August 8, 2014
Introduction Despite their universal existence in all civilizations and all times of history, myths have often been scoffed at and regarded as old wives tales. August Comte, the founder of positivism and sociology, relegated myths to the most early and primitive level of intellectual evolution and Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, a French philosopher, associated myth with pre-logical [...]August 8, 2014
If, today, at the end of the twentieth century, one were to ask the average person to name an Egyptian pharaoh, the reply would probably be, “Tutankhamen.” This, of course, is due to the highly unusual discovery by Howard Carter in 1922 of the child-king’s small but almost intact tomb. Tutankhamen died at age 17. [...]August 8, 2014
In 1614 and 1615, two ‘Rosicrucian Manifestos’ were published in Germany. They described the foundation of the “Fraternity of the Rosy Cross”, outlined its basic principles and invited learned men of good will to apply for membership and contribute to a “general and universal reformation of the whole wide world”. The first Manifesto, entitled “Fama [...]August 4, 2014
Libretto Hampi’s history melds so seamlessly into legend that it is difficult to establish where one ends and the other begins. This tiny hamlet lay nestled within the area known as Kishkinda which, according to the Hindu epic Ramayana, was the realm of the Monkey Gods. Following Ravan’s abduction of Sita, Ram and Lakshman arrived [...]July 1, 2014
Director: Pan Nalin Cast: Shawn Ku, Christy Chung, Neelesha BaVora, Lhakpa Tsering, Tenzin Tashi Duration: 145 min “What is more important: satisfying one thousand desires or conquering just one?” What is “Samsara”? For the Buddhists, Samsara is the wheel of rebirths. More specifically, it means rotation and change. Its rotation comes from the force of [...]May 22, 2014
The black of its feathers and its mournful cry make the raven, which feeds on carrions, a bird of ill omen. This reputation is also to be found in China even though the Chinese see the raven as symbol of filial gratitude, considering the fact that it feeds its parents. In Japan as well the [...]May 1, 2014
Director: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Ariadna Gil, Sergi Lopez, Ivana Baquero, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones Duration: 119 min. This is a story that unfolds at two levels. At a real one (in Franco’s Spain where his generals face the resistance of the extreme left rebels) and at a symbolic level, the inner world of the [...]