Anything that comes out of enlightenment will take you to enlightenment. If you imbibe the expression, it will lead you to the same experience. If a piece of music comes from an enlightened Consciousness, if you just imbibe it with deep receptivity, it will put you in the same enlightenment experience!

Blessed are the ones who live around an enlightened master.

The other day I was reading an article about art therapy. They say that if mentally unsound people are asked to paint, they paint wildly. They pour the paint on the canvas and do all kinds of things with it. More than just painting on the canvas, they paint on their body. If they are allowed to do this for a week to a month, slowly the madness comes down and they get healed.

You will be surprised, like a catharsis they throw everything away. The second discovery was a more important one: all those who became mad because of money paint in a similar way. All those who became mad because of women or name and fame paint in a similar way.

If they are allowed to paint, they do the catharsis and whatever is inside comes out. The reason for their madness is expressed clearly in their painting.

The third most important thing that happened was that the doctor who studied all those paintings extensively and gave conclusions became mad!

Be very clear, when someone expresses something intensely, and if somebody studies that expression deeply, then he gets into that same experience as the person who expressed it. That is why the doctor became mad.

Now understand, if you deeply imbibe the expressions of an enlightened master, you can get the experience of enlightenment itself! Blessed are the ones who live around an enlightened master.

When the great musical saints like Tyagaraja, Annamacharya and Manickavasagar from South India sang spontaneous verses, they expressed their own experience of enlightenment.

Traditional Indian music is designed for meditation, for enlightenment. Classical Indian dance is designed for enlightenment. That is why the person who performs and the person who sits and experiences, both experience the same meditative state.

You can enter the very space from which any music is created. If it comes out of the space of the heart, you too will fall into the heart. If it comes out of lust, you too will experience lust. The state of mind of the musician plays an important role in impacting your mind.

When you listen to any music, be receptive. Don’t bother about the words or the notes. Go to the core of it, just relax with that music and try to see the thread, the backbone, the composite central sound. Suddenly you will see you are experiencing the same thing from where the expression came out.

Understand, if the expression comes from enlightenment, it will lead to enlightenment.

source: Living Enlightenment