A few days ago this short post talked about the finding of one’s keynote, a discovery that enables harmony in oneself, and permits the possibility of harmonising with all one’s surroundings.  As expected, questions arose from readers, one being, quite reasonably: how does one find that keynote? And another question was: Hazrat Inayat Khan speaks about rhythm, of being in a proper rhythm–does it have anything to do with being ‘in tone’?

In one sense, rhythm and tone are not easily separated, for both are the effect of movement, and it is the degree or the frequency which determines whether we use one term or the other.  But often when Hazrat Inayat speaks of rhythm he is referring to the three grades of activity or energy that in Hindu philosophy are called the ‘gunas,’; one, called ‘sattva’ is very fine; a second, rajas, is more active and defined; and the third, tamas, is very coarse and dense.  These rhythms have their effect on the inner condition: sattva  is very peaceful and meditative; rajas is progressive and purposeful in the worldly sense; and tamas is heavy and dull in its effect.  If we think about this, we can certainly observe these ‘gunas’ or rhythms in ourselves, changing throughout the day; there are moments when we feel, perhaps, an elevated tranquility, other moments when we might feel active, and still other moments when we feel sunk in lethargy.  By studying ourselves we can learn a great deal about the causes of these rhythms, and their consequences.  What is more, it is possible to re-direct ourselves from one rhythm to another, and this will affect both our inner and our outer life, including our physical health.

Concerning our inner tuning, the finding of one’s key note, or ‘sa’ to use the Indian musical term (the equivalent of ‘doh’ in the sol-fa system), this depends upon careful listening and repeated experiment, just as it does in tuning the physical voice.  One who wishes to really sing may spend hours and hours every day patiently developing control and flexibility of the voice.  To develop our keynote, or in Sufi terms one could say to really become a ‘person,’ we must patiently listen to our thoughts, our words and our actions, but not with our ego–we must try to listen with our heart.  If what we think, say or do leaves the heart feeling dead, then obviously further tuning is required.  In this process, we may also discover that the heart does not vibrate as it should because it is burdened by, for example, selfish thoughts.  Then we try to let that burden drop, so that in time the heart becomes a free, empty, welcoming space, ready to resonate with the keynote we are learning to sound.