Concept of Spirituality in Art:Past, Present and Future.
August 2019
Published by Swami Suparnananda, Secretary, RMIC., Gol Park, Kolkata - 700 029. Email: rmic.secretary@gmail.com 2014, paperback, pp. 163+ xiv. Price not given
The Vedanta Kesari
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Book Reviews
his publication from the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, comprises papers presented at a seminar titled Concept of Spirituality in Art: Past, Present and Future. The seminar was a part of Swami Vivekananda’s 150 th Birth Anniversary Celebrations. The editor’s note captures the spirit of the publication by emphasising on Swami Vivekananda’s insistence that bhava was integral to true art. T h e we l c o m e a d d re s s by Swa m i Suparnananda explains how man connects with himself to manifest beauty and truth. The keynote address by Swami Bhajanananda defines spirituality and describes how global spirituality is developing today. He analyses what art is, as also reality and values from Western and Oriental perspectives. The next essay talks of spirituality in art, both Indian and Western and looks at the Ajanta art and the works of Michelangelo and Raphael as examples. A case study of selected Indian sculptures and paintings follows with a vivid description of the figure of a Bodhisattva from Bodh Gaya that is now part of the collection at the Indian Museum, Kolkata. The discipline and concentration that mark the expression on the face of the figure indicates intense spirituality. So also the late 5th century CE seated Buddha from Sarnath, Varanasi. The dancing Nataraja is depicted with his tiger skin symbolizing the beastly nature in man, the snakes the ego and the dwarf the ignorance. Sacred art as depicted by various cultures and religions is the next paper and studies Buddhist, Taoist and Christian art. The paintings
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of Uttaradhyayana Sutra which give a pictorial form to Mahavira’s teachings is the following topic of study. Spirituality in Indian painting through the years 1905 to 2005 is traced. The paper titled ‘In Search of Sacred Dance’ draws heavily from the works of Havell and Stella Kramrisch. ‘Realising God Through Art’ is an enlightening article on spiritual aspects of ancient art, with explanations from texts on the same. The challenges that the creative process throws up is addressed in the next article. The publication also contains beautiful colour pictures of art, painting and sculpture elaborating the topics discussed, and making it a valuable compilation of information that will help understand the spiritual dimension of Indian art. _______________________________ JAYANTI VARMA, CHENNAI
A Story of Self-Sacrifice by Shri Kumud Ranjan Roy Chowdhury Translation by Prof.Shirshendu Chakrabarti.
Published by Sharvanti Bhowmik, Nahar Amrit Shakti, Chandivali, Mumbai - 400 072. 2015, paper back, pp.44, Price not given.
H
istory is the sum total of the stories of the lives and times of several exceptional individuals and events that have impacted the human character over a period
