New Acropolis is an international non-profit cultural association that exists in 54 countries and has over 20.000 active members and other thousands of supporters.
The main activity of the association involves hosting philosophy classes, which, in some countries, take kids as young as four-years-old, but New Acropolis offers many other kinds of classes in its various schools such as martial arts,poetry, painting, dancing and theatre.
New Acropolis also promotes charity by offering a course about voluntary services that teaches people how to help the community, like cleaning monuments and collecting food for the poor.
Jorge Angel Livraga and the History of New Acropolis
Jorge Angel Livraga, the founder of New Acropolis, was born in Argentina. His biography is filled with strange happenings such as being cured by an angel during his childhood, performing psychic abilities and spending years inside a crypt to receive instructions from entities, where he says he had out-of-body experiences.
Livraga met Sri Ram, the president of the Theosophical Society Adyar and teacher of the National University of India, and became his disciple. Livraga claimed to have received orders from Sri Ram to found New Acropolis, which he did with his wife at the time, Ada Albrecht (later she was banned from the organization by Livraga himself).
Some say that Livraga collected guns and archaeological pieces, and there are controversies about the origins of such items. While some claim that many objects of his art colletion were stolen, other defend that many pieces were given as a gift.
What Do People Learn in New Acropolis?
There are seven levels of classes, the first level is a basic introduction which includes eastern and western philosophy. The subjects studied include:
- Principle of Ethics
- Introduction to Bhagavad Gita (Indian book which is part of the Mahabharata)
- Principles of Buddhism
- Principles of Stoicism (Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca)
- Confucius's philosophy
- Plato's philosophy
- Kant's philosophy
- Aristotle's philosophy
- Plotinus philosophy
In the second level, students learn:
- Psychology
- Eastern Philosophy
- Helena Blavatsky
- Pythagoras
- Meaning of Myths
- Oratory (optional)
And in the other four levels students go deeper in all previous subjects and also learn about Astrology, Theological Symbolism, Nietzsche and Epicurus, as well as other philosophers. There may be variations in different countries, but the essence is the same everywhere.
Symbols and Celebrations of New Acropolis
In the second level, students become members and are able to take part of the celebrations that are closed to members only. Although many critics say that these celebrations are similar to cults, the only reason why students of the first level can't attend the celebrations is because they don't learn the meaning of such festivities until the second level, and there is no point in celebrating without knowing what they mean, as the philosophers of New Acropolis strongly oppose to any kind of dogmatism.
Celebrations include the solstice festivities, the anniversary of New Acropolis and the spring party in which there are sports and poetry competition. Some of the celebrations may vary by nation.
The symbol of New Acropolis is an eagle with the wings turned up meaning the man in search for the Ideal world and evolution. Some people find similarities with the golden eagle of the Nazis, and although Nazis certainly liked it, this symbol existed centuries before the Nazi movement was born. So, the eagle doesn't belong to the Nazis; it has its origins in ancient tradition.
Is New Acropolis a Cult?
Many of the accusations against New Acropolis refer to Blavatsky's teachings which are said to be racist. The Secret Doctrine by Helena Blavatsky, a book that is, among others, studied in New Acropolis, brings theories about the many races that inhabited Earth and the other races that should emerge according to eastern cosmology.
Laymen often confuse the term "races" used in the book, which refers to cycles of humanity and not to different races of people like black, white, Asian, etc; every human being living in the same period of time correspond to the same race, according to eastern tradition, therefore, accusations of racist are result of a misconception.
The Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), started to investigate New Acropolis around 1997 to find out if former members from France considered New Acropolis as a Nazi or fascist group rather than a school of philosophy, to know the reasons why members left the organization and investigate accusations of threatening. The results were quite conclusive: the great majority of members didn't consider New Acropolis a cult or a religion, most of them believe new Acropolis is really what it claims to be – a school of philosophy.
Principles of New Acropolis
The principles of New Acropolis are very similar to the principles of the Theosophical Society:
- To promote universal fraternity among people of all creeds, races and backgrounds.
- To promote a holistic vision of the world through the comparative study of philosophies, sciences, religions and arts.
- To enable human beings to develop their potential and live in harmony with nature by understanding its laws.
It seems that, despite possible mistakes made by the founder and positions that many people may not agree, there's no reason to believe that New Acropolis is a cult. People still have freedom of choice and belief, at least in most countries.
To know more about Helena Blavatsky's teachings, read: Life in Other Planets According to Theosophy
Sources:
Critical Biography of Jorge Livraga
New Acropolis material.
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