Questions & Answers Part 4

Question: How can you manifest spirituality through art?

Sri Chinmoy: Spirituality means a higher life, an inner awakening, a better way of self-expression. So when art embodies these things, when you offer these things to the world through your art, at that time your art is manifesting spirituality.

Question: Is there any relationship between art and sensitivity?

Sri Chinmoy: In a broad sense, sensitivity plays a considerable part in art. You can say they remain peacefully together. Again, if sensitivity does not want to remain in art, or if art does not want or need sensitivity, then they can remain totally apart.

An artist may have sensitivity in large measure. Again, an artist may have no sensitivity at all. Art and sensitivity can go together and should go together. But even if they remain separate, the artist can still manifest.

Question: Do the colours in your paintings have different meanings?

Sri Chinmoy: The colours in my paintings have the same meaning that they have in the spiritual life. If it is blue, it means Infinity. Green is new life or new life-energy. White is purity and it is also the colour of the Divine Mother. Purple is for the divine manifestation. What I have said that colours signify in the spiritual life applies equally to my art.

Question: What do you think of when you are painting?

Sri Chinmoy: Most of the time I do not think at all when I am painting. But sometimes I do think of the higher worlds. Sometimes I think of my friends in the higher worlds. Sometimes I think of my disciples. Again, even when I am thinking, my thinking is not affecting my art. When I am thinking, I can keep my thinking capacity away from my painting capacity. They are like two persons in front of me, I am looking at only one person, my art the other person is watching what I am doing, but I am not conversing with that person, and I am not being affected by him at all. So when I am talking to someone in the inner world, or thinking of someone, It cannot directly affect my paintings. lt is like birds flying in the sky; they leave no mark. You may think that there will be some mark in the sky, but there is no mark at all. In my case, also, when thought comes, or when I enter into thought, it doesn't affect my creativlty.