Cultural & Religious CD-Roms from India
We are an Agent for India Book Club, see below...
India Mystica:
contains hundreds of pages of text with 400 pictures and illustrations. 
India Festiva:
100's of pages of interactive content, full-color images, music, motion
pictures
Hinduism -
The Eternal Religion: provides in depth account of the principles
of 
its
Philosophy, worship, social and cultural background, and much much more.
Mahabharata:
The great epic of greater India. It tells of intrigue, espinage, loyality,
and devotion..... a must for understanding India.
Lord
Buddha: The incarnation of Lord Vishnu who appeared to establish
non-violence..
Stories
From the Life of Guru Nanak:Guru Nanak was one of the great
social, political and religious reformers of around five hundred years
ago. These stories give one an insight into the courage, committment and
devotion of the saintly Guru Nanak - the Founder of the Sikh religion.
...and many more
Read explanatory
text researched from ancient scriptures.......
Visualise
symbols of faith in high quality photographs and illustrations ......
See myths,
stories and legends come alive in vibrant, narrated animations ........
Discover
the sounds of hymns and songs routinely heard in homes and temples .......
Watch
full motion video of ceremonies and festivals as practised for centuries
.......
Hear authentic
pronunciation of vernacular words ........
Look up
the comprehensive Glossary for an explanation of unfamiliar terms ......
India-Mystica
will surprise you, it will inform you, it will entertain you !
It will become your world.
Virtually celebrating each day of the year, there are more festivals celebrated in India than anywhere else in the world. From the Hemis festival in the North, to Christmas in the South, from Durga Puja in the East, to Navroz in the West; from Bakr-Id to Raksha Bandhan, Gurpurab to Losar - you'll find them all in indiaFestiva .... a multimedia CD-ROM that brings you face to face with the fascinating festivals of all major religions in India : Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jew, Parsi, Muslim, Sikh.
With hundreds of pages of interactive content, full-colour images, and hours of exciting, informative sounds and motion picture, this is a trip the whole family will enjoy!
Journey back in time to discover when and why these festivals originated, and the authentic ways of their celebration.
Watch as the past comes to life in video clips that both entertain and inform.
Get instant explanation of glossary words.
Locate facts and information using powerful tools like Search and Index.
Explore the richness
of festivals from this land of celebrations, brought alive with brilliant
visuals and sounds of music.
The Mahabharata is a timeless saga. It is woven around two branches of a royal family divided on the issue of inheritance. It features heroes, villains, kings and women of beauty, and their epic stories of love and hatred, joy and sorrow, pride and endurance. The Mahabharata is the story of human nature, and indeed, of life itself.
This story now comes to life before you through beautiful hand-painted illustrations, animated to emphasize the dramatic moments. Narration adds to the "story-time" effect. An original music score enhances the scenes, making each episode so real you cannot help but be moved.
As you are swept along by the tale, you realise in wonder that each
character is ageless, recognisable in every age and civilisation, and very
very plausible. No one is all good, nor entirely evil. Blind Dhritarashtra,
brave Karna, the honourable Yudhishthira, Arjuna, Draupadi - each of them
are human, real, with moments of both greatness and shame in their lives.
They are so real, and so ageless, you begin to identify with them
in their moments of trial or tragedy, shame or victory. All you need to
do is sit back - the music, narration and visuals transport you into another
world, and you float away on a journey;
Draupadi's
Surrender to Krishna 
The
Passing Away of Grandfather Bhisma
...and much much more!
The
Life of Lord Buddha:
At the time of the Buddha, wicked minded Brahmins (so called Vedic
priests) who were devoid of spiritual knowledge were engaging in wholesale
animal slaughter in the name of Vedic rituals. In previous ages,
highly qualified priests and kings used to sometimes perform ritualistic
animal sacrifices that promoted the souls of the animals to the human form
of life. But since in the Age of Kali there are no such qualified
performers of sacrifice, these rituals are therefore forbidden by the scriptures.
Buddha appeared to enforce this prohibition by preaching the dharma of
non violence. For this reason, the Buddha is glorified in the Vedic scriptures:
buddhas tu pashanda gana pramadat "May Lord Buddhadeva protect me
from activities opposed to Vedic principles and from the madness that causes
one to forget true Vedic knowledge and ritualistic action." (Srimad Bhagavatam
6.8.19)
There is an ancient poem, reputed to be the only text ever written by the Buddha himself:
"Creatures without feet have my love. And like wise those
who have two feet; and those, too, who have many feet. Let creatures
all, all things that live, all beings of whatever kind, see nothing that
will bode them ill. May no evil come to them."
Even as a child, Gautama Buddha rescued wounded animals from
cruel hunters. And later when preaching the dharma, he made total
renunciation of meat eating a fundamental part of his prescription for
humanity.
In the Mahaparinirvana sutra, the Buddha declares, "The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of maha karuna (great compassion)." In the Lankavatara sutra he says, "For the sake of love of purity, the enlightened Buddhist should refrain from eating flesh, which is born from blood and semen. For fear of causing terror to living beings, let the enlightened Buddhist, who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating meat." He is cited in the Surangama sutra as saying, "The reason for meditating and seeking enlightenment is to escape from the suffering of life. But in seeking to escape from suffering ourselves, why should we inflict it upon others? Unless you can so control your minds that even the thought of brutal unkindness and killing is abhorrent, you will never be able to escape from the bondage of mundane life."
Stories
From the Life of Guru Nanak:
One of the Great teachers of Mankind, Guru Nanak's teachings are the
foundation of the
Sikh religion. His message of equality, brotherhood
and love are just as relevant to our
lives today. Travel back in time and revive
the excitement of Guru Nanak's life. Listen to
his lyrical hymns and words of wisdom that
guided people for centuries.
This CD-ROM includes the Janamsakhis - biographies
of Guru Nanak. Nanak's journeys
are traditionally called Udasis. Learn of
some of Guru Nanak's extraordinary experiences,
through his Udasis.
Some of the stories include:
1. Duni Chand: A merchant proud of his wealth
learns the true values of good living. 2.
Sajjan Thug: The Guru transforms the life
of a cruel robber through his wisdom and love.
3. Wali Qandhari: An angry religious teacher
finds his rage melt with the Guru's
irresistible offer of love. 4. Guru Nanak
at Haridwar: At the pilgrimage the Guru shows
people the errors of superstition and blind
faith. 5. Guru Nanak at Multan: The Sufis of
Multan send a clever message to the Guru and
receive an unexpected reply. 6. Guru
Nanak at Sialkot: A wise man's arrogance encounters
the Guru's Message of Universal
love. 7. Guru Nanak at Mecca: Traveling to
the holy shrine the Guru shares his spiritual
wisdom with people.
Begin a fascinating journey into the life of
Guru Nanak, his adventurous crusade against
intolerance and inequality and know more about
his teachings.
Fables from India is a highly interactive CD-ROM that presents five
carefully selected stories from the world's oldest collection of fables
-- the Panchatantra. Legend has it that these stories, dating back to around
200 BC, were devised to teach values to an ancient king's unruly sons.
Those values have not changed over time and are just as relevant to the
children of today.
Journey with the wise old monkey, Hanuman, while he recounts the great
Indian epic,
The Ramayana. This fascinating tale will carry you breathlessly through
palaces and forests filled with animals, demons, good, and evil. Click-on
action, vocabulary enrichment, and historical insights promise hours of
fun and learning.
Jungle Whispers contains three stories uniquely adapted from age-old Indian folklore, history, and the classic, Panchatantra. The CD-ROM can be enjoyed in two versions:
Animated Version: accompanied with excellent background music, special sound effects, animation, and games intertwined within the story. There is a "Paint window" for children to create their own storyboard and educational puzzles at the end of each story.
Comic Version: Here the child enjoys the experience of reading a comic
and listening to carefully chosen, themed background music together. In
addition, children can record their own voice and narrate the story to
friends or parents.
The Gujarati Master has been devised as a language and culture package for children of Gujarati origin living under foreign skies. Through a host of animated characters, this multimedia expedition offers a pleasure trip into the heart of the language.
The Gujarati Master will help you learn the rudiments of Gujarati by themselves. It will educate you about the Gujarati language and charm you with animated Gujarati Rhymes. It will challenge you with tests and puzzles. And it will kindle in you an affinity for your great cultural heritage.
Multimedia PC with 486 or higher processor
(Pentium recommended) 8 MB RAM (16 MB
recommended) CD-ROM drive Quick time for Windows
Audio Card Headphones or
speakers SVGA 256-color display Microsoft
Windows 3.1 (or later) with 640 X 480
256-color display
System Requirements (MACINTOSH) 68040 or Later
Processor 8 MB RAM System 7 or
Higher Quicktime 2.0 or Higher 640 x 480,
8 or 16 bit display 2x o above CD-ROM drive
Availability: This Item is currently
backordered. It may take upto 2 to 3 weeks to
get it shipped. We will inform you within
1 week if we are having difficulty
obtaining this item.
