Being a Divine Instrument
August 16th 2014
Being an instrument of the Divine
*Brief intro to Sikander, Sufism and the works of Pir o Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan and ultimately the aim of the group & the space being our little caravanserai, or resting place along the journey.
Invocation:
“Towards the ONE, the perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty. The Only Being, united with ALL the illuminated souls who form the embodiment of the Master, the Spirit of Guidance”
On Being Divine (instruments):
"One may ask how sages and thinkers have distinguished the divine impulse among the different impulses that arise in the heart of man. First we must understand what the word 'divine' means. Divine means a state of perfection. This state is experienced by God through man; in other words, when man has risen to the stage of development where he can be the perfect instrument of God, when nothing of his own being stands in the way of the direct impulse that comes from within, that spirit may be called perfect. That which is most precious, that which is the purpose of mans life is to arrive at the state of perfection where he can be the perfect instrument of God."
- Volume VIII Sufi Teachings, Divine Impulse.
The Heart is the Flute of God.
“Krishna is pictured in Hindu symbology with a crown of peacock's feathers, playing the flute. Krishna is the ideal of divine love, the God of love. And the divine love expresses itself by entering into man and filling his whole being. Therefore, the flute is the human heart, and a heart which is made hollow will become a flute for the God of love to play upon. When the heart is not empty, in other words, when there is no scope in the heart, there is no place for love. Rumi, the great poet of Persia, explains this idea more clearly. He says the pains and sorrows the soul experiences through life are like holes made in a reed flute, and it is by making these holes that a player makes the flute out of a reed. This means that the heart of man is first a reed and the sufferings and pains it goes through make it a flute which can then be used by God as the instrument for the music that He constantly wishes to produce. But as every reed is not a flute, so every heart is not His instrument. As the reed can be made into a flute, so the human heart can be turned into an instrument, and can be offered to the God of love. It is the human heart which becomes the harp of the angels. It is the human heart which is known as the lute of Orpheus. It was on the model of the heart of man that the first instrument of music was made, and no earthly instrument can produce that music which the heart produces, raising the mortal soul to immortality.”
- Volume IX - The Unity of Religious Ideals Part V THE SYMBOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS IDEAS
Keeping the divine instrument in tune
“If an instrument is not kept in proper tune, if it is knocked about by everyone who comes and handled by everyone, then it gets out of order. The body is an instrument, the most sacred instrument, an instrument which God Himself has made for His divine purpose. If it is kept in tune and the strings are not allowed to become loose, then this instrument becomes the means of that harmony for which God created man.”
- Volume IV - Mental Purification and Healing Part I: HEALTH
Meditation: Breathing in the breath of the Universe and breathing breath out into the Universe - focus attention on heart - (accompany with F bowl)
Questions and comments.
*Prep to jam: mention how in Indian music you memorize music to never play it that way because the idea is to improvise. (imagine that in today's music).
IS the sacredness of music lost?
“No doubt the music of India has changed much during the last century. That which the Indians call classical music, or music with weight and substance, is not patronized any more, because of the ignorance of most of the princes and potentates of the country. Therefore, the best music is no longer understood. Then people have taken to smoking and talking while listening to music, and music was not made for that. It seems that the spirit of the great musicians is dead. A great vina player, who considered his instrument sacred and who worshipped it before taking it in his hand, practicing and playing it for perhaps ten hours a day, regarded music as his religion. But if he had to play before people who are moving about, smoking, and talking with other people at a social gathering, then all his music would go to the winds. It was the sacredness with which the people of ancient times invested music, that kept it on a higher level.”
- Volume X Sufi Mysticism ART, YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW Music (2)
Khatum:
O Thou, Who art the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
The Lord of heaven and earth,
Open our hearts, That we may hear Thy Voice,
Which constantly cometh from within.
Disclose to us Thy Divine Light, which is hidden in our souls,
that we may know and understand life better.
Most Merciful and Compassionate God,
give us Thy great Goodness; Teach us Thy loving Fogiveness;
Raise us above the distinctions and differences which divide men;
Send us the Peace of Thy Divine Spirit, And unite us all in Thy Perfect Being.
Amen
