| Karnivool – Themata Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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Agreeing with another poster, I was also initially struck by the clearly spiritual implications of the lyrical content of this song. This post is an attempt to unpack some of those implications. = Putting aside for the moment those larger concepts, there is some allusion to thematic interpretations of science itself: http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/socialresearch/themata.htm Holton's thoughts in this way are quite interesting to consider. When you begin to really look at the meta- aspects of any structure of thought (Holton’s examination of science; or Jung’s examination of archetypes; or Joseph Campbell’s study of myth, for example, all are such endeavours); the spiritual and thematic aspects begin to arise. Just read http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage if you doubt it. All such archetypes are lovingly and amusingly broken down into further sections, called tropes. Specifically, 'learning slow' is describing the ongoing passage of time, and that hints at Holton's view of the relationship of the overall arc of scientific development; as well as differing versions of that development that ranges from archetypes to thematic viewpoints had by the view of science itself; the hidden structures revealed in that development and so on. I hadn't realized, before starting to write about this song that there were some alternative ideas to archetypes in considering the development of the sciences. I have begun to consider that the spiritual sciences (the primarily Eastern viewpoints that for millennia didn’t separate science or art or spiritual endeavours. Jungian archetypes note some considerable overlap, as does the perspective of Holton’s ‘thematic’ concept. The ‘weaving’ feature of the musical notes also carries forward the idea of intertwined development of the overall theme of the song. Going back to the spiritual references, in the first stanzas: "Step in this room where I wanna be Surely you mean this is something You're bringing me down to a silent breath When it's the truth that I wanna see" This is clearly the effort of the immature student of spiritual practices, who doesn’t grasp the dualistic nature of the trap of the physical world. In this immature viewpoint (after all, they are the first stanzas). Still, hints exist at the possibility of more, even with a little practice. The silent breath, as we teach in yoga, is the best breath. Physical silence and slowness of breath are the key. Now, the next stanzas: "Search myself for the reason The ever loving greed I am put off slightly So what am I to see (in the sensory, serenity) Oh my love (in the sensory, serenity) So pull the pin inside Baby let it ride Never knowin' I'm the next to see With the fire sign Never make it mine Never knowin' I'm the next to be I am learning slowly So what am I to see Every twist and turning Through my hypocrisy [1. Chorus] It's so good to see This world is alive It's so good to see This world is a lie" In any case, this 'spiritual aspirant’ begins to uncover the dualistic aspects awaiting like traps all around him, and the questions begin to come, as do the realizations in the final stanza above, the chorus. That this is the repeated aspect of this lyric is important to understanding the deeper meaning of the song, and it’s multiple layers of meaning. Similarly, as practice deepens, one is confronted by one’s own lack of willingness to examine the deeper implications of dualities, which you can see clearly shown here “I am put off slightly” and the dualities are pairs of opposites:“sensory, serenity”. There is no serenity in sensory input, but they are certainly alliterative, as are a really excellent group of words throughout this song. Each sounding similar, with different phrasing and meanings. Also, trite and simplistic answers like “greed” are waiting for you everywhere- easy candy answers that are waiting for you to accept them and stop inquiring into yourself. Love is itself, a massive teacher; if you can find one who possesses such an understanding of themselves that everything they do and say sounds inclusive like love itself is. It is said in Vedanta that “Love is one’s emotional reaction to one’s Infinite Nature.” On a secondary level, a teacher of deep spirituality is implied here, as is natural for what I said earlier, and what is implied by the work of Holton, Jung, Campbell, etc. The patterns found in the enormous work of spiritual teachers and myths around the world are staggering, simple, contradictory, and multi-faceted. This IS “so good to see”. Better even, than we can imagine, to see Reality, as it is. The “world" is both a lie and alive. That is a gorgeous paradox. Indeed, life itself is. Indeed, it could be perhaps best said that the fundamental nature of spiritual aspiration is the consideration of paradoxes. This song gives a wonderful and poetic lyrical content as well as artfully crafted musical tapestry upon which to project our own longing for this deeper understanding of the world around us as well as the inside of ourselves; simultaneously reflected and projected at once around us. Between these two our life flows; to paraphrase Nisargadatta Maharaj (as I believe the song is doing): “Wisdom is knowing I am nothing, Love is knowing I am everything, and between the two my life moves.” The similarity is striking between the sentiment of the song and that famous quote by the non-dual philosopher. Still, in some sense the repeated verses show both the learned wisdom of the brief sight of the poet’s insight and the frustration of the periodic and temporary nature of the spiritual insight all poets struggle with. The third stanzas "So pull the pin inside Baby let it ride Never knowin' I'm the next to see With the fire sign Never make it mine Never knowin' I'm the next to be" Oslo said this about Kahlil Gibran: "First, he is certainly a great poet, perhaps the greatest that has ever been born on the earth, but he is not a mystic; and there is a tremendous difference between a poet and a mystic. The poet, once in a while, suddenly finds himself in the same space as the mystic. In those rare moments, roses shower over him. On those rare occasions, he is almost a Gautam Buddha -- but remember, I’m saying almost. These rare moments come and go. He’s not the master of those rare moments. They come like the breeze and the fragrance and by the time you have become aware -- they are gone. A poet’s genius is that he catches those moments in words. Those moments come into your life too. They are free gifts of existence -- or in other words, glimpses to provoke in you a search, to come to a moment when this space will become your very life, your blood, your bones, your marrow. You will breathe it, your heart will beat it. You will never be able to lose it, even if you want to. The poet is for moments a mystic, and the mystic is a poet forever." This song, to me, speaks to that. Also, “Never known’ I’m the next to be” speaks to the hidden mystic inside each of us. There is an aspect of “being” and an aspect of “becoming” that show the mature and immature aspects of our spiritual journey. The journey stops when you can simply “be”. The next stanzas: "Like a knot it binds Suffocating minds Never knowin' I'm in the next to see With the fire sign Never make it mine Never knowin' I'm the next to bleed I am learning slowly So what am I to see Every twist and turning Through my hypocrisy Search myself for the reason Forever loving greed I am bored of silence So what am I to see?" Here we see a clear allusion to the nature of the Ego, which is the main thing that prevents all of us from being enlightened at the same time. Believing in thoughts is the primary structure of the Ego, and the knot that binds us is the Ego ONLY. This is why we learn slowly, the Ego is the creator of both hypocrisy and greed; which you could call ‘lack of congruence’ (all temporary things lack congruity, in comparison to the eternal nature of ourselves- from which all wisdom comes. It is the Ego that is bored in silence and meditation, at least at first. It is also the one demanding answers and conclusions “So what am I to see?” It is the nature of the Ego to always want to have all the answers in advance. All risks are avoided, especially those that threaten the egoic hold on the mind. Meditation and silence themselves are your True Self, and the Ego will have to be given up entirely to truly “see”. All dualities are both alive and a lie. To be free of these dualities, one must grasp the need, right from the start, of the need for dispassion and discrimination. Dispassion: “Never make it mine” shows a requisite humility before the nature of the process being undergone here. Also, patience is required: “learning slowly” is repeated throughout the song. In Indian spiritual philosophy, one refers to the sum total of the three aspects of limited, dualistic life as the “ropes of Maya” or illusion; which is what is alluded to here with the “Like a knot it binds” line. indeed, the three aspects of the mind are: 1) The veiling power of the mind, whose colour is black (“suffocating minds”) 2) The projecting power of the mind, whose colour is red (“with a fire sign”, “I’m the next to bleed") 3) The revealing power of the mind, whose colour is white or clear. (“It’s so good to see”; what are we seeing? Past the trick of hiding and projection that is in fact your “hypocrisy") In the final stanzas, the spiritual aspirant begins to mature in their outlook; as here we have a slight but important change in the way the aspirant regards the silent breath, in meditation, his teacher has brought him down to; Contrast this with the projection (in the first stanzas) that the aspirant had at the start of what they were looking for from both the teacher and the practice itself: "When it's the truth that I wanna see" "Lie awake, still, as I try to breathe Surely you mean this is something You're bringing me down to a silent breath And it's the truth that I wanna see" Acceptance has arrived with the word “And", and now the seeing of Reality becomes possible. Now the duality had receded into the background, and isn’t as loud in the song, either: "(In the sensory, serenity In the sensory, serenity)" Repeating the process of “seeing through”, the aspirant is no longer bound by their sense input and the serenity that ALWAYS EXISTED silently in the background In the sensory, serenity How could it be, that I'm the next to see? In the sensory, serenity How could it be, that I'm the next to see? In the sensory, serenity How could it be, that I'm the next to see? In the sensory, serenity Could it be, that I'm in ecstasy?" Finally, in samadhi (the 8th step in Sage Patanjali's Ashtanga yoga), we are perpetually in truth (that which does not change in the three periods of time: past, present or future), bliss and ecstasy. The chorus repeats, out of compassion, the refrain that reminds the rest of the beings that it is possible to get here, and it’s simpler than you thought. |
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| Bush – Machinehead Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| I think you're right! haha. Yes, many lyrics are open to interpretation, depending on the mind apprehending them, but yours makes the most sense. Comment forums for SongMeanings are almost a verbal rorshach test for what is going on in the mind. | |
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