Showing 419 articles
Are We Human Beings or Human Doings?
Author: Archana SamarthOctober 19, 2017
This question is relevant to the times we live in. The pace of life accelerated by the need for constantly moving, rushing, or accomplishing emphasises the importance we associate with doing. Just being when the whole world seems to be caught up in a whirlwind of action, seems so passive! By doing, we feel we [...]
Raphael: The Drawings
Author: Siobhan FarrarOctober 19, 2017
Raphael was born in 1483 and by the age of 17 he had been given the title of ‘Magister’, meaning independent master. This exhibition of his drawings and studies at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford takes a look at the essence of the artist. The opening lines of the exhibition’s guide read as follows: ’Drawing [...]
The importance of knowing what is good
Author: Sabine LeitnerOctober 19, 2017
If morality is the discernment of what is good and consequently the ability to choose between what is good and what is bad, then we have clearly lost our moral compass some time ago. It seems that we don’t really know anymore what is good for us. And this starts at the most basic level [...]
Yunus Emre, a Sufi Poet from Anatolia
Author: Pinar AkhanOctober 19, 2017
It is said that anyone in Turkey – even the illiterate – will have heard of Yunus Emre. Although he is not as popular here as he is in Turkey, the new TV series “Yunus Emre” is one of the attempts to make him known in the English-speaking world. What made him famous was not [...]
Philosophy as a Way of Life
Author: Julian ScottOctober 19, 2017
The other day I heard a memorable phrase from the mouth of a Yorkshire farmer: “Farming is a way of life.” And it occurred to me that anything which is done properly must be a way of life. The same is true of philosophy. “Generally speaking, university philosophy is mere fencing in front of a [...]
Myths of the Starry Sky
Author: Natalya PetlevychOctober 19, 2017
The starry sky fascinates us with its beauty and mysteries. Its can also tell us many stories that we can relate to. The Pole Star is a symbol of the immovable centre around which everything revolves, a symbol of eternity that transcends the world of time and change in which we are born and live. [...]
The Little Prince: A Journey Inwards
Author: Krutika MehtaSeptember 10, 2017
Most ancient traditions seem to share a dominant myth that revolves around a long and arduous journey with the hero facing danger or death, overcoming obstacles, before accomplishing his purposeful goal and returning home. Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, among others, viewed some of these heroes even as gods. Hercules and Arjuna are examples of [...]
Keeping the Flame Alive
Author: Kurush DordiAugust 29, 2017
As the Sun rises over the horizon and fills the sky with its magical light, a 2000 year old ritual is performed daily in the few remaining Zoroastrian temples of Mumbai. The priest performs a ceremony (5 times each day), tending to the flames of the consecrated fire, offering fragrant sandalwood and incense while reciting [...]
Re-Humanizing Corporate Culture
Author: Vasant SanzgiriAugust 29, 2017
Most people working in organizations are familiar with the Human Resources Department. It is the single point of contact for an employee – through the processes of Recruitment, On-boarding, Training, Integration, Appraisals, Growth, and even the Exit Interview. Since the HR Dept comprises a team of people that interacts with employees, it would seem appropriate [...]
The Solar Hero
Author: Natalya PetlevychAugust 29, 2017
During these days of sunlight’s fullness, it is good to remember the symbolism of the sun and its connection to our inner centre, our Higher Self. This connection appears most frequently in the stories of solar heroes. These myths tell us that a human being has something of the transient and something of the eternal, [...]
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 [...]
More than Melody – Boethius’ Music of the Spheres
Author: Siobhan FarrarAugust 27, 2017
The Music of the Spheres begins in Ancient Greece with Pythagoras who, upon passing a blacksmiths is said to have heard consonance in the different sounds of the hammer. By this he was inspired to discover the connection between vibration, frequencies and pitch. For Pythagoras the octave ratio of 1:2 is considered a symbol of [...]