Happiness and creativity
 The great British writer Christopher Isherwood, who was trained in
Vedanta philosophy in Inaida, was once interviewed by a young journalist
as to his views on the classification of literary creations to various
genres. Isherwood firmly declared that all creative works should in the
oriental sense of the term emanate a sense of bliss or happiness.
This is nothing but ananda or chamatkara as pointed out by the great
rhetoricians like Anandawardhana and Abhinava Gupta. They were also
classed as a group of rhetoricians who broadly used the term rasa
denoting various forms of aesthetic sense. At the time when I was
reading Isherwood I did not feel the depth of his statement.
But since adhering to some of the oriental modes of understanding
literary works with reference to poetry and forms narratives, beginning
from the simplest tale to the gigantic novels, I felt that the most
sincere way to grasp the inner meanings and experiences embedded is to
know one’s own inner flowering as caused by the effect of reading them.
I felt this effect on reading 108 tales of Venerable Ajahn Brahmavanso,
who has collected them into a single volume with the title Opening the
Door of Your Heart with a sub title And Other Buddhist Tales of
Happiness (first published in 2004).
From a broad perspective of creativity, the Ajahn may not have had
the inner urge to bring out a collection of tales from the literary
classification point of view. He may not have even written them in the
conventional sense of a writer. But they are a collection of tales gone
into his sermons. I had the chance of listening to one of his sermons
delivered in Colombo a few months ago.
What do we expect from a creative work like a poem or a story, or any
other form of narrative? Is it not he delight or happiness in the
process that is expected? We come across such a delight in the
conventional folktale about which quite a lot had been written and
studied. The folktale creator may not have thought that he is expressing
a sense of delight.
As once pointed out by the poet Robert Frost poetry should begin by
delight and end in wisdom. I once translated the statement as anandayen
pragnavata. Most of my well wishers felt that I have scribbled a
statement from a Sanskirt rhetorician like Anandawardhana. But how true
and sensible is Forst? He was not an orientalist. But the two creators
Isherwood and Frost have found a better way for the understanding (not
really appreciating) a creative work in its full sense.
Coming on to the tales of Ajahn Brahmavanso, I felt that there is a
universality in most of them. The geographical barriers are lifted. The
racial barriers are lifted. A little girl feeds a poisonous snake,
obtaining a saucer of milk from her mother. The mother she sees the
danger, and informs the father of the child about it. The father takes
out the gun and shoots the snake.
The terrific shock of killing and the agony caused leaves the child
sick for some time and she dies eventually. The happiness of the child
is lost. The happiness of the father on killing too disappears. The two
sides of inner happiness are not only questioned but also challenged.
What is happiness for one person may not be the same in the case of
yet another person. But happiness remains as the constant factor. We
turn unhappy due to various trivialities. But we never question as to
how it occurred.
As is often recorded all the world is searching for joy and
happiness. But these cannot be purchased for any price in any market
place, because they are virtues that come from within. Most of the tales
of Ajahn Brahmavanso could be read several times.
I am happy to note that Sinhala translation too have appeared
recently. The tales are translated by L B W Senevriatne titled as Oba
Hadavate Dora Vivara Kirima. This collection of tales had gone into
three prints (2006, 2008 and 2010). This is clear evidence that there is
a silent majority of readers who silently engage themselves in an inner
bliss. I too rediscovered that there is a gradual Dhamma culture growing
amid us hand in hand with the aforesaid silent majority of readers.
Perhaps this is a turning point towards a better discourse in
creative communication.
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