-
Reality exists for itself
and by itself,
-
and there was a movement called
“Art for Art’s Sake”
-
[Art for Art’s Sake]
-
in the, whenever it was,
19th century or whatever.
-
And, as we’ve mentioned,
in the “Picture of Dorian Gray”,
-
the introduction, Oscar Wilde makes
many observations about art,
-
and he concludes with this statement:
“All art is quite useless.”
-
And naturally being a wit,
some people thought
-
that he’s saying
it’s of no value.
-
That’s not what
he was saying.
-
When he said
it’s “quite useless”,
-
it was a clever way of saying,
“It exists for itself and by itself.”
-
If it exists to fulfill some purpose,
then that’s something less than art,
-
and that’s why Guru Mahārāj
invokes Hegel:
-
“If reality exists to fulfil
the purpose of another,
-
then it’s not for itself
and by itself.”
-
So we’re back to this means of revelation,
of divine expression,
-
of, Kṛṣṇa, you know,
“Nimitta-mātraṁ bhava savyasāchin”
[Bg: 11.33],
-
“Arjuna, you can be an instrument for
the expression of My divine will.”
-
So it’s whether you’re Arjuna
on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra,
-
or you’re an artist in front of a canvas,
or a devotee giving a lecture.
-
The aspiring servitor
is offering themselves
-
as an instrument to be used
for divine expression.
