PHILOSOPHY VADIM BLAGORAZUMOV « TRANSREALISM »
His sudden talent for painting was a revelation for the poet Vladimir Trefilov. To describe the manner of his painting, he uses the term“ transrealism” to mean“ being above the reality”. Reality is here understood as those surroundings perceivable by ordinary people. For humanity in its present condition it is a space ranging from the physical plane to the highest mental one, with the presence of consciousness decreasing in the line of ascent. According to the authors of the Vedas, the part of the world above the mentioned structures is separated from them by a“ golden cap” –“ hirania kappa”. It is this cap that protects the countless riches of the Divine world from ignorant humankind, as yet unworthy of them. All scientific discoveries, masterpieces of art, brilliants ideas are but the results of breakthroughs made by the thirsting spirit of earthly aspirants.
It is on the upper boundary between the worlds that all the phenomena presented to us in their completeness in our reality find independence and their intrinsic natural form. However, the complete form, the outward appearance of things functioning in the real world is often just a covering designed by the Prince of This World for our use, but to his own benefit. This covering conceals from us the powers, which created the object, the process and history of its creation, its real nature, its inner structure, its predestination, and its prospects. Humanity’ s ignorance of these properties of things contributes to the delay of the destructive act of the Divine performance which threatens to grow into drama. The fact that people cannot perceive the true, often sinister, nature of things throws them into numerous traps of the manifest world, such as antihumane religions and sects, addictions of all kinds, and entertainments pernicious for the human soul.
It is transrealism that enables us to tear off the ossified mask of the visible form. But to penetrate into the world of true essence of the forms, the” golden cap” must be removed. For this it is necessary to grow one’ s consciousness to reach at least the foot of the Divine world, which, according to Integral Yoga, rises in tiers from the intuitive mind through the inspired and enlightened mind to the Overmind. Above the“ golden cap” there are lower layers of the Supermind, which constitute the first creative instance of the Divine world where the universal interpenetrating content is shaped into concrete individuated forms. The nature of the Supermind, or the Supramental, is Sat-Cit-Ananda:
Being-Consciousness-Bliss, of the Vedic philosophers. However, consciousness can reach these layers only if a human being achieving these heights has firm footing. As the Vedas read,“ Earth is His footing”. To gain such a footing, it is necessary to stand upon Earth, which means to breach the“ iron bottom” separating it from human consciousness restricted by man’ s submission to his meanest, bodily and demonic, instincts. Thus, only those artists can work in the space of transrealism who have been able to meet all these conditions, which is only possible through a long consciously chosen and realizable process, probably basically yogic in content.
This publication is based on the works of two representatives of Integral yoga, namely, its founder Sri Aurobindo Ghosh and his follower Vladimir Trefilov. The impression produced by their works illustrates the potentials both of transrealism as a way of expressing the true essence of things, and of Integral yoga, one of whose effects is the acquisition of abilities for creative work in the manner of transrealism.
Let us now give a brief analysis of V. Trefilov’ s painting within the context of this preamble. The theme of his pictures could be characterized as heroic and apocalyptic, inspired by a lofty meditative state able to reflect the innermost aspirations of humankind. Everyone subconsciously harbors them and not likely will anyone argue against the idea that humankind is holding true course toward apocalyptic end, and that to shift this course, heroic effort is required. The images in the pictures reflect the concealed nature of the objects and not their appearance as seen in physical form. Materialization of the Divine prototype of an object existing in the Supramental world occurs under the influence of numerous forces. The degree of deviation of these forces from the original nature increases as they move away from the supramental source, which distorts the innermost nature of the object down to its complete demonization. The objects are painted so as to demonstrate their mission in the material world, and this is clearly seen as it is not concealed by layers of physical embodiment. The pictures present the field of action of forces; the subjects consist of forces expressing the essence of their mission and are surrounded by the crowds of forces interacting with them.
That the pictures by Trefilov have been chosen to illustrate the poems by Sri Aurobindo is not incidental. The author of the translation has never seen painting better corresponding to supramental poetry, although the pictures and the poems are separated by at least 40 years: Sri Aurobindo passed away in 1950, while Trefilov began painting in 1994. But how absolutely different in mood are the poems and the paintings! The verses, created during the formation and frenzy of fascism and the start of the“ cold war”, are much more optimistic than the pictures painted when fascism has been vanquished, Bolshevism has surrendered without a blow, and the danger of World War III has considerably diminished. Such pictures as“ The angel of the Abyss”( 1995) and“ The Star of Wormwood”( Chernobyl’ is a form of wormwood), whose prophetic sense has been confirmed, contribute to the apocalyptic urgency inherent in most pictures by Trefilov. This demonstrates the necessity of finding and realizing the true integrating factor, which would correspond to the evolutionary mission of humankind. •
28 КАРЬЕРА АСТРОЛОГА | 1 2012