Hazrat Inayat Khan here concludes his teachings on rhythm in the mysticism of sound. The previous post is here.

The words ‘thoughtful’ and ‘thoughtless’ signify a rhythmic or unrhythmic state of the mind; and balance, which is the only upholding power in life, is kept by rhythm. Respiration, which keeps mind and body connected and which links the mind and soul, consists in keeping rhythm every moment when awake or asleep; inhaling and exhaling may be likened to the moving and swinging of the pendulum of a clock. As all strength and energy is maintained by breath, and as breath is the sign of life, and its nature is to flow alternately on the right and left side, all this proves rhythm to be of the greatest significance in life.

As rhythm is innate in man and maintains his health, so upon rhythm depend all man’s affairs in life; his success, his failure, his right acts and his wrong acts, all are accounted for in some way or other by a change of rhythm. The instinct of flying in the bird is a rhythmic movement of the wings; and it is the same tendency of rhythmic contraction which makes the fish swim and the snake glide.

A keen observation shows that the whole universe is a single mechanism working by the law of rhythm; the rise and fall of the waves, the ebb and flow of the tide, the waxing and waning of the moon, the sunrise and the sunset, the change of the seasons, the moving of the earth and of the planets, the whole cosmic system and the constitution of the entire universe are working under the law of rhythm. Cycles of rhythm, with major and minor cycles interpenetrating, uphold the whole creation in their swing. This demonstrates the origin of manifestation: that motion has sprung from the motionless life, and that every motion must necessarily result in a dual aspect. As soon as you move a stick, the single movement will make two points, the one where it starts and the other where it ends, the one strong and the other weak; to these a music conductor will count ‘one, two,’ ‘one, two,’ a strong accent and a weak accent: one motion with two effects, each distinct and different from the other. It is this mystery that lies hidden under the dual aspect of all phases and forms of life; and the reason, cause, and significance of all life is found in rhythm. 

There is a psychological conception of rhythms used in poetry or music which may be explained thus: every rhythm has a certain effect, not only upon the physical and mental bodies of the poet, on him for whom the poetry is written, on the musician, or on him to whom the song is sung, but even upon their life’s affairs. The belief is that it can bring good or bad luck to the poet and musician or to the one who listens. The idea is that rhythm is hidden under the root of every activity, constructive or destructive, so that on the rhythm of every activity the fate of the affair depends. Expressions used in everyday speech such as, ‘he was too late’, or, ‘it was done too soon’, or ‘that was done in time’, all show the influence of rhythm upon the affair. Events such as the sinking of the Titanic, and the amazing changes that took place during the late war [=WWI], if keenly studied can be accounted for by rhythm working in both mental and physical spheres.

There is a superstition among Indians that when somebody yawns, someone else who is present must either snap his fingers or clap his hands. The hidden meaning of this is that a yawn is significant of the slowing down of the rhythm, and that by clicking the fingers or clapping the hands one is supposed to bring the rhythm back to the original state. A Muslim child when reading the Quran moves his head backwards and forwards; this is popularly supposed to be a respectful bow to the sacred words that he reads; but psychologically speaking it helps him to memorize the Quran by regulating the circulation and making the brain a receptive vehicle, as when filling a bottle one sometimes shakes it in order to make more room. This also may be seen when a person nods the head in accepting an idea or shakes it when he cannot take it in.

The mechanism of every kind of machinery that works by itself is arranged and kept going by the law of rhythm; and this is another proof of the fact that the whole mechanism of the universe is based on the law of rhythm.

To be continued…