Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan here concludes his remarks about music with some explanation of states of ecstasy. The previous post is here.

Since the time of Rumi music has become a part of the devotions in the Mevlevi Order of the Sufis. The masses in general, owing to their narrow orthodox views, have cast out the Sufis, and opposed them for their freedom of thought, thus misinterpreting the Prophet’s teaching, which prohibited the abuse of music, not music in the real sense of the word. For this reason a language of music was made by Sufis, so that only the initiated could understand the meaning of the songs. Many in the East hear and enjoy these songs, not understanding what they really mean.

A branch of this order came to India in ancient times, and was known as the Chishtiyya school of Sufis; it was brought to great glory by Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti, one of the greatest mystics ever known to the world. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he actually lived on music; and even at the present time, although his body has been in the tomb at Ajmer for many centuries, yet at his shrine there is always music given by the best singers and musicians in the land. This shows the glory of a poverty-stricken sage, compared with the poverty of a glorious king; the one during his life had all things, which ceased at his death, while the glory of the sage is ever-increasing. At the present time music is prevalent in the school of the Chishtis who hold meditative musical assemblies called Sama or Qawwali. During these they meditate on the ideal of their devotion, which is in accordance with their grade of evolution, and they increase the fire of their devotion while listening to the music. 

Wajd, the sacred ecstasy which the Sufis experience at Sama, may be said to be union with the Desired One. There are three aspects of this union which are experienced by Sufis of different stages of evolution. The first is the union with the revered ideal from that plane of earth present before the devotee, either the objective plane or the plane of thought. The heart of the devotee, filled with love, admiration and gratitude, then becomes capable of visualizing the form of his ideal of devotion whilst listening to the music.

The second step in ecstasy, and the higher aspect of union, is union with the beauty of character of the ideal, irrespective of form. The song in praise of the ideal character helps the love of the devotee to gush forth and overflow.

The third stage in ecstasy is union with the divine Beloved, the highest ideal, who is beyond the limitation of name and form, virtue or merit; with whom it has constantly sought union and whom the soul has finally found. This joy is unexplainable. When the words of those souls who have already attained union with the divine Beloved are sung before the one who is treading the path of divine love, he sees all the signs on the path described in those verses, and it is a great comfort to him. The praise of the One so idealized, so unlike the ideal of the world in general, fills him with joy beyond words.

Ecstasy manifests in various aspects. Sometimes a Sufi may be in tears, sometimes he will sigh, sometimes it expresses itself in raqs, motion. All this is regarded with respect and reverence by those present at the Sama assembly, as ecstasy is considered to be divine bliss. The sighing of the devotee clears a path for him into the world unseen, and his tears wash away the sins of ages. All revelation follows the ecstasy; all knowledge that a book can never contain, that a language can never express, nor a teacher teach, comes to him of itself.

To be continued…