WHITE GOLD

It's a Mercedes Benz owned by an Abu Dhabi oil billionaire (naturally).
Featuring the newly developed V10 quad turbo with 1,600 horsepower and 2800nm of torque
0-100km/h in less than 2 secs, 1/4 mile in 6.89 secs running on biofuel.
That is NOT stainless steel, people. It's WHITE GOLD!!

DO YOU KNOW..?

The life cycle of the Mercedes

Hinduism

What Is Hindu Dharma (or Hinduism)?

Hinduism is a modern term, but it represents the ancient most living thought and culture of the world. The concept of 'Hindu-ism' (categorically termed 'Hinduism' in the narrow sense 'religion') being a single monolithic religion is recent, dating back only to the 19th century. Many scholars liken Hinduism to a family of religions, with all affiliated members bearing a family resemblance. The Hindu tradition consists of several schools of thought. Thus any definition of Hinduism is somewhat arbitrary and requires qualification. One such definition is "the followers of Vaidika Dharma," or those who follow the religious teachings outlined in the Vedas and their corollaries.

This difficulty arises from its universal world-view as it has concerned itself largely with the human situation rather than the Hindu situation. Instead of basing its identity on separating Hindu from non-Hindu or believer from non-believer, Hinduism has sought to recognize principles and practices that would lead any individual to become a better human being and understand and live in harmony with dharma.

Thus Hinduism is rightly called a dharma that was evolved by the great rishi (sages and seers) of ancient India. It emphasizes the dharma (right way of living) rather than a set of doctrines, and thus embraces diverse thoughts and practices. Hinduism has been called the "cradle of spirituality" and "the mother of all religions," partly because it has influenced virtually every major religion.

Hinduism is much more than an esoteric practice. For the millions of people who practice this religion, it is a way of life that encompasses all aspects of life including family, social life, sciences, politics, business, art, and health behaviors. The sacred scriptures contain instructions on these aspects of life and have a strong influence on art and drama. While the ascetic practices of yoga are a well-known aspect of Hinduism, family life is also considered a sacred duty.

Origins

The Hindu Dharma or Sanatana Dharma has its origins in such remote past that it cannot be traced to any one individual. It is the only religion, that is not founded in a single historic event or prophet, but which itself precedes recorded history. Some scholars view that Hinduism must have existed even in circa 10,000 B.C. and that the earliest of the Hindu scriptures – the Rigveda — was composed well before 6,500 B.C. Yet, in spite of the fact that it first evolved more than 5,000 years ago, Hinduism is also very much a living tradition.

The word 'Hindu' has its origin in Sanskrit literature. In the Rigveda, Bharat is referred to as the country of 'Sapta Sindhu', i.e. the country of seven great rivers. The word 'Sindhu' refers to rivers and sea and not merely to the specific river called 'Sindhu'. In Vedic Sanskrit, according to ancient dictionaries, 'sa' was pronounced as 'ha'. Thus 'Sapta Sindhu' was pronounced as 'Hapta Hindu'. This is how the word 'Hindu' came in to being.

The term was used for those who lived in Bharatavarsha¹ (the Indian subcontinent) on or beyond the "Sindhu". Since the end of the 18th century the word has been used as an umbrella term for most of the religious, spiritual, and philosophical traditions of the sub-continent, that includes other sampradaya (spiritual lineages) of Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It generally denotes the religious, philosophical, scientific and cultural traditions native to India.

Sanātana Dharma: The Timeless and Universal Way

Hindus themselves prefer to use the Sanskrit term sanātana dharma for their religious tradition. Sanātana Dharma means eternal and universal law or principle that governs everyone irrespective of culture, race, religion, belief and practices. These truths regarding the universal principle were divinely revealed to ancient rishis (sages). For many eons they were passed down orally and only later written down, apparently around the start of the Kali Yuga when people's memories began to deteriorate

The distinction of dharma from the Western sense of religion is crucial to understanding Hindu religious identity. To the extent that Hinduism carries with it the Western meaning of being a 'religion' the words distort Indian reality. In the West a religion is understood to be conclusive — that is, it is the one and only true religion. Second, a religion is generally exclusionary — that is, those who do not follow it are excluded from salvation. Finally, a religion is separative — that is, to belong to it, one must not belong to another. Dharma, however, does not necessarily imply any of these.

The word sanātana, meaning immemorial as well as eternal, emphasized the unbroken continuity of the Hindu tradition. Sanatana Dharma comprises of spiritual laws which govern the human existence. Sanatana Dharma is to human life what natural laws are to the physical phenomena. Just as the phenomena of gravitation existed before it was discovered, the spiritual laws of life are eternal laws which existed before they were discovered by the ancient rishi (sages) for the present age during the Vedic period. Sanatana Dharma declares that something cannot come out of nothing and, therefore, the universe itself is the manifestation of the Divine being.

The Hindu tradition encourages Hindus to seek spiritual and moral Truth wherever it might be found, while acknowledging that no creed can contain such Truth in its fullness and that each individual must realize this Truth through his or her own systematic effort. Our experience, our reason, and our dialogs with others — especially with enlightened individuals — provide various means of testing our understanding of spiritual and moral truth. And Hindu scripture, based on the insights of Hindu sages and seers, serves primarily as a guidebook. But ultimately truth comes to us through direct consciousness of the divine or the ultimate reality. Hindus refer to it by many names, but the most common name is Brahman which is relatively different in meaning and understanding from the conventional word "God".

Facts About The Brain

Dimensions and Sizes

• Average dimensions of the adult brain: Width = 140 mm/5.5 in, Length = 167 mm/6.5 in, Height = 93 mm/3.6 in.
• How much does human brain weigh? At birth our brains weigh and average of 350-400g (about 4/5 lbs), as adults the brain averages 1300-1400g (about 3 lbs).
• If Stretched out the cerebral cortex would be 0.23 sq. m(2.5sq.ft), the area of a night table.
• Total surface area of the cerebral cortex is 2,500 cm2 or 2.69 sq.ft.

Composition

• The composition of the brain = 77-78% water, 10-12% lipids, 8% protein, 1% carbs, 2% soluble organics, 1% inorganic salt.
• The breakdown of intracranial contents by volume (1,700 ml, 100%): brain = 1,400 ml (80%); blood = 150 ml (10%); cerebrospinal fluid = 150 ml (10%).
• The cerebellum contains half of all the neurons in the brain but comprises only 10% of the brain.
• The cerebral cortex is about 85% of the brain.
• Percentage of total cerebral cortex volume = frontal lobe 41%, temporal lobe 22%, parietal lobe 19%, occipital lobe 18%.
• There are about 100 billion neurons in the human brain, the same number of stars in our galaxy.
• The left hemisphere of the brain has 186 million more neurons than the right hemisphere.
• 750-1000ml of blood flow through the brain every minute or about 3 full soda cans.
• In that minute the brain will consume 46cm3 (1/5 cups) of oxygen from that blood.
• Of that oxygen consumed, 6% will be used by the brain's white matter and 94% by the grey matter.

Times

• The brain can stay alive for 4 to 6 minutes without oxygen. After that cells begin die.
• The slowest speed at which information travels between neurons is 416 km/h or 260 mph, thats as "slow" as todays supercar's top speed (the Bugatti EB 16.4 Veyron clocked at 253 mph).
• 10 seconds is the amount of time until unconsciousness after the loss of blood supply to the brain.
• Time until reflex loss after loss of blood supply to the brain, 40-110 seconds.
• During early pregnancy the rate of neuron growth is 250,000 neurons a minute.

Other Fun Facts About The Human Brain

• Results from cognitive tests show 30% of 80-year-olds perform as well as young adults.
• Your brain is about 2% of your total body weight but uses 20% of your body's energy.
• The energy used by the brain is enough to light a 25 watt bulb.
• More electrical impulses are generated in one day by a single human brain than by all the telephones in the world.
• How much does human brain think? 70,000 is the number of thoughts that it is estimated the human brain produces on an average day.
• After age 30, the brain shrinks a quarter of a percent (0.25%) in mass each year.
• Albert Einsteins brain weighed 1,230 grams (2.71 lbs), significantly less then the human average of 1,300g to 1,400g (3 lbs).
• Each year Americans consume 50 billion aspirin tablets or 15.5 million tons.
• 89.06 is the percentage of people who report normally writing with their right hand, 10.6% with their left and 0.34% with either hand.

Highest Limousine

The world's highest limousine, from the ground to the roof, measures 3.33 m (10 ft 11 in). Built by Gary and Shirley Duval (Australia) it has an eight wheel independent suspension system and sits on eight monster truck tyres. It has two separate engines and took a little over 4,000 hours to complete

WHO:

Gary Duval

WHAT:

3.33 m (10 ft 11 in)

WHERE:

California, USA

WHEN:

November 13, 1998

Largest Mobile/Cell Phone

The largest functioning mobile phone is a scaled up Samsung SCH-r450. It measures 4.57 x 3.42 x .74 m (15 x 11.2 x 2.5 ft), was achieved by Cricket Communications and Samsung Mobile, and was unveiled at an event coordinated by creative agency Neverstop (all USA) in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on 11 March 2009.

WHO:

Cricket Communications and Samsung Mobile

WHAT:

4.57 x 3.42 x .74 m (15 x 11.2 x 2.5 ft)

WHERE:

Illinois, USA

WHEN:

11 March 2009