worldculture.org

Study Circle
2025-09-16 19:30 - 20:45, 2025-09-23 19:30 - 20:45, 2025-09-30 19:30 - 20:45 (America/Los_Angeles)
This month the Study Circle will seek the therapy found in T.S. Eliot’s poetic work – The Four Quartets, published between 1936 and 1943. This was a difficult time in history; perhaps we can find clarity and solace in Eliot’s philosophical meditations.
“Do not let me hear of the wisdom of old men, but rather of their folly, Their fear of fear and frenzy, their fear of possession, Of belonging to another, or to others, or to God.”

CLICK HERE for the Complete Study Circle Schedule

Living Systems: Symbiosis, Storytelling and the Blue Economy
2025-09-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Concord Hall and streaming on Youtube, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara
Monday, September 22
7:00 – 8:00 pm (PDT)! In-person at Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, and Live on YouTube
What if the story of coral is also the story of us? Join ocean-preneur, filmmaker, and science communicator Ian Kellett for a compelling look at how ocean health and human health are deeply intertwined. He will explore how our ecosystems
and bodies mirror one another in complexity, vulnerability, and potential for healing. Drawing on his work in kelp restoration, sustainable mariculture, and science communication, Ian will share real-world stories and discuss how innovation, clear communication, and collaborative action can spark transformation and meaningful change for our blue planet.
~ Click HERE for a printer-friendly flyer ~

ANNIVERSARIES AND OBSERVANCES
2025-10-01 00:00 - 23:59

Study Circle: T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets, Little Gidding
2025-10-07 19:30 - 21:00 | Seminar Room, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Quartet No. 4: Little Gidding
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
For a printer-friendly flyer of current topics, click here: September-STUDY-CIRCLE-2025-2.docx

Study Circle
2025-10-07 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-10-14 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-10-21 19:30 - 21:00
IWC STUDY CIRCLE
OCTOBER 2025 PROGRAM
Tuesdays, 7:30 PM PST
Institute of World Culture, Concord House
1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In-Person and via Zoom*

October 2nd is the birth anniversary of M.K. Gandhi, so the focus for October 14th & 28th will be on THE GANDHIAN BRIDGE, by Raghavan Iyer. No one has read more of Gandhi’s writings or probed as deep as Dr. Iyer. The Gandhian Bridge began in India as an inaugural Gandhi Memorial lecture to mark the fortieth anniversary of the martyrdom of M.K. Gandhi:
“Mahatma Gandhi came amongst us to show the secret joy arising from the purity of svadharma in bridging our ideals and limitations, both in individual and social life. It is, therefore, fitting that we should seriously consider together the quintessential Gandhian message of non-violent socialism, global trusteeship and radical self-regeneration.”

10/7/2025. Complete Eliot’s Quartets
Quartet No. 4: Little Gidding
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”

10/14/2025
The Gandhian Bridge, pp. 17-27, “Socialism from Below Above”
“Gandhi remained sceptical of imposing any social reformation from the top..”

10/21/2025
SPECIAL MEETING with live zoom connection with school in India:
Transnational Education. Maurice and Jenny Bisheff will be in India to foster the collaboration.

10/28/2025
The Gandhian Bridge, pp. 32-47, “Socialist Ethics,” “Renunciation and Nonpossession,” “Sacrificial Action and Self-Regeneration”

Special Meeting: Transnational Education
2025-10-21 19:30 - 21:00
SPECIAL MEETING with live zoom connection with school in India:
Transnational Education. Maurice and Jenny Bisheff will be in India to foster the collaboration.

Dimensions of Light
2025-10-25 14:00 - 16:00
https://worldculture.org/wp-content/uploads/Program_pdfs/2025/IWC-Flyer-Light-USE-ME.pdf

Monday Salon Series: Openness is the New Mindfulness
2025-10-27 19:00 - 20:30
Openness is the New Mindfulness Flyer
How Cultivating Openness
Can Foster Flourishing
Monday October 27, 2025
7:00 – 8:30 pm (PST)
Presenter: Jonathan Schooler
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street,
Santa Barbara, CA
Live and Live-streaming*
Free and Open to All
This lecture/discussion explores how cultivating the personality trait of openness could foster
individual and community flourishing. Dr. Jonathan Schooler presents evidence that openness
to experience—linked to creativity, intellectual humility, reduced prejudice, and concern for
humanity’s future—can be systematically enhanced through targeted interventions. The
presentation reveals how simple daily practices—asking meaningful questions, breaking
routines, and engaging with art—cultivate the open-mindedness essential for reducing
authoritarianism, enhancing cross-cultural understanding, and building thriving societies.
Jonathan Schooler, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor of Psychological and Brain
Sciences at the University of California Santa Barbara, Director of UCSB’s Center
for Mindfulness and Human Potential, and Acting Director of the Sage Center for the
Study of the Mind. His research intersects philosophy and psychology, including the
relationship between mindfulness and mind-wandering and theories of
consciousness.
For more information: http://www.worldculture.org

Study Circle
2025-11-04 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-11-11 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-11-18 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-11-25 19:30 - 21:00 | Seminar Room, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
An ongoing study circle every Tuesday night covering a variety of themes. This month: the book “Limits and Beyond”, a look at what was forecast over 50 years ago in the 1972 book “The Limits to Growth”

11/4/2025 Limits and Beyond, edited by Ugo Bardi & Carlos Pereira
Chapter 3, “Questions about the Limits to Growth,” pp. 56-70
11/11/2025 Limits and Beyond
Chapter 16, “The Limits to Growth in the Asian Century,” pp. 191-203
11/18/2025 For the Benefit of All Beings, H.H. 14th Dalai Lama
Chapter 2, “Offering and Purification,” pp. 20-29
11/25/2025 Limits and Beyond
Chapter 21, “Learning what we already know,” pp. 249-263
If you would like to join the Study Circle via Zoom, please contact donna@worldculture.org for a link.

Forum: Sikhism: the Path of Love and Service
2025-11-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala Street, in the back, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Sikhism is a spiritual, religious, and philosophical path that originated in the Punjab region of India at the end of the fifteenth century CE. Dr. Veena Howard, a scholar of the Dharma traditions of India and of Gandhi’s philosophy, will offer spiritual insights into the Sikh tradition. Drawing upon her experiences growing up in India, she will show how the universal teachings of Sikhism—from the remembrance of the True Name to the practice of selfless service—embody both mystical depth and a world- affirming philosophy. She will also relate the teachings of Sikhism to a modern Sant tradition of Bihar, in which she was raised, highlighting resonances between the two. Dr. Howard will be participating via Zoom and will take questions from the live audience.

The Foundation of Co-Becoming: A Close Look at Qi
2025-11-22 14:00 - 16:00 | Concord Hall and streaming on Youtube, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara
The philosophical idea “co-becoming” (gongsheng) in Chinese thought holds that things in the universe come into being through their relations with one another, rather than existing as separate, self-contained entities.
This way of seeing the world depends on the concept q
i, a term particularly familiar to Californians, but still rich with unexplored depth. In this talk, I will introduce qi in its Confucian and Daoist registers and explain how the concept gives rise to a world characterized by global interconnectivity.

Dr. Ya Zuo is Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of History, University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a cultural and
intellectual historian of middle and late imperial China, and her work is highly interdisciplinary. She is fascinated by ideas and how they circulate in the human world. Her interdisciplinary interests afford her a broad and inclusive perspective for exploring ideas and knowledge in premodern China. Dr. Zuo’s first book, Shen Gua’s Empiricism, is the first book-length study in English of Shen Gua, the best known Renaissance man in medieval China and the author of Brush Talks from Dream Brook (Mengxi bitan).

Study Circle
2025-12-02 19:30 - 21:00 | Seminar Room, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
An ongoing study circle every Tuesday night covering a variety of themes.

If you would like to join the Study Circle via Zoom, please contact donna@worldculture.org for a link.

Vinoba Bhave: Contemplative Mystic and Social Revolutionary
2025-12-06 14:00 - 16:00 | Seminar Room of Concord House & Livestream, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara
Mahatma Gandhi’s disciple and spiritual heir, Vinoba Bhave creatively fused the sacred and the secular, through spiritual courage and non-violent social reform. Hear his life story.

Presenters:
Dr. Anand Mundra and
Dr. James Tepfer

Concord House Seminar Room
1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara
In-Person and Livestream*
Join us as Drs. Anand Mundra and James Tepfer narrate the life-story of Mahatma Gandhi’s disciple and spiritual heir, Vinoba Bhave, who became adept at creatively fusing the sacred and the secular, spiritual courage and non-violent social reform. After Gandhi’s death, Bhave became the heroic purveyor of non-violent political and social revolution at a critical turning point in the early, unstable days of the Republic of India. Inspired by his mentor, Bhave became the focal point for rescuing the fledgling Indian nation from class warfare, which was being actively and violently promoted by communists in rural India.
Listen also, to rare, real life stories of spiritual courage-in-action as told by Dr. Mundra, the son of the personal secretary of Vinobha Bhave.

Dr. Anand Mundra was born and raised in Gandhi and Vinoba’s ashrams and was witness to his father, mother, and devoted ashramites navigating the complex personal challenges of living lives dedicated to active political action, social regeneration and God-realization.

Dr. James Tepfer is a founding member of the Institute of World Culture, a retired Philosophy and Political Science Professor, and a Gandhian scholar.

Photo: (left) Vinoba Bhave and (center) Dr. Mundra’s father; on the occasion of giving away the first contribution of land donated to the Bhoodan voluntary land reform movement in India.

Study Circle
2025-12-09 19:30 - 21:00 | Seminar Room, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
An ongoing study circle every Tuesday night covering a variety of themes.

Annual Members' Holiday Reception
2025-12-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Concord House, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara
Join fellow members in a celebration of the seasonal observance of birth and renewal. Come and enjoy the opportunity for fellowship, live seasonal music, and holiday treats at this after dinner get-together at the Institute’s Concord House. Musicians will add to the festivity of the season with music based on Christmas themes and instrumental versions of Christmas carols.

Each member may bring one or two guests.

*IWC Membership: If you would like to become a member, or wish to renew your membership, you may donate HERE, or mail a check to IWC Membership, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101. You may also bring your donation to the Holiday Reception.

The annual levels of membership include $15 Student; $35 Individual; $70 Supporting; $350 Sustaining. Questions about membership may be sent to memberships@worldculture.org, or you may leave a message at (805) 966-3941. Thank you for supporting the uplifting work of the Institute!

Study Circle
2025-12-16 19:30 - 21:00, 2025-12-30 19:30 - 21:00 | Seminar Room, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
An ongoing study circle every Tuesday night covering a variety of themes. This month’s schedule is HERE.

If you would like to join the Study Circle via Zoom, please contact donna@worldculture.org for a link.

Study Circle - no meeting, Holiday Break
2025-12-23 19:30 - 21:00 | Seminar Room, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101, United States
Happy Holidays!

Study Circle
2026-01-06 19:30 - 21:00, 2026-01-13 19:30 - 21:00 | Seminar Room & Zoom, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93111, United States
JANUARY 2026 PROGRAM
Tuesdays, 7:30 PM PT
Institute of World Culture, Concord House
1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA
In-Person and via Zoom*

GOVERNMENT AND SELF-GOVERNMENT

“Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil . . . For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other law-giver.” – Thomas Paine

Jan 6, 2006 Hieros Logos, The Golden Verses of Pythagoras
We will begin our year with the wise, one could say axiomatic, council of Pythagoras, so that our voyage does not veer from its true course.
“Consult and deliberate before thou act, that thou may’st not commit foolish actions, for it is the part of a miserable man to speak and to act without reflection.”

Jan 13, 2026 Individuation
Chapter 6 of Parapolitics by Raghavan Iyer
“Man who man would be must rule the empire of himself.” P.B. Shelley

Jan 20, 2026 On the Decline of Society, the State, and Character
The Republic of Plato, Books VIII-IX
“Do you see, then, that there must be as many types of human character as there are forms of government? . . . So, if there are five forms of government, there must be five kinds of mental constitution among individuals.”

Jan 27, 2026 The Generous Spirit
Poetry of William Wordsworth.
“Who, with a natural instinct to discern what knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn; abides by this resolve, and stops not there, but makes his moral being his prime care.”

*Contact donna@worldculture.org for a link to join via Zoom

Awakening to Interdependence
2026-01-10 14:00 - 16:00 | Concord Hall and streaming on Youtube, 1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara
Interdependence Flyer 1-10-26 B

Presenters: Elton Hall, James Tepfer, Ghazala Rahman Rafiq
The Institute of World Culture (IWC) will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. Its aims, laid out in its Declaration of Interdependence at its founding in 1976, reflect the rich heritage of human ideals that form the basis for a diverse library of talks, forums, and study circles dedicated to the promotion of universal brotherhood and to fostering human fellowship among all races, nations and cultures. In this keynote forum, our three speakers, themselves educators and long-time members of the Institute, will offer reflections on what it might mean to awaken to interdependence as individuals and as communities, in theory and in practice.
