Showing 40 articles

A Tryst with Mother Earth

Author: Vasant Sanzgiri

December 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 Scott

August 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 Nanavati

January 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 [...]

‘Heal’-th

Author: Shraddha Shetty

January 13, 2019

We have made great advances in mainstream medicine, and have at our disposal more technology and research than ever before. This has enabled us to make great strides in diagnosis and treatment. This progress, however, has its pitfalls as well. Specialty and super-specialty are causing doctors to lose a holistic view of patients. Rather than [...]

Can identity be a choice?

Author: Sabine Leitner

September 14, 2018

“Who are you?” – This is a question I usually ask in one of my classes. Asking the same question ten times in a row, I nudge the participants gently to the realization that we all have more than one identity. Some people tend to identify at first with their name, nationality, gender, profession; others [...]

Brushed by God’s Presence

Author: Kurush Dordi

August 1, 2018

For millennia, specific locations around the world have been regarded with fascination and sacredness. Despite all the materialistic opulence and grandeur of some of the most recent human architectural achievements, there remains something awe inspiring about many ancient structures that have stood their ground for thousands of years. For many, even the most grandiose five-star [...]

That Which You Seek

Author: Dipti Sanzgiri

January 21, 2018

At some points in our lives, many of us face some nagging questions. What manifests is a sense of restlessness, a lack of real happiness and peace – despite the absence of any apparent reason for feeling so. Questions like, Am I doing what I should be doing? Do my actions have any meaning or [...]

God, Consciousness, Science: Conversations

Author: Sukesh Motwani

October 19, 2017

As philosophers born in an age where Science is leading the pursuit of answering questions to do with life, creation and the nature of reality, it becomes incumbent upon us to keep alive the sense of wonder at the underlying order and harmony in the workings of the universe. The search for ‘truth’ and ‘meaning’ [...]

Reflections on the Metaphysics of Music with Shubha Mudgal

Author: Manjula Nanavati

October 19, 2017

“When the soul hears music, it drops its best guard.” – Socrates Music is perhaps the most philosophically puzzling of all the arts. Unlike painting or sculpture it does not culminate in a physical object. Unlike literature and drama, instrumental music has no semantic value. Yet every tune, melody, theme, raga or symphony is steeped [...]

Are We Human Beings or Human Doings?

Author: Archana Samarth

October 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 [...]

Classical Dance: A Stairway to Spirituality

Author: Purbasha Ghosh

August 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 [...]

Karl Jaspers: Philosopher of Otherness

Author:

August 16, 2017

The biography of Karl Jaspers gives an indication of the immense scope of his work. He began by studying law, then moved on to medicine, becoming a doctor specialising in psychiatry, and finally ended up as a professor of philosophy at the University of Heidelberg.   One of his first works was entitled Psychology of [...]