# Music - The Ladder for the Soul

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-20 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Sylvia Schulman-Benatar, Music - The Ladder for the Soul, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> MUSIC - THE LADDER FOR THE SOUL
> 
> 2002 – Port Elizabeth
> 
> Sylvia Schulman-Benatar
> 
> We, verily, have made music
> as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may
> be lifted up unto the realm on high; make it not,
> therefore, as wings to self and passion. Truly, We are
> loath to see you numbered with the foolish.
> 
> (Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 38 )
> 
> Looking at this quotation in depth we see many different aspects and meanings. If music
> is as a ladder for the soul and is capable of lifting it up to the divine world, it must be a
> great art. But we are cautioned not to make it wings to self and passion. This would
> number us with the foolish. What does this mean? Are we not free to be involved, either
> by composition, by performance or by listening, to any kind of music that takes our
> fancy? How can there be a right and wrong way in this choice of music? How do we
> know whether a certain kind of music is going to be wings to self and passion or a ladder
> to the realm above?
> 
> I don't think there is any right or wrong answer in general to this. It depends entirely on
> one's reaction to the music. And this can depend on one's background. For instance,
> someone who has been brought up with classical music in the home will react very
> differently from someone who comes from, say, a rural African home. However, it is the
> reaction that counts. If the music brings to mind feelings which lift up the spirit, then it is
> a ladder upwards. If it evokes earthy feelings, carnal desires, inclinations towards
> immoral acts, then this is what Bahá'u'lláh tells us to avoid.
> 
> Music is one of the important arts. It has great effect upon human spirit. Musical
> melodies are a certain something which prove to be accidental upon etheric
> vibrations, for voice is nothing but the expression of vibrations, which reaching the
> tympanum, effect the nerves of hearing, Musical melodies are, therefore, those
> peculiar effects produced by, or from, vibration. However, they have the keenest
> effect upon the spirit. In sooth, although music is a material affair, yet its
> tremendous effect is spiritual, and its greatest attachment
> 
> is to the realm of the spirit.
> 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Compilations, Lights of Guidance)
> 
> Music is a vast subject - thousands of books have been written on the subject in all its
> forms - infinite compositions. Where to start? What to say? We can only scratch the
> surface.
> 
> Even music, art, and literature, which are to represent and inspire the noblest
> sentiments and highest aspirations and should be a source of comfort and
> tranquility for troubled souls, have strayed from the straight path and are now the
> mirrors of the soiled hearts of this confused, unprincipled and disordered age.
> (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the Iranian believers resident in
> various countries throughout the world, February 10, 1980)
> (Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 127 )
> 
> All art is a reflection of the state of the human world and music is the art which touches
> everyone. One of the evidences of the appearance of a new Manifestation of God on earth
> is the enormous upsurge of art and scientific advancement. This is most noticeable in the
> intellectually advanced civilisations of the world - in our time, the Western world. Not
> taking into account folk music which exists in all parts of the world, formal musical
> composition advanced from fairly rigid forms to freer expressions of the Art. With the
> gradual movement away from disciplines of behaviour generated by loss of faith in
> established religious constraints, music became more and more experimental, reflecting
> the moral degeneration into which the world was lapsing. Beauty of melody and harmony
> were replaced with the ugliness of unresolved discordant sounds. Mercifully, this stage is
> gradually passing away and with the emerging global realisation that God's teachings are,
> after all, necessary for the order of the world, music is beginning to return to more
> beautiful, pleasing forms.
> 
> With the ability to travel all over the world in a short time, the music of different
> countries and cultures is reaching the ears of all people everywhere, and so we find that
> there is a great deal of music which combines the sounds of east and west, north and
> south!
> 
> Music can evoke many different moods - it can make one feel elated, it can make one feel
> sad, it can make one dance, or it can make one sing.
> 
> Because of my classically trained Western type background, this music is a source of
> inspiration and upliftment for me but to someone who is used to modern pop music it
> might just be boring:
> 
> Massenet - "Meditation" from the opera "Thaïs" [played during the presentation]
> 
> But loud disco type music, "singers" screaming their heads off, thumping around the
> stage, making very ugly movements, all with a heavy beat that hits you in the solar
> plexus, and amplification that actually damages the eardrums is completely out for me. I
> don't even have an example to play you but I'm sure you know what it sounds like!
> 
> William Shakespeare alluded to music in two of his plays that immediately come to
> mind:
> 
> "Music soothes the savage breast" and "If music be the food of love, play on". Many
> beautiful songs have been composed using Shakespeare's poetry. 'Abdu'l-Bahá tells us:
> 
> In this dispensation, music is one of the arts that is highly approved and is
> considered to be the cause of the exaltation of sad and desponding hearts.
> (`Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í World Faith - `Abdu'l-Bahá Section, p. 378 )
> 
> To someone from Iran this music would be a source of joy and exaltation, but to Western
> ears, some of the notes appear to be out of tune. This is because Eastern Music uses
> quarter tones as well as half and whole tones:
> 
> Ahdieh (Persian song)
> 
> Another type of music is background relaxation music. I recently had some
> treatment after an operation for a shattered shoulder and arm called Bowen Therapy or
> Technique and after each gentle manipulation, the therapist left the room for a few
> minutes leaving me to listen to some relaxation music - something like this:
> 
> Tranquility (Reader's Digest CD)
> 
> Therefore .... set to music the verses and the divine words so that they may be sung
> with soul-stirring melody in the Assemblies and gatherings, and that the hearts of
> the listeners may become tumultuous and rise towards the Kingdom of Abhá in
> supplication and prayer.
> (Compilations, Bahá'í World Faith, 'Abdu'l-Bahá Section,p. 378 )
> 
> Set verses to music - - - great composers through the ages have done this. Listen to the
> church music, the synagogue music, the chanting in the Mosques and the religions of the
> far East. Listen to the oratorios and countless individual songs and song cycles which
> have been composed to words from the Holy Books. Handel's great composition called
> "The Messiah", traditionally performed at Christmas time, is supposedly about the birth
> and station of Jesus. The words of some of the choruses are taken from the Old
> Testament and actually refer to Bahá'u'lláh. The beginning of this piece could relate to
> Jesus - "For unto us a child is born, a son is given" but then it goes on - "And the
> government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called - Wonderful!
> Counsellor! The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace!" Listen
> carefully and between all the embellishments you will hear these words!
> 
> "For Unto us a Child is born." from The Messiah by Handel
> 
> Although we don't have a great deal of soul-stirring music in the Bahá'í Faith yet, much
> has been composed in fairly simple musical language and has become dear to the hearts
> of the believers. Many of these compositions were heard at the Second World Congress
> 
> in New York and they have been recorded and used at all sorts of Bahá'í gatherings. The
> following song - "In this day Bahá'u'lláh" - was sung in gospel style at the World
> Congress and is extremely effective:
> 
> "In this day Bahá'u'lláh"
> 
> We are warned by the Guardian not to fall into the habit of set forms. You will notice
> also that he refers to the fact that people from different cultures or countries have
> different ideas as to what constitutes beautiful music, a point I made at the beginning of
> this talk.
> 
> "Music, as one of the arts, is a natural cultural development, and the Guardian does
> not feel that there should be any cultivation of Bahá'í Music any more than we are
> trying to develop a Bahá'í school of painting or writing. The believers are free to
> paint, write and compose as their talents guide them. If music is written,
> incorporating the sacred Writings, the friends are free to make use of it, but it
> should never be considered a requirement at Bahá'í meetings to have such music.
> The further away the friends keep from any set forms, the better, for they must
> realize that the Cause is absolutely universal, and what might seem beautiful
> addition to their mode of celebrating a Feast, etc., would perhaps fall on the ears of
> people of another country as unpleasant sound - - and vice versa. As long as they
> have music for its own sake it is all right, but they should not consider it Bahá'í
> music."
> (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States
> and Canada, July 20, 1946: Ibid)
> (Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 411 )
> 
> O servant of Baha! Music is regarded as a praiseworthy science at the Threshold of
> the Almighty …        By virtue of this, consider how much the art of music is
> admired and praised. Try, if thou canst, to use spiritual melodies, songs and tunes,
> and to bring the earthly music into harmony with the celestial melody. Then thou
> wilt notice what a great influence music hath and what heavenly joy and life it
> conferreth. Strike up such a melody and tune as to cause the nightingales of divine
> mysteries to be filled with joy and ecstasy."
> ('Abdu'l-Bahá, from a recently translated Tablet to an individual believer; Bahá'í Writings on Music, a
> compilation of the Universal House of Justice)
> (Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 411 )
> 
> Some intellectual music has also been composed - for example, the oratorio by Lasse
> Thoresen - a Norwegian Bahá'í who is a professor of composition at the Norwegian State
> Academy of Music - which was performed at the Official Opening of the Terraces on
> 22nd May 2001. At first hearing, this music is not so easy to understand but as it becomes
> more familiar, it will have more meaning for many of the friends. The following is an
> extract from "Terraces of Light" and is based on the Tablet of Carmel - "All glory be to
> this Day, the Day in which the fragrances of mercy have been wafted over all created
> 
> things …." It is described as a Symphonic Oratorio and in this extract you will hear the
> tenor solo and chorus:
> 
> "Terraces of Light"
> 
> Now, in Africa where music is a part of life for the rural people, there is a vast quantity of
> music using the words of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, or music in praise of the Central
> Figures of the Faith. The same is true of rural Bahá'ís in all parts of the world. Following
> are extracts from a song recorded in the Congo and one recorded by a South American
> group (El Viento Canta) whose perfomances (I quote) "pulsate with life and energy" …
> and who have a "conviction about the capacity of music to break down the barriers and
> prejudices that separate people." (Roger White) I saw this group perform some years ago
> when they were in Cape Town and their performance is absolutely rivetting.
> 
> You will notice that these two very different groups of Bahá'ís produce very similar
> examples of energetic and lively music:
> 
> Celebration Congo and El Viento Canta (Tape recordings)
> 
> The Amercan Indians have powerful folk-lore. A prominent Bahá'í, Kevin Locke who is
> an American Indian, has gathered up much of these age-old traditions and stories, and
> being a flautist as well as an outstanding hoop-dancer, has produced many recordings. I
> was privileged to meet him in Cape Town at the Parliament of the World's Religions
> when he performed the hoop-dance and played his flute. Here is a part of "Dream
> Catcher" which incorporates the sounds of nature, as do most of Kevin's pieces. I was so
> fascinated by this folk-lore that I purchased several of his CD's. A dream catcher is a
> small hoop of red willow branches, spanned by woven webs and beads. They are hung in
> homes. It is believed that good dreams pass through the centre hole of the hoop and bad
> dreams are trapped in the web woven by Iktome, the spider. In this way good dreams
> reach the sleeper while the bad perish in the light of dawn. The dream catchers I saw last
> year in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, were many different sizes and were embellished with
> feathers and beads:
> 
> "Dream Catcher" Kevin Locke CD
> 
> Music from Mongolia is extremely interesting. Sean Hinton, son of Phillip Hinton, the
> South African who became a Bahá'í in Cape Town (taught by Lowell Johnson), spent
> some time with one of the nomadic tribes researching their music for Cambridge
> University, and was interviewed on radio in Australia about this music. He related some
> of the folk-lore and described an unusual use of the split voice in which one hears a lower
> sound together with an upper melody. At the Parliament of the World's Religions there
> was a man who demonstrated this technique and was even able to sing popular tunes in
> the upper melody. I met him and he showed me how to start practising this technique! I
> went around making these weird noises for days afterwards but never quite managed to
> split my voice!
> 
> Sean Hinton's Interview - Split voice extract
> 
> As a matter of interest, Sean was later appointed by the Mongolian government as their
> Consul or Ambassador (I'm not quite sure which) in Australia. He now lives in London
> with his wife Tebbi - Lally Warren's daughter - and works at a Film Studio. They have
> two children.
> 
> Music can be very descriptive and there is a wealth of it on soundtracks from modern
> movies which have thrown their composers into great prominence. (Of course, the movie
> makers often use music of the classical composers as well.) When one hears this music,
> one is immediately reminded of the circumstances of the movie. In other words, music is
> evocative. The following was written by John Williams who is now very famous for
> music written specifically for movies:
> 
> John Williams - Schindler's List
> 
> Do you recall the name of the Movie?
> 
> But whatever kind of music you prefer, always go back to the first quotation of
> Bahá'u'lláh to maintain the correct balance in your choice.
> 
> We, verily, have made music
> as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may
> be lifted up unto the realm on high; make it not,
> therefore, as wings to self and passion. Truly, We are
> loath to see you numbered with the foolish.
> (Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 38 )
> 
> To end I have chosen the setting of the prayer of Bahá'u'lláh, "From the Sweet-Scented
> Streams" set to music by the late Charles Wolcott, Member of the Universal House of
> Justice, and recorded in June 2001 for the second time by Norman Bailey, accompanied
> by myself. (The first time was a very poor quality recording we made in Germany in
> 1964!) Norman Bailey declared as a Bahá'í in this very city (Port Elizabeth, South Africa)
> in 1956 and went on to become a world-famous opera singer:
> 
> "From the Sweet-Scented Streams" - Charles Wolcott
>
> — *Music - The Ladder for the Soul (Used by permission of the curator)*