The Power of Music

Nothing holds so profound a sway over the heart and soul of living creatures as music does. From the earliest dawn, when the ancient civilizations of earth were taking shape, down to this modern age that claims the virtue of contemporary morality—music has softened human life, directed its expression toward noble purposes, and lifted its emotions to a singular height.

In those first ages, the children of earth learned to imitate the eternal music of nature—the songs of birds, the cry of wind, the sound of waves breaking against rocky shores, the calls of creatures in the night—all blending together to create a mysterious rhythm that we might truly call nature's infinite symphony. The forces of creation are forever musical. Their enigmatic melody drifts from star to star, bearing divine tales. All of nature, visible and invisible, formed and formless, listens in rapt wonder to that great unknown's endless symphony.

There is another kind of music—the music of life itself. The resonance of the human heart, the joy of laughter, the tears of sorrow—all converging to build a mysterious orchestra, which often, though unheard, vibrates through eternity in invisible melodies and reaches the feet of the divine. The nature of man reveals itself in living music.

When a skilled guitarist, in an unconscious gesture, runs his fingers across the strings, he is truly pouring out the expression of his soul—from that instrument flows a celestial sound that brings to life the musician's deepest thoughts and the symphony hidden within his spirit.

The profound anguish of a violin seems to speak the language of the artist's heart. From a heart broken by sorrow comes forth such a tender melody that it effortlessly touches the strings of another's heart. And the soul that is noble produces sounds deep and rich with weighty themes.

Life itself is a music—such a language as is universally understood. Its discordant notes are the mirror of human hatred, while its harmonious consonance is the symbol of mutual understanding.

The human soul plays celestial melodies on the harp of its own sevenfold nature. Each thought and deed is but a single note in living music. Yet when life goes astray, when human nature loses its balance, the instrument becomes discordant—for then the master's hand no longer rests upon its keys.

As a violin lies all but lifeless until the tender fingers of an artist awaken the soul hidden within it, so too is the human body merely an instrument, and the soul within each living being uses that body to create a greater instrument still, so that its melody might sound and merge into the music of the cosmos.

When a person's life becomes filled with hypocrisy, when the heart grows indifferent, what emerges from the keyboard within is only discord and harsh noise. Then the strings of the instrument snap, the keys break, and the hand that would draw forth melody becomes bound by the chains of the world.

Those who have labored long, endured sorrow, and burned in the fire of suffering—their souls become like an old violin—the years of pain and experience have made their melody tender and deep. They become a masterpiece shaped by the hand of a great artist. With each passing year their music grows sweeter, and from the artist's hand comes ever more perfect harmony. In the end, beneath the hand of the great musician, they pour forth a glorious symphony—where each note is the reflection of the soul's brilliance.

Music is a wondrous power. It melts even the hardest heart, softens the rigid lines of an austere face, brings peace to those minds worn long by suffering. As a child falls asleep to the gentle melody of a lullaby, so too does the human soul find rest—in the music within itself, and in nature's eternal song.