The Madras Documentary Company's video: Ellora Faith Religion Art

“Faith …….. it is a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny……… and Religion is an institution to express this belief in the divine power. So religion is a system of belief…… and art had become a driving force of religion. Ellora is an example of this art….. an art that needs a special vision to see and experience. At Ellora we are not merely examining the arts, but instead seeking to understand the overall process, where the human activity of seeing becomes a meaningful and religious experience. So, we not only look at the role of art in relation to religious traditions, but also look at the way this vision changes from culture to culture……..from Hinduism….to Buddhism……to Jainism. In Ellora the visual arts are not objects of sight……. distanced from the viewer ……. instead, the viewer becomes a participant and intimately bound to the object looked at. However, the “power” of this art is not in the greatness of the art itself, but in its historic association. This “magic” art moves us from within……. here we have art of such aesthetic power and genius that it grasps us …..the beholder, and takes us beyond history to a time when faith virtually moved mountains. Ellora tells us that art in praise of God can stand on its own and can be beautiful even to the eyes of the unbeliever. Ellora displays the perspective of the artist and the age he lived in . Once created Ellora has stood as a creation that is not only vibrant but has given birth to new possibilities that goes beyond the intentions of the original builders.