April 2021 - The Acropolitan Magazine

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Amidst the spectacular diversity of the natural world around us, a silent seeker might grasp the underlying harmony that cohesively unites every component into a magnificent whole. Each element plays a vital and unique role to preserve the integrity of this whole, and together they form the interdependent system that we call Life.

What then, does it really mean to be a human being in this system? The ancient sages have insisted that the answer to this question has silently echoed through the ages, waiting to be heard. It is, however, drowned out by the noise of our daily challenges – our worries, our fears, and our insecurities. But what if we could use these everyday battles to reveal instead our resilience, our courage, and our hope?

Reviving these human values, hand-in-hand, without getting lost in the illusory games of politics and social divides, perhaps is the real opportunity of our times. In various ways, this is what we are exploring in this issue of The Acropolitan Magazine. Dear companions...dear fellow seekers...History beckons. Shall we dare to respond? Discover. Awaken. Transform.

ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

Reviving a Culture of Human Values

April 1, 2021

By Zarina Screwvala

The New Acropolis Culture Circle explores the diverse expressions of culture through a series of intimate and interactive presentations, in an attempt to revive the spiritual essence that forms the basis of all classical art and culture. Far from being definitive, this article is an attempt to share a synthesis of my learning from some of the gracious speakers who have shared their inspiration and wisdom with us in the course of the last few years.

The Right to Speak Right

April 1, 2021

By Gilad Sommer

The topic of freedom of speech has been much in the news in recent years. On one hand, there are those who view the freedom of speech as an inalienable sacred right (especially when it comes to their own speech…) that should not be infringed upon by other people, institutions, governments or corporations, regardless of the consequences or content of what one says. On the other end of the spectrum are those who want to “cancel”

Apr2021-The Politicising of Spirituality

The Politicization of Spirituality

April 1, 2021

By Sabine Leitner

Does a circle have sides? – Not really. We can ‘project’ sides onto it but the fact is that there are no sides, only a circumference on which every single point has the same distance to the centre. Is spirituality left or right wing? Well, I also don’t think that it makes sense to ‘project’ a fairly modern concept onto something that seems to be as old as humanity itself. However, there have been several articles recently about the ‘Cosmic Right’ and its ‘dangerous rise’,

To Freedom: Mastering our Tools

April 1, 2021

By Yaron Barzilay

In recent years we seem to see an increasing number of people across the world calling to sharpen the fine boundary between technology employed to serve humanity, and that which takes over our freedom. We have smart phones and watches that make our lives easier, or sometimes more complicated… leaving users sometimes lesser and lesser capable, while devices become ever more sophisticated.

Battle of Identity

April 1, 2021

By Ambuj Dixit

It seems to me that the purpose of human life is to grow. When I look back at the moments or the phases through which I have grown, I see them as times that tested me to transcend what I felt were my limitations; be it starting my own business venture with a bagful of doubts about my capabilities, or be it a moment of extreme anger in which I consciously decided not to identify with the anger. These phases had a common factor that we call ‘challenges’. I feel that the universe has it made it so by design!

Naad Yoga: The Search For Silence

April 1, 2021

By Manjula Nanavati

Many ancient traditions unequivocally describe the role of sound in the divine process of creation. The Bible declares, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. (1) Hindu and Buddhist traditions believe that OM is the sound of creation, of the unmanifest diversifying into all the variations of energy that make up our universe.

Unity in Diversity – Lessons from the Animal Kingdom

April 1, 2021

By Dilip Jain

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.