Kenneth Grant - The twin aspects of genius, the passive and the active,...

The twin aspects of genius, the passive and the active, are possessed by the fully realized artist; they also form the necessary equipment of the Adept. Yet in very few people are these twin aspects manifested. Nearly everyone has a capacity for the passive aspect, which involves some sort of appreciation of aesthetic values. There are few people totally unresponsive to the beauties of nature, and none at all that is not responsive to its ferocious manifestations. Fewer are able to respond profoundly to the beauty of natural phenomena, and fewer still to so-called works of art. It takes a degree of genius to respond to such manifestations the whole time. Artists in this category are among the saints, some of whom thrilled with rapture at the constant awareness of the total unity, harmony, and beauty of things. Such were Boehme, Ramakrishna, etc. Some yogis are immersed in an unsullied and vibrant bliss derived from the incessant contemplation of this 'world-bewitching maya'4-the breath-taking wonder of the great and glamorous illusion which surrounds us. On the other side of the fence, on the side of active or creative genius, there are yet fewer. Active or creative genius means nothing less than the ability to translate the wonder or the terror of the great lfla (the great play of life) in terms of visual, tactile, audible, olfactory, or some other sensual presentation of phenomena. But there is a third aspect of genius which is yet more rare. It is the ability to open the door of the theatre and admit the influences from outside, from the swarming gulfs beyond the grasp of the mind, and accessible only to the magical entity whose fantastic feelers can snare the most fugitive impulses as they flash through the holes in space, the kinks in time, to be reflected in the magic mirror of the artist's mind.

Kenneth Grant

;
The twin aspects of genius, the passive and the active, are possessed by the fully realized artist; they also form the necessary equipment of the Adept. Yet in very few people are these twin aspects manifested. Nearly everyone has a capacity for the passive aspect, which involves some sort of appreciation of aesthetic values. There are few people totally unresponsive to the beauties of nature, and none at all that is not responsive to its ferocious manifestations. Fewer are able to respond profoundly to the beauty of natural phenomena, and fewer still to so-called works of art. It takes a degree of genius to respond to such manifestations the whole time. Artists in this category are among the saints, some of whom thrilled with rapture at the constant awareness of the total unity, harmony, and beauty of things. Such were Boehme, Ramakrishna, etc. Some yogis are immersed in an unsullied and vibrant bliss derived from the incessant contemplation of this 'world-bewitching maya'4-the breath-taking wonder of the great and glamorous illusion which surrounds us. On the other side of the fence, on the side of active or creative genius, there are yet fewer. Active or creative genius means nothing less than the ability to translate the wonder or the terror of the great lfla (the great play of life) in terms of visual, tactile, audible, olfactory, or some other sensual presentation of phenomena. But there is a third aspect of genius which is yet more rare. It is the ability to open the door of the theatre and admit the influences from outside, from the swarming gulfs beyond the grasp of the mind, and accessible only to the magical entity whose fantastic feelers can snare the most fugitive impulses as they flash through the holes in space, the kinks in time, to be reflected in the magic mirror of the artist's mind. Kenneth Grant

Related Topics

Keywords

twin aspects genius passive active possessed fully realized artist form equipment adept people manifested capacity aspect involves sort appreciation aesthetic values totally unresponsive beauties nature responsive ferocious manifestations fewer respond profoundly beauty natural phenomena -called works art takes degree time artists category saints thrilled rapture constant awareness total unity harmony things boehme ramakrishna yogis immersed unsullied vibrant bliss derived incessant contemplation 'world-bewitching maya'4- breath-taking great glamorous illusion surrounds side fence creative means ability translate terror lfla play life terms visual tactile audible olfactory sensual presentation rare open door theatre admit influences swarming gulfs grasp mind accessible magical entity fantastic feelers snare fugitive impulses flash holes space kinks reflected magic mirror artist'

Explore other Authors


If you are using this quote in any webpage , printmedia or any other places please use the following methods to cite this quotation.

MLA Style Citation
"A quote by Kenneth Grant" theysaidso.com, 2024. Mar 28, 2024. https://theysaidso.com/quote/kenneth-grant-the-twin-aspects-of-genius-the-passive-and-the-active-are-possesse
APA Style Citation
"A quote by Kenneth Grant" (n.d.). theysaidso.com. Retrieved Mar 28, 2024, from theysaidso.com web site : https://theysaidso.com/quote/kenneth-grant-the-twin-aspects-of-genius-the-passive-and-the-active-are-possesse
Chicago Style Citation
"A quote by Kenneth Grant". theysaidso.com, 2024. https://theysaidso.com/quote/kenneth-grant-the-twin-aspects-of-genius-the-passive-and-the-active-are-possesse , accessed Mar 28, 2024.

Comments

Authentication required

You must log in to post a comment.

Log in

There are no comments yet.