This Sunday, many of us got together for our first HeArt circle after a break of five months at an open garden to experience some time with nature which was this month's theme. The silent hour was accompanied by a few peacock singing and some jogging footsteps passing by our side.

Siddharth shared, after silence, when it was art time, the first thing he searched for was a quiet place to be by himself and picked up crayons to get into a child-like mode. While thinking about nature, he later shared that the very first thought that came to him was that it is always present. Immediately the all-seeing eye came to his mind, which he made at the center. From his recent 10-day meditation retreat, he remembered that nature is nothing but earth, water, air, fire, and space and how universal and interconnected they are within and without. The four skillful means towards liberation, equanimity, joy, kindness, and compassion came to his mind as taught by the Buddha, and he could relate to these values as the qualities shown to us by nature every day.


Shruti shared, " I see nature, God, Shiva, and me as one." She described her painting which was inspired by an animation film called Moana. She shared, "It's in me that I see, that waves, forests, mountains, and the sun. Sun is the heart of nature. Waves signify my fluctuating mind. Yet ever-flowing and fresh. Forest is green, full of flowers, depicts my pleasant states. Mountains, my ups and downs of life. And finally, the black branches show the dark side of me. Yet connecting to the leaves is the source of life.


It was my turn, and I shared how happy I was to be part of the circle sitting under the sky, feeling the wind, watching the trees while doing some art. After silence, what came to my mind was, ‘Who am I’ and two very clear thoughts that came to me were, I am not the body, and I am not the mind. Both Mind and body felt limited, and I was beyond that. While listening to the peacock or looking at the roots of the trees, I felt I was part of both. I felt something around my heart, which I feel was my core, which knows it all, which is beyond my mind-body, which I feel is natural and natural.

Bhumika di shared that when she thinks of nature, the synonym for that was mothers. For her, both are intertwined; both are equal. She added I could surrender to both. Nature/mother is always there no matter what, and I can surrender to both. If I am doing something which is not okay, the mother will surely have her say. Nature functions in the same way. She mentioned many mothers around her who are currently dealing with mountain-sized hurdles, and the way they do, they are too less than Gods. What I drew represents motherhood.


Mira aunty shared how she had a migraine while coming to the circle, which got dissipated in the presence of the ‘sangha,’ and it was indeed a beautiful start to her Sunday morning. While doodling, she got a few glimpses of her father’s last moments. She was in her teens then. Aunty was equally grateful for her mother for taking care against all odds, but somehow, images of her father surfaced. Another elder shared how he drew mountains, rivers, sun, and things that he sees in nature, and he was doing this after many years and felt that he should be doing it often.

Jaimit shared how he feels conscious around ‘art’ but takes the invitation as an opportunity to overcome his awkwardness. He later shared, “When I started doing, I did not know what am I really going to do but somehow it ended up with something meaningful. I just had to flow. Mostly I end up making mountains that I have learned as a child, but I tried to be more mindful and witness the emergence this time. I made three leaves, their size in ascending order, and painted them with the usual green color.” He could relate to each leaf as three values: Satya – Truth, Prem – Love, Karuna – Compassion. He quoted Morari Bapu saying, “A person who knows how to live all these values at one time is on the right path :) He added what was amazing was to see the meaning that emerged from a simple form of art.


A dear friend says, "A" is for the EFFORT. Immensely grateful to each one for showing up on a Sunday morning and sharing their wisdom with their presence, words, and art.