Yoga and Music- Part 1

In this series of blog posts titled "Yoga and Music," I will explore the relationship between hatha yoga and Carnatic music in particular. This first entry is called harmony. Here I introduce the readers to the definition of yoga and explain how music is one way to experience the state of yoga. We look at how harmony in music is similar to harmony in the various layers of our existence.

HARMONY

Just
 like
 rhythm
 is
 essential
 to
 music, life
 too
 has
 a natural
 rhythm.
  When
 all
 instruments
 in
an
 orchestra play in
 synchrony,
 it
 is
 sweet music.
 When
 they
 are
 off‐beat
 and off‐tune, it becomes cacophony.
Even when they are in tune, they have to work well together with full awareness to  create melodious  music. Similarly, when
 our
 body,
 mind,
 and spirit are not
 aligned, there is
disharmony and stress.
When all layers of our existence are perfectly aligned, we experience yoga or harmony.

What is yoga? It is not about bending our bodies in convoluted ways.
It is not just stretching our muscles. It is not simply a physical exercise. Rather, Patanjali
defines yoga in this manner:
 “Yogaschittavritti
 nirodah”
 in his famous Yoga Sutras written in the 2nd century BCE. It says that yoga is the control of the wandering mind or the stilling of the restless mind. In the Gita, yoga
 is defined as steadfastness in action and being balanced in success and failure.
In other words, those established in yoga are not attached to outcomes but focus on the process itself. 

There are many paths that lead to this state of harmony or oneness or completeness such as the yoga of devotion (bhakti), the yoga of knowledge (gyaana), and the yoga of action (karma). But the most common association of the word "yoga" is with hatha yoga. Hatha yoga is the
path
through which
 we
 can
 experience
 harmony
 in
 life by
 the
 union
 of
 the
 body,
 mind,
 and
 soul. Ha means the sun and tha means the moon. The sun represents heat and the moon represents coolness. Hatha yoga is therefore a combination of energizing and relaxing practices.

Another approach to experience yoga is through music. This is a sweet and easy path, isn't it? This is called the yoga of sound (naada). Great composers in the Carnatic music tradition such as Tyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar, Sadashiva Brahmendrar and Syama Sastry are not just celebrated for their musical genius but also because they were saints or naada yogis. Many of them wrote music from an inspired state of yoga. Their compositions were mostly written extemporaneously and effortlessly. Those listening to such music experience bliss and peace. They forget about their small worries, guilt and complaints, reaching the space of stillness of the mind. The purpose of all music is indeed to experience this beautiful, deep silence. This state of silence can be celebrated by composers, musicians, and listeners through the yoga of music.

For
 musical
 instruments
 to
 be
 in
 their
 best
 shape, we need to
 tune them
 regularly.
When they are not practiced regularly, they get rusty and out of tune. In life,
we can achieve
 harmony through the regular
and
sincere
 practice
of yoga
 asanas (postures), pranayama (breathing), and meditation. Be it music or hatha yoga, when the practice is done with shraddhaa (faith or sincerity) and bhakti (devotion), we elevate it from a mere mechanical collection of notes or movements of the body/breath to a spiritual practice. Such an offering spreads harmony to our self and all those around us.

~ Peace and love to all ~