•By internalizing the expectations of others one develops a concept of the self

•Expectations of the community

•Sophistication develops with maturity

•Self as a centerpiece

•As people mature self changes and show a greater concern about the reactions of others

DISADVANTAGES OF MEAD’S THEORY

•Over emphasized the expectations

•Reference groups keep on changing

•Expectations can be manipulated by expectant

•Expectations may be irrational

•Sophistication is a gradual process

•COGNITIVE THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

•FREUD AND ANTISOCIAL SELF

•Society and self always at conflict with one another

•Self is a product of the ways in which basic human motives and impulses are denied and repressed by the society

•

•Self is divided into three parts

•

•SUPER EGO:

  Social ideals and values i.e. conscious of the individual

•

•EGO:

  Conscious and rational part of the self (Control Centre)

•

•ID or Identity:

  Pool of instinctive and unsocialized desires, impulses, selfish and antisocial

•ID is continuously at war with superego

•ID is usually repressed

•Sometimes come out in defiance and creates a burden of guilt that is difficult for the self to carry

ROLE AND STATUS

•ADVANTAGES     &     DISADVANTAGES     OF    ASCRIBED     STATUS

•ADVANTAGES:

  Smooth working of the society

  Proper socialization

  Little discomfort

•DISADVANTAGES:

  Society is unable to take full advantage of   the merits of the members of the society

•ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF ACHIEVED STATUS

•ADVANTAGES:

  Society takes full advantage of the merits   of the members of the society

•DISADVANTAGES:

q  Psychic costs

q  Difficult to rationalize one’s lower   status

q  Favouritism, Nepotism

•MASTER STATUS

•Dominates all other statuses of an individual

•Primarily recognized by that status

•ROLE

•Role is the behavior expected from a person who holds a specific status

•TWO THINGS ARE IMPORTANT IN ROLE PLAYING

ü  Perform the duties and claim the   privileges of the role

ü  Acquire the attitudes, feelings &   expectations associated with  a role

•

•ROLE SETS

•Different roles attached to an individual

•ROLE BEHAVIOUR:

  The role is the behavior expected

  Role behavior is the actual behavior of the one who holds a specific status

  Difference between actual role and role behavior because of different socialization, different ways of seeing the same role and practical life is different from academics. Uniformity as well as diversity

•ROLE PERSONALITY AND TRUE PERSONALITY

•True personality should harmonize with role personality

•However, difference arises because of imperfect role preparation, Uncertainty about future roles

•In Ascribed statuses difference is very little but in achieved statuses more and more problems

•ROLE STRAIN

•Inability of the individual to meet one’s role responsibilities due to inadequate role preparation

•Role transitional difficulties due to age

•Role Conflict

•Compartmentalization

•Adjudication

•Rationalization

•Final Status

•Death

•

•No role but only status

•

Spiritualism, What is Spirituality?, Spiritualism and Spirituality, Spiritualist Philosophy

What is Spiritualism?

In the modern era, man is surrounded with matter all around; the thoughts have been corrupted with the idea of the survival of the fittest in getting a maximum of matter in term of worldly wealth, and man has been succeeded in this regard but he has lost his self. Plainly man has done a business of getting worldly benefits on the cost of his inner-self. The man has lost this precious thing which is referred to as spirituality. It is a phenomenon associated with the human soul, which can be related to human beings as an opposing force against material and physical things.

“It is deeply religious, something relating to the spirit and sacred matters (The Merriam Webster).”

It is an elevated condition of a person to the surface where he is only focused on the higher, non-material realities of Divine existence. Spirituality is the opposite entity to materialism. Being a materialistic individual, one gives all his focus to worldly material things. On the contrary, a spiritual being is a higher individual who is only concerned with the non-material things and is always keen to associate himself with the Supreme God. He is one who follows the sanction of Qur’an: “Be devoted servants of God” (3: 79) (khan).

The spiritualism is a positive movement, which sets its positive set of principles and spread its positive message of love and oneness with God in society through Sufis. Sufi or dervish is a person who ultimately comes to know his inner-self and who manages to cope with one’s self (nafs). The knowing one’s self ( nafs) actually is following the path in order to get closer to God. In simple words, if someone could not recognize or experience God's closeness, the one's own self is responsible for this misfortune. The other aspect is the dominance of the nafs which brings anger, lust, and many other addictions that make human beings more miserable. Other effects include different states of consciousness such as boredom, anxiety, and depression so that a person feels himself a helpless victim of his own mind.

LITERARY_FORMS_AND_MOVEMENTS.

#LITERARY_FORMS_AND_MOVEMENTS

#What_is_round_character ?

A round character is a complex and dynamic. In this character improvement and change occurs during the course of work .

#What_is_a_soliloquy?

Soliloquy is a device use in drama in which a character speaks to himself or herself (thinking loud) by showing his feelings or thoughts to audience.

#What_is_a_Lyric?

Lyric is a short poem in which poet’s own feelings and emotions are expressed normally having musical quality to sing.

#What_is_heroic_couplet?

A rhyming couplet written in iambic pentameter and it is traditionally used in epic and narrative poetry.

#What_is_Neo_classicism?

Neo-classicism is a eighteenth century western movement of art, literature and architecture. They got inspiration from ancient Greece and ancient Rome.

#What_is_a_mock_epic?

Mock-epic is a poem in which satire, exaggeration, irony and sarcasm is used to mock the subject or used the epic style for the trivial subject etc.

#What_is_a_complex_plot?

A complex plot according to Aristotle is that have ‘peripeteia’ (reversal) and ‘anagnorisis’ (denouement) without these is a simple plot.

#What_is_novella?

Novella is a narrative fictional work longer than story and shorter than novel.

#What_is_interior_monologue?

Interior monologue is the expression of internal thought, feelings and emotions of a character in dramatic or narrative form.

#What_is_blank_verse?

Blank verse is a form of poetry that written in iambic pentameter but un-rhymed.

#What_is_Art_for_Arts_sake?

“Art for Arts’ sake” is nineteenth century literary movement which gives importance to aesthetic pleasure instead of moral, didactic or utilitarian function of literature.

#What_is_Epistolary_novel?

Epistolary novel is a narrated work. In this type of novel the story is narrated through letters sent by the observer or by those who participating in the events. Example: 18th century’s novel ‘Richardson’s Pamela and Clarissa etc.

#Differentiate_between_novel_and_novella.

Difference between novel and novella is length of the narrative work. Novella is shorter than novel and longer than short story but novel is long narrated work.

#Define_sonnet_What_is_the_structure_of_Shakespearian #sonnet?

Sonnet is a fourteen line poetry written in iambic pentameter having some rhyming scheme. Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains and final couplet with rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg.

#What_is_the_difference_between_Open_form_poetry_and #Closed_form_poetry”?

Close form poetry used the fix pattern of stanza, rhyme and meter etc. For example: sonnet, limerick, haiku and sestina etc. Open form poetry does not use these fix patterns.

#What_is_the_structure_of_Spenserian_stanza?

Spenserian stanza consist of nine lines, eight lines are in iambic pentameter and followed by single line in iambic hexameter. The last line is called Alexandrine.

#Differentiate_between_Blank_verse_and_Free_verse’.

‘Blank verse’ follows the fix meter like iambic pentameter and un-rhymed but ‘Free verse’ is also un-rhymed and does not follow the fix meter.

#How_can_you_define_Pastoral_elegy”?

Pastoral elegy is a poem about death. In this poem poet expresses his grief for the dead in rural setting or about the shepherds.

#What_is_Point_of_View’?

‘Point of view’ is an opinion, judgment or attitude on a matter. It may be against are in favor.

#Define_plot_What_are_its_various_elements?

Plot is a logical arrangement of events in a story or play. The exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution are the elements of plot.

#What_is_conflict?

Conflict is a problem or struggle in a story or play. It occurs in rising action, climax and falling action. It creates suspense and excitement in the story or play.

#How_can_you_explain_catharsis?

Term catharsis used by Aristotle in the definition of tragedy. It is the release of emotions of pity and fear.

#Define_black_comedy.

Black comedy is a humorous work in which human suffering regards as absurd and funny.

#What_is_comedy_of_manners?

Comedy of manners is a humorous work in which the manners of society or class satirized. For example: “The importance of being Ernest” by Oscar Wilde.

#What_do_you_mean_by_Theater_of_the_absurd?

Theater of the absurd is one kind of drama in which absurdity emphasized and lack realistic and logical structure. For example: “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett.

#How_can_you_differentiate_between_flat_and_round #characters?

A round character is a complex and dynamic. In this character improvement and change occurs during the course of work but flat character are uncomplicated and remains unchanged through the course of work.

#What_was_the_Oxford_movement?

Oxford movement starts in 1833 and for the revival of Catholic doctrine in Anglican Church. It is against the conventional understanding of the religion.

#Define_Puritanism?

Puritanism is the religious movement starts in sixteen century and the goal of the movement is to purify the church of England from its Catholic practices.

#What_is_Imagism?

Imagism is a movement of Anglo-American poets started in early nineteenth century in which they emphasize the use of clear images and simple and sharp language.

#What_is_meant_by_Stream_of_Consciousness?

Stream of Consciousness is a technique of narration in which the series of thoughts in the mind of the character are presented. “To the Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf is one example.

#What_is_your_understanding_about_the_word_Renaissance?

Renaissance is a French word means rebirth. It is a literary movement of fourteenth century to sixteenth century the revival of literature takes place in this period. The Renaissance writers are Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe etc.

#What_is_meant_by_Gothic_Novel?

Gothic Novel is one type of novel. In this type the cruel passions and supernatural terror is presented. Example: Monastery or Haunted Castle etc.

#What_is_Metaphysical_Poetry?

Metaphysical poetry is a highly intellectualized poetry with the use of wit, imagery, conceits and paradox etc. It is obscure and rigid. For example: “John Donne’s poetry”

5 Methods to Deal With Anxiety, nd Your Anxiety, Kill Your Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.

anxiety is 100% curable with some constant measures. like...

1. Take a deep breath 

when you are under a panic attack, take a deep breath counting to 4, then stop your breath counting to 4, and then slowly exhale counting to 4. 

2. accept you are anxious

in spite of worrying and thinking negatively, just keep in mind that its a panic attack and you are nervous. don't think too negatively.

3. Realize that your brain is playing with you

a kind of chemical reaction takes place in your mind when you are under a panic attack which makes the situation worse for you by injecting negative destructive thoughts in your brain. So it's better to be aware of this and always realize that it's your brain that is just playing with you.

4. Use a calm visualization

this will help you to sleep better and quickly. In anxiety and depression, sleeping becomes a little hard. Sometimes it takes hours to sleep. So try to think about your favorite places and pleasant memories. Visualization of a clear sky and lying in a boat in the middle of an Ocean helps to calm down your nerves and you are able to sleep well.

5. Use positive self-talking

Always tell yourself that everything will gonna be fine, its just a temporary phase and you can handle it.

Do regular exercise, take care of your diet and think positively. always remember that anxiety comes quickly and goes slowly, so be persistent.

.