Mysticism of Ananda Coomaraswamy: Untouched side of a rare polymath

It would be an interesting study to trace some connectivity between Ananda Coomaraswamy and the works of theosophists in early 2oth century

by Punsara Amarasinghe-Apr 20, 2018

( April 20, 2018, Moscow, Sri Lanka Guardian) Sri Lankan born 20th century polymath Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy has been often described as an art historian, aesthetic critique and a professional geologist, but his impeccable contribution to unveiling oriental philosophies from Vedas to Upanishads and Buddhism along with Christian mysticism is left aloof in Sri Lankan academia. Internationally Coomaraswamy’s fame is much accredited with his writings on metaphysics and perennial philosophy, which are used to be Coomaraswamy’s major passion in his last few decades. Having born to an English mother and a Ceylonese Tamil father Coomaraswamy was exposed to a greater cultural diversity that other Victorians in 19th century lacked. His  eminent father Sir Muttu  Coomarasawamy died when he was age 7 and Coomaraswamy spent his childhood in England with his mother and the school he attended was totally different from the traditional Victorian public schools in England where students were given a given a classical typed education , but the  school that Coomaraswamy studied in England called Wycliffe school was known for its bohemian education and more over the vegetarianism was considered a policy of the school, which may had influenced upon Ananda Coomaraswamy to live as a vegetarian  throughout his life.

One certain factor that we should understand in examining Coomaraswamy’s flare for mysticism and perennial philosophy is attributed to the intellectual transformation he underwent in his mid-50’s, because the writings he completed in his youth were mainly focused on art history, Indian music and iconography which brought him fame as a renowned art historian who was striving to create a bridge between the Oriental and Occidental cultures. Having carved a niche himself as an art historian Coomaraswamy went on to study metaphysics and Eastern religions comparing with Christianity. His excellent knowledge in Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Pali and many other languages made his learning quest easy.  His article published by American Scholar journal in 1939 named “The Vedanta and Western Tradition “is an illustration of Coomaraswamy’s ability of comprehending Indian metaphysics and Western mysticism acutely. Regarding the universal nature of metaphysics he states “   The metaphysical “philosophy” is called “perennial” because of its eternity, universality and immutability ; it is Augustine’s “Wisdom uncreated, the same now as it ever was and ever will be”; the religion which, as he also says, only came to be called “Christianity” after the coming of Christ”. His views on the eternity or “Sanathana Dharma” were nurtured by his affinity with the original texts of ancient mystics and religious philosophers like Augustine, Orpheus, and Sankara in depth.  The Vedanta notion of “Oneness “or highest spiritual reality was taken by Coomraswamy as a parallel notion to Christian mysticism and Western philosophy.  As an example he argued Platonic conception of unification of inner and outer man and Christian doctrine of membership in the mystical body of Christ as a resemblance of Vedanta philosophy.

The books written during his last twenty years of life seemed to be short in size comparing with his early works on art criticism and oriental paintings, but nevertheless they became highly insightful works displaying his erudition on oriental religions and philosophies. For instance “Time and Eternity” happened to be a short book containing only one hundred and forty pages, but it vividly reveals Coomaraswamy’s analysis on “time” as a concept from world major religions. In this work he went on to discuss the substance of time and eternity under Vedic, Buddhist, Greek and Christian contexts. He has shown how each religious tradition had grasped time and eternity as metaphysical realities. Some of the interesting questions arising on time and eternity as a continuation parallel have been taken by Coomaraswamy under keen observation from major religious scriptures. As a matter of fact only a scholar who is well versed in ancient languages and competent in understanding such complex ideas and Coomaraswamy was a man of such a calibre. Coomaraswamy’s acquaintance with infamous English occultist Aleister Crowley would be another interesting incident to expose his colourful life. Indeed both Coomaraswamy and Crowley were two different characters in every way wherein Crowley was loathed by many as a charlatan and a seducer of women, but Coomaraswamy was known for his academic contributions widely. Nevertheless their knack on wearing dresses in a flamboyant manner always attracted both of them to be in the centre of the social circles. When Coomaraswamy met Crowley in 1917 Coomaraswamy was then married to the second of his four wives, a musician and singer from Yorkshire with the stage name Ratan Devi. The letters exchanged between Crowley and Ratan Devi indicates signs of romance among them and even at one point Crowley insisted Ratan Devi to divorce Coomaraswamy.

Undoubtedly Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy can be regarded as the most influential figure in 20th century aesthetic philosophy and the key figure who introduced the oriental mysticism to the West albeit his real contribution has been forsaken and forgotten by the country he was born.

It would be an interesting study to trace some connectivity between Ananda Coomaraswamy and the works of theosophists in early 2oth century, because the vision Theosophists developed towards the ultimate truth or “Parama Vinshartha” was more akin to how Coomaraswamy perceived the notion of ultimate reality through comparing it with Judeo-Christian concept of God the father and Eastern religious teachings. More importantly Coomaraswamy always referred to the authentic sources in order to make his analysis more accurate, his article on Tantric practices in the Far East published in 1939 named “The Tantric Doctrine of Divine Beauty” is a palpable illustration displaying how sharply he understood the idea of Supreme Being. He states “Ail tradition speaks in the last analysis of God as an inconnumerable and perfectly simple Infinity, but also of this Supreme Identity as an identity of two contrasted principles, distinguishable in all composite things, but coincident without composition in the One who is nothing. The Identity is of Essence and Non-being, God and Godhead, – as it were masculine and feminine”.

Coomaraswamy’s endeavor to expose how Christianity and Oriental philosophies understood art would be worthy to mention here as he spent many years in analyzing the similarities and differences on both approaches to art. In most of his writings and articles published in scholarly journals , Coomaraswamy went beyond the discussing the mere elementary forms of art, instead of he was keen in touching the metaphysical reality which he viewed from the art. In “Note on the philosophy of Persian Art”, Coomaraswamy narrates how Sufism or Islamic mysticism is reveled in Persian iconography. Coomaraswamy spent his last few years as the curator of Boston art museum and this short period was the climax of his intellectual transformation from art criticism to perennial philosophy, which eventually left an undying legacy on him in Western academia. Ironically Sri Lankan being his birth land has given a less attention on what this great icon devoted a half of his life. “Medieval Sinhalese Art” has been regarded by many Sri Lankan scholars as his biggest contribution, but in fact it was a work completed by Coomaraswamy in his youth before reaching the fully blossomed state of his scholarly maturity.  Undoubtedly Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy can be regarded as the most influential figure in 20th century aesthetic philosophy and the key figure who introduced the oriental mysticism to the West albeit his real contribution has been forsaken and forgotten by the country he was born.

( Punsara Amarasinghe is a Doctoral candidate in international law at Higher School of Economics in Moscow )