Bloom is off the boom - The Catholic Register
-
Bloom is off the boom The Catholic Register
5 weeks ago
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Right To Think: Noam Chomsky
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?267574: "Freedom of Speech
The title of one of our earlier sessions was Cogito, “I think.” That may serve as a useful reminder that even more fundamental than the right of free expression is the right to think. And that has not gone unchallenged. Right here for example. I suppose the most famous case is that of Ismail Besikci, who has endured many years in prison on the charge of having committed “thought crimes.” And even worse, for having dared to put his thoughts into words, in his documentation of crimes against the Kurds in Syria, Iran, Iraq — and finally Turkey, the unpardonable offence." Sphere: Related Content
The title of one of our earlier sessions was Cogito, “I think.” That may serve as a useful reminder that even more fundamental than the right of free expression is the right to think. And that has not gone unchallenged. Right here for example. I suppose the most famous case is that of Ismail Besikci, who has endured many years in prison on the charge of having committed “thought crimes.” And even worse, for having dared to put his thoughts into words, in his documentation of crimes against the Kurds in Syria, Iran, Iraq — and finally Turkey, the unpardonable offence." Sphere: Related Content
Monday, October 11, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
God Without Religion by Sankara Saranam
The sense of self, or identity, can expand to include all of humanity, regardless of nationality, beliefs, ethnicity, race, gender, or lifestyle...God Without Religion guides readers to expand their sense of self until it encompasses every living being, eradicating all preconditions for conflict and war.
... More often, religion distances worshipers from their inherent spirituality by directing their attention to outer rituals that reinforce dogmatic belief systems. In either instance religion stifles questioning, which is why antagonism between mystics and orthodoxy--such as Jesus and Jewish leaders, Buddha and the Brahmin, and the Sufis and Islam--permeates the history of religion. Instead of facilitating a dialogue with God, religious leaders interpret God for their followers, which has the effect of narrowing the sense of self so much that it is perceived as separate from the infinite self of God. If we were to focus awareness inwardly, very deeply, we would no longer need an interpreter because we would have a direct knowledge to the universal self peering through the eyes of all.
....God Without Religion offers a way for individuals to discover and define God on their own rather than accepting the interpretation of a particular religious doctrine. Instead of providing answers about God as organized religions do, the book encourages readers to explore their ideas of God by asking a series of questions that ultimately expand their sense of identity. I call this "worshiping by wondering." Wonder is the gateway to spiritual knowledge. The more questions we ask about the nature of God, the more profound the answers will be, leading to deeper questions which broaden our perceptions and expand our sense of self. Constantly challenging our conclusions and refining our knowledge of God promotes the deep spiritual growth needed to transcend the violence so prevalent in the world today.
....The idea of an infinite God shared by all people emerges from an unexpected form of devotion: worshiping by wondering. Instead of restating old beliefs, we begin asking new questions: What is God? What is the connection between God and self? What happens to my definition of God as my sense of self expands? Every answer is then challenged, transporting us as freethinkers beyond the boundaries of organized religion and into true spirituality, which is permeated throughout with a personal, all-loving image of God used to focus the heart and mind.
God Without Relgion by Sphere: Related Content
... More often, religion distances worshipers from their inherent spirituality by directing their attention to outer rituals that reinforce dogmatic belief systems. In either instance religion stifles questioning, which is why antagonism between mystics and orthodoxy--such as Jesus and Jewish leaders, Buddha and the Brahmin, and the Sufis and Islam--permeates the history of religion. Instead of facilitating a dialogue with God, religious leaders interpret God for their followers, which has the effect of narrowing the sense of self so much that it is perceived as separate from the infinite self of God. If we were to focus awareness inwardly, very deeply, we would no longer need an interpreter because we would have a direct knowledge to the universal self peering through the eyes of all.
....God Without Religion offers a way for individuals to discover and define God on their own rather than accepting the interpretation of a particular religious doctrine. Instead of providing answers about God as organized religions do, the book encourages readers to explore their ideas of God by asking a series of questions that ultimately expand their sense of identity. I call this "worshiping by wondering." Wonder is the gateway to spiritual knowledge. The more questions we ask about the nature of God, the more profound the answers will be, leading to deeper questions which broaden our perceptions and expand our sense of self. Constantly challenging our conclusions and refining our knowledge of God promotes the deep spiritual growth needed to transcend the violence so prevalent in the world today.
....The idea of an infinite God shared by all people emerges from an unexpected form of devotion: worshiping by wondering. Instead of restating old beliefs, we begin asking new questions: What is God? What is the connection between God and self? What happens to my definition of God as my sense of self expands? Every answer is then challenged, transporting us as freethinkers beyond the boundaries of organized religion and into true spirituality, which is permeated throughout with a personal, all-loving image of God used to focus the heart and mind.
God Without Relgion by Sphere: Related Content
Monday, October 4, 2010
Adrian Bird, M.M. Thomas - Theological sign posts for the Emergence of Dalit theology
Phd Thesis by Adrian Bird on Significance of MM Thomas to Dalit theology
Adrian Bird: M.M. Thomas: Theological Signposts for the Emergence of Dalit theology, submitted to the University of Edinburgh, 2008 Sphere: Related Content
Adrian Bird: M.M. Thomas: Theological Signposts for the Emergence of Dalit theology, submitted to the University of Edinburgh, 2008 Sphere: Related Content
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Longest lie ever told
Rev. Dr. T J Joshua wrote in his Manorama column Innathe Chinthavishayam that three words are the most powerful to bring change in the world: I am wrong. If it is true in relation to individuals, it must be true to communities, nations and civilizations. Recently it was reported after a study of 20000 people that most racists are religiously conservative people. Those who consider themselves spiritual are often most selfish. Cultures and civilzations are really built on terror and brutality, injustice and exploitation. Will we able to say that our cherished institutions, religions, traditions are wrong. Then only these words prove to be powerful and our world takes the path of truthfulness. An impossible possibility. Nietzche said, truth is the longest lie we ever told. We need to say we are wrong, our spirituality, institutions, culture and whatever we have built up on what Jesus told, hypocrisy. Dr. K. M Roy has written in Mangalam an apt essay on the nature of Spirituality of Kerala religious leaders. Thanks to the Malankara Orthodox church website which highlighted both articles
Sphere: Related Content
Tiny Cheshire cow among new Guinness World Records
BBC News - Tiny Cheshire cow among new Guinness World Records
Tiny Cheshire cow among new Guinness World Records
Swallow (right) is smaller than the average sheep
A cow whose tiny stature saved her from the abattoir has entered the record books as the world's smallest.
Swallow, a Dexter cow from Cheshire, stands 33.5in (0.8m) tall from hind to foot - shorter than most sheep.
The 11-year-old, who is currently pregnant, has produced nine calves and is described by owner Caroline Ryder as the "nanny of the herd".
Swallow secured a slot with the tallest dog, longest snake and oldest gorilla in the 2011 Guinness World Records.
The tiny cow was born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1999 and bought by the Ryder family at a rare breed auction in 2006. Sphere: Related Content
Tiny Cheshire cow among new Guinness World Records
Swallow (right) is smaller than the average sheep
A cow whose tiny stature saved her from the abattoir has entered the record books as the world's smallest.
Swallow, a Dexter cow from Cheshire, stands 33.5in (0.8m) tall from hind to foot - shorter than most sheep.
The 11-year-old, who is currently pregnant, has produced nine calves and is described by owner Caroline Ryder as the "nanny of the herd".
Swallow secured a slot with the tallest dog, longest snake and oldest gorilla in the 2011 Guinness World Records.
The tiny cow was born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1999 and bought by the Ryder family at a rare breed auction in 2006. Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Are Devoutly Religious Congregations More Racist? - Science and Religion Today
Are Devoutly Religious Congregations More Racist? - Science and Religion Today
The studies show there’s significantly less racism among people who don’t have strong religious beliefs, while highly devout religious communities exhibit more prejudice against people of other races (with seminaries showing the highest degree of racism). The researchers found barely any difference between the amount of racism among religious fundamentalists and more moderate Christians. “Only religious agnostics were racially tolerant,” Sphere: Related Content
The studies show there’s significantly less racism among people who don’t have strong religious beliefs, while highly devout religious communities exhibit more prejudice against people of other races (with seminaries showing the highest degree of racism). The researchers found barely any difference between the amount of racism among religious fundamentalists and more moderate Christians. “Only religious agnostics were racially tolerant,” Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Kerala Arm Chopping | New Man College | Malayalam Lecturer Joseph | Question Paper Mohamed - Oneindia News
Kerala Arm Chopping New Man College Malayalam Lecturer Joseph Question Paper Mohamed - Oneindia News
On Saturday, Sep 4, Newman College management has removed TJ Joseph from service, effective from Sep 1 on the grounds of hurting religious sentiments of a community.
College Teachers' Association has come out in support of Joseph. They met him at his residence in Ernakulam on Sunday, Sep 5.
"Dismissing Joseph was like chopping off his other hand," said the spokesperson of the Teachers' association.
TJ Joseph was attacked by PFI activists on Jul 4 for preparing a Malayalam question paper with alleged derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed. So far 30 people have been arrested in connection with the attack. Sphere: Related Content
On Saturday, Sep 4, Newman College management has removed TJ Joseph from service, effective from Sep 1 on the grounds of hurting religious sentiments of a community.
College Teachers' Association has come out in support of Joseph. They met him at his residence in Ernakulam on Sunday, Sep 5.
"Dismissing Joseph was like chopping off his other hand," said the spokesperson of the Teachers' association.
TJ Joseph was attacked by PFI activists on Jul 4 for preparing a Malayalam question paper with alleged derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed. So far 30 people have been arrested in connection with the attack. Sphere: Related Content
After hand, Kerala professor loses job too - Thiruvananthapuram - City - The Times of India
After hand, Kerala professor loses job too - Thiruvananthapuram - City - The Times of India
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The professor whose hand was cut off by Islamist fanatics two months ago for allegedly insulting the Prophet has been sacked by his college.
T J Joseph, a professor at Newman College, Thodu-puzha, withdrew a question alleged to be derogatory about the Prophet after Muslims groups protested. He apologized for it as well. But he was attacked by the radical Muslim group Popular Front of India. Now, he finds himself minus his hand and his job and, according to his sister, in "a state of shock".
"They ( Newman College authorities) unilaterally found him guilty," said the professor's sister Marie Stella. "Joseph is in a state of shock and does not even have the spirit to talk about it. He never thought that the college could do this... This is the severest of the seven punishments in the university's statute. Joseph had replied to the show-cause notice, and they did this despite his apology," Marie added. She said that his dismissal means he can't claim pension even after 25 years of service.
Kerala's education minister M A Baby termed Joseph's sacking as excessive use of authority and said he could appeal to the University Tribunal or explore other legal means. Although Joseph was suspended after the controversy broke out over the question he had set for an internal exam, the MG University, had revoked his suspension on July 24, taking into account his apology.
Read more: After hand, Kerala professor loses job too - Thiruvananthapuram - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/After-hand-Kerala-professor-loses-job-too/articleshow/6493913.cms#ixzz0ybSFu9Ot Sphere: Related Content
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The professor whose hand was cut off by Islamist fanatics two months ago for allegedly insulting the Prophet has been sacked by his college.
T J Joseph, a professor at Newman College, Thodu-puzha, withdrew a question alleged to be derogatory about the Prophet after Muslims groups protested. He apologized for it as well. But he was attacked by the radical Muslim group Popular Front of India. Now, he finds himself minus his hand and his job and, according to his sister, in "a state of shock".
"They ( Newman College authorities) unilaterally found him guilty," said the professor's sister Marie Stella. "Joseph is in a state of shock and does not even have the spirit to talk about it. He never thought that the college could do this... This is the severest of the seven punishments in the university's statute. Joseph had replied to the show-cause notice, and they did this despite his apology," Marie added. She said that his dismissal means he can't claim pension even after 25 years of service.
Kerala's education minister M A Baby termed Joseph's sacking as excessive use of authority and said he could appeal to the University Tribunal or explore other legal means. Although Joseph was suspended after the controversy broke out over the question he had set for an internal exam, the MG University, had revoked his suspension on July 24, taking into account his apology.
Read more: After hand, Kerala professor loses job too - Thiruvananthapuram - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/After-hand-Kerala-professor-loses-job-too/articleshow/6493913.cms#ixzz0ybSFu9Ot Sphere: Related Content
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Raymon Panikkar
The famous theologian Raymon Paniikar died on August 26, 2010. He was 91
Sphere: Related Content
Raimon Panikkar - biografia
Raimon Panikkar - biografia
laudatio
biography
“I started as a Christian, I discovered I was a Hindu and returned as a Buddhist without having ceased to be a Christian
Laudatio of Raimon Panikkar Alemany
during the solemn academic ceremony of his investiture as Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Girona
Presented by Prof. Josep-Maria Terricabras, sponsor of the new Doctor
It is an honour for me today to expound the merits of Raimon Panikkar Alemany on the occasion of his appointment as doctor honoris causa of our university in this solemn academic ceremony. Without a doubt Raimon Panikkar is the most internationally renowned catalan thinker alive today. His life and works testify to the huge thematic, geographic and linguistic scope of his thought which I will now present in summary.
Raimon Panikkar was born on November 3rd 1918 in Barcellona his father being an Indian of Hindu faith and his mother a Catalan Catholic. Thus, from his early childhood he was able to adopt, cultivate and speak of traditions within which he had always felt perfectly at home. He was ordained into the priesthood in1946 and in the same year he got Ph. D. in Philosophy and in 1958 in Science at the University of Madrid and in 1961 in Theology at the Lateran University in Rome. He has lived in India, in Rome (where he was a “libero docente” at the University La Sapienza) and in the United States. In 1966 he was invited as visiting professor at Harvard University and from 1966 to 1987 he divided his time teaching in USA every Spring Semester and doing his research in India.- From 1971 to 1987 he held the chair of Comparative Religious Philosophy at the University of California in Santa Barbara where he is still Emeritus Professor. In 1987 he returned to Catalonia and took up residence in Tavertet (Osona) where he has continued to hold courses, seminars and meetings on philosophical, religious and cultural themes as well as carrying out in-depth investigation into the different human traditions. He has published around fifty books, mainly in Catalan, Castilian, Italian and English which have been translated into French, German, Chinese, Portuguese, Czechoslovakian, Dutch and Tamil. For his part over the course of ten years he translated an anthology of a thousand pages of texts from the Vedas.
Panikkar has supervised about twenty university theses by students from all over the world, particularly during the time he spent in the United States. More than thirty theses on his thought have been written and some of them have been published. Panikkar has given courses in universities the world over as well as prestigious lectures such as the “Warner Lectures Series” and the “Gifford Lectures”. He has collaborated on the Classics of Western Spirituality (New York) Project which to date has published 76 volumes and also on Western Spirituality, which is comprised of 25 volumes, the three most recent of which are under his personal direction. The first volume of his Opera Omnia has just come out and will eventually run to of twenty volumes. The publication of these complete works has been envisaged in other languages and first of all in Catalan.
Apart from this immense academic activity Panikkar has been president of the “Pipal Tree” (Bangalore). He is the founder and director of the “Center for Cross-Cultural Religious Studies” (Santa Barbara, California) and of “Vivarium, Centre d’Estudis Intercultural” (Tavertet, Catalogna). Since 1993 he has also been president of the Sociedad Española de Ciencias de las Religiones (Madrid). In 1960 he was one of the founders of the NGO Pax Romana – with consultative status at the United Nations - which protects the rights and dignity of people all over the globe. He has also taken part in numerous international consultations for UNESCO and many other academic institutions. On two occasions he was special envoy for the Indian government on cultural missions to South America.
Over the course of his life Panikkar has received numerous prizes and awards among which international awards such as the “Premio spagnolo di letteratura”, (1961), Creu de Sant Jordi de la Generalitat de Catalunya (1999), an appointment as “Chevalier des Art set des Lettres” by the French government (2000), Medaglia della Presidenza della Repubblica Italiana ( 2001) and Premio Nonino 2001 ‘A un maestro del nostro tempo’. Furthermore he has received purely academic ones such as Dottore honoris causa of the University of the Balearic Islands. (1997), of the faculty of Theology of the University of Tübingen and the faculty of Sociology of the University of Urbino (2005). Every year the University of California awards a prize - –“The Raimundo Panikkar Award in Comparative Religions” to the philosophy student who takes his degree with the highest marks. At present a chair is being instituted in his name at the same university. Prestigious reviews have dedicated monographic issues to him and symposiums and study days have been organized to study his thought. The next International convention will be held in Venice from May 5th to 7th entitled “Mysticism, the Fullness of Life” on the occasion of the publication of the first volume of his Opera Omnia (with the same title).
Raimon Panikkar’s vast activity which we have only hinted at above, springs from his profound sense of the ideas and living which inspire it. Over a period of thirty years he has maintained intense contact with India which he visited for the first time in 1954. Talking about himself Panikar has said: “I started as a Christian, I discovered I was a Hindu and returned as a Buddhist without ever having ceased to be a Christian”. He has never been a conventional thinker: on the contrary he has infringed many schemes, conventions and prejudices. His intellectual development, between East and West, has allowed him to reflect a continuing philosophical dialogue between different traditions, ideologies and beliefs in his work. His substantial knowledge of the western philosophical tradition and his exceptional knowledge of oriental philosophical and spiritual traditions grant him a quite uncommon ability for inter-religious and inter-philosophical dialogue not only among usbut also on an international level. In times when eastern thought is gaining ground and followers among us, the figure of Raimon Panikkar stands out for his great authority as an expert, a rigorous and profound point of reference. In Panikkar, philosophy, which is constantly open to human reflection, finds an original thinker devoid of complexes because he “knows” what he is talking about and also because he proposes relationships and accepts differences which can only be debated by those who have experienced and understood them from within each tradition. Panikkar, who has wandered the world, proposes pilgrimage as a symbol of life but not as life itself because a pilgrimage should not only be an exterior experience but also an interior one.
This is exactly why he accepts the supremacy of practice, of life, of a life which unfolds in the present, in every moment and which is able to find the universal in the practical, in every detail. “My aspiration” – he has confided – “does not consist so much in defending my truth but rather to live it out”. His thought, inspired by the principle of advaita (neither monist, nor pantheist, nor dualist), suggests a vision of harmony and of concord which endeavors to discover the “human invariant” without destroying cultural diversities which all aim at the realization of the individual in a continuing process of creation and recreation. “The more we have the courage to walk new paths - he said – the more we must remain rooted in our own tradition, open to others who let us know that we are not alone and permit us to acquire a wider vision of reality”.
Dialogue is important for Panikkar but not purely mechanical or informative dialogue but rather what he calls “dialogical dialogue” which leads to recognizing difference but also to what we have in common, which in the end produces mutual fecondation. Dialogue is not a luxury for mankind, it is something absolutely necessary and inter-religious dialogue plays an important role. By this Panikkar does not mean an abstract theoretical dialogue, a dialogue about beliefs, he means a deep-reaching human dialogue in which one seeks the collaboration of the other for mutual realization since wisdom consists in being able to listen. Religion is not an experiment for him, it is an experience, an experience of life through which one is part of the cosmic adventure, with neither worry nor anxiety. This, for example, leads him to put forward the notion of “identity”. He was once asked during an interview: “Where do you find your identity?” His answer was:” By losing it rather than looking for it: by not wanting to hold onto an identity which has not yet been fulfilled and therefore is impossible to find in the past because it would only be a copy of something old. Life is a risk; adventure is radical innovation; creation comes about day after day, it is something absolutely new and unforeseeable”.
With his concrete yet also global vision of existence Panikkar defends harmony among one and the other, our harmony with that of nature and naturally with ourselves. He defends the sacredness of life as sacred secularity. Because everything is sacred, everything is inviolable and denounces how sensitivity towards the sacredness of matter has been lost. Ecosophy is the new wisdom of the earth. That which is human, that which is infinite or divine and that which is material are not three separate realities but three aspects of a unique and identical reality. This is his cosmotheandric or theandropocosmic intuition which reveals the ambiguity and the limits of any strictly scientific or cultural question. Finally we have come to experience the pathology of safety, that present day obsession, through the obsession with certainty. This is why Panikkar urges that philosophy should be alive, that it focus attention on polysemy, ambiguity, openness: because it can only foster awareness of freedom if it itself places itself above any type of servitude even if it is rational or rationalizing servitude.
Panikkar is certainly not a comfortable thinker because he is not always predictable, he is never conventional and constantly opens new perspectives, raises doubts, hopes and new expectations. This makes him a thinker of truth, a master of thought and a wise person. And, in the words of Cicero: “sapiens beatus est”.
I cannot conclude this presentation without making public a private and immensely generous gesture on the part of Raimon Panikkar: his decision to leave his impressive private library to the University of Girona. In exchange for his friendship and generosity I can solemnly guarantee, from this moment onwards, the commitment of this university, from today his university, to give this legacy continuity so as to expand and spread its contents.
For many reasons and for all this I propose that the title of doctor honoris causa is conceded and conferred on Raimon Panikkar.
laudatio Sphere: Related Content
laudatio
biography
“I started as a Christian, I discovered I was a Hindu and returned as a Buddhist without having ceased to be a Christian
Laudatio of Raimon Panikkar Alemany
during the solemn academic ceremony of his investiture as Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Girona
Presented by Prof. Josep-Maria Terricabras, sponsor of the new Doctor
It is an honour for me today to expound the merits of Raimon Panikkar Alemany on the occasion of his appointment as doctor honoris causa of our university in this solemn academic ceremony. Without a doubt Raimon Panikkar is the most internationally renowned catalan thinker alive today. His life and works testify to the huge thematic, geographic and linguistic scope of his thought which I will now present in summary.
Raimon Panikkar was born on November 3rd 1918 in Barcellona his father being an Indian of Hindu faith and his mother a Catalan Catholic. Thus, from his early childhood he was able to adopt, cultivate and speak of traditions within which he had always felt perfectly at home. He was ordained into the priesthood in1946 and in the same year he got Ph. D. in Philosophy and in 1958 in Science at the University of Madrid and in 1961 in Theology at the Lateran University in Rome. He has lived in India, in Rome (where he was a “libero docente” at the University La Sapienza) and in the United States. In 1966 he was invited as visiting professor at Harvard University and from 1966 to 1987 he divided his time teaching in USA every Spring Semester and doing his research in India.- From 1971 to 1987 he held the chair of Comparative Religious Philosophy at the University of California in Santa Barbara where he is still Emeritus Professor. In 1987 he returned to Catalonia and took up residence in Tavertet (Osona) where he has continued to hold courses, seminars and meetings on philosophical, religious and cultural themes as well as carrying out in-depth investigation into the different human traditions. He has published around fifty books, mainly in Catalan, Castilian, Italian and English which have been translated into French, German, Chinese, Portuguese, Czechoslovakian, Dutch and Tamil. For his part over the course of ten years he translated an anthology of a thousand pages of texts from the Vedas.
Panikkar has supervised about twenty university theses by students from all over the world, particularly during the time he spent in the United States. More than thirty theses on his thought have been written and some of them have been published. Panikkar has given courses in universities the world over as well as prestigious lectures such as the “Warner Lectures Series” and the “Gifford Lectures”. He has collaborated on the Classics of Western Spirituality (New York) Project which to date has published 76 volumes and also on Western Spirituality, which is comprised of 25 volumes, the three most recent of which are under his personal direction. The first volume of his Opera Omnia has just come out and will eventually run to of twenty volumes. The publication of these complete works has been envisaged in other languages and first of all in Catalan.
Apart from this immense academic activity Panikkar has been president of the “Pipal Tree” (Bangalore). He is the founder and director of the “Center for Cross-Cultural Religious Studies” (Santa Barbara, California) and of “Vivarium, Centre d’Estudis Intercultural” (Tavertet, Catalogna). Since 1993 he has also been president of the Sociedad Española de Ciencias de las Religiones (Madrid). In 1960 he was one of the founders of the NGO Pax Romana – with consultative status at the United Nations - which protects the rights and dignity of people all over the globe. He has also taken part in numerous international consultations for UNESCO and many other academic institutions. On two occasions he was special envoy for the Indian government on cultural missions to South America.
Over the course of his life Panikkar has received numerous prizes and awards among which international awards such as the “Premio spagnolo di letteratura”, (1961), Creu de Sant Jordi de la Generalitat de Catalunya (1999), an appointment as “Chevalier des Art set des Lettres” by the French government (2000), Medaglia della Presidenza della Repubblica Italiana ( 2001) and Premio Nonino 2001 ‘A un maestro del nostro tempo’. Furthermore he has received purely academic ones such as Dottore honoris causa of the University of the Balearic Islands. (1997), of the faculty of Theology of the University of Tübingen and the faculty of Sociology of the University of Urbino (2005). Every year the University of California awards a prize - –“The Raimundo Panikkar Award in Comparative Religions” to the philosophy student who takes his degree with the highest marks. At present a chair is being instituted in his name at the same university. Prestigious reviews have dedicated monographic issues to him and symposiums and study days have been organized to study his thought. The next International convention will be held in Venice from May 5th to 7th entitled “Mysticism, the Fullness of Life” on the occasion of the publication of the first volume of his Opera Omnia (with the same title).
Raimon Panikkar’s vast activity which we have only hinted at above, springs from his profound sense of the ideas and living which inspire it. Over a period of thirty years he has maintained intense contact with India which he visited for the first time in 1954. Talking about himself Panikar has said: “I started as a Christian, I discovered I was a Hindu and returned as a Buddhist without ever having ceased to be a Christian”. He has never been a conventional thinker: on the contrary he has infringed many schemes, conventions and prejudices. His intellectual development, between East and West, has allowed him to reflect a continuing philosophical dialogue between different traditions, ideologies and beliefs in his work. His substantial knowledge of the western philosophical tradition and his exceptional knowledge of oriental philosophical and spiritual traditions grant him a quite uncommon ability for inter-religious and inter-philosophical dialogue not only among usbut also on an international level. In times when eastern thought is gaining ground and followers among us, the figure of Raimon Panikkar stands out for his great authority as an expert, a rigorous and profound point of reference. In Panikkar, philosophy, which is constantly open to human reflection, finds an original thinker devoid of complexes because he “knows” what he is talking about and also because he proposes relationships and accepts differences which can only be debated by those who have experienced and understood them from within each tradition. Panikkar, who has wandered the world, proposes pilgrimage as a symbol of life but not as life itself because a pilgrimage should not only be an exterior experience but also an interior one.
This is exactly why he accepts the supremacy of practice, of life, of a life which unfolds in the present, in every moment and which is able to find the universal in the practical, in every detail. “My aspiration” – he has confided – “does not consist so much in defending my truth but rather to live it out”. His thought, inspired by the principle of advaita (neither monist, nor pantheist, nor dualist), suggests a vision of harmony and of concord which endeavors to discover the “human invariant” without destroying cultural diversities which all aim at the realization of the individual in a continuing process of creation and recreation. “The more we have the courage to walk new paths - he said – the more we must remain rooted in our own tradition, open to others who let us know that we are not alone and permit us to acquire a wider vision of reality”.
Dialogue is important for Panikkar but not purely mechanical or informative dialogue but rather what he calls “dialogical dialogue” which leads to recognizing difference but also to what we have in common, which in the end produces mutual fecondation. Dialogue is not a luxury for mankind, it is something absolutely necessary and inter-religious dialogue plays an important role. By this Panikkar does not mean an abstract theoretical dialogue, a dialogue about beliefs, he means a deep-reaching human dialogue in which one seeks the collaboration of the other for mutual realization since wisdom consists in being able to listen. Religion is not an experiment for him, it is an experience, an experience of life through which one is part of the cosmic adventure, with neither worry nor anxiety. This, for example, leads him to put forward the notion of “identity”. He was once asked during an interview: “Where do you find your identity?” His answer was:” By losing it rather than looking for it: by not wanting to hold onto an identity which has not yet been fulfilled and therefore is impossible to find in the past because it would only be a copy of something old. Life is a risk; adventure is radical innovation; creation comes about day after day, it is something absolutely new and unforeseeable”.
With his concrete yet also global vision of existence Panikkar defends harmony among one and the other, our harmony with that of nature and naturally with ourselves. He defends the sacredness of life as sacred secularity. Because everything is sacred, everything is inviolable and denounces how sensitivity towards the sacredness of matter has been lost. Ecosophy is the new wisdom of the earth. That which is human, that which is infinite or divine and that which is material are not three separate realities but three aspects of a unique and identical reality. This is his cosmotheandric or theandropocosmic intuition which reveals the ambiguity and the limits of any strictly scientific or cultural question. Finally we have come to experience the pathology of safety, that present day obsession, through the obsession with certainty. This is why Panikkar urges that philosophy should be alive, that it focus attention on polysemy, ambiguity, openness: because it can only foster awareness of freedom if it itself places itself above any type of servitude even if it is rational or rationalizing servitude.
Panikkar is certainly not a comfortable thinker because he is not always predictable, he is never conventional and constantly opens new perspectives, raises doubts, hopes and new expectations. This makes him a thinker of truth, a master of thought and a wise person. And, in the words of Cicero: “sapiens beatus est”.
I cannot conclude this presentation without making public a private and immensely generous gesture on the part of Raimon Panikkar: his decision to leave his impressive private library to the University of Girona. In exchange for his friendship and generosity I can solemnly guarantee, from this moment onwards, the commitment of this university, from today his university, to give this legacy continuity so as to expand and spread its contents.
For many reasons and for all this I propose that the title of doctor honoris causa is conceded and conferred on Raimon Panikkar.
laudatio Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Carter visits North Korea in release bid
BBC News - Ex-President Carter visits North Korea in release bid: "Mr Gomes, who had been teaching English in South Korea, reportedly crossed into North Korea in January. A devout Christian, he is thought to have gone there on a one-man peace mission."
Sphere: Related Content
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Sentinel#40906
The Sentinel#40906
Buddhists pray for Dalai Lama’s long life on birth anniversary
BOMDILA, July 6: ‘The Sun in the sky, the Jewel of the world, the Light in our heart-may you live a long life’ was the prayer on every lip of the old and young alike, gathered to celebrate the 75th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama here today at Thubchog Gatseling Monastray (Lower Gompa ).
Deputy Abbot Geshi Lopon of the Gaden Rabgyeling Monastary (Upper Gompa) welcoming the people spoke on the moral values and virtues which a man should incorporate unto oneself based on the teachings of lord Buddha. Highlighting the path of non-violence, compassion and righteousness, Lopon urged the followers to abstain from taking non-vegetarian food including eggs on 8th, 10th, 15th and 30th day of every Buddhist Lunar calendar. On advice of the abbot it was also resolved to organize an interactive discourse on Buddhist philosophy on monthly basis at Sera village Gompa, Pedung Gompa, Gaden Rabgyeling Monastary and at Thubchog Gatseling Monastary, all located in Bomdila and its peripheral areas.
As a novel initiative, the organizing committee finalized a list of 35 students who had topped in their respective classes from the 16 schools located under Bomdila township. The toppers were felicitated by the committee on the occasion.
Attending the occasion as Chief Guest, Deputy Commissioner Rinchin Tashi elaborated on the life of His Holiness and his endeavors for world peace, harmony and brotherhood and recognition by various national and international bodies for his services. Underscoring the importance of preserving and promoting the rich cultural and traditional values of the Buddhist community while praying for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tashi reiterated and called upon the people to make life meaningful by the teachings of Lord Buddha.
Earlier in the morning, the monks of the Gaden Rabgyeling and Thubchog Gatseling monasteries performed special prayers for long life of the Dalai Lama followed by a mass procession in and around Bomdila township with the spiritual leader’s portrait. It was followed by the ceremonial Sang-sol and hoisting of Lungta (prayer flags) and offering of Khadas (scarf). To commemorate the birthday of the Dalai Lama, and DC Rinchin Tashi and a colourful cultural programme marked the end of the celebration.
The birthday of the Dalai Lama was also observed at the Siddharta Vihar gonpa at Itanagar. In a day-long programme organized by the Itanagar Buddhist Cultural Society prayers were offered for world peace and long life of the spiritual leader. To mark the occasion a medical camp was also organized in the gonpa premises that offered Tibetan medicine treatment to the needy. Sphere: Related Content
Buddhists pray for Dalai Lama’s long life on birth anniversary
BOMDILA, July 6: ‘The Sun in the sky, the Jewel of the world, the Light in our heart-may you live a long life’ was the prayer on every lip of the old and young alike, gathered to celebrate the 75th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama here today at Thubchog Gatseling Monastray (Lower Gompa ).
Deputy Abbot Geshi Lopon of the Gaden Rabgyeling Monastary (Upper Gompa) welcoming the people spoke on the moral values and virtues which a man should incorporate unto oneself based on the teachings of lord Buddha. Highlighting the path of non-violence, compassion and righteousness, Lopon urged the followers to abstain from taking non-vegetarian food including eggs on 8th, 10th, 15th and 30th day of every Buddhist Lunar calendar. On advice of the abbot it was also resolved to organize an interactive discourse on Buddhist philosophy on monthly basis at Sera village Gompa, Pedung Gompa, Gaden Rabgyeling Monastary and at Thubchog Gatseling Monastary, all located in Bomdila and its peripheral areas.
As a novel initiative, the organizing committee finalized a list of 35 students who had topped in their respective classes from the 16 schools located under Bomdila township. The toppers were felicitated by the committee on the occasion.
Attending the occasion as Chief Guest, Deputy Commissioner Rinchin Tashi elaborated on the life of His Holiness and his endeavors for world peace, harmony and brotherhood and recognition by various national and international bodies for his services. Underscoring the importance of preserving and promoting the rich cultural and traditional values of the Buddhist community while praying for the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tashi reiterated and called upon the people to make life meaningful by the teachings of Lord Buddha.
Earlier in the morning, the monks of the Gaden Rabgyeling and Thubchog Gatseling monasteries performed special prayers for long life of the Dalai Lama followed by a mass procession in and around Bomdila township with the spiritual leader’s portrait. It was followed by the ceremonial Sang-sol and hoisting of Lungta (prayer flags) and offering of Khadas (scarf). To commemorate the birthday of the Dalai Lama, and DC Rinchin Tashi and a colourful cultural programme marked the end of the celebration.
The birthday of the Dalai Lama was also observed at the Siddharta Vihar gonpa at Itanagar. In a day-long programme organized by the Itanagar Buddhist Cultural Society prayers were offered for world peace and long life of the spiritual leader. To mark the occasion a medical camp was also organized in the gonpa premises that offered Tibetan medicine treatment to the needy. Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The Message (Bible) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Message (Bible) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "The Message
9-13 With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes" Sphere: Related Content
9-13 With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes" Sphere: Related Content
Friday, July 2, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
BBC News - Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
BBC News - Finland makes broadband a 'legal right': "Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen.
From 1 July every Finn will have the right to access to a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection.
Finland has vowed to connect everyone to a 100Mbps connection by 2015." Sphere: Related Content
From 1 July every Finn will have the right to access to a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection.
Finland has vowed to connect everyone to a 100Mbps connection by 2015." Sphere: Related Content
Church in the World: Pope creates new office to fight secularization
Church in the World: Pope creates new office to fight secularization
Pope Benedict XVI is creating a new Vatican office to fight secularization and "re-evangelize" the West -- a tacit acknowledgment that his attempts to reinvigorate Christianity in Europe haven't succeeded and need a new boost.
Benedict announced the new office during a vespers' service Monday, confirming reports in the Italian media of a handful of new Vatican appointments expected to be announced before the pope goes on summer holiday and the Vatican bureaucracy slows down.
Benedict said parts of the world are still missionary territory, where the Catholic Church is still relatively unknown. But in other parts of the world like Europe, Christianity has existed for centuries yet "the process of secularization has produced a serious crisis of the sense of the Christian faith and role of the Church."
The new pontifical council, he said, would "promote a renewed evangelization" in countries where the Church has long existed "but which are living a progressive secularization of society and a sort of 'eclipse of the sense of God.'" Sphere: Related Content
Pope Benedict XVI is creating a new Vatican office to fight secularization and "re-evangelize" the West -- a tacit acknowledgment that his attempts to reinvigorate Christianity in Europe haven't succeeded and need a new boost.
Benedict announced the new office during a vespers' service Monday, confirming reports in the Italian media of a handful of new Vatican appointments expected to be announced before the pope goes on summer holiday and the Vatican bureaucracy slows down.
Benedict said parts of the world are still missionary territory, where the Catholic Church is still relatively unknown. But in other parts of the world like Europe, Christianity has existed for centuries yet "the process of secularization has produced a serious crisis of the sense of the Christian faith and role of the Church."
The new pontifical council, he said, would "promote a renewed evangelization" in countries where the Church has long existed "but which are living a progressive secularization of society and a sort of 'eclipse of the sense of God.'" Sphere: Related Content
Jacob's Ethics Reader: South Korea legalizes chemical castration of sex offenders
Jacob's Ethics Reader: South Korea legalizes chemical castration of sex offenders
South Korea's parliament voted Tuesday to legalize chemical castration as punishment for convicted child sex offenders after a series of violent assaults sparked outrage nationwide.
The bill was first introduced in 2008 in response to a high-profile case in which a 58-year-old man raped and assaulted an 8-year-old girl. The attack caused widespread revulsion and left the victim with lasting physical injuries Sphere: Related Content
South Korea's parliament voted Tuesday to legalize chemical castration as punishment for convicted child sex offenders after a series of violent assaults sparked outrage nationwide.
The bill was first introduced in 2008 in response to a high-profile case in which a 58-year-old man raped and assaulted an 8-year-old girl. The attack caused widespread revulsion and left the victim with lasting physical injuries Sphere: Related Content
The Pioneer > Online Edition : >> 38 yr old this fair lovely beauty is king’s booty
The Pioneer > Online Edition : >> 38 yr old this fair lovely beauty is king’s booty
A rare white elephant has been captured from the jungles of northwestern Burma, a mostly Buddhist country where the animals are considered good omens, state media reported on Tuesday.
Forestry officials found the animal on Saturday, acting on a tip, in the jungles of Maungdaw township in northwestern Rakhine state, a publication has reported, describing the elephant as about 38 years old and 7 feet and 4 inches (2.2 m) tall. White elephants, actually albinos, have for centuries been revered in Burma, Thailand, Laos and other Asian nations.
They were normally kept and pampered by monarchs and considered a symbol of royal power and prosperity. The elephants are not necessarily white.
They can look similar to other elephants except for certain features like fair eyelashes and toenails, light-colored hair or a reddish hue to the skin. The newspaper did not say where the elephant would be housed.
It will be the fourth white elephant held in captivity in Burma. The three others are at the Mindhamma Hill park, in suburban Rangoon, where they live in an enclosure with spiraled pavilions, a manmade waterfall, ponds, trees and vegetation.
Soraida Salwala, of the Thailand-based Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation, said the group normally objects to placing elephants in captivity but stopped short of criticising the capture of white elephants.
In Thailand, all white elephants are traditionally handed over to the country’s king.
“The white elephant is a sign of great blessings and fortune for the land,” she said, adding that traditional Burmese and Thai beliefs are similar on the subject. Sphere: Related Content
A rare white elephant has been captured from the jungles of northwestern Burma, a mostly Buddhist country where the animals are considered good omens, state media reported on Tuesday.
Forestry officials found the animal on Saturday, acting on a tip, in the jungles of Maungdaw township in northwestern Rakhine state, a publication has reported, describing the elephant as about 38 years old and 7 feet and 4 inches (2.2 m) tall. White elephants, actually albinos, have for centuries been revered in Burma, Thailand, Laos and other Asian nations.
They were normally kept and pampered by monarchs and considered a symbol of royal power and prosperity. The elephants are not necessarily white.
They can look similar to other elephants except for certain features like fair eyelashes and toenails, light-colored hair or a reddish hue to the skin. The newspaper did not say where the elephant would be housed.
It will be the fourth white elephant held in captivity in Burma. The three others are at the Mindhamma Hill park, in suburban Rangoon, where they live in an enclosure with spiraled pavilions, a manmade waterfall, ponds, trees and vegetation.
Soraida Salwala, of the Thailand-based Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation, said the group normally objects to placing elephants in captivity but stopped short of criticising the capture of white elephants.
In Thailand, all white elephants are traditionally handed over to the country’s king.
“The white elephant is a sign of great blessings and fortune for the land,” she said, adding that traditional Burmese and Thai beliefs are similar on the subject. Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Amartya Sen
Amartya Sen
A remarkable use of imagined singularity can be found in Samuel Huntington's influential 1998 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order. The difficulty with Huntington's approach begins with his system of unique categorization, well before the issue of a clash—or not—is even raised. Indeed, the thesis of a civilizational clash is conceptually parasitic on the commanding power of a unique categorization along so-called civilizational lines, which closely follow religious divisions to which singular attention is paid. Huntington contrasts Western civilization with "Islamic civilization," "Hindu civilization," "Buddhist civilization," and so on. The alleged confrontations of religious differences are incorporated into a sharply carpentered vision of hardened divisiveness. Sphere: Related Content
A remarkable use of imagined singularity can be found in Samuel Huntington's influential 1998 book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order. The difficulty with Huntington's approach begins with his system of unique categorization, well before the issue of a clash—or not—is even raised. Indeed, the thesis of a civilizational clash is conceptually parasitic on the commanding power of a unique categorization along so-called civilizational lines, which closely follow religious divisions to which singular attention is paid. Huntington contrasts Western civilization with "Islamic civilization," "Hindu civilization," "Buddhist civilization," and so on. The alleged confrontations of religious differences are incorporated into a sharply carpentered vision of hardened divisiveness. Sphere: Related Content
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