Kazoo Player And The Symphony
काज़ूवादक और स्वरसंगति - डेनियल इंग्राम
कल्पना कीजिए के एक बड़े समारोह सभागार में एक भव्य सिम्फनी (स्वरसंगति) ऑर्केस्ट्रा (वादक समूह) है और उसके सामने एक बेतुके मज़ाक की तरह, स्पष्ट रूप से बेचैन एक काज़ूवादक बैठा है बिना किसी स्वर-निबंध के। वादक समूह बजाना शुरू करता है और बेचारा काज़ूवादक जिसे कुछ पता नहीं चल रहा, वादक समूह से ताल मिलाने का भरसक प्रयत्न करता है। वह वादक समूह से आधा-क्षण पीछे है, सुनकर फिर वही स्वर बजता हुआ। काज़ूवादक एक समय में केवल एक ही स्वर बजा सकता है। इसलिए वादक समूह की तुलना में उसका संगीत बहुत सदा और सरल है।
अब कल्पना कीजिये के कुछ श्रोतागण ऐसा मानते हैं एक वे वादक समूह का संगीत काज़ूवादक का संगीत सुनने के बाद ही सुन पाएंगे। ध्यान का अभ्यास शुरू करने वाले ऐसे ही श्रोतागण हैं। हम काजू वादक की तरह सुनते हैं, और धीरे-धीरे काज़ूवादक के संगीत पर ध्यान देने लगते हैं और उसका आनंद लेने लगते हैं चाहे वह संगीत कितना ही सदा और सरल क्यों न हो।
हालाँकि, कुछ समय बाद हम में से कुछ लोग ये देख पाते हैं के हम समूह वादक का संगीत भी सुन सकते हैं। समूह वादक द्वारा बाजए जा रहे मधुर संगीत का आनंद लिया जा सकता है बिना काज़ूवादक के संगीत पे ध्यान दिए हुए।
जल्दी ही, हम में से कइ संगीत सुनने वालों को काज़ूवादक का संगीत एक मज़ाक लगने लगेगा जो समूह वादक के संगीत की भव्यता काम कर रहा है।
अंततः, कल्पना कीजिये के कोई व्यक्ति काजूवादक के सामने स्वर-निबंध रख देता है ताके वह भी वादक समूह से ताल मिलकर संगीत बजाये। ऐसे में संपूर्ण समर्पण से बजा रहे सैंकड़ों वादकों के संगीत में काज़ूवादक का संगीत घुल जाता है। हमारी जाग्रति (साक्षात्कार) भी कुछ ऐसी ही है, जिसमें हम मुख्य संगीत से जुड़ जाते हैं बिना काज़ूवादक के साधारण अनुवाद की आवश्यकता के और बिना स्वयं मंच पर आसीन काज़ूवादक बने हुए।
मनन के लिए बीज प्रश्न :
जाग्रति की सुमधुर संगीत की लहर से की गयी लेखक की तुलना से आप कैसे जुड़ते हैं ?
क्या आप अपना उस समय का निजी अनुभव बाँट सकते हैं जब आप काज़ूवादक से परे वादक समूह का संगीत सुन पा रहे थे ?
उस भव्यता के सामने जो हमारे हर तरफ है काज़ूवादक के संगीत की आव्यशकता को आप कैसे समझते हैं ?
डेनियल इंग्राम ध्यान शिक्षक हैं, और यह लेख उनकी पुस्तक Mastering the Core Teaching of the Buddha से उद्धृत एवं अनुवादित है।
Daniel Ingram is a meditation teacher, and the excerpt above is from his book, Mastering the Core Teaching of the Buddha.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the author's metaphor of awakening to the grand sweep of the melody? Can you share a personal story of a time you felt you could hear the symphony beyond your kazoo player? What helps you reconcile the need of a kazoo player with the bigger majesty that is all around you?
Add Your Reflection
8 Past Reflections
On Mar 2, 2019 Kurt Becker wrote :
However, at some point, some of us notice that we can also hear the symphony just as it is, just on its own, that the weave of sounds is coming in from the symphony also, and this is known without the kazoo player having to make a limited, absurd, out-of-time, delayed facsimile of it.
Post Your Reply
On Feb 28, 2019 Bill Miller wrote :
“… without having to feel like we need some poor kazoo player to interpret and imitate the symphony for us,”
Not having read the book, I took the metaphor as a suggestion to not become overly invested in any particular guru or teacher’s philosophy of life and world, but to always measure it against one’s own immediate experience.
Not having read the book, I took the metaphor as a suggestion to not become overly invested in any particular guru or teacher’s philosophy of life and world, but to always measure it against one’s own immediate experience.
1 reply: Amy | Post Your Reply
On Feb 26, 2019 Rajul Shah wrote :
In the meditation, in the beginning there is a noise or traffic of one's own thoughts which maybe initially disturbing, but with practice, one learns to observe them without being one with them, eventually as the practice gets deeper, these thoughts becomes few and one is in this ' no thoughts' space even if for a while. To me, this space of no thoughts is the bigger symphony. Pseudo-self with its thoughts is the kazoo player. To go to that 'no thoughts' space, initially one has to observe one's own thoughts without evaluating or judging much like birds coming in and out of a tree or clouds passing past vast sky. Going past the microcosm to be part of macrocosm...
1 reply: Me | Post Your Reply
On Feb 26, 2019 sandip sheta wrote :
The artist works with a concentration of his whole personality, and the conscious part of it resolves conflicts, organized memories, and prevents him from trying to walk in two directions at the same time.
Post Your Reply
On Feb 24, 2019 David Doane wrote :
My first thought was that I don't relate to the metaphor, and I thought of Nietzsche's saying "And those who were dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music," which quote I can relate to and even like to relate to. My second thought was that I don't want to be one part of the grand sweep of the melody, largely lost among the grandeur of the hundreds of other players. My third thought is that I want it all, that is, I want to be my own unique individual kazoo player and be part of the grand sweep. Sometimes in a close present encounter with another, I hear the symphony beyond the kazoo player, and while connected to the kazoo player I also feel connected to the symphony with a sense that the symphony is larger than us, it takes priority, and we are part of the bigger majesty of the symphony, and it is very special.
Post Your Reply
On Feb 23, 2019 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
As a meditator, I have noticed how my mind gets distracted by the external world of sound and sight as well as by my internal world of sound and sight. As I consistently practice Mindfulness Meditation, my mind slowly and gradually gets less distracted. In this quiet and open space I hear the majesty of symphony effortlessly.This is like awakening from my conditionedmind which was bound by my un-awakened or sleepy state of mind.
A few years ago, I wentto a weekend Zen retreat. During one our Mindfulness Meditation, I dozed for some time. I was awakened by the hitting by the stick on my back by the Zen master. This awakening experience taught me an importantlesson of awakening myself from my conditioned state of my mind, my un-awakened sleepy sate of mind. It opened up my mind space in which I can hear the grandsweep of the Divine melody, the music of the sphere with no boundary. It creates deep joy, wonderment and harmony.
Living everydaymindfully with this awakened state of mind helps... [View Full Comment]