Musings of a musical soul

Plato, in his Timaeus, was among the first people to employ a musical paradigm to speak of cosmology. St. Augustine relies on music to speak of the rhythm of the Trinity and creation. Echoing the famous axiom from the Christian tradition, ¨Our hearts are restless unless they find rest in thee, ¨ the famous Persian mystic and poet, Jalal al-Din Rumi, compares human beings to a reed which has been separated from its reed bed. The continuous singing of the reed is its cry for unity, as it seeks to be reunited to the reed bed. Innumerable examples can be cited to demonstrate how mystics, theologians, philosophers, rely on the musical paradigm and music itself to analogously express a mystical union or the Mystery that imbues our being and creation.

How infinite harmonies can be contained in a finite instrument is also a mystery, similar to our finitude and the infinite Treasure we hold within. I have always believed in the popular saying that ¨God has given us music that we may pray without words.¨ The importance of this mystery of music, that ever so divinely textures the silence, for millions and millions of people across the globe cannot be overstated. For many like me, this gift of music can not only prod one deeper into the realm of contemplation, but also strike the innermost chords of our being. In Anam Cara, John O’ Donahue echoes Heidegger saying that, ¨True listening is worship.¨ Music can allow us to hone our listening, which would not only enable one to hear the myriad subtleties of a composition but can also help one to listen to the ¨sounds of silence¨.

Donahue also notes, ¨One of the greatest thresholds in reality is the threshold between sound and silence. All good sounds have silence near, behind, and within them. ¨ Furthermore he adds, ¨ Music is after all the most perfect sound to meet the silence.¨ The importance of silence as a significant and integral part of the musical rhythm, reminds us of the importance of silence in our lives. As the musical rest, silence is the much-needed space to discern the harmonies that permeate our lives. However, silence is not a stop sign, rather a movement. My retreat with the Trappist monks in South Carolina further convinces me of the importance of music and silence as meditative mediums. The silence is the room wherein the monk prays and contemplates. The magnum silencium is filled with the communal chanting in the early hours of the morning, where music gives expression to the silent murmurings of the soul. Therefore, it is not a surprise to note that where there is prayer, music is often present.

The universality of music, with all its diversity in our creation, echoes the melodies of the Divine Musician in whose image this creation came into being. From ecstatic paroxysms to the simple melodies of life, from the gentle whisperings of grace to the deafening emotions that take over our lives, and much more can only give us an insight into the symphonies of the Divine Composer. Aristotle believed that music imitates the passions or states of the soul and can affect human behavior. For Aristotle and Plato, the ideal citizen should be formed through education consisting of gymnastics to discipline the body and music to discipline the mind.

Discordant chords in any harmony lead us to meditate on the divine concerto of chaos and order: reminding us how this world is made out of chaos. Discordant notes underscore the harmonies, just as chaos underscores our lives. Perhaps, we ought not to engage in a futile search for order in our lives, rather join in the quest to recognize the importance and integrity of chaos in creation. For both chaos and order are divine creations. The search for the perfect harmony does not exclude chaos; rather it seeks to constructively integrate it.

Folk dances are an integral part of most cultures. My time in India, Bolivia and Peru has only solidified the belief that rhythm is simply a creative cultural expression of things that are deeply embedded in the psyche. The difference between the “classical music” of the east and west is an example. Although different in style, the rhythms and melodies emerge from the seven notes of the musical scale. The enriching diversity and cultural identity that is shaped by myriad combinations of these seven notes only reminds us that the face of the One God, who created all things and speaks the same Word to all, varies culturally.

St. Augustine in De Musica asserts that music is a discipline that is concerned with things in motion. He believed that music reflects a universal discipline because all things move and change. Realizing that the Trinity is also of such nature, he uses music as a backdrop to speak of the radical dynamism within the Trinity and creation. The relationship of the Father, the Son and the Spirit is always moving beyond a static place (i.e. ecstatic). Furthermore, music can help us to understand the importance and necessity of relationships. A chord by definition indicates one note in relationship to others. There would be no harmony if these notes cease to be in relationship with each other. Likewise, the Father, Son and the Spirit are in ever-evolving harmonic relationship with each other. The creation, too, in this sense would cease to be if it was not in a continuous relationship with God. Just like a chord progression, the dynamic relationship of love within the Trinity intensifies to the extent that it moves beyond the Personhood in God, creating and sustaining us with that love. As music would not exist (or be discovered) without a listener, likewise God would not be discovered without creation. Knowledge of speech, perception or anything for that matter only exists or is revealed when it is in relationship with another. Such relational existence begins and is epitomized in the Triune God.
It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of mission as a source of life and vitality for the church. Emile Bruner says, “The church exists by mission just as fire exists by burning.” Accentuating the missionary thrust, the Second Vatican Council speaks of Church as being “missionary by its very nature.” In this context too, music is insightful, as the musical sounds cannot be contained within the instrument: music, like the missionary, is compelled to move beyond self and into the world. In light of this missionary standpoint of the church, I would say that our mission is to become “instruments of peace” tuned to the Divine pitch, resolving discord and providing harmonies to the melody of the gospel.