Gandharvas / Entertainment

It is said in scriptures that gandharvas are “His” musical notes. The word gandharvas in English can be translated as celestial musicians. They come under the eight kinds of creation that cannot be perceived by the normal eye; but they have the power to adopt a form at will. They are not composed of gross material particles, for they dwell on the astral plane. Their wives are called apsaras (nymphs), and together in every manner they entertain God and those who have by their evolution reached this plane. They have surrendered themselves for the entertain­ment of the gods of the celestial plane. As celestial musicians they live in harmony with divine music. In the stories of the Puranas there are numerous references to the acts of gandharvas and apsaras. They are initially free from the cycle of birth and death — but if they do not act in harmony with their state of being, they fall to earth from heaven, and take birth as human beings. But wherever they exist, they provide entertainment.

The player enters into the state of entertainment after purification. This space is an expression of inward joy, a feeling of rhythm, a sense of harmony. Entertainment makes him light and provides the incentive for recreation and amusement. Entertainment brightens mundane existence and provides new avenues, new vistas, new horizons. All the fine arts are a product of this state, which belongs to the second row of the game and is an attribute of vibration in the second chakra. But entertainment exists at all levels. This game board, Leela or Gyan Chaupad, is an enter­tainment for the saints.

Life is based on the principle of entertainment — fun. And life can be perceived as entertainment when the player has transcended the level of the first chakra (security). The essence of spirit is entertainment. The whole of the creation is an entertainment of energy — by Shakti, the mother principle, the Absolute, God … or whatever the Supreme Player, who playeth not, may be called. If the Divine Play (entertain­ment) were not itself involved in the game, then the One would not choose to become many. It is in the process of entertainment that the One becomes many. To entertain is to accept. To accept is to surrender. And to surrender is to dissolve and become One.