 Beyond
Diving: |
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: |
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About
the multiplicity of the human self,
so often misjudged but mostly ignored.
The following extract from Steppenwolf
, Hermann Hesse’s classic (first
published in Germany in 1927):
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Imagine
a garden with a hundred kinds of trees,
a thousand kinds of flowers, a hundred
kinds of fruit and vegetables. Suppose
then, that the gardener of this garden
knew no other distinction than between
edible and inedible, nine-tenth of
this garden would be useless to him.
He would pull up the most enchanting
flowers and hew the noblest of trees
and even regard them with loathing
and envious eyes. Is this what we
do with the thousand flowers of our
souls?
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| Film
of choice BARAKA |
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Some
may call it a documentary, but it
is more of a testimonial.
This
104 minute film by Ron Fricke
was produced in 1993 and shot
in 24 countries around the globe;
it is a masterpiece by any standard.
Mesmerizing footages and spell
bounding sound track to accompany
it , it contains incredibly beautiful
and thought provoking images of
places, peoples, creatures, nature,
different spiritual rituals of
man kind that are perhaps different
in appearance but very similar
in their quest for liberating
the soul to achieve its ultimate
purpose of uniting with the divine,
we see tribal rituals, orthodox
Jewish prayers, Christian worship,
whirling dervishes trancing, Muslim
prayers and Buddhist meditation
in such a way that you can not
help but wonder why so many wars
were and are being waged in the
name of religion of which it is
innocent.
BARAKA means BLESSING in Arabic
and while the images that flicker
across the screen are nothing
short of a magnificent celebration
of all that is the divine creation
in its multitude of shapes, colours
and forms, it is at the same time
a howling cry of indictment to
the human race…………….it
is as if the planet in all its
glory is screaming from the depth
of the abyss WHAT HAVE YOU DONE
TO ME AND WHAT ARE YOU CONTINUING
TO DO??
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As one viewer rightly
comments, this film is a requirement
for living on this planet, but you
need to see it without any encumbering
distraction, it deserves your undivided
attention.
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Book of choice
THE CRUSADES THROUGH ARAB
EYES
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By:
Amin Maalouf |
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It
is often said with more than some
justification that history is written
by the victors and to suit the needs,
aspirations of those who wrote within
the context of the social and geopolitical
environment of the time.
Western literature is full of books
written about the crusades as one
of the most important events in
European history and one that has
forever changed the political face
of Europe to this day,
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The crusades were
generally viewed in western literature
as a noble and epic effort to reclaim
the holy land? In this book it is
portrayed as a brutal unprovoked
and destructive invasion.
In this book Amin Maalouf (author
of Samarkand, Leo the African, the
rock of tanious and many others)
is telling the story as seen from
the other side (Arab Eyes), it is
almost completely based on testimony
of contemporary Arab historians
and chronicles of the period in
question.
In his wonderful, easy to read,
image invoking style one is able
to paint a vivid and colourful pictures
of this important part of our history
and to have an insight into the
historical forces that to this day
still play a role in shaping Arab
and Islamic consciousness.
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