Culture Brokers

Not sure where this comes from, but I concurr!

Brokers, if adept, also transform values from one domain to another. [. . .] Culture brokers empirically and interpretatively study the culture to be represented, arrive at models of understanding, develop a particular form of representation from a repertoire of genres, and bring audiences and culture bearers together so that cultural meanings can be translated and even negotiated. If the process is effectively executed, the culture broker can facilitate participatory cultural transformation and change—both between and within culture groups. (3)

An image speaks a thousand words – exactly one thousand words

The logo of Akasha Arts is pregnant with deep meaning,  one which speaks to the challenge of our times. It was initially inspired by the description of a enlightened rebel contained in a book by a great spiritual visionary, Osho, in his book “The Rebel”:

“The rebel is a spiritual phenomenon. His approach is absolutely individual. His vision is that if we want to change the society, we have to change the individual. Society in itself does not exist; it is only a word, like ‘crowd’, but if you go to find it, you will not find it anywhere. Wherever you will encounter someone, you will encounter an individual. Society is only a collective name, just a name, not a reality – with no substance. The individual has a soul, has a possibility of evolution, of change, of transformation. Hence the difference is tremendous.

The rebel is the very essence of religion. He brings into the world a change of consciousness – and if the consciousness changes, then the structure of the society is bound to follow it. But vice versa is not right – and it has been proved by all the revolutions, because they have all failed.

No revolution has yet succeeded in changing man; but it seems man is not aware of the fact. He still goes on thinking in terms of revolution, of changing society, of changing the government, of changing the bureaucracy, of changing laws, political systems. Feudalism, capitalism, communism, socialism, fascism – they are all in their own way revolutionary. They all have failed, and failed utterly, because man has remained the same.

A Gautama Buddha, a Zarathustra, a Jesus – these people are rebels. Their trust is in the individual. They have not succeeded either, but their failure is totally different than the failure of the revolutionary. Revolutionaries have tried their methodology in many countries, in many ways, and have failed. But a Gautama Buddha has not succeeded because he has not been tried. A Jesus has not succeeded because Jews crucified him and Christians buried him. He has not been tried – he has not been given a chance. The rebel is still an unexperimented dimension.”

Osho then goes on to depict his vision of the rebel of the future, whom he describes as a  synthesis of two historical characters- Zorba the Greek and Gautama Buddha – and aptly names this rebel “Zorba the Buddha”.

Zorba represents the individual who is unconstrained by social norms, who freely expresses his spirit without concern for the judgments and expectations of others. He dances to his own song, living life passionately without holding onto the past or projecting into the future. Buddha, on the other hand, represents the incisive and cool awareness of the enlightened mind. He embodies mindfulness through right thought, right speech, right deeds, right livelihood. His life is attuned to the dharma of both heaven and earth, perceiving the interdependence of life and living this truth in its totality.

While Zorba is wild, he lacks the bhuddic quality of mind necessary to channel this energy so that it attunes with universal law. While Buddha is the epitome of mindfulness and compassion, he does not celebrate existence with the passion and vitality of Zorba. This is in no way a criticism of these two dynamic individuals, but rather an attempt to assess their greatest qualities and imagine how a synthesis of the two would appear.

This inspiring vision is meant as a challenge to those of us who seek to consistently take action in the world with an enlightened awareness. It is a clarion call to spiritual arms, to a true rebelliousness that can only stem from the total emancipation of the individual from the constrains of social systems that have been built from an unenlightened consciousness.

Our logo is a metaphor for the spirit of the rebel. The eye is a common symbol for Gautama Buddha, signifying the ability to see beyond the veils of illusion and perceive the truth with a clarity that gives rise to compassion. The pupil is the image of the earth, that treasure-bearing resting place which sustains our lives. When Gautama Buddha was on the verge of enlightenment, Maya, the goddess of illusion, used every trick in the book in an attempt to sway him from attaining the ultimate realization. After all her attempts met with failure, her last resort was to challenge Gautama to provide a witness that could attest to his right to know the supreme truth – a goal sought after by countless souls yet privileged to so few. Gautama formed what is known as the “earth-witness” mudra, with which he summoned the earth goddess as his witness, banishing Maya and entering into the state of nirvana.

If the earth is our witness, then we must protect her and honour her in all that we do. The phoenix underneath the eye is a symbol of renewal, rebirth and regeneration. It represents our ability to be a force for renewal in face of defunct and decrepit social, economic and political systems that are causing the destruction of the planet and eroding the nobility of the human spirit. As these systems decay, the phoenix rises from the ashes and gives birth to new possibilities. Only this time these new possibilities are born from a mind that is fertile with universal understanding of the our place and purpose in the cosmos, fearless yet filled with compassion.

The unhindered artist has the greatest possibility for embodying the rebellious spirit. By virtue of their attempt to define themselves outside of the confining labels of society, and seeking truth through the creative essence that knows no boundaries, they create their paths as they walk them. When we do this we all become artists in our own unique way, and this is crucial to the vision of Akasha Arts; to empower the rebels who change the world through living creatively by bringing them together in spirit of service, recognition, meditation, regeneration, and celebration.

Artists Uprising

I read this text from the Artists Uprising section of the website www.awakeningasone.com. It mirrors some of the underlying beliefs of the Akasha Arts Collective. While we can, and will formulate similarly inspiring viewpoints on the role of artists in the transformation of collective consciousness (for what else is a paradigm shift), we will also share the views of fellow brothers and sisters in this movement. One voice, many messages.

In our current system where 95% of the world’s most creative minds are hired to dull the imaginations of the rest of the population we feel that it is the artists’ responsibility to turn their skills to the service, of humanity by helping the world imagine new possibilities for a harmonious existence.

For, it is through unity and imagination that the new world will be born. Throughout history, all human-driven change has begun with imagination: with an idea. That idea grows and takes shape until it becomes intention, and the more minds that support that intention, the greater the possibility is that it will become reality. How could we ever hope to change the world if only one person on the planet could imagine World Peace? Or how might we change the world if everyone on the planet shared the same dream?

Thus, we put the call out to all artists who hold the vision for a more harmonious existence, asking them to combine their skills to inspire the people to unite; to realize the three essential truths of our times; and to see that a new way IS possible.

3 Essential Truths

1. WE, in living for self-gain (more wealth, more prestige, & more pleasure) are the only engines driving our current system; and therefore WE hold the power to stop it.
2. Our current system of self-service is unsustainable, and is leading us on a path of inevitable destruction.
3. The only way to divert our current course is to unite, and thereby lend each other the necessary support and resources to step away from the present self-destructive system.

Raga Unveiled

Agnite, our event on July 9th 2010, will be featuring two phenomenal classical Indian musicians – Juno Award Nominee Salil Bhatt, and tabla virtuoso Cassius Khan. The art form they have spent their lives mastering has a rich and complex extending thousands of years. An excellent documentary of Classical Indian music, called Raga Unveiled, will provide the interested viewer with an excellent understanding of this musical tradition. Below is an excerpt from their website, and a trailer video for the film.

About Raga Unveiled

India, unlike any other country in the world, boasts of cradling an art music that has been sifted and refined over 4000 years. With the even flow of evolution and an unshakeable support of theory, raga music is at once vibrant, mesmeric and sublime to this day. At its core is an ambition to profoundly change the performer and the listener at the deepest level. Nothing more nothing less!

Raga Unveiled is a most inspiring and sweeping look at the entire “ architectural brilliance” of a musical system that gave birth to this most wonderful and profound musical art form. For the first time on film, eloquent commentaries by musicians, Vedic scholars, and musicologists join hands with spectacular cinematography, intoxicating spectrums of sound, and rare archival footage resulting in a grand synthesis to honor this music in its entirety.

Raga Unveiled inspires, moves and transports one to a place that you never imagined existed. It is a spiritual engagement second to none!

website: www.ragaunveiled.com

Our story begins

Every great act of creation begins with a vision from the ether-a glimpse into another dimension – and the doer then translates this vision into the world of form. Akasha Arts is born from a vision that is continually flowing, responding like a living entity to the interactions that are determining its scope and direction.  Two principles are kept in mind during the process:

1) That the greatest acts are those when the “doer” is removed, and only the source is at play in the self-realization of its manifest destiny.

2) Great art moves from complexity to simplicity. What may seem like an act of great complexity on the behalf of a virtuoso, is ultimately the reflection of a process of refining their expression to its essence.

and then, a third one from a somewhat cooky uncle in India, which echoes the first one:

“Man proposes, God disposes”

(the word God can be replaced with any word that resonates with your own belief system…. was never too sure about how he viewed the subject, suffice to say that he has contemplated the subject for sometime, and remains as mystified as us all)

So Akasha grows while facing the conundrum of setting goals, expounding philosophies and creating structures while letting go of the results. It is easier to face this challenge and resolve the conflict through inaction. In light of the global situation, however, it is clear that this is not the way; the world now appears to be going through a transformation previously unknown to our recorded history.

Both the darkness and the light are polarizing intensively, forcing an examination of our own shadows, our purpose, and our origins with an ardour that it is causing a re-patterning of human consciousness. Akasha Arts is born out of the belief that artists are the translators of the unseen world – they can glimpse behind the curtain of space and time and draw upon creative essence of life. This is their gift, and like all gifts, it is most fulfilling when shared. Our goal is to create opportunities for these gifts to be given and received in the most passionate, pure, and honorable way possible; a way that transforms our perceptions so that we see each other as deeply interconnected, and allows us to bask in the creative essence of All That Is.

Our collective vision is now seeing the task before us, and is deciding to act so that it cannot be said nothing was done. In the end however, all that may be required of us is that we commit to a path that resonates with our deepest yearnings- our most essential values – even if we can’t envision the end result. For it is said that when we do finally commit, the universe will conspire to help us succeed.

“‘But when I said that nothing had been done I erred in one important matter. We had definitely committed ourselves and were halfway out of our ruts. We had put down our passage money–booked a sailing to Bombay. This may sound too simple, but is great in consequence. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!’”

W. H. Murray in The Scottish Himalaya Expedition, 1951

Philosophy

“Any revolution without dancing is a revolution not worth having” – Emma Goodman

Akasha Arts seeks to bind the sacred web of tradition and modernity through the arts. Viewing art as a form of action in the world, Akasha creates events and performances that empower others to live a more holistic, inspired lifestyle while also making a positive difference to those around them.

Having grown out of a community of like-minded performers of shared taste and spirit, Akasha events will create a tangible sense of community that fills a void of connection that pervades western society; Our shows and events provide an experience that is both expansive and deeply fulfilling.

The objective is to translate spirit into action in a way that empowers participants as actual agents of change. Through cultural celebrations that bridge traditional and modern art forms, and local non-profit organizations with the public, our personal dreams merge with our collective aspirations. Each event supports a charitable cause, draws awareness to an environmental issue, and encourages connection to our spirits. By attending events that honor people, planet, and universal mystery, a sense of rel-igio, of feeling reconnected with what truly matters, is woven throughout the evening.

Goals and Inspiration

• To support local organizations through regular fundraising events that foster a sense of community and spiritual connection.

“Doing good to others is the highest form of religion” – Swami Sivananda

• To support local musicians and dancers who create art that moves, motivates and inspires.

“Art washes the soul of the dust of everyday life” – Pablo Picasso

• To create awareness of a spiritual, social and/or environmental concerns facing the world today, and create pathways for participation into groups that are catalysts for change

“Changing mass consciousness is an individual responsibility” – Dennis Weaver

We hope to see you at an Akasha event, and look forward to co-creating a powerful experience that empowers us on the path to, in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, ” be the change we wish to see in the world.”