Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, chants Kamhalini in a single continuous mono tone with no ups and downs.
For the followers of Buddhism interpreted by Nichiren Daishonin of Japan and the Soka Gakkai International, just chanting this name, which is the title of the Lotus Sutra of The Buddha, again and again and again can bring a sea change and shift in one’s Karmic balance.
The Joys of Life was a three-day painting exhibition held in Chennai recently by Dr. Shoba Ramakrishnan. This Professor of Chemistry in the Women’s Christian College felt that it was so important to have peace and to have that peace one needed a change of heart. She calls her paintings a ripple in the water and says the exhibition has a more fulfilling purpose. “Everything is within you. You are created with unlimited power. You are a microcosm to bring in peace and happiness in this world through the mere chanting of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo,” she says.
Explaining the paintings Kamhalini says they are an expression of the mantra which means ‘Salutation to the Universal Mystic Law of Cause and Effect Through Sound.’ Chanting this again and again, this sound puts the person directly into the rhythm with the universe, allowing them to tap the wisdom, courage, compassion and life force.
Daishonin says that though one desire is fulfilled, another rises. Desires are the key to lead to enlightenment as the process of fulfilling them with the help of the universal force creates a shift in our consciousness. One of the paintings show the concept that one is not alone in Soka Gakkai where the mentor is bonded to the disciple. “The Guru here is not above, but stands together with the disciple,” the artist says. Many in body but one in mind is another painting which shows that though the physical bodies of humans are different, their thoughts form the warp and woof of the universal fabric of the mind. “A great human revolution in just a single person will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and further will cause a change in the destiny of all humankind,” is the quote of Daisaku Ikeda whose ideas have inspired the formation of the Soka Gakkai International. The ultimate purpose is kosen rufu or world peace and the humanistic philosophy with the chant of this sound helps to achieve that peace.
The painting Fundamental Darkness speaks of the ignorance of the worlds of hell, hunger, animalism, anger that hold us captive. The effort of life is to transcend beyond all this and move to the worlds of tranquillity, rapture, learning, realisation, Bodhisatva and Buddhahood.
The Cycle of Birth and Death is the image that represents the unavoidable death of 60 trillion cells that comprise our body. The painting of Buddha Attaining Enlightenment shows a field and tree of wild and colourful flowers leaving an empty space on the canvas where the Buddha is seated in meditation.
“All of us go through problems. We look for a philosophy that will transform our lives. If your prayers are answered then you know that your philosophy works or not,” the artist says speaking of her experience with chanting the sound of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. The 15 pictures on display were the result of her contemplations on the sound. (drshobha2005@yahoo.com).
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