Centuries back Gautam Buddha, recognized the crucial importance of attitude in our life.
He propagated the need for developing the right attitude, which alone makes a person’s life noble, lofty and useful.
He recommended some ‘rational’ adoption of one’s lifestyle pattern. In other words, he emphasized for attitudinal adjustments so that one’s existence becomes purposeful and meaningful.
Developing certain attitude would also mean developing a re-oriented or re-trained consciousness.
In the systems of yoga and Buddhism, we have several exercises prescribed towards this goal. We will discuss just some of them here and see how a musical input could facilitate the process of transformation aimed at.
Mindfulness of Breathing (anapanasati): Watching the flow of breath is a time tested – rather, time meditation, like Vipassana. It is an important mind control exercise. As we begin to focus on breath, we realize how complex the apparently simple and natural process of inhaling and exhaling could be! Using a Tibetan singing bowl, with its harmonic rich tone can render a smooth passage towards this goal. Heavy metallic bells as in churches and temples with regular sound can also make us overcome this struggle over blockages and barricades in achieving this goal.
Loving Kindness (metta): If we could somehow develop this beautiful attitude, just imagine how the whole world could be conquered! Great personalities around the globe have developed such an attitude and have achieved glorious heights. Love, we all know, is a powerful tool more important than any nuclear arsenal invented by man. While wearing this attitude – as we wear a jacket – certain musical pieces could be of immense help.
There is a raga – Hamsa Nandi – which can pour down such feelings, conducive for developing search and attitude. But this raga needs to be played softly and slowly to achieve best results. There is a song sung by Bombay Jayashri (Pahi Jagat Janani) which reflects loving kindness in good measure.
As love is universal, there is no surprise even if we come across such instances in several musical pieces around the world. On example could be that of Strauss (Blue Danube Waltz), which, when played in in low volume can induce similar feelings.
Compassion (Karuna): An Ancient saying in Sanskrit refers to compassion as ‘paramodharma’, the supreme of all virtues that one can aspire for!
Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Theresa have been the living examples of compassion in recent times.
The Carnatic raga, Kanada is a musical example for this attitude. The secret could be its oscillating notes, which shine like diamonds!
Appreciative Joy (muditha): It is just not a mere joy; it is joy derived in wise and experienced minds.
Nature’s environs, works of art, music, movements in dance – all are capable of inducing such an attitude. When it comes to music, raga Bilahari can excel in this. It can induce such feelings in the minds of people, as it progresses with ups and downs of the musical scale with its friendly notes (swaras).
Equanimity (upikha): Man is a strange concoction of feelings and thoughts. When he indulges in thinking, he is hardly left with any feelings, and when he is given to emotion or passion, he invariably ends up losing his head.
Neurologists in recent years have attributed analysis and reasoning as a part of the left hemisphere of the human brain and emotions as a part of the right one. Balancing them leads towards equanimity, an essential virtue, which was targeted by all yoga and prayer systems in the past.
Any music which combines rhythms and resonance can aid achieving balance. For instance the emotion, replete in Indian ragas, are automatically balanced by the intricate, elaborate tala system. By singing or listening to Indian music, therefore one is unconsciously lead towards equanimity. It is interesting to note that Western classical system too aims at equanimity, but in a totally different way. Here the beats are ‘emotional or vague’ and the melody is ‘intellectual’, as it is built on a high precision frequency exhibited by the constituent notes.
Liberation (Nibbana or Nirvana): This could perhaps be the last stage in the process of self-realization.
Nada yoga, the ancient system of meditation which employs sound intonation has laid down elaborate practices which can internalize the external sounds!
At this stage, it is anahata are the internal sound That matters a lot then any external (ahata) sound. Liberalization should obviously mean a transcendence from the duality – of a sound (sushabda kriya) and silence (nishabda kriya)!
After all it is the pause between phrases that enhances the value in music!
This article was published in Sadguru’s Blessings Dec 2004 – Page 33
Edited by Geeta Shreedar, Mar 5, 2021