THE CELESTIAL CONSTITUENTS OF THE PANEURHYTHMY 

 

The power of the Paneurhythmy as a sacred dance is based on its synthesis of spiritual Music, living Light, sacred Words, archetypal ideas and psychic movements. The Divine Music, Light, Words and Thought-forms are the substance of the higher spiritual realms. Hence, the Paneurhythmy, an organic synthesis of these celestial constituents, provides a very powerful and rich experience of the higher worlds.

A musician himself (a violinist and composer), the Master composed more than 150 songs which were inspired by heavenly music. This music 'expands the soul, brings power to the spirit, warmth and tenderness to the heart and light and freedom to the mind'. 

The great laws of Creation are hidden in Music. They are the laws of the great Spirit in Being. The Divine Spirit works musically and it could even be said that the music, in which the harmony of the Numbers reverberates, is a materialised movement of the Spirit. (The Master) 

The spiritual, celestial Music is based on different principles than ordinary human music. Human music follows the evolution of musical language and its meanings are an historical-cultural product. They are related to the life of society and the role which music plays in it, fulfilling many functions - from entertainment and leisure, through the formation of the emotional world of human beings, to expressing the spiritual atmosphere of historical epochs. Human music develops its language by using sounds and their tonal organisation and imbuing them with a great variety of cultural meanings. 

In contrast, the celestial Music reflects the living, creative, sounds of the Universe which are interwoven into the reality of all spiritual worlds. From this perspective, celestial Music penetrates and permeates everything - the Universe, the planets and stars, Nature and the human beings themselves. Everything 'resounds' throughout Creation and for each being its sound determines its essence and constitutes its very existence. Hence, the celestial sounds are objective music and have the power of cosmic-spiritual creativity. 

When initiates tune to the celestial Music of the spheres, of Nature, or the human being and try to re-create this Music, their songs and dances have the power to transform the energy in Nature, to model the destiny of the human being and society, and to become channels for direct communion with the higher spiritual worlds. For this reason, the celestial Music brought down by initiates is an objective art of transformation and plays an extremely important role in every spiritual tradition. 

There is virtually no spiritual school where music does not play a substantial role in the methods and techniques for spiritual transformation. The great transformative power of the Hindu ragas, Sufi dances, Zen meditation music and the cosmic hymns of Sri Yogananda are essential foundations of their spiritual teachings. Music has an important function in the spiritual school of the Master Peter Deunov also. The songs of the Master, bringing down the vibrations of heavenly Music, are heard throughout all the activities within the spiritual community - in the Paneurhythmy itself, in the sunrise ceremony, in community celebrations and feasts, before and after gatherings and lectures. The songs play an important part in the individual work of the disciples as well. Through them they receive blessings and impulses for transformation of their physical, psychological and spiritual energies, helping them to establish direct contact with the spiritual hierarchy in the invisible world.

In accord with the initiation of the Master which comes in the cosmic-spiritual Spring, the songs and musical exercises cover a broad spectrum of genres. For instance, a large group of songs (Venir-Benir, Vehadi, Kiamet Zenu, Bershid Ba, Fir-Fur-Fen, etc.) connect us with the reality of the last Golden Age on Earth. The texts of these songs are written in an ancient spiritual language, Vatan, which predates Sanskrit. These songs build a very subtle musical bridge between the last Golden Age and the coming new one.

There is another large group of songs (Mahar Benu Aba, Neva Sanzu, The Spirit Whispers to Me, etc.), closely linked to the previous, which expresses the spiritual world of the disciples. These songs are 'sound pictures' of the path of the disciple. They depict the blossoming of the human soul and the musical aspect of the cosmic-spiritual consciousness which fills all thoughts, feelings, actions, relationships - even the life processes like breathing, eating and moving - with spiritual music, harmony and beauty.

Many of the songs of the Master such as 'Spring', 'The Music of the Brook' and 'March of the Light Forces', help us to link with the spirits of Nature and the higher celestial realms. These songs 'materialise' in sound the ethereal musical vibrations of invisible light beings and can open our spiritual senses, enabling us to see them.

Another group of songs (Meditation, Eternal Truth, Inspiration, The Inner Voice of God) are Divine melodies which come from very high spiritual worlds as living messages from them. By listening, by concentration and meditation on them, we raise our consciousness and become able to enter into these mystical worlds. Some songs, for example 'Our Father', 'In the Beginning was the Word', 'The Ninety-First Psalm' and 'The Prayer', are like prayers in musical form and help us to express, in a very natural and emotional way, our feelings of devotion to God.

In order to create a joyful, friendly atmosphere within the spiritual community, the Master composed songs full of cheerfulness, rhythm, charm and even humour (The Fire is Lit, Sweet-honey, Everything in Life is Attainable, Good Day, etc.). They are performed in celebrations, in group gatherings, feasts and on many other festive occasions of the community life. There are also many songs, melodies, and musical exercises connected with Bulgarian folk music and some Middle Eastern folk music traditions.

The Paneurhythmy includes exercises with music from almost all the different musical genres composed by the Master. They form, however, a very natural, rich and organic wholeness. One could say that the Paneurhythmy represents a spiritual musical encyclopedia and introduces the participants to beautiful celestial worlds expressed in musical forms. In the Paneurhythmy we can find songs bridging the reality of the last and the coming new Golden Age (for instance, 11. Evera). The music of many exercises links us with the musical vibrations of the Nature spirits, the elements, the Earth and the Sun (1-10. The First Day of Spring, 18. Beauty, 19. Mobility, 21. Joy of the Earth, etc). The music of other exercises contributes powerfully to the creation of a warm friendly atmosphere among the participants (24. How Happy We Are, 26. Early in the Morning). The whole Paneurhythmy in general, and some exercises in particular, express the spiritual world of the disciple and the process of the blossoming of the human soul (14. Thinking, 15. Aum, 16. The Rising Sun, 22. Acquaintance).

The music of one of the movements in the first part (24. How Happy We Are) and almost the whole second part of the Paneurhythmy ('Sunbeams') is based on Bulgarian folk rhythms. It is a good example of the Divine work of the Master on the Bulgarian folk music, elevating it to the harmonious and tender musical vibrations of the celestial worlds. Some of the exercises in the first part (for example, 17. Square) and the whole third part of the Paneurhythmy ('Pentagram') amount to powerful active and energising 'musical mantras'. The musical spectrum of the Paneurhythmy is so vast and varied that it contains even exercises with a hint of humour (12. Jumping).

The musical component of the Paneurhythmy is essential to its spiritually transformative power. By dancing, listening to the music and singing the words, we raise our consciousness to the higher celestial worlds. We become sensitive, subtle and tender 'musical instruments' reverberating with the Divine Music of Life. If we consider the organic link between the Music and the other celestial components, such as the living Light, the sacred Words and the psychic movements, then we will understand the great importance of the Paneurhythmy as a Divine message for the new epoch of Aquarius.

The colour rays of living Light are another of the main celestial constituents of the Paneurhythmy. When St. John saw the throne of God surrounded by the Twenty-four Elders and the four Living Creatures, he also saw 'in front of the throne seven lighted torches....which are the seven spirits of God'. (Revelation 4: 5) These spirits are the creative colour rays of the living Light. Each one of them is a whole spiritual world emanating from God and crystallising in one or another realm of existence.

The Master Peter Deunov blessed us with a very special and sacred book - The Testament of the Colour Rays of Light. In this book the Master selected from the Bible verses, which God addressed to the prophets or spoke through Jesus Christ, and linked them to colour rays of Light, human virtues and Divine qualities. The book reveals the secret of the human being in the manifested universe - beginning with birth from God as a Divine spark, through the conscious spiritual path as a disciple in the worlds of Light, to the return back as a son or daughter of God and final mergence with Him. The book also contains esoteric keys to the initiations of the epoch of the Old Testament, the epoch of the New Testament and the coming epoch of the Holy Spirit. Each verse of the book can become a basis for reflection, meditation and practical work with the colour rays of Light. Thus, the Master bestowed on us a special type of spiritual practice based on the colour rays of Light.

The esoteric foundation of the Paneurhythmy is directly connected with the mystery of the colour rays of Light revealed by the Master. The structure of the Paneurhythmy and the esoteric meaning of the colour rays which it conveys are comparable to the structure of the Master's book, The Testament of the Colour Rays of Light.

The Paneurhythmy starts with a series of movements - The First Day of Spring (1-10). This series is the introduction to the Paneurhythmy and contains in seed-form all the ideas of the Paneurhythmy which will be unfolded later. This introduction is like a living seed of Light containing all colour rays within itself, ready for opening and blossoming. In a similar way to the Introduction of the Master's book, it gives us an impulse to perceive Nature, the Earth, the Sun - all the Universe and ourselves - as a Divine Temple where God lives. It reminds us that we are children of God and invites us to return to the Father's house.

The next series of movements (11-16) is the mystical core of the Paneurhythmy. Each of the movements is connected with a particular colour ray and introduces us to a beautiful world for spiritual work: 11. Evera - pink; 12. Jumping - red; 13. Weaving - green; 14. Thinking - yellow; 15. Aum - from blue to violet; 16. The Rising Sun - white. On a micro-level each movement is linked with the opening of our chakras through an appropriate synthesis of music, colour, words and movements; on a macro-level it offers us a possibility for inspiring spiritual work in the world which a particular colour ray reveals. This series of movements corresponds to the chapters of the Master's book consecrated to the different colour rays where each one of them is like a great spiritual university.

Exercise 17. Square opens the third series of movements in the Paneurhythmy. It introduces us to the reality of the Kingdom of God through the symbolic language of sacred dance. By performing a living mandala in the form of a square inscribed within the circle, we activate the creative colour rays of Light which comprise the substance of the New Heaven and the New Earth. The powerful music working as a mantra, the symbolic sacred movements and the communion with the creative colour rays make the movement 'Square' a magical entrance into the Divine reality.

The four subsequent movements of this third series - 18. Beauty, 19. Mobility, 20. Conquering, and 21. Joy of the Earth - can be associated with the four elements, air, water, fire and earth, which in their high etheric vibrations form the substance of the New Earth and the New Heaven. By performing each one of these four movements and invoking their subtle colours - sky-blue, aquamarine, red and green - we can experience the great beauty, creativity and harmony of the new reality.

The last series in this section of the Paneurhythmy starts with 22. Acquaintance. It is one of the most joyful and inspiring movements in the Paneurhythmy. In love, friendship and harmony we dance together with the partner. We see each other in the depths of our eyes, recognising our Divine essence, and then, looking at the sky, we give thanks to our Heavenly Father/Mother. Following this most inspiring spiritual experience, the next movements of the series bring us back to the Earth in order to establish the reality of the Kingdom of God on it. Beautiful Day (23), How Happy We Are (24), Step by Step (25) and Early in the Morning (26) suggest a harmonious and creative work in partnership to bring the new reality down on Earth. This interpretation is reinforced by the movements of the exercises, most of which are done together in pairs with the emphasis on the feet. The colours of these movements include all the colours of the rainbow, intermingling and forming a beautiful new transfigured world on Earth. There is a connection between the diffused colour rays of the first ten movements and the integrated colour rays of the last movements. The light of the first movements represents a living seed containing all colours of the rainbow within; the integrated colour rays in the last movements are the result of our journey to the Kingdom of God and our return back to establish this reality on Earth. Thus, through the dance we create a great rainbow arc which starts with the beginning of our spiritual Exodus from the restricted earthly consciousness, reaches its zenith in Heaven, and ends with our return to the reality of the New Earth.

As a result of the sacred dance and the Divine rainbow arc which we trace, we are able to experience the whole Universe as a magnificent sea of Light, transparent on all levels. Here we have given one possible interpretation of the connection between the Master's book, The Testament of the Colour Rays of Light, and the Paneurhythmy, but the very possibility of such an interpretation shows the richness and inexhaustible potential of the dance with the colour rays of Light as its celestial constituent.

Another celestial constituent of the Paneurhythmy is the sacred Word. God created everything through His Word:

Before the world was created, the Word already existed; he was with God, and he was the same as God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. Through him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him. (John 1: 1-3) 

This Word is AUM:

The outward manifestation of the omnipresent Christ Consciousness, its 'witness' (Rev. 3:14), is Aum (Om), the Word or Holy Ghost: invisible divine power, the only doer, the sole causative and activating force that upholds all creation through vibration. Aum the blissful Comforter is heard in meditation and reveals to the devotee the ultimate Truth, bringing 'all things to your remembrance'. (Sri Yogananda, Metaphysical Meditations, page 48). 

The Master included a special movement and song in the Paneurhythmy - AUM (15). This movement helps us to dissolve into the cosmic vibration of AUM and to experience the omnipresent Divine Spirit filling the whole of Creation. The song AUM is based on the C-major chord, the colour range is from blue to violet and it is connected with the opening of the third eye. The right hand extends upward at an angle of forty-five degrees and links us with the energy of the Sun. The left hand extends down- ward, behind the body, and links us with the energy of the Earth. Thus, by performing the movement (and reversing the position of the hands), by concentrating on the third eye and visualising the colours from blue to violet, by singing AUM, we enter into the omnipresent sacred vibration. We experience this vibration as an etheric current of energies between the Sun and the Earth which permeates our own being and extends to the whole of Creation.

The song AUM is sung as follows: 

AUM, AUM, AUM
OM, OM, AUMEN. 

These variations of the sacred Word are associated with different spiritual traditions (AUM, OM in the Eastern tradition, AMEN in the Western tradition), each one of which reveals a unique aspect of the Universe and the Holy Spirit in particular. The movement AUM plays a very important mystical and integrative role in the Paneurhythmy, linking Heaven and Earth, East and West, thus spreading the vibrations of the sacred Word everywhere.

As mentioned before, many of the songs of the Master are written in an ancient, pre-Sanskrit language, Vatan. The Master included two other songs in Vatan: 'Evera' and 'The Rising Sun' (Zoun me zoun, zoun me zoun, binom to meto). The Vatan words of these songs refer to the beautiful reality of Divine Love, Wisdom and Truth coming from the past to the new Golden Age. These words in Vatan are living words with their own esoteric vibrations of sound and colour, pink for 'Evera' and white for 'The Rising Sun'. It is interesting to note that the songs written in Vatan occur in the second series of movements (11, 15 and 16) which is an esoteric, mystical series and reveals the mystery of the colour rays of Light as spiritual universities.

The second series also contains some songs written by the Master in Bulgarian (14. Thinking and 16. The Rising Sun - the first part of The Rising Sun is written in Bulgarian and the second part in Vatan). These songs sound like mantras and activate higher spiritual vibrations with corresponding tones and colours (yellow - Thinking, white - The Rising Sun). The words of these songs are beautiful examples of the great work done by the Master with the Bulgarian language to raise its vibration to a higher level.

The singing of the songs reinforces tremendously the effect of the Paneurhythmy. By dancing, singing and meditating, we enter into the higher spiritual worlds and perform the Divine alchemy of the mutual transformation of Music, Light and Words into each other. Thus, the celestial components of the Paneurhythmy, their interconnection and mutual transformation, reflect the essence of the higher spiritual worlds which are one and the same Divine Spirit, aspected as heavenly Music, living Light and sacred Words.

The Paneurhythmy is a dance and as in any dance the movements are of primary importance. The movements of the Paneurhythmy are simple, natural and free flowing, but in their simplicity they represent the primal movements of the human body. They are the natural language of the body and can be used to express a great variety of emotions, thoughts, ideas and psycho-physical sensations. Figuratively speaking, we could say that the movements in the Paneurhythmy are like archetypal movements of the human body which could be charged with living energy in accordance with the psycho-physical condition and spiritual evolution of the individual.

The Master put great emphasis on the physical activity of the disciples. This is very natural because without physical and spiritual strength, human beings cannot follow the path of the disciple and transform their lives on Earth. For this purpose the Master gave many sets of physical exercises which are connected with profound psycho-physical processes within the human bodies (the physical, etheric, emotional, mental, etc.).

In giving the exercises, the Master distinguished three types of movements - mechanical, organic and psychic: 

Movements in which the inner life does not take part, thus the rational powers act from outside and not from within, are mechanical. Organic movements are those in which the inner life takes part, but not as a clear, conscious thought. In psychic movements there is a clear, definite thought. 

The Paneurhythmy is based on psychic movements: 

In the Paneurhythmy every line of motion corresponds strictly to certain forces within the human organism and human consciousness, and arouses them to activity. Thus, the Paneurhythmy acts as a stimulant for calling forth to life the science of harmonious movement in connection with human thought and feeling. One must think, feel and move simultaneously in the Paneurhythmy. If the movements of a person are not connected with his thoughts and feelings, which must participate in every movement, they will be mechanical and will not exercise that powerful renovating and revitalising effect upon the body, mind, soul and spirit of man. (The Master Peter Deunov)

The main purpose of the Paneurhythmy is to work on all our different bodies simultaneously and to establish a harmonious dynamic connection between them. The Paneurhythmy works on our physical body, etheric body, emotional body, mental body and 'will body', and brings them to higher levels of existence thus facilitating the first, and even the second, resurrection (see Step Two, pp. 57-58, Step Three, p. 70).

The Paneurhythmy activates all our bodies, synchronises their functioning, causes an interchange of energies and brings them into perfect balance and harmony. For instance, when we begin the Paneurhythmy with its first movement, Awakening, we open ourselves to receive Divine blessings on all levels of our being. By extending our arms (from hands on shoulders to arms fully outstretched), we relax physically and open our physical body to receive the energy of Nature and to experience a living contact with the elements, the Sun and the Earth. At the same time, we relax psychically, leaving aside all our human problems and worries, and prepare our souls for a great spiritual journey guided by heavenly Music, living Light and sacred Words. On the level of the spirit, inwardly we take the position of children of God who, in joy, openness and sacredness, are ready to enter into the mystery of life vibrating throughout the whole Universe. As a result, from the very beginning of the Paneurhythmy, we harmonise our psycho-physical sensations, thoughts, emotions and spiritual actions. It is amazing that this rich complex of meanings is based on one of the most simple and natural movements of the body, i.e. stretching our arms from the shoulders outward.

The harmonious activation of our different bodies has a tremendous effect on the physical organism. It raises the vibrations of the physical body and makes it a powerful base for the whole structure of our being. The physical body itself is built as a perfect organism, the crown of the creativity of Nature. Thus, by establishing harmonious contact between the bodies, we become able to experience our connection with Nature through the physical body. It is a source of great joy and excitement to experience a profound inner connection with Nature when we feel the great Divine Life in every cell of the body. The Paneurhythmy helps us to establish contact with Nature, not only outside ourselves, but inside as well, as the mystery of life within the body and its perfection as a Divine organism. Because of this, the Master said: 

The movements of the Paneurhythmy are drawn from nature itself. The laws of the Paneurhythmic movements are inscribed in the cosmos. These movements are based upon a profound understanding of the forces operating in the human organism as well as in the whole of Creation. 

It is important to emphasise the role of the Paneurhythmy in activating, revitalising, purifying and illuminating the physical body in harmony with all other bodies within the human being. Through the Paneurhythmy we are reinforcing the life-energies of the physical body and we are creating a powerful etheric body. This transforms our dull, inert physical body (a result of our sedentary style of life) into a very sensitive living organism, full of subtle currents and energies, able to respond perfectly to all outside influences and to the spiritual activities within. Then each movement becomes a channel of life, triggering different energies and shaping an essential 'body-mantra'. 

In the Paneurhythmy the whole body participates: 

In the movements of the Paneurhythmy the hands and feet take part; the whole body is in motion taking up such positions as correspond to the words and musical tones. All kinds of geometric lines can be seen in the Paneurhythmy: straight, curved, wave-like and mixed. There are strong, soft and light movements. The curved lines predominate in the soft ones; the straight in the strong, while the light movements are composed of both curved and straight lines. There are electric and magnetic, cold and warm lines. (The Master Peter Deunov) 

This large range of movements forms the very expressive body language of the Paneurhythmy. Due to the psychic nature of the movements and to the synthesis of music, words and colours, each movement is like a 'body-mantra', an 'archetype' capable of releasing the living energies of our body, mind, soul and spirit. Thus, the body language of the Paneurhythmy can express an enormous variety of spiritual ideas, thoughts, emotions and psycho-physical states. It can transform the energy of our bodies and the connections between them; it can create a living spiritual space around us and open new metaphysical dimensions. 

By dancing the Paneurhythmy and performing the living geometric forms of its movements, we are creating a subtle etheric space around us. We fill this space with the aura of our bodies and begin to experience the alchemy of transformation of energy from one body to another. This process fills all the cells of the body with love, light, life and prana, and connects the body with the substance of the soul which is woven by heavenly Music, living Light and sacred Words. As a result, we experience a metaphysical change of space, time and matter: the space around us becomes 'alive' as a Divine sea of Light, Love and heavenly presence; time receives new mythological dimensions and opens up the currents of time in the higher spiritual worlds; matter reveals its primordial unity, 'not dull and inert, but vibrant, with rhythmic life and light, with celestial sounds of songs and harmonies'.

It is obvious that the psychic movements of the Paneurhythmy and their synthesis with music, light and words offer many possibilities for the interpretation of each movement and the whole sequence of movements. The richness of music, light, words, basic movements and their interconnections already suggest a tremendously wide spectrum of spiritual ideas and levels of interpretation. As we saw with the celestial constituents of the Paneurhythmy, this spectrum includes ideas from a cosmological level (for instance AUM), through a large scale of ideas related to Nature, to the finest details of human body language. At the same time, the purpose of the Paneurhythmy is to convey the living message of the approaching cosmic-spiritual Spring and the blossoming of the human soul. The Paneurhythmy is the focus of the whole Teaching of the Master and consequently we can interpret its exercises with at least three different keys: 

• as a celebration of the relationship between the Spring season in Nature and the cosmic-spiritual Spring which provides Divine opportunities for the blossoming of the human soul and ascent into higher spiritual worlds;

   

• as a spiritual journey in the life of the disciple, aimed at the opening of the chakras and the experience of life on Earth as a great spiritual school;

   

• as a celestial action on Earth aimed at bringing down the reality of the Kingdom of God and the purification, transformation and transfiguration of the whole Earth.

   

Naturally, we could continue this list of possible interpretations because the Paneurhythmy is an organic synthesis of music, light, words and movements and reflects the multidimensional spiritual Teaching of the Master. If we choose one key of interpretation, we can explain the entire series of exercises and give a beautiful and rational understanding of each individual movement of the Paneurhythmy. If we choose another key, we can have a different chain of interpretations of the same movements, activating other ideas and symbolic pictures. So, we can have many possible and reasonable interpretations of the movements in the Paneurhythmy co-existing together and expressing the richness and diversity of spiritual life in the epoch of the cosmic-spiritual Spring.

The Paneurhythmy was given by a great spiritual Master as a living Divine message for the new epoch of Aquarius. As such, it is even beyond any explanation or interpretation; it affects the participants through the vibrations 'coded' in it, by the actual living presence of the Master and heavenly beings who act spiritually whenever the Paneurhythmy is performed. The richness of the interpretations, however, deepens our understanding and makes us more and more open to receive the living blessings and to respond to the inspired spiritual impulses encoded in the Paneurhythmy.

The Master mentioned that 'the Paneurhythmy has still higher forms which will be given later on in the development of humanity.' This is true not only with respect to the new movements, new music and new words, which are to come; this is true also for the deepening of our understanding and the opening of new esoteric dimensions of the Paneurhythmy. Here it is interesting to note that the emphasis on one or another interpretation of the Paneurhythmy changes with the times. The first interpretative key was very popular in the time of the Master amongst the disciples, but it was tremendously reinforced by his own presence as a personification of the energies of the cosmic-spiritual Spring. Later on, after the Master's ascension to Heaven, there was a slight shift in interpretation, placing emphasis on the path of the disciple (the second key) in the new epoch of the cosmic-spiritual Spring. In more recent times, in accord with the spiritual activities on a planetary scale, such as Harmonic Convergence (1987), Earth-weeks and many others, the Paneurhythmy has been interpreted as a planetary action which puts an emphasis on the third key of interpretation, reinforcing and complementing the previous two. The Master himself spoke on many occasions about the magic power of the Paneurhythmy as a dance capable of influencing Nature, the planet Earth, human civilization and even the destinies of cultures and nations.

 

 

 

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