The Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan

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When Parvati, Mahadeva's consort, saw this instrument, she said: "I must invent my vina." So she cut a pumpkin in halves, made a body on them, and produced another kind of vina, the saraswati vina. So there are two vinas: one is played by men, the other by women. On this latter instrument not only sharp and flat notes are produced, but also micro-tones, and in this way the music becomes rich. But to master the science of micro-tones is so difficult, that it takes a lifetime. The musicians of India devote twelve hours of the day to the practice of the different rhythms, improvising upon them. In the end they produce a psychological effect which is not music but magic; a music that can thrill a person and that can penetrate the heart of man. It is a dream, a meditation, it is paradise. By hearing it one feels in a different world. Yet their music is hardly audible. Instead of being played before thousands of people, only one or two or three persons of the same quality and nature should be together to enjoy that music thoroughly. If a foreign element is present the musician does not feel inspired.


 
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