Showing 468 articles
Response in Times of Crisis
Author: Anand BaskaranJune 19, 2021
Across the globe, we are all living through interesting times, and these unique times are certainly powerful – both in our lives, as well as in human history. From different corners, across multiple forums, I am sure each of us has in the recent weeks and months heard others or indeed ourselves, say: “What a [...]
In Search of Certainty
Author: Suchita TirkeyJune 19, 2021
Heraclitus, a Pre-Socratic philosopher of ancient Greece, famously said “you cannot step into the same river twice” implying that everything is constantly flowing like the waters of a river, in movement always, intrinsic to the process of evolution. Following this law of nature, life too is in constant flow, travelling like the river through beautiful [...]
Winter- Inspiration for the Inner Journey of the Philosopher
Author: Anand BaskaranJune 19, 2021
Winter is here! Across the northern hemisphere, winter has taken hold. Bangaloreans have brought out their warm clothes, there is a definite nip in the air. In many other parts of the country and the world, winters are harsher, and far more measures are required to counter the chill. To a greater or a lesser [...]
The Art of Healing and Evidence Based Medicine
Author: S. GoodallMay 13, 2021
Healing practices have been recorded for millennia across cultures and geographies. Ever since sickness has existed, human beings have developed many different methods and systems to try and facilitate healing, many of them differing in their understanding, approaches and aims. Medicine has always been considered partly science and partly art. Part of medicine deals with [...]
Art and Philosophical Ideals
Author: Rasha KawarMay 13, 2021
Art has the ability to elevate us. In equal measure it can provoke, disturb, and challenge us. Art can do many things, but perhaps at its best it can connect us not only to each other, but also to something higher, a more perfect ideal beyond the realm of the material. There are many lenses [...]
Developing Virtue
Author: Tushar SawantMay 12, 2021
A long time ago, in the lands marked by the Roman Republic, a group of senators marched with haste to meet a man tilling a small farm. Upon watching the senators approach his farm, the man enquired, “Is everything alright?” to which they replied, “We hope that it might turn out well for both you [...]
The Power of Sound
Author: Paul CummingsMay 12, 2021
Paying attention to what you hear is a way to relax. The sounds of nature provide a great deal of meditational calmness, such as listening to the rolling of ocean waves or bird song in the garden. Our ancestors strived to achieve entering altered states of mind by making sounds. They did this by chanting [...]
The Philosophy of Benevolence
Author: Julian ScottMay 12, 2021
I am referring with this title to the life and work of a Chinese philosopher called Mengzi, or Mencius, as the latinized version of his name is written. Born in Zou province around 371 BC, he lived in a period known as ‘The Warring States’, which lasted from 481 to 221 BC. It was probably [...]
Ferocious Deities of Japan
Author: Nataliya PetlevychMay 12, 2021
Among the benevolent and peace- and goodness-emanating deities of Japanese Buddhism, one might be surprised to encounter the ferocious and mighty Myōō, the Wisdom Kings. Their appearance is mesmerising: faces filled with astonishing power and determination, clearly visible fangs and bulging eyes, impressive postures of true warriors equipped with different weapons to combat evil. The [...]
Do Not Give In to Pessimism
Author: Delia Steinberg GuzmánMay 2, 2021
We live at a time in history – which is everybody’s life – when events are accelerating unstoppably, and often give us the impression that they are completely beyond our powers. We know that the duration of time varies in accordance with the inner state with which we measure it. For this reason, neither in [...]
Racism, a Product of Modernity
Author: Fernando SchwarzApril 11, 2021
Racism can be expressed and experienced on different levels. Not knowing how to value another race or another religion is part of an ethical conception of racism. This is a relatively recent phenomenon. It appears in the Renaissance and especially develops in the 18th and 19th centuries. Non acceptance has always existed; in this regard, [...]
Fear and the Stages of Life
Author: Carlos AdelantadoApril 4, 2021
We live in a world of lasers, particle accelerators, satellite image transmission, mainframe computers and microchips, and many other things so unique to this era. At the same time, however, we live with our desires, passions, defects and virtues, with our universal and timeless fears, typical of every human being and of all times. And [...]