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“And how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn’t see?
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?”
These lines from Bob Dylan’s song – Blowing in the Wind – flashed in my head as I put down another book written on Giordano Bruno, arguably one of the greatest philosophers from the 16th Century. The lines of the song and Giordano Bruno’s quest seem to echo each other – to urge humanity to look beyond the dark sheaths of ignorance, the petty disputes, divisions and one-upmanship, and to explore the true identity of what it means to be human, which is much more than the mode of survival that has become the focus of our ‘living’, today.
Between the Middle Ages in Europe when it was engulfed in darkness, and today where we admire the marvels of human creation, connectedness, technological advancement, and medical progress, have we really become smarter, happier, more loving and caring? Why does it feel that the last few hundred years of progress have largely been about attempts to master the everchanging outside, without ever addressing the real core of the problem? Have we even spent enough time to understand what the core is? Have we made progress towards finding out what our life is about and who we really are?
In most ancient civilizations – like in an important number of faiths – we find the idea of reincarnation, the process that follows physical death. Modern occidental cultures consider death as the opposite of life, and in logical consequence reject death. Death is considered an aim , a disaster, and today most of us are afraid of death. In ancient times,
Demonstrating the spirit of volunteering, members of New Acropolis Cultural Organization collectively contributed time, effort, and funds, persevering over several years, to find suitable rural land, despite budget constraints, and challenges resulting from the pandemic, to serve as a country home of our work as a School of Philosophy. Finally acquired on 12th August 2021, the land was christened Manav Bustan.
When architects design a building in our times, they share the plan of a proposed building and get the client to approve its design, based on which the building is then taken up for construction. But how do you design a building when your client is divine, or in the invisible?
One cannot speak of philosophy without speaking of the philosopher; one cannot mention the world of ideas without speaking of the person who is capable of living those ideas. So, if we had to highlight one of the fundamental characteristics of the philosopher, the lover of wisdom, we would say that such a person has the qualities of the eternal seeker. He is a self-conqueror, who will only stop seeking when he has finally reached wisdom; and we don’t know whether, even then, he will go on to seek other things, which are incomprehensible and inaccessible for us today.
The question of free will is one of the oldest and most enduring questions facing humanity. The ancient Greeks considered it in their tragedies, such as Oedipus Rex, where it seemed as though the hero’s fate was predetermined in spite of any actions he might take to prevent or alter it. The Greeks and their cultural successors, the Romans, had an image of three Fates, who wove and spun the destinies of men, and cut the thread of their lives at a pre-ordained moment.
In the journey of life as we grow in consciousness, we start to become aware of a certain truth that dawns on us as gently and as lovingly as the first rays of the rising Sun – that we are all ‘One Life’, deeply connected to each other in mystic and mysterious ways.
We often speak about the stars, the planets, the animals, the sky, the Earth, water or snow and we forget the real sense and meaning of the word Universe. Man asks himself questions about the whole of Nature, of which he himself is a part, but he tends to lose the central idea to which it refers.
‘Universe’ means that which is going in a single direction, so what we must discover is where it is going. This was perhaps one of the first approaches that humanity had. All the ancient civilisations asked themselves, through their religions, their metaphysics and their philosophies
No one can ignore the fact that we are living in a world in crisis, a world of great changes on the ecological, social, economic and even cosmic levels.
On the ecological level, this can be seen in the excessive, irrational and selfish exploitation of the natural resources of our planet Earth.
Some of the factors of this ecological crisis are of great importance for our immediate future. For example, the global warming of the planet, due to an uncontrolled industrialization, with its consequences of the melting of the polar icecaps and the progressive and now unstoppable rise in sea levels; pollution by chemical and radioactive waste of land, water and the atmosphere; and genetic transmutations in many plant and animal species, to cope with the need to feed our overpopulated planet.
Recently, in the United States, the Governor of Georgia asked the state legislature to pass a law requiring that a classical CD be sent to every new mother. Although this bill did not pass, it received a great deal of attention. The unusual request was prompted by exciting new research in the fields of neuroscience and cognitive science regarding the effects of classical music on intelligence and learning.
Life is a mystery and in mysterious ways, invites us to unravel it. The Truth it guards so protectively is expressed in myriad symbolic forms, some of which have survived over centuries, civilizations, and cultures. For one who is on a philosophical adventure of seeking wisdom, these symbolic forms are a bridge to the hidden Truth, or at least to some aspect of it. One such intriguing form that literally and figuratively conceals the mystery that is man, is a mask.
I recently had the opportunity to investigate my all-time favourite fairytale, Cinderella, in a new light. I realised that we can infact extract very practical principles to apply in our daily lives. But for this, we need to look at the story that we are so familiar with, through a new lens, leaving behind our preconceived notions for a moment. I began to slowly peel off layers, to attempt to read between the lines, and to grasp the symbolism deeply embedded in the characters and plot.
Extracts from an evening hosted by New Acropolis Culture Circle. Philanthropy can be a bridge between the ideal of fraternity and its material manifestation. Imagining a better world, with a greater sense of fraternity is intuitively appealing to many. Yet, to make a personal sacrifice in order to create that better world, is the choice that we make less often than is needed.
In this light, it is relevant to ask – what drives one to share with that urgent sense of duty? Does one need money and power to be a philanthropist? What is the relationship between our choices and our identity?
As philosophers born in an age where Science is leading the pursuit of answering questions to do with life, creation and the nature of reality, it becomes incumbent upon us to keep alive the sense of wonder at the underlying order and harmony in the workings of the universe. The search for ‘truth’ and ‘meaning’ has driven philosophers, scientists and religious thinkers alike…so would it really be presumptuous to qualify this search as one to do with the ultimate mystery, the enigma of God? This article looks at this enigma by reproducing interesting conversations on the interplay between scientific pursuits and spiritually based ideas from renowned scientists and writers. It sets out to show how rationalists and scientists do concur albeit in different ways, that there is an invisible force that animates all of us and determines the laws of nature and the universe at large.
TOne of the platforms through which this unique concept of education was disseminated was through the ancient Indian Gurukul tradition. The term Gurukul comes from Guru, meaning teacher and kul, meaning extended family or home.