Symphony

When we think of our life, each one of us are like a musical instruments whose duty is to perform to a song as composed by the Director of music. The Lord creates the seven swaras in the form of seven chakras inside of each one of us like we find all the Swaras in each musical instrument. Some of us have a naturally special affinity to certain swaras while others have different interest. He packages each musical instrument with special capabilities but all of them need to synchronize into what is defined by the composer. All lives in the world together are nothing but a set of musical instruments in a great symphony, the Director/Composer being the Lord of the Universe.

Each one of us have a responsibility to work hard to understand the musical instrument well after carefully reviewing the nuances of each musical instrument and understand the tune well. Our role is to play our instrument carefully and correct our mistakes instead of pointing fingers to other musical instruments around us. Like the tune that is already composed by the conductor/composer, our life’s purpose is already predetermined. Within the barometers of the tune, we are free to function with our own improvisations which we call as free will. Our duty is to identify the tune and begin putting our performance together to execute the tune in a melodious way that is appreciated not only the by the conductor/composer but also by the audience. Getting the hang of the tune could happen in a heartbeat because of the experience and each person’s ability to build capabilities or it could take the entire life time to figure out the tune and synchronize. But once we find the tune, we have to stick to it and develop our skills to encrypt that tune indelibly in our heart.

Apparently, the tune doesn’t come with a detailed execution plan and it is left to the imagination of each individual. When we develop our skills to play our musical instruments, we might face some severe obstacles which means our musical instrument is not played in harmony with other musical instruments in the symphony. That is why tuning the instrument well with control of mind and senses is important. Once we do that well, discipline and character needed to perform a tune will automatically come. Our vision of the tune, listening skills, tuning of the instrument and our fingers, etc. play an extraordinary role in aligning our musical instrument to the tune. We might have some wrong assumptions about the tune which should be eliminated through deep inquiry and we should be ready to pick up the great qualities we find in other musical instruments. All these efforts help us to align the instrument with the symphony.

Most importantly, we need to construct our ability to play the instrument without resisting the natural affinity towards certain tunes. We should play them as resisting only results in longing for it. We should saturate that interest by playing such tunes on our own in order to be able to perform the tunes that are performed to the satisfaction of the conductor/composer to please the audience. Each musical instrument has its own unique qualities of strengths and weaknesses and each one of us while recognizing them should also be understanding the similar qualities in other musical instruments. All the musical instruments together is called orchestra but orchestra becomes a symphony only when all of them are played in alignment with each other to achieve one tune.

Each one of us are gifted with the energy needed to perform the instrument to the tune of the composer. But how we intent to perform is entirely left to each one of us. It is our choice whether we would like to be part of the symphony accepting a role of one of many instruments or play alone without experiencing the joy of playing as part of the symphony. When we prepare ourselves to play as part of the symphony and help each other to be part of the symphony, the conductor/composer helps each one of us to be together in harmony with each other. If we make one right step, the conductor/composer makes several steps to make it work. Let us understand that the musical instruments could be many but the conductor is one. Similarly, each instrument may look different but all of them have the same swaras inside of them that are capable of creating one tune.

 

Dear jskls,

Thank you for your first response. I am glad you once carefully understood the symphony orchestra. Music is used regularly to reach divinity. Thiagabrahmam to MS amma, everyone reached ecstasy while alive through music. Speaking of Illayaraja Thiruvasakam, an incident that I encountered comes to my mind. I used to meet an American male nurse who used to visit our spiritual center regularly. He used to sing Sanskrit bhajans flawlessly with accurate pronunciation. Because of that, I admired him regularly. One fine day, he asked me, "Is your mother tongue Tamil?" When I answered affirmatively, he said, "I am going to bring a CD that I play every early morning for the past so many years and can you kindly tell me what that is?" The next week, he brought it with him and it was Illayaraja's Thiruvasakam. Without knowing the language and the meaning, he was able to connect with the divinity. Another Polish friend of mine wakes up every morning at 4:30 to do meditation but he doesn't leave his home until he hears Adhitya Hirudayam. These incidents taught me that the language is no barrier to reach the divinity.

If music is capable of making the Lord to melt out of love, how can the reflection of divinity i.e. human be any different?

Viswa

 

Dear Syamala,

Yes. You are correct. Listening to symphony gives us a lot of inspiration and make us peaceful. I believe it is our own mind that makes us misinterpret the tune and play the wrong node. Abaswaram is caused by our own mind than anyone else around. Self-inquiry, observing the plants and animals, manifesting love in our heart, remaining in the world like a Lotus in a pond, accepting life as it happens, remain calm in experiencing pleasure and pain, keep improving our character and reducing expectations, subordinating our mind and senses to the welfare or common good of everyone around us, etc. help us to tune our instrument to be in harmony with the rest.

Viswa

 

Dear Ramya,

Thank you for your kind comments. The composer's/conductor's ability to forgive the wrong tune and allow the instrument to try again is the key for the human beings to continue having hopes in life. He would correct as many times as possible to prevent a human being from falling and help to get up but finally, it is the humans determination to get up and perform well that makes the difference. Apart from teachings of Guru for playing the tune, repetitive practice is needed for the instrument to be in alignment with the symphony.

Viswa

 

Dear Smt. Jayasala:

Thank you for your kind words and they truly humbled me.

Even in life, the goal is one the approaches might be many. Every life that is born is longing to be one with One without the second and that urge is never going to diminish. Some may take more time while others may do it quickly. We all are tuned towards one objective. There is no I and others and understanding that comes from our constant mindset of compassion and heart filled with love towards fellow beings.

It is important to understand the purpose in life in order to align ourselves to the Creator. Divine instructions are embedded in the form of experiences and the Divine Order is compassionate to make us get up every time we trip and fall.

Patience to carefully keep correcting ourselves and perseverance not to give up until we get the tune are essential. Ragas are many but Swaras are only seven. Instruments might be many but the tune is only one. One can't overplay an instrument and one needs to wait for the Composer's instruction when to play the interlude. There may be time given for Thani Avardhanam and one has to wait for such instruction from the Composer. We can learn how to play our instrument well but still we need to remain modest and remain within the confine of the limits set by the composer.

Instead of trying to understand why it happened and why me, simply observing such happenings and handling them gracefully with conviction puts us back in the right track. Sometimes, strings of instruments might be broken in the middle of the Symphony. Does it mean, we should give up? We have to learn to fix it and practice the symphony until we get back in tune with the rest of the instruments.

Again, there could be many instruments and how one plays it may vary but one has to remain within the goal of the symphony. Free will is to specialize the instrument to the best of one's ability and increase its efficiency to automatically align with the symphony faster and easier. Improvisation can happen within the barometers of the tune and it can't be out of tune to the world symphony. The life is all about catching the super highway of divine energy for that we may have to learn from each other. Understanding one instrument alone doesn't make a symphony is a must.

If the composer/conductor doesn't keep the world order, there will be chaos everywhere. We are aware that when this planet was created, the composer set 34 conditions complied with zero tolerance for life to exist in this planet. He gave gravity to the planet for us not to be thrown out in the space. Most things we need for our existence are freely available in the planet. When we see around, we notice that plants and animals are in perfect harmony with the nature around them. They all appear to comply with the world order. Why is it not possible for us to be in tune with the world order? The composer has given special power in the form of discrimination for us to understand and experience the world order and we should make every effort to not only understand and experience but appreciate the world order.

Viswa