Yoga Life Book
Page 13

WALKING IN HARMONY WITH NATURE

Many of the great composers, poets, and writers drew their inspiration from nature. Ludwig van Beethoven epitomized this in music and Ernest Hemingway did it in great literature. When Beethoven wandered off into the woods to meditate, he would very often come back with a masterpiece in mind. Many of his greatest symphonies were, quite simply, born under a tree, beside a flowing stream, or on a flowered country lane.

During the Romantic era of music, Nature was not merely a subject to be depicted. A very closely knit kinship was formed between the inner life of the artist himself and the life of Nature, so that the latter became not only a refuge but also a source of great strength, wonderful inspiration, and exhilarating revelation as well. This mystic sense of kinship with Nature, counterbalancing the artificiality of city existence, is as prevalent in the music of the last century as it is in the contemporary literature and art. Thus, listening to classical music of the 19th century will put a person more in touch with Nature than any other music that I know of, save for the simple, bhajans or chants of India and Native American healing songs.

By John Heinerman

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