THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12 The ...

30 THE DHAMMAPADA: THE WAY OF THE BUDDHA, VOL. 9-12
Modern art is childish not childlike, remember, childish; not innocent but stupid, insane, pathological. We
have to get rid of this trend. We have to create a new kind of art, a new kind of creativity. We have to bring to
the world again what Gurdjieff calls objective art.
The farmer was looking at one of those modern, abstract paintings. ”It is a perfect picture of those fellows in
New Delhi,” he said. ”No matter which way you look at it, it does not make sense.”
But the farmer is saying something which Picasso himself has said. Picasso has said, ”The world today does
not make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?”
If the world today does not make sense, that means more pictures, more music, more poetry is needed that
makes sense to help humanity to come out of this absurd state. That was the function of objective art: to help
you come out of your absurd state. But Picasso says, ”The world today does not make sense...” as if it was making
sense in the past. It has never made any sense; the world has always been the same. But he finds a rationalization.
He is saying, ”If the world itself makes no sense, why should I paint pictures that do?”
If you ask me, that should be precisely the reason to make pictures that DO make sense. Otherwise, how is the
world going to be helped? It needs music, it needs poetry, it needs dance. It needs paintings which can help it to
rise above its misery, its schizophrenia, its neurosis, its psychosis.
But Picasso himself is only a representative of the neurotic mind. Picasso became so famous for the simple
reason that he represented us very clearly.
The marriage broker introduced a really ugly girl to a young man. The victim protested that the lady had
misplaced eyes, a broken nose and a deformed face.
”Ah,” said the marriage broker, ”it is apparent that you do not like Picasso.”
Looking at Picasso’s paintings, have you not felt it? Everything is deformed, misplaced.
I have heard that a very rich lady wanted a portrait of herself done by Picasso. He agreed for a fantastic sum.
The lady was ready to pay. Six months he took to make the portrait.
When the portrait was ready, the lady looked at it and said, ”Everything is okay; I just don’t like the nose.
You will have to improve it.”
Picasso looked at the lady, then he looked at the painting and he said, ”It is impossible.”
The lady said, ”Why? I am ready to pay. If you want more money, I am ready to pay.”
Picasso said, ”It is not a question of money. I don’t know where the nose is.”
His paintings are nightmarish. And it is not only Picasso; Picasso simply symbolizes the whole of contemporary
art. He is the most representative modern artist. He is right, in a sense, because the world makes no sense.
The world has never made any sense, but there have been people who created such art that it helped people to
find some sense in a senseless world. And that finding of sense helps you tremendously to become centered.
”It is terrible to see men looking like girls, with long hair and all. You can’t tell the difference. I was sitting
in a restaurant when a girl came in. I turned to the person at the next table and said, ’Isn’t it terrible how girls
look like boys these days?’”
”That’s my son,” she said, pointing to the girl.
”Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were the mother.”
”I’m not,” the neighbor said indignantly. ”I’m the father!”
Things are topsy-turvy. Things are becoming more and more topsy-turvy. The world seems to be less a cosmos
now and more a chaos.
In the ancient philosophies, cosmology was one of the most important things to be discussed. Now there seems
to be no cosmos, no cosmology. The whole world seems to be in a chaos, as if all is accidental. Nothing seems to
be essential, intrinsically valuable; everything seems to be just happening as an accident. And this is reflected in
everything. It is reflected in art, it is reflected in science, it is reflected even in religion.
We need again a cosmology. I know the world is a chaos; that is a challenge for human consciousness to create
a cosmos out of it. It is a tremendously valuable opportunity to create a cosmos. Just to say that it is a chaos,
remain with it as it is, is to fall below human dignity; it is not accepting the challenge. It is really a great challenge
to change yourself and the world. It is a puzzle, but it is a puzzle only if you have already concluded that there
can be no meaning at all; otherwise it is a mystery, not a puzzle.
A mystery may not have any meaning, but it has significance. And there is a difference between meaning and
significance and significance is far more meaningful than meaning itself; significance is far more important. What
meaning is there in a roseflower? but significance certainly is there. Just think of a world without roses. It will
be a poor world; some significance will be lost. What significance is there when you hear the sound of running
water? Have you not felt some significance? Yes, meaning you cannot prove.