Showing 44 articles
Empowering Real Change: Philosophy & Art Panel Discussion on World Philosophy Day 2017
Author: Compiled by Harianto H MehtaJanuary 21, 2018
For New Acropolis members across the globe, every day in a way, is World Philosophy Day. Through history, classical traditions have employed philosophy as the central axis of education, recognizing the pivotal role of wisdom and ethics, in the formation of human civilization. Therefore, we mark the special opportunity of UNESCO’s annual endorsement of World [...]
Daring to Dream of a New and Better World -Q&A with Yaron Barzilay
Author: Manjula NanavatiJanuary 21, 2018
Tall, trim and relaxed in any environment, Yaron Barzilay smiles easily, but weighs his words very carefully. Understated and well-read, he punctuates his conversations unexpectedly, with an incisive colloquial humor that betrays his acute sense of the current socio-economic and political climate, and his capacious grasp of India’s history and mythology. Professionally, Yaron Barzilay is [...]
Classical Dance: A Stairway to Spirituality
Author: Purbasha GhoshAugust 27, 2017
In our perpetual pursuit of the perceived definition of success, our minds and bodies are incessantly engaged in surface level occupations; being ‘busy’ appears to be a natural choice to satiate our voracious material and intellectual needs. Nevertheless, somewhere a higher center within us remains starved and an intense yearning to unite with something larger [...]
The Constitution of the Human Being in the Eastern Tradition
Author: Agostino DominiciMay 1, 2017
In a previous article, I introduced the topic of the esoteric constitution of man and I looked at the Western tradition. In this article, I will look at the same topic but from the perspective of the Eastern tradition. I will introduce some of the Sufi, Hindu and Taoist classifications of man’s spiritual constituents. Before [...]
Sacred Dance and Classical Indian Dance
Author: Miti DesaiFebruary 7, 2017
All dance started with the yearning of the human spirit to move, but with the development of consciousness, expressed in civilisation, an additional element emerged: the idea that the purpose of human life is to grow, to evolve the consciousness, to transcend. But the makers of Indian civilisation realised that it is very difficult to [...]
Indian Classical Music – A Bridge to The Divine
Author: Dipti SanzgiriFebruary 7, 2017
Om. The first sound of creation as per the Hindu tradition. That sound with which all ancient vedic prayers start and end, as if emulating the sacred process of creation through sound. The classical tradition of music in India therefore, has traditionally been treated as a sacred means to interact with the creative principle of [...]
Down the Rabbit Hole: Tasneem Zakaria Mehta on Preservation of Heritage
Author: Manjula NanavatiSeptember 24, 2016
In five years Tasneem Zakaria Mehta revitalized a decayed and dying museum, transforming it into a vital and accessible cultural focal point for Mumbai. As vice-chairman of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Honorary Director of the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad (BDL) Museum, Tasneem spearheaded the exhaustive research and the [...]
Saying it Right – Doing it Right
Author: Michael LassmanJuly 30, 2016
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” was a little ditty chanted in the school playgrounds of the 1960s as a retort from one child to another after being teased or taunted. In truth, it should have been “…but words will really hurt me” – why? Because they can [...]
Philosophical Principles of Sanskrit
Author: Bhavna RoyMarch 23, 2016
“In the beginning was the word, and the word was God.” – John 1:1 “Om is everything; the past, the present, and the future is an expression of Om.” – Mandukya Upanishad As if echoing these ancient scriptures, quantum physicists state that creation began with the Big Bang – a first pulse of vibration; vibration [...]
Sacred Groves
Author: Ubai HuseinMarch 23, 2016
“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, experience sacredness with his entire body, breathe sacredness and contain it within [...]
Revival of the Renaissance
Author: Yaron BarzilayJanuary 20, 2016
Philosophy is an approach to life, a search for a way to try to live a little bit better, a little bit truer, everyday. But by what moral standards should we judge our actions? There is a difference between being immoral, and being amoral. Amoral means that there is no recognition of right and wrong [...]
In Conversation with Geshe Lhakdor
Author: Yaron BarzilayOctober 7, 2015
During their grueling journey across the Himalayas, Tibetan refugees carried hundreds of manuscripts into India, often guarding them with their lives. Many of these precious texts were offered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who founded the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala (India), dedicated to preserve and promote the Tibetan heritage. Today [...]