Kalaa

Etymology

In the definition Sadāshiva says - Kalaa means infusing your prana into anything is called Kalaa.

Scriptural References

The word ‘kalaa’ precisely is defined in Agama - Nada kalaa, Bindu, Bindu kalaa.

Art VS Kalaa

Q: What artists or what very creative people feel from others. There always a sort of a distance which sometimes grows very big and it comes to a point where there is isolation and you feel totally alone. Why does that happen?

Art - the way word develops its roots and develop, it expands into relating with others.

In Hindu tradition, concept of ‘kalaa’ is all about giving life to you.

If artists understand this context, “You are giving life to anything.” If you give life to a stone, it is called sculpture. If you give life to a paper, it is called painting. If you give life to your own body movements, it is called dance. If you give life to a cloth, it is embroidery. Anything in which you breathe your prana, if you give life to your verbalization, it is called oration. Anything you infuse prana, that becomes Kalaa.

If our orientation, the fundamental cognition moves from the idea of art to kalaa, we will not feel aloneness, we will not feel the loneliness, we know anything we only give life. Whenever we give life we are Shiva, whenever we ask for life we are Shava. All the ideas of art from the modern society, is all about award, reward, recognition, respect, reverence, appreciation, criticism. If our being constantly functions with the cognitions of what others are going to feel, we ourselves feel it is too much load, the other’s opinion and other’s ideas are too much load, better let us withdraw. That withdrawal becomes so deep, it becomes loneliness.

Fundamental cognition of an artist should be about ‘kalaa.’ I am infusing life to it, whether it’s a script or a thought current or a word or a canvas or a stone, in anything I breathe life, it becomes kalaa. To put it precisely, we need to more centered on the cognition than the appreciation or the results of the product. So we need to move from being an artist to kalaakara. Kalaa is you giving life to it.

If you give life to sound, you become musician. If you give life to visualization, you become a director. If you give life to your body language, you are a dancer. If you give life to your words you become poet. If you give life to the canvas, you become painter. If you give life to a stone, you become sculptor. You give life!!

That is why, all the 64 arts of Hindu traditions - all the 64 arts are dependent on the ability of you able to give prana to it. Nowhere, it can be given by relative reality, but in kalaa it is not. In kalaa, our ability to breathe life to it and I tell you, ultimately never ever great things achieved or great fulfillment experienced in relative existence based actions. This relative existence based actions are draining activities, it drains you, makes you powerless, even when you get praised, name and fame, award, reward, the relative existence is tiring.

More existential reality based person is cheerful, powerful, enjoying, breathing life into anything he touches or does. Kala is the solution for the problems of the art.

References

Ask the Avatar - Art v/s Kalaa, Beings of other Planets from Hindu Puranas, Future of India Revealed http://nithyananda.org/video/ask-avatar-meena-das-ned-narayan-art-vs-kalaa-beings-other-planets-hindu-puranas-future-indi-1#gsc.tab=0