|
|
|
Greetings on the auspicious occasion of Navaratri and Durga Puja!
“She is the Force, the Inevitable Word”
(Sri Aurobindo)
We hope our readers are enjoying the first issue in our series on
The Spirit and Forms of Art in India. The subject is certainly a vast one. We don't claim that we shall be able to consider the subject thoroughly and fully. But through this series which will go on until July 2025, we hope to highlight a few salient aspects to help the reader gain a broad orientation to appreciating Art, in general, and Indian Arts, in particular. Instead of delving into the technical details, the focus in our offerings will be on highlighting the deeper spirit of India as reflected in her diverse art forms and her approach to creating and appreciating art.
Take a look at the featured links below from the first issue on the theme - The Purpose of Art - From Beauty to Bliss.
|
|
|---|
|
|
It was most likely in 1892 that Sri Aurobindo wrote the play titled
The Harmony of Virtue. That was his second and last year at Cambridge. Referring to this writing, he said later in life that at the age of 18 or 19, he had started writing under the impression of Plato’s philosophy where he was trying to explain the cosmos on the foundation of the principle of Beauty and Harmony. |
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Free Download available HERE.
|
|
|---|
|
|
|
Rasa and
Bhāva are two key terms in Indian theories of Aesthetics.
Rasa theory blossomed beginning with the Sanskrit text
Nātyashāstra, a work attributed to Bharata Muni. Eight
rasa-s and associated
bhāva-s are named and their enjoyment is likened to savouring a meal:
rasa is the enjoyment of flavours that arise from the proper preparation of ingredients and the quality of ingredients. |
|
|---|
|
|
|
Modern tendency is to depreciate the value of the beautiful and over-stress the value of the useful. Generations of Indians have been products of an education that has been merely utilitarian and therefore, soul-less. This has cut them off from the ancient roots of their aesthetic cultural traditions. |
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
If all art is an interpretation, from where does the inspiration for artistic creation come? If we agree that an artist receives suggestion from Nature and inspiration from within, is there a place for realism in art? The author explores these and a few more questions in this essay. |
|
|---|
|
|
|
We feature a contemplative composition by Sudha Prabhu, which speaks of this process of
cittasuddhi, the emotional purification, a journey of seeking harmony, beauty and joy. |
|
|---|
|
|
|
What is it that we are truly seeking when we seek beauty? How can one consciously appreciate that which is beautiful and true?
Let us read a few excerpts from Sri Aurobindo where he uncovers the essential truth behind the relation between Beauty, Truth, Goodness, and Delight. |
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Decolonizing Indian Cultural Studies with Sri Aurobindo
On September 13, 2024, Dr. Beloo Mehra, Director, BhāratShakti was invited to deliver a talk on the topic – Decolonizing Indian Cultural Studies with Sri Aurobindo. This program was organized by the Department of English, Tagore Government Arts and Science College, Pondicherry in collaboration with the Department of English, Sree Saraswathy Thyagaraja College, Pollachi under the title -Understanding India: Its Art and Culture.
|
|
|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
