Student Activist Page
Letter One
Subj: Re: Talented Students - We Need You
Date: 96-07-03 20:36:32 EDT
From: Josie26971@aol.com
To: RozenthalM@prodigy.com
To whom it may concern of the Veda research project:
[[ Just out of curiosity, I was wondering what would
make a member's profile seem 'gifted.' I've read many of
them myself, and all seem to be thesame in their content
(excluding things such as various interest areas). Perhaps
this question stems from my belief that everyone is gifted in
oneform or another. :)]]
Your perception that everyone is gifted in one way or
another is quite intelligent. The Vedas teach that those who
have cultivated the mode of Goodness see that
consciousness is part of a unified field of existence, and that
every conscious being is a finite expression of an infinite
completeness. Dr. Howard Gardner of Harvard of Harvard
teaches that there are multiple intelligences: visual, verbal,
analytical, kinesthetic, etc. Go to GPI - HOME for more
information
[Is Veda a religious group, like the Muslims and
Christians? I must admit that I had never heard of them
before, but (if it is a religion) the concept of 'triguna' is all-
too familiar to me. Is should be familiar to all of the major
religions because Goodness, Passion, and Ignorance are all
taught.]
The Vedas are a collection of religious and philosophical
works including 18 Puranas (histories of the material
world), 108 principal Upanishads (philosophical works), the
Mahabharata (the greatest of stories), the Ramayana, the
Srimad Bhagavatam, and other works. They describe a
variety of religious and philosophical systems, all related to
one another, but appealing to different kinds of people who
are situated in different modes of nature. Calculous,
trigonometry, military strategy, city planning, and many
other arts and sciences were first described in the Vedas.
Ayur Veda is an ancient system of natural medicine. Hora
Veda (Horoscope) is ancient astrology. Stapacha Veda is
architecture. They contain a University of knowledge and
religious and spiritual formulas.
Would you be so kind as to explain what, exactly, Veda
is? :)
Veda is an ancient Sanskrit word meaning
knowledge. Whatever you consider to be proper
knowledge, that is Veda.
[Is the purpose of trying to present the Veda concept into
our schools, besides from becoming aware of prejudice, to
help relieve some of the turmoil in our society (because if
people find triguna and believe it, they should stop crimes
out of Goodness and Passion)?]
Yes! A person who understands the three modes of material
nature, their effects and consequences, is better able to
control his own senses and activities. He/she is also more
understanding of others and is better able to help others
become more fixed in higher nature. It does not matter what
particular form of faith one is accustomed to. Hindu,
Christian, Islamic, or Jewish, Buddhist, Jain, Agnostic or
atheist: this knowledge is universal.
[Approximately how many students (and age ranges) will
be taking place in this? Is there a cost to do so? And would
meetings (in person) be required?]
I have just started this project, and you are the first to reply.
There is no cost. We will meet on the internet. If we grow,
and it is possible, perhaps we'll have a convention. When
others join I will ask you all individually if you would like to
share your internet address with others. Then you can
correspond with each other and me, and I can post your
ideas and projects on the Internet.
May I share your internet address with my Professor, Dr.
Mary Banbury at the University of New Orleans? This
project is part of my course work for EDSP 6430, Methods
of Instructing Gifted Students. Her e-mail address is:
mmbse@uno.edu . To send E-Mail to her type the full
address.
[I think that this is a great idea and look forward to
learning more about triguna and Veda. It seems interesting
and has already given me something to look forward to this
school year. Oh, when would we be starting? And would it
be as a 'chat room' class? ]
The classes have started. Everyone works at their own rate
and there own level or interest. The GPI HOME PAGE is
meant for everyone's enrichment. Once you get the hang of
it, you can add pages of your own. We can establish a chat
room on AOL or Prodigy. If you have a program such as
Microsoft Windows Terminal, you can phone a special
network for gifted students here in New Orleans and post
ideas there. The phone number is (403) 286-6022. Be sure
to check with whoever pays the phone bill before making
long distance calls. Time flies when you're having fun, and
air fare can be expensive. Start all files you post with GPI-
and whatever you like. The sky (and your phone allowance)
is the limit.
Heck! I can already feel my serious side kicking in!
(And that infamous good grammar is back as well.) [impish
smile]
A few last thoughts... If there are numerous amounts of
studentsparticipating, is this really a research project? Or
are we going to 'class' to educate others?
We have just started. I have three other students who have
responded to an interview I conducted via computer. We
will all be doing research. Your responses will be studied
by teachers and students at UNO. If you give permission,
your ideas and responses can be shared with other high
school students and others interested in this project.
May I add this letter (your comments and mine) to my
collection of WEB PAGES as FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions)? They really are very good questions.
Peace out, thanks, take care, and live it up,
--Josie26971@aol.com
Thank you too,
Martin A. Rosenthal, M. Ed.
RosenthalM@prodigy.com
p.s. I prefer you send replies to RosenthalM@prodigy.com
because AOL is a long distance call for me. Rozenthal is
my AOL address for members of AOL only. But I prefer
RosenthalM@prodigy.com because it costs me less.
Thanks
Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 18:58:26 -0400
From: Josie26971@aol.com
Subject: I took it!!!
I ended up taking the personality quiz and came out an (omitted text, mr). Reading
the analysis, I guess that explains my moods :). Truthfully, I could have
answered both for the answers of the questions. Also, I think that it's a
great honor to have the same type as Mark Twain; I've loved him since I saw
that he wore a dress with his daughters. (he reminded me of grandpa :) )
Although I must argue a few points :)
http://pages.prodigy.com/gpihome/ .
What do you mean when you say "I could have answered both for the
answered of the question"? Personality tests are often ambiguous. The best
thing is to follow your first impulse.
I ran off an IQ test but have yet to take it... I've skimmed it briefly just
to see what it's like, and most of the answers seem simple enough, but what
we're supposed to do on some of them confuses me. I need more instructions :).
First use the IQ tests which are automated. The automated ones have
little white boxes or circles where you click your answer with the mouse.
They will grade themselves when you submit them at the end of the test.
I suggest you take more than one. This will also be test taking practice for
when you take the SAT.
Thanks for the lithium advice, but although I really despise being in the
dumps, I feel great when I'm totally elated :). Uh... I guess that I knew
that grievous was a word, but was unsure of its spelling. And as for the
orthography of vulgar... Isn't the definition of orthography 'a word as it's
accustomed to being used?' Oops! :) I just used the wrong word, I guess.
:) I meant VULGAR
Many creative people are moody, some almost insanely moody. What
would Beethoven been like if he took lithium? Would he be more like Mozart?
Would Cezanne have been a better artist if he saw a psychologist once a month
and took lithium? We will never know. Is it important, anyway?
According do Webster, orthography is: "1a : the art of writing words with the
proper letters according to standard usage ... 2: a part of language study
that deals with letters and spelling"
I'll be glad to recruit new people. But what, exactly, am I to do? Just go
into a chat room and see if someone seems to be the 'right' type then tell
you after conferring with them?!?
You could ask chatters if they are in any gifted or talented
classes or have ever been told they could be. If they seem gifted or talented,
invite them to visit the GPI HOME PAGE:
ACs are Apostolic Christians. They're Republican and I like to equate them
like the Amish... The women still wear their hair up and skirts. The main
difference, to me, is that ACs are allowed to have cars and interaction with
the modern world.
Do they refer to themselves as "Apostolic" because they emulate the apostles?
Is the paramaatma the Veda's equivalent of God? The all-knowing being in our
souls? Or maybe it's a universal conscience? Like feelings... We all feel
joy and pain? Is the book that you talk of (pardon, but I can't think of it
off-hand), the Hava Bgvita (?), Islamic? Which religion, might I ask? You
said something that it's of importance to you, and you speak of God and the
Judas. (I'm just a tad curious as to the religion of the book, not yours :)
) And I can only think that the Jews, Christians, and Muslims deal with
that. (I THINK-- from what the Muslims I know have told me :) )
THE OLD TESTAMENT has about one dozen names of God, according to his different
attributes. Christ was also referred to as Emmanuel, The Son of Man,
The Son of God, and other names according to his qualities. There is one Vedic
collection called the VISHNU SAHASRA NAMA or THE THOUSAND NAMES
OF VISHNU, each name describing a different aspect of the absolute truth. Paramaatma
means the Supreme Soul or the Soul of All Souls. It indicates that God is the
witness in everyone's heart.
THE BHAGAVAD GITA is one chapter of THE MAHABHARATA. It is a summary of
all the widsom of the entire collection of Vedic literatures, and is valued by
scholars of every nation and faith.
Uh... Where are the places where we can brainstorm about how to introduce
this concept of triguna into the schools? I have some ideas, but would like
to see others.' I was thinking that I could always go through my
literature class when we start to talk of philosophical things, but that's
just for one grade level. :) Then I could always do triguna for an OO in
speech... WAIT!!!!!!!! IDEA IS HITTING ME!!! THank you, and I'll let you
go while I'm thinking. (Also, I have some Beethoven to memorize lest my
piano teacher gets mad :)... (sigh) and have to decide between Handel,
Grieg, and Mozart. And so on for my night :) )
I am curious to hear your idea. The sight I was talking about is a
newsgroup:
alt.students.highschool .
Just use GOTO to get KEYWORD on AOL and type NEWSGROUPS.
Then add "alt.students.highschool" (without quotes) to your file. The browser
will tell you how to post messages. I have already posted some there.
I am curious about the new idea in your head. Sudden inspirations are
often the best ideas to go with.
-- THank you, Josie
Thank you,
RosenthalM@prodigy.com
