The Mysticism of Sound and Music (Shambhala Dragon Editions) [Paperback]

Hazrat Inayat Khan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Shambhala Dragon Editions | Publication Date: September 3, 1996

Music, according to Sufi teaching, is really a small expression of the overwhelming and perfect harmony of the whole universe—and that is the secret of its amazing power to move us. The Indian Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882–1927), the first teacher to bring the Islamic mystical tradition to the West, was an accomplished musician himself. His lucid exposition of music's divine nature has become a modern classic, beloved only by those interested in Sufism but by musicians of all kinds.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A powerful book of mystical insight for people of all traditions."—Monos

"Inayat Khan says that music is the 'picture of our Beloved' and then draws the picture stroke by stroke from every angle and plane until we see it. He is the only holy man I know who delivers an authentic and inclusive spiritual message from a musical sensibility. He does this rigorously, poetically and spontaneously, until we perceive our own actions as music. Open to any line on any page: you will be opened."—W. A. Mathieu, author of The Listening Book and The Musical Life



"Inayat Khan brought one of the strongest and sweetest lineages from India to the West: the music and open heart of Sufism as it blends with Persian poetry and Western intellect. He is a source and a great joy."—Coleman Barks, author of Open Secret and The Essential Rumi

About the Author

Hazrat Inayat Khan was trained as a musician and a Sufi of the Chishti order and gave concert tours of Indian classical music in the United States and Europe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; Revised edition (September 3, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570622310
• ISBN-13: 978-1570622311
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 17 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > Sufism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The wave-like aspect of Life, not just about music, December 12, 2004

By 

Steve Uhlig (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mysticism of Sound and Music (Shambhala Dragon Editions) (Paperback)

Other reviewers already dealt with the music side of the book, so i won't elaborate on that. There is in addition the purely sound-related aspect of reality. All words, thoughts, and emotions, carry on some power due to their vibratory nature. Everything, whatever it is can be seen as a wave. So don't think it is just about what you hear. All there is can be described in that way.

This book is of interest not for its esoteric nature, but rather to give the reader an intuition of what mystics perceive of reality, which is everything but magic. Science is currently concerned with a part of reality, namely those frequencies that can be detected and thus measured through physical (material) instruments. But the vibratory nature of the world goes beyond that. You as humans have access to more than the physical realm (mental, emotional, and let's say "spiritual" to give a rough picture). This books hints at those aspects captured by the concept of "sound", that are of utmost importance for all humans to uncover the possibilities life has given them. Everything you think, say or feel has an impact on you and your surroundings, so reading this book can help you to realize how important every single event of our life has, through its wave-like aspect. This book is about your very life.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightenment through Music, September 15, 2005

By 

Robert MacMullan (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mysticism of Sound and Music (Shambhala Dragon Editions) (Paperback)

The challenging part about reading a book by an enlightened being is that the author is writing from an experience of consciousness (non-duality) that is impossible for the ego (duality) to comprehend. However, Hazrat Inayat Khan's writing is easily understood and could be valuable to both spiritual aspirants on the path to enlightenment and/or musicians looking for deeper levels in their artistry. This is a book to be studied, not just read. In it are keys to understanding the mysticism of sound, music, color, words, and silence.

71 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Vibrations, August 30, 2004

By 

Erika Mitchell (E. Calais, VT USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mysticism of Sound and Music (Shambhala Dragon Editions) (Paperback)

This book is a compilation of the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi mystic from the early part of the Twentieth century. Born in India, Khan was thoroughly familiar with both Hindu beliefs and Islam and he also knew Christian scriptures well. In this book, Khan explains the central tenets of his Sufi sect. He begins with the belief that vibration is the ultimate connection to God, and states that this belief is found in Christian, Muslim, and Hindu scriptures by reading "word" as sound, and sound as vibration. All else flows from this. Khan finds spiritual direction through seeking harmony with all and finding and matching the appropriate rhythm of things. Music, (of the serious type, not jazz, for instance) provides a means of worship and union with the Almighty. But the highest form of sound is abstract, a topic whose details are reserved for Sufi initiates because others might misuse such knowledge.

The book contains chapters on topics such as: the music of the spheres, color and sound, music in Indian culture, music of the dervishes, dance and music, music and psychology, the healing powers of music, memory, will, reason, intuition and dreams, the Ego, inspiration, and the value of repetition. It also contains short collections of aphorisms and phrases to be repeated. The editing of the volume is exceptionally well-done. Khan did not write these selections as a book; instead, they were collected and organized from various lectures and articles that he prepared dating from about 1913 to 1926. The editors have managed to create a cohesive text from very disparate sources. Some ideas are presented repeatedly, but unlike so many similar compilations of articles by other authors, the presentation of Khan's ideas in this book are consistent each time they are mentioned. The original sources and dates for each chapter are listed at the end of the book. The book contains an index, but no glossary.

I picked up this book because of the picture on the cover of Khan playing the vina. As a struggling student of Indian music, I hoped that Khan might say a word or two about the vina. Indeed, he does, explaining how the quiet sounds of the vina make it ideal as an instrument for mediation, but not for playing large public concerts. Much of my previous reading about Indian music has been by authors who seek to present strictly objective information about the music and culture of India, but in taking such a secular approach, they miss the whole feeling of the topic. Reading this book has given me a much greater understanding of and appreciation for how music is central to Indian religious practices and beliefs, whether among the Hindus or the Sufis, or even among members of the Indian Muslim community, such as musicians. Nevertheless, one point remains unclear- -harmony. In Indian music, harmony seems to play a much smaller or very different role than in Western music. Throughout this book, Khan speaks of harmony and its importance, but what kind of harmony is he speaking of? The kind of harmony that results when two differing notes are played simultaneously with an agreeable affect? Or is he talking about vibrations joining to create a repeatable, predictable pattern? Or lining up rhythmic cycles so that the beats fall together in a pattern? He wasn't specific on this point, and I'm not sure that the concept of harmony carries over with the same meaning across musical cultures. Harmony is clearly important in the East as well as the West, but the word may refer to very different phenomena and so his message could potentially be interpreted differently according to the culture of the reader.

This book is one of the clearest on Sufi beliefs that I have found. I appreciate Khan's scholarship and his open-mindedness regarding all religious beliefs. He never preaches that one must abandon one's own religion, but instead tries to show that the core beliefs of all religions reach ultimately to the same source. In this light, the book is full of little surprises, like when Khan points out the etymological relationship between our Christian word Alleluia, and Muslim Allah. Points to ponder leap from every page, such as "It is never too late to go onto the spiritual path, but it is never too early." Khan is exceptionally clever at using metaphors for explanation. I'm not ready to take everything he says at face value, but he's given me a lot to think about.