Vol 1 Issue 5 | July - Sept 2016
Transform Awaken your Inner Virtues Know your Virtues What’s Easy and What’s Difficult?
New Acropolis is an international non-profit organization – with a presence in over 60 countries. At its core it is a school for practical philosophy in the Classical style run by volunteers. Worldwide we have close to 40 thousand volunteers. All our volunteers are dedicated to bringing philosophy closer to the society for all people regardless any differences of social, religious, gender or political background. We came into being almost 60 years ago, with the aim of bringing universal philosophy and wisdom to life in the hearts of the cities worldwide. Our focus is on philosophy - not just in the sense of the quest for knowledge, and ideas, but on how we can use it so it will turn into Experience and Wisdom, thus widening our perspective over life and helping us evolve individually and collectively. We focus on philosophy as a way of life – as practical philosophy. For more please visit our website www.acropolis.org.in
Editor’s Note The Clarion Call Vol 1 Issue 5 | July - Sept 2016
Editor-in-Chief Ran Kremer Editorial Team Ankit Jain Surekha Deepak Arijit Das
Dear Reader, The great Sufi poet, Jalal ad-Din Rumi said, “Virtue cannot exist without temptation and difficulties to be overcome”. What then is virtue? According to Wikipedia, “A virtue is a trait or quality deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being”.
Design Team Shashwati Balasubramanian
According to Plato, “Virtue is the excellence of the
Production Ankit Jain
Generosity, Clarity, Beauty, Justice, Patience, Humility,
The Clarion Call is published in India, by New Acropolis Cultural Association. Reprints of individual articles are obtainable on application to the editor. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. New Acropolis Cultural Association (South India) Ran Kremer, National Director 261, 6th Cross, Indiranagar 1st Stage, Bangalore - 560038 Tel: +91 9663804871
soul.” Kindness, Honesty, Service, Goodness... doesn’t the very mention of these words light us up? Perhaps it is because, deep within, we can relate to virtues as something we deeply identify with. Let us not ignore this fact. Howsoever we might be caught in our daily struggles, virtues are something we naturally feel connected to. Virtues are our musical instrument to sing the song of life. Virtues are our vehicle, virtues are our teacher, virtues are the very essence of who we are! So then, Rumi in his words seems to be inviting us to smile at the temptations and the difficulties that hold us from bringing the virtues into practice. This issue celebrates the virtues in us, our true identity which is in a battle against the forces of temptations and the difficulties. This is the philosopher’s battle. This is a battle which must be won. Regards, Editorial Team, The Clarion Call
Email: info@newacropolis.in Web: www.acropolis.org.in
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Transform- Awaken your Inner Virtues The First Step To True Happiness. By Ran Kremer According to Aristotle, the path to human perfection and ultimate Happiness is The Path of Virtue, and
accordingly
the
key
to
perfection is the awakening of the Virtues within ourselves. What is Virtue then? How should we awaken our inner virtues? In order to answer these interesting questions, let us start by having a look at a few prominent human virtues,
known
from
ancient
times, and introspecting on them: Artist: Lily Greenwood | www.lilygreenwood.com
Generosity, Courage, Diligence, Clarity,
Harmony,
Justice,
Concentration, Imagination, etc. When observing the quality of the above virtues and other similar ones we can identify that these are very important merits or inner faculties which most human beings would certainly desire to cultivate and grow. As
Socrates
once
said,
the
which
is
unconditional
and
final and the sole purpose of all
beyond circumstances. We can
human beings is to attain true
assume that what he spoke about
Happiness. He spoke not about
was Perfection – the peak of
any sort of immediate gratification
human evolution.
but of a lasting inner happiness,
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In the eyes of an artist, virtues are like lotuses that open their petals to the light of the sun, radiating beauty, or as an abundant spring that comes out of a hidden fountainhead. Virtues for the human being indeed seem to be the perfect archetype
of all strength and valour, like the illuminating Beauty is for the Lotus. To awaken the virtues within, like many sages teach, requires proactive engagement in generous
Would you like to spin the Wheel of Virtues ? New Acropolis at the Bangalore Food Festival...
and continuous efforts. To gear up our spiritual evolution might not
come to us “naturally� and
effortlessly. Like anything else in this world that is precious and of high value, this too comes with an effort. True happiness is attainable by all human beings and can be achieved by one’s right efforts and determination. Some of the greatest ancient Greek
philosophers,
including
Aristotle, taught us that to awaken the virtues one needs to transform habits
and
practices.
Ancient
Indian wisdom from the Gita teaches us how prevailed
over
Kauravas
in
Kurukshetra.
the Pandavas the the
In
mighty
battle
other
of
words,
to develop a virtue one must transform bad habits into good habits. Destroy a Kaurava and a Pandava shall arise! The process of transformation is the beginning of the journey, and the road map to this journey is in the foundations of practical philosophy. Nevertheless, as we know, every journey, no matter how short or long, starts with the first step, and in the case of the path to true Happiness - the virtuous path, the first step is to learn how to Awaken and how to Transform!
Courage... Responsibility... Service... Happiness... Which virtue will the wheel pick for you? A great weekend of smiles, fun and laughter at the New Acropolis stall at the Bangalore Food Festival. 3
Know Your Virtues Unwrapping the Personality By Nirit Kremer with what I experienced at that time. For me it was suddenly clear that my father was practising Love not a perfect one, but a true, genuine and generous love. It is interesting to think about ourselves while we are alive and try to “Unwrap” the “cloth” of our personality, in order to gain more clarity about the virtues that we are practicing in our life. It is not necessarily the virtues that we fully own, but those that we aspire towards. If we dedicate some time to reflect on our life experiences- we might find that there are few A Personal Note - Unwrapping the Personality I remember that when my dear father passed away, I went to my native place to participate in the ceremonies and spent precious time with my family and friends who came to console us. A lot of people
important themes- that exists through our life. These virtues might be the causes for why we do, what we do, and the specific manner we do it. They can also be some of the objectives we would like to achieve through our actions.
came, shared their positive experiences with my
Know your Virtues
father and their good memories of him. People were
How can we gain more clarity regarding our true nature
also sharing their own stories of the demise of their
and inner virtues? Let’s look through the eyes of few
closest and beloved ones.
cultures and philosophers. Hopefully, we can relate or
A good friend shared with me that many years back,
be inspired by any of them in our own journey…
when her father passed away, she felt as if someone
Tibetan Buddhism- Unveil your inner diamond
had “unwrapped” from her father his personality as
According to an ancient Tibetan wisdom, we are
if it was a cloth. Suddenly she was left with a strong
all like diamonds - naturally we are pure and have
sense of his existence but now it wasn’t concrete. The
brilliant qualities. But since we came to this world, our
best way she could describe this abstract existence is
diamonds have been covered with dust. In our daily
that it was the essence of his life. She could suddenly
life - we can gather more dust, or unveil the diamond’s
see clearly “the virtue” that he had practiced through
brilliant virtues through the daily spiritual practices.
his life. Her description felt so accurate and echoed
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love, strength, humility courtesy, truth, sacrifice, honor, gratitude, and more. The
seven
righteousness,
official
virtues
courage,
of
Bushido
benevolence,
are:
respect,
honesty, honor, and loyalty. Virtue as a path to happiness Aristotle says that happiness is not awarded to anyone by the Gods, but is obtained by the practice of Virtue over a substantial period of apprenticeship. What kind of virtue is it that brings about happiness? Since happiness is a certain activity of the soul directed by Adopting the virtues of the warriors, to inspire and guide us
the most perfect form of virtue, we have to study the virtues.
In the ancient world, the leaders and warriors of
Virtue for the Greeks is equivalent to excellence.
society were part of a path and received specific
A virtuous person is someone who performs the
teachings which enabled them to fulfil their role of
distinctive activity of being human well. The distinctive
service to society. These teachings had listed number
activity of being human according to Aristotle is
of virtues that the leaders-warriors had to develop in
rationality and its exercise is happiness which is
order to gain their inner authority and power towards
considered the supreme good.
their social role.
Among the virtues there are intellectual virtues
It is interesting to think about these leaders
which we learn through reasoning and instruction
and warriors as not only those who are actually
(such as wisdom, scientific knowledge, ingenuity,
fighting the physical war in the battle field - but as
prudence) and the moral virtues which are
people who have a role of leadership in society.
dispositions to behave in the right manner (such as
For example - Educators, Artists, Politicians, Social
generosity, temperance, etc.). We learn moral virtue
workers, Managers, Scientists, Religious leaders,
through habits and practice. The intellectual virtues
and you might even say that it can be any role that
help us to know what is just, and the moral virtues
is practised with the meaning of doing good and
help us to do just.
facilitating the growth of others and the good values in society. Once we see it like that, being a leader/ warrior becomes an inner essence which we can all learn to practise. We can find lists of virtues which are a part of the guidelines for the path of warriors/ knights from different civilizations. For example- The Knights as well as the Samurai warriors had a list of virtues which they practice every day, through their daily life experiences and through their great battles and tests.
This glimpse into those 3 examples shows various options to develop and explore one’s own virtues. The various programs and courses conducted at New Acropolis aim towards developing fraternity between people. I believe that our tools to achieve fraternity are our virtues. In New Acropolis we are seeking to learn and express the best in ourselves, our virtues, our unique special strength - not only for our inner growth, but for the benefit of others, so that we
Here is an example of few virtues which they have
can serve and influence our environment and
practised: There are various lists found of chivalric
our society for the good, in the best way we can,
virtues, some of them are- hope, justice, prudence,
according to our humble abilities.
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What’s Easy and What’s Difficult? Difficulty is what needs to be conquered... By Delia Steinberg Guzmán by Sasquatch I | Flickr | CC BY 2.0
We usually follow what is easy for us or what we master. However, Seneca argues: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult”. In order to grow, we have to face the unknown. Why wait? Easiness per se does not exist. If we ask each person what they consider to be difficult, everyone will have a different answer.
Difficulties are part of life. It is natural to have plenty
There are things that we know and can do, and there
of difficulties in life. We have all come into this world
are things that we do not know and cannot do. What
to learn, to acquire new knowledge, and to help our
has been assimilated is easy. What we have already
souls awaken and open up to wisdom. If at some
learned to do is easy, because that is what we have
point everything becomes easy, we should take it as a
mastered and can perform comfortably. What has
warning: either we have become stuck in our learning
been learned and assimilated manifests itself through
process for a long time, or we have become so
easy and confident acts in life. What is not known is
oblivious that we can’t even recognize the next steps
difficult.
in our ascending path.
Similarly, difficulty per se does not exist. It depends
Difficulty is what needs to be conquered
on the person and his or her accumulated knowledge. What we do not know and is new to us wears the mask of difficulty.
What is difficult is what confronts us at our current stage of spiritual evolution and it is also what we need to acquire at this moment in our personal
It is likely that to avoid facing a situation, we continue
development. It appears to us as a challenge, but
labelling something as “difficult” for many years. But
it is an indispensable exercise to ensure that our
that something is in fact not so much unknown or new
experiences reach our consciousness, and do not just
as it is a repeated and feared situation. This means
touch us superficially.
that it has not been truly confronted and experienced. The experience of fear of something new prevents us from mastering what is difficult. It is by not succumbing to fear itself that we will be able to overcome difficulties in life.
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What is easy already belongs to me. What is difficult is what I need to develop. (Delia Steinberg Guzmán is the International President of New Acropolis International Organization)
Recent Events at New Acropolis, Bangalore A glimpse into few activities at New Acropolis, Bangalore, over the past few months
Students of the Living Philosophy course painting the premises of ‘Seva in Action’, an NGO working towards the empowerment of the differently-abled.
Finding the inner rhythm with drumming: Members enjoying the Djembe (African drum) workshop.
Upcycling workshop conducted by New Acropolis members for the children at Ashwini Charitable Trust A Public talk on “Ethics, Morality and Happiness” at New Acropolis. Details on upcoming public events are visible on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/newacropolisbangalore
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EVENT SCHEDULE SCHEDULE July - Sept 2016
JULY
19 Week Course
Public Talk
Living Philosophy
Rumi- Bridge to the Soul
Free Intro sessions: July 6 & July 13, 7: 30 pm - 8:30 pm Batch starts: July 20, 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm (Wednesdays) Venue: New Acropolis, Bangalore
Date: July 16, Saturday Time: 6:30 p.m to 9:00 p.m Venue: New Acropolis, Bangalore Jala-ud-din Rumi, one of the greatest Sufi
Is philosophy restricted to books and concepts
mystics of the 13th century is an enigma.
or is it possible to live the wisdom of the ancient
As Coleman Barks rightly says- “Rumi is a bridge
masters in our everyday life?
between the mystery of being human and the mystery of the divine. His work builds an intricate,
Living Philosophy is a 19-week Foundation course
earthy, and ethereal bridge of friendship, natural
in Practical Philosophy. It is a journey to
resonance, meditation and music.” Rumi’s message
discover and experience the deeper esoteric
of devotion invites the seeker to build this bridge
concepts of self, nature and humanity. Philosophy
through his own investigation, love and surrender
as a way of life begins foremost with an inward
to the most divine in him- his SOUL.
journey and when practiced, it finds its true essence of transformation of the self and that of
Join us for an engaging lecture on Rumi‘s life,
the world around us.
work and wisdom as we delve into the profound inspiration and philosophy that makes Rumi one of
For details, please visit www.acropolis.org.in 8
the most loved mystics of all times.
EVENT SCHEDULE SCHEDULE July - Sept 2016
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
Public Talk
Public Talk
Tools for Transformation from the Ancient World
The Art Of Self Mastery (Teachings of Epictetus)
Date: Aug 20, Saturday
Date: Sept 17, Saturday
Time: 6:30 p.m to 8:30 p.m
Time: 6:30 p.m to 8:30 p.m
Venue: New Acropolis, Bangalore
Venue: New Acropolis, Bangalore
Is there a need for transformation? What does it take for an individual, and for society, to transform?
“No man is free who is not master of himself.”
Many ancient cultures, through their myths and traditions, speak of inner transformation and it’s importance for individual and collective growth of consciousness . This talk explores some these profound questions, and makes connections to how transformation can be practical and relevant in our lives today.
Epictetus (AD 55 – 135), one of the greatest of Stoic philosophers, emphasized the pursuit of inner freedom through the mastery of self. We cannot always choose our external circumstances but we can always choose how we react to them and happiness is beginning of this realization. Join us as we explore the philosophy of Epictetus that examines the art of living to redefine and transform our lives through our own actions and effectively meet the everyday challenges with wisdom.
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About New Acropolis International Organization
New Acropolis is an international non-profit organization – with a presence in over 60 countries. At its core it is a school for practical philosophy in the Classical style run
by
volunteers.
Worldwide
we have close to 40 thousand volunteers. All our volunteers are dedicated to bringing philosophy closer to the society for all people regardless
any
differences
of
PHILOSOPHY Philosophy has always been a search for spiritual truth. A process of going more deeply
social, religious, gender or political
into the knowledge of Nature, the Human Being
background.
and the Universe. The search is an exercise
We
came
into
being
almost
60 years ago, with the aim of bringing universal philosophy and wisdom to life in the hearts of the cities worldwide. Our focus is on
of fighting against ignorance, confusion and prejudices. To be a philosopher is a way of life committed to the best aspirations of humanity. At New Acropolis we work with Practical Philosophy, which means we do not limit ourselves to reading, studying and theoretical
philosophy - not just in the sense
knowledge, but set ourselves the goal of
of the quest for knowledge, and
learning to live well.
ideas, but on how we can use it so it will turn into Experience and Wisdom, thus widening our perspective over life and helping us evolve individually and collectively. We focus on philosophy as a way of life – as practical philosophy.
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CULTURE The practice of human values is the basis for a model of active and participative culture, which brings out the qualities of each person, broadens the horizons of the mind and opens the human being up to all the expressions of the spirit. New Acropolis seeks to bring a new vision of culture: a culture with practical and living values, which enables its audiences to transform and improve themselves.
VOLUNTEERING For New Acropolis, volunteering is the practical way of embodying and applying Philosophy and Culture. It is the natural expression of generosity and service to society. It is an active and conscious participation to contribute to the common good. All the activities carried out by New Acropolis in the world, in its different fields of action, are achieved thanks to the work of thousands of volunteers. Volunteering makes us better as individuals and helps to make the world a better place.
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What is in it for Me ? A few new members of New Acropolis share their experience...
New Acropolis is a school of philosophy in the classical manner, more importantly we are a school of practical philosophy. New Acropolis makes the abstract accessible. Philosophy is not longer simply an intellectual challenge. It is a living idea that enables the transformation of those who attend it.
Musa, a finance expert, felt unsettled, knowing he wanted to ‘be doing something better’ but not
sure what or how to go about it. The daily routine of life was ‘fine’ but ‘somehow something is not connected somewhere’. He felt he was missing something. At New Acropolis he was on a quest to find some answers, which helped him continue his quest. ‘It wasn’t about giving up samsara and wearing a robe and all that, I have struggled and am still struggling with that.’ His journey has led him to question some of his priorities, and he is now in the process of finding answers. ‘Making money is required but is that what life is all about, doesn’t make sense to me. So I feel I could find those answers for myself here, that’s why I chose to stay.’
Saumya, a PhD student, says her journey here has a different route. “New Acropolis helped me
navigate through life and situations that were not working for me. I was already on a path with no GPS. But this course is giving me a GPS on a strange terrain with no compass. It helped me actually start afresh. So it’s a clean slate right now and I am rewriting my life’s script.” She has experienced the harmony, which is our focus in this issue. “What I like about this place is that the people I am interacting with regularly, they accept me as I am, they are not expecting anything from me or want anything from me. They are not bothered from what I am doing. It’s a place where you can be just your actual self.”
Joseph, an entrepreneur, shares this little anecdote with us, ‘My friend came home and she noticed that everything is more organized and cleaner. [Laughs]. And it is not stressful. Getting organized was a stressful thing before.’ He is also able to apply the ideas of the classes in his life, ‘The idea of the right tension is helping me at a personal level as well as running my organization. I am able to see when people are not able to work, why are they not able to work, why are they stressed. I am able to help them better. But the recurring theme is the harmony and friendship, ‘There is an immense amount of love and friendship I feel in people here. It is very pure I feel. There is no manipulation.’ We invite you come and share this experience with us. Do check our schedules for events and the dates for the next ‘Living Philosophy’ course.
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LIVING PHILOSOPHY To Awaken. To Transform. To Evolve. Foundation to Practical Philosophy
at The New Acropolis International Organization (IONA) - India Is philosophy restricted to books and concepts or is it possible to live the wisdom of the ancient masters in our everyday life? Living Philosophy is the foundation of a journey to discover and experience the deeper esoteric concepts of self, nature and humanity. Philosophy as a way of life begins foremost with an inward journey and when practiced, it finds its true essence of transformation of the self and that of the world around us. Highlights of some of the themes that will be covered in the 19 session course: Know Thyself Different levels of human consciousness with perspectives from the east and the west. What is transient and what is eternal? The Wisdom of Ancient India Learn the story of Arjuna, the warrior. The Bhagavad Gita describes the battles of life and tools to help us win this battle. Universal laws of Dharma, Karma and the discernment to identify and implement the Right action. Life and Teachings of the Buddha Explore the life of the Buddha and his teaching through the Dhammapada. This gives us practical advice on how to overcome pain and suffering and live a noble life. The Artist, The In Love And The Philosopher Who are you? Discover the wisdom of the ancient Romans through the Stoic philosophers. Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius teach us simple and practical philosophy, of working with virtues as a path to progress.
“ New Acropolis teaches me how to balance myself when confronted with various challenges in my life. Also, the teachings helped to channel my energy in the right direction.” ~ Arijit Das Member of New Acropolis, Bangalore
“ This course gave a structure to my search for wisdom and fast- tracked my personal growth”. ~ Prerna Bhatnagar, Member of New Acropolis, Bangalore
For details of the upcoming batch of Living Philosophy refer to back cover.
Tools For Life From The Ancient World Explore the wisdom of the ancient Egyptians, the idea of justice. From ancient China comes Confucius’ expounding the importance of an ethical social order. The Light At The End Of The Cave What is the identity of a philosopher, the true leader and a politician. The metaphor of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the grand illusion and how we can free ourselves from it.
‘Buddha’ By Michael Hoefner commons.wikimedia.org CC BY SA 3.0