The Beauty in Our Beast

The scene that stands out most poignantly about the new rendition of Disney's Beauty and the Beast is when Belle, characterized by Emma Watson, holds up the magic mirror to show the townspeople that the beast is real. They shudder at his existence and his appearance, calling him a monster, a beast, one worthy of their wrath. In his defense, Belle challenges the townspeople, saying he is not a beast.. he is gentle and caring and in an ironic turn of events calling the handsome Gaston the real beast.

This scene is, in my mind, the crux of the film: the juxtaposition of physically appearance with inner beauty really captures the moral of this classic Disney fable. The outward beauty of Gaston that gains him such fame and affection from others is but a ruse to his inner ugliness that is seen over and over again through his lack of virtue. And more touching yet, that a man who has become beastly by his circumstances, is loved unconditionally not by "the color of [his] skin but by the content of [his] character." And the heroine of the film, chooses the later. Ah, what a world, where virtue reigns over appearance. A world that Martin Luther King dreamed about.

This classic parable that juxtaposes the elusive virtue of beauty with the savage haggardness of an inner beast, seems all too relevant in today's increasingly combative and judgmental society. We are all too quick to point a finger at the other as the 'beast,' seeing ourselves as the righteous 'beauty' trying to mend the wrongs of others.

But the true 'beauty' doesn't ever try to fix the 'beast.' Because the beast must simply accept the goodness in himself. She only becomes a canvas upon which he can allow his goodness to reemerge. She doesn't judge him. She doesn't change him. She simply tries to KNOW him. And in knowing, she realizes that he has warmth, sincerity, courage and compassion.

Everyone's 'beast' is different and he changes with time: Native American Indians who were simply living their life until their land was taken away, Jews massacred for simply looking different in Germany during World War II, the Japanese in America punished for the bombing at Pearl Harbor, Palestinians fighting for their homeland, Black men and women forced to serve as slaves and still seeking equal treatment, misunderstood Muslims simply trying to explain their faith, and White men and women looking to make sure they don't lose their identity in the growing racial mix.

If we look more closely, we can actually understand that each of these racial, cultural, religious groups isn't much different from the other. We all want the same things: safety, security, a sense of identity, a good quality of life for our family and our children, a hopeful future, and perhaps... world peace.

If this imaginative tale can leave us with a message for these precarious times, it is this: Learn to understand the other, regardless of appearance, before making any judgements and perhaps we will find the Beauty in our Beast.

The Aga Khan Speaks at Brown

"George Washington...came to this campus in 1790, after just one year as President, when Brown itself was only a quarter of a century old,," His Highness the Aga Khan said on Monday during his own visit to Brown University's 250th anniversary celebration.
President Christina Paxson invited the Aga Khan to deliver the 88th Stephen A. Ogden, Jr. '60 Memorial Lecture on International Affairs, just a few weeks after his historic speech to both houses of the Canadian Parliament, the first Muslim non-head of state to address the Canadian Parliament, a country of which he is also an honorary citizen.

The Aga Khan, 49th hereditary Imam of some 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims worldwide, explained in his address at the Canadian Parliament, that the Ismaili Imamat is a "supra-national entity, representing the succession of Imams since the time of the Prophet," and the Ismailis are the only Shia community who "throughout history, have been led by a living, hereditary Imam in direct descent from the Prophet."

Introducing his life's work as "critically important," President Paxson added that the Aga Khan's agencies span over 30 countries with 400 healthcare facilities, over 200 schools and an "annual budget for nonprofit development activities that is approximately $600 million," with "project companies associated with those efforts generating close to $3 billion in total revenue."

This would seem an unimaginable feat for a personality that is not the head of any state, nor governs any land. He describes his mandate for economic and educational development as part and parcel of his mantle and responsibility as Imam. Yet, the Aga Khan is constantly awarded head of state status, has agreements with national and state level governments including a number of African and Asian governments, Canada, Portugal as well as California, Illinois, and Texas, has established 6 Ismaili centers which serve as ambassadorial delegation buildings around the world, and has numerous honorary degrees and memorandums of understanding from prestigious universities including McGill, McMaster, Cambridge, Harvard and Brown, amongst others, along with many other awards and honors conferred upon him by leaders and dignitaries around the world. He is clearly a respected and admired figure who leaders and institutions around the world seek to partner with and listen to.

Read the rest of this story here.

Inspiration

Inspiration comes in least expected moments. When some feeling, some face, some overheard conversation reels you inward into the depths of the inner world and pulls from within the recesses of the mind, a simple yet utterly perfect thought. And when that thought comes forth into the forefront of memory, you have two choices. One is to rush with all the passion and fury you can muster to capture the fleeting perfection and enlighten the world by exposing it or to simply, hazily acknowledge its beauty and lazily return to the place of mediocre existence. This second choice loses the thought, pushing it back into the mysterious, passionate, creative force from whence it came and leaving the world ignorant of its brilliance. Those who are able to push beyond daily limits to enable the thought to expand into a world of ideas become the geniuses of our world, capturing that True thought and releasing it into the bodily world we live in.

INSPIRATION comes from the latin word ispiratio meaning: to blow into or upon; to breath into, hence true genius, inspiration, intelligence, or aql, is when you are breathed into with knowledge; when it flows through you, but isn't FROM you. Capture that knowledge and it brings enlightenment. Act on that knowledge and it becomes worship.

Huffington Post

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Mitt Romney, Please Hire Me

It's pretty normal for a presidential candidate to make a critical mistake at just about the least opportune time. And of course it is even more normal for said candidate to then criticize the media for picking up the story and making it sound worse.

Well, Mr. Romney, in your case the story keeps getting better. For the third time this week, the Romney campaign has made a spelling mistake. Well now it's "offical," we have a "sneak peak" of what "Amercia" will look like with Mitt Romney as President.

 Perhaps it was his own campaign he was talking about when he told the American Society of News Editors earlier this year: “Frankly, in some of the news media, I find myself missing the presence of editors to exercise quality control.” I don't know if any of us can take his battle for a better education system seriously, unless his team is willing to go back to school first.

So now it seems the campaign is searching for a full-time copy editor. Well, Mr. Romney, you're in luck. I'm available, and you should hire me. Or perhaps our nation's new national spelling bee champion: Snigdha Nandipati. Just don't try to spell her name.

Richard Dawkins, Famed Atheist, Supports Free Bibles In Schools

He is a famed atheist, a disbeliever in the existence of an Almighty, and now an outspoken supporter of bringing Bibles back to state schools in England.

Richard Dawkins, the well-known British atheist, wrote in the Guardian that he supports education secretary Michael Grove's plan to send free King James Bibles to every school.

Read the rest: Famed Atheist Supports Bibles In Schools

Lost Symbol: Dan Brown

"If a thought has mass, then a thought exerts gravity and can pull things toward it...Meaning if enough people begin thinking the same thing, then the gravitational force of that thought becomes tangible, and it exerts actual force."

-The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown