October 2014 - The Acropolitan Magazine

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

With this first issue of The Acropolitan, we endeavour to bring to you inspiration from ancient traditions, in the form of advice and practical solutions to improving the human condition. Beyond advances in technology, scientific discovery, and medicine, and developments in various faculties, we continue to ask the same fundamental questions about human purpose and destiny, that ancient civilizations pondered. Their investigations led them to answers that are still astonishingly relevant to our times.

Our context offers us a specific opportunity to revive idealism as an approach to life, not just as a utopian concept, but as a practical ability to improve the world around us. In this issue we explore the meaning of Idealism in the present-day scenario, and investigate attempts of Idealists, both ancient and contemporary, who have invested time and effort to engage with Life, and make a true difference. Perhaps the work of these exemplary few, can inspire many many more.

We dedicate this first issue of The Acropolitan to the founder, and first International President, of International Organization New Acropolis, Professor Jorge Ángel Livraga Rizzi.

ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

Managing that Rage

October 1, 2014

By Kurush Dordi

How often have we wished that we had behaved differently in times when our rage gets the better of us. How often do we wish that those sharp words uttered like arrows shot blindly and with ignorance could be pulled back into our quivers. In one way or another we have all experienced Anger. It is only in hindsight that we wish that we had acted differently. We hope in those times we had the calm demeanour of the Zen monk who knows how to act with serenity and composure to whatever life throws at him. However by then, the damage caused by the manifestation of that Anger has already been done. While very often we think Anger only affects the recipient, the truth is it does harm both ways.

An Opera In Stone: Hampi

October 1, 2014

By Manjula Nanavati

Hampi’s history melds so seamlessly into legend that it is difficult to establish where one ends and the other begins. This tiny hamlet lay nestled within the area known as Kishkinda which, according to the Hindu epic Ramayana, was the realm of the Monkey Gods. Following Ravan’s abduction of Sita, Ram and Lakshman arrived here, and were met by Hanuman and Sugriva. The cave where Sugriva hid the jewels that Sita dropped from Ravan’s flying chariot, the grotto that Ram and Lakshman took shelter in before raiding Lanka, and the birthplace of Hanuman, have over the centuries become sacred places of pilgrimage for devotees.

In conversation with Sonam Wangchuk

October 1, 2014

By Trishya Screwvala

New Acropolis invited educationist and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk for a conversation about his work in Ladakh, to shed light on what drives his choices and actions. Sonam is the person that inspired the protagonist Phunsuk Wangdu in Chetan Bhagat’s, 3 Idiots. His life and work truly reflect that of a philosopher; someone driven by the needs of others, over his own.

Best Career in the World – To Be An Idealist

October 1, 2014

By Yaron Barzilay

Which might be the best career in the world? Trying to answer this might suggest ideas such as “do nothing, earn a lot”. Maybe it involves working in some exotic destination, making money while having fun, etc. But when talking about a ‘career’, rather than a ‘job’, we are referring to a process of self-improvement and personal growth, not only of earning. So which then, may be the best career for us? What can offer the best possibility of growth? Well, of course, this depends entirely on the individual asking the question; what answers the call for self development and fulfillment. Keeping this in mind, we’d like to suggest one career opportunity: To Be an Idealist.

Sophie’s World – Book Review

October 1, 2014

By Manjula Nanavati

In Sophie’s World, Gaarder manages to skillfully weave together so many disparate genres that this successively dense, quirky, perplexing and illuminating novel defies even the most basic genre labelling. A comprehensive outline of Western philosophical thought that covers 2000 years from Socrates through Marx, Darwin, Freud and Sartre should deem it serious, scholarly and unequivocally non-fiction. Yet it is also a wondrous fictional fantasy about a 15-year old girl Sophie Amundsen and her search for eternal and universal truths that takes the form of a well-crafted mystery.

The Wisdom of Lao Tzu

October 1, 2014

By Bhavna Roy

If it were kosher to have a favorite philosopher, Lao Tzu would be the favorite of many. His teachings and aphorisms are intriguingly contemporary and personal. We live in times where even ethical behavior is characterized by moral outrage rather than moral values. Although people claim intellectual expertise on solving the problems of the world, solutions continue to evade us, in the absence of an ability to reflect and take responsibility through self-understanding. In such times, a man who simply states: “Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others, our manners”, is priceless in his worth.

Oct2014-How to Solve the Economic Crisis

How to Solve the Economic Crisis: Initiatives Inspired by the Teachings of Plato and Confucius

October 1, 2014

By James Lee

The modern liberal economic system has proven incapable of solving the economic and financial crises in the world, using traditional solutions. Initiatives undertaken by brave men and women whose creativity and determination inspired by timeless teachings of Plato and Confucius are showing the way. The term “State” initiated by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 (1) refers to a geographical area where people are governed by sovereign law. A state in the philosophical sense is a state of consciousness. Whenever a state in the geographical sense has succeeded in developing a timeless and spiritual awareness, civilizations have lasted thousands of years (e.g. Egypt, India and China). Today, almost all states are secular