The God that he can see²⁶

Once when he was performing at the Royal Albert Hall, Yehudi Menuhin came up to him after he had played for ten minutes and said that he could not prevent himself from shedding tears. Such appreciation Ustad Sultan Khan has received for his music!

We became such close friends. So much affection, love and oneness he offered to me. He said that his wife had recently passed away, after a long illness. Then what did he say? When you have affection, love, sweetness and fondness, you can say anything you want to say! He was telling me that the God that he cannot see is not God for him, but the God that he can see is God for him. Then he said, “I am so happy. I have not seen God, but I have seen somebody who has seen God.” This was his feeling. The last thing he said to me was, “You are my God, for I can touch you, I can feel you. The God that I cannot see, wherever He is — how can He be my God? If I cannot touch Him, if I cannot feel him, then He cannot be my God. But the God whom I can touch, whom I can feel, He is my God. You are my God.”

When one has such affection, love, oneness and fondness, one can say anything he likes! My heart was so deeply moved.

When Ustad Sultan Khan started playing, right from the beginning his music was so soulful, so haunting. Some musicians take a long time to perform their real music. But Ustad Sultan Khan immediately, in just a few minutes’ time, brought us into the ocean of music. I am so grateful to him.