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F.S.: There is no need to develop it. Man can be saved by faith alone. But it is evident that a very
pious or contemplative person has more intuition than a worldly person.
II. Art
Q. : May I ask you what the role of art is in the spiritual existence of man?
F.S.: We could say that after morals, art — in the broadest sense of the word — is a natural and
necessary dimension of the human condition. Plato said: “Beauty is the splendor of the true.” So
let us say that art — including crafts — is a projection of truth and beauty in the world of forms; it
is ipso facto a projection of archetypes. And it is essentially an exteriorization in view of an
interiorization; art does not mean dispersion, it means concentration, a way back to God. Every
traditional civilization has created a framework of beauty: a natural, ecologically necessary
surrounding for spiritual life.
Q. : What are the criteria for knowing the worth of a work of art, its level of inspiration?
F.S.: The archetypes of sacred art are celestial inspirations; all other artworks draw their
inspiration from the spiritual personality of the artist. The criteria for knowing the worth of a work
of art are: the content of the work, its mode of expression and its technique, its style.
Q. : Are the criteria different for various types of art: painting, sculpture, dance, music, poetry,
architecture?
F.S.: No, the criteria are not different for various types of art.
Q. : With beauty, there is what one might call an ambiguous element, since it can be conducive to
a worldly self inflatedness or on the contrary to a remembrance of the Divine. What is it about
certain arts — music, poetry and dance, for example — that makes the ambiguous element more
pronounced in them?
F.S.: Painting and sculpture are in a way more cerebral and objective than poetry, music and
dance, which are more psychic and subjective; therefore the ambiguous element is more
pronounced in these three arts.
Q. : Could one say that the Hindu notion of darshan has an application in experiencing art and
beauty?
F.S.: Of course, the Hindu notion of darshan applies to any esthetic or artistic experience; but in
this case it also involves mental and auditive perceptions, not only vision.
Q. : Could one say that there is a natural link between beauty in the broadest sense and
esoterism?
F.S.: Yes, there is a link between beauty and esoterism, because “Beauty is the splendor of the
True.” Traditional art is esoteric, not exoteric. Exoterism is interested in morals, not in beauty; it
even happens that exoterism can be opposed to beauty because of a moralistic prejudice.
Q. : Would it be legitimate to say that esoterism has certain rights in regard to art and beauty
which transcend the limits and prohibitions laid down by the various exoterisms?
F.S.: In principle, esoterism has certain rights which transcend the prohibitions of exoterism, but
in fact, esoterism can rarely make use of these rights. Nonetheless, it has occurred, for example, in
the case of dervish dances or of apparently shameless Tibetan paintings.
Q. : Besides the “fine arts,” there are–in Japan, for example–the art of flower arranging, the tea
ceremony, even the martial arts, which are (or were originally) recognized as manifestations of a
spiritual nature. How does it come about that an activity as “everyday” as preparing tea can
become the vehicle of a spiritual barakah (grace)?
F.S.: The Zen arts — like the Tea Ceremony — crystallize certain manners of acting of the
Buddha, or let us say: of Primordial Man; now the Buddha never handled a sword, but if he had,
he would have done so like a Zen Master. Acting like the Buddha — even at such a level as
preparing tea — means: to assimilate something of the Buddha-Nature; it is an open door to
Enlightenment.
Q. : Modern art is not traditional. Does this mean that a modern artwork is necessarily bad?