Guiding Light of The Month

O Lord, how ardently do I call and implore Thy love! Grant that my aspiration may be intense enough to awaken the same aspiration everywhere: oh, may good- ness, justice and peace reign as supreme masters, may ignorant egoism be overcome, darkness be suddenly illu- minated by Thy pure Light; may the blind see, the deaf hear, may Thy law be proclaimed in every place and, in a constantly progressive union, in an ever more perfect harmony, may all, like one single being, stretch out their arms towards Thee to identify themselves with Thee and manifest Thee upon earth. - The Mother

From the Editor’s Desk

This month’s Newsletter unravels the theme of “Painting”. There will not be many amongst us who can claim to have not had a hand in some kind of work involving painting, as an adult or a child. We can probably still remember our own young, eager hands reaching out for the paint brush and the attractive blobs of coloured paints on the palette and painting or ‘scratching’ or ‘spreading’ to our hearts’ content. If we push a little further into those moments, we can probably touch areas of glee and bliss while being involved in an act of creativity, where the mind and the heart and body engage together to form something. The most exciting part of this endeavour is that one would not have an inkling on what is in store for us at the end of the painting session. Nevertheless, the entire process can be remembered as something significant and special.




There is something special in this thing called painting, whether it be the process or the product. There is something magical about using one’s hands, picking up some colours in whatever medium and with whatever strokes that come through our receptive hands, creating a piece of work that expresses and encapsulates what one is, for that moment. That living moment of creativity is captured forever on a tangible medium and each visit to it afterwards brings us in touch with that unique feeling one would have had while at the work of creation. This is the wonder about painting. It captures and encapsulates and sometimes, epitomizes. However, what determines the quality of what is expressed? How is that paintings can get better and better with each concerted and indepth effort? The Mother has stated in simple terms what beauty in art means:

A beauty that displays itself and allows itself to be contemplated.



The true artist is, then, a yogi. In the realm of Integral Philosophy, painting is an important avenue to express the spiritual, either in its seeking or in its expression, as in any art form, or any preoccupation or occupation, for that matter.



The Newsletter sheds some light on how painting is an avenue for spiritual growth. Besides touching a sensitive inner spot in us, painting also creates the means for deep engagement and interaction with it and the expression of this subtle interaction on canvas. It is these moments that mark themselves out as special moments that bring the spiritual realms closer to us through extended practice. Like all endeavours that can be spiritualized, painting offers an opportunity for the artist to delve deeper into himself while studying his subjects and then creating on canvas the truth behind the apparent, or the hidden inner reality with which his inner reality would have come in contact with. It is possibly an experience that one can live more and more deeply, truly, in order to manifest something closer to the essence within, both in the artist and in the subject of the painting or work of art.



Here are gems from The Mother on modern art and artists in general that would set us wondering deeply into the matter, and also set the tone for what is to come:



“Modern art is an experiment, still very clumsy, to express something other than the simple physical appearance. The idea is good - but naturally the value of the expression depends entirely on the value of that which wants to express itself.

At present almost all artists live in the lowest vital and mental consciousness and the results are quite poor. Try to develop your consciousness, endeavour to discover your soul, and then what you will do, will be truly interesting.”

- The Mother



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