Page:Bengal Vaishnavism - Bipin Chandra Pal.djvu/73

 CHAPTER III. Art in Bengal Vaishnavism. This concept Nilchilarasamritamurti or the eternal embodiment of all rasa-^ is the soul and essence of the Yaishnavic aesthetics of Bengal. Anandam or bliss or joy is the soul of all art. This anandam is the eternal quest of art, whether of painting or sculpture or architec- ture or poetry or music. A synonym for this anandam in Hindu thought and realisation is Rasa. The Absolute has been described in the Upanishad as Ba^. T’Bt I W. He is rasa. Thi'ough gaining this rasa all beings are possessed with anandam. Another text says that all creatures subsist on a particle of the anandam of Brahman or the Absolute. This rasa is, therefore, the soul and substance of all our enjoyment, whether material or sensuous or spiritual. And as the logic of all our enjoy- ments is the Absolute, the Absolute has been realised in our Yaishnavic experiences as the Eternal Embodiment of all rasa. He is Nikhilarasamritamurti.