“Art and the Sacred, Bighting Beans”
HpSwami – We would say that the following dialog between Albert and Bosco would be stimulating for a Tibetan Buddhist concerned wth sacred art as well as we Bengali Vaisnavas.
We would see at least three kinds of sacred art: That which is a sacred object in and of itself, like sacred calligraphy; sacred art that is an iconografic or symbolic representation of the sacred and finally, sacred art that takes us to the sacred. Below we ask if you agree is the first basis for sacred art of the third category.
From the Bible we hear, “Fear of God is the beginning of knowledge”.
So, is fear of God the beginning of art?
HpSwami – We would say that the following dialog between Albert and Bosco would be stimulating for a Tibetan Buddhist concerned wth sacred art as well as we Bengali Vaisnavas.
We would see at least three kinds of sacred art: That which is a sacred object in and of itself, like sacred calligraphy; sacred art that is an iconografic or symbolic representation of the sacred and finally, sacred art that takes us to the sacred. Below we ask if you agree is the first basis for sacred art of the third category.
From the Bible we hear, “Fear of God is the beginning of knowledge”.
So, is fear of God the beginning of art?
We didn’t eliminate God from the equation, we just marginalized him.
What do you mean, asked Bosco?
I mean that we wanted to continue to enjoy this bodily existence.
The body doesn’t get diseases, the body is a disease, replied Albert with disgust.
Are you sure of that said Bosco.
Yes, said Albert. Bob Bickford who was a tender of a wine bar in Sausalito told us that his body had never done anything nice for him so why should he do anything nice for his body.
Albert, Hmmm!
Bosco, https://www.vedabase.com/en/bg/13/8-12, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-
duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; “One should try to understand the distress of accepting birth, death, old age and disease. There are descriptions in various Vedic literatures of birth. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the world of the unborn, the child’s stay in the womb of the mother, its suffering, etc., are all very graphically described. It should be thoroughly understood that birth is distressful. Because we forget how much distress we have suffered within the womb of the mother, we do not make any solution to the repetition of birth and death. Similarly at the time of death there are all kinds of sufferings, and they are also mentioned in the authoritative scriptures. These should be discussed. And as far as disease and old age are concerned, everyone gets practical experience. No one wants to be diseased, and no one wants to become old, but there is no avoiding these. Unless we have a pessimistic view of this material life, considering the distresses of birth, death, old age and disease, there is no impetus for our making advancement in spiritual life.”
What do you mean, asked Bosco?
I mean that we wanted to continue to enjoy this bodily existence.
The body doesn’t get diseases, the body is a disease, replied Albert with disgust.
Are you sure of that said Bosco.
Yes, said Albert. Bob Bickford who was a tender of a wine bar in Sausalito told us that his body had never done anything nice for him so why should he do anything nice for his body.
Albert, Hmmm!
Bosco, https://www.vedabase.com/en/bg/13/8-12, janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-
duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; “One should try to understand the distress of accepting birth, death, old age and disease. There are descriptions in various Vedic literatures of birth. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the world of the unborn, the child’s stay in the womb of the mother, its suffering, etc., are all very graphically described. It should be thoroughly understood that birth is distressful. Because we forget how much distress we have suffered within the womb of the mother, we do not make any solution to the repetition of birth and death. Similarly at the time of death there are all kinds of sufferings, and they are also mentioned in the authoritative scriptures. These should be discussed. And as far as disease and old age are concerned, everyone gets practical experience. No one wants to be diseased, and no one wants to become old, but there is no avoiding these. Unless we have a pessimistic view of this material life, considering the distresses of birth, death, old age and disease, there is no impetus for our making advancement in spiritual life.”