‘Artists’ attain enlightenment through the radiance of their art and not through the cravings of their belly.-Manjul Bhardwaj

‘Artists’ attain enlightenment through the radiance of their art and not through the cravings of their belly.

-         Manjul Bhardwaj (Theatre Philosopher-Thinker)

Financial earning and livelihood of an artist

 ‘Food’ is inevitably fundamental need for survival of every living being in this universe which is secured primarily through soil, water, plantation, meat or other minerals that are prerequisites for our body to be healthy, living being to fill their stomach and survive. Nature has allocated or provided enough resources for every living being. Except for the human beings every living being sustain in harmony with the nature or in accordance to the ‘system’ set up by the human beings. Yes, for sustenance man essentially needs to create wealth or monetary foundation.

Humans are civilized, they have constructed civilization, built a ‘system’, established a ruling power, decorum and each ‘system’ has its unique indicative commandment or in other words, code of conduct and laws are formulated. Under the colourful fantasy of the word ‘employment’ our government brandishes populist dreams. Every authoritative system and power set up governs through these administrative tools and formulas.

Man, quintessentially have come to be the most ‘civilized’ of the lot and so has the swell of their ever multiplying relentless appetite compared to rest of the living beings. The more one is developed, modern, popular, dictator or democratic; insatiably furthermore grows their relentless ‘stomach’- right from the world’s oldest democracy, ‘USA’ to the world’s largest democracy, ‘India’. The reason behind this is the illusionary perception of ‘greed’ disguised as ‘need’ and ‘development’; and not the actual obvious size and form of the ‘stomach’.

The deceitfulness of this hegemonic era of absolute power coerces illusions of the scientific age, commercialisation, profiteering, ‘buying and selling’ technique evolved through science and its methods. Entire earth belongs to nature….but the ‘developed’ man fails to accept this fact, rather the ‘developed’ man functions basis the formula that “earth is his possession”.

Hence, to fabricate the ‘need’ into necessitated ‘greed’ thousands of news channels around the world competes 24/7 for ‘profiteering’ by ripping off the resources of the ‘universe’. In such situation handful of people thrive on lavishness while others slog to make a living. Yet, the man proudly declares oneself as ‘learned and civilized’ and the nature ‘laughs’ on his idiosyncrasies.

From the era of Adam to the current age of ‘scientific civilization’, humans depend on their physical prowess for survival. In each facet of evolution’s ‘foot, wheel and wings’ era, man’s physical labour played vital role in financial earning.  In Adam era, superiority was decided basis ‘physical prowess.’ The allocation of privileges and properties were defined by the measure of one’s strength.

The evolution of intellect descended the superior role of ‘physical power’ to the lowest most strata of ‘economic’ earning. Man whose source of income is totally based on their ‘physical labour’ is on the margins of ‘civilized and literate’ society, the ones who resort to the skill along with the ‘physical labour’ are better placed…..one who practises earning through ‘sexual’ interrelations are in a ‘better and worse’ scenario….the ones who function in accordance to their intellect are on the top most strata of the ‘societal’ hierarchy; which deduces that there are four ways to economic earning in current human era.

1. Physical labour and skill

 2. Gesture/expression and skill

3. Sexual behaviour

4. Consciousness, intellect and thought!

How to fortify economic earning of art and artists?

Art is conscience (awareness), a rebellion, a medium of humanizing human beings and sustain humanity in them. In past and present, many ‘systems’ have been manipulating art and artists in their forum to advertise and propagate their authority, the ‘system’ ensures to resource materialistic fruition and luxury to these artists. In today’s times it is aptly named as ‘grant, fellowship or grant in aid’. Since ‘art and artists’ are known to be rebellious so they are in constant disputed struggle with the authority, and being people oriented ‘artists’, they sustain amongst the ‘masses’ by the means of subsistence practised by the ‘masses’. And are oppressed by the despots….prevailing in form of either the government or the society!

Materialistic growth, greed, power, fame and glamour have disoriented the artists. Autocrats have meticulously conspired to garb ‘art’ as mere means of livelihood, and artist into a hungry horde striving to fill their bellies. The system plotted this for the obvious imperialistic oppressive reasons so that ‘authoritarians’ keep exploiting the masses and the artists who’ reasons’, artist who spread awareness amongst the masses, artists who believe in art as the supreme medium of consciousness, to go extinct…these are the methods of ‘system’ to suppress the uprising against them.

They construct a crowd of art and artists who get entangled in the crumbs of the slice of pie offered by the ‘system’! Such a society is created by the authoritarians where ‘art and artists’ remain mere showbiz who are perceived as ‘inferior’ class; or in the form of an ‘object’ for consumption.

Artist denigrates like a decadent leprous itch, educated illiterates, fame lusted ‘middle class’ who are desperate to consume everything and experience pleasures at all cost. This oppressive system ‘runs on this middle class’. Epitome of ‘greed’ is the middle class, incomplete knowledge, incomplete ‘thought’, incomplete life, and so unsatiated is the ‘middle class’ yet laps dreams to acquire the whole world. In aspirations of these colourful dreams the ‘middle class’ breeds in the megacities that are curse in the garb of ‘development’.

The quest to achieve their dreams drives the ‘middle class’ to perfect their pretentious act of eminence in the ‘crowd’. The ‘middle class’ is consumer of all kinds of prosthetic market, proficient absorber of all kinds of abuse, devotee and seeker of “sabka saath sabka vikas” - development and companionship of all. Unfortunately this ‘middle class’ fails to break this vicious cycle of ‘there is a little and there is a need of a little more’, trapped in its own pretentious dreams and wants, the middle class sings to the tunes of ‘development’ and yet is incessantly ‘exploited’.

The ones who have been ever liberating and bear the potential to salvage the middle class from the consuming circle of exploitation is the art of the aware ‘artists’! 

Regrettably this middle class is the blind follower of capitalist system that cunningly conspires to indicate ‘art for the sake of entertainment’. Such over credulity drives them to propagate the gang of artists with expertise in promotion of ‘hedonism’ facet of art. With the flash of one SMS, the ‘middle class’ bestows fame and stardom upon these artists. But middle class appears to be the gravest foe of ‘artistic conscience!

There are swarms of artists mobbing, believing in ‘art for the sake of entertainment’ breeding in the ruined islands of so called developed metro cities. Dancing to the tunes of the ‘middle class’ yet it reaches nowhere same as the directionless ‘middle class’. Wandering in its own illusionary maze, this puzzled ‘middle class’ leverage the ‘wheels’ of the systems’ exploitative dominance.

Purpose of an artist is not to merely fill their  belly. Of course, that does not indicate that an ‘artist’ does not require basic necessities for livelihood. The one who claims to be an ‘artist’ must as well know the art of subsistence; except the ones queuing in the crowd of the employment seekers. An artist must understand the purpose of ‘art’, they must understand the conspiracy of the ‘devastation’ in the name of development....Conspiracy of the ‘system’, they must think beyond the crumbs of the grants offered by them, must break the rigidity of the social/cultural consciousness.

Artists are beyond their meagre ‘body’ that exhibits various forms of skill rather they are socially aware personalities with splendid ‘consciousness’, who through their art, are constantly breaking vicious cycle built by the exploitative forces of the ‘middle class and the system”, because art exact humanity in the man.

Today artists need to affirm the strata that they prefer to place themselves in for ‘financial’ procurement.

1. Physical labour and skill

2. Gesture/expression and skill

3. Sexual behaviour

4. Consciousness, intellect and thought!

Join hands to save humanity and humanness by embracing consciousness of art and its rationally committed manifestation. Advocate the artistic wing that nurtures the humanity of the mankind in that art.  Condemn the pitiful grants and release oneself from the employment seeking crowd; because an artist is liberated by the radiance of his art and not the cravings of his belly.

Kalameva Jayate!( Long live art !)

 - translated by Smriti Raj