Decorating ancient buildings with coloured glasses is an art, and is also a delicacy to the eyes.
Picturesque paintings and arrangement of glasses in the ancient Churches, Synagogues,
theaters and worship places is a symbol of divine. They allow light in
different colours to pass through which give a heavenly atmosphere. There is a
long history for the genesis of coloured glasses and glass art which I do not
want to comment on. What brings a wonder for me is the phenomenology of the coloured
glass!
Glass
is a surface, be it on a window panel or in any other shape, allows the ray of
light to pass in and out. When the light passes through, it reflects the colour
which the glass possesses. Deeper the colour of the glass, deeper is the colour
of the light. If the glass surface is full of art and design, ditto will be the
colour. Darker and opaque the glass, vague will be the light; thinner and
transparent the glass, clearer and brighter the light.
Often
in the glass cases we read the inscription, “Glass wares, handle with
care!” Glass wares are delicate and can
break easily. At the same time, they are very precious. If broken, difficult to
put it in order, unless, they are processed again. However, if one processes,
the original attire seldom can be attained.
Every
human being is like a coloured glass. They are precious, valuable and unique.
The values double when they reflect the colour which they possess. More opaque,
darker is the colour; transparent the glass, clearer is the vision. Deeper the
colour, harder the reflection; more transparency, better transparency is in the
personality.
We
human beings are multi-coloured glasses. We reflect coloured shades. Rather
than reflecting back, we need to allow the light to enter in. While allowing
the light to enter in, we need to allow the light to fall into different hues
of our glassy personality. Then, the incoming shade will be more colourful.
Once we allow different colours to enter in, the reality appearing within will
be far more beautiful than otherwise.
Should
we allow every light to enter in? I feel, no. We need to filter the light we
are receiving. There are hundreds and thousands of rays we are bombarded at
every moment. It is up to us, to allow which one is better for me and others to
see and experience. There are glasses which block ultra-violet rays and glasses
which block infrared and radio waves. Similarly, in our bodies too, there
should be areas where such glasses are to be fitted to block such carcinogenic
rays. For the healthy culture to shine within the theater of our selves
healthy, well decorated, artistic and colourful glasses are essential. Only
then, the picture exhibited within will be glorious.
There
is an English idiom which goes like this, “Rose-coloured glasses” or
“Rose-coloured spectacles” which means, “if someone thinks about or looks at
something with rose-coloured glasses, they think it is more pleasant than it
really is.” The farther meadow is always greener. It is nothing but masked
personality. The reality in fact is fresh and beautiful, but the masked person is
not able to perceive in its pristine clear state. The reality is attained only
when one experiences it in one’s life. It
is the case with most of the ‘white-collared people,’ who often make rules and
regulations for others and they themselves do not have any realistic idea of
it. The people wearing rose-coloured glasses often use flowery language,
idiomatic expressions and claim to know things better than others. I call this
kind of people, ‘over-enthusiasts.’
Some
people artificially paint attractive colours on their self-glasses. And some
people regret not being painted. What is more important to note here is, the
frustration of not being the original paint.
It is by divine providence that each and every individual is given with
ample colours in life (say for example, the talents). However, they are not satisfied with these
and therefore, try to paint artificial colours and end up with gloomy pictures.
As the proverb goes, “face is the index of the mind,” they exhibit themselves
their real inner picture. On the other
hand, there are people who act what actually they are, but remain skeptic about
their own beauty. And at times they shut their theater door so as not to allow
anyone to enjoy the art. Are both extremes healthy? Nay. One should note that
‘to be authentic is to be natural.’ But at times, there may be some cracking
and leaking areas which need immediate attention to.
There
is a tendency in some people to ‘weep over the broken glass.’ Will the broken
glass recover itself? Can any glue fix it to bring its originality? Remember,
we are living in the real world and neither in an imaginary world nor in the
magical world. A broken glass is a broken
glass, is a broken glass and is a broken glass. It is a perfect past. Now be in
the present perfect and look toward the future perfect. Ask yourself, ‘how
shall I regain my lost colour and shape?’ It is perfect to have a broken glass.
But the broken glass should be a lesson to build a perfect amphitheater where
you entertain several broken glasses and thus lead them to their realization.
It is nothing but ‘buying a new glass.’
The
transparent natural glass allows the light to pass in without any difficulty.
Natural glass is a “colourless” glass (Is there a glass called colourless?! Is the
‘colour’ my imagination? After all, does colour exist at all? Let me not gossip
here). It allows one to see what is in and out without any trouble. In other
words, transparent glass ‘reveals my nakedness.’ I am stripped off to my
nakedness in front of the other. When
Adam and Eve sinned they felt this ‘nakedness.’ I am revealed to the other what
I am. Now the poets can see the beauty and can compose lyrics; beloved can
taste and wonder; journalists can click pictures and report it in the daily
mails; scientists can question and experiment; philosophers can philosophize,
theologians can theologize, politicians can create polity. Amn’t I a butt of
all the jokes to others?
Opaque
glass is still an ‘artificial-natural’ glass. It is natural, because I am born
with these colours. It is artificial because, I can paint the paint I would
like to be. It is said, “humans are made and not born.” We are made humans by our qualities and
potentialities. The opaqueness does not allow or reflect the light completely.
It arrests and keeps within itself the portion which should not be exposed. I
am safe here for my nakedness is not exposed. No poets can compose, no sociologists,
philosophers, theologians and scientists can reveal my inner self. But is this
kind of life worth living?
I
am in a troubled now. At one hand, coloured glass exposes my glory; on the
other, colourless glass reveals my nakedness, making me feel shy. I feel I need
to be transparent that I may be what I am. But, looking at the exposure of my
nakedness, I feel I should be opaque and dark. Should I be, by the by have any
colour at all? Colourfulness and colourlessness is my giveness. It is my actual
life. Let me be that, and be fuller in life. What a chimera is this life!?
Fr. Raju Felix Crasta
Image url:
http://esguk.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/coloured-glass1.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:William_Holland_stained_glass.jpg
http://www.tatra-glass.co.uk/glass_project_gallery/lakenheath/stained_glass_photos/stained_glass1.jpg
