Once upon a time, in a land far far away called Italy, there lived a king. His name was Mussolini. He was suffering from insomnia and had trouble sleeping every night. The best of doctors from all over the world had failed to heal him. Medicines worked for a day or two but none of them could cure the troubles he had inside his head. Then came a sage form India. His name was Pt. Omkarnath and he was not even a doctor. People laughed on his abilities to heal the king.
Pt. Omkarnath was a musician. He practiced Hindustani music. He sat in the court of King Mussolini and started singing some very old ‘ragas’. People were mesmerized by the music. They had never heard anything so enchanting ever before! From that day onwards, Mussolini slept every night happily. Everyone lived happily ever after…
Well, this was a true story to depict the healing power of ragas!
Raga is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘ranja’ meaning ‘color of mind’. Ragas essentially have ‘aaroham’ and ‘avaroham’, meaning rise and fall in their pitch. Ragas are composed of ‘shabdas’. Shabda, unlike many may believe is different from words. Shabda is defined as the cosmic flow of sound. According to this definition, silence is also a shabda! The ancient sages of India had discovered an essential cosmic shabda- ‘Om’.
The seven suras of Indian music- Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni are all derived from cosmic word ‘om’. Ragas made of these suras are not songs, but framework on which melodies can be composed or improvised upon. Indian music composers were once known for their ability to improvise upon the best and most difficult of the ragas. This is exactly the reason why the old classics of Rafi saab and Kishore da never seem to get old, where as modern music has much shorter life span. Yesterday it was Munni badnam and today it is Shiela jawaan!
Each of the 7 suras have one to one correspondence with the 7 chakras of the human body. Ragas evoke these chakras by increasing the blood flow to and from the region. Different ragas evoke these chakras in different proportions, thereby being able to heal different diseases.
Most ragas have 70-75 beats per second. This is because heart beats at this rate. A raga with standard beat has the ability to normalize the human body. A raga with higher beat energizes a person whereas a raga with lower beat is relaxing in nature.
Ragas can help in insomnia, migraine, hyper tension, anxiety, nausea. They can also heal blood pressure related problems.
Raga Darbari and Asawari can reduce tension. Asawari also cleanses blood. Raga Bhupali, Todi and Ahir Bhairawi can help in high blood pressure. Raga Bhairavi can heal asthama, tuberculosis, chronic cold, cough and sinus. Raga Malhar cools anger and stabilizes the mind. Raga Hindola sharpens memory. Raga Malkaun and Asawari helps in low blood pressure. Raga Chandrakaun can cure heart ailments.
As of this day, there are many musicians who practice the art of music therapy. These pied pipers believe in the self healing nature of human body. Let’s not forget these wonderful practices of our country.
Note- Click here to watch a video of me presenting a seminar on the same topic.
सौरभ राय | Sourav Roy 
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