Creativity and worship ..

No other culture in the world lays as much emphasis on creativity as Hinduism. Creativity and worship are so entwined that there is no way to distinguish one from the other. Temples are the centers of culture, where art, music, dance, poetry, plays and dramas are nurtured and offered to the gods. Ranjoli is the offering of art, Geetanjali is the offering of music, Nrityanjali is the offering of dance.

Creativity lies at the very core of Hinduism urging us to fulfill our creative potential every single day. Creativity is the highest offering to the divine. To be immersed in a creative act is worship!!

Fulfilling our creative potential is worship

The Joy of Writing

Think, feel and write

The daily demands on us leaves very little time for creative solitude. I long for quiet interludes to spend some time writing. For me, writing quenches a deep thirst leaving a refreshing feeling of fulfilment.

I just put down the book 'On the Move' by Dr Oliver Sacks. He was a voracious writer, writing journals and books all through his long life. In this book Dr Sacks captures what writing means to him which resonates entirely with my own feelings.

"For the most part, I rarely look at the journals I have kept for the greater part of a lifetime. The act of writing is itself enough; it serves to clarify my thoughts and feelings. The act of writing is an integral part of my mental life; ideas emerge, are shaped, in the act of writing.  

My journals are not written for others, nor do I usually look at them myself, but they are a special, indispensable form of talking to myself.

..The act of writing.. gives me a pleasure,  a joy, unlike any other. It takes me to another place ...where I am totally absorbed and oblivious to distracting thoughts, worries, preoccupations, or indeed the passage of time. In those rare, heavenly states of mind, I may write nonstop until I can no longer see the paper. Only then do I realize that evening has come and that I have been writing all day.

Tagore: The dust of the marketplace..

The dust of the marketplace overwhelms me and stifles my heart
Let the river of your melody wash over me
Let it’s drumbeat pulse through my veins
Let it wash away from my body all dishonour
Let it’s gurgling flow drown all commotion
       
Tagore sings in "Haater dhula soi na ..". Every day that we step out into the world, we are thrown into the noise, rush and commotion of the marketplace. When we return back to the sanctity of home, we wash away the dust and sweat from the body. Should we not also clear our mind? The greed, ambition, restlessness and pettiness of the people we meet inevitably unsettles the mind. To return home is to return the mind to tranquility.

Carrying prejudice to the grave ..

The flame of life

My husband's grandmother passed away a few days ago at the ripe old age of 95years. She was a matriarch who ruled the family with tyranny. On hearing of her death, I felt a sense of regret that she never let go of deep rooted prejudices and carried them all the way to the grave. Despite spending countless hours in temples and religious readings, her heart never softened with love nor did her mind expand with wisdom.

Her brahminical sense of superiority and entitlement. Her prejudice and treatment of people of other castes and creeds. Her preference for the boy child over the girl. Her treatment of daughters-in-law as nothing but work horses. Her preferential treatment of lighter skinned grandchildren over the darker ones. Thus she is remembered.

Her life is a reminder for us to wash away all prejudices that stain our heart before the flame of life dies out.