Houston residents have the rare opportunity to experience an enchanting evening of art and culture offered by the Guidestar Gold and top-rated Nonprofit, Self Enquiry Life Fellowship. The annual benefit auction, known by its Sanskrit name Sattwadharman, takes place on September 29th and features a limited release of 36 rare meditative vintage photographs and antique altar paintings from the Nonprofit’s archive collection.
This special event makes it possible for historians, art connoisseurs, and Indic Studies specialists as well as spiritual seekers to access sacred art prints not easily available elsewhere.
Each piece of art presented represents the Indic ethos that the light of divinity is ever-present, reflecting in all beatific forms. Historic photographs and paintings, which captured the essence of meditative calm and mysticism, have been preserved by the Nonprofit for the purpose of inspiring the community with a form of art that merges historicity, timelessness and the sacred.
The Nonprofit’s archive features photographers from the 19th century who captured the nuances of Indic philosophical roots and the spiritual depth of architectural and natural wonders. A thematic portfolio of eight photographs focusing on work as worship is included in the auction.
“These photographs are living symbols of the capacity of living illumination….They offer us the light of time and history, the light of intelligence and wisdom and craft, and the light of inner conception.”
“Elizabeth Stewart”
“Art Historian and Art Appraiser”
All the artworks are analyzed alongside Sanskrit literature by the Nonprofit’s Vedic monks who rely on their meditative understanding to select a particular portfolio. This process honors what the photographers would have seen, creates a coherent storyline, and connects the art to Sanskrit lore.
Releases are preceded by meticulous remastering which allows for a beautiful reproduction that aptly represents the original mystique. Each antique photo is digitized, cleaned and tone-adjusted; rare painting relics are repainted, corrected according to ancient texts, and digitally reproduced as fine art prints.
The remastering process for the Sacred Painting series is a unique artistic endeavour, breathing new life into rare art relics. An old-world painting is scanned and re-sampled before undergoing initial digital restoration. Thereafter the image is printed on canvas and painted with oil or acrylic, bringing the original to life, while also accentuating subtle nuances. The painted canvas is re-digitized for final micro level detailing.
The Sacred Photo series feature photos from the earliest days of photography. The photographs, many of which are over 150 years old, are scanned and brought into the digital artistic space for adjustments, correction of damage, and re-envisioning based on the Sanskrit lore or storyline.
These rare artworks take on the form of living altars in our homes, emitting an aura of divinity and uncovering the rich lore of sacred times and spaces. Art historian and appraiser Elizabeth Stewart notes, “These photographs are living symbols of the capacity of living illumination….They offer us the light of time and history, the light of intelligence and wisdom and craft, and the light of inner conception.”
The benefit dinner and silent auction features sublime Sanskrit chanting by His Holiness Swami Vidyadhishananda, spiritual founder of the Nonprofit, who will also deliver the keynote address. The evening includes rare video footage of traditional whole-brain accelerated schooling in India recorded at the Nonprofit’s sister institution. A healing vegetarian dinner will be served.
Sattwadharman takes place on Saturday, 29th September at 4pm at the VPSS Vallabh Hall in Houston. Proceeds from this benefit event support Self Enquiry Life Fellowship’s heritage projects on the revival of indigenous knowledge, accelerated learning curricula, and value-based educational publications. For more information visit hansavedas.org/benefit
For more information about Self Enquiry Life Fellowship’s vintage photography and sacred painting projects visit the “Projects” tab at hansavedas.org
