January 2018 - The Acropolitan Magazine

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

As we turn the leaf to 2018, it is a good time to reflect on the underlying goals that fuel the completion of the countless items on our ever growing list of To-dos. Are we simply running, aimlessly trapped in the busy doing of a variety of daily tasks?

A few amongst us seek a larger purpose, by which to make life more meaningful…and dare to seek answers to our most fundamental human questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What is the role I am supposed to play?

To begin to answer these questions is to embark upon the most exciting life-long adventure, to scale our innermost summit, in order to reveal the true light of the human spirit. On this summit lies the virtue of courage that enables us to dare to dream of a new and better world despite our challenging circumstances. It is there that we find perseverance and determination, by which we empower ourselves to bring about real change. And there, perched atop that inner summit, lie compassion, generosity, and kindfulness, our most defining human attributes.

Let us resolve to plant new seeds of hope through the upcoming year, by setting off on a voyage of a lifetime! For that is the need of the hour!

ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

Jan2018-Darin to Dream of a New and Better World

Daring to Dream of a New and Better World

January 1, 2018

By Manjula Nanavati

Tall, trim and relaxed in any environment, Yaron Barzilay smiles easily, but weighs his words very carefully. Understated and well-read, he punctuates his conversations unexpectedly, with an incisive colloquial humor that betrays his acute sense of the current socio-economic and political climate, and his capacious grasp of India’s history and mythology.

Professionally, Yaron Barzilay is the Managing Director of IDEX India – a leading diamond trading platform for professional diamond traders worldwide.

Kindfulness: The Need of the Hour

January 1, 2018

By Sangeeta Iyer

If we look at how human behavior has changed since ancient times, it is fairly obvious that we have become more aggressive as a species; more egoistic, more volatile and easily prone to flare-ups of anger, impatience and unfortunately, violence as well. All around us we can see increasing evidence of self-centeredness and ascending intolerance wreaking havoc across the globe.

Why then, when we should be progressing with time, are we regressing into an animalistic state? The easiest excuse is to blame circumstance. “The times are bad,” we say, absolving ourselves of responsibility for the manner in which we choose to act.

Scaling An Inner Summit

January 1, 2018

By Vishal Pahlajani

Throughout the ages nature has time and again instilled a sense of awe and wonder within human beings; at her unparalleled beauty, at her mysterious methodology and her enigmatic laws that govern the universe.

The ancient Greek philosophers, specifically the Pre-Socratic philosophers are said to have lived their lives with a deep sense of this mystery. Their deeply rooted understanding of the laws of the universe contributed to their aligning their lives with the path of nature. Plato, as well as the Stoics who followed later, believed all of nature to be an expression of the One – the Divine.

That Which You Seek

January 1, 2018

By Dipti Sanzgiri

At some points in our lives, many of us face some nagging questions. What manifests is a sense of restlessness, a lack of real happiness and peace – despite the absence of any apparent reason for feeling so. Questions like, Am I doing what I should be doing? Do my actions have any meaning or purpose at all? What is my purpose?

How would you respond if at such moments, you got a direction like: “That which you seek is seeking you.” (1) Or if you hear with a transcendent clarity: “My soul is from elsewhere, I’m sure of that, and I intend to end up there.” (1) Would you not be inspired to pursue an investigation: What could be seeking me? Where has my soul come from? What direction takes me back to where I came from?

The Barrenness of a Busy Life

January 1, 2018

By Tarini Vaidya

Last week I tried to catch up with a few friends for dinner, three to be precise. Can you believe we could not find a date when we were all free to meet until almost a month later! My friends work and I’m the only one who doesn’t work. Guess who was the busiest? Yes, you guessed right – me!

So I began to ponder about what it was that kept me so busy, and about the whole concept of busyness in general. We fill our days with tasks, writing them down in digital reminders. We tick them off triumphantly as we complete them, only to periodically add to the list again! So we seem to be on a never ending wheel of chores and busyness.

Jan2018-Empoweing Real Change - Philosophy and Art

Empowering Real Change: Philosophy & Art

January 1, 2018

By Harianto Mehta

For New Acropolis members across the globe, every day in a way, is World Philosophy Day. Through history, classical traditions have employed philosophy as the central axis of education, recognizing the pivotal role of wisdom and ethics, in the formation of human civilization. Therefore, we mark the special opportunity of UNESCO’s annual endorsement of World Philosophy Day to further emphasize the value of Philosophy, as a practical tool by which to improve our lives.