New Spirits - Reading Deleuze in India

Consciousness only exists in connection with other consciousness

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Occasionally only, reflections on being...

Memory

Indian Philosophy and Practice·HinduismIndiaLifeMusicLanguageKnowledgeFebruary 19, 20234 Min. Lesezeit

For 3,000 years, the books of the Vedas have been preserved in memory in India. The Rigveda (10,552 verses), Samaveda (1549 verses), Yajurveda (4001 verses), and Atharvaveda (5977 verses), as well as the Upanishads (approx. 1800 verses), have been passed down from generation to generation. The grammar of Sanskrit has not fundamentally changed, and the pronunciation has been meticulously conveyed through precise phonetic descriptions. Thus, these texts sound the same today as they did 3,000 years ago. They are written in the form of mantras, that is, in verse form and...

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Puducherry

The order of things

Places and Travels·AurovilleRelationshipTechnologyJanuary 26, 20233 Min. Lesezeit

Standing on the loading bed of a small truck, I've been driving around Auroville these past few days, collecting various items for the Potters Market. These small trucks are the big brothers of tuk-tuks. Sometimes you see six or seven dozen people standing on them when a big festival is coming up. It's a popular mode of transport for people in the villages when they travel long distances together to be close to the gods. It's surprising how safe it is...

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Kerala Festival

New Year

Critique and Farewell·IndiaKarmaMeditationTransformationJanuary 10, 20232 Min. Lesezeit

Yesterday, I ended the year with a shared meditation. It was beautiful, peaceful, focused. And shortly, I want to go to the sea for a little swim; it seems like a good start to me. I'm letting what I've experienced in the last few years and decades pass before my inner eye. I've lived in different places in different countries. It was exciting: different customs and traditions, languages, cultures, different sensory impressions, from nature and cuisine, to architecture, celebrations, etc. I...

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Eastern and Western philosophy?

Culture and Society·IndiaRepresentationLanguageUpanishadsKnowledgeJanuary 7, 20234 Min. Lesezeit

Recently, a friend asked me about the relationship between Eastern and Western culture. This is, of course, an enormous question that I also ponder and that, naturally, no one can truly answer. However, I want to formulate a few thoughts: The distance from an imagined center. The ‚Western‘ world, based on classical antiquity, Christianity, the Enlightenment, and materialism, is contrasted with the Occidental world of the Assyrians and Persians, Islam, and the idea of a divinely guided commonwealth. This...

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Art beyond darkness - Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2022/23

Art and Perception·MovieIndiaBodyArtLightMediaJanuary 6, 202310 Min. Lesezeit

Why do we need a biennial? I have often asked myself this question. Before COVID-19, I visited many places with international cultural events. During lockdown, I co-organized an artist residency program to reflect on the impact, threats and opportunities of COVID-19 for cultural workers. Everything went differently than expected. Now everyone is trying to get back to normal. Have we thoughtlessly spent trillions of euros and dollars to maintain a system that desperately needs a change?

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