In works of art that have been made - independently of the skill that has been put into them and the ideas they convey to us - there is a feeling which is in them and behind them. When I was visiting Berlin I saw statuary set around the Kaiser's palace. Everywhere around it was some work of art suggestive of horror, of terror, of destruction. As soon as I saw it I thought: "No wonder things happened as they did, for this statuary was produced beforehand."

A work of art may be beautiful to look at, it may have great skill in it, but with it the mind of the artist is working, and the effect that the picture will have is not what it suggests outwardly, but what it speaks aloud as the voice of its heart. In every picture, in every statue, in every artistic construction one can see this; there is a voice hidden in it continually telling for what purpose the work of art was created. Sometimes an artist is unaware of what he is creating; he is following his imagination. He may be working against his own work of art; he may be bringing about an effect which he had not desired for himself nor for the person to whom the work of art is to be given.

Once I went to see a temple. I could not call that temple beautiful, but it was wonderful, unique in its kind. No sooner did my eyes fall on the color-scheme and the pictures which stood there as its prominent features, than I was surprised, thinking: "How could such a temple have existed so Long!" Not long afterwards I heard that the temple had been destroyed. The idea is that the constructor of the temple was so absorbed in his scheme that he forgot the harmony of the spirit which had to make its plan, and so it resulted in failure.

A friend once took me to see the pictures made by her husband. I no sooner saw them, than it brought to me the whole history of that person: how his soul had repeated throughout his life the agonies he had undergone. The whole thing was expressed in those pictures. And what was the condition of the possessor of those pictures? Nothing but sorrow and depression.

It is the same with poetry. Among the Hindus there is a psychology of poetry which is taught before one is allowed to write poetry. For it is not only the rhythm and the swing of mind and thought that should be expressed, but to write poetry means to construct something: to make something or to mar something. Poetry has sometimes the effect of bringing prosperity or decline to great ones in whose praise it has been written. There is a science attached to it; a poet may speak highly of a personality in his poetry, yet the construction of his words or the idea behind it may be harmful. It does not only harm the person for whom it was made, but sometimes - if that personality is strong the effect falls back upon the poet, thus destroying him for ever.

So it is with music. It seems a very good idea for a musician to imagine in a kind of magical music that a flood came and a city was destroyed, and everybody who lived in that city was drowned. For the moment it might seem an amusement to him, a queer imagination - but it has its influence!

The most interesting thing is that through art, poetry or music, or through the movements one makes in dance, a thought or feeling is created, the effect of which is the outcome of the whole action. The art is, so to speak, a cover. How wonderful it is to notice that art in its every aspect is something living, something speaking. It is either good or evil, but it is not without meaning.

One sees in frescoes in old houses in Italy, and in the art produced in statuary in ancient times that these works of art almost speak to us of the history of the past. They tell us of the person who made them, of his stage of evolution, his motive, his soul, and of the spirit of that time.

This teaches us that unconsciously our thought and feeling are produced upon all things we use: a place, a rock, a tree, a seat, upon the things we prepare - but in art an artist completes the music of his soul, of his mind. It is not produced automatically, it is very often a conscious effort, an effort which results in a certain effect. This shows that it is not enough to learn art, or to practice art. In order to complete art one must understand the psychology of it, through which one accomplishes the purpose of one's fife.

Question: Would not an artist be afraid of making a work that might produce something undesirable. Answer: It is better that he should be afraid, for then he will be careful.

Question: But if he does not know the effect it may have? Answer: If he will try to know the effect, then he will know it.

One day a person brought me a record and took the trouble of explaining it to me. In the absence of his master the pupil of a magician called the forces of water and then found he could not stop the flood. Afterwards the teacher came and stopped it. On that idea the music was made. I said: "It is an interesting idea, but please, don't play it? It is very easy to enjoy a picturesque idea, but one never stops to think that it is not the idea that is important, but that it is the outcome of it: will it be destructive or constructive.

Another example one sees in steamers, especially in the Channel; as soon as one goes into one's cabin the first thing one sees is a picture of a person about to sink and putting on a lifebelt. It is the first thing one is impressed with as the first omen. Certainly it is instructive, but it is not a psychological instruction. Even if the person in the picture is not drowned, the impression is not a good one. If such an instruction is needed, it would be better to distribute picture cards after the ship has started, after people have become accustomed to it.

Question: Is it not unwise to fill a schoolroom or a chapel with scenes of death, even of saints and masters. Answer: It is more than unwise. I could use some other word for it - especially when it is in connection with saints and masters who never died.

Question: Does the idea of beauty and ugliness account for the constructive or destructive nature of art. Answer: Certainly. Harmony is beauty, and lack of harmony is ugliness. Harmony is constructive and disharmony is destructive.

Question: Is it not a mistake of modern art to take its subjects from the earth instead of making a reproduction of the higher worlds. Answer: Artists would do it today also if they could reach the higher worlds; the condition is to be able to reach them. The same old wine which was before is here now. The one who drinks it will obtain the same intoxication which people in the past used to experience. If a man becomes more earthly, it is not the fault of heaven. The past did not hold any bliss which is not to be found in the present. The bliss which is the most valuable is eternal; it is always there. It is for us to prepare ourselves to obtain it.

Question: Do not drama and tragedy do harm. Answer: There are many things that harm us, but there are many things which at the same thing are interesting. Besides this, there are minds that are more attracted to tragedy than to anything else. It is natural, for when there is a sore that sore feels alive for the moment, a sensation which is perhaps agreeable. It may be called pain, but it is an agreeable pain when the sore is scratched. Tragedy has that effect. No doubt too much tragedy is not desirable for anybody, but an artistic nature, a person who loves poetry, finds something in tragedy. It would be depriving oneself of a great joy not to read Shakespeare. But when people write poetry in connection with some personality, a king or a sovereign, or anyone, then there is a direct effect, whereas the poetry of Shakespeare is general. However, a play has an effect, and a serious effect too!

The above is according to the psychological point of view; it is not meant to say that it is the point of view of the Sufi. For Sufis are very fond of poetry, and their passion for poetry goes sometimes very far in expressing the sentiment of longing, yearning, heartbreak, disappointment. However, that is not psychological; according to psychology it is not right!

Question: How does one learn the inner meaning of a certain piece of music. Answer: Once you have read "The Soul Whence and Whither" you begin to feel that in every plane the cover of that particular plane is required in order to experience the life in that plane. And so, music being a world, poetry being a world and art being a world, a person who lives in the world of art, in the world of poetry, in the world of music knows music, poetry or art, he appreciates it. In order to have an insight into music one must live in it and observe that world most keenly. It is not sufficient that a person should be musical, and that he should occupy his heart and soul with music, but he should also develop intuition that he may see music keenly.

Vol. 2, Cosmic Language

4. The Influence of Works of Art

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Vol. 2, Cosmic Language

4. The Influence of Works of Art