Reviving the Ancient Polymath Spirit to Meet Modern Challenges We can embrace interdisciplinary learning for innovative problem-solving. Posted January 16, 2025 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

 

by  Nigel R. Bairstow Ph.D.

Disconnection Dynamics

Psychology Today

Key points

• Ancient Arab polymaths excelled by integrating diverse knowledge for lasting innovations.
• Modern challenges demand interdisciplinary approaches to foster creativity and adaptability.
• Lifelong learning and breaking silos enable holistic solutions for complex global problems.

There was a time when technology flowed from east to west; this was the golden age of the ancient Arab world, when knowledge flourished and scholars were not confined by the boundaries of single disciplines. These intellectual giants mastered and pionered the fields of science, arts, engineering, and astrology, embodying a spirit of versatility and curiosity that still resonates today. Luminaries such as Al-Farabi, the "Second Teacher" after Aristotle; Ibn Sina (Avicenna), a giant in medicine and philosophy; and Al-Khwarizmi, the father of algebra, demonstrated the immense value of cultivating multifaceted skills. They remind us also of later Renaissance polymaths like Leonardo da Vinci, whose work also spanned diverse fields.

This legacy prompts a thought-provoking question for our era: Could embracing a more holistic approach to education and problem-solving help us address today’s complex challenges? The lives and achievements of these ancient polymaths suggest that the answer is an overwhelming yes.

The Lasting Achievement of Arab Polymaths

During the golden age of the Arab world, roughly spanning the 8th to the 13th centuries, scholars gathered in stimulating intellectual centers such as Baghdad’s House of Wisdom. Here, knowledge from Greek, Indian, Persian, and Chinese civilisations was translated, studied, and expanded upon. These scholars did not view knowledge as silos of disciplines but as a unified web of understanding. For example, Ibn Sina combined his breakthrough knowledge of medicine, philosophy, and ethics to write his classic, The Canon of Medicine, a text that influenced medical practice for centuries to come. Similarly, Al-Khwarizmi’s pioneering work in algebra was deeply connected with his studies in astronomy and geography. Their ability to connect divergent fields of knowledge led to innovations such as the development of algorithms, advancements in surgical techniques, and architectural masterpieces like the Alhambra.These polymaths excelled because they embraced knowledge in its entirety. They were able to see the connectivity of ideas and used this understanding to solve complex problems and create systems that endure to this day.

The Case for Modern Polymaths

In our modern world that often prioritises specialisation, the polymathic approach may seem outdated. Yet many of today’s global challenges—climate change, pandemics, technological ethics, and social inequality—are inherently interdisciplinary. They cannot be solved by expertise in a single domain alone.

A holistic approach to learning and problem-solving fosters innovative thinking. Polymaths are often able to draw connections that others might miss. For example, combining insights from ecology and urban planning can lead to urban architectural designs that embrace sustainability while integrating artificial intelligence with sociology and ethics that can help address biases in technology.

Adaptability is another crucial advantage of this approach. In a fast-moving world, professionals who possess a broad skill base are much better equipped to navigate uncertainties and seize opportunities. Their versatility allows them to make meaningful contributions in multiple contexts and adapt their expertise to new challenges.

Additionally, polymaths often act as bridges between specialists, facilitating communication and collaboration across disciplines. Also, they promote a deeper understanding of interconnected problems.

Adopting the spirit of the polymath begins with how we change our approach to education and professional development. We find today that our educational systems push individuals to specialise early, but there is immense value in fostering a balance between breadth and depth.

Multifaceted education is a key starting point. Encouraging students to explore diverse subjects will help foster creativity and critical thinking, qualities essential for innovation. Universities and institutions could benefit greatly from creating interdisciplinary programs that blend sciences, arts, and humanities. Of equal importance is cultivating a mindset of lifelong learning. The ancient Arab scholars pursued knowledge for its own sake, driven by curiosity and a passion for discovery. This attitude is as relevant today as it was then. Embracing continuous learning and remaining open to new fields can lead to surprising insights and solutions.

I share a fascinating message critical of Gurinder Singh, with praise of Flora Wood

 Below is a message I received yesterday from someone who describes how Gurinder Singh, the current guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), created a highly negative atmosphere in the United Kingdom after he became the successor to Charan Singh, a much-beloved RSSB guru......RS.

..........The message also is filled with praise for Flora Wood, a long-time RSSB initiate, or satsangi, who wrote a book for the organization and was a positive influence in the United Kingdom's RSSB membership.

It doesn't surprise me that Gurinder Singh comes in for such criticism in this message. There's plenty of other evidence that at best, Gurinder's ethics are at odds with how previous RSSB gurus have behaved, and at worst, Gurinder has engaged in financial fraud aimed at enriching himself and his family to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Here's the message. "Sewadars" means volunteers. "Sangat" refers to the RSSB community. "Radha Soami" is a greeting used by RSSB initiates. "Haynes Park" is a large RSSB center in the United Kingdom. The "Dera" refers to the RSSB headquarters in India. "Satsang" is a talk about the RSSB teachings.

......... I submit this to you anonymously.

In 2005 Mrs Flora Wood was asked by the Dera to write a postscript to her 1965 book In 'Search Of The Way' in which she recalled her Indian experiences with The Great Master Baba Sawan Singh, as well as the history of the birth and development of the British Sangat.

When Mrs Wood's friend, a secretary to her commanding officer in the British Army in India, told her that the colonel had became a satsangi, she followed him in that respect, but only after she had persuaded him to brief her, over dinner, on the teachings and the Master.

Flora Wood, born in 1923, and an early disciple of Sawan Singh, had served as representative to three masters. No satsangi in the UK could deliver a discourse at her level of spirituality and knowledge both of Sant Mat and of the Persian mystics. Under her quiet seemingly hands-off rule the satsang was intimate, peaceful, happy and without dissent.

All this changed when Gurinder made his first visit to the UK, and when Mrs Wood had booked the large Birmingham Convention Center in order to accommodate what had by then, under the guruship of Charan Singh, as well as mass Indian immigration, become a large sangat.

We sewadars positioned at the door of the VIP entrance were in awe expecting that another Charan Singh, whose bearing was that of emperor of emperors, who bathed in divine light, whose aura was of sanctified purity and spiritual radiance, instead witnessed the entry of an angry young man in a turban, boiling with rage, accompanied by a hired security made up of East London gangster types of the kind seen in Guy Ritchie's movie "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."

 

Gurinder glared past our Radha Soamis and into the main hall leaving behind a shocked air of surprise and disappointment.

 

The word quickly spread that he was furious with Mrs Wood for the expense of the venue. Mrs Wood was quickly replaced by a family relation of Gurinders who may or may not have been very familiar with the English language and who confined himself to the Indian group. It is said that he did give a few satsangs in Punjabi to them.

 

From then the British sangat was butchered and by the time of the purchase of Haynes Park and the changeover of once loving sewadars to a sort of unkind Stasi rule, western satsangis were detaching themselves  from RSSB in droves.

 

A political shift to republican thinking about Northern Ireland saw its very capable secretary fired and all power moved far away to Dublin down in the Irish Republic; a long journey to satsang. As it happened however all the western satsangis in northern Ireland, disciples of Charan Singh, no doubt sharing a feeling of many around the world for westerners that the behaviour of Gurinder and his lack of any of the qualities of mastership including his allergy to giving satsang were intolerable, abandoned the Radha Soami Satsang Beas anyway.

 

Mrs Wood passed away at 100 years of age in 2023.

 

As stated in the beginning of this piece Mrs Flora Wood was asked by the Dera in 2005 to write a postscript to her book In 'Search Of The Way.' It can only be surmised that the reason for the Dera's request for this further addition to the text was that she would note in her postscript the new incumbency of Gurinder Singh at the Dera.

 

However, Mrs Wood did no such thing, she did not even mention Gurinder's succession or anything about him. One can only surmise that this very learned and old satsangi saw the successorship in a different light than the general conclusion.

 

It is one of those fantasies of a Dera Baba Jaimal Singh cut off from the larger Sant Mat world outside its gates that a master will always appoint a perfect successor, what used to be called 'Dera gossips.' In the reality of history this is not always the case.

 

Given the vast size of a possibly multi-billion dollar world-wide institution like RSSB with all its housing dependents and even old sewadar pensioners and huge numbers of Satsangars and other properties (particularly all across India) the last Master cannot just throw in the turban and say "OK, there is no worthy successor, we are closing down the RSSB tomorrow!"

 

No, it is just then allowed to rot at the head, true seekers are no longer drawn to it, or leave it when they find it is no longer true and it deteriorated into another religion. That is the kindest way to go about it, a gradual shutdown.

 

All these years later the surviving satsangis of Charan Singh are still in a daze at what happened and have had no explanation from expert sources. There is an unhealed wound in many hearts, there are disciples of Charan Singh who lost their faith in the confusion some of whom want to find the way back to the path. 

 

Today the RSSB to any outsider seems like some closed cult, hidden in plain sight from the world. To the spiritually minded internet seekers it is a black hole out of which no Bani comes. Anyone who goes to YouTube and looks up videos of Gurinder might be forgiven in thinking he is an apparatchick or politician of the Bhrata Janata Party or some sort of Raja.

 

He is ever seen surrounded by a posse of police officers or army men as he arrives in his private helicopter or jet somewhere for some reason. There is no teaching that an enquiring mind can grasp from this output, no satsangs of his to listen to (some say he does not give satsang).

 

Is Gurinder Singh a perfect master? Is there something that numbers of people have missed? Or is he simply the manager of a large institution playing it by ear? Many would like to know.

The article comes from the The Church of the Churchless  June 2024

The blogger Robert Searle of this site had a close connection with Radhasoami Satsang Beas notably in the 1980s. When he first saw a small photo of Gurinder Singh as the successor of the previous Master Maharaj Charan Singh he instantly knew he was not a perfect guru. However, he did take intiation in May 1993 into Shabd Yoga. He also attended the huge meetings in Birmingham where he saw Gurinder Singh.  He also knew Mrs Wood with whom he had a number of conversations. 

The Transcendental Painting Group

 The aims of the artists below was to try to depict as far as possible the "existence" of spiritual/psychic dimensions..RS

Introduction

The Transcendental Painting Group was formed in Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico, between June and October 1938 by Emil Bisttram, Robert Gribbroek, Lawren Harris, Raymond Jonson, William Lumpkins, Florence Miller, Horace Towner Pierce, and Stuart Walker. Agnes Pelton was voted in as a member in absentia and Ed Garman was invited to join the group in 1941. Alfred Morang and Dane Rudhyar, important non-artist members, contributed intellectual theory and criticism to the group.

By 1939, members of the group exhibited at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. Later that year, a portion of the group exhibits at the New York World’s Fair. Also in 1939, the group exhibited together at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe and at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. 

In 1940, Lawren Harris returned to his native country of Canada, and Stuart Walker passed away. Important exhibitions featuring a few of the Transcendental Painting Group artists occurred in New York at the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (now known as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation) and at the Museum of Modern Art. 

The United States entered World War II at the end of 1941. By late 1942, Jonson effectively concluded the Transcendental Painting Group by asking Dane Rudhyar and Lawren Harris to sign the corporate dissolution documents. 

Raymond Jonson, Oil No. 6 (Crystal), Oil on canvas, 82.221.0031.

Raymond Jonson (July 18, 1891 – May 10, 1982),^[1] was an American-born Modernist painter known for his paintings of the American Southwest. Born Carl Raymond Johnson, he originally signed his paintings C. Raymond Johnson, but later used Raymond Jonson, dropping the first initial and reverting to a more traditional spelling of his last name.^[2][3][4]

Jonson organized modernist exhibitions at the Museum of New Mexico. He established the Atalaya Art School, teaching art classes, and founded the Transcendental Painting Group in 1938.^[5] Raymond Jonson established the Jonson Gallery at the University of New Mexico in 1950. The gallery later moved to the University of New Mexico Art Museum.

Biography

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C. Raymond Johnson was born in Chariton, Iowa in 1891, one of six children of Reverend Gustav Johnson and Josephine Abrahamson Johnson.^[6][7] The family moved to Portland, Oregon in 1902,^[8] where he attended Lincoln High School and the Museum Art School.^[9] At twenty, Jonson attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Later, he continued the development of his technical skills at the Chicago Art Institute. In 1913, Jonson was strongly affected by the avant-garde works displayed in the Armory Show, particularly the works of Wassily Kandinsky. His artistic theories were further developed by Kandinsky's book On The Spiritual In Art.^[10]

He also taught at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts until 1920. In Nicholas & Helena Roerich, The Spiritual Journey of Two Great Artists & Peacemakers, Ruth Abrams Drayer writes that Jonson visited the exhibition of Nicholas Roerich in 1921 and then wrote in his diary, "There opened at the Institute the exhibition of the work of Nicholas Roerich. It is glorious. Would that I could express the wonder of it -- I feel that at his best he has accomplished that which all artists hope to do. There are at least six paintings that I believe to be the most spiritual pieces of expression that I have ever seen." Jonson went on to become secretary in Roerich's society Cor Ardens composed of the "fiery, spiritual, radical group of young painters" who shared Roerich's belief that "the only real fraternity among men is the fraternity of beauty as expressed in art."

In 1922 Jonson helped found the Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists.^[11]

In 1922, Jonson's life was changed when he visited New Mexico for the first time. The experiences and sights of this short visit to Santa Fe, convinced Jonson to move to New Mexico in 1924 to focus on painting among the southwestern landscapes. In Santa Fe, Jonson started the Atalaya Art School and arranged for a "Modern Wing" in which he mounted monthly exhibitions by modern artists at the New Mexico Museum of Art from 1927-1931.^[12] In 1934, Jonson began teaching art at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.^[5]

In 1938, Jonson co-founded the Transcendental Painting Group with Emil Bisttram.^[5] Drayer writes that Bisttram had previously taught painting at Roerich's Master Institute in New York City for several years. The aim of the Transcendental Painting Group was "to defend, validate and promote abstract art. They sought to carry painting beyond the appearance of the physical world, through new expressions of space, color, light and design." Other members of the Transcendental Painting Group were Ed Garman, Florence Miller Pierce, Horace Towner Pierce, Agnes Pelton, Stuart Walker, William Lumpkins, and Lawren Harris. The group was forced to disband in 1942 due to World War II.

The Jonson Gallery was established at the University of New Mexico in 1950. While teaching at the University of New Mexico in the early 1950s, Jonson had a profound influence on the Cochiti Pueblo artist Joe Herrera.^[13][14] Jonson retired from the University of New Mexico in 1954, but continued to mentor students there, including painter William Conger.^[15] Raymond Jonson died in 1982. The Jonson Gallery's collection was moved to the UNM Art Museum in 2010.^[16]

References

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1. ^ "Jonson, Raymond, 1891-1982". Library of Congress Name Authority File. Library of Congress. January 19, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
2. ^ Morgan, Ann Lee (2008). The Oxford dictionary of American art and artists (Oxford University Press pbk. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195373219. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
3. ^ Melzer, Richard (2007). Buried treasures : famous and unusual gravesites in New Mexico history. Santa Fe, NM: Sunstone Press. p. 42. ISBN 9780865345317. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
4. ^ "Raymond Jonson (1891-1982)". Michael Rosenfeld Gallery. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
5. ^ Jump up to:^a b c "Jonson Gallery at UNM". Collector's Guide Online. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
6. ^ "NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES REGISTRATION FORM RECEIVED 2280 HAl JAN 720(2 1. NAME OF PROPERTY HISTORIC NAME: Jonson Gallery and Residence OTHER NAME/SITE NUMBER: Jonson Gallery". United States Department of the Interior National Park Service. 1990.
7. ^ Carney, Charles Henry (1922). "Biography of Gustav Johnson". History of Oregon. Vol. III. Chicago - Portland: The Pioneer Historical Publishing Company.
8. ^ "Johnson, Arthur (Arthur Harold), 1898-". SNAC. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
9. ^ "Raymond Johnson [sic], Artist, Is Recipient of High Honors: Former Portland Boy Wins Englewood Prize at Chicago Exposition, Bestowed Upon Painting Entitled 'Winter'". (January 20, 1924). The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, Oregon), Section 2, p. 2.
10. ^ Raymond Jonson at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Online
11. ^ "Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists". Illinois Historical Art Project. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
12. ^ Garman, Ed (1976). The Art of Raymond Jonson Painter. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press. p. 2. ISBN 0826304044.
13. ^ "Native American: A668 Joe Herrera". www.bischoffsgallery.com. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
14. ^ Berlo, Janet C.; Phillips, Ruth B. (1998). Native North American Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 219–223.
15. ^ Karabenick, Julie. “An Interview with Artist William Conger,” William Conger: Paintings 1958–2008, Chicago: City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, 2009, p.30.
16. ^ "UNM Art Museum Review". Albuquerque Sights. Fodor's. Retrieved November 26, 2013.

External links

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• The Raymond Jonson Collection at University of New Mexico Art Museum
• Variations On Rhythm P, 1932 from the Dallas Museum of Art
• Composition 7 - Snow, 1928 from the Dallas Museum of Art
• Colores PBS episodes on Raymond Jonson
• Jonson at New Mexico Museum of Art

  

Examples of paintings on google search  See link