Q: You are a successful DJ who also lives a spiritual life. What does spirituality mean to you?
We read that spirituality is about living inwardly and being in the ‘present’ moment. What does that really mean in practical life? Where is that ‘inside’ in us where we should live? How can we feel it? Can we ultimately reach it?” . The answer is simple: Spirituality is the science of the heart.
When we learn to connect with it we will find that everything is there. Most amazingly we find out that we are all connected to each other through our hearts. When we tune ourselves to the same frequency, we will be in the same vibratory plane where we are all one. It is like being in a big nightclub and tuning ourselves to the sound that the DJ is playing, enjoying ourselves.
When we have less resistance in our hearts, we let go and become a part of that journey. Then we become unified as one single entity, lost in the music. But what is the force behind this unity? It is obviously love; having no prejudice towards others.
Q: Is it challenging to have a disciplined spiritual practice and also be in the club scene?
To live spiritually, you need to overcome desires. You can enjoy good food and good life, but you cannot be driven by them. The art is to live in the world but not be driven by temptations, and that is a tough call because at the human level we are tempted and we have desires. There is nothing wrong in saying something is beautiful, but wanting to possess it all the time is something else. So it is all about attitude towards life.
Attitude is important in everything, even your meditation practice. If you don’t have the right attitude you will still cheat people, because you still have that element of impurity in you. If you go to a dance club and judge people because you meditate and they do not, that is wrong. First of all you did not have to go, and also there you can be an example. Without even opening your mouth, people will recognise something special about you and be attracted by that.
People respect you a lot when they see that on one hand you are with them, but at the same time you have your own priorities. For example they say, “It is 4 a.m. and he goes to his room to meditate, to reset what is happening in his system before sleeping.”
As a musician you are exposed to so many things – sex, drugs and alcohol. I am convinced that even highly elevated people who can resist alcohol and drugs would still struggle with sexual attraction, as it is a strong pull. So it has been the downfall of many. The trick is not to lose sight of where you are going, so you do not lose the inner connection with that anchor.
Q: What do you hope to achieve?
We need to find a way of balancing the inner and outer life, and I feel that spirituality is the only way. I think balance in life is a huge art. So if spirituality teaches people how to achieve that, the work is done. I feel it is achievable.
Whether I am a teacher, a banker, a gardener, a baker, or whatever, I am here to fulfil the call of Nature. We do not have to be a priest or a master to become the conduit of Nature’s work.
There are a lot of beautiful souls out there, but we do not have the capacity to realise it. It is in our inability to see this that we judge the world and people. Wherever we find ourselves we need to be like a candle to see and attract people. Sometimes I feel that people on the dance floor are more connected than those in an ashram. It is not about where you are.
We need not give up life and joy. No! Without joy, good humour and laughter there is no spirituality. Spirituality is joy. We misunderstand spirituality. It is the freedom of a bird with the two wings of balance. It is hard work! Life is work!
If I were to achieve one thing, one state, it would be that I am at peace with myself. I think that is the ultimate. In that, ‘balance’ is vital; outer and inner balance. The outer deals with material life, with work, society, family, etc. Then I find an inner way, a guide, something in me, in my heart to which I give my full trust and faith. This is not giving up freedom. If I have faith, and the willpower to use that faith, and the patience and I do the work, I realise, “Wow! Life is not so difficult!”
The moment we are in balance and in tune, then we go, “Ahhh! I see things so differently,” and we wonder, “How come I could not see this before?” We no longer see problems; we see things totally differently, and our level of acceptance goes up. We accept fully with our heart, although not blindly, and when that happens, everything changes again. So life is a fascinating school!
I think a Master is a person who is in tune with Nature, so he can see and feel Nature. He does not even know what he knows. That is so beautiful. He is so in tune that he is not even aware. It is so spontaneous. To me the ultimate goal is to become one with yourself, where you are so much in tune with yourself that you are not even aware.
Q: How does all of this relate to your work as a DJ with the younger generation?
People who come to a dance club come for different reasons. One is to get relief from the pressure and tension of life. Now imagine if they could find an alternative means of relief, intoxication and trance. By turning inside and connecting to the Source inside themselves, they can find it. That is the real ecstasy. And my experience is that the more we rely on drugs to achieve trance, the more we lose our ability to do it naturally.
Youth need to learn that while they are here to enjoy life, they also need to make that inner connection. Meditation is the first step.
If you don’t know yourself, understand yourself and love yourself, then what is life? Knowing why am I here … all this comes from within.
Q: Thousands of people dance at your concerts. What drives you?
I never understood love. I feel I am so much in love. If you ask me with what, I don’t know. I feel there is a power that affects me deeply. I have learnt that love is love. You cannot even describe it. I realise that love is the only way. Until we develop love in us, life is a big struggle.
Q: Tell us about music. How are music and spirituality connected?
I love this saying by Hazrat Inayat Khan that, “Music is nothing less than the picture of the Beloved.” Music is ultimately about tuning the soul.
Through music you can work and connect with many people, because when they come to listen and dance they have no resistance. In a club they are totally open. That is why I see music as a very potential means for connecting and that is why at forty-six I am still a DJ. After each concert I need to rest for one week because I give my everything.
Q: Tell us more about your work as a DJ.
For the past twenty-five years, I have been involved in the world of music and nightlife. I consider myself a successful DJ and producer and I am trying to be part of the evolution of the club scene. I have met so many beautiful souls who gather in that place I call the club, where language and preaching are not involved. Through music they celebrate life, joy and love.
If we look at the roots of the club culture, we find that the main purpose was to create an atmosphere where people could put aside all their differences, leave behind their problems, and come to a place with no resistance, letting themselves being carried away by the music. Was that achieved? Did they get satisfaction? The answer in most cases is no. Why? Because drugs and alcohol were there. Instead of learning to connect inwardly through the heart to the main Source of Life, people relied on a false feeling of temporary intoxication and ultimately the inner connection was lost. This is far away from feeling the true peace and ecstasy.
Q: What is the solution to restore this frequency?
As far as my own experience as a DJ is concerned, I feel that clubbing can be like a group meditation where no one is being judged. Through music, people tune their hearts to the same vibratory dimension. By looking inside, the real intoxication which is permanent and subtle can be achieved. That can happen only when there is love, for themselves and for everybody around – all connected to the same source of existence.
We can be courageous, experience the inner Self and reach this ecstasy, simply by tuning to the heart.
Interview with PIERRE RAVAN
Pierre Ravan
Pierre is a DJ, producer, high-end fashion collaborator, club-headliner, certified yoga teacher, and meditation trainer. He introduced the KaRavan concept of combining music, yoga, and meditation into the Eternal Journey. He is now intro... Read More
