Discovering Ahimsa Through Art
“I have little life, time is very precious.”
Written by Vishwa Shah
Born and raised in Secunderabad, Telangana (then Andhra Pradesh), Mr. Ignatius Joseph has accomplished much in his life. From being a corporate employee in Riyadh to speaking at a UNESCO conference, he has experienced a wide variety of environments. For the last 25 years, he has made it his mission to further peace, harmony, and ahimsa in the world.
Discovering Jainism
Day in and day out, on his 2.5km journey to school, a four-year-old Ignatius Joseph would silently observe a group of people clad in plain white cloth as they walked barefoot on the side of the highway. Every day, as he passed by them, he would look over his shoulder with awe, curiosity, and confusion.
It puzzled him — why did these people walk in the same place every day? And why were they not wearing shoes? His innocent mind could only draw one conclusion here: they must be poor, maybe fakirs.
A few years later, now in 2nd grade, Joseph discovered that these white-clad people were ascetics, not vagrants. He also learned that they would go for bhiksha (to collect alms) to the homes around him, but not his own. Wondering why, he found out that they were Jain monks, and that they would skip his home upon noticing that his family was Christian.
Fast-forward 25 years, and Mr. Ignatius Joseph had become an artist. Inspired by a quote from the Bible, “the path to righteousness is a narrow and uphill task, few will reach this goal of Peace” (Matthew 7:13–14), he painted peace paintings. Once, he wanted to paint two people of different religions together. As he pondered whom he should paint — a Hindu, Muslim, Christian — he had an epiphany. Why not a Jain monk, like the ones he had so curiously observed as a child? An avid painter of oil and acrylics, he wanted to combine the two, metaphorically combining religious philosophies, to demonstrate the harmony the world could live in.
“the path to righteousness is a narrow and uphill task, few will reach this goal of Peace” (Matthew 7:13–14)
With this goal in mind, Mr. Joseph sought out a Jain monk. The curious child within him resurfaced as he asked an avalanche of questions to Sadhvi Prathibaji, who responded with a mountain of knowledge. He learned of the five Mahavratas: Ahimsa (non-violence), Aparigraha (non-possessiveness), Asteya (non-stealing), Satya (truth), and Brahmacharya (celibacy). The first one piqued his interest, and Ahimsa would come to live in his heart permanently.
Thinking back to the sadhus and sadhvis he had previously seen carrying some bags, he asked: do you not carry food in those bags? The sadhvi clarified that no, it was not food. Rather, they carried the bowls and utensils in which they received bhiksha. Curious, Mr. Joseph asked to see them. Immediately after he touched the bowl, he realized that he may have caused some offense or harm to the rules and requirements of the sadhvi’s life, as he was a non-vegetarian. At that moment, he looked down at the wooden bowl in his hands. As it stared back at him, he felt like the best thing he could do to atone was become a vegetarian; from that day on, he became one. A vegetarian was born and his doubts were relinquished.
Since then, through his work and interactions with a few different Jain munis, he’s adopted samayik (meaning equanimity, it is the vow of concentration) into his routine. Mr. Joseph has also completed bhikshudaya (also paushad vrat, form of tap, or self-restraint, where you live like a monk for a day) three times, and he has observed various types of fasts in the past, never missing Paryushan.
Peace Paintings and Activism
Art was not Mr. Joseph’s only profession. Before becoming an artist, he worked at a company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His first Christmas there, he realized there were no Christmas cards for him to mail back home; Saudi Arabia was an Islamic state. So he decided to make the cards, thereby discovering his interest and skill in art.
What kindled then became a steady, burning desire to spread peace through art.
The night he returned home after resolving to be a vegetarian, he thought why couldn’t his art also represent ahimsa? Thus was born his artistic style, coined “Ahimsaism.” Through his art, Mr. Joseph seeks to convey ideas of peace, nonviolence, and compassion in the world. Examples include pieces commenting on anti-terrorism, ragging (hazing) in colleges, environmental efforts, and non-smoking campaigns. In addition to these, he has also painted timeless works of art featuring Mother Teresa, Acharya Tulsi (leader of the Terapanth Jain Sangh — Jain Vishwa Bharti), and Rumi (poe-t and Sufi mystic).
This art style features five key features:
- Is created without brushes to keep off any animal products, instead using cotton cloth
- Is mixed media — oil and acrylic on canvas, representing harmony on the canvas, symbolic of the same harmony that can come with diversity in religion if we live & let live
- Always features a white pigment, the color of peace
- Includes an illusion effect, done using different methods like scratches from a pallet knife to highlight the theme of the painting
- Has a written accompaniment (poem, short story, or write-up on an eye-opening topic) that correlates with the visual language of the art
To bolster the spread of his message, Mr. Joseph often gives talks or holds workshops in colleges and universities. He has inspired several students through his seminars and exhibitions to create art on their own.
Recognition
Through his works, Mr. Joseph has been recognized by numerous people. Here, we’ve included a brief summary of his accomplishments:
82nd Congress Plenary
At this meeting for all political leaders in the Indian Congress Party, Mr. Joseph was invited to exhibit his Vegetarianism & Ahimsa Peace paintings. The exhibition was opened by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy of Andhra Pradesh, Congress President and Vice President of Andhra Pradesh.
UNESCO World Peace Conference, Pune
Here, he presented Ahimsaism to the global community at the Saint Shri Dnyaneshwara World Peace Prayer Hall, Pune. He spoke about how the visual language is a universal language, where people of varying levels of education, religions, and political affiliations may come to understand. He spoke about how Jainism has upheld Ahimsa as a supreme value (Ahimsa Paramo Dharma) and observed it through thought, word, and action, even today.
Interaction with Paras Muni
A very highly regarded and followed orthodox Jain muni, Dr. Paras Muni, graced Mr. Joseph with his presence. As uncommon as it is to have a Jain monk visit a Christian artist, he viewed the paintings and blessed Mr. Joseph for his mission on Ahimsa and peace.
Seminars
To spread positive messages, he also created a 3-day seminar program for youth and adults, involving NGOs, companies, MLAs, religious leaders, etc. This program promoted hygienic culture to help eradicate mosquito-borne diseases through awareness and a painting competition based on Ahimsaism. This project was lauded by the Modi administration and incorporated with the Swacch Bharat (Clean India) campaign.
He has also organized workshops for anti-terrorism campaigns in Kerala, non-smoking efforts, and food security at schools around India (and even Nepal!).
Paintings with American Context
Though residing in and primarily operating in India, Mr. Joseph has not limited his scope. His exhibitions on 9/11 reflections and gun culture were inspired by current events in the US. When Barack Obama became president, Mr. Joseph was reminded of the dream MLK so profoundly voiced. And with MLK’s unfortunate death on 4/4/1968 and Obama being the 44th president, Mr. Joseph was inspired to make this painting.
His impact has been recognized by several religious and political leaders in India, most notably former president APJ Abdul Kalam, Shri Paras Muni, Acharya Mahapragya, and Sister Nirmala (successor to Mother Teresa), and other religious leaders.
