Gouache

Small 19th Century Tantra Art displayed in a clear acrylic case. Gouache painting of an orange and yellow uncoiled snake (kundalini) rising from a body of water in a serene green landscape with blue skies and white clouds. Tantra has developed a system of thought which makes us see the universe as if it were within ourselves, and ourselves as if we were within the universe. Further the forces governing the cosmos on the macro-level are believed to govern the individual in the micro-level. According to tantra, the individual being and universal being are one. Thus all that exists in the universe must also exist in the individual body. One of our major limitations in discovering this essential unity between the microcosm and the macrocosm is that we are accustomed to analyze the world into its separate parts, with the result that we lose sight of those parts' inter-relationship and their underlying unity. The way to fulfillment is through recognition of our wholeness linking man and the universe. This hence is the broad aim of Tantra art, achieved through visual symbols and metaphors. Encompassing its whole pictorial range, Tantric imagery can be broadly grouped under three heads: - Geometrical representation of deities as Yantras - Representation of the Human Body as a Symbol of the Universe - Iconographic images Kundalini - a Sanskrit word that means “coiled snake.” It is believed that divine feminine/female energy was created at the base of the spine. It is energy we are born with, and Kundalini works to “uncoil the snake” and connect us to our divine essence. Yantra - a Sanskrit word that derives from the root 'yam' that means to sustain, or hold. In metaphysical terms a 'yantra' is visualized as receptacle of the highest spiritual essence.

H 14.25 in. x W 11.25 in. x D 1.25 in.

H 4 in. x W 6 in.