Showing 28 articles
Many Traditions, One Essence: Seeking Beauty through a Diversity of Expressions (Celebrating Arts Day 2024)
Author: Manjula Nanavati (compiled by)July 8, 2024
New Acropolis, a school of practical philosophy present in over 50 countries, celebrated Arts Day 2024, in recognition of the value of art and culture in all their myriad expressions, to individuals and to societies. India North, comprising the main centre Mumbai and the Pune branch, hosted an event at each location on June 9th, [...]
Unity Through Diversity: The Universal Language of Rhythm
Author: Manjula NanavatiMay 5, 2024
Unity of all mankind may seem at first a lofty and utopian concept, but the actualization of this intention is perhaps the realization of one principle: recognition and respect for the diversity of the human race. We must understand each other, honour each other’s cultural identity, and value each other’s way of life. To attempt [...]
Discovering Life’s Beauty through Poetry
Author: Dipti SanzgiriMay 1, 2024
What is beauty? How do we define it? What happens to us when we encounter beauty? It is an experience that is so profound that many poets have expressed in many beautiful ways. My Heart Leaps Up My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: [...]
Giordano Bruno: Some Life Lessons
Author: Ambuj DixitJanuary 10, 2023
“And how many years can some people exist Before they’re allowed to be free? Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn’t see? How many times must a man look up Before he can see the sky?” These lines from Bob Dylan’s song – Blowing in [...]
Name Our Era
Author: Antonin VinklerDecember 30, 2022
Are we living at a turning point in history? Probably many people have said this to themselves (while looking at the first bicycle, binoculars or the first field canon). Many of us who have explored world history, are certain that our era is not like the previous centuries, when people have changed attributes, characteristics, emphasis [...]
Harmonizing with Nature: The Ashaninka Tribe
Author: Axelle DefrasneOctober 9, 2022
Modern-day living seems to center around finding as much comfort in life as possible and aspiring for some growth, usually material. As a result, we are facing the great challenge of seeing our planet’s resources declining, and a general concern about our survival on earth. The fact that ecological activism is on the rise is [...]
The Measure of Success
Author: Yaron BarzilayOctober 9, 2022
It is natural to wish to live a successful and meaningful life; to feel we managed to contribute, and make some difference, some impact on the world around us; to feel we fulfilled our life. To do so, it can be logical that one would seek to influence others, to be considered successful in their [...]
Towards Permanent Co-existence: Lessons from Permaculture
Author: Trishya ScrewvalaMarch 28, 2022
The word ‘Permaculture’ was coined by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s to refer to the “consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs” . What began as an ecological movement towards ‘Permanent Agriculture’, over time, [...]
The Wisdom of Trees
Author: Manjula NanavatiMarch 28, 2022
“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.” – Herman Hesse (1) There is a relative uncertainty as to when our earliest human ancestors evolved [...]
Akbar, The Great Enigma
Author: Manjula NanavatiNovember 7, 2021
During the Renaissance, while Europe was experiencing a gigantic shift of ideas in almost every aspect of knowledge, in India, was born a man who, as Emperor of Hindustan, would use his indomitable courage and a restless search for wisdom to weave a similarly audacious social, political, and spiritual vision in the Indian subcontinent. His [...]
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, [...]
Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are
Author: Manjula NanavatiDecember 27, 2020
One of the foundations of how we conceptualize our sense of self today, perhaps came from the 17th century philosopher Rene Descartes’ most famous maxim, cogito ergo sum or I think therefore I am. Taken to an extreme that Descartes himself may never have meant, we are conditioned to prioritize self-interest, applaud the pursuit of [...]