Showing 11 articles
Farewell to Delia Steinberg Guzmán
Author: Sabine LeitnerSeptember 8, 2023
I would like to dedicate this article to my teacher Delia Steinberg Guzmán, International President of New Acropolis from 1991 till 2020, who passed away peacefully on August 15. A few years ago, she said in an interview: “We should all take time to think: why are we in the world? Not because we feel [...]
Qawwali: Call of the Spirit
Author: Harianto MehtaOctober 9, 2022
This article serves only as an introduction to the legendary origins, metaphysical purpose, and the traditional form used in the practice of Qawwali. It would be impossible to capture the cultural nuances, complex history, and social impact of the genre in this brief work, but I hope to share some principal themes that have emerged [...]
A Sufi Transformation: Baba Bulleh Shah
Author: Sukesh MotwaniNovember 7, 2021
Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch (Bahawalpur, Punjab) in present-day Pakistan, where his father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a Paish Imam and teacher. Most historians confirm that Bulleh Shah worked as an adolescent herder in the village. Despite his poverty, however, he was [...]
Music and I
Author: Kurush DordiJune 29, 2021
Today we live in a world dominated by thousands of music streaming apps catering to a variety of genres. Although Pop, Rock, Jazz, Hip hop, and Electronic Dance Music are all popular, for me Western Classical Music is the shining jewel of the treasure box. It has its own language, awakens emotions, and rehabilitates me [...]
The Power of Sound
Author: Paul CummingsMay 12, 2021
Paying attention to what you hear is a way to relax. The sounds of nature provide a great deal of meditational calmness, such as listening to the rolling of ocean waves or bird song in the garden. Our ancestors strived to achieve entering altered states of mind by making sounds. They did this by chanting [...]
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 [...]
A Classical Voyage: Music and Life
Author: Shraddha ShettyOctober 13, 2015
“Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in the mirror. But you are the eternity, and you are the mirror.” – Kahlil Gibran The sunrise, or sunset of course, doesn’t care if we watch it or not. It will keep on being beautiful, whether we look at it, recognize it, or not. It follows that there [...]
Custodians of Culture: In Conversation with Padmashri Shekhar Sen
Author: Harianto MehtaJuly 27, 2015
Padmashri Shekhar Sen, accomplished actor, singer, lyricist, and music director, is perhaps most celebrated for his unique mono-act theatrical renditions, through which he brings to life master poet-philosophers Tulisdas, Kabir, Surdas, and Vivekananda. Last February, New Acropolis (Mumbai) had the privilege to host an evening performance of a medley of Shekhar ji’s moving works. Ever [...]
Two Ways of Beating a Drum
Author: AnonymousNovember 21, 2014
Once upon a time there was a drummer living in a small country village. He heard there was going to be a fair in the city of Benares. So he decided to go there and earn some money by playing his drums. He took his son along to accompany him when playing music written for [...]
The Mozart Effect
Author: David HirschornMay 12, 2014
“Thus, then, excellence of form and content in discourse and of musical expression and rhythm, and grace of form and movement, all depend on goodness of nature, by which I mean, not the foolish simplicity sometimes called by courtesy good nature, but a nature in which goodness of character has been well and truly established.” [...]