Stories of Breath & Death, the Dying & Dead, and Beyond

by azimvth, posted in Creative Writing, Festivals, Mantra, Meditation, Online courses, Performance Art, Photography, Studio, Virtual residency, Writing creatively, Yoga

“Armoured, protected by their lethal masks,
As in a studio of creative Death
The giant sons of Darkness sit and plan
The drama of the earth, their tragic stage.”

SUMMARY

This fortnight of virtual art residency delves into the mysteries of death and after-life. For 5 days of the week, participants are engaged online with live sessions for two hours. There are 3 components. With the first component, participants learn and practice the guided meditation technique ‘Ritual of Breathwork’. The second component comprises of stories and discourses curated and translated directly from the ancient Sanskrit scriptures. The third component comprises of analysis and discussion on specific works of visual art, performing art etc. relevant to the topic. Visual artists, writers, and all creatives will use these three muses to reflect upon life & death and create new art projects. Every 7th day, participants share their creations of the week amongst themselves and with the invited guests.

DATES

01 September to 28 September 2020: Although the residency will continue for four weeks, a participant can apply for any one or two weeks out of the four.

  • Week 1: 01 to 07 September 2020
  • Week 2: 08 to 14 September 2020
  • Week 3: 15 to 21 September 2020
  • Week 4: 22 to 28 September 2020

FOR

  • Painters
  • Visual artists
  • Story-tellers
  • Writers
  • Performing artists
  • Any kind of creative person
  • Spiritualists

FEATURES

  • Each week is a complete module in itself. The module repeats itself with newer themes and enhancements.
  • One may apply to join only for one of the four weeks or for two weeks
  • Each session has no more than 9 participants.
  • Each day there are 3 sessions, with total time duration of 2 hours
  • First 5 days there are unique lessons and practice each day
  • Saturday / 6th day is for self-review and consolidation and learning
  • Sunday / 7th day is for closing of the week and sharing and discussing week’s creations along with an abridged meditation.
  • Each accepted participant can invite up to 2 guests, entirely complimentary, for the week-end meditation and sharing session.

SUNDAY SHARING

An example of a Sunday Sharing session of participants of another AZIMVTH virtual residency can be seen below. More information is available here and here.

BENEFITS

  • Avail of unique opportunity to boost creativity powered by meditation
  • Carry back a tool of meditation that will keep giving life-long.
  • Avail of unique opportunity to boost meditation supported with creativity
  • Participation with online exhibition
  • A participants’ creations accomplished during the residency are made available for sale (if the participant desires so) via the AZIMVTH website with 100% of the sale proceeds going directly to her; no commission is retained by AZIMVTH.
  • Each participant receives an artistic digital certificate of participation.
  • A participant who successfully completes a residency receives the title of ‘AZIMVTH Fellow’.

MEDITATION – RITUAL OF BREATHWORK

This virtual residency is powered with the guided meditation of ‘Ritual of Breathwork’ developed at AZIMVTH. An emphasis is on equipping the participants with a meditation technique that they can learn and carry back so that it can be used by them life-long. The technique involves generating vital prana, the joyous energy that makes a person productive and content. And distributing the prana across the whole body. And sharing it with the Universe. More information is here.

STORIES

WEEK 1 / 3

  1. Of Death – I
  2. Miseries of the Sinful in this World and the Other
  3. Kinds of Sins which lead to Hell
  4. Signs of Sins
  5. Birth of the Sinful
  6. Gifts for the Dying
  7. Rites for the Dying

WEEK 2 / 4

  1. Of Death – II
  2. Bones from the Fire
  3. Ten-Days’ Ceremonies and the Eleventh-day Rite
  4. Ceremony for all the Ancestors
  5. City of the King of Justice
  6. Coming to Birth of People Who Have Done Good
  7. Law for Liberation

ART DISCUSSION

The third component of the virtual residency is a discussion on arts relevant to the topic. Art-works could be in the form of paintings, other forms of visual arts, music, performing arts, writing etc. These are curated based upon the profiles of the participants. An example of such a discussion, from another AZIMVTH virtual residency is given below.

CONTEXT OF AZIMVTH AND HARIDWAR

The genealogy records of families of north India are maintained by hundreds of hereditary priests only in Haridwar. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Utah, USA maintains a digital database. When people come to Haridwar to immerse the ashes after cremation or during Shraadh, they visit their respective priests for updating their details.

During October 2015, the family of Sylvestor Stallone visited Haridwar to conduct special prayers for a departed family-member. The Narayani Shila Temple at Haridwar is the special temple where people come to pray for the deceased, especially during Shraadh, the fortnight of the deceased. Following is a video on that visit.

During October 2018, on his birthday, Will Smith (Aladdin, Men in Black, etc.), a popular Hollywood actor came to Haridwar to pray at the Mrityunjay Temple, the place where Lord Shiva stayed during the betrothal to Parvati. A video of the occasion can be seen below.

More about the context of AZIMVTH Ashram and Haridwar can be read here.

The ancient wisdom and momentum of thousands of years make this AZIMVTH virtual programme truly a life-changing opportunity.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DATES

The period of 2nd September 2020 (full Moon night) to 17th September 2020 (no moon night) is known as Pitripaksh or Shraadh, the annual fortnight of ancestors and the deceased. There is a specific phase of the Moon (ranging from full Moon to no Moon) associated with each day of a year. The deceased person is remembered and prayed for on that specific day during this fortnight. For example, if a person passed away on the day 2 days after full Moon, then remembrance will be held on 4th September 2020. If one knows the date of death, time of death, and location of death, then we can generate the specific date of remembrance. For more on this, please visit the Astrology section here.

APPLICATION FORM