Anthem of Creativity

Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought." - Albert Einstein. How apt was the observation of this great scientist. If I say Creativity is a prerequisite for excellence,  I am sure it will stand testimony to any research on the subject. Creativity is not restricted to writing, painting, photography, dance etc,  actually even in our professional lives, it is 'originality' which is one of the most 'sought after' quality. Copy cats can pass muster for a short while but for the long innings one has to be original in one's approach to every challenge or issue which one is faced with. Originality and creativity are closely linked, 'out of the box' thinking and ideas germinate in fertile brains only. No wonder it is a Dhoni who is more creative because he trusts his gut and goes for the jugular even in extremely dire situations. I would say sportspersons are naturally creative, always playing on their reflexes. Straitjacketed, the rule position guy is a good Babu, a clerk, who just follows the orders and sticks to them, but for real growth one has to step out of the ordinary and then analyse the issue threadbare without any preconceived notions and prejudices. 

Creativity and 'Start up' are also closely linked, after all it is something unique that gave the idea to the person(s) to come up with and pursue it, thereafter it is hard work, perseverance and of course Lady luck, it is only then that it emerges as a ‘unicorn’. As Osho the great philosopher says, "Creativity is the greatest act of rebellion in existence, only a person who gets rid of all conditioning can be truly creative, else you are merely a copycat." We know from history that most of the poets, artists, painters, sculptors were not given their due in their lifetime but they were recognised, understood and appreciated long after they are gone. Mind you none of them were pandering for recognition in their quest for creativity, it was the very purpose of their being, their raison-d'être. If  for some reason they did not pursue their passion, they would die within, they lived because they were creative. 

Creativity is meditative, it is therapeutic, may be even cathartic in expression, action and obviously, it is oblivious of the world around, the creative person is not seeking approval of his labour of love. He just wants to do it because it gives him/her a different kind of pleasure, a satisfaction, a feeling of unity with the divine, with nature, some may even describe it as orgasmic. 

It is not as though recognition of their genius is shunned, after all every human being nurtures a desire to be known, acknowledged and appreciated, so it is welcome. But adulation may just be a spoiler in the act, as it is addictive in nature and then this may just slip into being something just ordinary, as the person would be seeking approval of the people and may end up shunning his own calling chasing fame and glory. We have seen many an artistes who lost their mojo after a truly revolutionary creation and couldn't come up with anything to match up to it later. Harper Lee could not not match up to her masterpiece, "To Kill a Mocking Bird", similar fate awaited JD Salinger after his "Catcher in the Rye". Closer home, Kamal Amrohi, the famous film director could not repeat his success after "Pakeezah". Vikram Seth the author of a very successful "A Suitable Boy" could not come up with an encore or Arundhati Roy after her Booker prize winning  "God of Small Things".

It is because the 'fragrance of freedom', an expression which I have borrowed from Osho again, was lost; the Bohemian approach to life was forsaken for other pursuits leading to the suffering  and suffocation of the artiste within. Being creative is our natural urge and we need to listen to our heart, not to the mind which is governed by logic, which is cold, it is the heart which is warm with passion, with love, with joy which manifests in our own creations. Life is not dull as a simple prose, it is a poetry in motion, not orthodox, not bound by rules just free flowing, may be even floating in space.“May a hundred flowers bloom” but not in the Chinese manner where they end up being crushed after that.

 May creativity blossom in each and everyone's heart, that is the path to salvation, lest we resemble the dystopian society in Ayn Rand's famous “Anthem"!