Showing 37 articles
My Original Face Before My Parents Were Born: The Tryst with Koans
Author: Sukesh MotwaniJanuary 10, 2023
A Zen master asks his student, “Without thinking good or evil, in this very moment, What is your original Face? …. Show me your Original Face, the face you had before your parents were born.” “Quickly, quickly, without thinking right and wrong…” (Before the engines of thought and feeling start revving, before you’re making judgements [...]
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 [...]
Naad Yoga: The Search for Silence
Author: Manjula NanavatiMarch 31, 2021
Many ancient traditions unequivocally describe the role of sound in the divine process of creation. The Bible declares, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. (1) Hindu and Buddhist traditions believe that OM is the sound of creation, of the unmanifest diversifying into all the [...]
Unity in Diversity – Lessons from the Animal Kingdom
Author: Dilip JainMarch 31, 2021
Om Purnamadaha Purnamidam Purnat Purnamudachyate Purnasya Purnamadaya Purnamewa Vashishyate This creation is whole and complete. From the whole emerge creations, each whole and complete. Take the whole from the whole. The whole yet remains, undiminished, complete. -Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I come from the limited world of business governed by ever-changing rules of finance and management. Hence, [...]
An Esoteric Interpretation of the Arabian Nights
Author: Ania HajostJanuary 7, 2021
When the breeze of a joyful dawn blew free In the silken sail of infancy, The tide of time flow’d back with me, The forward-flowing tide of time; And many a sheeny summer-morn, Adown the Tigris I was borne, By Bagdat’s shrines of fretted gold, High-walled gardens green and old; True Mussulman was I and [...]
Facing Life, Beyond Life
Author: Sukesh MotwaniDecember 27, 2020
A short night wakes me from a dream that seemed so long. ~ Yayu (1783) The following piece is my humble investigation into my fear of death; the fear of my own (impending) death and also the fear of the eventual death of a loved one. This journey began 8 years ago with my [...]
Aesthetic Intelligence
Author: Sabine LeitnerOctober 1, 2020
We have probably all heard about different types of intelligence: kinaesthetic, verbal, logical-mathematical and lately also emotional and even spiritual intelligence. Recently I came across the term aesthetic intelligence and it inspired me to think about what this could mean in a philosophical and metaphysical way and why it might be important. From a philosophical [...]
The Boring Tool
Author: Paul SavageJuly 21, 2020
Boredom is something we are all familiar with, yet in our increasingly technology driven world, we are less and less able to engage with it and use this mental state as a means of creativity, learning and conscious development. We are all aware of that compulsion to turn to our phones as soon as we [...]
The Proof is in the Pudding
Author: Conor McMahonJuly 21, 2020
We all know the phrase, “the proof is in the pudding.” You don’t want a chef to tell you how great his food is. He has to make it to prove himself. The same should be applied to philosophy. What’s the point of a degree in philosophy if you’re not living it? Epictetus supported this [...]
A Tryst with Mother Earth
Author: Vasant SanzgiriDecember 31, 2019
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” – M.K. Gandhi Very often I hear from friends, “I want to be one with Nature.” For most people this means visiting some remote forested place rich in wildlife, or vacationing at some scenic location like a hill station or beach. Usually, [...]
The Integral Theory of Ken Wilber
Author: Julian ScottAugust 22, 2019
The American thinker Ken Wilber is well known in some circles, such as transpersonal psychology, yet despite being the author of 25 books he is barely mentioned in academia. His unconventional approach, which tries to integrate opposites such as science and spirituality has made him difficult to classify and has brought him into conflict with [...]
Vipassana: Experience of Impermanence
Author: Manjula NanavatiJanuary 13, 2019
Twenty–five centuries ago in Northern India, a man desolated by the quantum and pervasiveness of human suffering in the world, resolved to find a solution. His investigation led him to many masters, abundant knowledge and a plethora of techniques to investigate Truth and Reality, until finally on achieving enlightenment, he devoted the rest of his [...]