Art is something which for most of us seems peripheral to our lives. It is something we place on the wall, look at in a gallery or maybe attempt to create in moments of artistic fervor. It does not play a central role and works at the edge of our experience, perhaps as a form of entertainment. At the same there are artists among us who love to paint, draw, mould and sculpt, however for those with a spiritual orientation many of these artists seem to be disconnected from our perceptions, they do not seem to bridge the world of our experience. One of the inherent problems with modern art is what it actually is. Indeed, one “modern” artist declared that anything he said was art was art and followed this up by selling everyday items (which he had bought and made no modifications to) as artistic masterpieces, with the accompanying escalation of price. How do we define art or to extend it further, music and creative endeavor. Are there limits and parameters or do we follow the extreme individualism of the USA and declare that anyone who says he or she is an artist or musician, is.

 

Perhaps the issue of individualism is the key focus, does true art emanate from one person alone, or need it be connected to a tradition, a school, a background. For example, most great musicians would have received solid training in traditional musical forms, then, after years of hard work, examinations and tortuous practice, they become an accomplished musician. At this stage they then can be creative - adapt and change the forms and become truly individual - but only after years of working within a tradition, strictly within a tradition. Perhaps this is the essential vision of real music and art, that individualism and freedom only come after a certain degree of mastery. This vision is essentially that of the “traditionalist” approach to the arts, more on, to religion as well.

 

One might immediately interject, what about self expression. The term “Self” expression is the key. How can one really express ones – SELF, if one does not know what the real self is. It seems clear that all the worlds great traditions agree that ego and personality are the major cause of world discord and that only through a experience of the SELF can the world change. So SELF expression is of great significance, but only when the SELF expressed is the true SELF, not the ego, the mask, the shadow or personality, forms which haunt and distort our lives and the world.

 

Rene Guenon and those of the traditionalist school argue that the worlds great religions, the “Living Traditions” developed, in some sense, as methods of transportation. Within their borders are the language, symbols, culture and forms which will give the everyday man or woman a sense of spirituality but which will carry the seeker to the inner realm. Accordingly, while all “Living traditions ”may have a similar purpose, they are unique within themselves, not to be confused and mixed like in so many modern new age sects and cults. Each living tradition offers a unique approach, tuned by centuries of cultural adaptation to the people it must serve. While this is not to downplay the negative side of some of the Living Traditions but to emphasize how whether in working within the tradition, or the like the musician, transcending its forms after they have been experienced, the living traditions are the foundation of the way we perceive the spiritual world.

 

As the Russian mystic and philosopher Vladimir Soloyov argued, we need positive universality not ecumenicalism. A true universal approach to religion is to accept the uniqueness and distinctiveness of each tradition, not to attempt to remove them. To create a universal faith in which everyone agrees is to reduce all religion to a lowest common denominator and end with a weak social gospel based on humanism and a “feel good” approach to spirituality.

 

Rather than reducing spirituality we must ascend to the higher, the more profound rather than more agreed upon. (consensus). As Soloyov states…

 

“the richer the more alive and concrete a religious form is, the higher it is, the perfect religion is not the one that is equally contained in all religions, the perfect religion is one that possesses and contains within itself all religions”.

 

In traditional cultures music, art and spirituality are intertwined, they all emanate from the same heart of spiritual experience. This heart is trained within the living tradition of that culture and hence is expressed from within an experience of that tradition. Rather than destroying creativity, it is enlivened, it has parameters and forms through which it has grown and understands how to expand and refine these, even perhaps transcending them.

 

Modern art, the new age, modern music and so on, all contain the seeds of self destruction, having ignored the parameters and refused to enter into these living traditions they flounder in a sea of sound, image and form without any direct experience of the divine. Even modern “religious” art experiences the same quandary, without parameters or training where is the real experience ? it is replaced with liberal feel good social messages, indulgent reflections on gender and sexuality or worse vacuous attempts at being profound and “deep”.

 

True art comes from an experience of the profundity of the spiritual life, it has been trained with a living tradition and has a context and environment, it is creative and individual, yet collective and spiritual. With traditional cultures there are forms and parameters which create and guide the uniqueness of each tradition’s music and art. Islamic art is expressed within such parameters through the denying the use of the human form for the divine, hence the tradition evolves within geometrical form and abstract design. Each tradition has its forms which express it distinct perception of reality as well as the divine. These forms are more than simply images, but embody a certain experience of the timeless and that which is beyond form.

 

 

But this is only one half of the truth: A form, though limited and consequently subject to time, may convey something timeless and in this respect escape historical conditions, not only in its genesis-which partly belongs to a spiritual dimension-but also in its preservation, to a certain extent at least, for it is with regard to their timeless meaning that certain forms have been preserved in spite of and against all material and psychic revolutions of an epoch; tradition means just that.

Perennial Values in Islamic Art ,

Titus Burckhardt

 

Accordingly, the art of traditional cultures when expressed in sacred forms, are not simply images or personal reflections, but embodiment of divinity. Within the Orthodox faith, the icons are seen as one of the pillars of the faith with value similar to that of scripture or oral tradition. The icons are a door to the divine. Those within the continuum of Hinduism go further, seeing that the image is part of the original substance. For example, within Vaishnava Hinduism (worship of Vishnua and Krsna), the absolute also has a form and hence images as such can embody and manifest the divine. This is the explanation for the “worship” of images and statues, these forms are not simply images of the divine, but manifestations of the divine. Hence worshipping a temple image of Ksna is not worshipping a statue, but experiencing the essence of Ksna through his form.

 

Such an understanding of art, music and culture is not popular today. In a world driven by science, postmodernism and the pursuit of the almighty dollar it is difficult to comprehend a reality where nothing is not part of the Gods. A reality where spirituality and everyday life are not disconnected but are aspects of a larger plan, a great continuum from matter to spirit, a Great Chain of Being.

 


 

Text by Swami.B.G.Tripurai

Published by Mandala Books (http://www.mandala.com/)

 

“…ultimate reality has no form because it is the form of beauty”

Introduction

 

Forms of Beauty is the first in the Art of Devotion series presenting the work of B.G. Sharma. Sharma being the foremost painter in Indian of miniatures. His art embodies the sacredness and mysticism of the worship of gods of Hinduism. Further projected volumes in this series include The Art of Rama-Lila and Krishna as Sri Nathji. Forms of beauty is a truly astounding production. It includes some 180 full page paintings (as well as fold outs) and is accompanied by excerpts from such classics as the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavat Purana. The text is inspirational and helps explain the context for the images. The book itself has been produced to exacting standards. There are two editions- the collectors and the deluxe.

 

This collector's edition is 208 pages, 13' x 12.5" and printed six-color on 110 lb. Japan satin matte art paper. Each image is reproduced using a 200 line screen and individually varnished. The volume is hard back, covered in fine Japanese silk, gold stamped, and protected with a six-color french-fold jacket. Text includes four deluxe gate-folds displaying some of Sharma’s greatest pieces in the entirety.

 

Form of Beauty - Limited Edition

 

Exquisitely presented in a silk-covered clam-shell box with one of Sharma's finest miniatures hand tip on to the case, each book is individually signed, numbered, and has a special Sharma print, unique this edition, inserted in the box.

 

The focus of this superb work is on the beauty of the Life of Krishna. These images bring to life the divine play and pastimes of Krsna in a way which none before them has achieved. They emanate a quality, beauty, charm and divine sensuousness which goes way beyond the simple image you perceive on the page. Like icons, they images open a doorway which demands a reassessment of our “modern way of life” and a thoughtful reflection on the nature of ourselves and our spirituality. Forms of beauty transports to a celestial world where the point of reference is the absolute and where the worship of Ksna is the focus. Whatever tradition we follow, this volume will be a special experience.

 

Many of the images from this volume are also available as Art prints and cards.

 

Reposted from the former website of the Institute of Gnostic Studies