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You may not know it, but as a child, plant allegories may have left a bigger impact on you than first imagined. Vivid and captivating fables, like conceptual seeds that were sown in your mind through fairy tale and superstition.
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.
Philosophers and social scientists agree that human action can only be fully understood by relating it to the context in which it takes place. Nothing can be understood in isolation from its context, and nothing even exists without a context. It is always the context that gives meaning to what we think and do, and explains why we do what we do.
I come from the limited world of business governed by ever-changing rules of finance and management. Hence, I have no formal qualification to write a scientific article about the unlimited natural world of the Animal Kingdom. My philosophy study, however, has led me to investigate various aspects of ecology and sustainability and this article is a result of my observations and reflections.
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,
Different people may have different reasons for asking this question: some may want to know if they will meet up with their pet in the next world; others may be interested in the psychic powers of animals; others may be concerned at the inhumane way we treat animals nowadays; and others may wonder whether or not we should eat animals or become vegetarians.
Nature is a source of inspiration for humanity and has always been a mirror to humankind – where the finest works of art and architecture are inspired. The ability of nature to combine beauty, economy and functionality is incomparable and it is not a coincidence that the great inventions through history have their origins in analogous natural elements. The concept of Biomimicry, widely approached by contemporary science, consists of analyzing natural systems and reproducing its principles in solutions, and become outstanding contributions to society.
“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?
New Acropolis India celebrated World Philosophy Day on 17th November with a special event in Mumbai that explored the meaning of Life through symbols.
UNESCO commemorates World Philosophy Day on the 3rd Thursday of November every year, to recognize the contribution of Philosophy as a force of transformation for the development of individuals and societies. To this end it encourages philosophical dialogues, conferences, and workshops with participation from scientists, philosophers and artists from all branches of knowledge, as well as teachers, students and the general public, in order to refine the ethical principles that should guide humanity to build a better world.
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.
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.
The brief time that I recently spent in Peru’s southern Amazon Forest, really opened my heart to the beauty and infinite wisdom that nature has to offer. The potent combination of heat and humidity makes the Amazon the largest rainforest on Earth, with over four hundred billion trees, 16000 different species, growing in the region1. The unpredictable murky river, and the dense tree cover that envelopes the jungle renders the forest floor almost completely dark. It gave me the impression that beyond the obvious abundance of life, the unique biosphere contained deep mysteries, revealed only to the traveler willing to embark on an inward journey.
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.
To share forward what we have received, humbly, to the best of our ability, as an example of someone who can grow, being less influenced by external expectations and more driven by an inner aspiration to know who we really are and what our purpose is, in life. Knowing that in this vast fabric of time and space, what I choose to do today, can have an impact on future generations – and is therefore, a great responsibility that I bear, to choose correctly for the beehive that sustains all of us.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, many aspects of the reality that we have been accustomed to, have changed. All at once, reality has become an unstable and inconvenient place to live in. Many of our basic needs for social gathering and human interaction became very limited. This situation had a psychological impact, and emotions such as uncertainty, confusion, anxiety and fear of the future, have been growing dramatically in our society.