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

by Hazrat Inayat Khan

2. The Most Sacred Art

what the art of painting cannot clearly suggest, poetry explains in words; but that which even a poet finds difficult to express in poetry is expressed in music. By this I do not only say that music is superior to art and poetry, but in point of fact music excels religion; for music raises the soul of man even higher than the so-called external forms of religion.

However, for those who follow the path of the inner cult, music is essential for their spiritual development. The reason is that the soul who is seeking for that is in search of the formless God. Art no doubt is most elevating, but at the same time it contains form; poetry has words, names suggestive of form; it is only music which has beauty, power, charm and at the same time can raise the soul beyond form.

Moses heard a divine command on Mount Sinai in the words: Muse Ke, Moses hark; and the revelation that thus came to him was of tone and rhythm, and he called it by the same name, Musik; and the words such as Music and Musike have come from that word.

Orpheus of the Greek legends, the knower of the mystery of tone and rhythm, had by this knowledge power over the hidden forces of nature.

According to the thinkers of the East there are five different intoxications: the intoxication of beauty, youth and strength; then the intoxication of wealth; the third is of power, command, the power of ruling; and there is the fourth intoxication, which is the intoxication of learning, of knowledge. But all these four intoxication's fade away just like stars before the sun in the presence of the intoxication of music. The reason is that it touches the deepest part of man's being. Music reaches farther than any other impression from the external world can reach. And the beauty of music is that it is both the source of creation and the means of absorbing it. In other words, by music the world was created, and by music it is withdrawn again into the source which has created it.

In this scientific and material world we see a similar example. Before a machine or mechanism will run, it must first make a noise. It first becomes audible and then shows its life.

The mystics of all ages have loved music most. In almost all the circles of the inner cult, in whatever part of the world, music seems to be the center of the cult or the ceremony.

The effect that they experience is the unfoldment of the soul, the opening of the intuitive faculties; and their heart, so to speak, opens to all the beauty which is within and without, uplifting them, and at the same time bringing them that perfection for which every soul yearns.

3. The Harmony of the Soul

One should be able to give the harmony for which the soul yearns and longs every moment. All the tragedy in the world, in the individual and in the multitude, comes from lack of harmony, and harmony is best given by producing it in one's own life.

Some day music will be the means of expressing universal religion. Time is wanted for this, but there will come a day when music and its philosophy will become the religion of humanity.

Chapter 2 The Music of the Spheres – 1

Nothing is as old as the truth, and nothing is as new as the truth.

All the religions have taught that the origin of the whole of creation is sound.

The music of the universe is the background of the small picture which we call music. Our sense of music, our attraction to music, shows that there is music in the depth of our being. Music is behind the working of the whole universe. Music is not only life's greatest object, but it is life itself.

The interpretation of this legend explains to us two great laws. One is that freedom is the nature of the soul, and for the soul the whole tragedy of life is the absence of that freedom which belongs to its original nature; and the next mystery that this legend reveals to us is that the only reason why the soul has entered the body of clay or matter is to experience the music of life, and to make this music clear to itself. And when we sum up these two great mysteries, the third mystery, which is the mystery of all mysteries, comes to our mind. This is that the unlimited part of ourselves becomes limited and earthbound for the purpose of making this life, which is the outward life, more intelligible. Therefore there is a loss and a gain. The loss is the loss of freedom, and the gain is the experience of life, which is fully gained by coming into this limited life which we call the life of an individual.

We say that we enjoy nature. But what is it in nature that we enjoy? It is music. Something in us has been touched by the rhythmic movement, by the perfect harmony which is so seldom found in this artificial life of ours; it lifts one up and makes one feel that nature is the real temple, the true religion. One moment standing in the midst of nature with open heart is a whole lifetime, if one is in tune with nature.

Chapter 3 The Music of the Spheres – 2

The nature of creation is the doubling of one. And it is this doubling aspect which is the cause of all duality in life; one part is positive, the other is negative; one expressive, the other responsive. Therefore spirit and nature in this creation of duality stand face to face. There is the first aspect which is sound, and the next which is light. In these nature-aspects, or responsive aspects, at first only the light works; but when one goes deeper in creation there is sound. In nature which is face to face with spirit, what is first expressed is light, or what man first responds to is light; and what man responds to next, what touches man deeper, is sound.

Even what we call matter or substance, and all that does not seem to speak or sound, is in reality all vibration. And the beauty of the whole of creation is this, that creation has worked in two ways. In one way it has expressed and in the other way it has made itself a responsive mold. For instance, there is substance, matter to touch, and there is a sense to feel, to touch. There is a sound, and at the same time there are ears which can hear sound. There is light, there is form, there are colors; and at the same time there are eyes to see them. And what man calls beauty is the harmony of all one experiences. What after all is music? What we call music is the harmony of the audible notes; but in reality there is music in color, there is music in lines, there is music in the forest where there is a variety of trees and plants; and there is harmony in how they correspond with each other.

If one were fully awake to life, if one could respond to life, if one could perceive life, one would not need to look for wonders, one would not need to communicate with spirits; for every atom in this world is a wonder when one sees with open eyes.

Chapter 4 The Ancient Music

When one looks at this subject from the Eastern point of view one finds that the Eastern idea of music originated from intuition.

Music according to the ancient people was not a mechanical science or art; music was the first language.

The proof of this can be found even now in the language of the animals and birds, who express their emotions and passions to one another, though there are no words, only sounds.

When we look at it from the metaphysical point of view, we shall find that the realization that science has today and will ever have, that vibration is at the root of the whole of creation, was a certainty to these ancient people and was the basis of their whole science.

The word music, or Sangita in Sanskrit, has three aspects. One aspect is language; the other aspect is playing; and the third aspect is movement.

The most important or valuable thing about the music of the ancient people, which so greatly benefited humanity, was that they distinguished the different aspects of music, and thereby came to realize that there was a certain way of expressing the tone and rhythm which brought about a greater emotion or inclination towards action; and they found out, together with this, that there was a certain use of time and rhythm which brought about a greater equilibrium and a greater poise. This science, developing after many years of practice, formed in itself a special psychological science or art; and this science was called Mantra Yoga.

The meaning of the word Yoga is unity, or connection; and Mantra Yoga means the sacred union between the outer life and the deeper life. For the Yogis discovered that there are psychological inclinations.

This brought them from the audible vibrations to the inward vibrations, that is to say from sound to breath; and for these the Hindus have one and the same word: Svara, a name for both sound and breath.

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.

The gold of heaven is dust to the worldly man, and the gold of the earth is dust to the heavenly.

We see today that there is an increasing tendency to nervousness. It is caused by too much activity in life. Life is becoming more and more artificial every day, and with every step forward man is yet missing that repose which has been as yeast to the human race. Therefore for the betterment and education of humanity today the art of repose, which seems to be lost, greatly needs to be rediscovered.

Chapter 5 The Science and Art of Hindu Music

Music, literature, and philosophy are akin to our souls, whatever be our faith or belief or our way of looking at life.

The music of India can be divided into four periods: the Sanskrit period, the Prakrit period, the Mogul period and the modern period.

The science of Indian music has come from three sources: mathematics, astrology, and psychology. We find this in Western music also, for the entire science of harmony and counterpoint is based on mathematics. In Sanskrit the science of Hindu music is called Prestara, which means mathematical arrangement of rhythm and modes.

In the undeveloped person that silent craving of the soul becomes something disagreeable and makes him restless or irritated. He does not feel contented with anything in life, he feels like quarrelling and fighting. In the person of fine feeling, this hunger of the soul expresses itself in depression and despair. He finds some satisfaction in love of reading, love of art.

There are two ways in life, uniformity and individualism. Uniformity has its strength, but individualism has its beauty. When one hears an artist, a singer of Hindu music, the first thing he will do is to tune his tambura, to give one chord. While he tunes his tambura he tunes his own soul, and this has such an influence on his hearers that they can wait patiently, often for a considerable time. Once he finds he is in tune with his instrument, with that chord, his soul, mind and body all seem to be one with the instrument. A person with a sensitive heart listening to his song, even a foreigner, will perceive the way he sings into that chord, the way he tunes his spirit to that chord. And by that time he has become concentrated, and by that time he has tuned himself to all who are there. Not only has he tuned the instrument, but he has felt the need of every soul in the audience and the demands of their souls, what they want at that time. Not every musician can do this. But the best can. When he synthesizes, and it all comes automatically as he begins his song, it seems that it touches every person in the audience, for it is all the answer to the demand of the souls that are sitting there. He has not made a program beforehand. He does not know what he will sing next. But each time he is inspired to sing a certain song, or to play a certain mode. He becomes an instrument of the whole cosmic system, open to all inspiration, at one with the audience, in tune with the chord of ...

Besides the beauty of music, there is the tenderness, which brings life to the heart. For a person of fine feelings, of kindly thought, life in the world is very trying. It is jarring, and it sometimes has a freezing effect. It makes the heart, so to speak, frozen. In that condition one experiences depression, and the whole of life becomes distasteful. The very life, which is meant to be heaven, becomes a place of suffering. If one can focus one's heart on music, it is just like warming something that was frozen. The heart returns to its natural condition, and the rhythm regulates the beating of the heart, which helps to restore health of body, mind, and soul, and bring them to their proper tuning. The joy of life depends upon the perfect tuning of mind and body.

Chapter 6 The Vina

This instrument was invented by the Lord of the Yogis, Shiva, Whose name is also Mahadeva. He gave to the world his lifelong experiences in the practice of Yoga and is worshipped in India as a godhead.

Chapter 7 The Manifestation of Sound On the Physical Plane

Modern science has discovered recently that on certain plates one can see clearly the impression of sound. It is made visible. But in reality on all objects the impression of sound falls clearly, only it is not always visible.

which is expressed in the Vedanta in the well known phrase: Nada Brahma, meaning Sound, the Creator. And we read in the Bible that first was the word, and the word was God, and that first was sound (the word), and then was the light. This only means that the source of creation was sound. In other words, the creative source in its first step towards manifestation was audible, and in its next step it was visible. It also shows that all we see in this objective world, every form, has been constructed by sound: it is the phenomenon of sound.

Now coming to the question of music: why music has an effect upon a person, why a person, by nature, likes music? It is not because he is trained in it or because it is a habit, but because it is a natural effect of sound that it attracts. First it touches the physical plane.

It is for this reason that the wise considered the science of sound to be the most important science to use in every condition of life: in healing, in teaching, in evolving, in accomplishing all things in life. It is on this foundation that the science of zikr was developed by the Sufis, and that the Yogis made mantrashastra. By zikr is not meant one particular phrase: by zikr is meant a science of words.

The science of sound can be used in education, in business, in industry, in commerce, in politics, in order to bring about desired results. But the best use of this science is made in spiritual evolution. By the power of sound or word one can evolve spiritually and experience all the difference stages of spiritual perfection.

The Manifestation of Sound On the Physical Sphere