Originally posted by: Zoya56
Doesn’t entertainers hold a very dignified position in Hinduism . Like there are Gods and Goddesses assigned like Saraswati Ji for everything art and music related. We even have kaamdev and Rati for that sensual love depiction. Lord shiv Natraj form is the higher deity for all dancers. Radha Krishna Rasleela is the divine combination of music and dance. Krishna himself plays flute a musical instrument and mesmerizes the world.Shiv Sati love story has the grey father daksh in it who opposes their union just like we see in most love stories in bollywood and indian television. The most pure emotions of all that is bhakti can also be carried out through music. Hinduism doesn't restrict entertainment or forms of it or look down upon it like some Abrahamic religions.
I am not able to properly weave my words but I hope you got the gist of what I want to say. Would love to hear your opinion on this aspect.
Art and entertainment are two different things.
When entertainers perform they do so for money, for fame, for accolades and adulation; for recognition.
Art is divine. When Maa Saraswati plays the Veena, her music creates the sounds that fill the universe with the sounds we hear - from the birds that make all sorts of sounds to the roaring sounds of waves crashing against rocks and moving through seas and oceans, from the buzz of bees to the pleasant sound of a waterfall rushing through the slopes that is pleasing to the ears. When she sings, it’s to illustrate how our voices can be used for more than mere conversations or screaming or shouting or anything else mundane; because when she sings it’s about evoking emotions that range from joy to devotion, from the love of a mother for her children to the power of a woman whose mere voice can have the power to transcend you across realms. Think about the female singer you love the most, maybe Lata Mangeshkarji, could be Alka Yagnik, could be Shreya Ghoshal or anyone else; now think about that one song of theirs that you could listen to forever, that you love so much that you can hear it on a loop and think about how it makes you feel… that feeling is where Saraswati Maa resides. That joy or contentment or even sadness or heartbreak, because as divine mother she’s always with you regardless of what you feel and she understands every single kind of emotion that you can feel whether you choose to give it voice through words, depict it via a brush on a canvas or play an instrument where your feelings are as plain as can be without words or colours and yet just as beautiful and powerful as what the eye can see or the tongue can express without using either.
When Mahadev dances, he expresses himself through a medium in which words cannot convey the depth and magnitude of his emotions. It could be pure bliss or even complete and utter rage. So he performs his Nritya - one that is about his bliss has a domino effect on the world as his joy echoes throughout the whole universe, everything becomes glorious and all forms of life everywhere are blessed with all kinds of abundance and happiness as Mahadev’s joy spreads throughout everything that exists and it too dances with joy. When he does this Nritya in rage - it’s Pralaya. The end of everything. Just as his joy couldn’t be contained and spread everywhere, so does his rage. Just as his bliss transforms everything for the better and everyone is blessed, life blooms… his rage leads to the end of everything… and eventually the rebirth of everything because everything is cyclical. The world keeps on having rebirth just as our souls do, again and again. Maybe we have had this conversation a million times before and will do so a million times again.
When Krishna plays his flute and performs Raas Leela, he’s granting the yogis who have been reborn as Gopis their deepest desires and fulfilling the boon he gave them. These Gopis dance to his tunes as they forget everything, including their own names, any fatigue that their bodies may feel after dancing for hours or days on end, any kind of discomfort that their backs may experience, any kind of cramp or injury that they might might have suffered on their legs and feet, as all they feel is Krishna, all they have is Krishna, all they know and think of is Krishna. He’s taken them to a place where they have him, the Supreme Divine, and they know that they are in his abode, they are welcomed, they are loved and belong there. That there could be no greater feeling than this. That’s not dance, that’s the highest manifestation of divine accepting their Bhakti and telling them, you’re mine and I love you with all that I am, so know you’re not different than me, you’re a part of me, you are me and I am you - we’re both one and the same.
So there’s a huge difference between the divine and the mortal essentially deploying the same skill set. Which musician in the world can think of a sound that Maa Saraswati hasn’t created? Which dancer’s performance can both create and destroy worlds? Which musician can provide you moksh or salvation?
We may not believe in the existence of a Supreme Divine Power or we may believe in it and call it with whichever name we choose or have been taught, one that inspires our faith - but we cannot deny that there’s beauty in the nature that we are not capable of creating be it from the beauty of a peacock’s vibrant feathers to the sound of a nightingale singing or the smells of flowers or the sight of a rainbow after a heavy rainfall. What would you call these if not art?
Now tell me, are we paying the Divine in any form to bless us with the colours that please us when we look upon a flower, for the smell of a lovingly prepared meal, the sounds of birds chirping early in the morning? Nope, but we still get all of them, and if we are lucky enough, we appreciate and enjoy them, if we are grateful enough, we nurture and take care of them.
We maybe atheists or upset or angry with the Divine and yet we are not denied these things, nor are we charged with, nor is any recognition or award or praise or accolade required from our end to please the Divine. After all, what can we even give to that Almighty except our devotion and love?
Now tell me, which performer - regardless of the kind of performance that they are into - will survive on devotion and love alone? Will not seek, hope, want and desire fame, money, awards, accolades and acclaim?
Tell me if there’s any mortal out there who doesn’t feel envy, contempt and hatred for a rival or even a mere competitor or a colleague who might be doing better?
An entertainer can betray a person, a society or even a whole nation; the reasons for the same can vary from person to person, but will the Divine ever betray you?
Ergo, there’s a difference between Art and Performers. Between the Almighty be it as Maa Saraswati or Mahadev or Krishna singing or dancing or playing an instrument for a higher purpose and a mortal doing the same for well… earthly desires and dreams.
Bhabhi Ji Ghar Pe Hain?
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