• In :
• Personal Growth

February 2004

By Dada Gavand

Morning mist and chirping birds, Blades of grass dancing in the breeze, A golden view of sunkissed hills And playful waters of a sparkling stream Will reveal to man much more than any book

I look at an artist as one who lives and works in total freedom, beyond time and tradition, guided only by his intuitive intelligence. The intuitive spontaneity of life-energy is the womb of all the aesthetic arts as well as classical virtues in man. For both aesthetic arts and human virtues, it is necessary to have freedom from thought, along with abundant sensitivity. This is the foundation of spiritual life. Art, intuition and spirit mingle together very well. At their peak, they are all, like Nature, cosmic and divine.

Taking a photograph is a meditative act for me. In awareness and with attention, with openness and humility, one can listen and understand the cosmic play, the intuitive intelligence that pervades Nature all around. Photography is one tool which helps us feel how Nature itself is creative, loving and benevolent.

The focus of this book is not on the photographs themselves but on what they are trying to convey about life and human relationships through Nature’s rhythms.

Creation is expressed in every aspect and facet of nature; only one has to rise up to its dimension of silence, sensitivity and humility to feel it!

Photography is essentially a visual art form. The image in the camera is born with the help of science and technology which is a time process. But beauty, which is the essence, the truth of existence belongs to the timeless.

This book is an attempt to capture the timeless through time, to show the play of intuitive intelligence in tangible form.

In daily living, in the mundane activity around mortal man, one can see and feel the play of the timeless. An opening flower, a fruit bearing tree, the surging cloud and the running waters of a stream carry with them something of the timeless quality. They are the play of life energy pulsating in the present. Through its uniqueness, Nature lends a touch of eternity to the mundane and to the mortal.

When the energy particles of the unbiased perception of the present—which is the state of awareness—collide with the particles of the past memory mind, there is annihilation of this psychological memory structure, which is time. The perceiver as well as the past memory mind are both negated. The awareness as well as the content of awareness are both annihilated. There remains only energy. This energy is of a different wavelength which functions beyond the rigid frame of thought – idea – mind. It is impersonal, spontaneous and intuitive as it is free from time. It functions in absolute freedom beyond the realm of time and tradition. This timeless energy is pure intelligence—the wisdom of life.

Bird of Paradise
Sight
Translucent colours of sunset beauty,
With celestial hues you celebrate joy.
I found you in the bush on the road-side
But oh! You are the bird of paradise.

Insight
You are a citizen of South Africa but you have accepted many countries as your home. Now you have become a world citizen. You appear very delicate but by nature you are sturdy and strong. You are as radiant as a magnificent rainbow across the sky. You are truly a bird from paradise. But it seems you have chosen to live on earth to make people wonder about you, to appreciate and smile at you with joy. This is your silent contribution.

Intellect and Instinct
Sight
Even the tiny ants have complete know-how
To build a beautiful fortress for safe dwelling.
Where did they learn this skill
Of masonry and architectural designing?

Insight
Insects like ants, termites and bees display a unique capacity to manage their own affairs. Each one works with some instinctive understanding for sharing the responsibility of the whole group. There seems to be a kind of group consciousness working in the members of the entire colony. How does this tiny creature communicate, cooperate and construct such a fortress-like shelter? How comfortable, warm, and cosy they make it for their young ones! Breeding and nursing of a new generation goes on unhindered inside this safe shelter.

Senses are Deceptive
Sight
Senses are deceptive
Mind is illusive.
Even the daily world of perception
Is a subtle deception.

Insight
Can the senses ever convey reality? Will the mind and the senses ever give the experience of truth? Perhaps, it is impossible! Mind, through the senses, is so influenced and affected by personal bias that it twists and turns anything and everything! Mind is essentially a fragmented instrument, a highly conditioned apparatus. It will never be able to grasp anything in its totality, anything in its entirety, exactly as it is. Senses and mind are incapable of total comprehension and thus, they are victims of self-created illusion and deception.

Roots of Mind 
Sight
Like the roots of a tree
Mind likes to hold on to its structure firmly.
Attachment and fixation in time
Are the sole objectives of mind.

Insight
Without roots there is no way for any tree to survive. The very life of a tree, the sap, is produced, circulated and maintained by the roots. The mind too works very subtly and cleverly by creating its own roots in the form of memories. The psychological entity called I or me is held firmly together by memories. Elimination of memory-mind through awareness and understanding is freedom from time, which is liberation of life-energy.

Gift of Nature
Sight
What does man give back to Nature
Who gives him in abundance
and with pleasure,
Such delicacies of taste, nutrition
and colour?

Insight
It is Nature’s all round offering to all the living plants, animals and creatures, including human beings, that is supporting life on earth. But mankind, through its greed, is extravagantly using most of nature’s products for its callous, selfish and self-centred living. From the earth, the forests, the oceans and from all deposits of nature, man is using, misusing and exploiting nature’s wealth. Can he learn from nature how not to remain self-centred but to be magnanimous and work in unison with other species of nature?

Extracted with permission from Intuitive Intelligence by Dada Gavand, Dada Center Publications, Rs 595.
Book available from Ambar Systems, Mumbai; Ph: (022)55999933,email:daji@amberindia.com