Le Journal

Issu de la Convention citoyenne sur le climat, ce document est censé définir l’action du gouvernement d’ici 2030 pour une alimentation saine et moins émettrice de gaz à effet de serre. Cette Stratégie devait être présentée avant juillet 2023.

(RNS) — The Maha Kumbh Mela of 2025 — the Hindu festival marking a full orbital revolution of Jupiter around the sun, occurring once every 144 years — drew an estimated 660 million pilgrims to Prayagraj, India, from around the world, making it among the largest gatherings of people in history. Yakub Mathew, an Indian Christian and longtime New York City financial adviser, was among those making the pilgrimage, which took place over six weeks in January and February. With 18 of his friends and his wife, Mathew celebrated his 60th birthday at the Kumbh’s site of Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the three holiest rivers in Prayagraj. With the help of those religiously diverse friends — including renowned spiritual leader Sadhguru; Bollywood actor Anupam Kher; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop emeritus of Bombay; and Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician and thought leader — Mathew compiled “Seeking The Infinite,” a 250-page coffee table book of photos and essays that share the story of the Kumbh from their various faith perspectives, released Nov. 16. Mathew, who works as managing director at Wells Fargo Advisors, told RNS that the book and the Kumbh itself were “a divine sort of grace.” The interview has been edited for length and clarity. How did you come to be at the Kumbh? What was it like? I am not a writer, but an accidental author. I had no plan to go to any Kumbh. I am a banker in New York who has no time even to spend traveling too much. But having said that, some things are destined to be. It was my 60th birthday, and I just happened to mention to my wife that I wanted to spend my landmark birthday where the gods are. And she said, ‘Where are the gods?’ I said, ‘My Hindu brothers say it’s at Prayagraj, where the three rivers meet.’ They say in the Hindu mythology, only when the calling comes, you can go. Usually when you go to (holy places like) Mecca, Medina, it’s a lifetime sort of fulfillment. To go with 19 people as my guests and hosting them is a very brave move. I had no expectations. But once we came to where we were staying, (the Kumbh) was beyond imagination. The sort of service, the food, the accommodation, energy, the surroundings, the view of millions of people — all the time having those prayers and songs, the air is full of ethereal energy and sounds and people. It was something unimaginable and unexplainable. The Maha Kumbh happens once in 144 years. Otherwise, the Kumbh happens every 12 years. People write thousands of books on the Kumbh, but nobody’s written a multi-faith book. So I took the Kumbh as a sort of a manifestation and used its energy to create something which became multi-faith and a unifying factor amongst people. Where does the title ‘Seeking The Infinite’ come from? (At the Kumbh), the (pilgrims) are going in (the water) so that they don’t have a rebirth, and that they get moksha, meaning salvation. Every Abrahamic religion has salvation. Christians have salvation, the Muslims have Jannah and paradise, all these sort of beautiful things which we have been taught. What are these people trying to do? They’re seeking the infinite. And this infinite is something beyond the obvious and beyond oneself. I was standing there and looking at (the pilgrims in the river) and absorbing the energy, the people, the sounds and sights, and the setting sun — it’s beautiful on the Ganges. I closed my eyes, absorbing everything. I emptied my mind. And then I came out and again started absorbing this energy and seeing these people as if they’re in bliss. I made these 19 ordinary people write about what they felt about it. I have friends who are thought leaders, world leaders, saints, Sufis, billionaires, actors and cricketers. So I said, ‘You must try and tell me, what is this infinity?’ All of them were from different sorts of ways of life, different faiths. But all were bound by this one thing: that in the end, the infinite is something to be discovered. And in that discovery, you evolve and you inhale it,…

Cette semaine, notre chroniqueuse Barbara krief vous raconte la vie et l’œuvre de Sally Miller Gearhart, binôme oublié de Harvey Milk. A la faveur de la sortie d’un documentaire qui lui est consacré.

Après avoir chuté en 2020, au début du Covid, puis progressé ensuite, les découvertes de séropositivité semblent désormais « se stabiliser », selon Santé publique France.

Palme d’or à Cannes puis quadruple oscarisé, ce thriller social virtuose confronte une famille pauvre à des nantis de Séoul, entre satire mordante et suspense haletant. Disponible sur Netflix.