Sri Chinmoy plays the esraj at the Jharna-Kala Galery in Mercer Street, Greenwich Village, New York.
Music
A lecture by Sri Chinmoy
at the University of Pennsylvania
Music is Eternity’s aspiration. Music is Infinity’s perfection. Music is Immortality’s satisfaction. Aspiration is earth’s birthright. Perfection is Heaven’s birthright. Satisfaction is God’s Vision-Delight.
The animal music, the human music and the divine music. The animal music frightens the human music and deliberately ignores the divine music. The human music is unfortunately tempted by the animal music and has no access to the divine music. The divine music is always eager to purify the breath of the animal music and illumine the life of the human music.
The sound-music and the silence-music. The sound-music prepares the seeker-musician to be part and parcel of the vastness of the universal sky. The silence-music prepares the seeker-musician to drink deep the nectar-delight of the transcendental Sun. As there are two kinds of music — silence-music and sound-music — even so there are two kinds of musicians: musicians with genius and musicians with talent. Once a young student went to the great composer Mozart and asked Mozart to teach him how to write a concerto. The great composer told him to wait for a few more years before attempting to write a concerto. The young student reminded the great musician that he had been only eight or nine when he started composing such marvelous pieces. Mozart replied that when he was a child, he didn’t have to go to anyone for advice. Since the young student needed to ask someone else how to write a concerto, Mozart’s advice was for him to wait a few years. So here we see the difference between a musician with boundless genius and a musician with ordinary talent.
The sound-music we can produce if we have great talent. But for the silence-music, this is not enough. The seeker has to be able to dive deep within if he wants to compose silence-music on the tablet of his heart. For this he has to be totally consecrated to the inner life, the life of aspiration, the life of boundless peace, light and bliss. God is the Supreme Musician. He plays His Music sleeplessly, blessingfully and in a soul-stirring way. His Music awakens us and elevates us. Two kinds of music-lovers He has created. One kind will try to study and understand music, most of the time on a mental level. These music-lovers enjoy music in a mental way. Again, there are some seekers who have no musical training, but they seek the music that is deep within. They enjoy music in a psychic way. The music that they hear at times far surpasses the music that others study.
When a seeker-singer sings soulfully, he immediately feels that he is immortal, or at least that he is going to stay on earth for many, many years. Again, when the same seeker-singer starts thinking teeming thoughts, the world of multifarious activities and problems enters into his mind and weakens it. At that time he sees that his death is fast approaching. So when he sings soulfully, he feels that he has become one with Immortality. When he thinks, he feels he is doomed.
A seeker-singer feels that if he has no music, his heart is soulless. If he has no music, his life is useless. If he has no music, his goal is worthless. Why, why, why? Because music is the oneness-aspiration of humanity. Oneness without a soulful melody is blind, deaf and useless. Again, a melody without fruitful oneness is just a body without a soul. Without oneness-aspiration, humanity can never achieve perfection. Without perfection, satisfaction will always remain a far cry. If there is no satisfaction, then life can have no value whatsoever. It is for satisfaction that we aspire. It is for satisfaction that we try to perfect ourselves. Satisfaction is the only reality-existence that both God and man need. Soulful music not only has the answer, but is the answer to this need.
Our senses are restless. Therefore, our mind suffers. Our mind is doubtful. Therefore, our senses suffer. The mind has no capacity to bind or discipline the senses. Here music comes to the mind’s rescue. With the help of music, the mind binds and disciplines the senses and makes them into perfect instruments so they can be inundated with peace, light and bliss from above.
Again, when the mind is doubtful, when the mind drinks deep of doubt-poison, the senses have no capacity to inject faith into the mind. Here also music comes to the rescue. The senses take help from music to transform and illumine themselves. When the senses are calm and quiet, the doubtful mind is totally transformed and it becomes inseparably one with the heart, which is all receptivity. At that time our Inner Pilot — the Supreme Musician — can manifest Himself blessingfully, powerfully and measurelessly. As He is manifesting Himself in and through us, the divine music becomes part and parcel of our existence and we grow into perfect Perfection. In and through us the Supreme Musician creates a new world. We become the divine music, and a new vision of God’s transcendental Reality operates in and through us.
Each seeker is a singer and also a musician, for each seeker is a God-lover and Truth-server. He who loves God and serves Truth is undoubtedly a singer and a musician in God’s Heart. One who is a God-lover and a Truth-server has already established his oneness with his Inner Pilot. And this oneness, this inseparable oneness, is nothing other than the all-elevating, all-illumining and all-energising Music of our Beloved Supreme, who is eternally the Musician Supreme.
Published in Sound and Silence, part 2