Painting of Babaji with Mataji Gitanjali

        We have organized a very special seminar. 

Mataji Gitanjali had prepared the participants of the painting  seminar to help her with the wallpainting in the Babaji Cave. 

         On the following day they had painted a portrait of Babaji. 

Creative Day in the Atelier of SPN

Last weekend we had a very interesting painting course whith the goal of painting Babaji.

(see next report in the Art Blog). For the course our artist Mataji Gitangali came from Portugal.

Mataji Gitanjali by drawing

During her stay most of our artist gathered in the atelier to discuss upcoming art projects and we used the time also to paint together.

We had experienced an unique silence and unity and we all felt a great blessing during these days.

Mataji Uma by painting

It is always nice to feel the creative force to create something new and express spirituality and beauty through art work.

Jaahnvi by painting an icon of the Holy Mother

Drawing Icon

„If you feel you have painted a specific angel, then you can give it a name …”

Uma tells her story:

I thoroughly planned both of my last two stays in Prague. That is to say, I wanted to make use of my time there, in order to take lessons with an icon painter who has extensive experience in classical Byzantine painting techniques.

One never stops learning, and this technique in particular, the secrets of which I so much wanted to discover, can only be acquired at specific places, for example a Greek monastery, but I have never been offered that opportunity.

It was a wonderful experience to apply this technique in an atmosphere of tranquility and concentration and to let appear, step by step, an angel on a carefully prepared piece of wood, looking at me with peaceful eyes, while its head is aglow in a golden halo.

It has always been my wish to be able to gold-plate this area competently and to establish the incarnate parts (areas of skin) with egg tempera according to traditional instructions, and this is how that wish was fulfilled.

It is always exciting to take part in further education and thereby enrich one’s own skills. And it is a gift to be able to receive this ancient knowledge that has been well preserved and handed down to this day and age.

From my photo documentation, I would like to present some stages of my work.

I would like to thank Mrs Eleonora Vlkova for her willingness to share her knowledge with me. When I asked her, if the angel has a name, I received this answer:

This angel is just an angel, so it does not have a name. But if you feel you have painted a specific angel, then you can give it a name …

Krishna painting seminar

During the days of the Bhagavad Gita seminar with Swami Vishwananda we offered a Krishna painting seminar in the Bhakti Marga Art atelier.

 This mervellous Krishna energy , that was felt in SPN, inspired and supported the group, which was paint of the creativ work.

Our youngest "artist" Sophia and also other members, were very pleased with this work and showed lot of endurance.

We will repeat this offer in the future.

Another Photo...

An amazing lecture about painting

I would like to share a little event in the chapel, which was 

happening some years ago.

While I was meditating in the chapel, Swamiji entered the room 

with a group of italien people. He introduced them into the icons

 hanging in the secret space behind the curtain .

Suddenly he pointed on the icon above – one of the icons I painted 

for him - and said in an exciting mood: „Look ! I have painted this 

icon!“ and then, like an actor he was pointing on all the other icons 

of mine, hanging in the chapel – repeating: “Look I also painted 

this and this and that icon!“

First I was somehow irritated, but quickly I realized in my next 

thought :Yes- it is true! It is HIM who is painting through me! I am 

HIS instrument!“

Immediately he came to me and caressed my face tenderly, 

showing to me that I have got it.

It was an expression – going hand in hand with my feelings while 

painting and falling into deep concentration – through HIM.

Sita

Bhakti Marga Art / Restoration area

                                         

To the creative work within BM Art belongs also the restoration of historic holy figures and sacral objects.

Here you see a picture report about the restoration of a Jesus-statue before, during and after the restoration. This statue will find its way back to its original place in our church.

PRESENTATION OF THE ICON PAINTING IN SPN/ATELIER

During the visit of a large group of Polish devotees we had also the opportunity to present the art work of Bhakti Marga Art to them. 

There was a great interest in this and all seats in the atelier were occupied. With great joy also three children participated at this short workshop.

The visitors drew an icon and the basic techniques of icon-painting were presented.

Before, the different styles of this religious painting were explained with examples of icons in our church.

Here you will see some photos of this workshop.

Intuitiv Painting Seminar

In this Seminar you learn to find you individual expression in painting. It is an inner journey where you express your own imagery through creativity. 

The first step of the course will consist of learning fundamental technique of painting by doing drawing and form exercises.The second step will be expressing inner pictures though concrete artistic exercices. In this contemplative work it is very important to experience the inner stillness out of which we become creatively active.

Exercices include:

Short relaxation and meditation with music, drawings, graphics, free painting exercises, working with structures, mandala, nature painting, painting of a motive according to inner inspiration.

Techniques include:
painting techniques, theoryof colours and mixing colours.
Paint strokes and forms with gouache colours, different painting techniques, theury of colours.

Date: June 27-29th 2014

Contakt:
jaahnvi@bhaktimarga.org

Phon:0049/178 3204 827

A cloud of rose fragrance

Uma writes:

                                

One day, shortly before the chapel in Steffenshof was inaugurated, I was there painting when Guruji stepped in. I was a bit under time pressure because I had to drive home soon. Therefore I asked Swamiji if I could continue with my work, despite the fact that in some minutes the evening prayer would begin in the temple. “It is up to you whether you go to the temple, you would prefer to do so, no?”

 “No Swamiji”, I replied, I would rather continue painting, because this also is a meditation and it is for You…”

 “It’s ok” he said and left the room cheerfully.

 Soon after that I heard him coming down the staircase, passing through the door and stepping out on the courtyard. I was aware that he would now go to the temple. I began to concentrate fully on my work in order to avoid that any sadness or regret would take hold of me because of my choice….. Suddenly – by now Swamiji must have been at the temple already for quite a while - a hauntingly beautiful fragrance of roses filled the whole chapel.

I walked back and forth in the empty chapel. It was not an illusion, the scent which filled the whole room almost took my breath away. Astonished and deeply touched I started to cry.

At times, His unlimited Love smells like roses…..

Icons – classic course

Icons – classic course

with Uma

23.5.-25.5. 2014

Based on the classic style of the iconography of the Eastern Church, we will step by step get acquainted with the composition of an icon. The icon used to fulfil the task of telling people about the life of Jesus, Mother Mary and the life of the Saints, therefore the depicted contents were “read” by the observers in the church. Thus it was a possibility to inform people, who were unable to read, about the Christian message.

  During a weekend we will observe the specific characteristics and will have an opportunity to make yourown icon according to a template.

More information about the course you will find under :

http://bhaktimarga.org/event/icons-classic-course-uma

A short story with Guruji

Mataji Gitanjali has sent the following short story is about an icon.

Mataji Gitanjali is a well know spiritual painter in Portugal, she paints since some years for projects for Guruji and our centre SPN.

 In Portugal she has her own atelier, where she teaches painting and has is a group of devotees, who paint icons for Bhakti Marga Art.

"One day I was in the Church and Guruji passed by and called me. He asked me to paint St. Andrew Apostle. I had with me a painting that I had brought the day before from Portugal.

Guruji looked at me and said „You painted St. Andre Apostle“?

I answered "Yes". He asked me again and again. I said "Yes".

Then he asked me to go to get the painting. I brought the Icon and gave it to Guruji. He looked at the painting and said - "What a coincidence."

Painting of Mother of God-Icons

Painting of Mother of God-Icons

with Jaahnvi from May 9 – 11, 2014 

Painting images of the Virgin Mary with infant Jesus belongs to the oldest and most known motives since the beginning of icon painting. After the imaging of Jesus Christ on icons it was the paintings of Holy Mary with infant Jesus that the church allowed to be shown as an idol of the Divine.

Therefore these representations have a long tradition up to the present time and have developed very much in church-art in different religious directions. Especially in the Russian-Orthodox church there is a great variety, where the Madonna-icons have their own names, depending on how she is depicted with the infant Jesus.

Mary was the mother of Jesus and a servant of God by consciously experiencing and fulfilling her destiny.

She is the mother but also his pupil, joined in God’s love. To paint Madonna-icons is also a deepening and an inner experiencing of this particularly deep and unconditional love.

We immerse into this world through painting, it is enriching and a very beneficial process for all participants. It is also a prayer to Mother Mary. 

Start:  Friday, May 9th at 2.00 pm

Sri Yantra Drawing Course

Sri Yantra Drawing Course

based on the teaching of  Sri Swami Vishwananda 

In this weekend course the focus is on learning how to draw an accurate Shri Yantra and to colour it in a certain way: 

• starting Friday evening, the day of the Divine Mother, with explanations and stories about the Shri Yantra which is an instrument for spiritual advancement and its immanent power and healing capacity

• on the second day we focus on the construction of the Sri Yantra with the help of technical tools. All steps are projected on a big screen which makes the complex drawing process more easy and understandable

• on the third and last day we focus on colouring through 9 levels guided as a meditation with a personal free choice of colours. By following step by step with enough time for everybody we experience the enormous potential and healing qualities of a Shri Yantra.

Our first course was filled with 5 spontaneous participants. 

We told the story of Adi Shankara in 7^th century: 

“At this time it was still common that people did animal and human sacrifices. The face of Shri Lalita was terrible as they wanted to offer a girl to Her. The people were very greedy and wanted to be more and more powerful and having siddhis (powers). 

There was a draught with no rain for two years. The people did lots of sacrifices to please Devi but still no rain. Adi Shankara felt very bad and he explained why. Finally they listened to him and said we give  you 3 days, if its not raining, than we go on with our way of sacrifice.

Adi Shankara put his danda (dry bamboo stick) in the earth saying - it will rain! Still 3 days no rain. As the sun was setting on the 3^rd day, only a few minutes left, Devi appeared to him and blessed him. When opening Her eyes Her first gaze burned a Shri Yantra into earth. The rain started...”

Short after telling the story there was a sudden thunder outside, followed by lightening and strong rain shower. The rain was very welcomed in our garden at Shree Peetha Nilaya as it’s been a dry period for quite some time!!!

All could experience the high frequency and positive effects while drawing and painting like mental balancing, stronger connection with Divine Mother, rebirth, increase of sensitivity, concentration and calmness. 

“There is a lot of inner work we do all the time in meditations, prayers etc. In this course we gain even our own visible result which we can bring home“ .

One woman did not know anything what a Shri Yantra is. She experienced it as warm up into the complex geometrie of a Shri Yantra. In the first night she was dreaming of triangles and the Shri Yantra being inside of her.  She is very interested now to join the Shri Yantra  course with Shri Swami Vishwananda where you can learn a lot more about the background and pujas of the Shri Yantra. 

Thank you Guruji for the blessing and grace for this course where we all could feel the presence of the Divine Mother working within us.

Feedback:

“…it was very nice, also to feel the energy of the Sri Yantra from the beginning and the focus on it… and you did it very nice, also being two women, one more for the construction and one for the content. The subject itself is very nice, the aspect of the Divine Mother… and personally what I like is that it so structured and has to be accurate but then on the other hand to leave it free at the end with the choice of colours…” Reka

“… I liked it very much… from the beginning I felt already something is going on very deep and touching inside of me…last Darshan I was asking for my spiritual name, kept it for myself for one week and this weekend I want to share it… is Katambari (name of Goddess Saraswati)…thank you very much for the great work… I like the two different ways that you do it… feel very calm with high energy...”

Two days afterwards “Something has changed inside and is different then before...” Katambari

“… I like the way that you did it, very comfortable and very nice atmosphere with you and all the group… I enjoyed to paint… we don’t know yet what it does with us but something very strong, I think… thank you very much and also was really nice that you let us to be free to do colour it in our way …” Madhavi

“… I enjoyed very much to be here… I feel more and more my connection with Divine Mother which I didn’t have before… first when I was thinking to register for this course... I thought that I am not able to do this and than I was really surprised how easy it was… it was great the way how you did it … and you made it so systematically and step by step … so that I really could follow… because when I saw all this triangles in front of me it seemed impossible to do… and now I can even say it was good for me to do it because I got more self confident and this was very important for me… and even didn’t feel the energy in particularly but I felt in general… for example the first day when I came, I thought they are all experts, most of the participants are used to draw and I had the feeling to not to be good enough… so much stress in the body… I’m just a lay woman… and through this I felt the energy that was changing a lot inside of me and also today when I came I felt really calm and silent…  thank you for all the preparation and all this love for us… and thank you also for the group…” Trilochana

“… it was spontaneous to be here, I didn’t plan it and it was a good decision… and now I’m really interested for the course with Swamiji … I feel it very much… I can’t say what it is… but I can say that something is going on… also liked it how you did it… enjoyed it a lot …thank you” Christina

The course was organized and held by Dakshini and Nallini. 

Next Sri Yantra drawing courses will be on: 

18.-20. July and 

29.Sept-1. Oct. (during Navaratri) 

More information you can find here:

http://bhaktimarga.org/event/sri-yantra-drawing-course