London After Midnight

I like LAM not only for the music but for the message Sean Brenan spreads around. He is Vegan and a great protector of animals' rights. He is not religious in a way I am and may be he does not go into Hindu ideas about life. But for me Sean's songs became manifestations of some of the thoughts and visions of ancient spiritual India. I think, this is because his songs come from his original understanding of life somewhere from a deep archetypal level so the songs became symbols. As any symbol, it can be then interpreted in thousand different ways which only compliment each other. Being symbolic, Sean's verses come from and appeal to the underlying forces of our existence, describing them and showing how they work. One of the themes is delusive or destructive manifestations of reality but a Hero openly faces them and finds such position in himself, or a point of view, that helps him to escape the trap of the forces. For example 'Heaven now' - God seem to be frustrated with the creation where pain is at the root, but the narrator demands to change the very principle of existence on this earth and turn it into heavenly world. Or 'The beginning of the end'- a narrator is transformed from a victim into a hunter. He can see that destructive forces have a tendency destroy themselves and a hero can use such tendency of forces to liberate himself from their trap.

So here I am, I love LAM.

‘Love you to death’: lyric’s interpretation from Tantric perspective.

The song is about teacher-pupil (guru-shishya/cela) relationships.

I die when I hear your voice,
to touch you Divine.
Be my posession, my sweet obsession wine.

Cela: Voice of a Guru is a divine voice, and attraction to it is extremely strong. Voice of a guru has power of ‘Vach’ – divine speech which creates the universe. 'Voice' also signifies ‘Shruti’ – oral transmission of divine wisdom. Pupil cannot resist an attraction of the divine voice, he invokes this divinity to come and possess (avesha) him and he feels as if drunk. Wine signifies intoxication with love to God or to Guru - the embodied Lord. Only when one is possessed and intoxicated with love to God and desire for liberation, then learning can begin.

I'm dealing in demons love,

is just a matter of time.
I'll wear you down,
one day you will be mine.

Guru: love of a pupil is strong but yet it is of demonic nature. Since, a pupil is not purified yet, his love has a lot of limitations such as jealousy, desire to have guru only for himself, or a pupil may suffer if guru does not pay attention only to this pupil. That is why guru says: ‘I'll wear you down’ – all such qualities and wrong self-identification must be alimented. Ifa pupil identifies himself with demonic (asura) feelings then the process of purification is going to be painful for him. In order to begin the process and give up attachments a pupil needs to surrender to guru completely. Only then he can allow guru to 'give his (goru) sole which is identical to universal consciousness, with God. According to tantric teachings, eventually all soles will be liberated sooner or later 'it is a matter of time' only.

Only I can make your life complete,

just give yourself to me.
Only I can make your destiny.

Guru: only through guru divine bliss is revealed in the human world. Without this bliss life is incomplete and full of delusions. To receive such bliss a pupil needs to be humble. It is believed that guru takes bad ‘karmas’ of a pupil. Now, pupil’s fate is in hands of his guru.The only reason why guru takes all karmas and impurities of a pupil is Love.

So give me your heart my love,

and give me your soul.
I'd give you mine but I
sold it long ago.

Guru channels divine love on earth but in order to understand the workings of such love which transform a being from limited being with 'karmas' to unlimited superhuman condition, a pupil needs to open the deepest and darkest corners of his heart. Guru in his turn does not need to reveal all his secrets to an ignorant pupil as a pupil might not understand them, or might not ready to accept. Hence, guru’s sole is ‘sold’ to the Lord, and is open only for the Lord.

Only I can see inside of you

just give yourself to me.

And I won't stop until you see the truth.

Guru is able to know the nature and secret inclinations of pupils. Knowing pupil’s nature, guru knows how to manipulate with them and impel the insight in the true nature of reality and Self. But a pupil needs to surrender and allow guru to lead. This is the only purpose of guru-shishya relationships is the realization of true-Self awareness – so the aim must be achieved whatever painful it might be.

love you to death.

I love you completely,

a love that is purely vain.

I never meant to hurt you so badly,

I thought you'd enjoy the pain.

Guru is the embodied love, ananda and anugraha, of the Lord. This love is all pervacive and omnipresent. This love has a transformative power. The process of transformation of energy is painful and compared to death. (here is a symbolism of Twice-born bramins, or initiations of giving a new spiritual name followed by renunciation of previous life and entering a new life). It is not easy to give up everything you considered to be your ‘self’. Ego,ahamkara thinks if you give up – you die. That is why such transformative love is often in vain, not accepted. If a pupil can see the real process - he would be happy. Unfortunately some pupils perceive transformation as suffering.

I know what you feel is love,

I can tell from your tears.
So don't deny me,
give into your fears.

The path of transformation into a free being implies meeting and overcoming all anxieties, fears, doubts. A Pupil wants to run away from such a guru because the path of transformation seems to him too painful and guru seems to be a torturer. Pupil’s mind plays thousand tricks in order to escape from transformation. But at the same time the attraction to divine freedom, power, and wisdom is also very strong and causes love in the heart of a pupil.He is coughs between two fires: his own fears and love for the divine. Inability to choose makes a pupil helpless and crying. Choosing love is never a failure, because it leads to the real awareness of True Self and fulfils a purpose of our existence.

Interpretation of 'Heaven now' lyrics:

I don’t want to bleed
I don’t want to bait
I don’t want to see
the pain and the hate
that you need to feel
you need to feel alive

Turmoil of this life, caused by experience of duality such as pleasure-pain love-hate, are inseparable from life in this world. According to Yoga sutras, the cause of this life is a ‘store – place of karmas’ accumulated in previous lives. Karmas are formed by five afflictions: ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life. They make ‘a seed’ of life active and able to sprout. Aversion (based on previous negative experience) is the most painful of all the afflictions. But it is unavoidable component of life.

down inside your soul
your blood and your skin
nod to the cold and nod to the sin
and it makes you feel
it makes you feel alive

The seeds of ‘life’

are

vital because they are covered with husk of afflictions. The husk is almost impossible to remove because they cause 'karma' which in its turn causes reincarnation in this life. To have karma means to have life. Removing 'karma' one simultaneously diminishes life. Being reincarnated being with karma creates separation or barrier from universal consciousness. Such barrier is 'the sin' - that is illusionary perception of oneself as separate from God. The most advanced yogins try to make karmic husk ‘thing’ , or 'burnt' in order to make the seed of karma unable to sprout. However, even subtle afflictions continuou to operate from inside of a being in the subtle form, which leads to seeds' strengthening. It means that there is still a possibility to 'nod' or return back into a cold condition of limited being from warm embrace of universal consciousness.

I want heaven
I want heaven

‘Heaven now’ is a desire of liberation in this very life (jivanmukta). In Left-hand tantras such desire is more valuable then the concept of liberation after death either in Heaven or in better future reincarnation. Desire for liberation now creates intensity and stimulates necessary efforts on the path of liberation (muki). Only those desirous of ‘Heaven right now’ are suitable for quick tantric path.

you´ve given it away
the sin you create
to addicts of pain
disease is the faith
and it makes them feel
it makes them feel alive

Pure universal consciousness reflects itself and as a result there appears world of multiplicity - manifestated world (sansara) which is divided into subject and object, reflection and reflected. This world is the root of all evils (dukhaH mUlaH hi sansAraH (kularnava Tantra 1.60)) Here, in this world everything what exists (asti) is suffering (dukhita).Vision of the world as ‘dual’ and penetrated by suffering is the only ‘sin’. ‘Partition’ of the lord where Lord 'remains' but ‘a world is given away’, or becomes separate from the Lord which leads to manifestation of pairs such as pleasure and pain, sin and purity. A soul while alive is unavoidably caught in duality that is always in company of pain and sin.

i just want the truth
i dont want your pain
i just want the truth
without your shame
and i need to feel
i need to feel alive

The request of a tantric is to solve this contradiction and paradox of existence: stay alive and at the same time burn the seeds of ‘karma’, reach the truth – universal consciousness in this very life while in the body. This is a request for jivanmukta – be liberated while alive. A tantric does not want to be concerned with everlasting experience of duality but he wants to achieve still central point which is the truth.