The Persistent Within the Transient
Read what is unique about the origin of the greatest art in India, and how it is essentially different from the Western view of artistic creation.
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The Spiritual Roots of Art in India
India conceived the philosophy of art, early on in the Vedic period itself. The highest vision of the Rishis was at the root of all great art forms in India.
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Art, Spiritual Progress, and the World of Creation
Read about the various zones of what the Mother called as the World of Creation. This helps us understand how art can be a means for spiritual progress.
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The Different Paths of an Artist and a Sadhu
Through a masterful analysis the author concludes that if the aim of spirituality is to know the Self, then the aim of art too is the same.
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The Rapture of the Cosmic Dance – 1
Read about the sacred origins of dance as per the Indian cultural tradition. Also emphasized here is an integral vision of art in India.
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The Rapture of the Cosmic Dance – 2
The focus of drama in India was along the lines of the Indian view of life which emphasised continuity and renewal as well as an urge to create an ideal life.
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Art in India: A Quick Historical Look – I
The author emphasizes the ‘sacred’ foundation of all artistic creation in India. Part 1 focuses on a brief history of sculpture in India.
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Embracing Life in Its Many Colours and Hues
Sri Aurobindo writes in The Human Cycle, “The art, music and literature of the world, always a sure index of the vital tendencies of the age, have also undergone a profound revolution in the direction of an ever-deepening subjectivism. The great objective art and literature of the past no longer commands the mind of the new age.”
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Dhūlichitra: The Art Ritual of Women
The art of dhūlichitra mentioned in several ancient Indian treatises on art is known by many names such as kolam, rangoli, alpona, mandana, etc.
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Envisioning the Divine in Indian Art
The essential element of the highest art in India is the artist’s insistence on expressing the Infinite in a finite form. To quote from Sri Aurobindo, it is to “disclose something of the Self, the Infinite, the Divine to the regard of the soul, the Self through its expressions, the Infinite through its living finite symbols, the Divine through his powers”
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