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It is heartening to note that India, which had been the cradle for music (raga), having employed it as a workable therapy (chikitsa) in everyday life-situation viz., religious rituals, festivities and celebrations, child-birth, illness, death etc., has now woken up to establish her rightful place in the field of music therapy. Though music therapy appears […]

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual – Beethoven. For a physical scientist, a sound is at best, a mechanical disturbance from a state of equilibrium that propagates through an elastic medium, produced by longitudinal compression waves: vibrations that manage to reach our ears, through a medium (say, air) at a frequency

Though the therapeutic value of ragas is historically recognized in India, very little work has been done for a scientific evaluation of the raga system, especially their role in affecting the mental and emotional states and in producing multiple physiological changes in the body. It is high time that universities and research organizations take up

The human brain consists of two hemispheres, concerned basically with one’s emotions and analysis. If emotions overtake analysis, the person becomes a fool.  If analysis predominates emotions, then he becomes a ‘heartless’ robot infesting the earth! The value systems of contemporary civilisation, unlike the ancient-ones, give credence more to reason-based analysis, ignoring the intuitive and

“I think music in itself is healing.  It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It is something we are all touched by.  No matter what culture we are from, everyone loves music.”…Billy Joel EIders feel youthful and rejuvenated when they hear the music of their youthful days. Though such music can seem to be outdated for

“Lateral thinking turn up an idea”  Edward de Buno One of the main contributions in management thinking in recent years, related to the idea that our thought processes must sometimes force themselves to move sideways rather than in a strict linear motion, up and down. Edward de Bono, the author of this concept has ably

Alzeimer’s disease (AD) is becoming tragically common; approximately 100,000 victims die and 360,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease are diagnosed each year worldwide. Alzeimers is a progressive irreversible brain disorder with no known cause or cure. It attacks and slowly steals their minds. Symptoms of the disease include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, personality changes,

Science has endorsed in recent times that certain musical phrases and pieces are capable of providing physiological as well as psychological benefits to the suffering millions. An increased level of wellness and quality of life regardless of one’s health conditions or physical or mental disabilities has been confirmed in several experiments with music. It is

“Even if one member of every Indian Family had studied Music the country would never have been Partitioned”……Bade Gulam Ali Khan Music has been used since time immemorial to comfort and console the crying babies. Lullabies listened to during one’s childhood bring back the fond memories of one’s innocent childhood and carefree existence in the

Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual – Beethoven  For a physical scientist, a sound is at best, a mechanical disturbance from a state of equilibrium that propagates through an elastic medium, produced by longitudinal compression waves: vibrations that manage to reach our ears, through a medium (say, air) at a frequency

From very ancient times, civilizations across the world in general and in India, in particular, have recognized the significance of sound in human life. What is popularly referred to as Nada Yoga forms a body of intuitive concepts and esoteric practices exploiting sound, the ‘struck’ or material sound referred to as ahata and the ‘unstuck’

“The purpose of music is to draw towards a total exaltation in which the individual mingles, losing his consciousness in a truth immediate.” –  Lannis Xenakis  Long before acoustics came to be understood in Europe as a subject of study, the ancient Arab, Greek and Indian civilizations were already familiar with the therapeutic role of

The legacy of Indian music to mankind lies in its unique system of ragas. Raga is an idea which interprets the sound frequencies and rhythms at their most subtle levels of oscillation in terms of their emotional contents or appeal. Tradition demands that a raga should sound (“ranjayati”).  To achieve this effect, a raga needs

Most ancient human societies across the world had recognised the power of sound vibrations as they affect the mind and the moods. The great system of Nada Yoga, once popular in India, works on the premise that the entire universe around us and we ourselves are made of nada, the sound vibrations. In other words,

Aesthetics refers to the philosophy of the beautiful. ‘Never take away the love of  the beautiful from your heart”; remarked Rousseau, the French Philosopher, “If you do it”, he declared, “ you will lose the very charm in living!” The Indian subcontinent, which has witnessed the flowering of art and music, dance and drama for

The Mystery of Music Recent neurological experiments, employing sophisticated neuro-imaging and brain-mapping techniques, have confirmed the role of music in altering the brain wave patterns. It is a clear scientific endorsement to the outlandish concepts and practices of nada yoga, which came into vogue, long before acoustics came to light in Europe. Stimulating genres of music, characterized in

Pure Tones and complex sounds:  Pure tones or single sounds emanate as we touch the string of a single-stringed instrument like ek tara or simple musical instruments used in meditation such as Tibetan singing bowl, cymbals, conch-shells and the like.  Over a time, these tones as we listen virtually become ‘monotonous’, thus uninteresting to explore,

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain” – Bob Marley “The number of patients opting for Music Therapy – in addition to conventional music intervention is increasing day by day.” A popular Sunday morning meeting in the USA, with an estimated 5 million viewers was aired recently on the

Science has endorsed in recent times that certain musical phrases are capable of providing psychological and physiological benefits. An increased level of wellness and quality of life regardless of one’s health conditions or physical or mental disabilities has been confirmed in several experiments with music. Music does not affect the mind alone. Unconscious body reaction

It is true that everything we come across in the universe is energy, manifesting itself through a unique pattern of vibration. One could feel them within and sense them without. Vibration forms the very core of our existence. When everything in or about us transforms, ages and rots off,  all that is out is just