EXCERPTS FROM THE INTRO TO THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MUSIC
The word ‘Music’ comes from
the verb ‘to muse’, in other words to cause to think or meditate. There is a
strong connection between the mind, emotions and music. Music triggers the
feeling of grief at a funeral so that even persons not directly connected to
the bereaved get a feeling of sadness; it triggers a feeling of happiness at a
party so that persons who come in despondent have their feelings altered to one
of happiness.
Certain kinds of music cause us to enter a
reflective mood such that we begin to think and ruminate on various issues, for
instance; music re-awakens memories of events related to that period in which
the piece of music in question played an active role, and we muse over these
events with feelings of regret or joy or happiness. Sometimes the same feelings
we experienced at the time the events actually happened are re-awakened in us
by the power of music working on our memories and feelings. This proves that
there is also a connection between our memories and our feelings.
Again it may not even be a
song or piece of music associated with a past event; it could just be a song
that parallels our mood that sets us thinking, because music is a vehicle for
the mind and emotions. It is a transporter of thoughts and feelings into the
realm of memory and imagination.
Yet again music facilitates
thought or the thinking process in that it aids meditation by consolidating the
powers of concentration in Man. Often when a piece of soft, unobtrusive and
quiet music is being played, it helps to focus the mind and stimulate the
thought processes. This is the reason why most students prefer to have soft
music playing in the background while they study.
On the other hand, certain kinds of music
transport us out of this plane of existence into the world of imagination where
we begin to daydream or see with the eye of the imagination what we have been
envisioning for our lives. So we see that music plays an active role in
stimulating our feelings, memories and mind.
Thus it is true that Music
affects and influences the mind and the feelings-the mind being the seat of
memory and the thought processes, while the feelings or emotions are linked
with the direction of the thought processes. In short music affects the
entire soul of Man, one way or another.
But in more recent times, music has begun to be
re-defined in the context of body language. More than ever, it is becoming
associated with dancing rather than with its primary functions towards the
inner man in ‘musing’.
It is beginning to play a
major role in determining fashion, as well as loosening and disintegrating the
moral fabric of society. There is an amazing world wide stark ignorance of the
uses and powers of music so much so that its abuse and misuse have become
greater than its beneficial effects.
Even
the very nature of the components of Music – Melody, Harmony and Rhythm,
suggest to us a subtle dimension to it that cannot be seen or perceived by the
human eye.
For instance, the word
‘harmony’ is suggestive of a smooth running of things…of a blending together of
things…If the voice of an operatic singer in his/her higher range can shatter
wine glasses, then it is a testimony to the power of raw sound and its ability
to affect the physical realm. How much more sound, when it is arranged as an
art form played continually in harmony or in cacophony will affect the soul and
indirectly, its circumstances and situations?
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