From Views From The Real World pp.182-185
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 29, 1924
Questions and answers on art, etc.
Question: Does the work of the Institute necessitate giving up our own work for some years, or can it be carried on at the same time?
Answer: Institute work is inner work; so far you only do outer work, but this is quite different. For some it may be nec- essary to stop outer work, for others not. Question: Is the aim to develop and reach a balance, so that we may become stronger than the outside and develop into superman?
Answer: Man must realize that he cannot do. All our activities are set in motion by external impetus; it is all mechanical. You cannot do even if you wish to do.
Question: What place do art and creative work occupy in your teaching?
Answer: Present-day art is not necessarily creative. But for us art is not an aim but a means.
Ancient art has a certain inner content. In the past, art served the same purpose as is served today by books --the purpose of preserving and transmitting certain knowledge. In ancient times they did not write books but expressed knowledge in works of art. We shall find many ideas in the ancient art which has reached us, if we know how to read it. Every art was like that then, including music. And people of ancient times looked on art in this way.
You saw our movements and dances. But all you saw was the outer form --"beauty, technique. But I do not like the exter- nal side you see. For me, art is a means for harmonious development. In everything we do the underlying idea is to do what cannot be done automatically and without thought.
Ordinary gymnastics and dances are mechanical. If our aim is a harmonious development of man, then for us, dances and movements are a means of combining the mind and the feeling with movements of the body and manifesting them together. In all things, we have the aim to develop something which cannot be developed directly or mechanically --which interprets the whole man: mind, body and feeling.
The second purpose of dances is study. Certain movements carry a proof in them, a definite knowledge, or religious and philosophical ideas. In some of them one can even read a recipe for cooking some dish. In many parts of the East the inner content of one or another dance is now almost forgotten, yet people continue to dance it simply from habit.
Thus movements have two aims: study and development.
Question: Does this mean that all Western art has no significance?
Answer: I studied Western art after studying the ancient art of the East. To tell you the truth, I found nothing in the West to compare with Eastern art. Western art has much that is external, sometimes a great deal of philosophy; but Eastern art is precise, mathematical, without manipulations. It is a form of script.
Question: Haven't you found something similar in the ancient art of the West?
Answer: In studying history we see how everything gradually changes. It is the same with religious ceremonies. At first they had meaning and those who performed them understood this meaning. But little by little the meaning was forgotten and ceremonies continued to be performed mechanically. It is the same with art.
For example, to understand a book written in English, it is necessary to know English. I am not speaking of fantasy but of mathematical, non-subjective art. A modern painter may believe in and feel his art, but you see it subjectively: one person likes it, another dislikes it. It is a case of feeling, of like and dislike.
But ancient art was not for liking. Everyone who read understood. Now, this purpose of art is entirely forgotten.
For instance, take architecture. I saw some examples of architecture in Persia and Turkey--for instance, one building of two rooms. Everyone who entered these rooms, whether old or young, whether English or Persian, wept. This happened with people of different backgrounds and education. We continued this experiment for two or three weeks and observed every- one's reactions. The result was always the same. We specially chose cheerful people. With these architectural combinations, the mathematically calculated vibrations contained in the building could not produce any other effect. We are under certain laws and cannot withstand external influences. Because the architect of this building had a different understanding and built mathematically, the result was always the same.
We made another experiment. We tuned our musical instruments in a special way and so combined the sounds that even by bringing in casual passersby from the street we obtained the result we wanted. The only difference was that one felt more, another less.
You come to a monastery. You are not a religious man, what is played and sung there evokes in you a desire to pray. Later you will be surprised by this. And so it is with everyone.
This objective art is based on laws, whereas modern music is entirely subjective. It is possible to prove where everything in this subjective art comes from.
Question: Is mathematics the basis of all art?
Answer: All Eastern ancient art.
Question: Then could anyone who knew the formula build a perfect form like a cathedral, producing the same emotion? Answer: Yes, and get the same reactions, too.
Question: Then art is knowledge, not talent?
Answer: It is knowledge. Talent is relative. I could teach you to sing well in a week, even without a voice.
Question: So if I knew mathematics, I could write like Schubert?
Answer: Knowledge is necessary, mathematics and physics.
Question: Occult physics?
Answer: All knowledge is one. If you only know the four rules of arithmetic, then decimal fractions are higher mathematics for you.
