Showing 40 articles
Reflections on the Metaphysics of Music with Shubha Mudgal
Author: Manjula NanavatiOctober 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 [...]
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 [...]
The Way of the Artist
Author: Shraddha ShettyApril 20, 2017
“Beauty is truth’s smile, when she beholds her own face in a perfect mirror.” (1) How would you define art? Usually, it is described as a form which is pleasing to the eyes. We call this form ‘beautiful’. Is beauty then related only to the sense of sight, motivated by the viewer’s feeling at the [...]
Harmony and the Art of True Friendship
Author: Ran KremerSeptember 24, 2016
A wise man once said, ‘One close real friend is better than ten distant and estranged brothers.’ Does true and unconditioned comradeship still exists in the 21st century? How different is real friendship from having casual friends or from “Facebook Friends”? Can this kind of lasting and profound friendship be found? How and where? There [...]
Living Together in Harmony
Author: Delia Steinberg GuzmánSeptember 23, 2016
Those who are incapable of living in harmony with others are also incapable of living in harmony with themselves. What they can’t achieve when working with others they won’t achieve for themselves either. – Delia Steinberg Guzmán Human unity It is our conviction that the human soul is essentially one, so we cannot establish distinctions based [...]
Education: To What End?
Author: Archana SamarthSeptember 23, 2016
“Your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the make [...]
Accepting our Differences, Accepting Ourselves
Author: Gilad SommerJune 1, 2016
We are all different. This seems like an obvious statement, but it is often the obvious statements which require the most scrutiny and investigation, exactly because they are the ones we take least time to consider. Even though we all share the essential experience of a human being, each of us filters this experience through [...]
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 [...]
No offence, please, but we need more integrity
Author: Sabine LeitnerSeptember 1, 2015
No offence, please, but we need more integrity I assume that most people don’t want to offend anyone. Most people also prefer to avoid conflict. But is it actually possible never to offend anyone? And would it be a good thing? Here a quote from the American TV series Ladies Man: “Now, political correctness is [...]
Must we live in stress?
Author: Ilanit AdarAugust 19, 2015
Every period in life as in the life of a society as a whole, can be characterized through different aspects: social, economic, scientific, educational and others. Every period is different from the previous one and from the following one, because everything changes with time… If we consider the social-psychological perspective of the actual period, we [...]
How to Stop Worrying
Author: Gilad SommerJanuary 31, 2015
The problem of worrying affects all human beings. Worry is a form of anxiety, created by repeating circular thoughts in regards to a possible future event. It is an expression of a mind which is out of control, and its repercussions are fatigue, distraction and the inability to be in the present moment. Nobody wants [...]
The Mystery of Animal Migration
Author: Julian ScottAugust 8, 2014
The world record for animal migration is held by a bird called the arctic tern; its journey, starting within weeks of hatching, will take it from northern Greenland, down the western coasts of Europe and Africa, across the Antarctic ocean to the south pole – a total of around 11,000 miles. Less than a year [...]