Sunday, August 30, 2015

SwarAsia



What does MUSIC mean to you?


Is it something that keeps your mind occupied so it doesn't go wondering? Or is it something that keeps you off some unwanted thoughts maybe? Or could it be something to keep the environment you live in a little lively??

Before i tell you what SwarAsia is, i first wish to share with you what MUSIC is to ME :) 

MUSIC to me is a shortcut to my soul. All my life i have done a lot of chantings, prayers and rituals as means of communicating with my soul...but none of it got me as close to it as music does effortlessly! When you learn how to meditate, people teach you all sorts of methods...breathe this way, keep your attention at a certain point, clear your mind....float in a bubble of love ...smile..listen to chantings...and the list goes on and on...but honestly, every time i tried any of these methods i only got bored! I am not saying they don't work! Maybe it works for someone else! But it sure didn't work with me! 

So, after a few attempts, i told myself to stop forcing myself to meditate and just take life easy as it comes! Of course all the Osho's books i read lately helped in making the decision. So i stopped trying to meditate and simply went on with life. No more chantings or rituals but simply living my days with all that i love in peace and joy. 

And once i was calm and settled, a lot of things started happening ...a lot of good things of course! And one of it was MUSIC! I was introduced to the Sitar Maestro Samuel J Dass himself by my good friend Joethi from campus. I registered for his beginners classes a year ago and it will be quite impossible to explain how much life has changed eversince i touched the divine instrument!

I will never forget the first ever piece i heard him play in my first class. The hindustani classical tune called Charukesi which is his own composition! Though I've been wanting to share this experience for a year now, i kept postponing it coz i wasn't sure if i could truly do justice to the music by explaining precisely how it made me feel! Words always fail miserably when you want to explain MUSIC!

The twinkling sound of the strings, when played with SUCH perfection, tunes right into your heart and resonates with your soul, awakening every nerve and gets it dancing with the rhythm of LIFE! I sat there spellbound while my soul had taken flight to realms i never dreamed of reaching through meditation! 

Believe me, i cant recall what else happened within this ONE year I've been learning and listening to this blissful live music! The usual ups and downs have been there but i was not at all affected by any of it. I feel such JOY within me that nothing on the outside is able to ruin it! 

Everything i look at, seems different, it has MUSIC in it! The flowers, the butterflies, the rain, sunshine and everyone around me is now dancing with the music. SO JOYOUS! BLISSFUL!

Is it not true when they say, MUSIC has a spiritual connection to your soul! We have seen it over and over in the history of humankind...from Beatles to Michael Jackson...how people are drawn by the power of music. When Michael Jackson passed away, the WHOLE world stood still for weeks! Wars in middle east didn't matter to the news channels...for they were talking about Michael Jackson! We all cried as though we lost a close friend...we all felt our hearts aching to hear him sing just ONE more time! Now, why does this happen? How would life be different without Michael Jackson? Its surely the unexplainable connection of music with the human soul. 

I wonder if probably the very FIRST BEATs of our heart is the base to all musical experiences that comes later in life. The first thing we hear when in the womb is the beats in rhythm. So, of course we must recognize our being through music! That is why it brings such joy! When we hear the beats, we must remember our being in the womb! The magic of life itself is reminded!  

Eversince i got in touch with MUSIC, life has taken completely a new dimension...right into the core of my soul...where everything is colourful, bright and JOYFUL! Joy is our natural state of being and music gets you there effortlessly! While LOVE is the secret to joy, joy is the final state of being. 

So, when you fall in LOVE with MUSIC ...it sure spells BLISS!

When you fall in love with music...you cant help falling in love with the whole universe! 

Well, i can go on and on about MUSIC but, maybe i will save it for the next posts and get to SwarAsia now! 

SwarAsia is a band put together and led by Maestro Samuel J Dass and their first show called EAST MEETS WEST, a fusion music odyssey will be held at PJ Civic Centre this Sunday, 6th September. A combination of instruments like, Sitar, Rebab, Guitar, Violin, Flute, Tabla, Cajon, Thavil and also vocals make this concert a truly unique experience. How instruments originating from different parts of the world rhymes when put together is surely amazing especially when it is done by an extraordinary musician. 

So, if you are in KL this weekend, DON'T MISS the opportunity to experience this magical journey! You can get your invitations by calling the numbers given in the poster above. Hope to see you there!

No recordings does justice to MUSIC. You have to hear it live to feel it! And such opportunities are so rare that we cant afford to miss it :)

If you have friends who love music, then feel free to share this post with them. Just spread the joy of music as much as you can. I have learnt a shortcut to reach to my soul and i wish to share the joy with the whole world :) 



Monday, August 24, 2015

What would you see in heaven?

I see people trying so hard to accumulate points so they would in the end be granted a place in heaven. Feed the poor....rescue a dog....plant a tree....visit the old folks and so on. While these are all good deeds which we should all do, its also important to know why we are doing it. If the idea is to book a place in heaven, we will surely not enjoy the moments of it. We are forcing ourselves to do good so we get a reward..then how can we experience the joy of doing such things. When our mind is set on a "HEAVEN" which we believe is somewhere above the clouds, beyond our imagination, would we not miss the twinkle in the eyes of a child receiving a gift from our hands? Would we not miss the magical moment when the bond between the giver and the receiver is created!? 

When you feel every moment from your heart and soul, heaven is there...When you feel your heart skip a beat whenever you hear your favourite music...heaven is there. When you taste your favourite food and feel how delicious it is ....heaven is there....when you see a stranger's baby smile at you and find yourself smiling at them...heaven is there...when you see your doggies running to you joyfully even if you only left them for an hour...heaven is there....when you watch the raindrops dripping from a flower of a plant you planted yourself ....heaven is there! When you hear the birds chirping away at dawn...heaven is there....When you see your children splashing water on each other and laughing...heaven is there....

I can go on and on forever...as there are no boundaries, limits or time for heaven...heaven is in every moment you breathe consciously. When you are no longer hypnotized by whatever the system made you to believe. When you are awake...you see heaven everywhere! You cant miss it from the moment you spot the first one! You will be overwhelmed by the heavens ....and you will laugh at yourself to have been missing it all for so long. 

Discover the heavens right here! Wherever we are...right now! Breathe consciously! Feel the moment! Feel the joy! Do whatever that brings you that joy. Cant help quoting RUMI here :-

" CLOSE YOUR EYES.
FALL IN LOVE.
STAY THERE." 

Stop chasing after heaven like its is somewhere else and just settle down to what you are doing and you will see heaven in every moment! It is ALL here! Not above...not below....simply HERE!! 

If we cant SEE it HERE...how can we SEE it at all...