Peter Lu

Ancient World
Morin, B
Legacy Project Essay

Being Mindful of Mindfulness: Staying Present in the Past and
Present Through Hindu Art

Mindfulness is an important way of life which involves realizing and noticing
the world at the present moment. It allows for a greater appreciation for life and less wor-
ry about life in the future or past. Hinduism has discussed this aspect of life through its
sacred texts and its art, such as its sculptures, for centuries. The Enthroned Vishnu stat-
ue, found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, greatly represents the value of mindfulness
in the past and the present through its physical aspects and symbolism, its history and
background, and as seen in the Bhagavad Gita.
Through its beauty and symbolism, the Enthroned Vishnu statue shows the
eternal truth of mindfulness. According to BBC, Vishnu, the preserver and protector of
the universe, is one of the main three deities of the Hindu religion; His role is to return
to the earth in troubled times and restore the balance of good and evil.
1
This basic fact
exemplifies preserving the moment and living the present. Much like Vishnu [returns] to
the earth, one should attempt to regain consciousness of his actions and restore balance
to anything problematic. The statue stands nine feet tall, demanding to be recognized.
Vishnus upper left hand originally held a conch; In Hindu religion, Shankh, is of great

1
Vishnu. BBC. Last modified 08 24, 2009. Accessed May 16, 2014.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/deities/vishnu.shtml.


importance and symbolizes luster, brilliance, purity and auspicious.
2
Vishnus physical
presence and role in the universe contrasts to that of humans and forces the spectator to
consider his own role and place in the world. Another statue of Vishnu from a similar
time period and location is the Bronze Vishnu Statue in which the artist thoughtfully
provided a small lotus to support Vishnus dangling leg.
3
This similar statue incorporates
the aspects of mindfulness and culture in the Pandya Dynasty as well. Multiple aspects of
the statue are lost or broken, such as the aureole, a sacred cord, and a club. Even when
there's an interest in preserving things, there's not enough money and not enough space to
save a steadily accumulating mountain of artists' stuff.
4
The loss of these items over time
shows the difficulty of staying present and aware of everything at once. This connects to
Enthroned Vishnu because these both contain lots of details which demonstrate the sig-
nificance and yet difficulty in remaining aware. All these sources agree that despite the
difficulty in remaining mindful, its significance is undeniable as seen in other examples
of art from the same time period and location.
Other than its physical features, the Enthroned Vishnu statue is the epitome of
the eternal truth of mindfulness because of its background and historical context. The sta-
tue is a rare example of the art of the Pandya dynasty,
5
and it was created in the 8th or
9th century to represent the empire in its peak. The 8th to 9th century in India was known

2
"The role of Conch in Hindu Gods." Sapasagroup. Accessed May 17, 2014.
https://sites.google.com/site/sapagroup1//pujo/religion/the-role-of-conch-in-hindu-gods.
3
Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture. Vol. 2. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Mu-
seum of Art, 1988.
4
Swafford, Jan. "Cleaning Out Ives' Closet." Editorial. Slate. Last modified September
22, 2011. Accessed May 16, 2014.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2011/09/ cleaning_out_ives_closet.2.html.
5
Dehejia, Vidya. "Hinduism and Hindu Art". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New
York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000
.http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hind/hd_hind.htm (February 2007)


for its great art, but especially its temples: The Pallavas should be specially remembered
for their contribution to the cultural, literary, art and archeological history of South
India.
6
The prominence of South Indian art lives on and stands today to be admired for
its beauty and deeper messages mindfulness. In particular, the Meenakshi Amman Tem-
ple is the most exquisite example of Dravidian architecture.
7
Its magnificent construc-
tion with its 985 pillars is the pinnacle of the city of Madurai. Throughout the years with
different kings, it has been altered to accommodate the most recent style and architectural
capabilities: Various kings renovated the temple, leaving a distinct impression of their
artistic taste.
7
It moves through the time and stays in the present much like Hindus be-
lieve that everyone should live in the present moment instead of the past. Its great height
and structure is relative to the nine-foot-tall statue Enthroned Vishnu. Not only have
both of these changed through time- analogous to how humans should do the same, but
the mere existence of these and what they represent forces the viewer to contemplate his
own. The time period in which these two works of art were created was a time of rich his-
tory and art; not only was the Pandyan Kingdom a powerful kingdom,
8
but the Pan-
dyas were best known for their extensive trade network which spread as far as Rome and
Greece.
8
They were capable of trade and leading a successful society. Their ability to
establish a stable economy allows for more effort to be put into worship and art such as
Enthroned Vishnu. From the Meenakshi Amman Temple and Enthroned Vishnus

6
Goel, Ajay. "Pallava Dynasty - Culture, Literature, Art and Architecture." Important India.
Last modified July 18, 2013. Accessed May 17, 2014.
http://www.importantindia.com/490/pallavas-culture-literature-art-and-architecture/.
7
"Meenakshi Temple." Madurai the Athens of East. Accessed May 17, 2014.
http://www.madurai.org.uk/religious-places/meenakshi-temple.html.
8
"Pandya Dynasty." Mocomi. Accessed May 16, 2014. http://mocomi.com/pandya-
dynasty/.


changing over time to the pure function of the Pandyas society, the history and context of
this statue represent mindfulness as much as it does itself.
The Bhagavad Gita, the sacred texts of Hinduism, states the eternal truth of liv-
ing in the present, which ultimately shines through the statue Enthroned Vishnu. Any-
one who having controlled the five working sense organs remains thinking within the
mind about sense objects, that foolish being is known as a hypocrite.
9
Those who spend
time concerning over events that occurred in the past are wasting their time and their gift
of life. Instead, they should focus on the world at time passes, or preserve the moment,
much like Vishnu preserves the universe. The Bhagavad Gita brings this further, stating
that humans are meant to focus on one thing at once: One cannot remain without engag-
ing in activity at any time, even for a moment; certainly all living entities are helplessly
compelled to action by the qualities endowed by material nature.
10
Humans should focus
on one thing only: living in the moment. The quotation dispels that humans are able to
live without engaging in the current activity that is occurring in their lives. Dr. Ian Ellis-
Jones, using text from the Bhagavad Gita, argues that thoughts, desires, feelings and
sensations will not only arise, they will inevitably enter our consciousness. It is often not
in our conscious power or control to prevent these things from entering our conscious-
ness. However, the advice we are given is that if we want peace we should let these
things enter without creating any disturbance.
11
Ellis-Jones emphasizes that despite

9
"Chapter 3, Verse 6." Bhagavad Gita. Accessed May 18, 2014. http://www.bhagavad-
gita.org/Gita/verse-03-06.html.
10
"Chapter 3, Verse 5." Bhagavad Gita. Accessed May 18, 2014. http://www.bhagavad-
gita.org/Gita/verse-03-05.html.
11
Ellis-Jones, Ian. "Mindfulness According to the Bahagavad Gita." Dr. Ian Ellis-Jones...
Living Mindfully Now (blog). Entry posted February 22, 2012. Accessed May 16, 2014.
http://ianellis-jones.blogspot.com/2012/02/mindfulness-according-to-bhagavad-gita.html.


outside sensations always entering our consciousness, we are able to escape these. To ig-
nore outside distractions and instead move on to live in the present is a huge message of
the Bhagavad Gita, and Hinduism as a whole.
The concept of universal beauty discusses the possibility of values to remain
true through different times and cultures. In ancient societies, awareness allowed for the
inner peace and prosperity of a happy kingdom. Nowadays, we tend to multitask and
force our minds to focus on multiple things on once and suffer because of it. The value of
mindfulness can be found today in many forms, such as through modern religious prac-
tices, modern media, and modern research.
The concept of mindfulness exists in modern philosophy and practice such
as in Hinduism and Buddhism: both practiced today. In both Hinduism and Buddhism,
the concept of mindfulness exists in modern teaching and practice, such as in meditation.
According to Buddhism.about.com, the way we realize enlightenment is through direct
experience. It is through mindfulness that we experience directly, with no mental filters
or psychological barriers between us and what is experienced.
12
Buddhists follow this
value and practice it constantly as a way to connect to and experience the world around
them better. This value originates in the founding philosophies of Hinduism which has
lead to the Buddhist and Hindu practice of mindfulness today, nearly 2,500 years later.
Being aware is commonly referenced in modern media, such as music. The
song Awake by Secondhand Serenade is about the speaker requesting his friend to stay
awake with [him]. This describes how most people miss a lot of their lives by not stay-

12
O'Brien, Barbara. "Right Mindfulness." Buddhism. Accessed May 18, 2014.
http://buddhism.about.com/od/theeightfoldpath/a/right-mindfulness.htm.


ing awake. Instead, the speaker calls out to the listener to stay awake with [him] and
appreciate the world around them. In addition, the recent movie The Secret Life of Walter
Mitty features discussions about not realizing the world around oneself and the conse-
quences that can result. When his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are
threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns
into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.
13
The
main character, Walter, often falls into a trance and misses key events that cause him to
lose his job and go on an epic journey to regain his profession and dignity. Had he not
lost focus of his surroundings, the entire conflict would have been avoided. These exam-
ples of modern stories of remaining aware detail how even today, we are establishing the
importance of staying aware of the world around us.

The eternal truth of mindfulness is gauged and studied on a scientific level
due to its importance and significance in the past and the present. The paper written by
Brown & Ryan detail the benefits of mindfulness: Mindfulness is an attribute of con-
sciousness long believed to promote well-being... Correlational, quasi-experimental, and
laboratory studies then show that the [mindfulness] measures a unique quality of con-
sciousness that is related to a variety of well-being constructs, that differentiates mindful-
ness practitioners from others, and that is associated with enhanced self-awareness.
14

Brown and Ryan argue that mindfulness contributes to well-being and other positive ben-

13
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)." Rotten Tomatoes. Accessed May 16, 2014.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_secret_life_of_walter_mitty_2013/.
14
The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being.
Brown, Kirk Warren; Ryan, Richard M. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol
84(4), Apr 2003, 822-848. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822


efits. Everyday Mindfulness even states that Mindfulness is the direct opposite to taking
life for granted.
15
Those who are mindful tend to live happier lives, as seen in recent
studies. The Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown and Ryan, Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 84:822848, 2003) is a promising measure and the
goal of the present study was to further validate the MAAS in a large university
sample.
16
Beyond this, there is validation behind modern ways of measuring mindful-
ness. Modern psychology research not only accurately details the benefits of mindfulness,
but also represents how mindfulness remains significant in the present, despite societal
values changing over time.

Mindfulness is an essential tool to lead a healthy and successful life. This prin-
ciple has been recognized and emphasized for centuries. As seen in art such as En-
throned Vishnu and recent works such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the message
of staying aware has remained with humans through different times and cultures. Not on-
ly have past works of art represented this eternal truth, modern scientific research also
has been focused on studying this one topic. The Enthroned Vishnu statue, represents
the value of mindfulness and staying aware, both in the past and the present. Its legacy
remains true to this day and for centuries to come.

15
"What is mindfulness?" Every Day Mindfulness. Accessed May 16, 2014.
http://www.everydaymindfulness.ie/what_is_mindfulness.html.
16
Anderson, Emily. "Further Psychometric Validation of the Mindful Attention Awareness
Scale (MAAS)." Springer Link. Last modified December 2007. Accessed May 18, 2014.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10862-007-9045-1.