In Search of Unity

Tagore always criticized power and materialism for its own sake. The more one accumulates treasures, and the more one amasses all the power in the world, one is actually chained.

This article is a compilation of excerpts from the book A Moment to Stop and Reflect by Ilanit Adar Matoki to be published in Korean.

In times when knowledge is very accessible and there exists a flood of information, it is a challenge to acknowledge words of wisdom. The eyes quickly pass over unimportant words in the same manner as knowledge of great importance and value. My purpose here is to revive the words of wisdom uttered by philosophers, scientists, artists and leaders, and to emphasize the practical aspect of universal ideas that are independent of time and place.

In the developed world, the standards of literacy, numeracy, general knowledge and behaviour are falling. Millions of young people have also become disaffected from school and, despite the fact that previous generations have fought hard to make what was once a privilege of the rich accessible to all, do not see much point in formal education. In the U.K. for example, the figures of truanting have been going up for years and the problem has become so bad that the government is paying the most disaffected students in order to keep them in school and away from the streets.

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 from my own amateur investigation, to help the reader embark on their own exploration of this magnificent Sufi practice.

The question of free will is one of the oldest and most enduring questions facing humanity. The ancient Greeks considered it in their tragedies, such as Oedipus Rex, where it seemed as though the hero’s fate was predetermined in spite of any actions he might take to prevent or alter it. The Greeks and their cultural successors, the Romans, had an image of three Fates, who wove and spun the destinies of men, and cut the thread of their lives at a pre-ordained moment.

As I began to reflect on how our way of living had changed literally overnight when the lockdown was announced in Mumbai, I realised that like most people, I went through various stages of emotions, doubts, and concerns. There were moments of uncertainty, and confusion about the future, the health of loved ones, the suffering around the planet, and concern about the outlook of our family business, our employees… However, early on I was able to distance myself from this constant noise; the diverse opinions and criticism about how the situation should be handled, the influx of information, the endless WhatsApp forwards, and the general sense of panic that I noticed around me.

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” [1]. What began as an ecological movement towards ‘Permanent Agriculture’, over time, evolved into something far more holistic and all encompassing; a set of principles and values of what it means to be conscious, contributing human beings and reviving a way of living that aims to develop interdependence and personal responsibility in every sphere of life.

New Acropolis is an international organisation that promotes an ideal of timeless values. Its aim is to contribute to the development of individuals and societies through its work in the fields of philosophy, culture and volunteering. New Acropolis is present in over 50 countries across the five continents and has more than 400 centres worldwide.

Its action in the world is based on three founding ideals:

The ideal of universal fraternity, promoting respect for human dignity, beyond any differences of gender, culture, religion or social background.

The ideal of knowledge, encouraging the love of wisdom through the comparative study of philosophies, religions, sciences and arts.

The ideal of development, enabling each human being to realize their best qualities and values, as a solid basis for a better world.

The president of New Acropolis, Carlos Adelantado, explains how these shared ideals can be achieved.

There is no point in compiling yet again a list of the situations afflicting everyone all over the world, because the media have already taken it upon themselves to broadcast them, and because, by repeating them, we only make the evils bigger without finding solutions.

As the Sun rises over the horizon and fills the sky with its magical light, a 2000 year old ritual is performed daily in the few remaining Zoroastrian temples of Mumbai. The priest performs a ceremony (5 times each day), tending to the flames of the consecrated fire, offering fragrant sandalwood and incense while reciting ancient texts venerating the holy fire, ringing a bell nine times, rejecting evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds. Such veneration of fire, however, is not distinct to the Zoroastrian community. Many cultures around the world have worshipped fire in different manners over millennia.

We often speak about the stars, the planets, the animals, the sky, the Earth, water or snow and we forget the real sense and meaning of the word Universe. Man asks himself questions about the whole of Nature, of which he himself is a part, but he tends to lose the central idea to which it refers.

‘Universe’ means that which is going in a single direction, so what we must discover is where it is going. This was perhaps one of the first approaches that humanity had. All the ancient civilisations asked themselves, through their religions, their metaphysics and their philosophies

There is an old Eastern saying which states: “The Past Time is the Present Time, as also the Future, which, though it has not come into existence, still is.” In the Eastern view of time, reality exists beyond the temporal realm and what we experience as separate stages are actually part of a simultaneous reality. This is an interesting concept, implying that the past still exists, the present is but a fleeting moment and the future already exists in the blueprint of nature. It would be one way of explaining the many instances of prophecy that have been recorded in history.

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 name was Abu’l-fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar.

From an esoteric point of view, a ritual is dependent on the existence of the invisible dimension. This invisible dimension consists of a spiritual-mental aspect, which is the domain of the archetypes or ‘living idea-beings’ spoken of by the Platonists; and an ‘astral’ aspect, which is an intermediate world between spirit and matter, just as imagination is the link between the world of ideas and the physical world. In this view of things, the invisible world exists, the material world reflects. The visible is the shadow of the invisible.

Philosophy means “love of wisdom or knowledge”. It is a route illuminated by the sun of truth. Anything which does not respond to this essential characteristic is not philosophy, but mere speculation and alternative repetitions of what others have said, taking as much advantage of the old teachings as a spoon takes nourishment from and enjoys the soup in which it is dipped.