The beginning of an experiment

In search of the answer of the very basic question of existence, "who I am?" and in order to reach our 'crude' self... we must uncover various layers that clouds the human consciousness  and are accumulated over the years due to constant exposure to man- made conditionings and understanding of the world that is up to a larger extent ego oriented and self- centred. 
To explore the answer of this question, "who am I?" I propose to experiment and use some information that is available through ancient knowledge and decide on some of the steps that we want to take.
For example, it is said by many philosophers like Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and also mentioned in ancient Indian 'Vedas' that through the study of microcosm, macrocosm can be known...'yat pinde- tat brahmande'- the unit and the cosmos.
A seeker can however think/meditate deeper on this question and try to find the answer of “who am I?”.
For example, a recent interaction with a group of some 20-25 children of 9-10 years of age I have tried to explore and experiment on the above hypothesis/references during an art project, “Swa-arth” (to find the meaning of self). The point is to experiment and express human experiences of exploring identity of ‘self’ through art.







Saplings: Represent the children.
Roots: Represent our own roots.
Text on paper: Represent the experience of children after they explored their roots in the circle activity.


The workshop was designed to encourage children towards exploring deeper understanding of this whole environmental crisis that we are facing today as human beings. In order to find answers of our questions posed as contamination of land- water-air, we try to find answers of very basic questions like, ‘who we are?’, ‘ what is the composition of life on earth?’ and also ‘what makes the earth a unique and precious planet?’, and ‘why and how we are responsible for taking care of our planet and also of other life forms that are present on our planet’.
In this program we have followed the approach of experiential learning. In their own self- expression and self- exploration, the children get exposure to the inner peace and self- knowledge that serves as the purpose of the complete activity.

As class four kids were learning about plants,and I was requested to use plants in my representation this explains the selection of saplings as primary element of the installation.




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