GLOBAL SIKH DAILY NEWS The Kamalla Rose Kaur Column God Help Your Artists Kamalla Rose Kaur Thu Jul 26 It is hard to be born onto a planet that persecutes artists. Artists cause trouble. Artists instigate reform. The songs of social change lead awareness, lead consciousness; and the writings and graphics too. Thus artists are dangerous and we get slandered all the time.

People like to think of artists as wanton and morally loose. Parents fear that their children will become artists, thus doomed to be failures and eternal social embarrassments to the family.

Yet what is humanity without art? How can you drop everything and follow, if you never hear the song?

The truth is that like other persecuted people artists in this world suffer greatly from all the social problems associated with poverty and shunning. Yet, how are we going to achieve transformation of consciousness on this planet if we keep punishing artists; keep pretending that artists aren't as important as, engineers are?

The powers of darkness are afraid of artists. Artists are uncontrollable and artists wield huge power. Artists impact people right at the core.

Artists are persecuted for a reason; never forget this. Like droids of the system, the fearful masses, pull away from their most enlightened artists and buy only the dark arts.

Be proud to be an artist and stop letting people treat your work like it is worthless. Stop accepting social shunning and slander and help remind the world of how important ART is. Where I live there are bumper stickers that say: ART SAVES LIVES.

You can't choose whether you are an artist or not. So how do you know if you are an artist? Do you feel jealous of artists? Did you always want to dance, or be on stage? Are you a good storyteller, does writing write you, more than you write it? Do you go into deep and darkest depression when you stop doing your art? Are you crazy enough to BE an artist even if it means going hungry, and being a social outcaste? These are the kinds of questions that artist's lives generate. These are the sorts of questions that haunt you, if you are indeed an artist.

Beloved ONE, help Your artists please! Empower and prosper Your artists. Beyond this, may all Your devotees find true purpose and be given all the resources and opportunities they need to make their best dreams come true!

My Sri Guru Granth, my special friend, my guide and teacher, great artist, poet and songwriter, says:

"Fortunate ones, listen to this joyful song, all our wishes will be fulfilled, we obtain the Transcendent, all grief and sorrow are left behind. Suffering, sickness and fever depart, when we hear the Revelation. Through the Guide within, the pious win understanding, they are in bliss. They who hear are pure, they who recite are pure, for they are suffused with their own formless True Sri Guru; Nanak says, they who sit at the GOD Within's feet ring with unstruck melody"

- From Rahiraas Copyright ©2001 sikhe.com