Mirror of Consciousness: Art, Creativity and Veda

Anna Bonshek
Montial Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 2001
Cloth, 470 pp. Illus. b/w.
ISBN 81-208-1774-5

Reviewed by Robert Pepperell
PøLAR (Posthuman Laboratory for Arts Research)

pepperell@ntlworld.com

Anna Bonshek identifies a malaise in western art, and by extension our wider culture, in which traditional ideas of the universal, the absolute, and the transcendent have been displaced by the fragmented narcissism of post-modern language games. What she argues for instead is a more durable, coherent kind of art specifically informed by the Vedic Science of His Holiness the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, of whom she is a disciple.

For Bonshek the knowledge embodied in the discipline of Maharishi Vedic Science is no less than a comprehensive "science of consciousness and its expressions" (p. 52). This claim, and others made elsewhere about the application of the Vedic method (such as the influence of the 'Extended Maharishi Effect' on global arms negotiations (p. 106)), will not endear Bonshek, or her ideas, to the sceptical materialist critic. But the non-Occidental context of this philosophy of mind (it's probably safer to call it a 'philosophy' than a 'science') should not give us any greater cause for scepticism than the consideration of any other theory of consciousness; if anything its perceived distance from our established patterns of enquiry might make it all the more valuable, whilst it is many ways already closer than we think. For example, in outlining the Maharishi's conception of consciousness she quotes him as saying: "Consciousness is that which is conscious of itself. Being conscious of itself, consciousness is the knower of itself. Being the knower of itself, consciousness is both the knower and the known. Being both the knower and the known, consciousness is also the process of knowing." (p. 57). It is the "self-referential singularity" of these three qualities which "together are the indications of the existence of consciousness." This self-referential conception of phenomenal consciousness is certainly consistent with currents emerging in western consciousness studies, particularly in the some of the work of Crick and Koch, and Gerald Edelman, and if given further attention could, I believe, allow us to make significant progress in describing this most elusive aspect of our experience.

Having given a reasonable account of recent western contemporary theories of art, and a summary of the Vedic theory of mind, Bonshek goes on to explain in some detail the various doctrines and practices of the Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation-Sidhi technique. To summarise in very basic terms: there exists around us a field of pure consciousness of which most of us are only dimly aware. Through certain exercises we can gradually transcend the 'lower' states of being and move towards a heightened self-referential awareness, which draws us closer to some universal coherence and unity. Art, or certain kinds of artistic practice, can aid and enhance this process.

For what it's worth, the notion of a universal field of consciousness accords with my own suspicion that thoughts 'have' us as much as, if not more than, we 'have' them, whilst also resonating with various 'consciousness field theories' recently proposed by biomedical theorists such as Johnjoe McFadden and E R John. The bulk of this long book is concerned with imparting the teachings of the Maharishi on a variety of topics from art, creativity and consciousness to selfhood, energy and life. For the uninitiated it is rather hard going, with a proliferation of Sanskrit terms: "The light of Creative Intelligence, on the self-referral level, is heard as sound or Sruti (the Sanskrit diacritics are not available) . . . audible frequencies of sound [that] form the basis of material particles or Tanmatras. These are measured by the five Vrttis in terms of the five Mahabhutas or elements — Akasha, Vayu, Agni, Jal, and Prthvi . . ." and so on (p. 285). In addition, there are frequent rather enigmatic passages taken from the Maharishi himself intended to support many complex and somewhat nebulous assertions made by Bonshek.

The study of philosophy, consciousness and art in the context of Asian thought is a highly fascinating area, and deserves an accessible and authoritative text that draws it into current issues in philosophy of mind. As much as one agrees with Bonshek's diagnosis of the deficiencies of a lot of contemporary art, and for all its ambition, sincerity, and tantalising detail, I don't think 'Mirror of Consciousness' is it. A shorter, less technical book would, I feel, have won these ideas a wider audience in an intellectual market where, perhaps, they are needed most.