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<p>In this blog I will compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the religion I grew up learning about and my present religious beliefs with traditional and current beliefs and practices of the Hindu and The Nation of Islam religions. A little bit about Hindu and The Nation of Islam; Hinduism is a intellectual religion the goal is to enlighten individuals with truth, self love, self knowledge and peace of mind sought the meditation, the Vedas and a group of philosophical systems. The Samkhya system&rsquo;s philosophy divides reality into two parts the Purusha and the Self which is eternally wise, pure and free&hellip; and the Prakriti the material universe one most know the difference between the two in order to avoid confusion and delusion. The Advaita system practice belief in one reality, Self the material world is nonexistent, however we create the illusion by worrying ourselves with the issues of the physical world, for example socialism,being concerned with things that isn&rsquo;t meant to be control by others. We control ourselves, investing too much time into the &ldquo;physical&rdquo; world is a recipe for confusion and turmoil (Hamilton, 2009).</p><p>The Nation of Islam, which was started by Elijah Muhammad and a white man named, Master Fard Muhammad, always pointed out that one day we would all live in harmony. Although this still isn&rsquo;t quite true, their message under the leadership of Minister Louis Farrakhan has evolved to fit the time (Simmons, 2009). The Five Pillars of Islam are the five basic principles, guidelines or commandments a Muslim must do his best to fulfill because they are considered God&rsquo;s commandments. Similar to the the ten commandments in the bible true Muslims just same as Christians should do the best without concern as to what other Christians or Muslims are involved with. And in my opinion Muslims have a greater chance at fulfilling the five pillars because followers of Islam seems to be more focus and committed to their religion than to appease the leadership. Learning from their leadership&rsquo;s teaching and using their lives as examples to fulfill these commandments seems to be the basis of five pillars and drawing other followers in (Hamilton, 2009).</p><p>The person I interviewed is Russell Simmons has been instrumental in bringing hip-hop to every facet of business and media since its inception in the late 1970s: in music with the co-founding of the immensely successful original Def Jam Recordings; in the fashion industry with the trail-blazing Phat Farm, BabyPhat, Run Athletics, and Def Jam University clothing lines; in film with Simmons Lathan Media Group; in television with HBO&rsquo;s &ldquo;The Def Comedy Jam&rdquo; and &ldquo;Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry&rdquo;; on Broadway with the Tony Award winning stage production &ldquo;Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway&rdquo;; in the financial services industry with UniRush and its RushCard and Baby Phat RushCard; in fine jewelry with The Simmons Jewelry Co; in video gaming, mobile communications and other industries utilizing the internationally recognized Def Jam brand through Def Jam Enterprises; and in the community with Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. Russell is a sought-after public speaker and regularly addresses audiences ranging from public school children and university students to corporate executives and community leaders.</p><p>Being a follower and writer for Global Grind Russell Simmons&rsquo; online hip hop magazine I only thought it would be right to discuss the Nation of Islam and Hindu beliefs from his perspective. I also compare and contrast Christianity, the religion I was taught as a child and the affects it&rsquo;s transformation has had on my life as an adult.</p><p>1. What are some of the cultural and soci