MUSIC, THE LIFE AND LIGHT OF THE SOUL ... 1

MUSIC, THE LIFE AND LIGHT OF THE SOUL ... 1

Hindustani classical music is in essence the sadhana of the soul and its presentation before an audience is but a secondary derivative of its primary impulse. The silence of the Self is realised through the splitting of the Naad (the primal source sound which is not born out of vibration but is the cause of all of phenomenal vibration) and this is the express purpose of not only all of evolution but of music as well which best concentrates the mind unto its higher being. The slow evolution of the saptak or the octave through millenia of gradual unfoldment, the rhythms, the tempo, the scales and the unnumbered raags have all had a single focus and an aspired end, the realisation of the underlying unity of pluralistic phenomena. The Rishis were inspired to sing the hymns of the Sama Veda in simple musical tunes out of which gradually emerged the pure form of the dhrupad -- which is the austere sadhana of the svar and the shruti -- with the aim of penetrating the note to touch the keynote of existence.

Written by Sugata Bose

Photo : Haridas Swami