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Recently, in the United States, the Governor of Georgia asked the state legislature to pass a law requiring that a classical CD be sent to every new mother. Although this bill did not pass, it received a great deal of attention. The unusual request was prompted by exciting new research in the fields of neuroscience and cognitive science regarding the effects of classical music on intelligence and learning.
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 see them as human beings, they are reduced to a disconnected organ that needs correcting, blind sighting its role and function as a single part of a complex body, animated by consciousness. While attention to detail is essential, we must also consider the possibility that by zooming in, we may at times lose the bigger picture.
armonia, in Greek Mythology, is the goddess of Harmony and Concord. She is the daughter of Ares, the God of War; and Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. At first glance, this could seem strange: a force of war, and a force of love coming together to create harmony.
Science found its place and its legitimacy in the last century with the blossoming of modernity. If in our age, the so-called post-modern era, it still wishes to occupy its rightful place, it needs to reform
itself.
Demonstrating the spirit of volunteering, members of New Acropolis Cultural Organization collectively contributed time, effort, and funds, persevering over several years, to find suitable rural land, despite budget constraints, and challenges resulting from the pandemic, to serve as a country home of our work as a School of Philosophy. Finally acquired on 12th August 2021, the land was christened Manav Bustan.
“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, there is a hope to experience something different, return rejuvenated. And so, the aspiration of ‘being one with nature’ is reduced to getting something from her. But when visiting such places of ‘natural’ beauty can we become more conscious of the relationship between Nature, the Earth, and ourselves? Can there be more consciousness when relating to the Earth, to see the unity amongst everything on Earth, including the Earth itself? Do our actions reflect respect for the Earth? Let us examine this connection. What are we doing to Nature, and can we rectify the situation?
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 later, it will cover the same distance again on its return journey home.
This journey started with my love for food, which prompted me to pursue a degree in Culinary Arts. There, in addition to simply cooking, I was introduced to the various aspects about growing and producing food before it enters the kitchen, including the entire mechanism of factory farming and the resulting destruction caused to the environment. Fortunately, I was also introduced to the other end of the spectrum: Organic farming and SLOW foods (Sustainable, Local, Organic, Wholesome) and the whole stratosphere of environmental issues,
Most scientists are convinced that living beings are a product of their genes and that we are predetermined by a genetic program inherited from our ancestors, condemned to suffer. The last 20 years of biological research have completely transformed this belief. They have shown that we can be proactive in our lives, transform ourselves, change our behaviors, and go beyond ourselves towards sometimes unsuspected horizons. The research of Dr. Bruce Lipton (1) has revealed that the environment in which the cellular membrane operates controls the behavior and physiology of the cell, activating and deactivating the genes. These discoveries are opposed to the opinion of established scientists who claim that life is controlled by the genes, highlighting epigenetic science as one of the most important fields of study today.
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 encouraging, but also underlines that something very wrong is happening and needs to be rectified. Though, we recognize the need to be more aligned to nature, our lifestyles are not in accord with this idea. Probably, for many of us, what it means to live in harmony with nature has become a foreign concept
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 eyes, and someone worth learning from. It is certainly a means to impact others, to get positive attention. It could become a problem however, if we tend to mix means with aims, forgetting that one cannot replace the other. To be considered successful on the outer doesn’t stand for the quality of the inner and the actual.
There is a relative uncertainty as to when our earliest human ancestors evolved on earth. But it is certain that by that time, a myriad variety of plants and trees had already been thriving on the planet. The very structure of a tree, with its trunk segmenting into branches, twigs and leaves, is a physical manifestation of the philosophical concept characterizing the relationship between the universe and the One; multiplicity from Unity. The tree’s concealed roots further extend the metaphor, of unity springing from a hidden origin or source. Even those of us who do not share this perception cannot help but experience a sense of awe, perhaps even an intuitive reverence, in the presence of a forest of these majestic giants clothed in their silent, steadfast, resilient beauty. Older than man himself, trees have been integral to myths and folklore in almost all cultures as symbols of solace, strength, abundance, and immortality.
One of the main characteristics of the human mind is its ability to form concepts, principles and theories for the purpose of understanding the world around us. Einstein used to say in wonder that the most surprising thing about the universe is that it seemed intelligible. It might well not be, but it is. What we do not understand seems messy to us, and stimulates us to discover it.
In March 2022, New Acropolis Culture Circle hosted renowned physician, author and Padma Bhushan awardee Dr. Farokh Udwadia at our Mumbai center. Dr. Udwadia has contributed to
many National and International publications, and written several books, one of which is TABIYAT: Medicine and Healing in India. He has spoken out strongly about how humanizing medicine will engender greater empathy and create a stronger bond between the doctor and patient, a vital precondition for optimal healing.
The cyanotype process is a fascinating analogue photographic printing process that produces distinctive blue hued prints. It was one of the earliest non-silver processes used for creating photographs, and its invention marked a significant development in the history of photography.