The Approaches to Indian Art

Whatever might be the opinion of Vincent Smith, Sir George Birdwood and those of their way of thinking who see very little original in the art of India, their judgment of things Indian being perverted by ‘superiority complex,’ there are nevertheless many European critics, more competent and less prejudiced, who have spoken in glowing terms of the greatness of India's creative genius, of the excellence of her culture-products that incarnate the aesthetic experiences of a race deeply imbued with an inward illumination; which gives a sublimity to all her strivings to express her soul in and through the universal language of art. Mere words of praise have never been deemed adequate to do proper justice to those effective media of Indian culture. Eminent art-critics as they are, they have been able to enlighten their vision with an orientation of Indian idealism and prepare thoughtful monographs on Indian art in so far as it shines out in all its splendid achievements since the earliest days of her civilization. In the brilliant range of these studies, we are struck to find not only a critical and exhaustive survey of the various modes and methods of Indian art-expression, but also masterly and illuminating expositions of the spiritual ideals that inspired all artistic efforts and guided their evolution in unending forms of rhythmic beauty.

The origin of art-sense in India may however be ascribed to the theory propounded by her philosophers, that this phenomenal universe is pervaded by infinite energy or Sakti which pours itself into every name and form and, in its more refined stage, generates in man a creative urge in response to which he develops his arts and letters. The Indian artist is thus the vehicle of a psychic process of how the One, for fulfilling His desire to be many, infuses in him an abundance of creative energy which in its turn demands release in the projection into finite forms, with the result that the creation of the artist becomes a complete act of divine afflorescence, wherein man is as much a medium of the Divine Artist as an art-form is the medium of the human craftsman. It is this dominant idea of Indian art which requires to be grasped and made the very basis of any consideration of its various expressions, in order that the characteristic significance of an important phase of Indian culture may be interpreted in all its connotative bearings for the benefit of those who seek to understand the aesthetic aspirations of India.

In order to get an insight into the inner forces that actuate the outer vivifications of Indian art, it is of paramount importance that we should develop in us what the psychologist cryptically calls empathy, which will enable us to transmute our mental trait into that of the artist-thinkers or sadhakas as they are called in India, to think and feel like them though from a different view-point, yet maintaining the peculiar mental state which has to be reached by a keen realisation of the traditions of the race, the inherent trend of the racial character, and the particular bent of the racial mind. It is to the want of this internal psychosis, not only Europeans but in modern Indians denationalised by the impact of an alien system of education, that may be traced the preposterous notions so far held about the art of India. Excepting a very few, almost all students and critics of Indian art generally follow the customary procedure of studying it in its superficial manifestations, touch only the fringe of a vast subject, and thereby make themselves responsible for erroneous judgments which are formed without the help of the informing light of the subjective idea of art's psychological perspective so necessary for getting at the very root of the real motive impregnating the contents of all visual representations of the art of India.

Another requisite step to the understanding of India's art is an initiation into the mysteries of her thought, a comprehension of the philosophic synthesis of the ideals of her religious endeavours. For, the art of India is not only religious but essentially a spiritual revelation of a people that mastered the highest truths of divine wisdom. The Vedantic conception of the oneness of all life is verily the basic principle which the artist realises in his own self, so that it may be possible for him to visualise the Supreme Being as the Primal Source of the different archetypes of Beauty which he symbolises in suitable patterns of his craft. The Indian artist expresses not what he sees but what he feels, and this subjective experience he can best express only when he realises his identity with it, in the same way as the Atma or soul of the Yogi becomes one with the Paramatma or Over-soul of the Brahman; a fact which finds echo in a remark of Sir J.C. Bose in his discourse at the last Anniversary Meeting of his Institute: "In order to understand the interior profundities of plant life, we have to be one with the very soul of the plant itself." The emotional knowledge of the idea essential for reproducing it in matter, becomes clear to the artist when he could pitch up his imagination and catch a glimpse of the Supramental Vision of the cosmic unity in which the idealist and the ideation lose their separate entities and become one, only to emerge transfigured into a new state that enables the artist on a grosser plane to give the most faithful expression to the truths of that fecund union. Thus passing through a regular course of self-discipline, the artist grows in power of that inward light which exalts his mental outlook and keeps it ever ready to respond to the creative urge which he may feel in him in those rare moments of self communion. The practice by the Indian artist of this intuitive process of the Vedantic view of self-realisation–the highest ever conceived by man–suggests that art in ancient India was interwoven in the fabric of her spiritual life, so much so that a treatment of its true character would be incomplete if it does not include an inquiry into the finer and the more metaphysical elements forming the soul of all characteristic art-expressions of India. It need not further be emphasised that, for a proper understanding of Indian art, it is necessary to study it with special reference primarily to the practical application on it of the Upanishadic idealism, and secondarily to the various systems of thought which were evolved in India and allegoroised in the Epics and the Puranas, in the legends and folklores of the Buddhist and Jaina religions, all of which combined to the building up of that vast pantheon of art in ancient India. It is to be noted here that not only the Vedas but their symbolical recensions, so to speak, in the latter-day Pauranic literature and the innumerable texts of other creeds, have made contributions to the making if not of the soul, but most assuredly, of the body of Indian art; and the extent and nature of these contributions should be thoroughly appreciated in connection with any attempt to probe into the aesthetic realities of the art-creation of India. The deep philosophic implications of Shiva's Cosmic Dance have been given the most suggestive plastic conception in the South Indian bronze statue of Nataraja; the state of spiritual equipoise or absorption in Yogic contemplation appears to be perfectly represented in the figures of the Dhyani Buddha; and the Indian ideal of the Godward endeavour of human life finds its eloquent expression in the Indian temples with conical towers which diminish and taper off to a spiral, as the matter-aspect of human life thins out with the gradual dawn on it of the Brahmic consciousness till it mingles and loses itself in the infinities of the Supreme One. But while each of these symbolisations is complete in itself from the standpoint of the particular spiritual conception, the group-beauty of the scenes from the Buddhist Jatakas, depicted in bas-reliefs in Bharhut, Sanchi, Amaravati, and in other notable seats of Buddhist culture, including the cave-cathedrals at Ajanta and Bagh; famous for the fresco-paintings dealing with the self-same subject, will have no meaning for us if we study them without having a previous acquaintance with the facts of the incidents related in the Jatakas. Similarly, we cannot make a just appreciation of the radiant art of the Brahmanical sculptures and bas-reliefs of South India, in the temples of Ellora, Elephanta and of other important centres of Brahmanical culture, if we do not equip ourselves with a knowledge of the Pauranic literatures of the Hindus.

Art in India was indissolubly bound up with the life and thought of the people. And in studying it nothing can therefore be of greater importance than a realisation of the mental atmosphere in which it grew. In speaking of Gothic art which is closely related in spirit to Indian, an eminent European art-critic says, "to account for Gothic art, we have to account for its historic basis, for the whole atmosphere of mysticism, chivalry and work-enthusiasm, for all the institutions, monastic, romantic and social which formed its environment." The development of empathy in us, as we have said before, will no doubt help us "in transfusing ourselves into the spirit of the ages past"; and the sympathetic attitude of mind thus generated will enable us to re-live in spirit in the midst of those golden days which witnessed an all-round progress in the national life of India, and heralded the birth of a great art in keeping with other creative activities quickened by the awakened soul of one of the greatest nations of history. It will be a matter of course that there shall grow in the heart of the critic, if he should have fully trained his mind in the previous methods, an imaginative power wherewith he shall very easily be able to conjure up to his vision the whole trend of the inner and outer life which influenced and had occasion to mould the mental outlook of the artist. The effect of environment on the growth of art has been elaborately discussed in one of the ancient Indian Silpa Sastras wherein it is pointed out that the artist should be provided with all facilities for carrying on his sacred avocation, and that in the town-planning, the best site beautified with romantic natural scenery must invariably be reserved for his residence, and sufficient care should be taken so that worldly distractions may not disturb him. It is also prescribed that the artist has to go through certain purificatory practices and then sit in meditation on his Istha-Devata–God of his heart–for the invocation of a conception of the image he wanted to describe in the figuration of his craft. The need of such ritualistic performances was held to be as indispensable as the practice of the Yogic method which reflects the introvert, as the former does the extrovert movement going on in the artist's mind. If we analyse this peculiar mental make-up of the Indian artist, we shall find that it was the inevitable outcome of the subtle but dynamic influence on him of the essentially spiritual atmosphere in which India lived and evolved her unique creative expression.

The contribution of archeology to the expansion of our knowledge of Indian art is as immense as it is unparalleled in the sense that, while the other modes of studying the art of India are more or less abstract or idealistic, the one on the lines of archeological investigation brings us in close touch with the visual, pr more clearly, the graphic and plastic expression. To Sister Nivedita a single piece of stone, or a minutest relic of ancient India, was instinct with the deathless spirit of her great civilization. The stones and relics mostly related to art are what the archeologists are eager to reclaim and weave together into a story of how in the past India attained to a high degree of art-culture superior to that of many contemporary nations. The literatures produced by them, though in many instances tainted with the cold touch of official red-tapism, are nevertheless of much interest, throwing, as they undoubtedly do, a flood of light on many important phases of Indian art, not excluding the more obscure sides of it which have received detailed treatment on original lines sometimes inconceivable even to the most advanced of the art-critics. But though it is conceded that the study of art in India must needs be compatible with the study of the results of archeological research, yet the doubt is also entertained, and not unreasonably, that there is some danger in putting absolute faith in the official archeologist who, when European, is a detractor, and when Indian, a half-hearted interpreter, of Indian civilization. Some honourable exceptions notwithstanding, the opinion of those who develop such mental bias are found to mould the deliberations of the official Survey Reports. So it is desirable that we should take their help as but a step to the temple of Indian art, which we should carefully tread lest we slip over and get a twist in our mental outlook. Besides, on account of the stress he has to lay on the historical values of art, and the rigid observance of the scientific procedure in the matter of scrutinizing the traces of outside influence on the art of India, the archeologist is sometimes found to ignore, however unconsciously, the just claims of aesthetic considerations. "For, spades, tapes, and estampages" in the words of Sjt. O. C. Gangoly, "have an unhappy inclination to film our aesthetic vision." Against this lapse of the archeologist, the student must guard himself, and avoid being confused by the complexity of dates, periods and dynasties which the historian as much as the archeologist does invariably trot out in interpreting an art-relic, caring very little for its artistic beauty however charming it may be. The history of art cannot be studied independently of the history of the people who produced it. And this is more than true in the case of India where art, instead of being a thing of luxury, has ever been an object of religious practice, yet very closely related to the daily life of the people that flowers in an atmosphere of all-pervading beauty.

The approaches to Indian art should include a reference to a good number of texts, or Silpa Sastras as they are called, embodying the principles of art elaborated by the aesthetists or Silpacharyas of ancient India, the well-defined directions for the application of the canons on each of the forms of Indian art, particularly on the three more prominent ones, as painting, sculpture and architecture. The existence of these texts was doubted, and when discovered, their authenticity was questioned by a section of European scholars. But these precious documents that have survived the ravages of time and man, cannot be thrown to the winds. only because some foreigners happen to belittle their importance. To the researches of learned Indian scholars we owe their discovery as also the proofs, they have furnished, of the intrinsic worth and the authoritative character of these systematised texts on Indian art. It is interesting to note that the bulk of these Silpa literatures in India grew up in the post Gupta period i.e., long after the best works of art had been produced. There are many other such literatures mostly dealing with constructional science which were composed in the tenth and eleventh century when South India was at the zenith of her artistic glory. Just as the grammar of the Vedas was written long after the sacred mantras had been seen and sung by the Rishis, so the grammar of Indian art was composed long after the arts had attained to a very high degree of excellence. The Silpa Sastras contain solutions of many problems which confront the observer who may feel bewildered in the interminable maze of the multiplicity of Gods and Goddesses in various moods and postures suggestive of respective principles of philosophic thought. It will be clear to him why a particular colour can only suggest a particular emotion of mind, why the figures of certain Gods are many-headed, why those of others cannot but be modelled after a particular type, why it is that different moods should be expressed in different styles, why the architectural designs should be so drawn that they may denote an Indian feel, so on and so forth. Space does not permit mention of the names and particulars of the contents of these works on art, of which a discussion may very well form the subject matter of a big volume.

The foregoing notes cannot certainly be claimed to have covered the entire field of the methods of unraveling the mysteries of Indian art. They are desired to serve rather as fingerposts on the paths–not always straight–leading to the temple of Beauty. The worshipper who approaches the temple will have therefore to fill his heart with reverence, and acquire through intuition the power of penetrating; beyond the outer vesture in which is concealed the secret source of all visible manifestations; he must purify his heart, clarify his vision, disabuse his mind of all false notions, and lift up his soul to higher visions; and in this way, as he goes inner and inner into the inmost recesses of the magnificent mansion of Indian art, he will feel transported into a world where will be unveiled to him the vision of the eternal Reality which ensouls all true art, specially the art of India. Thus is revealed the hidden meaning of Indian art, the meaning of its undying charm, its peculiar character, its virtue, its spirituality, its beauty and worship, its sweetness and light, and all other supreme gifts which so immensely contribute to the abiding enrichment of the world's culture.