Interview with Miten
CD Release: Songs for the Inner Lover |
| |
by NYC writer, Alyssa Miller, June 02, 2003 |
| |
|
| A: |
What is the main theme you explore on your latest CD, Songs for the Inner Lover? |
| M: |
Well, I've only ever written about love. All my songs basically say the same thing: 'Thank you, Existence!' I used to write songs as a kind of personal therapy, you know?...songs of pain, sexual love, anger, etc., etc... that was when my life was in a kind of turmoil. I was a boat without a rudder...I needed to understand what was happening to me, and songs helped. |
| |
So the theme, if there is one...and I didn't consciously sit down to write a rock opera or anything... the theme is that only love transcends time and space. It's a vertical reality... the Dalai Lama calls it compassion. Anyway, the songs on the album are written from a space of love and compassion...for myself, basically... which is the only place to start. Acceptance of the way I am, and the way things are. |
 |
| A: |
Why is love the most important theme in life? |
| M: |
Because there is nothing else. We're made up of love...the very essence of life is love. It's the only constant... it is the sky behind the clouds. The way I experience it, life is a continual flux... a continual changing flowing thing... and to be alive means we are one with that flux. And to accept that... gracefully, sincerely, and with humour, that's what love is: the acceptance of change. |
| |
We all want an easy, problem free life... but that's not necessarily what we came here for. This is a learning ground. Life is potential, life is divine chaos... and love is the space between the lines. Love is a returning 'home'...the peace we find in a child's eyes, or in a sunset, or whatever... when we forget ourselves and rise into the big space... that acceptance of life as it is... That's love! And that's why love is important, because it is forever calling us. |
|
| A: |
As human beings, we feel there is always something missing, even after achieving financial success through business and careers, getting married, attaining homes, cars, vacationing and establishing a family. What do you think the missing piece is that people are searching for? |
| M: |
 I can only speak for myself here. I was searching for something that would sustain me beyond the family, beyond the career, beyond the mind. Not because I was on any kind of esoteric quest. It was literally a matter of life and death for me. Nothing was making sense any more... just like you say...and I was getting more and more freaked out.
What was wrong with me that a happy marriage and a successful music career couldn't fulfil? What about my beautiful son...my wife...? What was wrong with me...? Why was I waking up at night feeling a kind of dread...? I realise now, I was hearing the call...Simple. Same as Gautama the Buddha...he 'selfishly' left his devoted wife and son, because he couldn't not do it. |
| |
Most of us build our lives on sand. Mainly on two things: relationship, and career. If we loose either of these things, our world falls into a state of chaos...and can even collapse completely... It's a big trauma for most of us. So we usually hold on to these two things at all costs...relationship, and career. Meanwhile, life passes. I think that's the pain...that's the missing piece...we need a deeper meaning. |
| |
But we live in fear of life! Through the grace of my guru, I discovered that actually, life isn't out to get me! It loves me, actually! It loves us all! It is forever compassionate, it gives us the lessons we need, however hard they are to take, because in it's infinite wisdom, it wants us all to grow...to be at peace. |
| |
And Life is the greatest teacher...It's even more than that... it is god itself. Life is god. [That's why we can't see god... because it's in and around us all the time.] The basic human desire, as far as I can see, is for 'home'... for peace... for recognition of godliness. |
| |
And we assume that it can only happen on the physical plane. But the world is changing... and people are beginning to realise we have to look inwards for that which sustains us...it's not 'out there'.... it's the love for yourself that you share. |
|
| A: |
How do you express it through your music? |
| M: |
By getting as far out of the way as I can. |
|
| A: |
Music is a powerful tool used to express human emotion and feelings. How will Songs for the Inner Lover help people tap into their own personal power, self-expression and happiness? |
| M: |
I hope it inspires them. I hope it reminds them of times in their lives when things made sense. |
|
| A: |
What was the intention behind writing the track, Vertical Reality? |
| M: |
 I love to wander around cities, it helps me wind down during the intensity of touring. I like the streets, the buildings, the faces, the fragmented situations that arise and disappear...the smiles that pass by... just watching, breathing... walking.
I remember a story of a Gurdjieff disciple, who, when practicing self remembering wandered around Paris for hours, and 'woke up' in an unfamiliar neighbourhood totally lost, wondering where he was... Vertical Reality is that kind of song. |
|
| A: |
What does the ocean represent in the song, 'So Much Magnificence' and what is the meaning of the lyrics:
Waves are coming in,
Waves are coming in,
Hallelujah, hallelujah. |
| M: |
For me, this is a song in praise of the great mother. The feminine principle. 'There is so much magnificence near the ocean'... the ocean is the mother of all life. As for 'Hallelujah'... there is no direct translation for that word in English. Deva translates it as... 'wow!!'... or... in your case, Alyssa it would be... 'OHMYGOD... !!' But, you know, it's god coming face to face with god. 'Waves are coming in' is a poetic phrase of hallelujah... |
|
| A: |
What life experiences and people influenced this album? What is the inspiration behind your music? |
| M: |
My inspiration is my master Osho. Everything I've written, sung, performed is a direct reflection of his light. He has been my constant inspiration ever since I came upon his grace, some 22 years ago... |
|
| A: |
Do your lyrics have a literal reality? If so, how do your songs connect with the world's reality of life? |
| M: |
Don't think they connect with the world's reality really. They're not political. And I'm not interested in dramatising my personal life. I write to inspire myself, to remind myself of god's grace. And I guess I would like that to carry through to the listener. But these songs are so slow compared to the pace of most folks' lives...I just have no idea how they'll be received!...maybe they will help ease the pace a little... |
|
| A: |
Many singer/songwriters speak directly to the frustrations and aspirations of the generation. Who is your audience and what is your message? |
| M: |
Well, first, I don't see myself as a singer/songwriter. I see myself more as a meditator who plays music. It could have been carpentry, or massage...or anything creative...Just happens to be music, because that was my craft before I discovered meditation. It came back to me, full circle. |
| |
As for my audience, it seems to be made of people who have a vulnerability about them...warm hearted people who have experienced godliness, and do their best to live in that light. |
|
| A: |
How will mainstream America relate to the mantras that are not in English? What was the purpose of including them on your album? |
| M: |
Mantras carry their own power. No need to worry about them. They fly, no matter who listens to them, and in what environment. They penetrate to the heart, no matter what. |
| |
 The mantra Sat Patim Dehi Parameshwara is a mantra for women to chant when looking for a life partner. And the corresponding mantra Om Shreem Shriyei Namaha... that's a mantra to be chanted by men who ask for more shakti [female] energy in their lives. It's a celebration of that longing we all feel sometimes. Put the two together, and you can hear the gods dancing. |
| |
As far as America relating to mantras... I feel that there is more and more a wide-spread acceptance of them. The popularity of Yoga of course, is one of the main reasons, but since the 60s people in the west have become more and more open to meditation. I mean... Cher is singing the Gayatri Mantra.. And you can't get more American than Cher! |
|
| A: |
Anything you have tried to write about but been unable to? |
| M: |
I don't try to write songs. I only pick up what comes through. |
|
| A: |
How do you come up with your lyrics? Do you ever sit on something you are trying to write for months or years, waiting to connect to the initial inspiration? |
| M: |
No... but sometimes I carry a few phrases around with me and when the time is right they integrate themselves into a song. The lyrics are a direct experience of my life. |
|
| A: |
Do people you know recognize themselves in your songs? |
| M: |
Well, Deva certainly did, in Til I was loved by you! But usually I don't write people-songs so much. One of the best songs that came through was Native Son. It was for my son, Sam. But apart from those two, the songs are more generalised, somehow. Although I've had people come and say how much a certain song has touched them...Second Chance for instance. Many people relate to that one...All is Welcome Here...Empty Heart...Connection... |
| A: |
One of the nice things about Heartbeat is that anyone familiar with Osho's community, will hear the song one way but the song can still work on a different level for someone else. Comments... |
| M: |
I remember a Christian woman telling me she related all my songs to Jesus, and they were a constant joy to her! |
|
| A: |
Have you ever written a song from another person's point of view? |
| M: |
Used to, but not any more. I like the first person. Deva's father always refers to himself in the third person...maybe I should try it. |
|
| A: |
Many Deva fans would say that their favorite songs that you have written are your duos and that her voice 'makes' the music. Why do you choose to always collaborate with her? |
| M: |
Well, you know, I woke up one morning, turned over and looked at the girl sleeping beside me.  She looked so pure, so beautiful... I remember having a revelation at that moment: How did I get so lucky...? How come god is taking such care of me... I mean, beautiful and pure would've been enough... but a natural harmony singer too...?? That was too much. It was at that point when I knew there was a god.
We spent a few years in that role, doing concerts and voice workshops, with Deva in a supporting role. And then we released The Essence... and Deva Premal was born. Before my eyes, she'd flowered into the most amazing singer, and a most gracious woman. You still want to know why I always collaborate with her...?! |
|
| A: |
Let's talk about the mechanics of writing. Do you write on guitar or does the music come into your head before you go to your instrument? |
| M: |
I write on guitar usually. A phrase, or a chord sequence. I have a little stash of things I want to say, and I shuffle them around till something comes through. In the ashram, we used to knock out a new song every day. It was like a spiritual Brill Building...great fun, and good practice for opening up to what wants to come through. |
|
| A: |
Do you go into the studio and record very quickly in the moment or is it a more labored process? |
| M: |
I go for spontaneity...I like musicians, like all the guys on Inner Lover... Maneesh de Moor, Rupesh, Praful...who respond to the moment. That's how a lot of Songs For The Inner Lover was recorded. We'd jam with the tape running. I'd bring a song, and we'd jam on it till we found the groove of it. Sometimes they would change radically. Heartbeat is an example. It's an old song, and very different in it's original conception. I recorded Second Chance and Connection live, at 10 am! I like the vulnerability of them. |
|
| A: |
Does the producer make a difference? |
| M: |
Can do. He can translate you, or he can stand in the way. It depends. I like to work with someone whose basic attitude towards me is: how can I help him realise his dreams...? When that happens, there's a healthy dose of give and take...of understanding you're both working towards the same goal. |
|
| A: |
What was the funniest moment when making this album? |
| M: |
Oh I had fun all the way through. It started at Maneesh's place, where we recorded the back tracks. It continued in Australia, where we recorded all the vocals. And we wrapped it up in England, which was where we mixed it. There was never a more creative recording process... for me... than this one... well, maybe Love Is Space... that was recorded and mixed in about 4 weeks! Songs for the Inner Lover was stretched over a couple of years... Not because there was any difficulty with the music, just that we were constantly on tour, so it had to take second place to the concerts. |
|
| A: |
You and Deva sang for the Dalai Lama in Munich, Germany and Tony Robbins in Prague. Did you personally meet them? |
| M: |
Yes. We shook hands with the Dalai Lama, and sang the Tara mantra for him. It was a moment I'll never forget. Haven't met Tony yet though...although we play for him in Prague, in July. I'm looking forward to that. |
|
| A: |
Has there ever been a time when you didn't want to write or perform? |
| M: |
I stopped performing a long time ago. It's too tense. I like the way Deva and I play concerts. It's a simple, in-the-moment experience. No-performance-equals-no-stress. And that's what I like. No stress! |
| |
But yes, I hung up my guitar in 1982 and dropped all aspirations of being a musician. I'd been damaged by the rock'n'roll world... and I'd stumbled upon a Master. For the first time in my life I felt a freedom I knew existed, but had never been able to find. When I did, I didn't need music anymore, as a way of defining myself. So it dropped on its own accord. Ironically, the ashram was full of music. All Osho's meditations included music. So... I just drank it all up. A year or so later, I picked up a guitar and all these songs of gratitude came bubbling up... and that's where I am today... but as for performing, that attitude dissolved when I began singing in Osho's presence. You can't 'perform' in the presence of a Master. It's such a humbling experience... you're just blown wide open. There's no ego, there's only awe. And I did that for 20 years... singing in a no mind space, so I kind of got used to it! The quality is different. And it's still the same today, when I sing, I sing for Osho. And he's always with me. |
|
| A: |
Did you start out wanting to be a star? What advice would you give the younger generation of musicians trying to 'make it' in the music business? |
| M: |
I would say, be authentically yourself. Sing your own song... but what do I know about the music business...! |
| A: |
Madonna said, 'I wish I knew 20 years ago what I know now. It would have saved me a lot of angst.' (People Magazine/April 17, 2003.) What do you know now that you didn't know 20 years ago? |
| M: |
Oh...all I know now, is that I know nothing... |
|
| A: |
Do you think there is any point in people getting together--the way they did in the 1960s--to try and change things? If so, how will Songs for the Inner Lover play a role? In a broader sense, how do you and Deva make a difference for the world now? |
| M: |
Mmm.. that's a big question. I think Community is of vital importance for spiritual growth. As for making a difference, I'm just trying to leave the world a little more beautiful than I found it. I'm doing my best to play my part. |
|
| A: |
Bob Dylan was quoted: 'What's important isn't the legend, but the art, the work. A person has to do whatever they are called on to do. If you try to act a legend, it's nothing but hype.' (Los Angeles Times Magazine/February, 9,1992.) Can you relate to this statement? |
| M: |
I relate to everything he says, in some way or another. He's been a great, towering, unceasing inspiration to me. |
|
| A: |
What would you like to say in closing, summarizing the Inner Lover experience? |
| M: |
I don't have any words of wisdom or anything. But there's a poem by a Sufi mystic, Kabir that springs to mind. We used to sing it in the ashram. It begins: 'Talking to my Inner Lover, and I say, why such a rush?' And ends with: 'Don't let a chance like this go by.' That's it! I recall Osho once saying something like, 'My whole effort here is to get you to slow down, to slow down so completely, that one day you simply stop.' |
| |
And out of that moment of stillness.. of no-mind, comes the benediction. |
| |
That's where songs from Inner Lover come from, and if I have any ambition around this album, it is the hope that the songs bring with them a moment of peace and stillness, to all those who listen. |
| |
|
