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Today organizations are under more pressure to perform than they have perhaps ever been before. There are pressures from all stakeholders who incessantly demand increasing profitability every year, while at the same time they grapple with challenges of limited resources, ever changing laws and regulations, open market competition, and most importantly, factors of human resources. And yet, the amendment to the Companies Act in India in 2013 requires certain businesses to spend 2% of their average three year profits on social causes.
Modern-day living seems to center around finding as much comfort in life as possible and aspiring for some growth, usually material. As a result, we are facing the great challenge of seeing our planet’s resources declining, and a general concern about our survival on earth. The fact that ecological activism is on the rise is encouraging, but also underlines that something very wrong is happening and needs to be rectified. Though, we recognize the need to be more aligned to nature, our lifestyles are not in accord with this idea. Probably, for many of us, what it means to live in harmony with nature has become a foreign concept
All the greatest spiritual teachers have spoken about the need for man to awaken, to pursue a shift of consciousness. Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Plato all offered a clear, discernible path of spiritual growth towards a more meaningful life, which begins by recognizing and operating from a higher aspect within us, separate from our personality which is controlled by prejudices, fears, subjective emotions and egoistic thoughts. Beyond the religious customs that subsequently developed, these ancient traditions speak of Discipleship; an ardent and persevering path of constant self-development which illuminates man’s potential. Likewise, emerging from the ancient tradition of the Indian sub-continent, Yoga, if understood in entirety, also offers a discipular path leading to self-knowledge, transmutation and truth.
There is an old Eastern saying which states: “The Past Time is the Present Time, as also the Future, which, though it has not come into existence, still is.” In the Eastern view of time, reality exists beyond the temporal realm and what we experience as separate stages are actually part of a simultaneous reality. This is an interesting concept, implying that the past still exists, the present is but a fleeting moment and the future already exists in the blueprint of nature. It would be one way of explaining the many instances of prophecy that have been recorded in history.
If you have visited Stonehenge on the Salisbury plains of England, perhaps you sensed a powerful feeling of mystery, of something hard to define. To the eye they are a series of immense standing stones set in circles. But rather, “Stonehenge is a symbol of Albion, the ancient wisdom of Britain and of different cultural values from a vanished time” writes Archaeoastronomer Robin Heath.
A wise man once said, “One close real friend is better than ten distant and estranged brothers.” Does true and unconditioned comradeship still exists in the 21st century? How different is real friendship from having casual friends or from “Facebook Friends”? Can this kind of lasting and profound friendship be found? How and where?
There are many kinds of friendships, some casual, some romantic, some are pleasant like flowers that bloom for a day or like a summer cloud, but some rare ones are as firm as an oak. These rare relationships do not depend on passing needs or on momentary interests.
Many ancient traditions tell a story of an immense flood that destroyed a civilization that existed thousands of years ago; one that was perhaps far more technologically and spiritually advanced than we are today. Amongst them, Plato speaks of a vast continent called Atlantis that sank into the ocean. Although modern historians have found meagre evidence to corroborate this, too many traditions around the world explicitly, or obliquely, refer to this cataclysm to ignore it completely.
One of the foundations of how we conceptualize our sense of self today, perhaps came from the 17th century philosopher Rene Descartes’ most famous maxim, cogito ergo sum or I think therefore I am. Taken to an extreme that Descartes himself may never have meant, we are conditioned to prioritize self-interest, applaud the pursuit of our own happiness, and promote personal freedoms dictated by one’s own morality.
Along with most of the world, we are in almost complete isolation, as a result of the rapid spread of COVID-19. The world seems to have stopped for a while and people, as well as organizations and governments, are uncertain about the near future.
The scene is somewhat surreal, giving an apocalyptic feeling towards what is yet to come. There are some who report a growing interest in ‘end-of-the-world’ literature, films, doomsday theories and alike. Even if the world is really far from heading to complete disaster, it is interesting to examine, as some have already done, the root of the word “apocalypse”.
We tend to use the term ‘grappling’, at times, to describe a certain struggle to fight, control, or deal with conflicts and challenges in life. Interestingly, this is a technical word originally used in the martial art form of wrestling, which involves grappling holds, throws, takedowns, joint locks and pins.
Amidst the vibrant mythological tradition of Japan emerges an interesting story of creation that speaks of deities Izanami and Isanagi, who were instructed by the primordial gods to dip a spear into the celestial ocean. As they withdrew the spear, the drops that trickled off its blade, are said to have created the islands of Japan. Was this perhaps the beginning of what would later influence the famed warrior spirit of the Samurai in Japan?
It is our conviction that the human soul is essentially one, so we cannot establish distinctions based on the external appearance of people and things. It is rather a question of working for the development and expression of the soul, which often lies dormant when incarnated in bodies that are attracted to or repelled by one another according to the circumstances.
Often when we come across this phrase, it is meant to emphasise the importance of bottom line results, disregarding the means used to achieve them, as if the path of our actions isn’t important at all; only the outcome is. Sometimes it is used in order to justify an unethical act with regards to a right cause, or even a noble ideal.
Practically, one may say that a small evil is acceptable, in order to prevent a greater one, or to bring some good. But what starts with good intention may easily grow into an undesirable reality; planting the seed of a certain tree can’t result in a different type of tree, no matter how much we wish for it.
Jataka in Sanskrit means birth stories. The Jatakas are a collection of over 500 stories that recount the past lives of Siddhartha Gautama, the being destined to become the Buddha. These tales, preserved in the Pali Canon and dated between 300 BCE and 400 CE, are an integral part of Buddhist literature, encompassing profound moral and spiritual teachings expressed simply and directly, making it widely accessible.
Ms. Anu Aga emanates the serenity of one who has successfully steered her life out of turbulence and is at peace with the cards that life dealt her, and the choices she has made along the way. Her petite frame however, is monumentally deceptive for she is a colossal force to reckon with.