Fana Fillah
Dhaka, Bangladesh
2019
NOV 9 - DEC 7
There is no “I”, no permanent self or ego. The ego is an illusion created by the combination of mental and physical processes. Having explored the body and mind to the deepest level, one sees that there is no immutable core, no essence that remains independent of the process, nothing that is exempt from the law of impermanence. There is only an impersonal phenomenon, chang- ing beyond one’s control.
This exhibition is an expression of my deeper desire to find my root a journey to unravel the truth of the universe, from where have I come and to where would I go.
The dark night of the soul
Comes just before revelation
When everything is lost
And all seems dark
Comes the new life
And all that is needed.
Then I was enveloped by the divine lights
Until all of me became light and
A robe of honor was bestowed upon me.
The like of which
I had never seen.
“It is that activation of the water that demarks the world creation. And in that act of water, what we see are lights coming and going, coming and going- the ripples on the pond.
Those lights are ourselves and we think of ourselves as that light to be preserved: here I am; oh dear, no
I’m gone.”- Joseph Campbell
We are unaware of the incessant biochemical reactions occurring within each cell of the body. The seemingly solid body is composed of subatomic particles and empty space. These subatomic particles have no real solidity; the existence span of one of them is much less than a trillionth of a second.
The real Karma is the reaction of the mind. So long as conditioning remains in the mind we cannot be secured or be at peace. To remove this root cause of suffering to have lasting happiness and liberation, the method is the training of wisdom, panna, which leads one to enlightenment. True wisdom is the understanding of one’s own nature, an understanding achieved by direct experience of truth deep within oneself. You achieve Nirvana, by freeing your mind from all conditioning, you surrender, submit to the unknown, to the consciousness, with the truth, and you enjoy bliss. Freedom from the cycle of suffering, freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth, and unite with the One.
“We hear and we obey
We seek your forgiveness
Our Lord and to You
Is the final destination…”
-Surah Baqarah
The realization of the ephemeral nature of the self and the world is the key that opens the door to liberation.
Just as the lotus grows up from the darkness of the mud to the surface of the water, opening its blossom only after it has raised itself beyond the surface, and remaining unsullied from both earth and water, which nourished it- in the same way the mind, born in the human body, unfolds its true qualities (petals) after it has raised itself beyond the turbid floods of passions and ignorance, and transforms the dark powers of the depths into the radiantly pure nectar of Enlightenment-consciousness (bodhi-chitta), the incomparable jewel (mani) in the lotus-blossom (padma).
Om Mani Padma Hum.
