January 2021 - The Acropolitan Magazine

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

For decades it has seemed that our civilization is unstoppable; with unprecedented advancements in technology and medicine, sophisticated economic infrastructure, and a celebration of so-called human rights across the globe, we have promised ourselves a glorious future. However, the last several months have revealed the underlying uncertainty and fragility that lie at the foundation of almost every political, economic, and social construct, that we have taken for granted in our times.

For many, it is clear, now more than ever before, that there must be more to life than simply amassing comfort and ensuring survival. There is a need to really live with the resolve to discover and fulfill a meaningful purpose - one that cannot be isolated and disconnected from others. Because ultimately, there is Ubuntu; we are intimately connected to each other, we depend on each other, and our identities are defined in light of each other.

Hence, the opportunity to awaken the inner hero to face the everyday battles where the eternal virtuous Self struggles against the egoistical and ignorant self. The reality of this battle is offered time and again in our mythical and literary traditions. Either like Arjuna, we courageously use our time here to face life on the side of Truth and Goodness, or like Shakespeare’s Othello we allow ourselves to be consumed by the confusion of doubt and fear to meet a tragic end. Ultimately it is a matter of our own inner decision.

Let us therefore Discover and recognize the battlefields that lie before us. Let us Awaken the inner warrior of peace. And let us, together, dare to Transform our world. Let us make our time here count!

ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

Courage to Be A Daily Hero

January 1, 2021

By Vasant Sanzgiri and Samarth Shetty

The word ‘hero’ comes from an ancient Greek root, which literally translates to ‘protector’ or ‘defender’. Dictionary.com defines the word as “a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character”, and popular perception recognizes a hero as one who performs deeds that are not commonly possible, or one who exhibits virtues or values that makes them stand out. So, we usually think of superheroes celebrated in movies, or victorious warriors like General Patton and Napoleon

Facing Life, Beyond Life

January 1, 2021

By Sukesh Motwani

The following piece is my humble investigation into my fear of death; the fear of my own (impending) death and also the fear of the eventual death of a loved one. This journey began 8 years ago with my mother’s sudden death. It has been insightful that while processing my grief some years down the line, a psychotherapist helped me conclude, that the trauma resulting from a loved one’s death, can actually embed itself in hypochondriac behaviour.

Othello & I

January 1, 2021

By Anusree Menon

It is evident that beyond entertainment, theatre might also be a means to investigate the world in which we live, and what it means to be human. Recently, I had the opportunity to revisit Othello in which Shakespeare deals with an array of human experience that is always pertinent.

Jan2021-The Magical Function of Ritual and Ceremonies

The Magical Function of Rituals and Ceremonies

January 1, 2021

By Julian Scott

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.

Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are

January 1, 2021

By Manjula Nanavati

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 our own happiness, and promote personal freedoms dictated by one’s own morality.

All the Time in the World

January 1, 2021

By Sivan Barzilay

For many of us who live in big cities, Time is something we always lack. We find ourselves struggling to reach places on time, to submit our work on time, to wake up on time, and the list can go on and on… If only someone could give us a little more time to complete everything we want to. If only someone could teach us how to stop time from always moving forward, as if it is falling through our fingers.