Singing and Spirituality
The difference between a song and a piece of music is this:
the song is the rose, the piece of music is the garden. The
song is usually of the heart and for the heart. The music
is of the entire being and for the entire being.
A Ferry to the Golden Shore
Spiritual songs are prayers to the Supreme to ferry us across
the ocean of darkness and ignorance to the ocean of Delight
and Immortality. The Supreme is the Boatman and we pray to
Him to ferry us to the Golden Shore.
Purest Consciousness and Perfect Harmony
Singing immediately inspires us and awakens the slumbering soul
in us. If we sing a divine song, a soulful song, it immediately
brings purity into our system. Singing purifies our limited consciousness
and brings to us universal Harmony.
In our day to day life, we constantly break the universal Harmony,
but when we sing, we build and create this universal Harmony in
and around us.
If we can sing, we can have the purest consciousness and perfect
harmony in our nature. Nothing delights our soul more than soulful
singing.
Each soulful song leads us to the Highest because it is the
purest flower that can be offered at the Feet of God. When
we sing, our whole existence actually becomes a garland of
flowers ready to be offered at the Feet of the Supreme. This
is why I sing.
Soulful Singing
When we chant or sing, our soul is fed. A mother feeds her child
whenever the child is hungry. Similarly, we have to feed the soul,
the divine child within us, by chanting or meditating.
When the soul is constantly fed, it comes to the fore and
the soul-bird gets the opportunity to fly in the sky of Infinity
and Eternity.
The Inner Singer
When we sing, we have to become one with the inner singer. Outwardly
we may be very expert in music, but if we do not have the capacity
to become one with the inner singer, then our singing will not be
soulful.
The song and the singer must be inseparable. When a singer
sings spiritual songs, if he lives the song that he sings,
then God will be a living Reality at every second. Otherwise,
God will remain in the infinite blue sky and the singer will
remain down on earth. Then there will be a yawning gulf between
God's Feet and the singer's head.
One with Immortality
When a seeker-singer sings soulfully, he immediately feels that
he is immortal, or at least that he is going to stay on earth for
many, many years.
Again, when the same seeker-singer starts thinking teeming thoughts,
the world of multifarious activities and problems enters into his
mind and weakens it. At that time he sees that his death is fast
approaching.
So when we sing soulfully, we feel that we have become one
with Immortality.
The Supreme Listener
When you chant or sing, try to feel that the Supreme is listening.
Otherwise, the chant will become a mere mechanical habit.
Feel that there is a listener - not a human listener, but the Supreme
Himself - listening inside your heart. When you feel that you have
a divine listener, you will get more inspiration; you will be surcharged
with boundless inspiration and endless inner joy.
When you feel the presence of the Supreme inside your heart,
you will be blessed with utmost joy and pride. He will do
everything to transform, purify, illumine and liberate your
mind.
A Flower of Gratitude
It is quite possible to see, feel and grow into the soul's
light and reality through singing and chanting. It all depends
on how you do it.
While singing and chanting, if you look around to see whether others
are appreciating your extraordinary voice, you will never be able
to feel your soul. If you are watching to see how your voice is
giving everybody tremendous joy in the form of a thrill, you have
to know that this thrill is in the vital world of the audience.
But if you are singing soulfully and devotedly, and if you feel
at every moment that you are offering a flower of gratitude to the
Supreme inside yourself, then you are bound to feel your soul.
You have to feel that you have within yourself an endless
supply of gratitude-flowers, and that at each second you are
offering gratitude. If you can feel this, then you are bound
to see the soul, feel the soul and grow into the soul's light
and reality while singing and chanting.
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