The Music of Sri Chinmoy
As a composer Sri Chinmoy is remarkably prolific. Since the early 1970s he has composed over 7,000 songs in English and 12,000 songs in Bengali. Sri Chinmoy says that he prefers Bengali because it is his mother tongue. Sri Chinmoy finds that when writing in Bengali it is easier to express spiritual emotions and consciousness. It is remarkable that Sri Chinmoy finds time to compose so many songs and poems he says that the inspiration for his creative outpourings comes from his ability to access the inner source, his inner pilot as he calls it.
Q Your songs are such an eternal flow. How can you tell when one begins and another ends?
“ In the inner world, my songs have neither beginning nor ending. Continuously I hear them. I have no idea where they come from, and I have no idea where they will end or whether they will end at all. But the songs that I compose with words do have a beginning and an ending. Anything that is done on the physical plane will have a beginning and an ending, whereas anything that is achieved or revealed on the inner plane has neither a beginning nor a culmination.”
From: Soulful Singing at Sri Chinmoy.org
Sri Chinmoy’s songs are primarily devotional in nature. Composed in a meditative consciousness they have the capacity to uplift the emotions of the singer and listener. Sri Chinmoy has often stated that these songs will give the most benefit when sung with a soulful, meditative attitude. Like any spiritual or uplifting music it thus requires the singer to sing from the heart. If we can sing with a silent mind using the qualities of our heart we can get the fruits of meditation, even if the singing is not technically perfect.
“If you can sing divine songs
Most soulfully,
You are bound to get the same results
As from your sublime meditation”
" Music is meditation
If it is sung soulfully by good singers
Or even if it is sung badly by singers
With soulful hearts."
From: Soulful Singing at Sri Chinmoy.org
Sri Chinmoy in Concert
When Sri Chinmoy first came to the West in the 1970s he would offer public meditations of silent meditation. Now he prefers to offer concerts of meditative music because he feels spiritual music can offer a meditative experience of inner peace and inner joy. Like in many fields Sri Chinmoy is innovative, often playing 20 different instruments during a concert. Many of these instruments are self taught. He never plays with music scores, prefering to play from the heart. On several instruments he will improvise, playing extemporaneously. His favourite instrument is the Indian Esraj and the organ. To finish a concert he often plays the piano or synthesiser in a unique and powerful way. Sri Chinmoy says he gets tremendous joy from playing in an unconventional way. Leonard Bernstein remarked:
“What power is in this man’s music! It’s incredible. Sri Chinmoy has written a counterpoint like Bach. Every phrase goes with every other phrase. My musical spirit is very, very deeply impressed.”
from: Sri Chinmoy Concert - Reviews
Links
- Article on Music and Meditation
- On English and Bengali songs by Sri Chinmoy
