The Yoke of the Spiritual Artist
The act of creation is by its very nature an imitation of the Divine. The artist is the microcosmic reflection of the Macrocosm. Knowing this lays a beautiful yoke upon the artist forcing them to seek Light. It is a yoke that, if we knew our true Selves, would already have been accepted without question.
Everything that is created in this world comes from the Divine Womb. To create the artist must access this uncreated well which gives birth to Being and Light. Therefore act of creation is itself and act of Light. To be successful as artists we have to choose Light in everything we do to secure our own creativity. This doesn’t mean the superficial avoidance of anger, pain or sadness because this avoidance is actually darkness. The Light artists must seek is found only by embracing chaos, by diving into pain and sorrow in order to emerge in the Womb. This Light is the complete surrender of self to the yoke of the Divine (and I don’t mean religion). Without this surrender God seems cruel and unforgiving; with it the Divine becomes the fecund well that nourishes the artist without ceasing.
The goal of the spiritual artist is to be the microcosm of the Creator. As written by Rabindranath Tagore about above and below:
My Song
This song of mine will wind its music around you, my child, like the fond arms of love.
This song of mine will touch your forehead like a kiss of blessing.
When you are alone it will sit by your side and whisper in your ear, when you are in a crowd it will fence you about with aloofness.
My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams, it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown.
It will be like the faithful star overhead when dark night is over your road.
My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes, and will carry your sight into the heart of things.
And when my voice is silent in death, my song will speak in your living heart.
(p.363)
The Divine stream of creativity which flows into this world is the milk of life. It is nourishment. Art can heal; art can transform; art can nourish and succor the world. As artists, it is our choice to make.
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Tuesday, November 27th, 2007,
by Painter of Blue and is filed under "Art, Drawing, Mysticism, Pain & Suffering, Poetry, Spiritual Artists, Spiritual Path, Tagore, Art, creation, Drawing, Mysticism, Pain & Suffering, Poetry, Spiritual Artists, Spiritual Path, Tagore ".
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7 Responses “The Yoke of the Spiritual Artist”
This is a fascinating discussion and the writing of Tagore so beautiful. Your blog has wings; and is developing so rapidly. Good work.
Thanks! You gave me a lot of great advice in the beginning!
What an excellent site!! I have only just found you and added you to my fav’s.
I have very recently started a blog where I’m searching for the spiritual through my art.
Lightness and darkness and the nature of God is theme of two of the paintings I have posted. The latest work is titled ” Staring at the darkness of Light” I purposefully worked with a dark pallette to express the hiddenness and unfathomable.
Your views on Light and self surrender to the yoke of the divine is most challenging. To draw from from the Creator wow!!
I will continue to explore your site .
Andrew
Thanks Andrew! Welcome!
Another thought Andrew, I love the idea of your title ” Staring at the darkness of Light”. It recalls the dark night of the soul. The state described by so many mystics as the chaos and darkness we experience when we are closest to God. It is being blinded by the Light. The is a link to Evelyn Underhill’s book on mysticism on my sidebar. The whole text is on-line and there is a lot on this concept in it.
Yes, I have been reading ( with some difficulty- old english) “The Cloud of Unknowing” translated by Evelyn Underhill. I have not got to “Dark night of the soul” yet. But will get there soon. Thanks!! By the way, I love the ceramic figure you have just posted. My first love was clay and studied as a shool subject throughout high school.
Thanks!