Monday 26 September 2011

The Vitruvian Man



My favorite sketch is the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci. It is significant to me as to me it represents life and human nature; everything exists around man. One of the theories related to this sketch can be derived from the 6th century, the time when Pythagoras and the Buddha lived. We all know that concept of rebirth or ‘jnam’. In mythology there is this concept that life is an endless wheel of reincarnations until we purify ourselves and return to our divine source or simply achieve ‘mupthi’.

This sketch shows life to me as like life this sketch is in perfect symmetry and it holds everything: a circle, a square, and two pairs of limbs depicting that man does have one face but he can have a lot behind that simple face, he can be two complete people which are independent from one another yet so similar, like two soul mates which the same center. Here by centre I mean same interests, same problems the same soul.


The circle depicts the life of the earth and the fact that it revolves around the sun and that every thing in this world is round. We often see how two lovers leave and then reunite at the other end of this world. It is like the concept of a compass by Donne;


If they be two, they are two so
As stiffe twin compasses are two,

Thy soule the fixt foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if the'other doe.

And though it in the center sit,
Yet when the other far doth rome,

It leanes, and hearkens after it,
And growes erect, as it comes home.

Such wilt thou be to mee, who must
Like th'other foor, obliquely runne;


Thy firmnes makes my circle just,
And makes me end, where I begunne.

Its means that in between two lovers one needs to stay stagnant so that the other may drift away at times but have a point to come back to. I have seen men do this that they go around and have their affairs but at the end they return to the same woman. I told all this to a friend once and she told me a story about this uncle: he used to go and have his flings, get drunk and come back to his wife and tell her that she satisfies him the best. Ha ha


4 comments:

  1. oh the Beloved of Rumi, the returning to the reed-bed.... i am fascinated by the idea of going and coming back. but not when it comes to men setting out and philandering. :)

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  2. hey aleen,just ur kind words on my post,thanks ,and heartiest best wishes for the future,

    it is true that many in my relatives looking for a single boy for their girls,but dear it is not necessary that all of them are bad,its all about human nature,good people are always nice with their every relationship and duties,and if one has a bad cruel nature he or she will be bad to survive with anyway you must have deep faith in god and stay cool give ur best and keep all on the creator,blessings

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  3. hmmm...i think this is a very famous sketch...i often saw it but never thought of it in this way...thanks for enlightening and sharing your thoughts with us :)

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