Why is music called the divine art, while all other arts are not so called? We may certainly see God in all arts and in all sciences, but in music alone we see God free from all forms and thoughts. In every other art there is idolatry. Every thought, every word has its form. Sound alone is free from form. Every word of poetry forms a picture in our mind. Sound alone does not make any object appear before us.

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Music, the word we use in our everyday language, is nothing less than the picture of the Beloved. It is because music is the picture of our Beloved that we love music. But the question is: What is our Beloved, or where is our Beloved? Our Beloved is that which is our source and our goal. What we see of our Beloved before our physical eyes is the beauty which is before us. That part of our Beloved which is not manifest to our eyes is that inner form of beauty of which our Beloved speaks to us. If only we would listen to the voice of all the beauty that attracts us in any form, we would find that in every aspect it tells us that behind all manifestation is the perfect Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom.

What do we see as the principal expression of life in the beauty visible before us? It is movement. In line, in color, in the changes of the seasons, in the rising and falling of the waves, in the wind, in the storm, in all the beauty of nature there is constant movement. It is this movement which has caused day and night, and the changing seasons. This movement has given us the comprehension of what we call time. Otherwise there would be no time- for it is eternity. This teaches us that all we love and admire, observe and comprehend, is the life hidden behind, and that life is our being.

It is owing to our limitation that we cannot see the whole Being of God, but all that we love in color, line and form, or personality - all that is beloved by us - belongs to the real Beauty who is the Beloved of all.

When we trace what attracts us in this beauty that we see in all forms, we shall find that it is the movement of beauty: the music. All forms of nature, the flowers so perfectly formed and colored, the planets and stars, the earth - all give the idea of harmony, of music. The whole of nature is breathing, not only living creatures, but all nature. It is only our tendency to compare that which seems more living with that which to us seems not so living which makes us forget that all things and all beings are living one perfect life. And the sign of life that this living beauty gives is music.

What makes the soul of the poet dance? Music. What makes the painter paint beautiful pictures, the musician sing beautiful songs? It is the inspiration that beauty gives. The Sufi has called this beauty Saqi, the divine Giver, who gives the wine of life to all. What is the wine of the Sufi? All beauty: in form, line and color, in imagination, in sentiment, in manners - in all this he sees the one Beauty. All these different forms are part of the Spirit of beauty which is the life behind, always blessing.

As to what we call music in everyday language - to me architecture is music, gardening is music, farming is music, painting is music, poetry is music. In all the occupations of life where beauty has been the inspiration, where the divine wine has been poured out, there is music. But among all the different arts, the art of music has been especially considered divine, because it is the exact miniature of the law working through the whole universe.

For instance, if we study ourselves we shall find that the beats of the pulse and of the heart, the inhaling and exhaling of the breath, are all the work of rhythm. Life depends upon the rhythmic working of the whole mechanism of the body. Breath manifests as voice, as word, as sound. The sound is continually audible, the sound without and the sound within ourselves: that is music. This shows that there is music outside and music within ourselves.

Music inspires not only the soul of the great musician, but every infant, the instant it comes into the world, begins to move its little arms and legs with the rhythm of music. Therefore it is no exaggeration to say that music is the language of beauty, the language of the One whom every living soul has loved. And we can understand that, if we realize and recognize the perfection of all this beauty as God, our Beloved, then it is natural that this music, which we see in art and in the whole universe, should be called the Divine Art.

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Many in the world take music as a source of amusement, a pastime; to many music is an art, and a musician an entertainer. Yet no one has lived in this world, has thought and felt, who has not considered music as the most sacred of all arts. For the fact is that, 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 painting and poetry: in fact music excels religion, for music raises the soul of man even higher than the so-called external form of religion. But it must not be understood that music can take the place of religion, for every soul is not necessarily tuned to that pitch where it can really benefit from music, nor is every music necessarily so high that it will exalt a person who hears it more than religion will do. However, for those who follow the path of the inner cult, music is most essential for their spiritual development. The reason is that the soul who is seeking for truth is in search of the formless God. Art, no doubt, is most elevating, but it contains form; poetry has words, names suggestive of forms; it is music only which has beauty, power, charm, and at the same time can raise the soul beyond form.

That is why in ancient times the greatest prophets were great musicians. For instance, in the lives of the Hindu prophets one finds Narada, the great prophet who was at the same time a great musician, and Shiva, a godlike prophet who was the inventor of the sacred vina. Krishna is always pictured with a flute.

There is a well-known legend of the life of Moses which tells how Moses heard a divine command on Mount Sinai in the words: "Musake!'- Moses hear, or Moses ponder - and the revelation that thus came to him was of tone and rhythm. He called it by the same name: musake. Words such as "music", or "musik" have come from that word. David, whose song and whose voice have been known for ages, gave his message to the world in the form of music. Orpheus of the Greek legends, the knower of the mystery of tone and rhythm, had through this knowledge power over the hidden forces of nature. The Hindu Goddess of learning, of knowledge, whose name is Sarasvati, is always pictured with the vina. What does this suggest? It suggests that all learning has its essence in music.

Besides the natural charm that music has, it has a magical power, a power that can be experienced even now. It seems that the human race has lost a great deal of the ancient science of magic, but if there remains any magic it is music.

Music, besides power, is intoxication. When it intoxicates those who hear it, how much more must it intoxicate those who play or sing it themselves! And how much more must it intoxicate those who have touched the perfection of music, and those who have contemplated upon it for years and years! It gives them an even greater joy and exaltation than a king feels sitting on his throne.

According to the thinkers of the East there are four different intoxications: the intoxication of beauty, youth and strength; then the intoxication of wealth; the third intoxication is of power, of command, the power of ruling; and the fourth is the intoxication of learning, of knowledge. But all these four intoxications 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. The beauty of music is that it is the source of creation and the means of absorbing it. In other words, by music the world was created, and it is again through music that the world is withdrawn into the source that has created it.

In support of this you may read in the Bible that first was the word, and the word was God. That word means sound, and from sound you can grasp the idea of music. There is an Eastern legend that has come from centuries ago that, when God made man out of clay and asked the soul to enter, the soul refused to enter into this prison-house. Then God commanded the angels to sing, and as the angels sang the soul entered, intoxicated by the song.

In the scientific and material world we also see an example of this kind. Before a machine - a mechanism - will run, it must first make a noise. First it becomes audible, and then it shows its life. We can see this in a ship, in an aeroplane, in an automobile. This idea belongs to the mysticism of sound.

Before an infant is capable of admiring a color or form, it enjoys sound. If there is any art that can charge youth with life and enthusiasm, with emotion and passion, it is music. If there is any art in which a person can fully express his feeling, his emotion, it is music which is best fitted for it. At the same time it is something that gives man that force and that power of activity that make soldiers march to the beats of the drum and the sound of the trumpet.

In the traditions of the past it was said that on the Last Day there will be the sound of the trumpet before the end of the world. This shows that music is connected with the beginning of creation, with its continuity, and with its end.

The mystics of all ages have loved music most. In almost all the circles of the inner cult, in whatever part of the world they are, music seems to be the center of their cult, or ceremony, or ritual. Those who attain to that perfect peace which is called nirvana, or in the language of the Hindus samadhi, do so more easily through music. Therefore the Sufis, especially those of the Chishti school of ancient times, have taken music as a source of their meditation. And by meditating thus they derive much more benefit from it than those who meditate without the help of music.

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

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Speaking of the harmony of music, I should like to say that the true harmony of music comes from the harmony of the soul. That music alone can be called real which comes from the harmony of the soul, its true source, and when it comes from there it must appeal to all souls.

Every soul differs in its choice in life, in its choice of the path it should follow. This is owing to the difference of the minds, for souls, in their essence, do not differ. Therefore, whatever means be chosen to bring the different minds of people together, there cannot be a better means of harmonizing them than music. It would be no exaggeration if I said that music alone can be the means by which the souls of races, nations and families, which are today so apart, may one day be united. The musician's lesson in life is therefore a great one. Music is not expressed through language, but through beauty of rhythm and tone which reach far beyond language. The more the musician is conscious of his mission in life, the greater service he can render to humanity.

As to the law of music which exists in different nations, there are of course different methods, but in the conception of beauty there is no difference. The differences come when the music is man-made; there is no difference in the soul-made music. Suppose a man comes from the far East, the extreme North, South, or West; wherever he sees the beauty of nature he cannot help admiring and loving it. So it is with the music lover. From whatever country he comes, and whatever music he hears, if the music has a soul, and if he seeks for the soul in music, he will appreciate and admire all music.

Furthermore, music has a mission not only with the multitudes, but with individuals. And its mission with the individual is as necessary and great as its mission with the multitude. All the trouble in the world and all the disastrous results arising out of it - all come from lack of harmony. This shows that the world to day needs harmony more than ever before. So if the musician understands this, his customer will be the whole world.

When a person learns music, he need not necessarily learn to be a musician, or to become a source of pleasure and joy to his fellow-men. No! By playing, loving and hearing music he should develop music in his personality. The true use of music is to become musical in one's thoughts, words and actions. 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.

There are different kinds of music, each kind appealing to certain souls according to their evolution. For instance, children in the street are very pleased when beating the time, because that rhythm has a certain effect upon them. But as a person evolves, so he longs for a finer harmony. Why people like or dislike each other is owing to their different stages of evolution. For instance, one person is at a stage where he appreciates a certain kind of music, another one, whose evolution is greater, wants music appropriate to his evolution.

It is the same in religion. Some stick to certain beliefs and do not wish to evolve beyond. So it is possible that the lover of music may be tempted to keep to a certain sort of music and will not rise further. The true way of progressing through music is to evolve freely, to go forward, not caring what others think, and in this way, together with one's development in music, to harmonize the life of one's soul, one's surroundings and one's affairs.

During my travels throughout the world I have heard the music of many different places, and I have always felt that intimate friendship and brotherhood existing in music; I have always had a great respect for music and for the devotee of music. There is one thing I believe and of which I have been convinced time after time in India when meeting those who have touched some perfection in music: that one can feel the harmony which is the real test of perfection not only in their music, but in their lives.

If this principle of music were followed, there would be no need for an external religion. 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.

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music

1. Music

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Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music

1. Music