Our arts are born in the loka, they breathe and evolve in the loka, adapt, and adopt to the changing environment, decay, and die, giving birth to new forms. Unlike the West, which divides its arts into periods, our arts reveal a process of ‘continuity’, because they are living and breathing expressions of the human beings, their reactions sorrows and joys.
Our social customs and traditions were based on honesty, love, respect, and gratitude. The continuity of which is even today visible in the worship of the SUN – MOON, Trees, Rivers, Mountains, Animals, Stones……. rampant cutting of trees, depleting forests, drying rivers, vanishing mountain ranges ….in the name of growth, development, modernization have resulted in changing the ecology, disappearance of many species of animals, birds, plants… resulting in pollution, the use of excessive chemicals, plastics and the unpardonable dependence on technology, artificial intelligence, mobile – have made the people dependent, lonely….
RESULTS…. unwanted stresses, traumas, diseases, and infirmities!
Our Ancient Indian Culture & Social Traditions, talk about:
Inter Relatedness and Interdependence
The beauty of Indian arts and culture, is that they teach us the value of inter relatedness and interdependence, yet maintaining a balance and autonomy. Indian arts are a beautiful expression of the philosophy of life. There is no subject under the sun which is not portrayed in our arts. The Ardhanarishvara images of Shiva and Parvati, are self-expressive – the message is clear and straight – Life is a beautiful balance between the two energies – the male and the female. The female is the Shakti of the Purusha –a mutual respect! Liberation of women, a slogan of the west and the after effects are before us, today. It appears before us in another form – but the question still glares at our faces – are we happy? Broken relationships and unwanted children…… live-in-relationships ……sufficient reasons for stresses, suicidal tendencies …. depression etc.
Value Love, Respect Each Other & the Planet
Our arts mirror Life, in its various shades and perspectives. The message that Indian arts and culture, give us, is that, we are all nayakas and nayikas, which ever age group we are in, we should realize that each role is important in its own way. The entire Universe is made of the same 5 elements – air, water, earth, fire and space and we are no exceptions; we must learn to respect, love, value each other and the planet, to maintain an ecological balance. Disrespect and superiority complexes have only created problems and difficulties for us and the irrevocable and absolute blind love for commercialisation and more and more money, beyond limits of need and justice.
The Creation is the artistic expression of that Brahma, which can only be experienced – there are no barriers and no restrictions. Mutual love, respect, support for each other is the core.
Inclusiveness vs Individualism
The one word, much in ‘vogue’, perhaps a gift of modern thinking and lifestyles, imported from the developed nations and societies is ‘STRESS’. The word comes in many shades and colours: pressure, strain, tensions, worries, anxiety, hassles, depression, trauma …. simultaneously bringing with it, a spurt in a class of newly incarnated mystics, godmen, spiritual gurus, motivational speakers, life and wellness coaches and centres, retreats, workshops etc. promising and assuring – health, peace, happiness with the application of methods and ideologies, which have been an integral and intrinsic part of our everyday life, enshrined as tenets in our systems of yoga, ayurveda, dhavani (sounds) and the arts and…. The beauty and the effectiveness of these systems was that they were strongly and deeply grooved in the gyana (wisdom) of the loka i.e., they were for the betterment of mankind…. samashti (inclusiveness) as against vyashti (individualism), was the motto.
Subjective and the Objective Coalesce
Since centuries man is expressing and perpetuating his experiences in many ways…. Inspired or motivated; defeated or dejected, mankind was always trying to express – say, narrate, share it in many ways…. art, culture, traditions- one reason being – leaving a learning ,lesson for the coming generations. The Indian genius, fully aware of the inconsistencies and shortcomings of the human nature, overcame the challenges, through an apparently simple device – integrating the individual -personal experiences with the larger consciousness, prevailing all around – manifesting as Nature and Energy. The miracle of the entire process -was how the ordinary became extra ordinary: weaving of colours, creating designs of sounds, the magic of lines, dots, circles, and triangles; transported both the artist and the spectators and audiences to another level of ‘out of the world experience’ – transcendental – described in the expression: Sat Chit Anand!
In Conclusion:
The beauty of our arts, lies in the fact that they work simultaneously on two levels: the physical or the worldly and the metaphysical or the spiritual. From times immemorial, our loka – sanskriti has highlighted the ideal of the Absolute – unsurpassed beauty and the fountain head of all kinds of beatitude, realisable only at the level of transcendence.
While the artists through an intelligent integration of sounds, symbols – gestures -posture, sthanakas, colours, abhinaya- supported with vocal and instrumental music, touches the point, where the subjective and the objective coalesce into a unique experience of blissfulness – sounds – vibrations, which trigger secretions in the body. The singers, instrumentalists, painter, musicians, and actors all unknowingly, in moments of complete surrender – realise this state of ‘tadatma’ or ‘oneness,’ and it is in this state that the entire experience breaks boundaries to become universal!
In this state of Ananda or Bliss, there is no place for stress, pains, sufferings! The element of creativity in our traditional systems provided the fodder for happiness and joy, leading towards a healthy robust life.
