The Path of Sufism in India and its Music

The whole meditative life of the Sufis is built upon the mystery of the world. The word Sufi is connected with sophia, which means wisdom -- not cleverness, because cleverness cannot be wisdom; but the wisdom learned from within.

The path of a Sufi is a path of devotion, a path of Bhakti, a path of surrender and complete trust.

Sufi traditions and music have been very close to India since hundreds of years, being the path of Sufism a beautiful and poetic approach to spirituality, in which the longing and connection to the divine, is pursued through bhakti (devotion,) total surrender, let-go, love and dissolution. In this, music has a very important role in Sufism and its different practices.

Manish talks about the Sufi traditions as he experienced them himself in India, its music and singers, and practices such as whirling and other active meditations, where the use of music is key to take the listener to that space or total merging with the higher Self, the Beyond, the Eternal.

"Wisdom is the interpretation of life, made by someone whose point of view has become different by looking at life in the sunlight." H. Inahat Khan