New Acropolis in the World: Its beginnings

The New Acropolis Cultural Association was founded in 1957. Ever since then, it aims to provide people with the best kind of philosophical education - one that is suited to our modern times, independent and unrestricted by any religious, political or socio-economic influences.

Initiated by Professor Jorge Angel Livraga Rizzi, together with a group of young university teachers and students, the project soon attracted leading personalities from the world of arts and culture. The focus that brought them all together was an idea and a movement which were both enriching for the mind and promising for all.

At the beginning of the Seventies, the extent of its social and cultural activities led to the Association's recognition as a state-approved organization in Argentina. At around the same time, it began to take on an international dimension.

Today, the New Acropolis Cultural Association is present in over forty countries around the world. Its over 10,000 active members and hundreds of thousands of supporters express themselves in more than fifteen languages and come from a wide range of religious denominations, ethnic origins and cultural backgrounds, offering a fine example of fraternal co-existence and mutual understanding.

New Acropolis was founded in Australia on 12th of August 2004 as Incorporated Association. It is a non-profit organisation. Top

Its International Founder

Jorge Angel Livraga Rizzi was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) on September 3rd 1930 and died in Madrid on October 7th 1991. Both his mother, Victoria Rizzi, and his father, Angel Livraga, an industrial engineer, were of Italian extraction. Both their families were of peasant origins and had emigrated to Argentina at the end of the 19th century. This family relationship later enabled him to obtain Italian nationality.

The early death of his father, when Jorge was only fifteen, brought about a profound crisis which led him to become interested in esoteric philosophy. He came into contact with the Argentine Theosophical Society, where he embarked on studies of the History of Religions and Symbolism, combining them with his training at the Medical Faculty of the University of Buenos Aires. At the same time, his interest in history, archaeology and art led him to take courses in these subjects at the same university. He also cultivated poetry and, in 1951, won the Argentine National Poetry Prize with his book “Lotuses”.

In 1956 he founded the magazine “Estudios Teosóficos” (Theosophical Studies), which was intended to make the works of H.P.Blavatsky more widely known among university students, by comparing them with the new scientific discoveries of the 20th century. In the following year, on the instructions of the renowned theosophist Sri Ram, he took this work a step further by creating “New Acropolis”, an Association intended to promote Philosophy among young people, along the lines of the classical Schools of Philosophy, such as Plato’s Academy and the Neoplatonic School. “We realised that humanity possessed an immense treasure of Wisdom, which had been hidden and forgotten, and lay beyond the reach of young people. A Wisdom that provides answers about the meaning of life and ways in which society - the world around us - can be improved”, he recalled on one occasion.

A few years later, the Association’s international vocation led it to establish its first centre outside Argentina, in Montevideo (Uruguay). This first step, which was soon followed by others, took New Acropolis to other countries on the American continent, such as Mexico, Peru, Chile and Venezuela. In 1972 Livraga decided to take his philosophical ideal to Europe, first to Spain, then to France and the United Kingdom. New Acropolis has continued to expand ever since and today is present in around fifty countries across Europe, America and Asia.

It could be said that the life and work of Jorge Angel Livraga were bound up with that of the movement he had founded. He focussed on establishing a well-developed and rigorous base of knowledge, a synthesis of the great systems of thought at the root of the many civilisations and cultures of history. He was a tireless traveller and regularly visited the countries where the Association had centres, promoting cultural activities, giving classes, writing articles and coming into direct contact with the widest variety of people.

His prime concern was to ensure that this treasure of knowledge was applied in a practical way, proposing philosophy as a way of living accessible to all kinds of people of different mentalities and from various social backgrounds all over the world. In that sense, he used to define his task as the creation of a survival module”, helping to foster a better individual, who in turn could build a better world. The barriers which tend to separate human beings and set them against one another, such as violence, dogmatism, racism and exclusion of all kinds, could cease to have their devastating effects if another way of life was to be promoted – tolerant and educated, firmly based on a solid philosophical education, capable of awakening the latent qualities that lie within every human being. Top

His works
The aim of bringing knowledge and philosophy to the widest possible audience is paramount in the works of Jorge Angel Livraga, which have a clearly educational content. As a result, a considerable part of his intellectual output consists of compilations of his classes and lectures, given to the most varied audiences and on the widest range of topics, although always guided by a single thread: the need to awaken the individual consciousness in each human being and to develop a sense of responsibility for creating a more just and caring world, in which everyone would have access to education and culture.

Jorge Angel Livraga reflected on the times in which he lived and argued for the need to exercise freedom of thought and individual independence in the face of the manipulation and deceit of the powerful. His lectures are collected into a four-volume work entitled “Magic, Religion and Science for the 21st Century”.

His first works were in the genre of historical narrative, such as his first novel, “Ankor the Disciple”. In this he narrates the adventures of a young aspirant to esoteric wisdom, in the imagined atmosphere of the time just before the sinking of Poseidonis, the last vestige of the mythical Atlantis, according to the dialogues of Plato. In this youthful work, Livraga presents the teachings which he himself had received during his own philosophical training. He returned to the genre of historical narrative in “The Alchemist”, a work which recreates the atmosphere of the secret fraternities that arose in Europe in the 16th century and at the same time offers an impassioned defence of freedom of thought.

The explanation of natural phenomena sums up the contents of one of his most translated works: “The Spirits of Nature”. The same approach was extended to every area of Esoteric Philosophy in “Introduction to Eastern Wisdom”, a real guidebook for those wishing to begin their quest for the underlying knowledge behind phenomena, philosophies and religions. Another work in this educational line is “Letters to Delia and Fernando”, a series of dialogues with two of his closest disciples on the questions that arise for young people when they adopt a philosophical point of view, enlivened by the original approach of the founder of New Acropolis.

Insights into the events of our times are expressed in two works of particular interest. One of them, “Myths of the 20th Century”, takes a retrospective look at the high-sounding words which have been used to justify many outrages, injustices and contradictions, and invites the reader to enter the 21st century with greater independence and freedom of opinion. In “Moassy the Dog” he reiterates that criticism, using the fiction of a dog with the appearance of a man, who confronts human irrationality with his logical, dog-like simplicity.

His love for archaeology and his in-depth knowledge of Egyptian civilisation made him choose Thebes, the ancient capital of the Middle Kingdom, to interpret some of the features of that far-off, yet familiar world, since, as the author somewhat enigmatically states, “Thebes is a state of consciousness”.

As a way of transmitting his understanding of the soul of Greece, Livraga chose the subject of theatre and its genres, in his work “The Mystery Theatre, Tragedy”. Through his analysis of this art form he provides deep insights into the world of the soul and unveils some of its keys, always in the light of the greatness of the inner hero who lies hidden within every human being. It was the first of a series of studies which he left unfinished.

These works have been translated into many languages, including French, English, Portuguese, Greek, Russian, Czech and German. Top

Aims and Principles

Aims
The mass mentality which has overtaken our society goes against the expression of our deeper human concerns. However, the need to give expression to our aspirations remains. This need explains the presence of New Acropolis in society.

Professor Livraga identified several factors which he saw as producing a kind of apathy in the human soul: the ever-faster pace of life in our cities, the lack of contact with nature, the artificiality of our relationships and communications and the ephemeral and utilitarian goals we set ourselves. He saw New Acropolis as an antidote to this state of fact. He was determined that our association should help all of us to raise our consciousness to these problems and to take the opportunity to express our inner self. The present situation but confirms this view for today, more than ever, there is a pressing need to bring these aims about. Top

A. The authentic Human Being

The authentic Human Being is a person who can distinguish between the essential and the non-essential and yet give both its own proper value; a person who can tell the difference between truth and falsehood and has the ability to strike a harmonious balance between inner experience and external life.

Philosophy broadens human consciousness, enabling self awareness and the subsequent development of better human relationships.


B. A renewal of the Human Being
As the authentic Human Being begins to awaken, a new sense of creativity opens up for him. He develops a feeling of self-confidence, inner strength and self-control, which enables him to face up and adapt to the challenges to seize the opportunities of his existence.

C. A cultural renaissance
So our challenge today is to move away from a conformist culture, which only follows the dictates of fashion, to a more dynamic application of the essential values of philosophy, sciences and arts to work with en eye to the future. Top

Principles

New Acropolis embraces and promotes principles of union inspired by such philosophies as Pythagoreanism, Neoplatonism, Theosophy and others, which in their time brought about real progress in civilization.

I. Fraternity among all human beings
Union beyond differences. Respect for different identities and traditions, combined with the understanding that we are all citizens of the world.

II. Harmonious coexistence between cultures
The practice of tolerance, fostered by a global education and culture, makes it possible to link together all fields of creativity and thought. Making connections in this way allows us to see beyond apparent contradictions and find them compatible and complementary.

It brings new and different people, ideas and feelings into harmony, in a richer and more open social community.

III. Development of the individual's spiritual capacity
The human being is an integral part of nature but he is unaware of his own potential even though the possibilities for self-development are almost infinite. Top