It is a well-known fact that Indian classical music attaches great importance to serenity and a thoughtful state of mind as its primary goal. As such, it helps in balancing the left and right hemispheres of the brain, which are assigned the functions of analysis and intuition respectively by the neurologists.
In Indian systems of music-both Hindustani and Carnatic drone is an essential requirement. The drone that emanates from the tanpura can be compared to the state of equilibrium as it fully represents the essence of the musical scale on which ragas can be conceived. Drone offers the basic framework akin to a balanced mind, which has its inherent capacity to fall prey to emotional upheavals, ascendance or decadence, the same way a raga could meander.
According to an ancient Indian text, Swara Sastra, the seventy-two melakarta ragas control the 72 important nerves in the body. It is believed that, if one sings with due devotion, adhering to the raga lakshana and sruti shuddhi, the raga could affect the particular nerve in the body in a favourable manner.
Certain ragas do have a tendency to move listeners emotionally, as well as physically. An unintended nod of the head, limbs or body could be manifest when lilting tunes are played. The real impact of sound is more evident when there is a metallic screech which nails the nerves and makes the body undergo a sudden shiver! Sample melodic structures, slow tempo, low-pitched notes which are repeated over and over again, as in bhajans and kirtans have been found to be soothing and relaxing. Such musical pieces are found to impart a sense of relaxed spaciousness, besides reducing stress, deepening the breathing process, leading the listeners to consciousness frequencies akin to the Earth’s electro-magnetic field.
While the descending notes in a raga (avarohi) are found to create inward-orienting or introverted feelings, the ascending notes (arohi) represent an upward or expansive mobility. Thus music played for soldiers or for dancers has to be more lively and uplifting with frequent use of arohi content. More ascending notes are found in war music or in joyous dance music all over the world. Similarly, melancholic songs should opt for `smooth’ avarohis.
Although it may not be a rule as such, most Western tunes based on major keys play joyful notes, while those composed in minor keys tend to sound more melancholic or serious. Certain Indian ragas too have a direct impact on emotions, as they can create awe, joy, suspense or pathos. They can, depending on their form of gait, work even as a stimulant or a depressant.
In India, music therapy is still in its infancy, though tremendous potential exists in its systematic study and application. In other words, Indians are sitting on a virtual gold mine of great music traditions that promise curative results.
It is only in recent times that some psychologists (Dr. B. N. Manjula of NIMHANS), biophysicists (Srirama Bharathi of Chennai), neurologists (Dr. B. Ramamurthy) and a few other scientists have started showing interest in this ancient art notably among them Dr. Raja Ramanna. They exist side by side with spiritual healers such as Ganapathi Satchidananda Swami of Mysore, who for example, has developed his own system of music for healing, which he says soothes 72,000 nerves and 14 essential nadis. The Swami himself plays Roland synthesizers to this audience with accompanying musicians.
Pandurangshastri Deshpande, a musicologist-cum ayurvedic practitioner from Pune has explored the beneficial impact of sounds of the mridangam and Pahadi ragas for those who suffer from breathing problems such as asthma. He has carried out various experiments with ragas such as Bhairavi. Records of the raga, sung by nine different maestros were in experiments, played before nine potted ‘touch me not’ plants daily for a month to observe their impact. The plant that was exposed to Abdul Karim Khan’s Bhairavi was found to exhibit a record growth of 430 percent compared to others. Dr. B. M. Manjula, a psychiatrist at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), is reported to have used music (an hour of listening to sitar every day and bhajans at night), along with minor doses of anxiolytic drugs to cure anxiety neuroses effectively. It is reported that this form of therapy can be of great use in aiding de-addiction.
The biophysicist-turned therapist Srirama Bharathi of Chennai has conducted a unique experiment with’ sound and herbal therapy’, in which patients were made to simultaneously view a picture, eat a herbal paste and listen to music. According to him, music by itself may not be therapeutic unless combined with other forms of medicine. He follows a traditional form of music therapy called `arayar sevai’ in which the traditional songs traditionally used in the temple rituals are sung. It has been on record that the police personnel in Maharashtra found listening to music aids in relieving stress.
Music and Ayurveda-some Recent Research:
Ayurveda views all diseases as aggravation of doshas. As each of the three doshas, Kapha, Pitta and Vata, refers to specific functions such as maintenance, transformation and dynamic action respectively, it is pertinent to have an idea of the approximate time of a day when each of them would, normally, be found in imbalance. According to Pandit Shashank Katti, who is an anesthetist, Dr. Himalaya Pantvaidya, and an Ayurvedic Imbalance of the Dosha Kapha Pitta Vata practitioner. Dr. Sanjay Chhajed, an approximate time chart could be drawn indicating the time of the day when a particular dosha remains aggravated, as indicated below:
| Imbalance of Dosha | Timing I | Timing II |
| kapha | 7 AM to 11 AM | 7 PM to 11 PM |
| Pitta | 11 AM to 3 PM | 11 PM to 3 AM |
| Vata | 3 PM to 7 PM | 3 AM to 7 AM |
An inference from the above could be drawn that an appropriate morning raga could help in addressing the problems of kapha-aggravation, whose imbalance is common between 7 and 11 a.m. Similarly, pitta imbalance (predominant during 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and vata imbalance (which is at its peak during 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.) could be addressed by selecting appropriate afternoon or evening ragas, as the case may be.
After listening to the prescribed raga regularly for about 20-25 days, twice or thrice a day, patients were found to derive the desired results. Disorders like arthritis, depression, insomnia, joint muscular pain, sciatica, etc. are reported to respond well to music, although disorders like asthma, diabetes and hypertension take longer time to get cured.
Pandit Shashank Katti has also found premature babies responding to music well and gaining weight. He has found the role of music for easy delivery of babies in nursing homes. His team has brought out audio-analgesic cassettes for arthritis, back pain, joint pain, muscular pain, spondylitis etc. besides for a host of ailments-acidity, asthma, cols, diabetes, easy child delivery, health promotion, hypertension, insomnia, liver diseases, migraine, etc.
Dr. P. Bharathi has recently initiated an extensive research on music therapy in collaboration with the Ramachandra Medical College, Chennai. The culmination of her efforts is the Chaitanya series.
She has worked with post-operative patients for treatment and management of pain and found that patients in the post-operative stage are more receptive to music. It could be because pain makes one more aware of his or her body emotion. Added to this is the deep desire to be cured. All these factors along with physical immobility and lack of mental distraction, contributed to a remarkable recovery of many patients, when music was made available to them.
To cure insomnia, one listens to bits and pieces of Nilambari raga; likewise martial fervours are believed to be instilled in people by making them listen to pieces in Bilahari or Kedaram; Sriraga, when sung or listened, after a heavy lunch aids in digestion and assimilation: While Saama raga is to restore mental peace, Bhupalam and Malaya Maarudham when sung before dawn serves as an agreeable invitation to people-including the Lord of the Seven Hills-to wake up from their slumber.
Relief from paralysis is reported to be there by listening to pieces of Dvijaavanti Raga. Those prone to depression are often recommended with a dose of lilt in Bilahari to overcome their melancholy. Nadanamakriya, yet another raga, is supposed to ‘soften’ the adamant people and even hardened criminals.
Some of the ragas are taken here for a musical analysis to uncover their secrets. Readers may test these suggestions and see for themselves how far these concepts hold good. The same way a mother sings a lullaby with the hope that the child would be pacified by it!
This article was published in Bhavan’s Journal, July 31, 2014 – Pages 59 to 63
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, Nov. 15, 2021