Related Posts
For millennia, specific locations around the world have been regarded with fascination and sacredness. Despite all the materialistic opulence and grandeur of some of the most recent human architectural achievements, there remains something awe inspiring about many ancient structures that have stood their ground for thousands of years. For many, even the most grandiose five-star properties of Dubai look pale when compared to the magnificence of the Angkor Wat Temple Complex in Cambodia for instance.
For centuries art has been a natural means to express one’s inner journey – be it as a community or as an individual search. So has it been for Olivia Fraser, who has used her art to uplift, to produce wonder and beauty, and to find the ‘inner essence’ of things.
Olivia Fraser moved to India in 1989. Initially she was a travel painter before apprenticing with miniature and Pichwai artists from Jaipur, where she learnt their rich, rigorous and intricate tradition. The influence of Nathdwara Pichwai painting and early 19th century Jodhpuri painting,
The New Acropolis Culture Circle explores the diverse expressions of culture through a series of intimate and interactive presentations, in an attempt to revive the spiritual essence that forms the basis of all classical art and culture. Far from being definitive, this article is an attempt to share a synthesis of my learning from some of the gracious speakers who have shared their inspiration and wisdom with us in the course of the last few years.
Padmashri Shekhar Sen, accomplished actor, singer, lyricist, and music director, is perhaps most celebrated for his unique mono-act theatrical renditions, through which he brings to life master poet-philosophers Tulisdas, Kabir, Surdas, and Vivekananda. Last February, New Acropolis (Mumbai) had the privilege to host an evening performance of a medley of Shekhar ji’s moving works. Ever since, I have been longing for an opportunity to unravel the man behind the masks. Seated on the cozy sofa of his Versova home, over a hot cup of masala tea, the opportunity presented itself. Delightedly looking back at his visit to the Centre he shares, “Any place I go that I sense is truly spiritual is very special for me. In a place like New Acropolis, where so much good is fostered, I just hoped to absorb some profound inspiration, like baby Krishna steals away butter!” Our conversation naturally arrived at unraveling the true role of an artist in society, and Shekhar ji playfully wove poetry and rhyme into his evocative explanations.
Miti Desai is the founder and creative head of Miti Design Lab. A designer and classical dancer, Miti teaches as a visiting faculty at the Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology (Bengaluru) and at Sophia Polytechnic (Mumbai), and has personally created and executed courses initiating children into Holistic Design, Aesthetics and Culture through the performing arts.
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.
We have made great advances in mainstream medicine, and have at our disposal more technology and research than ever before. This has enabled us to make great strides in diagnosis and treatment. This progress, however, has its pitfalls as well. Specialty and super-specialty are causing doctors to lose a holistic view of patients. Rather than see them as human beings, they are reduced to a disconnected organ that needs correcting, blind sighting its role and function as a single part of a complex body, animated by consciousness. While attention to detail is essential, we must also consider the possibility that by zooming in, we may at times lose the bigger picture.
This article is the result of a trip I recently made to Athens, Epidaurus, Olympia and Delphi. Walking through its stunning archaeology, pausing at monuments, and gazing spellbound at its sacred temples, I couldn’t help but ponder what might have inspired such a civilization.
Nursing at her bosom, Greece nurtured such an altitude of knowledge and amplitude of wisdom that it came to be called the cradle of Western Civilization. Herodotus, regarded as the Father of History, lived here. Solon envisioned the origins of Democracy here.
The forest is not merely an expression or representation of sacredness, nor a place to invoke the sacred; the forest is sacredness itself. Nature is not merely created by God, nature is God. Whoever moves within the forest can partake directly of sacredness
This story was created by the volunteers New Acropolis India as a part of our 16th anniversary celebration. It shows the idea that to build a better world, we need the courage to first imagine it, and then conviction and persistence to make it come true. We need to sow the seed, which we then need to nourish for it to grow and flourish.
Although I have never been a chess player I have always been fascinated by the various elements which constitute this game. Looking at the black and white chess board or the shapes of the various pieces I feel as if something very old and mysterious has been hidden behind those symbols. The origins of this game are not so clear, but it is well known that board games can be found all over the ancient world with records which stretch back as far as 5,000 years ago (i.e. in Egypt). It is very likely that the “ancestor” of this beloved board game was from the East and most likely from India. We also know of its connection with war, military strategies and the Kshatriya (warrior) caste. As India has always been associated with metaphysical teachings I wanted to see what symbolic connections could be found in this game.
The Movie The Matrix, released in 1999, and its two sequels (Reloaded and Revolutions), released in 2003, have together been an international phenomena. The first movie in particular, was known as a modern version of Plato’s Myth of the Cave, and the two subsequent parts are of the same universe – the real world and the cave – although further away from Plato’s text. When The Matrix Revolutions was released, it seemed that the dice were rolled. A cycle was complete, and the sun was rising on a world where the cards had been dealt and the rules had apparently changed.
Science found its place and its legitimacy in the last century with the blossoming of modernity. If in our age, the so-called post-modern era, it still wishes to occupy its rightful place, it needs to reform
itself.
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
She feels that she didn’t ‘choose Dhrupad’, rather she organically got drawn to an ecosystem where the ideal teacher and music were present. The meaning of taleem, for her, is a unique exchange, which is not just training but rather a process of giving and receiving.