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Baumer 1997 - Aesthetic Mysticism
Baumer 1997 - Aesthetic Mysticism
M YSTICISM OF AESTHETICS?
Bettina Baumer
narasaktisivatmakam trikam
hrdaye yd vinidhdya bhdsayet
pranamdmi pardm anuttaram
nijabhasdm pratibhdcamatkrtim.
Abhinavagupta
Mahgalasloka 3
Paratrisikd Vivarana
I offer homage to the supreme and
Unsurpassable (Deity Consciousness),
the Wonder of ever new Insight,
shining in its own light,
Who reveals the trinity of the created
beings,
Qivine Energy and 3iva,
holding them in Her Heart.
Metaphysical
Since we are expressing ideas which have been conceived
in Sanskrit through the medium of a foreign language which
has been imprinted by a different tradition, we have to be
careful in using certain concepts. The very words ‘aesthetics’
and ‘mysticism’ have a history of their own in the European
tradition which cannot be ignored when using them.3 But a
conscious use of such terms can also lead to a mutual en
richment of traditions and to a clarification, as we can see in
many works of A.K. Coomaraswamy, for instance.
‘Aesthetics’ has to do with beauty. But what do we un
derstand by beauty?4 One of the basic definitions of beauty
in the European tradition is ‘harmony’. Its opposite, ugliness,
is disharmony, dissonance. Harmony is an agreement of the
beautiful thing and the source of Beauty, God and hence
the beautiful (thing) is a ‘reflection’ of the ‘original’. For
the definition of these basic concepts we may quote Thomas
Aquinas:5
In existing things, the beautiful and the beauty
are distinguished . . . ” . . . for the beautiful is
3Cp. the article by Alois Haas in this volume.
4Cp. D.H.H. Ingalls, “Words for Beauty in Classical Sanskrit Poetry” ,
in: Indological Studies in H onor of W. N orm an Brown, ed. by E. Bender,
American Oriental Series 47, New Haven, Conn., AOS, 1962, pp. 87-107;
A .K . Coomaraswamy, “T h e Mediaeval Theory of Beauty” , in: Selected
P apers I, Traditional A r t and Symbolism, ed. by R. Lipsey, Princeton
University Press, 1977, pp. 189-228.
5In the translation of A.K. Coomaraswamy, art. cit. pp. 212-13.
332 Mysticism in Shaivism and Christianity
7Art. d t . , p. 213.
*Cp. B. Baumer, “Cosmic Harmony: S a m a td in Kashmir ¿aivism ” ,
in: Universal Responsibility. Felicitation Volume in H onour o f H.H. The
14th D alai Lama, Tenzin G yatso on His 60th B irth d a y , ed. by R.C.
Tiwari and Krishna N ath. New Delhi, T h e Foundation for Universal
Responsibility, 1995, pp. 111-19.
Baumer: Aesthetics o f Mysticism 335
Metaphors
To show that these are not abstract ideas, we could analyze
here the use of artistic metaphors, which are not accidental
but central to Kashmir 3aivism. Every darsana has ^ s e t of
basic metaphors which serve to illustrate the philosophical
truths. Not by chance the two frequently used metaphors
are taken from painting on the one hand, and drama on the
other. Music does not serve as a metaphor, though it pervades
a lot of Abhinavagupta’s speculations on the power of the
Word ( vdk, mantra), etc. The metaphor of painting illustrates
the idea of dbhdsa and of the world as an image (jagaccitra)
created by the Divine Artist.13 It does not have illusionistic
overtones, as the same image has in Vedanta.14 The image is
real, and yet entirely dependent on the freedom of the creator.
Here the svdtantrya-sakti is the main characteristic of the
Divine as well as human artist. Art can only be created by a
spirit of freedom. The implication of the metaphor of painting
is obviously the beauty of the work of art which produces
a sense of wonder ( camatkdra) and leads the observer to a
state of identification.15 The entire bimba-pratibimba-vada is
related, not only to an image in a mirror, but to the metaphor
o f painting.
The second artistic metaphor used is that of drama: ja~
ganndtya,16 Leaving aside here the Abhinava Bhdrati, we may
reflect on the Siva-Sutras which elaborate on this simile,
starting from the Sutra nartaka atmd, “The Self is an ac
tor/dancer” (III.9 and if.).
According to the commentator, Ksemaraja, this is said
of the self-realized yogin who becomes one with the Lord.
Ksemaraja explains his action as being svaparispanda lilayd,
“playful by his own inner vibration”, which manifests it
self in movements of dance, a dance that is far from being
a merely external movement, for “it is based on his being
established in his innermost hidden essential nature” (an-
tarvigdhitasvasvarupdvastambhamulam). Now all the terms
used assume a double meaning, a yogic meaning and a tech
nical meaning of the elements of drama. Thus the various
parts played by an actor are the stages of consciousness
like waking, dream, etc., i.e. bhumikd ( tattajjdgaradindnd-
bhumikdprapancam).
In this context Ksemaraja quotes a verse of Bhatta Nara-
yana’s Stavacintdmani (59):
Aesthetical/Mystical Experience
it does not depend on any effort. The guru in the case of the
second or the actor in the case of the first do nothing but
lifting the veil and removing the obstacle, so that the inner
ecstasy wells up immediately.”20
As in the mangalasloka cited in the beginning, pratibhd
and camatkrti are intimately related. Abhinavagupta has an
interesting passage in the Tantrdloka:21
svatantryaikarasavesacamatkdraikalaksand,
para bhagavati nityam bhdsate bhairavi svayam.
The Supreme Power, who is Bhairavi, whose
characteristic is wondrous delight issuing from her
unique autonomy, shines externally by herself.
Any experience of camatkdra, whether aesthetical or mystical,
is therefore a participation in the Sakti who is characterized
as ‘being immersed ( dvesa) in the one rasa of absolute free
dom ( svatantrya) .’
The difference and/or unity of the aesthetical and the
mystical can be observed clearly in the case of spiritual prac
tices ( dharand) which use the aesthetic experience for a mys
tical end. We may see examples from the Vijfidna Bhairava
and, in the context of bhakti, from the £ ivastotrdvali of Ut-
paladeva.
The sound of instrumental music can induce a state of
absorption and identification with the supreme void of space,
the condition of all sound:
tantryadivadyasabdesu dirghesu kramasamsthiteh,
ananyacetdh pratyante paravyomavapur bhavet.
ViBhai v. 41
If one listens with undivided attention to the
sounds of string instruments and others which are
played successively and are prolonged, then one
becomes absorbed in the supreme ether of con
sciousness.
Jaideva Singh adds the following Notes:
1. The resonance of musical notes lasts for a long time an
being melodious it attracts the attention of the listener. Even
when it stops, it still reverberates in the mind of the listener.
The listener becomes greatly engrossed in it. A musical note,
if properly produced, appears to arise out of eternity and
finally to disappear in it.
344 M ysticism in Shaivism and Christianity
gitddivisayasvaddsamasaukhyaikatatmanah,
yoginastanmayatvena manorudhes taddtm atd.
ViBhai v. 73
When the mind of a yogi is one with the unparal
leled joy of music and other (aesthetic delights),
then he is identified with it due to the expansion
of his mind which has merged in it.
yatsamastasubhagdrthavastusu
sparsamatravidhina camatkrtim,
tdm samarpayati tena te vapuh
pujayantyacalabhaktisdlinah.
XIII.14
That which bestows on all objects of beauty
The property of giving wonder at the mere touch
By that very principle do those endowed with
Unwavering devotion
Worship your form.
Being self-luminous
You cause everything to shine;
Delighting in your form
You fill the universe with delight;
Reeling with your own bliss
You make the whole world dance with joy.
XIII.15