The Mysticism of Music, Sound and Word (The Sufi Teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan Book 2)

by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Some Sufis who adopt a certain method of progress on the spiritual path and who try to live a life as far away from the world as possible are known as dervishes. They are also often called faqirs, and have great powers of wonder-working and of insight. They are dreamers and lovers of God. They worship God in nature, especially in human nature. Among many ways of spiritual development they have on called Sama, which is listening to music. They listen to music in an assembly of the initiated; no one uninitiated is allowed to enter their assembly. They address one another saying 'O king of kings, O sovereign if all sovereigns', and are mostly clad in patched robes or in rags. They never think of tomorrow, their thought is only for the moment; to quench the thirst and to satisfy the hunger of the moment. The care of tomorrow they leave to the morrow; it is just with now that they are concerned, if they are at all concerned with life. They are the ones who are really entitled to enjoy the beauty of music; whose spirit and soul are responsive, with open centers, who make themselves into a medium of resonance for the music they hear; therefore music touches them differently from any other people; music touches the deepest part of their being. Thus moved by music, they manifest various states, termed by Sufis Hal. Anyone among them who is moved by the spirit may manifest ecstasy, Wajd, in the form of tears, sighs, or dance.