Is There Anything Spiritual About Works of Art?

Is There Anything Spiritual About Great Works of Art?A question I received: In a previous blog entry you wrote, “Everything relating to the body’s desires (such as food, sex, and family) that exceeds the normal needs, is superfluous. Hence it is harmful for the body and the soul, as well as for all of the surrounding nature, and it makes man imbalanced with nature. These excesses usually appear under the influence of society. Besides the bodily desires, there are additional desires that emerge in man because he lives in society. If he lived alone in the woods, then these desires would never emerge in him. There are the desires for wealth, fame, power, and knowledge.”

But what about man’s desire for beauty and the arts? Is spending time on the arts also harmful? And if there is nothing spiritual in this world, then how do you explain the masterpieces of art?

My Answer: Everything man creates in our world comes from his desires, whether physical (food, sex, and family) or social (wealth, glory, power, and knowledge). All art was brought about by man’s desire to express himself, or in other words, by the desire for glory, to stand out, to prove something (even if it’s to himself), to express his way of seeing things, and so on.

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3 Comments

  1. Shalom Rav Laitman,

    Do you play an musical instrument? Do you play only if you are certain that your intention is “bestowell” as opposed to self interest. ?
    What happens if you detect thought’s of pride at your magnificence, while playing your music? do you stop intentaniously? Drop it like a hot potato?
    Is cultivation of musical prowess sanctioned by your teaching?

  2. Last week, I went to the theater and saw a piece from Gorki, the russian writer. He mentionned in it (nearly a century ago then) that there were too many opinions and not enough desires expressed on this earth. In this regard, we need more art.
    Personaly, I have always thought that art was the expression of what could not be expressed in an other way. Something that makes us feel nearer from our creator (wether we create ourselves or look at it, hear, read, feel it). That would my definition of art. 

  3. “All art was brought about by man’s desire to express himself, or in other words, by the desire for glory, to stand out, to prove something (even if it’s to himself), to express his way of seeing things, and so on”

    so it is matter of arts all these books, holy texts, dead sea scrolls,holy structures etc? i was drown to the idea of arts out of blue at the start..but since this weekend i am not sure. i think it is really not something for moralists

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