scholarly journals Universal Sanctum: For Anyone from any Religion seeking Spiritual Realisation through Interior Architecture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Shamal Nanji

<p>In the realm of religion, when rituals and prayers become a routine or a default reaction, often prescribed by elders, they lose value and meaning. In the modern era, we have distanced ourselves from the past ideals of religion. Nevertheless, we continue to seek meaning in life beyond material objects. The connection to the inner-self establishes this meaning and purpose. From this understanding, I realised that all religions, despite their subtle differences lead to spirituality and enlightenment. The idea that architecture can provide a universal middle ground between people and which they truly seek, is the context from which my thesis proposal derives from.  My thesis question:  How can the design of a Universal space of spiritual devotion be realised through exploration and manipulation of spatial qualities within sacred architecture, in a contemporary inner-city context?  Thus, this thesis will look into the architectural genre of Sacred Space in a contemporary setting. The objective will be to investigate the significance of sacred architecture and the common qualities between the various religions and their respective places of worship. The focus will be to propose an interior space which can be deemed sacred by any one from any religion seeking spiritual upliftment.  In doing so, the space will intend to unify people from different religious and cultural backgrounds, and lead them towards the common goal of connecting with the inner self.  The key theory investigated in this research looks at the case of religion for today’s society, interpretation of spirituality in the east and the west, defining sacred architecture and all that it entails, and the need for this typology in the contemporary world.  The contextual basis of this thesis will focus on New Zealand and the predominantly contemporary and diverse culture of the country. The rise in various ethnicities and technological advances means that the presence of a universal space of spiritual reflection and gathering is necessary now more than ever. In my observation, there is a noticeable lack of contemporary sacred architecture, in New Zealand. Perhaps this is the result of our predominantly Secular society. My proposal will aspire to see through this absence and attend to the need of spatial experience to mediate between people and which they spiritually seek.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Shamal Nanji

<p>In the realm of religion, when rituals and prayers become a routine or a default reaction, often prescribed by elders, they lose value and meaning. In the modern era, we have distanced ourselves from the past ideals of religion. Nevertheless, we continue to seek meaning in life beyond material objects. The connection to the inner-self establishes this meaning and purpose. From this understanding, I realised that all religions, despite their subtle differences lead to spirituality and enlightenment. The idea that architecture can provide a universal middle ground between people and which they truly seek, is the context from which my thesis proposal derives from.  My thesis question:  How can the design of a Universal space of spiritual devotion be realised through exploration and manipulation of spatial qualities within sacred architecture, in a contemporary inner-city context?  Thus, this thesis will look into the architectural genre of Sacred Space in a contemporary setting. The objective will be to investigate the significance of sacred architecture and the common qualities between the various religions and their respective places of worship. The focus will be to propose an interior space which can be deemed sacred by any one from any religion seeking spiritual upliftment.  In doing so, the space will intend to unify people from different religious and cultural backgrounds, and lead them towards the common goal of connecting with the inner self.  The key theory investigated in this research looks at the case of religion for today’s society, interpretation of spirituality in the east and the west, defining sacred architecture and all that it entails, and the need for this typology in the contemporary world.  The contextual basis of this thesis will focus on New Zealand and the predominantly contemporary and diverse culture of the country. The rise in various ethnicities and technological advances means that the presence of a universal space of spiritual reflection and gathering is necessary now more than ever. In my observation, there is a noticeable lack of contemporary sacred architecture, in New Zealand. Perhaps this is the result of our predominantly Secular society. My proposal will aspire to see through this absence and attend to the need of spatial experience to mediate between people and which they spiritually seek.</p>


2008 ◽  
Vol 355 ◽  
pp. 287-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
KA Stockin ◽  
D Lusseau ◽  
V Binedell ◽  
N Wiseman ◽  
MB Orams

1980 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 569-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Clayton ◽  
R. Wells
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Валентина Даниловна Черняк ◽  
Мария Александровна Черняк

Введение. Рассматривается проблема культурного диалога представителей разных поколений. Прецедентные тексты, связанные с совокупностью знаний и представлений людей, принадлежащих к одной культуре, анализируются в связи со структурой языковой личности. Прецедентные феномены различных типов являются важной составляющей интертекстуального тезауруса. В процессе коммуникации немалую роль играют культурные аллюзии коммуникантов, их оперирование культурным багажом, в частности составляющими интертекстуального тезауруса. Цель – анализ той части тезауруса русской языковой личности, которая связана с крылатыми словами одного из значительных авторов XX века – Булата Окуджавы. Материал и методы. Постоянно воспроизводимые песни Булата Окуджавы формировали культурный код поколения 70–80-х гг. Многие фразы из его песен приобрели статус фольклорных, о чем свидетельствуют материалы словарей и Национального корпуса русского языка. Для исследования динамических процессов, характеризующих различия в культурной памяти поколений отцов и детей, был произведен эксперимент, в ходе которого были отобраны 10 популярных высказываний из поэзии Б. Окуджавы. Они легли в основу опроса, в котором участвовало около 1 000 человек. Респонденты должны были определить авторство высказываний и продолжить некоторые из них. Результаты и обсуждение. Анализ результатов опроса показал, что даже самые распространенные высказывания из песен Б. Окуджавы в большинстве случаев не соотносятся в сознании респондентов с именем автора. Приписывание авторства самым неожиданным именам свидетельствует о глубоких лакунах в культурной памяти молодых людей, в то же время строки Б. Окуджавы присутствуют в интертекстуальном тезаурусе языковой личности, что во многом связано с взаимодействием вербальной и аудиовизуальной информации. Заключение. Результаты анализа лексикографических источников и корпусные данные свидетельствуют о прецедентности многих поэтических строк Б. Окуджавы, в то же время анализ данных массового опроса отражает существенные изменения в интертекстуальном тезаурусе молодежи. Introduction. The article deals with the issue of the cultural communication between representatives of different generations. The precedent texts associated with the common knowledge of people belonging to a single culture are studied in line with the structure of a linguistic personality. Precedent phenomena of various types are an important part of an intertextual thesaurus. In the process of communication, the cultural allusions of communicants play a great role, as well as the application of their cultural backgrounds that include components of the intertextual thesaurus. Aim and objectives. The purpose of the article is to analyze the area of the Russian linguistic personality thesaurus that contains the catchphrases by Bulat Okudzhava – a prominent 20th century Russian author. Material and methods. Being constantly played out in the 1970–1980s, Bulat Okudzhava’s songs were shaping the cultural values of the generation. Many phrases from the songs got a folklore status, which is witnessed both by the dictionaries and by the Russian National Corpus. In order to study the dynamics characterizing the differences in the cultural memory of generations of fathers and sons an experiment has been carried out based on the 10 popular catchphrases from Okudzhava’s verse. These phrases underlie the survey covering an audience of approximately 1,000 people. Those surveyed had to determine the authorship of the phrases and to continue some of them. Results and discussion. The analysis showed that in most cases there are no links in the mind of respondents between the name of Bulat Okudzhava and even the most widespread phrases from his songs. The authorship was often attributed to fully unexpected names, which shows serious gaps in the cultural memory of the young. However, it was proven that Okudzhava’s catchphrases definitely exist in the intertextual thesaurus of the linguistic personality, which is surely determined by the interaction of verbal and multimedia information. Conclusion. The analysis of the dictionary entries and the corpus data proves the precedent status of many of the Okudzhava’s phrases. Nevertheless, the results of the mass survey reflect a significant change in the intertextual thesaurus of the young.


Author(s):  
Alexander Murray

People with a logical turn of mind say that the history of the world can be summarised in a sentence. A précis of mediaval historian Richard William Southern's work made in that spirit would identify two characteristics, one housed inside the other, and both quite apart from the question of its quality as a work of art. The first is his sympathy for a particular kind of medieval churchman, a kind who combined deep thought about faith with practical action. This characteristic fits inside another, touching Southern's historical vision as a whole. Its genesis is traceable to those few seconds in his teens when he ‘quarrelled’ with his father about the Renaissance. The intuition that moved him to do so became a historical fides quaerens intellectum. Reflection on Southern's life work leaves us with an example of the service an historian can perform for his contemporary world, as a truer self-perception seeps into the common consciousness by way of a lifetime of teaching and writing, spreading out through the world (all Southern's books were translated into one or more foreign language).


2020 ◽  
pp. 450-476
Author(s):  
Nicola Peart ◽  
Prue Vines

New Zealand and Australia are named in that order in the title because New Zealand was the first to develop the discretionary family provision jurisdiction, in 1900, that now applies in New Zealand, Australia, and much of the common law world. This allows courts to make awards to family members from the estate of the deceased. Originally benefitting only the surviving spouse and children, family provision has extended the rules of eligibility in line with changes in the meaning of ‘family’. So as well as spouses, claims can also, in many of the Australasian jurisdictions, be made by civil partners, cohabitants, and same-sex partners. Most jurisdictions have also broadened the class of eligible children to include grandchildren and stepchildren who were being maintained by the deceased as well as children born of new reproductive techniques. Both New Zealand and Australia have significant indigenous populations and their eligibility to claim family provision is modified to accord with their customary law. Over time, the courts have adopted a much broader view of a deceased’s ‘moral duty’ to his or her family, particularly in regard to claims by adult children. The size of awards has increased correspondingly. The chapter discusses this development, as well as the increasing relevance of Indigenous customary law and how the courts deal with disentitling conduct. In view of the greatly expanded scope of family provision in New Zealand and Australia, testamentary freedom may be only an illusion in these jurisdictions.


Antiquity ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 36 (144) ◽  
pp. 271-278
Author(s):  
J. Golson ◽  
P. W. Gathercole

Clearly this is a major problem in New Zealand culture history. One of the present writers has recently outlined the problem and assembled the archaeological materials available for its solution, using excavated evidence for the Moa-hunters and, in the absence of dependable archaeological data, inferring the Maori culture traits relevant to the comparison from a variety of sources, mainly descriptions, drawings and collections made by Europeans in the early days of contact. The result has been to isolate the common elements, point out the distinguishing ones, and define the areas of our present ignorance.The latter include, besides the question of agriculture already discussed, that of warfare. Though none of the evidences to be expected for this—weapons, defensive arrangements, or cannibalism—has been found in unequivocal Moa-hunter contexts, it must be admitted that the search has been restricted. Fortified sites (pa) are a prolific feature of the North Island cultural landscape, but very few have been properly excavated. The results of such investigations as have been made are hardly conclusive, and although the argument favouring Moa-hunter fortification in the Bay of Plenty cannot now be sustained, it would be well to keep the question open. The absence of weapons from Moa-hunter sites is a factor of some importance in this argument, but the Polynesian armoury was rendered almost exclusively in wood, and only stone or bone weapons of the patu type (FIG. 8) will be commonly found in archaeological deposits. Limited excavations on six undeniably fortified sites in the Auckland province have, however, failed to uncover a single weapon. The only piece of positive evidence for Moa-hunter weapons is the Horowhenua bone patu (FIG. 7) associated in a grave with a rare type of amulet, definitely known to the Moa-hunters though not necessarily distinctive of them.


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