India had conceived the whole philosophy of her art, early on in the Vedic period itself, emphasises E.B. Havell in Ideals of Indian Art. The highest vision of the Vedic seers, the vision of the Infinite that is revealed and yet hidden in all the finite forms of the existence, materialised in the later periods in the wonderful forms of all Indian art.
An ear of mind withdrawn from the outward’s rhymes
Discovered the seed-sounds of the eternal Word,
The rhythm and music heard that built the worlds,
And seized in things the bodiless Will to be….~ Sri Aurobindo, Savitri, p. 273
Our rishis tell us that at the origin of the creation was the primordial sound, Nāda Brahman. Therefore, a deep harmony and a rhythmic vibration hide in each and every atom in the universe. Harmony and music are inherent everywhere, in the heart of man, in the heart of nature, in the very heart of the existence.
Perhaps the heart of the God is forever singing. And who is listening to all the music that comes throbbing out to create the worlds? Let us hear from Sri Aurobindo as he sings in The Meditations of Mandavya:
A sudden silence and a sudden sound,
The sound above and in another world,
The silence here; and from the two a thought.
Perhaps the heart of God for ever sings
And worlds come throbbing out from every note;
Perhaps His soul sits ever calm and still
And listens to the music rapturously,
Himself adoring, by Himself adored.
So were the singer and the hearer one
Eternally…~ CWSA, Vol. 2, p. 514
Such is the musical way our rishis have sung of the sṛṣṭi (srishti), the entire creation.
Inspired by these thoughts and Sri Aurobindo’s statement that the highest Indian art is identical in its spiritual aim and principle with the rest of Indian culture, the latest issue of Renaissance, our online journal explores the sacred origins of Indian Art. Read 10 insightful and inspiring articles HERE.
