Experience the Mystic Resonance of Voice
In its pure state the human voice is an expression of the divine. Forever rooted in the naada or cosmic sound through the naabhi or navel, the voice, when activated, isa manifestation (aahada naada or heard sound) of the Unmanifest (anahada naada or unheard sound). Yet, the connection may be veiled by many years, even births, of 'false' conditioning. When we perform sadhana of any kind, cleansing and purifying the mind, we restore, as it were, the transparency of this connection. The story of naada yoga or the yoga of sound is the story of a return to the naabhi swara, the voice of truth, qalab ki aawaaz, that speaks straight from the soul. In the vocal tradition of the Indore gharana of the Hindus tani khayal, Pandit Amarnath's teaching centred around this journey, of a return of the voice to its own 'root', to aawaaz ki 'jad' pakadnaa. And with that, to a singing which celebrated this return. The first steps involved 'opening' the voice, 'aawaaz kholna', for at the initial stage it could be closed due to sheer lack of use, or movement, beyond its small, everyday-speaking range. Panditji would say that the more the voice was exercised and nourished in the lower notes, the more it would open out naturally in the higher notes. Next, he would emphasise that all singing be in the 'haa-kaar', (singing haa-wise, or from the navel), and not 'aa-wise', or from the throat. Unique to this style was the cultivation of an 'indrawn' voice throw, the pressure or force of the voice directed inwards during singing, towards the source rather than otherwise. This facilitated a 'de-materialisation of the external voice, and a discovery of the voice's own abstract character, shorn of sensuality and external glamour. For the abstract was the real inner voice, the key to the mystic. Training involved release of the 'false' conditioning at the mental level, for the mind alone harboured obstructions and the mind alone could release them as well. Here the guru's own music acted as the mirror, in which students could see for themselves what disturbed the purity of their own flow. As each day brought the scum to the surface, they would shed it, once they saw it. That was the methodology for 'realisation' through naada sadhana. As the student released blockages from his psyche, he simultaneously released them from his prana or lifeforce as well, blockages that had disturbed the free flow of naada or cosmic energy through him. This gave him a tremendous sense of liberation and spiritual freedom: a renewed sense of life. After years of practice and correction of the psyche, the voice, turned inward, began to open its 'jawari', or a kind of mystic resonance not only of the soul having touched its Source, but the Source too, unveiling Itself, having actively illumined it. This teaching had a special appeal not only for students of music but also of theatre, i.e., students of the voice, especiallу abstract theatre. Over the years Panditji also taught the disciples of Grotowski, pioneer of the abstract theatre movement in Europe, who in turn had discovered in the special voice culture of the Indore style a methodology that not only helped unveil the 'inner' voice but one that also offered another definition of immortality.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are BINDU CHAWILA kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: BINDU CHAWILA Speaking Tree,Times of India
Experience the Mystic Resonance of Voice
In its pure state the human voice is an expression of the divine. Forever rooted in the naada or cosmic sound through the naabhi or navel, the voice, when activated, isa manifestation (aahada naada or heard sound) of the Unmanifest (anahada naada or unheard sound). Yet, the connection may be veiled by many years, even births, of 'false' conditioning. When we perform sadhana of any kind, cleansing and purifying the mind, we restore, as it were, the transparency of this connection. The story of naada yoga or the yoga of sound is the story of a return to the naabhi swara, the voice of truth, qalab ki aawaaz, that speaks straight from the soul. In the vocal tradition of the Indore gharana of the Hindus tani khayal, Pandit Amarnath's teaching centred around this journey, of a return of the voice to its own 'root', to aawaaz ki 'jad' pakadnaa. And with that, to a singing which celebrated this return. The first steps involved 'opening' the voice, 'aawaaz kholna', for at the initial stage it could be closed due to sheer lack of use, or movement, beyond its small, everyday-speaking range. Panditji would say that the more the voice was exercised and nourished in the lower notes, the more it would open out naturally in the higher notes. Next, he would emphasise that all singing be in the 'haa-kaar', (singing haa-wise, or from the navel), and not 'aa-wise', or from the throat. Unique to this style was the cultivation of an 'indrawn' voice throw, the pressure or force of the voice directed inwards during singing, towards the source rather than otherwise. This facilitated a 'de-materialisation of the external voice, and a discovery of the voice's own abstract character, shorn of sensuality and external glamour. For the abstract was the real inner voice, the key to the mystic. Training involved release of the 'false' conditioning at the mental level, for the mind alone harboured obstructions and the mind alone could release them as well. Here the guru's own music acted as the mirror, in which students could see for themselves what disturbed the purity of their own flow. As each day brought the scum to the surface, they would shed it, once they saw it. That was the methodology for 'realisation' through naada sadhana. As the student released blockages from his psyche, he simultaneously released them from his prana or lifeforce as well, blockages that had disturbed the free flow of naada or cosmic energy through him. This gave him a tremendous sense of liberation and spiritual freedom: a renewed sense of life. After years of practice and correction of the psyche, the voice, turned inward, began to open its 'jawari', or a kind of mystic resonance not only of the soul having touched its Source, but the Source too, unveiling Itself, having actively illumined it. This teaching had a special appeal not only for students of music but also of theatre, i.e., students of the voice, especiallу abstract theatre. Over the years Panditji also taught the disciples of Grotowski, pioneer of the abstract theatre movement in Europe, who in turn had discovered in the special voice culture of the Indore style a methodology that not only helped unveil the 'inner' voice but one that also offered another definition of immortality.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are BINDU CHAWILA kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: BINDU CHAWILA Speaking Tree,Times of India