Ep124: Art of Awakening – Rupert Spira
In this interview I am joined by Rupert Spira: a teacher of the direct path method of Advaita, and an internationally acclaimed ceramic artist.
In this episode Rupert discusses his childhood in British boarding school, his disenchantment with science, and his discovery of spirituality.
Rupert explains how his decision to pursue a career in pottery caused a rift with his father, and reveals the profound significance of their subsequent reconciliation many years later.
Rupert recounts his intensive apprenticeship with the Zen Master-like British studio potter Michaela Cardew, and shares the essence of his artistic process as it expresses both in ceramics and in his work as a teacher of nonduality.
Rupert also discusses personality cults in the arts and spirituality, the seductiveness of adulation as a spiritual teacher, the apparent conflict between beauty and truth, and why awakening so often still the artistic impulse but can also liberate it.
Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Topics Include:
00:00 – Intro
01:11 – Rupert’s upbringing and education at boarding school
05:25 – Disenchantment with science
08:00 – Discovery of spirituality and the arts
10:32 – Rupert’s parents’ mixed response to his career in the arts
10:58 – Estrangement and powerful reconciliation with Rupert’s Father
15:31 – Apprenticeship under the Zen-like master potter Michael Ambrose Cardew CBE
23:04 – The education of a master artist
27:37 – Spiritual interests kept secret from Michael Cardew
30:57 – The essence and process of Rupert’s internationally acclaimed 30 year career as a ceramic artist
35:35 – Transitioning from pottery to spiritual teaching
36:58 – Similarities between Rupert’s arc as a potter and as a spiritual teacher
38:00 – Leaving the master and the emergence of the artist’s own voice
42:36 – Rupert’s art in every aspect of teaching
50:14 – Personality cults in the arts and spirituality
55:06 – Navigating student’s projections
57:06 – The seductiveness of adulation
01:04:48 – Resolving the conflict between beauty and truth
01:11:00 – The liberation of Rupert’s art
01:17:19 – Why awakening can kill art, and why it didn’t kill Rupert’s art
To find out more about Rupert Spira, visit:
Published books by Rupert Spira
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James