Whenever you perform before an audience, feel that…there is only one person listening to you, and imagine that that person is a child only two years old. This is the human way.
The divine way is: if you bow to the Supreme inside each individual in the audience, then, immediately, you become one with each individual. Then you will not be afraid. Your music is only an extension of your inner consciousness and it is also an expression of the divine within. Once you are aware of the divine within, you can bring to your music, supreme beauty.
When you play music, feel that you are the instrument and the Supreme is playing in and through you. He is the musician and, at the same time, is the listener.
How to keep ego out of art? Think that you are one individual and your ego is another. From experience, you know ego will stand in your way when you try to run towards your goal.
Yet, you are giving half your strength to something that is really your enemy. The Supreme gives you the opportunity and capacity to run the fastest, but you are sharing half your capacity with your ego.
How to infuse music with spirituality? Whenever you play music, you have to know whether or not that music will elevate your and others’ consciousness.
Play music that inspires you, that comes from the very depth of your heart and illumines your consciousness. When you play this kind of music, you will see that in each note, the Divine is blossoming like a lotus, petal by petal. When you play divine music, feel that divinity is unveiling itself in and through you.
By Sri Chinmoy
