22/04/2025
There are certain artistic values which I now tend to feel largely or mostly belong to the category of capitalist artistic values. (I should point out that although I'm likely to make critical statements about capitalism these days and going forwards, I'm not necessarily entirely critical and nor am I criticising it completely from a left wing perspective although there is that influence for me from the past generally). Examples are, working hard/the hardest, learning large quantities of repertoire, developing intense technical capacities, focusing on becoming a successful individual musician, focusing on playing and performing regularly or being hired regularly, or focusing on becoming well known.
It's not necessarily easy to find clear alternatives to such values and we're all generally faced with the tension of playing for the sake of a higher purpose vs needing to make a living on the way there or at the same time. But nonetheless I thought it might be helpful to outline some alternative perspectives to place capitalist values in sharper contrast. I'm also motivated by the realisation that there are some very successful and famous musicians, ever growing in popularity, who I don't particularly enjoy listening to even though they may have truly exceptional talent in terms of technique or some of the other categories mentioned above. For a time, I felt it was best not to make any criticism and appreciate that they had skills in categories which I valued less. But I've come to feel that there's an important battle to be fought for the sake of a more heart centred future and a less economic/capitalist centred present and past.
The first alternative suggestion might be to play music/create art to bring more beauty into the world. This might sound trite but it's also important to say perhaps. Art and beauty can be one of the ways to inspire people and bring more love and harmony into the world. Furthermore, hopefully the world is moving into a time where more and more, people will focus on bringing more truth love and beauty into the world through their choices and actions and art and music will be one of the ways that this manifestation will continue to strengthen.
The second consideration is by way of reference to some of what I've learnt from spirituality and Ayurveda. The first such consideration is that, by approaching music in a certain way, we can bring a degree of harmony and coherence into the world and into the lives of audience members. One factor here is to consider the importance of the breath and an attunement to rhythmic coherence. By becoming familiar with the natural rhythm of the breath, one can find more peace, harmony and stability and reduce stress to a minimum so that what is expressed musically or artistically comes out as harmonious and graceful and this sentiment or expression can be transferred to the listener which in turn allows more peace and joy to flow forth into the world.
Similarly, there are various other rhythms in nature such as the movement of the sun and moon, the movement of the seasons, the sounds of birds singing against the stillness of the natural environment, the rhythms of the human body, digestive, sleep/waking, menstrual, the heart beat, the rhythm of walking and many other rhythms in the human experience or the natural environment. To attune oneself to such rhythms helps to bring one into more rhythmic coherence and thereby allow more graceful, flowing and harmonious artistic expressions. In Ayurveda, such a harmonious type of coherence is known as Sattva (peace, harmony) in contrast to Tamas (inertia, dull) and Rajas (passion, movement).
At the same time, it's important to bring in a strong element of richness and expansion to artistic expression. One way of thinking about this is with analogy to the six tastes in Ayurveda. The six tastes in Ayurveda are sweet, sour, salty, astringent, bitter and pungent. It's generally considered that a satisfying meal should contain all six elements. In the same way, in art or music, it's important that it contains darker elements, danger, sorrow, pain, yearning, sadness, challenge etc. I once heard a guru say that sometimes a teaching needs to contain a bitter element, it can't all be sweetness and pleasantness and praise. Sometimes it's important to acknowledge and be familiar with the darker shades of life or else they will catch us unawares or sneak up on us when we least expect them. Music and art can also play this role, familiarising people with the different shades and possibilities of life and expanding people's awareness of what it is to be a fully aware human being.
Another element to consider is the importance of expansion and movement. It's neither possible nor advisable to only live in sattvic/harmonious modes of expression. In fact, it's sometimes said that to move from tamas/inertia to sattva/balance, one has to move into rajas/movement/passion first and then move into sattva/balance. Equally, in art and music it's important to bring in elements of stimulation and movement. Life would be kind of dull if everyone was only peaceful all the time. Music therefore, can be one of the ways that a person is moved from inertia into passion, if they listen to passionate/expressive or invigorating/dancing music and then potentially forward into sattva.
Another element to consider is that of growth. If a person only played music with the intention of bringing more love and harmony into the world, it could end up becoming a very static, repetitive and staid expression. It's important that a musician expands their awareness, for example into broader awareness of the darker elements of life, or brings in more fire, or incorporates more philosophical understandings or learns about broader artistic traditions. Spiritually, one might also delve into the deeper mysteries of the infinite, the underlying strata of consciousness that contains the manifest creation, all the contrasting elements of the manifest world, the chaos and order, the incomprehensibility of the infinite, the attempt to reconcile everything that is etc. Such an exploration can't be limited to one particular perspective or formula as outlined above such as heart centred expressions, harmonious expressions or richness of expression. It's a constantly expanding, beguiling and renewing exploration.
The last element I'd like to mention is that of transformation which is connected to the element of fire. Just as fuel in a fire becomes heat energy or food becomes energy in the body through digestion, artistic expression can involve an element of fire and transformation. In a successful performance/expression, audience members might receive inspiration or they might feel that they're moved or even moved to take new expansive actions or make changes in their lives. This could be the element of fire at work. Something that I've been pondering on recently is the ability of beauty to collapse the gap between the experiencer and the experienced. I feel that this is the power of fire and transformation in its strongest sense, to burn that which stands in the way of the small sense of self from the infinite self, namely thoughts. Beauty is perhaps as potent as the dissemination of Truth or the experience of Love in this respect but more easily accessed generally.
All this is to say, that the music and artistic expressions which I value usually have elements of bringing heart centred expressions, more peace and harmony, richness and learning, movement and growth and fire and transformation and an aspiration towards or trace of collapsing the gap between the small self and the infinite self. Expressions of this type are more valuable in my perception than the qualities I mentioned at the beginning and therefore important to consider for an artist or someone considering what motivates them to create artistic expressions.
