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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 June 2025
A Unique Space
It appears that restlessness is the point of departure and the basis of creativity for a human subject, hence, both material and metaphysical space can be viewed as different expressions of this creative restlessness. This space might be a medium in which dreams and the potential to realise those dreams could perhaps be placed for artistic blossoming:
While gardens can serve worldly ends and contemplation, there is also a long tradition linking gardens to retreat and contemplation and a long tradition linking gardens to retreat, reflection, and repose. Gardens serve such non-worldly purposes in the Bible, in the Chinese tradition of scholar-recluse, and in Virgil's praise of the life of retirement in the Georgics. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, Judeo-Christian tradition gardens recall paradise and the abundance and glory of the Garden of Eden. (Ross 1998: 6)
From this dimension, one can reflect on how gardens have been conceptualized as a significant space for myriad activities both worldly and non-worldly. Ross further explains,
The relevance of all this for the aesthetics of the garden is this: we want to know when and whether gardens are art. Perhaps more than any other art, gardens belong in and partake of the everyday world. Looking at paintings is not qualitatively like looking at literal landscapes, nor is watching a play or reading a novel much like thinking about or observing the misadventures and crises of our friends. Yet, our responses to gardens and to natural landscapes are similar in many respects. (Ibid: 18)
It is also important to note how this space gives voice to imagination and dreams and explores ambivalent contexts, as evident in Vivekananda's life. In his initial years, Vivekananda felt quite restless as he was puzzled about concerns both scientific and philosophical. As a young man, in favour of rational thinking, he could not support the idea that the abstract and symbolical description of God should take the first place in the creative space and that the question of self could drive an individual hard to achieve his/her goal in order to surrender himself/herself to an unknown being.
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