... as I strummed and stumbled along after the nirvana of these simplified songs.

[uny]

No one asked me to do this, and surely no one was sorry the door was closed as I strummed and stumbled along after the nirvana of these simplified songs.
what does "nirvana" mean here?

 

[5jj]

Welcome to the forum, uny,

Please note that it is a requirement of this forum that you give us the source, title and author, of anything you quote.

 

[uny]

Sorry. It is the first time that I refer to this forum. This is quoted from New York Times

What We Lose When We Push Our Kids to ‘Achieve’ of ADAM GOPNIK​

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry. It This is the first time that I refer to have used this forum. This is quoted from The New York Times, from an article called What We Lose When We Push Our Kids to "Achieve", by Adam Gopnik.

Please note my corrections above.

Have you looked up "nirvana" in several good dictionaries? What did you find?

 

[uny]

Thanks for your correction. I have looked up the dictionaries. Based on the meanings provided by the dictionaries, I think that what the word means in this sentence may be his complete happiness in playing the guitar. But I cannot make sense of the the meaning of the sentence.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks for your corrections. I have looked the word up the in dictionaries. Based on the meanings definitions provided by the those dictionaries, I think that what the word means in this sentence may might/could be "his complete happiness in playing the guitar". But However, I cannot make sense of the the meaning of the sentence.

I would say you're close to the right definition but it strikes me that it's more to do with perhaps the complete peace he might feel if he succeeds in playing those songs. However, without some more context, it's hard to know.

 

[uny]

This is the paragraph where the above-mentioned sentence occurs:
No one asked me to do this, and surely no one was sorry the door was closed as I strummed and stumbled along after the nirvana of these simplified songs. But the sense of happiness I felt that week — genuine happiness, rooted in absorption in something outside myself — has stayed with me.
And this is the paragraph that precedes it:
When I was 12, I disappeared into my bedroom with a $40 folk guitar and a giant book of Beatle songs, with elementary, large-type “E-Z” chord diagrams to follow. I had no musical gift, as a series of failed music lessons had assured me — it was actually the teachers who assured me; the lessons were merely dull — and no real musical training. My fingers stung as I tried to press down on the strings without making them buzz, and my left hand ached as I tried, and for a long time failed, stretching it across the neck. Nonetheless, I worked my way through “Rain” (abbreviated to two chords) and “Love Me Do” (three) and finally “Yellow Submarine” (four chords, or was it five?) and discovered by myself the matchless thrill of homemade musical harmony.
Is it possible that he means that he completely enjoys happiness of playing the songs while stumbling in it? It's like a contrast.

 

[jutfrank]

He means that he felt as if he was in heaven. English speakers use the word 'nirvana' to mean 'a state of bliss, as if one is in heaven'.

He felt very happy that he was able to play beautiful music in a simple way that allowed for his limited musical capability.

 

[uny]

That‘s really insightful! Thank you so much!

 

[probus]

There is no need to post a thank you message @uny. In future please click the Thank button if you wish to express gratitude.