Question: As disciples, should we play only soulful music when we play an instrument?

Sri Chinmoy: It depends on the disciple. If he is a first-class disciple and wants to play music, then naturally he will play soulful music only, for if he plays lower vital music, he will fall down from the top of the mango tree. With greatest difficulty he has climbed up the mango tree and now he is so happy that he is on the topmost branch. But if temptation comes and he falls down and breaks his leg, then it will take him quite a few years to climb up again. Because he was a first-class disciple, he was able to climb up the tree; but when temptation began, he fell down and became a seventh-class disciple. For a seventh-class disciple to climb up the tree again is almost impossible.

If you drink nectar ten times and then drink poison only once, you will die. You can drink nectar as many times as you want to, but if you drink poison even once, you won't be able to nullify its effect. You have to feel like this: you can take sugar seven times, but if you take salt only once, it will ruin the taste of sugar. You will immediately feel the effect of the salt.

It is always advisable to play only soulful music. Again, there are grades and degrees of soulfulness. You should try to play the most soulful music, but if you cannot, you should try to play the next most soulful music.

You have to know that if you play music from the vital plane, you are only fooling yourself. The music that is inspired from around or below the navel is the vital music. Music that comes from the heart is psychic music and the music that comes from the inmost recesses of the heart, from very deep within, comes from the soul. If we can feel that it is not our voice, not our fingers, but some reality deep inside our heart which is expressing itself, then we will know that it is the soul's music.