Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji after recieving Doctorate for the field of Music – November 2, 2023 – UPH, Mysore
As you all know, a human being is endowed with intelligence while other beings are not. But Music or Nāda or Shruti is very important for all kinds of beings. Our breath is the Shruti / pitch (our Mother). The heartbeat is Shiva (our Father). It is because of this Mother and Father that intelligence can exist. The heartbeat is analogous to Tālam (rhythm) and the breath is analogous to Shruti (pitch) without which no one can sing at all. One may sing without Shruti but it may go off tune after sometime. Therefore, there are many Mahātmas who sing with their breath as the Shruti during their Sādhana (practice). Their heartbeat serves as the Tālam. Just as the heartbeat varies, there are a variety of Tālams (rhythms). Our heartbeat changes during distress, happiness, ecstasy or during the times of emergency or when we see a baby. It is said that all the Tālams have emerged based on the different types of heart beats. The same applies to Shruti too. We have three Nādis (subtle energy channel) namely Ida, Pingala and Brahma. Shruti emerges from the Brahma Nādi. Ida and Pingala, also known as Chandra and Surya Nādis respectively, assist in the emergence of Shruti. This is also known as Prānāyāma. Tālam (also called Laya) and Shruti need to be in coordination for a human to be alive. Therefore, humans are born with Music.
The human life in the womb takes place with the swarās (musical notes). Hence, Tyagaraja Swami proclaims that those who do not listen to Music cannot attain salvation. I will add further to this and declare that such people do not even have the eligibility to live. They cannot be termed as human beings. I will also say that such people are living an offensive and illegal life. You will understand only if I use such language. You must listen to some kind of Music. Those who say that they do not like Music are ineligible for living and they are merely leading a futile life. Those who do not know anything about Music also tap their hands while listening to music. Birds and all other beings are drawn to music. All of you are aware that music has such greatness.
During the time of Lord Krishna, all the cows listened to Him as He played the flute. Listening to Goddess Saraswati’s Veena renditions, all the Devatas were pliant. They also attained the power of oration. A balance in the cosmos is achieved when Shiva dances playing his Damaru (small drum). When the balance tips, all the planets and heavenly bodies will collide with each other. As a result, Earth ceases to exist. It is only because of Shiva and the sound of his Damaru that the cosmos stays in balance. When Shiva and Parvati performed the divine dance, they jumped from one cosmos to another. This is known as “Kāmakeli”. Do not misinterpret this word as a dance of desire. It is a play to bring about a balance to the creation, and prevent any untoward incidents. The dance of Shiva and Parvati symbolises the emergence of Laya (Tālam – rhythm).
Humans can survive only if the heartbeat is good. We must give as much importance to Music as we give to our heart and breath. Music is born from the Divine. One forgets all sorrow by listening to soothing music and gets a good sleep thereafter. Babies also fall asleep listening to the sounds made by their mothers and watching their faces. Everything is hidden (subtly embedded) in sound. Every being should consider Music to be a partner or friend or Guru. Everyone must learn to play a musical instrument. Now-a-days, we have many western musical instruments too. If we play a musical instrument, that will help us during our times of distress. We have heard the stories of great warriors who found respite in Music. You might have heard that when Alexander lost everything, he felt comforted listening to music. In many famous poetic epics like those written by Kalidasa, such stories of warriors are mentioned. Regardless of victory or defeat, everyone needs Music for the sake of happiness. Therefore, Music (Nāda) is very important. Everyone must practice it.
If your body is in good condition, you can practice singing. It will enable you to speak in a precise manner and understand multiple languages. If you learn a musical instrument and keep playing it, then you will forget all sorrows and humiliation. If you feel belittled by society or lack wealth, you can ease such feelings of distress with music. It is my intention that everyone should learn music. Many big shots attend weddings, but not many of them pay attention to the music programs arranged there. There is always a lot of hustle and bustle around. However, that does not deter the musicians from continuing their concert. They deem it as a nice place for their music practice. When there is a lot of chaos, it will be easy to focus on music.
In New Orleans, a very big hall was arranged for my Music concert. A very good Kannada devotee of Swamiji who is a crazy lover of Music had arranged the program. They spent a lot on their own and invited Swamiji but they did not propagate much about the concert. We usually go to the hall beforehand to prepare. We noticed that only ten people were seated for the concert. My celestial group of musicians was worried. I told them, “Why are you all disturbed? Let us practice on the concert stage. There is no need to fret.” We were not ready to compromise on the number of musical pieces to be presented because it was all pre-planned. Had the secretary of the program suggested to cut short the concert, the musicians would’ve been hurt. They would’ve gone home, sung or played the instruments to their heart’s content. It is not about money, they would’ve felt sad and humiliated. But at the same time, we should strike a balance with the management as well. Not for the sake of money but they may invite us a second time in the future. So, we all agreed to do stage practice that day. When we came back after getting ready (which was hardly 10 minutes later) many people had come for the concert and there was barely any space left in the hall. More than 2000 people had attended the concert. (We realised much later that we had missed seeing another entry point to the hall. Many people were waiting in the queue there) Such incidents do happen!
Another time, in Atlanta, when we were about to leave for a music concert, 5-6 Mayors and Ministers had arrived and kept me engaged in chatter. Prasadi was also asking me to wait for sometime. When I wanted to get up and go, the Ministers kept asking me to sit. They kept requesting me to wait for 2 more minutes each time because they had something more to discuss. But, they did not discuss anything worthwhile. Each person talked about some random matters which I was least interested in. It was getting late for my concert. So, I was in a hurry to get up, go to the stage and start on time.
The actual reason why I was prevented from going to the stage was that it got burnt due to a short circuit and the concert hall was filled with smoke. Apparently a projector was kept on through the previous night and when the stage lights were switched on during the day, short circuit happened leading to the fire mishap. That incident occurred right before the concert’s scheduled time. In order to buy some time to handle the situation, everyone was preventing me from getting ready to go on to the stage. All this while, I sensed a smell of smoke and enquired what it was. Prasadi told me that cow dung was being burnt in the neighbourhood. I was surprised, “Oh! Cow-dung is burnt in the US too? I thought it was done only in our village” Prasadi said, “Yes! Swamiji, this practice has now started in the US too.” I felt Prasadi was not revealing the actual issue. Finally after half an hour, when they managed to clear the stage, the concert took place. There are many such experiences. When you want to do a concert, it will somehow work out.
When we went to New York along with L Subrahmanyam (the violinist), we could not find the exact location of the concert hall. We kept going in circles for a long time, not knowing the way towards the hall. One of our cars was going around the hall in clockwise direction while the other was going in anti-clockwise direction. It was a new hall, so we couldn’t easily trace the location. Finally after some time, we managed to reach the hall. Many such incidents have taken place. All musicians will have to go through such experiences in life. They will have to face humiliation and even derogatory remarks. We can write a book giving an account of such experiences of Swamiji. Some are funny while others are painful. Recollecting some of those experiences bring laughter.
Music is supreme. When Nagesh, the Vice Chancellor of Gangubai Hangal University announced about the Doctorate, I did not show much interest in it. But he suggested that I consider it. Then, I said I cannot come and receive the Doctorate since it was scheduled during Navarātri time. The Governor also was determined to confer the Doctorate. He had come to Ashrama twice or thrice before and he likes Swamiji. So it was rescheduled and I agreed.
I am happy about this program today to see many musicians coming here. Manju has arranged the program within a short notice. I am very happy. Recently, the Hampi University also conferred a Doctorate on me. The current Doctorate is for the field of Music. I am very happy that you (Manju) have conducted this program. This plaque will fill an empty space in the Museum. Let us see what more is in store to fill the other empty spaces in the Museum. Let Ashrama be busy with musical programs of this kind.
Jaya Guru Datta!