Clarion Call - Awaken the philosopher within

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.

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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