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Yoga for Musicians

Sangeet - Yoga - Marathi Version

Introduction to Yoga

Yoga is derived from the sanskrit root �Yuj� meaning to join. Yoga means a joining or a union of any 2 separate objects. Conventionally, Yoga is associated with meaning of joining of the jeevatma with the parmatma.

 There are many branches and sub-branches of Yoga eg: Rajayoga, Mantrayoga, Kriyayog, Naadyoda, Bhaktiyoga, Dnyanayoga, etc. Here the prefix of the word Yoga talks about the type of sadhana selected, to achieve the goal of Yoga.

 As a convention, when we speak of Yoga alone we talk about Hathayoga and Rajayoga, explaining the eight fold path i.e. Ashtangayoga. When we talk about other Yoga practices we will mention the prefix term along with the term Yoga.

 All these branches of Yoga are not watertight compartments. They merge with each other now and then, but the main theme of the sadhana, their identity remains unaltered.

 When we talk about Yoga and Music we will deal mostly with Ashtangayoga, Hathayoga, Mantrayoga and Naadyoga, though other yoga paths will also be mentioned where needed.

Relation of Yoga with Music

Yoga and music are prevalent in India since the Vedic Culture. In fact, seers and rishis, in their quest for a blissful living, discovered Yoga and Music. Yoga and Music had simultaneously been developed as an art of living and of spiritualism i.e. to know and realize the �Ultimate Truth�

Both, Yoga and Music developed hand in hand as art, science and philosophies. Exclusive texts for these subjects were written quite later, approximately at the same time. Maharshi Patanjali�s �Yogasutras�, 2nd century B.C, is the first text with deals exclusively with Yoga. In the same period, 2nd century B.C., Bharat Muni�s �Bharat Natya Shastra� was written, which is the first known text including special chapters on Music. (Whereas �Sangeet Makaranda� by Narada, 8th century A.D., and �Sangeet Ratnakar� of Sharang Dev, 13th century A.D., are separate texts on music and are foundations of today�s Indian music). Till then, Yoga and Music had traveled simultaneously, supplementing each other. In history we can see, that after the acceptance of these texts as foundations of Yoga and Music, they started emerging as two different paths � Yoga as a Philosophy and Music as an art. Now, though music started gaining its values as a performing art, it started loosing its spiritual values and living moralities. Similarly, Yoga started loosing its values as art of living for man as a social being. It started becoming solely a philosophical and spiritual path.

I intend to search for the initial link of Yoga and Music as supplementary to each other. 

The Yogic View of Sound

In their search for self-realization, sages worked on their own body and mind. Instead of experimenting in outside laboratories and working on guinea pigs, they used their own selves as laboratories. This was a subjective approach chosen by them. Sages worked on their inner wisdom. In their search for happiness and bliss, they worked a lot on their minds. They found that mind is the bridge between body and soul. Also, that every individual soul is a part of the cosmic soul. They discovered that unless the two souls merge with each other, happiness could never become everlasting. They found that mind is the main cause of unhappiness and the duality. So, initially it is the mind, which has to be tamed. While revealing the depths and layers of the mind, many facts concerning sound and music were realized.

Rishis have known since beginning that the state of the Cosmic Soul is �sound�. They have called this sound as naad brahma. So that the results of the mantra chanting are gained faster they started applying musical notes in the chanting. This added value to the chanting process, by making it happy and easy. The results were sought at a faster rate with musical application. This musical addition to the chanting also made it aesthetically valuable and lively. Boredom and dryness of the path was replaced by happiness and enthusiasm.

Now, Yoga is the joining of the jeevatma with the parmatma i.e. the individual soul with the cosmic soul. As we saw earlier the state of this Cosmic soul is Sound. This cosmic sound is an unmanifested form of sound. This is called as �Naad Brahma� where naad means sound and brahma means the cosmos, the divine and universal soul.

So that the �body� of the human being hears this sound, it has to travel a long way from unmanifested to subtle, and subtle to gross. It is broadly divided into 4 categories. The cosmic sound is called as �Paraa Naad�. Then the subtlest form of sound is called as � Pashyanti�. This form is so subtle that it can be understood by a human body, not in the form of sound, but as light energy. The 3rd form is called �Madhyama�. This sound can be understood and heard by a human body but not through the outer ears. Only the middle and inner ear is needed to hear these sounds. The grossest form of sound is called as �Vaikhari�. This is the sound which all of us normally hears and understands as sound. It is heard by the outer ear. This is the only sound, which can be experimented in the laboratories.

When we talk about music, it is initially this �vaikhari� sound we talk about. This sound is the basis of all the forms of music of the world.

Sangeet - Yoga - Marathi Version

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