By Wes Annac, The Culture of Awareness

There’s a lot more to be said about the spiritual benefits of music than we covered in part one, and we’ll continue our discussion here. Like I said before, I think music’s spiritual value is mostly unappreciated in our society, and most of the mainstream music we’re subjected to is void of any real awareness or spirituality.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of genuine, valuable spiritual music out there, but you have to search to find it and you’ll probably be disappointed if you look for it in the mainstream.

Music was never meant to be something hollow that pleases the senses but offers little else in the way of spirituality or upliftment, and I think it’s an important helper for anyone who wants to spiritually evolve.

I’ve been learning lately that music by itself might not be enough to raise our consciousness, but if practiced in accordance with meditation or other forms of creativity that uplift and inspire us, it can be one of our biggest aides on the enlightenment path.

I don’t know about any of you, but the more I meditate, the better enlightenment sounds. The idea that the purpose of our existence is to realize ourselves as God is making more and more sense, and music isn’t the only thing that can help us realize our Godly origins.

In fact, it might not be enough if we still succumb to the same old negative emotions, like anger, that we’d expect to have transcended by this point. Music is helpful by itself, but if we really want to enhance the evolutionary process, we might want to embrace meditation too.

This doesn’t take away from music’s spiritual value – it simply reminds us that there’s more than one way to find enlightenment.

Sri Chinmoy describes the effect that ‘soulful music’ has on most spiritual seekers.

“When we listen to soulful music, or when we ourselves play soulful music, immediately our inner existence climbs up high, higher, highest. It climbs up and enters into something beyond. This Beyond is constantly trying to help us, guide us, mould us and shape us into our true transcendental image, our true divinity.” (1)

We’re also told about the ‘river of consciousness’ that flows through us when we play or listen to music.

“When we hear soulful music, or when we play a soulful piece of music, we feel a kind of inner thrill in our entire existence, from the soles of our feet to the crown of our head. A river is flowing through us, a river of consciousness, and this consciousness is all the time illumined.” (2)

Meditation is the most direct way to raise our consciousness, but music is a close second.

“Next to deep prayer or meditation, music is of paramount importance.

“Meditation is like a direct route, or shortcut, to the goal. Music is a road that is absolutely clear: it may be a little longer, but it is quite clear of obstacles. If we can play soulful music or hear soulful music, the power of our meditation increases. Soulful music adds to our aspiration.” (3)

The only time music isn’t a totally clear path to a higher consciousness is when our creative or musical cup is too empty to get anything out of it, in which case we might want to meditate or do something else that allows the spirit to flow before we try to play or listen.

We can rely solely on music to raise our vibration if we want, but it might be a hard path if we don’t also turn to meditation to make the journey easier. When it comes to playing music, we might end up adopting a dualistic consciousness that tells us we have to be ‘good’ at it before we can enjoy it, thus limiting our ability to use it to raise our vibration.

Mediation is different, because we don’t have to be good at it to get the most out of it. All we have to do is fade deep into the silence of the sacred self and let the blissful vibrations permeate us, and we don’t really have to achieve anything.

We’ll inevitably reach a higher consciousness, and we have more of a chance of reaching it with meditation than music. This doesn’t mean music isn’t a potent path to enlightenment – it just means some paths are more potent.

Practicing routine meditation can actually increase our musical talent, Sri Chinmoy tells us, because with meditation, all things are possible.

“…If a spiritual seeker wants to be a musician, even if he does not have a musical background, he will be able to be a good musician because prayer and meditation contain all capacities.

“You may never have studied music, but if you pray and meditate soulfully, then inside your prayer, inside your meditation, by the Grace of the Supreme, the power of music looms large. Then you can utilise this power in your own way.” (4)

This is why some people think music and meditation need to go hand-in-hand.

Some people are convinced we can’t have one without the other, and Sri Chinmoy is one of them. There are a lot of paths to enlightenment, and we don’t have to embrace just one or two to find our way through the lower-vibrational haze that tends to distract us.

In fact, we might find the most potent way by mixing up every path that works for us – meditation, music, other forms of creativity, etc.

Maybe life can become a constant meditation if we embrace everything that helps us raise our vibration, and all of the paths combined could elevate our consciousness in a way that just one or two paths can’t.

Meditation in conjunction with music will inspire us far more than music without meditation, Sri Chinmoy tells us.

“Each time soulful music is played, we get inspiration and delight. In the twinkling of an eye, music can elevate our consciousness. But if we also pray and meditate, then we are undoubtedly more illumined and fulfilled than a music-lover who is not consciously leading a spiritual life.” (5)

The purpose of the spiritual musician, he tells us, is to spread the light here on earth.

“Each spiritual musician is consciously spreading God’s Light on earth. God is the cosmic Player, the eternal Player, and we are His instruments. It is the Supreme who makes the proper instrument. Then, it is He who makes the player play properly, and it is He who makes the musician.” (6)

Our creator is more responsible for the spiritual music we play than we are, and as we’re learning, we can open up and become conduits for his/her divine expression.

I think this is part of our purpose for being on this planet, and we aren’t just meant to realize we’re aspects of God’s consciousness – we’re meant to use our creativity (which is really God’s creativity) to put that realization into play.

Once we realize we’re fragments of God’s omnipotent consciousness, we can open up and let him/her speak through us. This seems like the best way to raise our vibration and stay connected with our creator, and this is why creativity is so important and helpful.

Creativity links us with a higher aspect of our consciousness in a way that most other things fail to do, and meditation enhances that connection. This is why we’d benefit from practicing our creativity in conjunction with our meditation.

The two complement each other very well, and if combined, they can help us reconnect with our creator and express the results of that reconnection with everyone else who has yet the raise their vibration or even discover spirituality.

Feel free to embrace music or whatever else helps you stay connected, but remember how crucial meditation is to the sustainment of a higher consciousness.

I’m starting to think we can’t have true creativity without meditation, and while consistently practicing both of them might seem like a hefty responsibility, it helps to realize that this is perhaps the best path back into the higher realms.

We’ll continue to hear from Sri Chinmoy about music’s spiritual benefits another day, and for now, I hope this discussion has satisfied those of you who also feel passionate about using music to connect with spirit.

Music is one of many things that can fill us with passion and inspiration, and as long as it’s practiced along with meditation, it’ll do more for us than we would’ve ever expected. We just have to open up, stay dedicated (to music and meditation) and let our inner universe take care of the rest.

Footnotes:

1. Srichinmoy.org: “Music: God’s Universal Language” at –http://www.srichinmoy.org/resources/library/music_and_spirituality/music_gods_language
2. Loc. cit.
3. Loc. cit.
4. Loc. cit.
5. Loc. cit.
6. Loc. cit.

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I’m a twenty-one year old writer, blogger, musician and channel for the creative expression of the inner universe, and I created The Culture of Awareness daily news site.

The Culture of Awareness features daily spiritual and alternative news, articles I’ve written, and more. Its purpose is to awaken and uplift by providing material about the fall of the planetary elite and a new paradigm of unity and spirituality.