Question: Is the purpose of art to add something to reality?

Sri Chinmoy: When you create a piece of art, immediately it adds to reality in terms of inspiration, in terms of capacity, in terms of beauty. If the artist is sincere and devoted, then each time he creates he is offering new life, ever-continuous and ever-transcending life, and entering into Immortality. A seeker deals with eternal Life, infinite Life. If the artist is a seeker, then he is constantly creating new life which is becoming one with Infinity and Eternity. If he is a seeker, then he is creating something in infinite measure, or entering into something infinite and eternal. But if the artist is not a seeker, in his art he will only be adding a tiny drop to the existing capacity of creation. If he is not a seeker, then he is like a child who adds one dollar to his father’s million dollars. His contribution is infinitesimal, but still it does add something.