When I started this series for a group exhibition I co-curated with emerging artists in Charleston, SC in November, I wanted to choose a broad topic which would provoke discussion on spirituality. After considering many possibilities I chose the topic of the “anatomy of the self” to renew an age-old discussion on the different dimensions of the human experience and how they interact with each other. For my series of artworks, I divided these categories into Body, Mind, and Soul. Which of these take precedence and what do we prioritize in our civilization?
The first image in this series depicts what happens when one works with the body for the sake of the body only. To illustrate this, I chose the imagery of inmates on the chain-gang. The definitive characteristic of the body is that it is temporary and limited. That means whatever we do for the body is likewise confined; the result can only last as long as the body does.
Sometimes the effect of material activities is compared to a person working hard to build a house just to burn it down. Although such an action would be clearly nonsensical since the result is immediately lost, we often don’t consider that many of the activities that we engage in on a daily basis will also be lost in short order.
Although in the immediate issue, things like eating, sleeping, mating, and defending may be necessary, in the long run these activities are unlikely to satisfy the deeper human need for meaning. Indeed, people trapped by this struggle for existence often feel like captives digging their own graves.
The orange jumpsuits and shaven heads parallel the uniform of monastics, who engage in the similar, but opposite practice of limiting themselves to only activities full of meaning. The beginning of spiritual life often begins with a turning away, a contempt for the emptiness of temporary pleasures and an aspiration for higher value.
The Sanskrit calligraphy here is a verse from Bhagavad Gita (As It Is). It encapsulates the essence of this idea as follows: “One who does not follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas certainly leads a life full of sin. Living only for the satisfaction of the senses, such a person lives in vain.”
The next image describes the mind as the center. Here I wanted to comment on the insubstantiality of thought. The Vedas ascribe substance to something according to it’s comparative endurance.”The great seers of Truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the eternal there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.”
The content of the mind is changing constantly, producing so many dreams, daydreams, ideas, even hallucinations which we judge as insubstantial compared to the waking life, and the dreamer himself who endures through many such dreams. It is said that we live through countless subsequent lifetimes, which are also insubstantial compared to the eternal, spiritual life. For this piece I chose the imagery of virtual reality to illustrate what happens when we act with the body primarily to satisfy the mind. The result is that we find it becomes common for people to immerse themselves in an imaginary reality in order to escape the emptiness of physical survival. By doing so, people may become detached from the ‘real’ reality and consequently become obese or otherwise unhealthy, despite the fact that in the virtual reality they may be performing heroic, herculean deeds.
Similarly, from the spiritual perspective, one sees the material life also as a kind of virtual reality, and to the degree we become absorbed in it, we become incomplete and unhealthy and out of touch with our original eternal life. The calligraphy here reads: “For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends, but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.” In other words if we utilize the mind to pursue temporary goals it becomes an instrument for our bondage, but if we use it to pursue eternal goals, we become liberated.
This piece further expands on the sequence, depicting the mind in service of the body. This piece was inspired by trans-humanism and the aspiration of modern man to use his intelligence to augment the body with technology in order to become immortal, or superhuman.
Here a cyborg woman is getting some body augmentation done, which I envision might one day be as common and frivolous as getting a tattoo or a piercing might be today. And the way she stares into space smoking her futuristic e-cig indicates that if our quality of life doesn’t keep pace with our quantity of life, then no matter how long we extend the years of our life, we will only extend our vices and won’t be truly happy until we find out how to add life to our years.
The quote here says: “One who has taken birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore in the inevitable discharge of your duty you should not lament.” Some trees live for thousands of years, but they are stuck standing in the wind and the rain, and their consciousness is in an almost dormant state compared to other living things. Although in some ways it may be beneficial to extend our bodies or our minds, the real success of human life is to extend our consciousness to the utmost limit and thus prepare ourselves to enter the next life, whether that comes in 10 years or 1000.
The subsequent painting in this series marks a departure from the previous ones because it begins to contrast activities performed for the sake of the body or the mind, and those undertaken for the benefit of the soul.
A great saint and theologian, Bhaktivinod Thakur,once compared God, the Absolute Truth, as like a mountain which has been viewed from different angles under different weather conditions.
Different people may view the same mountain in a fog, in bright sunlight, or without external influence, and although they are seeing the same thing, they perceive it in vastly different ways.
In general, people try to serve the interest of the soul by approaching a higher Reality. One way that they do this is through pious actions like ritual, sacrifice, and charity. The first step in spiritual life is to recognize that we are dependent on a Higher Power for the water, for the air, for everything necessary for us to live. Especially the indigenous traditions of the world are known for their reverence for nature and performing sacrifice as a way of reciprocating with the Power behind the forces of nature. Because I was inspired by the recent protests to protect the water at Standing Rock, I decided to dedicate this piece as a tribute to the Native American community.
Building on the culture of sacrifice, often we find that wisdom traditions develop. These come about when a certain subset of people begin to inquire more deeply into the purpose, the motives, the reasoning behind performance of sacrifice.
Ultimately the purpose of sacrifice is to inspire people to inquire about their origins, to seek deeply the Source of themselves and the world. Sometimes the culture of sacrifice has a tendency to become clouded by desire, and people pray for wealth or fame or victory. When this happens, the religion of that culture becomes worldly, and the philosophers reject it to find out something deeper.
They are able to see that although the Creator provides everything for mankind, still, just by enjoying the resources of this Earth one is still subject to suffering in the form of birth, death, old age, and disease. The philosopher recognizes a need to make a permanent solution to this suffering and thus undergoes austerity, contemplation, deliberation, and meditation. This piece was inspired by the famous Greek ascetic Diogenes, who was known for his austerity of living in a barrel and debating publicly without fear with illustrious personalities such as Alexander the Great.
When the soul becomes satisfied with knowledge of the Divine, one feels a kinship, a personal relationship with the Creator that seeks expression through poetry, music, or dancing. In this way the spiritual seeker finds relief from the starkness of the path of knowledge by transcending the mind and approaching God through the heart.
Since I was working on this series in the city of Charleston, South Carolina, famous for it’s gospel choirs, I wanted to offer an homage to the American gospel tradition, which does a great job of exemplifying this affectionate love of God through the heartfelt outpouring of song.
Finally, the esoteric Vaisnava tradition teaches that when the body, mind, and soul are all completely absorbed in the trance of love of God, the Supreme Being, whom they call “Krishna” or the “All Attractive,” appears personally in order to reciprocate the loving service of the beloved.
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