Devotion is the origin and motivation for most religious art. In Hinduism this concept is propagated beyond leaps and bounds with hundreds of gods generating thousands of myths, thus captivating not only the devotees but also artisans and artists mainly in the East. The beauty of Hindu Art not only does feast the eye, but also generates a thousand philosophical thoughts beyond what the eye can contend, but only the mind. The metaphysics of what these gods and goddesses mean to Hindu faith and religion is the generative power of Hindu Art. The Hindu Art remains as the philosophical expression of Hindu religion.
- Anton Sebastian Private Hindu Art Collection
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
In the concept of Trimurti consisting of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer, lies history of the universe (creation, preservation and destruction). When modern physics states that ‘matter cannot be created or destroyed’ how does one compromise with Hinduism, theology and science? In a similar manner one wonders how is theory of evolution is compatible Christian version of the creation of man? Truth is that we do not have to compare or compromise as the logical explanation for this may be beyond our intellect. Albert Einstein believed the problem of God was the “most difficult in the world”—a question that could not be answered “simply with yes or no.” He conceded that, “the problem involved is too vast for our limited minds.
Fear is often behind the generation of faith where as in science we are prompted to question this faith. Perhaps, philosophy may help to bridge between God and Science. Whereas science (Scientia; Latin) is knowledge or knowing, philosophy on the other hand is love (philos; Greek) for knowing (Sophia; Greek). John Ruskin says (“The Eagle’s Nest,” 1872) that in science you must not talk before you know and in art you must not talk before you do. Likewise, in philosophy you must not talk before you think: knowing is not enough to find a solution for everything. Spinoza claimed that the third kind of knowledge, intuition, is the highest attainable faculty of human mind . More specifically, he defined this as the ability for the human intellect to intuit knowledge based upon its accumulated understanding of the world around them.
- Indus Seal: prototype Shiva
Science is the explanation or interpretation of what we observe whereas theology is the study of power behind what we observe: in this instance, the God. Creation by Brahma is a mythology to suit human faith and devotion, just as much as the scientific theory of the Big Bang 14 billion years ago. We know all about Wind, Fire and Sun through science but do not know how they were originally created. Hence the Aryans created the nature gods Indra, Agni and Surya to appease these forces that could destroy man. The pre-Aryans or proto-Dravidians were probably ahead in the making of gods. Not only did they visualise the gods to be more of objects of nature than the nature itself as opposed to the later Aryans. The Dravidians also produced the images of the god in forms such as lord of the beast or Pasupathi, prototype of Shiva or his representation of creative power, the Linga. They recognised motherhood as protection and caring, hence their images of her. This was the beginnings of Hindu religious art.
In Hinduism procreation is an important theme exemplified by the Linga and Yoni, the procreative engines of human race. They implicitly represent the major gods Shiva and Shakti. Most primary gods in Hinduism have their consorts underpinning this principle. Again, Shiva is represented in Hindu imagery as Ardhanarishvara, a God who is half woman, reminding the us the equal power of genders in Hindu philosophy. The Hindu Art as we see today is an emanation all the philosophy that this religion has generated through millennia. For science may be only be trasient for what is proved today may be disproved tomorrow.
PRIVATE HINDU ART COLLECTION by Anton Sebastian
Hindu Art 