THE SPIRITUAL POWER OF MUSIC #5

There are certain things that have universal attributes, like music.

Something of greater magnitudes conveyed by them.

They connect us with the universal storehouse of life and knowledge."

Swami Paramananda

Robert Johnson confessed to making a contract and selling his soul to the devil - after

'meeting the Devil at the crossroads.' Subsequently,

Johnson, previously a mediocre musician became a master of the blues.

Tartini's most famous work - The Devil's Trill Sonata

- is a solo violin sonata Tartini was inspired to write after a dream

in which the Devil appeared at the foot of his bed and played his violin. 

The sonata is a piece that still tests the limits of even accomplished violinists.

"One night in the year 1773 I dreamed I made a pact with the devil

for my soul. Everything went as I had wished -

my new servant anticipated my every desire. Among other things

I gave him my violin to see if he could play. How great was my astonishment

on hearing a sonata so wonderful and so beautiful, played with

such art and intelligence as I had never even conceived

in my boldest moments of fantasy. I felt enraptured, transported

and enchanted - my breath failed me and I awoke.

I immediately grasped my violin in order to retain, in part at least,

the impression of my dream. In vain! The music which I

at this time composed indeed is the best that I ever wrote and I still call it

the 'Devil's Trill',

but the difference between it and what so moved me

is so great that I would have destroyed my instrument and said farewell to music

forever if it had been possible for me to live without the enjoyment it affords me."

 Lucifer was said to be God's most beautiful angel and the chief musician in heaven. 

Because he wanted to be above God. he was kicked out of heaven together with the fallen 

angels and then became Satan. 

Whether you believe this as metaphor or truth it has huge relevance in our world today.

Music is a huge power for good or bad.

 We have a choice between harmony and disharmony, concordance or discordance,

coherence or incoherence, resonance or dissonance, tonality or no tonality.

Chassidic wisdom teaches that song is the most powerful way to mourn and that with song

one can open the gates of heaven. Africans say that they pray by singing and dancing.

There are only two feelings love and fear.

When we live in a love vibration we are resonating with higher frequencies

which raise our consciousness and affect our D.N.A., even lengthening our telomeres,

giving us greater health, longevity and more spiritual attainment.

Fear does the opposite.

...when the mind is doubtful, when the mind drinks deep of doubt's

poison, the senses have no capacity to inject faith into the mind.

Here also music comes to the rescue." Shri Chinmoy

"Music alone can take you to the highest." Swami Vivekenanda 

Or the lowest - a Beethoven symphony versus for instance a toxic Heavy Metal concert

(not all Heavy Metal is bad.)

It would be difficult to talk about music without also presenting its dark side.

Moreover, the words used in song can have a greater impact than those words by themselves

- positive or negative.

“Guard your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from speaking deceit.” Psalms 

The Buddha and Gandhi both stressed how thoughts becomes words and those become our

behavior, deeds, values, habits, character and destiny.

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.” Marcus Aurelius 

The words used in many Rap songs can be extremely dark and carry a message which can

become pervasive. Rap itself, to me, is a form of prose or poetry. The sound itself is

monotonous and numbing rather that healing. Its neutral but words can heal or harm.

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”

Marcus Antonius

“What we speak becomes the house we live in.” Hafiz

As you think it so it can be. As you believe it so it will be.

As we will see in the next blog many musicians have gained notoriety

by aligning themselves with "Satan" and the Tritone or what the church called

the 'Devil's Interval.'