Whatever you do, do it as an offering to the Universe – from your
soul to the cosmos. And you will be at peace with yourself!
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| T.M.Krishna Picture Source: Internet |
T.M.Krishna
continues to amaze me. In a recent interview to Sumana Ramanan of the Open magazine, titled The Argumentative Musician, Krishna has
laid bare what he believes in and why he often ends up doing what he does. For
instance, at a concert last December, during the famed Chennai music season,
Krishna stopped singing an hour ahead of schedule and drove away, much to the
chagrin of the organizers and his own rasikas
and fans! Opinions flooded the music scene – ranging from how arrogant Krishna
had become to his hitting a creative block to the premise that he did so only
because it was a free kutcheri
(concert). But Krishna told Ramanan: “I had actually reached a point of
fulfilment. In that state of repleteness, I felt there was nothing left for me
to sing. I may have been able to sing for another hour, but would that have
been music…it had nothing to do with the fact that the concert was free…Music
is not about delivering a fixed number of hours’ worth of singing, but (it is)
about transcending the earthiness of being.” Krishna elaborated further on what
drives him: “…I am not doing this (whatever I am doing) for reasons that have
anything to do with T.M.Krishna, the performer. I do not even like the title ‘performer’.
I am in this because I passionately and insanely believe that music has given
me a window into Life that is taking me somewhere…I am not afraid of
disappearing from the popular stage.”
For
those of you who do not know Krishna well, he, at 38, is regarded as one of
Carnatic music’s most outstanding young proponents. His talent is regarded as prodigious
and many expected him to walk the predictable path to “glory” in the highly templated
Carnatic music industry that thrives on overflowing kutcheris, raving, nodding rasikas
and awards and titles being accumulated annually. Perhaps it was Krishna’s
personal quest (his seeking the ‘earthiness of his being’), influenced by his
schooling with the KrishnamurtBi Foundation of India (founded by renowned
philosopher J.Krishnamurti), for finding a deeper meaning to Life, that led him
to stop running the “Carnatic rat race”. He stopped playing to the rules long
back and has done “crazy” stuff like refusing to sing at paid-for concerts. To
many, he’s the enfant terrible of
Carnatic music.
I
don’t know much about Carnatic music for me to be able to comment on Krishna’s
genius. But I firmly believe he’s not being argumentative ever. If anything, he’s
spiritually evolved.
Consider
what we can learn from him. For one, we are all so conditioned to chasing
success – recognition, fame, wealth – in whatever we do, that even if we don’t
enjoy what we are doing anymore, we continue to do them because we want to
protect our trappings of success, the “fringe benefits” of earning-a-living! In
choosing to sing for himself, for his inner joy, not fearing a loss of
popularity or demand, Krishna is highlighting the importance of following your
bliss. Second, although he hasn’t said so in his interview to Ramanan, Krishna
reminds me of what Lord Krishna tells Arjuna in the concluding verses of
Chapter 9 of the Bhagavad Gita. Here’s
my guru Eknath Easwaran’s translation
of the relevant verse:
A leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even
Water, offered to me in devotion,
I will accept as the loving gift
Of a dedicated heart. Whatever you do,
Make it an offering to me –
The food you eat or worship you perform,
The help you give, even your suffering.
Thus will you be free from karma's bondage,
From the results of action, good and bad.
I
don’t want to get into the merits or demerits of Karmic theory or the existence
or non-existence of God here. The point is very simple. You and I, and Krishna,
have been created without our asking for this lifetime. We have been endowed
with our own special talent. In Krishna’s case, it is proficiency in Carnatic
music (and in writing, as I have come to discover; his book ‘A Southern Music – The Karnatik Story’
by Harper Collins was released by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen last month). This
Life, therefore is a gift. The talent each of us possesses too is a gift. So,
the best way to live the Life given to us is to offer whatever we do to the
Universe – freely, without seeking anything in return. When there are no
expectations from whatever you do, there can be no agony. And when there is no
agony or suffering, you will thrive in your native state of inner peace, joy
and bliss! That’s
what Krishna of the Bhagavad Gita
professed and that’s what T.M.Krishna believes in – and is championing!
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