“the eye thinks even more than it listens” (Deleuze) I now remember that, before I began reading Deleuze, I had struggled with an aesthetics of process. I put together a 100-page manuscript with notes, quotations, sketches of structures. I wanted to move away from the idea that art consists of objects perceived in a particular way, because this produces two main strands of thought: 1.) What constitutes an object that we call art, and 2.) why is the perception of…
I am approaching Sanskrit very slowly. On Thursdays, Nishtha holds a seminar on the Rigveda. Reciting together in Sanskrit, the detailed analysis of the translation, Nishtha’s philological considerations and the explanations of the psychology of the gods open a way into these ‘sacred’ texts. I remember my study of Latin, the Indo-European roots, the sounds that reverberate in the ragas, phonetics as a declaration of existence, language as sound and vibration, communication as rhythm. The breath of life, yoga, vitality,…
They were four magical days. The Auroville Film Institute organized a residency with Ustad Bahauddin Dagar from November 7 to 10, 2022. It took place in Bhumika Hall, Bharat Nivas Auroville. Dhrupad – the film (1983) Ustad Bahauddin Dagar is a Rudraveena player. His family has played the instrument for 20 generations! His father and uncle (Zia Mohiyuddin Dagar and Fariduddin Dagar) were true masters. There is a wonderful film about this, Dhrupad, by the Indian director Mani Kaul. Among…
Yesterday I saw two millipedes mating. It was pretty much the most fascinating thing I have seen in a very long time. The creatures entwined themselves in one another, rubbed and courted one another; there was rhythm, devotion, engulfing. The two had met by chance, and after a few minutes moved on in different directions. An encounter. They were two forms of life that had united to beget further life. A Life – A Life Today I then reread Deleuze’s…
For three weeks now I have been reading in India: Deleuze, Upanishads, Sri Aurobindo. In between I sometimes meditate. The rest is still a remnant of everyday life in the New World. Reading the news, consuming entertainment media, organizing things that have no real significance here but need continuity so that they do not fall apart in old Europe and the New World. Reading, then… It seems to me that I have spent decades preparing to read here. My thinking…
Schopenhauer, who was a great admirer of the Upanishads, wrote a small book, “On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason” (1847). He identifies four forms of causality, for example, small cause—large effect, or large cause—small effect, and so on… This fascinated me because it offers a broader understanding than the purely scientific model, which ultimately always follows the law of conservation of energy. When someone declares a war, for example, that is a relatively simple act (small…
For some time I have been waiting. Actually, I like waiting. Waiting is a space and a time in which there is nothing else to do but wait for time to pass. Usually, you cannot do much else except read or talk, or think. Waiting times are therefore always free spaces for me. I especially like waiting in citizens’ service centers, for example; here, all people are equal. Together with others, I am in a space where there is nothing…
During meditation, I often watch my thinking, let thoughts come and go, and try to slow the thinking down. Thoughts come and go, and often I do not understand where they come from, and why at some point they are replaced by an entirely different thought. What chain of association is at work here? These chains of thought seem to be random, prompted by experiences that still resonate and are being processed further. This reminds me of a philosophical thought.…
