The Singer not the Song

Commentaries on Songs : I

 

 

 

 

It appears self evident that the first attempt by man to build the passions consisted of music and tunes. No doubt, man was in that way brought to hear the sound of winds, the streams, oceans, storms and the sounds of animals. In the way that was translated, brought a meaning in the passions. Something soothing meant something good, something that is sudden and jerky translates into fear.

 

The Sanskrit derived word ' nitya ' refers to a state of mind or condition of the passions. In a mysterious way it creates a collective account of our familiarity, relations, perceptions of the world and even our self identity.

 

The report on experimentation undertaken by Nazi Germany to raise children away from their parents in an environment that promoted a sense of ' pure intelligence ' holds lessons that has by now become obvious. The mind works best in association with our passions in relationships we undertake in the social circles.

 

In essence it refers to human understanding as consisting of both the personal and the impersonal. Early Indic thinkers referred to the experiences of Brahma, the creator as also being such. The impersonal comes to be expressed in song and refers to the work of nature in the environment. The personal refers to our lives lived in such an environment and is expressed in speech.

 

Its curious to think how nature solicited such musical sensations of responses in us without our expressed approval. We appear to have acquiesced to such an approval on the basis of our common identity in creation. Hence when we cultivate the personal we realize that it continues in some way to be associated with the will of the world and universe.

 

Rather than fight such an association, we have come to find our common link with it. It is the basis of Indic studies into human insight. Science on the other hand subscribes to the view that man is capable of being entirely objective in his observations. Such experiences may best be viewed in our dreams where all things may be possible.

 

In the meantime we maintain an awareness of ourselves, particularly as it relates to the difference between the singer and the song. The song may well go on long after the singer is gone.