These are opinions of Prof M.Leelavathy on my book Sudhasindhu (A study of 12 Upanishads)and of M.R.Rajesh on Brahmasindhu ( study of Brahmasuthra)
1-A BOOK THAT STANDS HIGH IN THE HERITAGE OF UPANISHADS
Prof M.Leelavathy October 12-18.2003 Mathrubhomi weekly
Sudhasindhu is a study of Upanishads with six parts. The first part Madhumathi, consists of Thaithereeyam,Aithareyam and Kadam; The second part Agneyam ,consists of Swethaswetharam and MahaNarayana Upanishads ;the third part Krishnavairajam has Mundaka and Prasna Upanishads; 4th part Prajnavaisakha contains Mandukya Upanishad and its karika ;the 5th part Suvarnam Veda has kena and chandogya Upanishads and 6th part Sudhasindhu has Isavasya and Brihadaranyaka Upanishads. With all the extensive commentaries the entire book comes to more than 1200 pages and is a heavy book indeed. I use the term heavy to carry not only in the literary sense but also in a symbolic sense. Though the warning “ Masmin khala khelathu”is not given, it is not easy for ordinary people like me to carry this great work. The effect of years of Tapas. Just like the name indicates this is an ocean. The ocean of the Amrithavidya. A work which makes the heads of ordinary people bow, by the revelation that what I have learned is only handful and to be learned is like an ocean. For about 25 years the author has been churning the ocean of Upanishads and that essence is in this Amrithakalasa.If someone thinks that one can drink it easily, that is a myth. To cognize this study needs a prolonged Thapasya.Even if you are ready to work for that, because of the vastness of the fields of knowledge in this book, many parts will remain untouched for many people. Apart from the author’s professional field of medicine,physics,chemistry,mathematics,Astronomy ,astrology,linguistics,Indian ,non-Indian Asian and western philosophies,Sanskrit,Pali,English,Greek,Tamil and several languages –in this way deep knowledge in several branches of knowledge is used in this book. For ordinary readers the chance of having such wide knowledge is unlikely ,and that is why the travel along with is difficult for them. The value and the importance of this new commentary is related to this vast knowledge itself. Such a study of Upanishads which is integrated to so many branches of knowledge has never been done before by anyone whether western or eastern .The study of NityaChaitanyaYati has used new branches of study and psychology but even in them the physics ,medicine ,chemistry ,astronomy and linguistics are not used like this to a great extent. The approach in this study is not the blind superstitious belief that every science in the world is derived from Veda and Upanishads and nothing new from them exist in science .The influence behind the work is not the national pride. It is the pride of a vision of wisdom and spirituality. Though the book says the statements of modern science were reached by the sages and by Sankara etc who were well versed in Upanishads ,they are not illogical imaginations.
Chethana= ghanavasthu X chalanam is the samavakya E = Mc 2 (page 665) .If one isolates sath ( truth as Chith or energy) and believe that there is a gross world different from the ocean of energy ,that gross world is a untruth (Jaganmithya) .The ocean of energy as Rasimandala (zodiac) and the Brahmanda with stars and planets was continuous (Nairantharya) in the view of Sankara .This happened before Einstein. Instead of insulting such great intellectual giants as mere religious leaders ,their logic and scholarly views should be respected by us .From such statements it is possible that the religious fanatics may take advantage ,but the author’s observational logic is not that religious fanaticism. When the mechanism of power /force in Chandogya Upanishad is explained (ch 7 khanda 8) “This bhoomi(earth) is fixed because of the strength of the field of Vaayu that revolves around it” is the forerunner of the gravitational theories and the quantum mechanical theories are explained in original way (page 719-721).This is not discovering what one wants .But discovering that which is there. This is convincingly done. In the commentaries of Chandogya and Brihadaranyaka (which comes to about 750 pages) biology,medicine,chemistry,physics,astrophysics,psychology are used abundantly. There is no space for explaining all in a book review. But one cannot ignore Chandogya 1st ch khanda 12 Souva Udgeetha. (page 507-512).In the Udgeetha the dog stars Canis major and minor are praised. Without recognizing this earlier commentators have written that it is a mockery to praise dogs. It was difficult to believe that as a parady.Therefore when Suvarna’s commentary was read the happiness felt is indefinable. The Swetha(white) dog is the White dwarf binary with Sirius according to scientific view. Only in 1925 did an American astronomer described it as a white dwarf. When Dr Suvarna asks : “ don’t you find wonder when you find the white dwarf dog which revolves in a spiral (sarpila) way in this Upanishad?” ,for those who explained it as a mockery ,not only wonder but something else may be felt. The name Suvarnam Veda is having meaning in two ways for Suvarna who learned Jyothisha,Jyothisasthar ,physics etc by self-study(swadhyaya).The commentary of this 5th chapter shows the vastness of how much of the expanding universe of physics she has mastered. Her knowledge of Astronomy has even prompted her to question Sankara’s commentary at times.Chandogya 4.7.1 speaks of swan and Sankara says the Hamsa is Aditya (sun).Suvarna logically explains it as the swanlike Cygnus as the star clusters of Dhanishta .(page 585).The knowledge of Niruktha gives a rare beauty to the commentary .No one had shown relation of Kathama sabda as quanta before .(page 472).The Bardo of Tibetan thanthra is the changed form of Bharatha (Bartho) .Several commentators have said that the Aswa of Brihadaranyaka is Viswa .But giving Aksharasamkhya (numbers to letters) and proving that is not seen anywhere before, according to my knowledge. A 1 Brahman.SA and M 5 the universe with 5 elements. The revolving wheel of samsara is explained with diagrams .The visualization of ideas with diagrams is a special method seen in this book not seen in previous commentaries. It has an effect of showing slides during teaching. If one wants to analyze each word of the book and understand them, at least the same number of days as its pages is needed. Not after doing thapas in it for three years, but just reading it within three weeks I am writing the review. Therefore my attempt is like trying to hold an ocean in one’s fist.
In Brihadaranyaka we find Maithreyi who took sanyasa for Brahmavidya,and Gargi who made Yajnavalkya explain AksharaBrahma Thathwa.That Upanishad is a proof for the fact that primary as well as ultimate education was not negated to women ,and not impossible too ,and such intellectual women were respected and recognized by intellectual men of the times. In middle ages this became shadowed .They became parrots within cages. Though modern India has awakened from that state, women who can make men wonder with a original thought process is still very rare.( Vismaya = wonder; also without Smaya ).People like Sakunthala Rao Sasthri have gone in the previous paths made by western and eastern ancestors for their research in Veda and Upanishads.Dr Suvarna has made a new path of analysis of her own .I don’t think that there are even men who have done an Upanishad study like this with the medicinal value of having drunk the essence of so many branches of knowledge systems. Therefore when I try to offer Sthothra to this NavayugaBrahmaVadini, my words are inadequate.
Though by its size small ,in depth of ideas Isavasya Upanishad is considered unparallel and for that only very little space is devoted .Though the reason is not clear, possibly its contents have less relations to modern science may be guessed. In commentary of 3 and 4 Mantra such planes are suggested. But as the base of Nishkamakarma of Bhagavad-Gita Isavasya being important ,I thought a little bit more could have been explained on it. As the seed of Nishkamakarma,and as an awareness against commercialized worldviews ,and basis of a practical ideology of equality of humanity the importance of the second half of first mantra of Isavasya should have been given more importance in such a deep study .Is it necessary to contract that the first Mantra is for Sanyasin? ( Note:- According to definition of Sankara Sanyasi is one with Dhyana and Gnaana .Brahmavidya is Gnaana and dhyana and that is what is meant by the sentence.)
9th mantra has been confusing to scholars .A new approach to remove that confusion is not given in the book. Similarly the 11th mantra and its commentary also is insufficient to remove the doubts .In Mundak it is said that all knowledge including Veda and Upanishad are when used for mundane purposes Avidya .In that case Avidyayaamrithyum theerthwa could be explained as “Avidya is useful to live in the memory of coming generations forever” .Thus even with Avidya crossing death is possible. The 17th mantra Kritham Smara is pointing to this too. But with this crossing of death eternity is not possible. Only with Sarvabhoothaikyabodhanubhoothy this is possible. Even if there is experience of Vidya,if it is associated with ego and its Rathi (desire) then we fall to dark worlds is the warning given in 9th sloka according to some commentators.Isavasya says this is so in gnaana,bhakthy as well as karma and it is given importance in Gita .Gita see the people who are desirous of arguments over Veda, desirous and creative and loving luxuries and heavens do karma like Yajna (2.42-44)due to influence of Isavasya and Mundaka.
The symbolic mantra of Veda have Adhibhouthika,Adhyathmika and Adhidaivika meanings.Dr Suvarna explains the Adidaivika meanings in detail. But the Rgvedamanthra Dwa suparna which ahs a adhidaivika meaning is not pointed out .The 11th mantra of 2nd Khanda she gives a explanation of the world of stars based on the astronomy of sage Garga.She explains a gestalt view in Brihadaranyaka and a Indian psychology in Mandukya she has not gone to the theories developed out of these by western psychologists(Jung and Laccan ).In physics she integrates the thoughts of Upanishads with thoughts of scientists upto Stephen Hawking. And integrates the Advaitha of Sankara ( page 559) with Grand Unification. She has done an in-depth study of Budhadarsana and Sankaradarsana to prove that Sankara was never a enemy of Budhism.
One defect in this book is the abundance of spelling mistakes seen as if mustard seeds. In the second edition they can be remedied. An index also is needed for such a great work.
2-ETERNAL AKSHARAVIGNANA (BRAHMASINDHU )Aug 6-12 .2006 Mathrubhoomi weekly .M.R.Rajesh .
There had been a model method in India for analytic thought of meaning of Veda which is different from the modern academic thought. To learn the six Anga and upanga (branches and sub branches)of knowledge was essential for studying Veda. The method was learning the six Anga of Veda siksha,Kalpa,Vyakarana,Niruktha,Chandas,Jyothisha and the six Upanga Samkhya,Vaiseshika,Yoga,Nyaya,Meemamsa,and vedantha.The Samkhya of Kapila evaluates Veda as “ Nijasakthyabhivyakthe:swatha:pramanyam”(5/51)That is Paramathman revealed it by natural power and hence Veda is evidence in itself. The Veda is accepted as evidence in Yogadarsana as“Sa esha poorvesham api Guru:kalenaaNavachedaath” (1.26)and in Nyayadarsana as “Manthrayurvedapraamanyavacha thath pramanyamaapthapramanyam” and in Vaiseshika as“ Thadwachanaadanaamnayasya pramanaym ( 1.1.3) and in Vedanthadarsana as “Sasthrayonithwath” and in Meemamsadarsana “ Outhpathikasthu sabdasyarthena” .
In the interim period Vedanthadarsana got more popularity. After Sankara created commentaries for Prasthanathraya Bhagavad Gita, Ten Upanishads and Brahmasuthra became the silver lines of the same perception of ideas.Ramanuja,Madhwa and Nimbarka followed this way. There had been several commentaries and explanations for the Vedanthadarsana of Brahmasuthra.The psychology of the attempt to create the commentary of Brahmasuthra is revealed by the commentator herself .
“ Several women-oriented thoughts fill the pages of media nowadays. The problems of woman as wife,mother,daughter,lover and professional is being discussed. Among these the problems of a woman who desires to get complete development intellectually and spiritually is forgotten. Or pretend as if it is forgotten. Why didn’t any woman touched Prasthanathraya for 6000 years in India? Maithreyi,Gargi and Ubhayabharathy might have had in-depth knowledge of the subject. But we do not have even a single book from them as written word. There are intellectual women and women shining in academic fields in India. But why didn’t their thoughts touch these fields? Asking questions ,no one make attempts to touch these fields. Why cant we state boldly that those who have Gnaana and Dhyana ,even if they are householders, are Sanyasins as Sankara did ?Is there the envious position of Gargi and Maithreyi in the life of Yajnavalkya ,in the life of any man or woman today? Is there the purity of recognizing the rare relation of Sankara and Ubhayabharathy ,even if exists, in our contemporary society? The development should not restrict to technology ,but in the culturally high purity of heart .A people can be said to be free only when the environment for healthy ,discussions which are free from Eros, and fragrant with friendship and blissful, free from competitive and envious mental states, beyond any dualities of religion,caste,creed,gender,politics happen .We can be proud of having protected the heritage of Arshabharatah and shown a model to next generations, only when we, both man and woman, can enjoy the divinity of friendships which is beyond the body and come as a transcendental influence of previous births, and to use it for the goodness of the world .(page 6)
Thus a new light ray is drawn by Dr Suvarna Nalapat .The most important part of Indian view is their Vyavaharika side .The first goal is to destroy all avidya and Ragadwesha of human beings having several types of sorrows and give them liberation .The second special feature of Indian thought is its hopeful view. The wise people think of the ocean of samsara of universe as sorrowful. The reason for the sorrow is the union between the observer and the observed( as different ).The methods to think of avoiding sorrow is the hopeful view. The third special feature is the faith in a eternal state. Whatever karma man does ,that is never reduced .From those karma a creation of a rare thing happens. This rare(apoorva) is the cause of effect .In Nyaya and Vaiseshika the term Adrishta is given to for Apoorva.The 4th specialty is the karmasidhantha .The karma of man is never reduced and its effect has to be experienced. The fifth is the Path of liberation. The cause of bondage in samsara is avidya.By avidya bondage is created. By gnaana liberation happens. For life process there are two ways -the prosperity and the liberation. Man desirous of loved subjects functions in samsara.The root cause of this function is Ragadwesha.This way itself makes man follow his downhill course. The way of liberation is the root of auspiciousness. For getting fixed in this path, the Ashtangayoga with yama and niyama is advised. For removing the three types of impurities ,for attainment of Brahman ,great karma and through them a path for attaining Purushartha is used by Vedanthadarsana.
Here by the use of Vedanta as practical way of life the commentary becomes noteworthy. In the common parlor the evaluation of a Sthithaprajna and his bhava and ways of life is accepted by the author in the nature of commentary and its example is this:
:Suppose a yogi , with the Gupthayogivratha functions in society. Suppose that person becomes a departmental head. The other Samsarins working in the department will misunderstand the Yogi as one among them and behave like that. They will show their Kaama and krodha.They do not touch the yogin like lotus leaf by water. Yet for making the mundane people to work efficiently and properly the works of the department(of world) many times in anger, assertive and soft ,loving way he has to behave .Even for this the Yogin has to do internal neutralizations. The Vratha like Upavasa,Bhoosayana ,payovratha,Mounavratha and many other vratha are done by Gupthayogin to purify oneself .By them the mundane hallucinations around are kept at a distance. Lives always as Samygnani and satisfied in oneself. For such a person there is no ragadwesha in anything. And no desires either. Nothing to receive or give.(Those who are not like that mistake this Gupthayogi as one among them and behave).That is the self-enlightening Satyasamkalpa which is Bhaaroopa.Even for those without ego of body ,the perception of Sasthra is obtained only very rarely. In one Yuga Devi Saraswathy enters only one individual and fixes her throne within .Only in one Vyasa,one Kalidasa or one Sankara she adorns her SaraswathiMandapa.In one individual if we find the forms of “Bhaathi and Priya “ revealed that person is a Rishi/Yogin.Srividya will not appear in anyone except a Rishi or Yogin in her pure complete form (Niravaraa Prajna paramitha) .” Page 405.
From this quotation alone one can understand how this commentary is different from other commentaries.Brahmavada was a subject which caused the hand burn if touched. In Vedanthadarsana of Vyasa there are 4 chapters. In each chapter four paada.And 555 sutras .The subject is the direct perception of Brahman within the Veda. The origin of the word Vedanta is “Vedasya antha:anthimo bhaga ithi vedantha”.That is the last part of Veda is vedantah.In this Brahman,Jeeva and Prakrithy are explained. As many have misunderstood, it does not contain that everything is empty. We can accept the view of Dr Radhakrishnan about this universe.” The world is not an illusion or a dreamlike structure but a real positive something”.
If we examine the explanation of the author to two main sutra the crux of the commentary will be revealed.
Janmadyasya yata: (1.1.2) and Sasthrayonithwath(1.1.3)The meanings denote perfect meaning. For the thing created by breath a creator is needed. That is ,Veda originated as before and revealed and for that a creator is essential. Like that since again and again originating and revealed ,the word is said to be “Ameya “.Since it reveals and originate all objects as if a lamp ,as if a wave of electric current ,Sarvavidbhaveth,word is eternal .(page 35).To express this idea the author has used the quotation from the maanthrasasthra work Saradathilaka.There is no gender difference for Mahath which is neuter .From it eternally flowing Akshara ,the universe of moving and nonmoving ,sound and meaning is created. This is internal light within the people who do good acts and scholars have called it SabdaBrahman.(page 36).
To give the first mantra of Atharvaveda and its meaning here would be good.”3 X 7 =twenty-one .The Paramathmadeva who is Vachaspathi and who created all the named universes with the 21 ,be within my heart which is the honey of body, and do dharana of the Sound and form which are Varnathmaka .(Atha 1.1.1).What is Varnam here? In Pathanjali Mahabhashya it is explained.
Aksharam naksharam vidyath
Asnotherva saroksharam
Varnam vaahu:purvasuthre
Kimarthamupadisyathe
Meaning:- Man should by effort ,make his own that akshara which is known as Varna and which is never destroyed, and is everywhere and has movement .Because knowledge of Varna is the knowledge of Vaani.In which the SabdaBrahman and ParaBrahaman reside, that Gnaana of Varna is advised for attainment of desired knowledge and attainment of Brahman and for Shanthi (peace) according to the next sloka of Pathanjali.Thus by the truthful statements the Brahmasuthra commentary is giving a new meaningful approach.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
contributions
What is our contribution to the world?
Someone recently asked me what is your contribution to the world ?
It is a question every individual should ask themselves. Everyone is born and everyone will die .The interval is life.In that life what did we contribute to the world we live in?
When I remember ,from my childhood days ,upto this age ,I find very little. But that little had made me what I am.Let me recollect what I have done as a child,adult,and a professional in medicine and as a teacher .
The first thing I remember is me as a three or four year old living with my grandmother. She used to put a handful of rice in a small pot when she takes rice for daily cooking .That special pot was for Sarvodaya Pidiyari Prasthana (the programme of a handful of rice for poor by Sarvodaya movement) and a Bhattthiri will come and collect it at specified times to distribute it to needy .I will insist that I will put that rice in the pot.Then my grandmother will tell me : Your hands are at present too small and if you put rice it will be too little .So both of us will put a handful and it will be more.
Thus she made me put my own share of Annadhaanam (though too little).And I saw the same thing in my father’s house when I went to live there when I turned 8 . There my mother was doing the same process. But a little bit more was put in a bigger pot ,because my father’s house could afford more to be given to the needy ,being richer than my mother’s house.And in my father’s house ,every Vavu (fullmoon/newmoon)and on certain birthdays and death anniversaries there were elaborate Annadaana for all people ,including Nayadi tribes which is a ancient tribal people of Kerala .They knew the date without anyone sending invitations and got sumptuous food and clothes and rice and if it is season of jackfruit/mangoes etc the fruits too.And on Saturdays which was the day for giving money or clothes to the beggars ,from nowhere beggars will throng our courtyard.It is the duty of children to give coins /clothes to them.
My grandmother used to make threads from cotton and using an ordinary Thakli used to spin Khadi threads and it was sent to market and sold for getting some money for the day to day expenditure of the house.My mother ,at my father’s house had elaborate Charka,Ambar charka and sewing classes for girls free of cost and these girls after they learned the craft was given the instruments(churka/ambar charka/sewing machine etc ) so that they have a decent income.This vocational training was happening in our own western wing of the house so that we children were exposed to awareness of the need of the village .My mother was also the Project Implementing Committee chairman of the area and had several Balawadis established under her care and visited them frequently to supervise the education,and the food being given to the children.I too accompanied her at several occasions and helped in distribution of food and also in entertainment activities for the children,like drama,music and dance etc. Similarly I had participated in the Bhoodan movement of Vinobha Bhave,in the BSS ,in the old age pension scheme of Government etc .My duty was to identify and collect data of the geriatric people who were in need of the pension and for that we (me and my sister)had walked along entire village ,along the coastal belt which is very poor where only small huts were there in those times.(At present the area is very well developed at least in part).And after collecting the details,we had to write down the application forms ,get them signed and then put stamps and post it .And when the amount was sanctioned ,the money had to be distributed .These were all my experiences before 1964 ,That is before I joined Medical college at the age of 19.
Giving Annam(food) Bhoomi(land) dhanam(money) and vasthram (clothes) and also a job-oriented vocational training had been in my blood since I grew up in such an atmosphere.But there is one question. Is a human being satisfied with all these things? Is peace established if we give these basic amenities alone ? And who can give something to another unless one has that entity in excess ? Can we stop the greed of man by such basic amenities alone ?
Only a rich man can give money .Only a person with knowledge can give knowledge.Only a person with Shanthi(peace )can give peace of mind to another.
Only if we grow more rice and become self-sufficient we can give food to others. My father was able to do that because he was a born farmer and made enough rice to feed the entire village community .He gave away clothes to all during Onam,Vishu etc along with rice and plantains to those who came (and their numbers were very high).We,children kept a register so that when the clothes are purchased (from Vadakkan Vasthralayam at Kunnamkulam) no child is forgotten .Amma and Achan similarly had a list of adults of various categories-male ,female and their needs etc-and the festivals like Onam were for us children a training in segregating and cutting the pieces of Mull mundu,folding them and keeping ready for distribution. In fact the house was an institution in itself which gave training in organizational and co-operative strategies for welfare of all.
I remember my grandmothers lighting a lamp at twilight (spending oil so that the lamp shines for the passerbys) and providing an Athani and a Thannerpanthal where whey is given to all alike free of cost .That was the custom of our land from time immemorial to help the thirsty passengers ,and by that one aquires Punya for the other world,my grandmother taught me.And watering a plant,giving food even to an ant was among Panchabhoothayajna which she did so meticulously ,feeling all beings as needy and as her own self .The ecological protection of nature is based on such behaviours .This lesson of loving all and her nonviolence and total vegetarian food habits I aquired too.
What about giving education and vocational training ? That gives all these, by making someone able to find a job and to aquire basic amenities by themselves .Hence giving Vidya (education) is the Most important among all other wealths and its dhana (offering )is the most important Dhana.A teacher’s job is therefore the best job .Vidhyadhanam sarvadhanal pradhanam was said because of this awareness.And it is the only wealth which will not decrease even if we give it in excess.
My father aware of the lack of a high school in our village had been instrumental in making that dream come true .In that school ,which was his dreamchild ,I studied .The school is designed so that any child in the village ,both male and female gets free education .The free education till High school(SSLC) was thus made possible by that school as early as the 50’s .That school still exists and gives free education to all children .(At present nearly 500 students are studying there and my brother who looks after it distributed the works of Gandhi to every child free of cost , so that they know the principles of our Father of the Nation.).Nearby Uppungal Thuruthu(a island in the Kayal) had very poor Muslim population with no facility for even lower Primary education and my father constructed a school there too for those children.I ,as a child had visited that school and had seen all its teething troubles with my father ,including nonavailability of teachers to that remote place and nonwillingness of the peasants of the area to send children to school etc (Which I have transplanted to the school in my Novelette Kalindi to some extant )and last year I went there with all those nostalgic memories of my father and his efforts and saw the school flourishing.Now there is no need to go in a boat to the island and there is a approach road to the island .
When I entered Medical Profession, the physical and mental and intellectual health for a peaceful life became most prominent in my mind.And ,my husband being a socially conscious man also had a willingness to help the socially backward people.Hence our marriage became a yajna to help the needy who come to us. To give medicines for the poor people who come to a general ward in the Calicut Medical college,to give money for the food and other needs of the bystanders and sometimes even the busfare for them to return home we had to find money from the Government salary which we were getting.At the same time we had to run our household too. The first step for that was to sacrifice luxuries (like expensive dress,jewellery and other paraphernalia) which both of us did and we even got the name of lunatics for our lifestyle .Because in a world where majority run after wealth and luxuries, two people who sacrifice all these is a rarity and hence an abnormality .But that didn’t make us go back in our decision.
All my educational and medical researches and my views on selfsufficiency of a people by promoting agriculture,having an integrated health system,and use of music as personality developmental tool as well as self-healing tool and the value-based educational programmes have developed from my experiences as a teacher,as a medical personnel interested in social problems and their solutions with maximum benefits for entire humanity .My two novelettes Yudham and Kalindi also address such problems from a psychological,social and visionary background.
But I do not think that I am the only person who has thought about such problems .There had been several people ,my ancestors of the very very distant past,of the immediate past and several of my contemporaries are thinking along similar lines.The methods they adopt may vary but they do share a common goal with me.We have an intellectual and functional,emotional bondage by that common goal.It is not a bondage of birth relationships and not restricted to any geographical locality,to any particular sect,religion or caste/class .But it is an advaitha of entire universe which binds all .I recognize the power of a supreme Intellect which devised this life for me .And I am grateful to that for all my experiences which made me what I am today .
There is a story in Mahabharatha. It is the story of a Mangoose.When Yudhishtira did his Rajasooya and gave alms to all that assembled and everyone was praising him a mangoose came.It had a peculiar body.One side was golden and the other was not .This mangoose washed itself in the water that was used to wash the feet of the guests in the Rajasooya and started to say : But this sacrifice is not as great as that of the Brahmana which I earlier attended.
Everyone was astonished.They asked the mangoose why did he say that .He said that he had witnessed a very poor Brahmin couple who didn’t have even a morsel of food to eat ,getting a little grain and when they were about to eat it a guest arrived.The couple after washing the feet of the guest gave the entire food in the house to the guest and remained hungry.And the mongoose washed his body in the water that flowed after washing the feet of guest had one side of its body turned golden because of the greatness of the sacrifice.He thought ,hearing the talk about the Rajasooya of Yudhishtira that he can have his other side also turned golden and that is why he came but to his disappointment he found this did not happen and thus declared that Yudhishtira’s sacrifice was lesser than the sacrifice of the poor Brahmana .To sacrifice everything is the best sacrifice. The pomp and splendour and publicity of a wealthy man’s sacrifice and its media attention may not be there for a poor man’s selfsacrifice but in the eyes of the justice,in the eyes of God, it is greater than the show business.That is the lesson of the story.I always remember this story when I find someone giving even a single penny get it published in every daily .The sacrifice of Karna in Mahabharatha is great beause he gave without his left hand knowing what the right hand gave and he sacrificed even his own life (when he gave his armour and earrings to Indra and his promise to Kunthi )even after knowing wel that it will cost him his own life.Such sacrifice is a test of God and not of man and cannot be known or judged by common human standards of intellect .
What we need is a classless equal society with all basic amenities and good health and education and a peaceful contended life can alone achieve that .And that goal is lost when separatisms (of any type) are instilled into children .Haves and have nots are not people to fight each other but to help and support so that the gap is bridged.That is why I am not interested in any separatist philosophies and activisms which are detrimental to entire nation as well as entire world. Both sides should see the truth of oneness and strive to achieve equality in a nation with democratic principles.Our constitution allows that .But there are some people who does not realize it.And that makes peaceful living impossible.
For this,education and integration of all religions,all sciences and arts through the universal principle music is useful.( Right from 1977 with publication of Amrithajyothi I have been addressing this thought process in all my speeches,books etc ).This is what my Music Therapy programmes are all about .It is a programme of education,health,art and sciences for peace of entire world through the media of Indian music ,which is my cultural heritage.Whetehr I succeed in the endeavour depends on many factors.Since I do not have the political and social power to implement my programmes at mass scales ,the process may delay but there is no doubt that it will be recognized later on ,even if this recognition is after my death(posthumous)it does not really matter to me,since for me this body and its end is nothing and it is my all-powerful soul(Athman)which is eternally responsible for the I within me.And that Athmasakthy will be expressed through several people in the future .And the process I had started will definitely continue .
What we have contributed to the world may not be known to the world ,just like that Brahmin whose name is not mentioned even by the mangoose who was the recipient of the punya of the sacrifice .This is true of every person who does sacrifices in life.It is a simple general law of the world .there is nothing to be cross about it.
Therefore when the question was asked have you contributed anything to the world ,I just remained silent because my contributions are not known even to me or to the recipients of my contributions .Let it remain so .The programmes,the speeches,the books I have written have come from a strong sense of social justice which I developed from my childhood.It is usually said we should not search for the Rishimoola and Nadimoola (the origin of the Rishi and the river) but when a question is asked we have to remember the Rishimoola (the ancestors who gave us our character )and the Nadimoola(the flow of life which gave origin to us ) and this is just that remembrance.My contributions to society may be little .And I may not be remembered by the world of show Business .But I have found peace within and without -that homeostasis which equalizes the internal and external milieu- and that Shanthi alone matters for me .And that is being shared with entire world .The Vidhya or Brahmavidya of peace and integration is being shared /given out for entire world through every media –oral,written and electronic - with a prayer that it reach every corner of the universe and produce Shanthi.
OM Shanthi Shanthi Shanthi .
Someone recently asked me what is your contribution to the world ?
It is a question every individual should ask themselves. Everyone is born and everyone will die .The interval is life.In that life what did we contribute to the world we live in?
When I remember ,from my childhood days ,upto this age ,I find very little. But that little had made me what I am.Let me recollect what I have done as a child,adult,and a professional in medicine and as a teacher .
The first thing I remember is me as a three or four year old living with my grandmother. She used to put a handful of rice in a small pot when she takes rice for daily cooking .That special pot was for Sarvodaya Pidiyari Prasthana (the programme of a handful of rice for poor by Sarvodaya movement) and a Bhattthiri will come and collect it at specified times to distribute it to needy .I will insist that I will put that rice in the pot.Then my grandmother will tell me : Your hands are at present too small and if you put rice it will be too little .So both of us will put a handful and it will be more.
Thus she made me put my own share of Annadhaanam (though too little).And I saw the same thing in my father’s house when I went to live there when I turned 8 . There my mother was doing the same process. But a little bit more was put in a bigger pot ,because my father’s house could afford more to be given to the needy ,being richer than my mother’s house.And in my father’s house ,every Vavu (fullmoon/newmoon)and on certain birthdays and death anniversaries there were elaborate Annadaana for all people ,including Nayadi tribes which is a ancient tribal people of Kerala .They knew the date without anyone sending invitations and got sumptuous food and clothes and rice and if it is season of jackfruit/mangoes etc the fruits too.And on Saturdays which was the day for giving money or clothes to the beggars ,from nowhere beggars will throng our courtyard.It is the duty of children to give coins /clothes to them.
My grandmother used to make threads from cotton and using an ordinary Thakli used to spin Khadi threads and it was sent to market and sold for getting some money for the day to day expenditure of the house.My mother ,at my father’s house had elaborate Charka,Ambar charka and sewing classes for girls free of cost and these girls after they learned the craft was given the instruments(churka/ambar charka/sewing machine etc ) so that they have a decent income.This vocational training was happening in our own western wing of the house so that we children were exposed to awareness of the need of the village .My mother was also the Project Implementing Committee chairman of the area and had several Balawadis established under her care and visited them frequently to supervise the education,and the food being given to the children.I too accompanied her at several occasions and helped in distribution of food and also in entertainment activities for the children,like drama,music and dance etc. Similarly I had participated in the Bhoodan movement of Vinobha Bhave,in the BSS ,in the old age pension scheme of Government etc .My duty was to identify and collect data of the geriatric people who were in need of the pension and for that we (me and my sister)had walked along entire village ,along the coastal belt which is very poor where only small huts were there in those times.(At present the area is very well developed at least in part).And after collecting the details,we had to write down the application forms ,get them signed and then put stamps and post it .And when the amount was sanctioned ,the money had to be distributed .These were all my experiences before 1964 ,That is before I joined Medical college at the age of 19.
Giving Annam(food) Bhoomi(land) dhanam(money) and vasthram (clothes) and also a job-oriented vocational training had been in my blood since I grew up in such an atmosphere.But there is one question. Is a human being satisfied with all these things? Is peace established if we give these basic amenities alone ? And who can give something to another unless one has that entity in excess ? Can we stop the greed of man by such basic amenities alone ?
Only a rich man can give money .Only a person with knowledge can give knowledge.Only a person with Shanthi(peace )can give peace of mind to another.
Only if we grow more rice and become self-sufficient we can give food to others. My father was able to do that because he was a born farmer and made enough rice to feed the entire village community .He gave away clothes to all during Onam,Vishu etc along with rice and plantains to those who came (and their numbers were very high).We,children kept a register so that when the clothes are purchased (from Vadakkan Vasthralayam at Kunnamkulam) no child is forgotten .Amma and Achan similarly had a list of adults of various categories-male ,female and their needs etc-and the festivals like Onam were for us children a training in segregating and cutting the pieces of Mull mundu,folding them and keeping ready for distribution. In fact the house was an institution in itself which gave training in organizational and co-operative strategies for welfare of all.
I remember my grandmothers lighting a lamp at twilight (spending oil so that the lamp shines for the passerbys) and providing an Athani and a Thannerpanthal where whey is given to all alike free of cost .That was the custom of our land from time immemorial to help the thirsty passengers ,and by that one aquires Punya for the other world,my grandmother taught me.And watering a plant,giving food even to an ant was among Panchabhoothayajna which she did so meticulously ,feeling all beings as needy and as her own self .The ecological protection of nature is based on such behaviours .This lesson of loving all and her nonviolence and total vegetarian food habits I aquired too.
What about giving education and vocational training ? That gives all these, by making someone able to find a job and to aquire basic amenities by themselves .Hence giving Vidya (education) is the Most important among all other wealths and its dhana (offering )is the most important Dhana.A teacher’s job is therefore the best job .Vidhyadhanam sarvadhanal pradhanam was said because of this awareness.And it is the only wealth which will not decrease even if we give it in excess.
My father aware of the lack of a high school in our village had been instrumental in making that dream come true .In that school ,which was his dreamchild ,I studied .The school is designed so that any child in the village ,both male and female gets free education .The free education till High school(SSLC) was thus made possible by that school as early as the 50’s .That school still exists and gives free education to all children .(At present nearly 500 students are studying there and my brother who looks after it distributed the works of Gandhi to every child free of cost , so that they know the principles of our Father of the Nation.).Nearby Uppungal Thuruthu(a island in the Kayal) had very poor Muslim population with no facility for even lower Primary education and my father constructed a school there too for those children.I ,as a child had visited that school and had seen all its teething troubles with my father ,including nonavailability of teachers to that remote place and nonwillingness of the peasants of the area to send children to school etc (Which I have transplanted to the school in my Novelette Kalindi to some extant )and last year I went there with all those nostalgic memories of my father and his efforts and saw the school flourishing.Now there is no need to go in a boat to the island and there is a approach road to the island .
When I entered Medical Profession, the physical and mental and intellectual health for a peaceful life became most prominent in my mind.And ,my husband being a socially conscious man also had a willingness to help the socially backward people.Hence our marriage became a yajna to help the needy who come to us. To give medicines for the poor people who come to a general ward in the Calicut Medical college,to give money for the food and other needs of the bystanders and sometimes even the busfare for them to return home we had to find money from the Government salary which we were getting.At the same time we had to run our household too. The first step for that was to sacrifice luxuries (like expensive dress,jewellery and other paraphernalia) which both of us did and we even got the name of lunatics for our lifestyle .Because in a world where majority run after wealth and luxuries, two people who sacrifice all these is a rarity and hence an abnormality .But that didn’t make us go back in our decision.
All my educational and medical researches and my views on selfsufficiency of a people by promoting agriculture,having an integrated health system,and use of music as personality developmental tool as well as self-healing tool and the value-based educational programmes have developed from my experiences as a teacher,as a medical personnel interested in social problems and their solutions with maximum benefits for entire humanity .My two novelettes Yudham and Kalindi also address such problems from a psychological,social and visionary background.
But I do not think that I am the only person who has thought about such problems .There had been several people ,my ancestors of the very very distant past,of the immediate past and several of my contemporaries are thinking along similar lines.The methods they adopt may vary but they do share a common goal with me.We have an intellectual and functional,emotional bondage by that common goal.It is not a bondage of birth relationships and not restricted to any geographical locality,to any particular sect,religion or caste/class .But it is an advaitha of entire universe which binds all .I recognize the power of a supreme Intellect which devised this life for me .And I am grateful to that for all my experiences which made me what I am today .
There is a story in Mahabharatha. It is the story of a Mangoose.When Yudhishtira did his Rajasooya and gave alms to all that assembled and everyone was praising him a mangoose came.It had a peculiar body.One side was golden and the other was not .This mangoose washed itself in the water that was used to wash the feet of the guests in the Rajasooya and started to say : But this sacrifice is not as great as that of the Brahmana which I earlier attended.
Everyone was astonished.They asked the mangoose why did he say that .He said that he had witnessed a very poor Brahmin couple who didn’t have even a morsel of food to eat ,getting a little grain and when they were about to eat it a guest arrived.The couple after washing the feet of the guest gave the entire food in the house to the guest and remained hungry.And the mongoose washed his body in the water that flowed after washing the feet of guest had one side of its body turned golden because of the greatness of the sacrifice.He thought ,hearing the talk about the Rajasooya of Yudhishtira that he can have his other side also turned golden and that is why he came but to his disappointment he found this did not happen and thus declared that Yudhishtira’s sacrifice was lesser than the sacrifice of the poor Brahmana .To sacrifice everything is the best sacrifice. The pomp and splendour and publicity of a wealthy man’s sacrifice and its media attention may not be there for a poor man’s selfsacrifice but in the eyes of the justice,in the eyes of God, it is greater than the show business.That is the lesson of the story.I always remember this story when I find someone giving even a single penny get it published in every daily .The sacrifice of Karna in Mahabharatha is great beause he gave without his left hand knowing what the right hand gave and he sacrificed even his own life (when he gave his armour and earrings to Indra and his promise to Kunthi )even after knowing wel that it will cost him his own life.Such sacrifice is a test of God and not of man and cannot be known or judged by common human standards of intellect .
What we need is a classless equal society with all basic amenities and good health and education and a peaceful contended life can alone achieve that .And that goal is lost when separatisms (of any type) are instilled into children .Haves and have nots are not people to fight each other but to help and support so that the gap is bridged.That is why I am not interested in any separatist philosophies and activisms which are detrimental to entire nation as well as entire world. Both sides should see the truth of oneness and strive to achieve equality in a nation with democratic principles.Our constitution allows that .But there are some people who does not realize it.And that makes peaceful living impossible.
For this,education and integration of all religions,all sciences and arts through the universal principle music is useful.( Right from 1977 with publication of Amrithajyothi I have been addressing this thought process in all my speeches,books etc ).This is what my Music Therapy programmes are all about .It is a programme of education,health,art and sciences for peace of entire world through the media of Indian music ,which is my cultural heritage.Whetehr I succeed in the endeavour depends on many factors.Since I do not have the political and social power to implement my programmes at mass scales ,the process may delay but there is no doubt that it will be recognized later on ,even if this recognition is after my death(posthumous)it does not really matter to me,since for me this body and its end is nothing and it is my all-powerful soul(Athman)which is eternally responsible for the I within me.And that Athmasakthy will be expressed through several people in the future .And the process I had started will definitely continue .
What we have contributed to the world may not be known to the world ,just like that Brahmin whose name is not mentioned even by the mangoose who was the recipient of the punya of the sacrifice .This is true of every person who does sacrifices in life.It is a simple general law of the world .there is nothing to be cross about it.
Therefore when the question was asked have you contributed anything to the world ,I just remained silent because my contributions are not known even to me or to the recipients of my contributions .Let it remain so .The programmes,the speeches,the books I have written have come from a strong sense of social justice which I developed from my childhood.It is usually said we should not search for the Rishimoola and Nadimoola (the origin of the Rishi and the river) but when a question is asked we have to remember the Rishimoola (the ancestors who gave us our character )and the Nadimoola(the flow of life which gave origin to us ) and this is just that remembrance.My contributions to society may be little .And I may not be remembered by the world of show Business .But I have found peace within and without -that homeostasis which equalizes the internal and external milieu- and that Shanthi alone matters for me .And that is being shared with entire world .The Vidhya or Brahmavidya of peace and integration is being shared /given out for entire world through every media –oral,written and electronic - with a prayer that it reach every corner of the universe and produce Shanthi.
OM Shanthi Shanthi Shanthi .
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Health
(Kindly note that The tables in this post have not come correctly )
Music Therapy and Psychology in Health problems -Contemporary concerns and solutions for reseacrh personnel.
Dr Suvarna Nalapat
In contemporary industrialized societies ,psychological aspects of health and illness are readily acknowledged and there is widespread acceptance of the idea that mental and physical health are intimately related.A century ago ,medical doctors tended to view health as the absence of disease and to regard illness as a physiological matter.The idea that every individual act to improve their own health by a lifestyle and a psychological means was overlooked by the medical professionals .They thought that the only way to keep healthy is by the science they offer to a diseased person(patient)to get back the lost health.In stark contrast to this earlier approach ,health is now typically defined in terms of biological,psychological,and social aspects of wellbeing .This biopsychosocial model of health is consistent with contemporary thought which recognize the importance of social psychological factors in every aspect of health and illness. A variety of factors have had an influence on the development of this new perspective.The twentyfirst century saw a increased lifespan along with increase in dementia and Alzheimers and other geriatric problems as well as lung cancer ,and other types of malignancies related to certain lifestyles.Both categories are amenable to psychological research .And psychological approaches have been applied in these areas.Psychological and social elements to definitions of health including the geographical features and social capital broadened research and integrative medical approaches came in ,displacing the autonomy of a single type of Medical knowledge(that is the modern Medicine )alone .Health psychology continues to examine factors such as gender,ethnicity and life style,socioeconomic status in relation to health.Particular emphasis is placed on stress in causing diseases.Stress is a factor in the development and experience of illness within the emerging field of psychoneuroimmunology .The growing cost of modern medical treatment which is sophisticated and costly but does not give a cost-effective cure for the disorders also has changed the old equations in favour of integrated medical practice.For any type of health sciences ,whether modern or ancient ,it would be cost-effective to prevent illness,rather than treat illness.With this in mind,health promotion has made extensive social psychological research .Application of social psychology to health does not merely address a specific problem.It has lead to development of models and theories for better understanding of health and illness in a sociocultural context.This also lead to rejection of Psychology’s traditional emphasis on dysfunction alone,and instead of that investigation of factors which promote the “Good life”” for a welfare state is emphasized ,as exemplified in the positive psychology movement .(Page 64.Applying social psychology John Cramer,Noel Sheehy,JaquellineReilly,Kren Trew ,and Orla Muldoon. Palgrave Macmillan 2003)
Following this the old Biomedical Model of disease has changed to the new Biopsychosocial Model.
In this model ,the medical research discovered links between some disorders and certain habits and lifestyles.(Example eating animal fats ,smoking etc for cancer; stress for Coronary artery disease and many others).Eliminating such behaviours ofen can prevent disease to some extent, or if already a person is ill,prevent its complications.
To prevent disease the people needs social cognition of how to achieve it.That is social as well as cognitive factors exert influence on health and illness of a person.The perceptions,attitudes,decision-making and other cognitive processes in a person determines his health-related behaviour.Two theories of social psychology on social cognition first formulated were Theory of reasoned action(TRA)and Theory of Planned behaviour(TPB).Even if there is cognition ,an individual may not be able to practice what he /she wants if the social capital is not there.
In order to interpret symptoms as a sign of a particular disease the individual need knowledge about it .That is a part of education department.Then the social condition of poverty,malnutrition,and environmental pollution etc cannot be controlled by a individual.The agroeconomy and food sufficiency,clean drinking water,disposal of waste and pure environment etc are goals of a society which wants its citizens to be healthy and to prevent communicable diseases.So an integrated approach is needed in administrative set up .At present the different departments of Government function as separate islands and a combined integrated approach from both below and above (from people,and the administrators and rulers) simultaneously has to be planned for the success of an integrated scheme.This is what I wanted to achieve by drawing attention to integration of all branches of medicine with Music therapy which is basically depending on the Psychoneuroimmunology for its actions .This is said easily,but achieved with great difficulty and slowly in a Government machinery which is highly hierarchical and Beaureaucratic. By getting co-operation of people –from panchayaths,from grassroot levels,from musicians,doctors ,and from public and media –from below this is made somewhat easier .For this one has to make a series of lectures and write articles,books on the subject so that the communication percolates to all alike.For me,the first several years of my music Therapy work had gone into this preliminary steps .
Wilkinson R.G(1996.Unhealthy societies.The afflictions of inequality. Page 1.Routledge) stated that “Medical science can address the biological pathways involved in disease ,the Pathology and the opportunities for treatment ,but to the extant that health is a social product and some forms of social organizations are healthier than others ,advances in our understanding of health will depend on social research.
Practical issues:
In medical science the gold standard for research is a empirical evidence from an RCT .(Randomised controlled study which is ideally doubleblind ,placebo controlled trial).Pre and post testing is compared and statistically significant differences between the groups attributed to the treatment.This works well in a biomedical format of disease.From a biopsychosocial model to achieve the necessary degree of control is difficult.The variables has to be selected carefully . How I eliminated bias and how I controlled my variables in Music ,I have already discussed in my previous work .
The pilot study intended at the reduction of the modifiable factors of heart disease ,(stress,anxiety and blood pressure )with vocal music using Indian Raagaas.Then ,to this project the Yoga,Ayurveda,and Chakra related theories of different indigenous medical systems were integrated and analysed to get an integrated approach .
The field of health promotion utilizes models of attitude change in publicity campaigns and community health programmes.Asking people to eat less,but nutritious food,take up regular exercise,reduce alcohol intake,stop smoking has some impact but is limited only according to Bennet and Murphy .But when it comes to using music for prevention of disease ,and for personality development and improved memory and cognition in children there is more positive response because everyone has a positive experience of peace with music and has previous experience of its feel good nature ,even without hearing about music therapy .This universal appeal for music makes it an ideal tool for integration of medicine and for social health promotion .
The TV exposure for too long is harmful because it suggests that audiences are passive and uncritical and ,soaking up whatever is exposed to induce a pernicious change in values,attitudes and behaviour.This is true of music too.A person loves one particular type of music need not be because it is good for him/her but he/she had been exposed to it too long.This problem was the first I had to tackle when all my clients chose Yesudas voice .This objection is likely to occur from the medical personnel and research workers.Therefore I wanted to have a control voice which is soft and good for therapy ,which can sing classical music well,and at the same time unfamiliar to the clients and a female voice (quite unlike Yesudas).If I get good response from the same people who love Yesudas voice,then I have proof that
1.It is not familiarity but quality of voice and the raaga that is doing the healing
2.Both the test voice and the control voice being good and soft ,both were acting as control to each other.
3.The voices were tested on 30 volunteers in controlled and uncontrolled atmosphere
4.The voices were tested on clients with a variety of illnesses
5.The voices were tested even in a big crowd where the people were at random ,uncontrolled in parameters
6.In all cases ,written feedback as psychosocial research procedure was collected
7.The selected cases were interviewed for more detailed analysis so that narrative medicine also was included
8.The MLP of selected individuals was used for study of development of musical preferences and cognition of music .
In this way equal importance was given to discipline of music .(Not only to medical science ).That is how I integrated the art and science into a whole for human wellbeing and health and a peaceful living .
Since music therapy is a communication there may arise three levels of problems related to communication.
1.Technical problems.How accurately the communication is transmitted?
2 Semantic problem.How does the transmitted symbol(language/music)convey the intended meaning?
3.Effetcive problems: How efficiently does the received meaning affect the behaviour (here the parameter stress and Blood pressure) in the desired way?
All these levels were taken care of with utmost care in our study .The infrastructure of Amritha Institute provided no problem regarding technical quality.Only when we went out and had an uncontrolled noisy atmosphere this technology was not available.Even then ,with those limitations we could achieve good results (assessed by written feedbacks) shows the efficacy of the medium of music .
The problems that are likely to be encountered has to be thought about first and a systematic plan drawn out and executed within a timespan to get away with errors and biases.Then the research would be a success.Another important thing the Music therapists should remember is that we are part of a social team working in collaboration to facilitate health of society and it is a responsible job to be undertaken with care and maximum efficiency .Documentation is important since that alone will give you an authenticity.Just by claiming that Music is universal and healing occurs with it,the scientific community will not accept you as scientists.Or give you opportunities as scientific research assistants.You have to prove it with your projects and documented evidences and sincerity .This practical side is more important than mugging up theory and answering multiple choice and essay questions.This should be born in mind by the Music therapy training institutes and their staff as well .The universities also should take care that the projects are given more importance for student training .The initial teething troubles will be erased in due course and therefore there need not be any panicky reaction about them .
One thing is certain.Integrated medical and social sciences will be the future of our welfare state for achieving its ultimate goal of health and education and friendly unpolluted environment and in that goal Music and Music therapy has a great role to play .That is not a astrological prediction,but a prediction based on the need of the hour and the social pulse as well as the problems the medical profession faces today.All these ,including a work force which will reduce unemployment of the nation are in the broad plan of this scheme .Ultimately all this planning is done for peace of all individuals,of the society ,of the nation and of the entire world of living beings.
Introjection and Projection
Introjection is a much stronger term than Internalisation that we come across social and human sciences and that usually means taking an idea or a view of the world.Introjection is by comparison more like swallowing of the world ,says Ian Craib (page 40 Psychoanalysis ,a critical Introduction Polity Press Blackwell.2001) like an unconscious thought (which Kleinian psychoanalysts call phantasy) .What is the use of this in practical life ? When we want to take control of an external situation we do this .That is how we hold on to what we might loose and this is how we develop an Ego as well as a superego.We make our own worldviews and by those worldviews we try to control the world in which we live .The ego is formed by that process.But ,the superego is formed by our own world view as well as the archetypal world view of all our ancestors and that makes our superego which is cultural ego ,or identity as a group,a people,a nation,a race and as a people having same language,practices,rituals etc.
In daily life of a husband and wife this control by introjection is seen as adjustments .A wife buying cigarettes or alcoholic drinks to her husband or even arranging a flirting partner for him is trying to control a threatening situation and treating a situation to show that “This belongs to me and I can control it “.Actually this eases a lot of anxiety in the wife that she might loose her husband to addictions or to another woman .It shows she has tension/stress which she is trying to control by introjection.Similarly a group trying to increase numbers by conversion,by other means to increase strength has a feeling that they will fail if they do not do so. They have tension and stress and are not peaceful.
Projection is opposite to Interjection.It is putting something in our mind to another person .The brainwash of several revolutionary political parties is for this.The projection is positively seen as a part of communication also when there is projective listening or creative listening .In this we are projecting us into the mind of another person to understand what they are saying.Example when we read Gandhi,we project us into his personality and words to understand him better .
Apart from communication,sometimes projection defends our personality too.For example,when we find someone with a bad intention,we can project all our goodness onto that person,and protect ourselves from that person’s bad intentions .Because by investing that person with qualities which he/she does not actually possess ,we give them an image which pleases them and makes them act accordingly to keep up that image ,and thus we save ourselves.This also instills good behaviour in another person and therefore is good for both .This positive way of transforming is used by teachers and parents on children for their development.Children also project their ideals on their parents and teachers and thus by projection love them more.
Harmful examples of projection are racism,homophobia,hatred to opposite sex etc.Projection is seen in hatred of paedophiles,murderers and criminals developed by society .So there are good and bad aspects in all these.The reason for splitting the world into good and bad ,liked and disliked (which is called duality) is projection and this word projection is seen in Sanskrit language of Vedantha as Adhyasa (see the commentaries on Brahmasuthra .Brahmasindhu DC Books Kottayam 2006).A split world,a split mind,a split personality is due to the splitting and projection being central to all dualities or dwaitha.And Advaitha is the philosophy of nonduality,nonprojection and seeing truth as it is ,absolute and blissful.This shows how our ancients were not only scientific but practical in making a society that is peaceful and self-sufficient and contended .All the divide and rule strategies of political ,social and religious leaders involve duality,projection and has to be discarded by a wise person .Universal language of Music is used by the rituals of all tribes for the common and universal spirit of oneness between them and hence use of music for Advaitha is timeless as far as humanity is concerned.
In knowledge acquisition and in communication we need projection or projective identification .But except as a method of knowledge ,use of it in society as propaganda will lead to divide and rule.Therefore,use of it has to be very judicial and with proper caution .Bion made a grid which is like a coat of arms ,with multiple functions .The vertical axis describe a process of working ,or the activity of a natural scientist.That is a process of Observation,development of a theory from observation,a process of induction,and laws that can be tested.The vertical axis is thus a description of growth of human thought .
Row A is raw material of experience/raw data collected by senses and called by Bion as Beta elements.
Row B or Alpha elements are the primitive elements o fthought from basic data of mind.These are hypothetical entities.The rows following these are real .
Row C is materials presented by patient/Client in a session ,dream materials,and produced from association of alpha and beta elements
Row D are preconceptions which enable mental growth.A preconception is waiting to get some material to get attached to.When this happen we experience that as understanding the meaning of something of the patient’s material.In this way the preconception becomes a conception.(Row E).
From that row ,there is a purification and generalization.From conception we move to concept(Row F) which involves loosing whatever that mask truth.
The concepts are able to be arranged in more organized form ,as abstract hierarchical form involving observed regularities from which hypothesis can be derived (Row G) and abstract formulae of Algebraic Calculus (Row H).
The horizontal axis deal with different uses to which thoughts can be put.
1 A tentative hypothesis about what might be going on between patient and analyst
2. The second column is relevant when analyst makes a comment to reassure him or herself that he/she knows what is going on.In groups the patience to sit and wait for what is going to emerge may be less and levels of anxiety may grow rapidly unless all members have same degree of patience to wait and watch and the same confidence in what is being done.This is a danger for all team research as I have often experienced .
3.The third column Notation,is noting something that is happening in a particular session.The group discussions on such things is good
4.4th stage is drawing the client’s attention to the analyst’s hypothesis.Inquiry and action columns (marked 5 and 6)and beyond upto n contain the more positive interpretations .Column 5 pursue the inquiry further,column 6 involve confronting the client with the irrefutable facts about himself/herself.
Grid of Bion 1962
1
Definitory
hypothesis 2
ѱ 3
Notation 4
attention 5
Inquiry 6
Action ……n
A
βelement A1 A2
B
αelement B1
B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 …Bn
C
Dream,
Thought,
Myths
C1
C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 …Cn
D
Pre-conception D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 …Dn
E
Conception
E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 …En
F
Concept
F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 …Fn
G
Scientific
Deductive
system G2
H
Algebraic
Calculus
The columns are actually a list of interventions rather than the psychoanalytic personification of scientific methods.The place for irrefutable facts in psychoanalysis and science are doubtful though Bion use such a term.The possibility of clarity of meaning at logical levels as we proceed is evident from the grid.
By the last process algebra and calculus we come to the conclusion all thought process is essentially an abstract process.The Symington’s claim that Bion’s model of thought is a fluctuation between paranoid –schizoid and depressive position.The reason they say is that the starting point is not existence but absence (Not bhava but abhava as Sankara would have said in Sanskrit).
Page 102 (Ian Craib)says that absence of an organ like breast is what beta element mean.To make up for that absence thinking as a symbol but the absence is felt as a persecution,as long as one thinks about it as a lack or absence of something.Since the lack or absence is a thought of persecution,it is paranoid and a trial to transform this persecution feeling.This is in terms of absence of breast ,in the case of a cancer patient.
But apply this to other types of lack or absence /Abhava of opportunities etc in various social,religious beliefs we will find the significance of what is going on around us .
I don’t want to give examples since that might hurt people who has been believing that they are right in everything they do.But ,I would be happy if they do some retrospection and find out where their political,social,philosophical and other revolutionary thoughts start and where their religions start .Lack or persecution from a God who sends the man from his garden,of a class which deny everything to them, of a sex that persecute opposite sex –and so on.All start from a paranoid-schizoid persecutionist view of world and then a feeble attempt to redress it.The Advaitha on the other hand tell us that we are Athman and we haven’t lost anything,except that a covering has occurred over our minds which can be removed by proper thinking,and education and those who have patience and willingness can follow a regime of life and education to see that truth and enjoy supreme bliss .
In music therapy we deal with individual as well as group therapy.That is individual and group psychology is taken into consideration .A group or a mass of people ,at random come for Kutcheri or music concerts.The people may be a professional group belonging to a particular institution or a particular organization and they have a group psychology .The group processes are ability to think in groups.The group discussions and the training to open up before others is thus essential for a trainee so that he/she can assess the psychology of both individuals/colleagues as well as a random or professional group.By relationships and discussions in a group we get an idea of possible doubts and objections that can arise and we get a opportunity to defend our data and our analysis which is a important point in our research and treatment .Some groups have a defence against a new discipline or a new way of teaching and evaluation .Such groups are very much against the modern methods of learning and teaching .Similarly some groups are reluctant and opposed to singing a Vivadi Raga in music and making them understand that there is no Vivadi but only balancing .The philosophical and mathematical and other proofs even if we give they do not understand ,since they are not receptive to abstract maths and philosophy.The only way then is to sing and demonstrate that the Vivadi can be sung with beauty and exceptional attraction and it gives a special aesthetics and healing to clients.The Melakartha Raga sung properly by a person with suswara can be used for this purpose.The group psychology is only slowly and steadily won over and do not expect to achieve it overnight.I had patiently waited more than ten years for this to happen .But it did happen is what matters.Not the time interval. One who has patience can wait not ten years but an entire lifetime to achieve and give what is truth and energy and bliss to all alike.
The Basic assumption groups have certain unconscious relationships between group members that defend against both intellectual and emotional learning.The three important features of such Basic assumption group relations are dependency,pairing and fight-flight .
Dependency:- The group members depend upon the group leader to lead them ,control,organize work and take no responsibility inwhat is going on.This is a problem in every nation and every institution where each member/citizen has to be a responsible member in group work/team work.The leader is expected to bear all responsibilities for the work,for the mistakes and faults and when he/she asks for more responsible behaviour the subordinates quarrel with authority and become rebellious .Paradoxically the dependency group appears in a situation where it is least appropriate-in a university seminar or class.This is where everybody should engage in thinking .The working of each brain is precious for making group successful .
When this happens what to do ? That is the best challenge for an administrative leader in a professional teaching and service institution.I had faced this in the Blood Bank of Calicut Medical college and could successfully tackle it with the Indian ethics in management in Gita and Ziel-oriented project planning .At the end of six months the entire staff of Blood Bank had been thinking with me about what to be done next and how to tackle each problem and that was a moment of real happiness for me.
Pairing:- A relationship between two members of a group that seems to relieve others of the group from responsibility of participating is called by this term by Bion.This may be between same sex or opposite sex members.The group starts to feel that this couple will rescue the entire department/group from all its problems as if they are a Messiah .Ofcourse this is only a phantasy of the group but this happens always as all of you might have experienced in your professional surroundings.
In teaching situations two teachers ,or two mature and wise students /postgraduates will always dominate the discussions frequently arguing with one another and supporting each other if some one else argue with one of them.This makes all others silent witnesses of what is going on and is not a good feature for a group discussion.All should get equal opportunity to express views in a democratic set up and all should participate in discussion .Only then the group will succeed to achieve what they really should achieve.
Fight-Flight:-
This is a group form of defencive projection.The group will find an external enemy or an internal scapegoat for all its shortcomings and victimize that person .The criticism and attack on that enemy enable an internal cohesion and feeling of identity within the group ,or if the scapegoat is within the group ,among the rest of the group members.The enemy carries all the blames for failures of the group .This I need not elaborate since any person who have worked in a institution/organization might have seen or have been part of this behaviour there .Or at least you might have witnessed this several times in group politics .
Menzeis –Lyth (1989) shows how in a teaching hospital ,anxieties within it being very primitive dealing with death and illness, are dealt with by a Beaureaucratic organization.In organizations and in politics when there is something creating anxiety ,the system is changed for something else but the anxieties are not removed.They are shifted from up to downward strata in hierarchical organizations.Whether in a matter of dependency,fight-flight or pairing in Beauraecracy to alleviate anxiety,individuals within the group inhibit their own creative thinking processes and collective work become difficult .The contrast between a well-defended ,highly anxious group and a group that can mobilize individuals in a collective creative process is immense .
I will give two examples here.
1 .A client comes to a patient and goes into deep coma in the hospital ,because of negligence of the duty nurse and doctor who refused to give intravenous glucose to him ,though he was having hypoglycemia on admission.The Doctor who had seen the patient earlier was on a discussion /seminar and the duty nurse insisted that without his permission she will not give glucose IV .The doctor was late after his seminar and teaching session to reach the department and by that time precious time was lost and the patient who came walking to the casualty was in deep coma.Then there had been an afterthought among the staff doctors/nurses that in case the patient die a legal problem might come up against those who are responsible and they sent a PG trainee and collected all the case sheets ,references that the patient’s wife had with her .And after that the doctor never turned up .The Principal and Superintendent came to know of such a patient in the wards and when they put up an enquiry ,the Professor and Head of Department of Medicine had to take up the responsibility of the patient .For five days the patient was in coma and all investigations and questions to the family were directed to make it look like a suicide. All sorts of allegations including drug addiction,alcoholism, possibility of HIV/AIDS and even a homicide by the wife was thought of as possibilities.But the patient came back to normal after 5 days and when he was told what had happened ,he being a doctor working in the same hospital,collected the copy of the casesheet that had gone to the Record Library and asked his wife to take enough photocopies and keep.He knew his colleagues and their psychology well.They were afraid of a legal procedure against negligence and not bothered about what happens to their poor colleague. Whether he lives or not was immaterial .But they should save their skin.
2. A client with cancer needs a prolonged treatment regime and the medicines are costly .The patient’s parents are poor .They are struggling to make both ends meet. The drug companies are competing for market and are giving commissions to doctors for getting more markets for their product .Only with the doctor’s prescription the stores give medicines and if he writes only costly ones the poro patients find it difficult to get them.The ups and downs in social status have made this problem permanent in India ,at least in Kerala ,where I have worked.When this is pointed out do you think the entire group of doctors,though they know this happening will agree to it? And even those doctors who are not part of this game will not come in open to criticize their colleagues who are doing this .This sort of defence mechanisms ,pairing between organizations(like doctors and drug stores and marketing people etc) exists and many are silent as pointed out in fight-flight situation.Only the dominant speak .
This social psychology of group and organizations are harmful to entire society .
Can we deal with it musically ? We can introduce humanitarianism into science and by that address such social issues is what my Music therapy project aims at.And I think my attempts are partly being successful .
The best Therapist is the one who understands that therapy begins where the theory ends.It is practice and constant experience that leads to theory for an expert therapist .And there is no magic formula or set of instructions /or prescriptions .Each individual being a unique person the therapist must be able to expect a new challenge in each patient .The psychotherapy is considered as a mutual search for both therapist and patient.The same is true for Music therapy practitioners too.It is a matter of enabling a person to think and feel .Not a process to know. If one feels that one knows self ,then no more effort from us to know Athman and it will make us stagnant. We are just like babies who find our way to our mother’s breast ,the moment we are born.Just like that music and language make us drawn to them .That is why it is called the breast milk of mother Saraswathy.The patient root around in search for selfhealing ,for a meaning and therapist help in the search just by being there as a moral support.Because music is inherent in each individual and role of therapist is just to make the patient feel for that search of self in him/her for healing .It is not a treatment or a cure but a healing by our own musical self .It brings about a change or transformation in the client as well as in the therapist .No body gets cured of any illness but they discover that they were not so ill,as they thought .Human psyche is full of paradoxes and in medical models of modern medicine this factor is never attended to in wholistic manner.By introducing music therapy research protocols in medical curriculum we can make it more wholistic and humanistic and addressing problems in a better way for benefit of the nation,of society,the discipline itself ,nothing to speak of the doctor/nurse/student community and the general public as clients.A total social transformation can happen if we seriously apply this model into our social life and science.The decision whether one needs music therapy or not has to come from the client or the family members and never from the therapist .
Some one was asking me if only University educated musicians and doctors can do music therapy what about musicians who have no academic degree and yet wants to contribute their share? They can definitely contribute in tehri own way .
1 Making their music the best –both with technical perfection of notes and Raaga and with careful protection of the softness of voice and having the bhavas of love,compassion and devotion in songs they are contributing their share to music therapy practice .Probably they do contribute a major share among masses making an awareness of the effects of music and contributing to the MLP of each individual in society .
2.Each Kutchery is a group therapy and so is a bhajan .By being able to do a performance like that ,in front of a huge crowd ,each artist is able to understand their own uniqueness,the uniqueness of their art ,their own individuality and the individuality of the audience as a group.If individual therapy is that of hospitals and university educated postgraduates in a collaborative teamwork and research ,the group therapy is more effective with popular singers with good knowledge of the art and a good voice and a feel for the pulse of the audience .The strength of music is best demonstrated by such individuals in public eye .
3.They can contribute much to the society and its development and inculcation of values into society by their personality and popularity .They are the right persons to be models for the society as group therapists .Live performance of such artists in hospitals,clinics etc can be organized to help the cause .
Each and every one ,musicians,music lovers and organizers of concerts,doctors,other medical ,paramedical staff and university people and educationists and public figures can contribute their share in the social reformation programmes using music because there is no one who does not love or like music of some sort .
Music Therapy and Psychology in Health problems -Contemporary concerns and solutions for reseacrh personnel.
Dr Suvarna Nalapat
In contemporary industrialized societies ,psychological aspects of health and illness are readily acknowledged and there is widespread acceptance of the idea that mental and physical health are intimately related.A century ago ,medical doctors tended to view health as the absence of disease and to regard illness as a physiological matter.The idea that every individual act to improve their own health by a lifestyle and a psychological means was overlooked by the medical professionals .They thought that the only way to keep healthy is by the science they offer to a diseased person(patient)to get back the lost health.In stark contrast to this earlier approach ,health is now typically defined in terms of biological,psychological,and social aspects of wellbeing .This biopsychosocial model of health is consistent with contemporary thought which recognize the importance of social psychological factors in every aspect of health and illness. A variety of factors have had an influence on the development of this new perspective.The twentyfirst century saw a increased lifespan along with increase in dementia and Alzheimers and other geriatric problems as well as lung cancer ,and other types of malignancies related to certain lifestyles.Both categories are amenable to psychological research .And psychological approaches have been applied in these areas.Psychological and social elements to definitions of health including the geographical features and social capital broadened research and integrative medical approaches came in ,displacing the autonomy of a single type of Medical knowledge(that is the modern Medicine )alone .Health psychology continues to examine factors such as gender,ethnicity and life style,socioeconomic status in relation to health.Particular emphasis is placed on stress in causing diseases.Stress is a factor in the development and experience of illness within the emerging field of psychoneuroimmunology .The growing cost of modern medical treatment which is sophisticated and costly but does not give a cost-effective cure for the disorders also has changed the old equations in favour of integrated medical practice.For any type of health sciences ,whether modern or ancient ,it would be cost-effective to prevent illness,rather than treat illness.With this in mind,health promotion has made extensive social psychological research .Application of social psychology to health does not merely address a specific problem.It has lead to development of models and theories for better understanding of health and illness in a sociocultural context.This also lead to rejection of Psychology’s traditional emphasis on dysfunction alone,and instead of that investigation of factors which promote the “Good life”” for a welfare state is emphasized ,as exemplified in the positive psychology movement .(Page 64.Applying social psychology John Cramer,Noel Sheehy,JaquellineReilly,Kren Trew ,and Orla Muldoon. Palgrave Macmillan 2003)
Following this the old Biomedical Model of disease has changed to the new Biopsychosocial Model.
In this model ,the medical research discovered links between some disorders and certain habits and lifestyles.(Example eating animal fats ,smoking etc for cancer; stress for Coronary artery disease and many others).Eliminating such behaviours ofen can prevent disease to some extent, or if already a person is ill,prevent its complications.
To prevent disease the people needs social cognition of how to achieve it.That is social as well as cognitive factors exert influence on health and illness of a person.The perceptions,attitudes,decision-making and other cognitive processes in a person determines his health-related behaviour.Two theories of social psychology on social cognition first formulated were Theory of reasoned action(TRA)and Theory of Planned behaviour(TPB).Even if there is cognition ,an individual may not be able to practice what he /she wants if the social capital is not there.
In order to interpret symptoms as a sign of a particular disease the individual need knowledge about it .That is a part of education department.Then the social condition of poverty,malnutrition,and environmental pollution etc cannot be controlled by a individual.The agroeconomy and food sufficiency,clean drinking water,disposal of waste and pure environment etc are goals of a society which wants its citizens to be healthy and to prevent communicable diseases.So an integrated approach is needed in administrative set up .At present the different departments of Government function as separate islands and a combined integrated approach from both below and above (from people,and the administrators and rulers) simultaneously has to be planned for the success of an integrated scheme.This is what I wanted to achieve by drawing attention to integration of all branches of medicine with Music therapy which is basically depending on the Psychoneuroimmunology for its actions .This is said easily,but achieved with great difficulty and slowly in a Government machinery which is highly hierarchical and Beaureaucratic. By getting co-operation of people –from panchayaths,from grassroot levels,from musicians,doctors ,and from public and media –from below this is made somewhat easier .For this one has to make a series of lectures and write articles,books on the subject so that the communication percolates to all alike.For me,the first several years of my music Therapy work had gone into this preliminary steps .
Wilkinson R.G(1996.Unhealthy societies.The afflictions of inequality. Page 1.Routledge) stated that “Medical science can address the biological pathways involved in disease ,the Pathology and the opportunities for treatment ,but to the extant that health is a social product and some forms of social organizations are healthier than others ,advances in our understanding of health will depend on social research.
Practical issues:
In medical science the gold standard for research is a empirical evidence from an RCT .(Randomised controlled study which is ideally doubleblind ,placebo controlled trial).Pre and post testing is compared and statistically significant differences between the groups attributed to the treatment.This works well in a biomedical format of disease.From a biopsychosocial model to achieve the necessary degree of control is difficult.The variables has to be selected carefully . How I eliminated bias and how I controlled my variables in Music ,I have already discussed in my previous work .
The pilot study intended at the reduction of the modifiable factors of heart disease ,(stress,anxiety and blood pressure )with vocal music using Indian Raagaas.Then ,to this project the Yoga,Ayurveda,and Chakra related theories of different indigenous medical systems were integrated and analysed to get an integrated approach .
The field of health promotion utilizes models of attitude change in publicity campaigns and community health programmes.Asking people to eat less,but nutritious food,take up regular exercise,reduce alcohol intake,stop smoking has some impact but is limited only according to Bennet and Murphy .But when it comes to using music for prevention of disease ,and for personality development and improved memory and cognition in children there is more positive response because everyone has a positive experience of peace with music and has previous experience of its feel good nature ,even without hearing about music therapy .This universal appeal for music makes it an ideal tool for integration of medicine and for social health promotion .
The TV exposure for too long is harmful because it suggests that audiences are passive and uncritical and ,soaking up whatever is exposed to induce a pernicious change in values,attitudes and behaviour.This is true of music too.A person loves one particular type of music need not be because it is good for him/her but he/she had been exposed to it too long.This problem was the first I had to tackle when all my clients chose Yesudas voice .This objection is likely to occur from the medical personnel and research workers.Therefore I wanted to have a control voice which is soft and good for therapy ,which can sing classical music well,and at the same time unfamiliar to the clients and a female voice (quite unlike Yesudas).If I get good response from the same people who love Yesudas voice,then I have proof that
1.It is not familiarity but quality of voice and the raaga that is doing the healing
2.Both the test voice and the control voice being good and soft ,both were acting as control to each other.
3.The voices were tested on 30 volunteers in controlled and uncontrolled atmosphere
4.The voices were tested on clients with a variety of illnesses
5.The voices were tested even in a big crowd where the people were at random ,uncontrolled in parameters
6.In all cases ,written feedback as psychosocial research procedure was collected
7.The selected cases were interviewed for more detailed analysis so that narrative medicine also was included
8.The MLP of selected individuals was used for study of development of musical preferences and cognition of music .
In this way equal importance was given to discipline of music .(Not only to medical science ).That is how I integrated the art and science into a whole for human wellbeing and health and a peaceful living .
Since music therapy is a communication there may arise three levels of problems related to communication.
1.Technical problems.How accurately the communication is transmitted?
2 Semantic problem.How does the transmitted symbol(language/music)convey the intended meaning?
3.Effetcive problems: How efficiently does the received meaning affect the behaviour (here the parameter stress and Blood pressure) in the desired way?
All these levels were taken care of with utmost care in our study .The infrastructure of Amritha Institute provided no problem regarding technical quality.Only when we went out and had an uncontrolled noisy atmosphere this technology was not available.Even then ,with those limitations we could achieve good results (assessed by written feedbacks) shows the efficacy of the medium of music .
The problems that are likely to be encountered has to be thought about first and a systematic plan drawn out and executed within a timespan to get away with errors and biases.Then the research would be a success.Another important thing the Music therapists should remember is that we are part of a social team working in collaboration to facilitate health of society and it is a responsible job to be undertaken with care and maximum efficiency .Documentation is important since that alone will give you an authenticity.Just by claiming that Music is universal and healing occurs with it,the scientific community will not accept you as scientists.Or give you opportunities as scientific research assistants.You have to prove it with your projects and documented evidences and sincerity .This practical side is more important than mugging up theory and answering multiple choice and essay questions.This should be born in mind by the Music therapy training institutes and their staff as well .The universities also should take care that the projects are given more importance for student training .The initial teething troubles will be erased in due course and therefore there need not be any panicky reaction about them .
One thing is certain.Integrated medical and social sciences will be the future of our welfare state for achieving its ultimate goal of health and education and friendly unpolluted environment and in that goal Music and Music therapy has a great role to play .That is not a astrological prediction,but a prediction based on the need of the hour and the social pulse as well as the problems the medical profession faces today.All these ,including a work force which will reduce unemployment of the nation are in the broad plan of this scheme .Ultimately all this planning is done for peace of all individuals,of the society ,of the nation and of the entire world of living beings.
Introjection and Projection
Introjection is a much stronger term than Internalisation that we come across social and human sciences and that usually means taking an idea or a view of the world.Introjection is by comparison more like swallowing of the world ,says Ian Craib (page 40 Psychoanalysis ,a critical Introduction Polity Press Blackwell.2001) like an unconscious thought (which Kleinian psychoanalysts call phantasy) .What is the use of this in practical life ? When we want to take control of an external situation we do this .That is how we hold on to what we might loose and this is how we develop an Ego as well as a superego.We make our own worldviews and by those worldviews we try to control the world in which we live .The ego is formed by that process.But ,the superego is formed by our own world view as well as the archetypal world view of all our ancestors and that makes our superego which is cultural ego ,or identity as a group,a people,a nation,a race and as a people having same language,practices,rituals etc.
In daily life of a husband and wife this control by introjection is seen as adjustments .A wife buying cigarettes or alcoholic drinks to her husband or even arranging a flirting partner for him is trying to control a threatening situation and treating a situation to show that “This belongs to me and I can control it “.Actually this eases a lot of anxiety in the wife that she might loose her husband to addictions or to another woman .It shows she has tension/stress which she is trying to control by introjection.Similarly a group trying to increase numbers by conversion,by other means to increase strength has a feeling that they will fail if they do not do so. They have tension and stress and are not peaceful.
Projection is opposite to Interjection.It is putting something in our mind to another person .The brainwash of several revolutionary political parties is for this.The projection is positively seen as a part of communication also when there is projective listening or creative listening .In this we are projecting us into the mind of another person to understand what they are saying.Example when we read Gandhi,we project us into his personality and words to understand him better .
Apart from communication,sometimes projection defends our personality too.For example,when we find someone with a bad intention,we can project all our goodness onto that person,and protect ourselves from that person’s bad intentions .Because by investing that person with qualities which he/she does not actually possess ,we give them an image which pleases them and makes them act accordingly to keep up that image ,and thus we save ourselves.This also instills good behaviour in another person and therefore is good for both .This positive way of transforming is used by teachers and parents on children for their development.Children also project their ideals on their parents and teachers and thus by projection love them more.
Harmful examples of projection are racism,homophobia,hatred to opposite sex etc.Projection is seen in hatred of paedophiles,murderers and criminals developed by society .So there are good and bad aspects in all these.The reason for splitting the world into good and bad ,liked and disliked (which is called duality) is projection and this word projection is seen in Sanskrit language of Vedantha as Adhyasa (see the commentaries on Brahmasuthra .Brahmasindhu DC Books Kottayam 2006).A split world,a split mind,a split personality is due to the splitting and projection being central to all dualities or dwaitha.And Advaitha is the philosophy of nonduality,nonprojection and seeing truth as it is ,absolute and blissful.This shows how our ancients were not only scientific but practical in making a society that is peaceful and self-sufficient and contended .All the divide and rule strategies of political ,social and religious leaders involve duality,projection and has to be discarded by a wise person .Universal language of Music is used by the rituals of all tribes for the common and universal spirit of oneness between them and hence use of music for Advaitha is timeless as far as humanity is concerned.
In knowledge acquisition and in communication we need projection or projective identification .But except as a method of knowledge ,use of it in society as propaganda will lead to divide and rule.Therefore,use of it has to be very judicial and with proper caution .Bion made a grid which is like a coat of arms ,with multiple functions .The vertical axis describe a process of working ,or the activity of a natural scientist.That is a process of Observation,development of a theory from observation,a process of induction,and laws that can be tested.The vertical axis is thus a description of growth of human thought .
Row A is raw material of experience/raw data collected by senses and called by Bion as Beta elements.
Row B or Alpha elements are the primitive elements o fthought from basic data of mind.These are hypothetical entities.The rows following these are real .
Row C is materials presented by patient/Client in a session ,dream materials,and produced from association of alpha and beta elements
Row D are preconceptions which enable mental growth.A preconception is waiting to get some material to get attached to.When this happen we experience that as understanding the meaning of something of the patient’s material.In this way the preconception becomes a conception.(Row E).
From that row ,there is a purification and generalization.From conception we move to concept(Row F) which involves loosing whatever that mask truth.
The concepts are able to be arranged in more organized form ,as abstract hierarchical form involving observed regularities from which hypothesis can be derived (Row G) and abstract formulae of Algebraic Calculus (Row H).
The horizontal axis deal with different uses to which thoughts can be put.
1 A tentative hypothesis about what might be going on between patient and analyst
2. The second column is relevant when analyst makes a comment to reassure him or herself that he/she knows what is going on.In groups the patience to sit and wait for what is going to emerge may be less and levels of anxiety may grow rapidly unless all members have same degree of patience to wait and watch and the same confidence in what is being done.This is a danger for all team research as I have often experienced .
3.The third column Notation,is noting something that is happening in a particular session.The group discussions on such things is good
4.4th stage is drawing the client’s attention to the analyst’s hypothesis.Inquiry and action columns (marked 5 and 6)and beyond upto n contain the more positive interpretations .Column 5 pursue the inquiry further,column 6 involve confronting the client with the irrefutable facts about himself/herself.
Grid of Bion 1962
1
Definitory
hypothesis 2
ѱ 3
Notation 4
attention 5
Inquiry 6
Action ……n
A
βelement A1 A2
B
αelement B1
B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 …Bn
C
Dream,
Thought,
Myths
C1
C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 …Cn
D
Pre-conception D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 …Dn
E
Conception
E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 …En
F
Concept
F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 …Fn
G
Scientific
Deductive
system G2
H
Algebraic
Calculus
The columns are actually a list of interventions rather than the psychoanalytic personification of scientific methods.The place for irrefutable facts in psychoanalysis and science are doubtful though Bion use such a term.The possibility of clarity of meaning at logical levels as we proceed is evident from the grid.
By the last process algebra and calculus we come to the conclusion all thought process is essentially an abstract process.The Symington’s claim that Bion’s model of thought is a fluctuation between paranoid –schizoid and depressive position.The reason they say is that the starting point is not existence but absence (Not bhava but abhava as Sankara would have said in Sanskrit).
Page 102 (Ian Craib)says that absence of an organ like breast is what beta element mean.To make up for that absence thinking as a symbol but the absence is felt as a persecution,as long as one thinks about it as a lack or absence of something.Since the lack or absence is a thought of persecution,it is paranoid and a trial to transform this persecution feeling.This is in terms of absence of breast ,in the case of a cancer patient.
But apply this to other types of lack or absence /Abhava of opportunities etc in various social,religious beliefs we will find the significance of what is going on around us .
I don’t want to give examples since that might hurt people who has been believing that they are right in everything they do.But ,I would be happy if they do some retrospection and find out where their political,social,philosophical and other revolutionary thoughts start and where their religions start .Lack or persecution from a God who sends the man from his garden,of a class which deny everything to them, of a sex that persecute opposite sex –and so on.All start from a paranoid-schizoid persecutionist view of world and then a feeble attempt to redress it.The Advaitha on the other hand tell us that we are Athman and we haven’t lost anything,except that a covering has occurred over our minds which can be removed by proper thinking,and education and those who have patience and willingness can follow a regime of life and education to see that truth and enjoy supreme bliss .
In music therapy we deal with individual as well as group therapy.That is individual and group psychology is taken into consideration .A group or a mass of people ,at random come for Kutcheri or music concerts.The people may be a professional group belonging to a particular institution or a particular organization and they have a group psychology .The group processes are ability to think in groups.The group discussions and the training to open up before others is thus essential for a trainee so that he/she can assess the psychology of both individuals/colleagues as well as a random or professional group.By relationships and discussions in a group we get an idea of possible doubts and objections that can arise and we get a opportunity to defend our data and our analysis which is a important point in our research and treatment .Some groups have a defence against a new discipline or a new way of teaching and evaluation .Such groups are very much against the modern methods of learning and teaching .Similarly some groups are reluctant and opposed to singing a Vivadi Raga in music and making them understand that there is no Vivadi but only balancing .The philosophical and mathematical and other proofs even if we give they do not understand ,since they are not receptive to abstract maths and philosophy.The only way then is to sing and demonstrate that the Vivadi can be sung with beauty and exceptional attraction and it gives a special aesthetics and healing to clients.The Melakartha Raga sung properly by a person with suswara can be used for this purpose.The group psychology is only slowly and steadily won over and do not expect to achieve it overnight.I had patiently waited more than ten years for this to happen .But it did happen is what matters.Not the time interval. One who has patience can wait not ten years but an entire lifetime to achieve and give what is truth and energy and bliss to all alike.
The Basic assumption groups have certain unconscious relationships between group members that defend against both intellectual and emotional learning.The three important features of such Basic assumption group relations are dependency,pairing and fight-flight .
Dependency:- The group members depend upon the group leader to lead them ,control,organize work and take no responsibility inwhat is going on.This is a problem in every nation and every institution where each member/citizen has to be a responsible member in group work/team work.The leader is expected to bear all responsibilities for the work,for the mistakes and faults and when he/she asks for more responsible behaviour the subordinates quarrel with authority and become rebellious .Paradoxically the dependency group appears in a situation where it is least appropriate-in a university seminar or class.This is where everybody should engage in thinking .The working of each brain is precious for making group successful .
When this happens what to do ? That is the best challenge for an administrative leader in a professional teaching and service institution.I had faced this in the Blood Bank of Calicut Medical college and could successfully tackle it with the Indian ethics in management in Gita and Ziel-oriented project planning .At the end of six months the entire staff of Blood Bank had been thinking with me about what to be done next and how to tackle each problem and that was a moment of real happiness for me.
Pairing:- A relationship between two members of a group that seems to relieve others of the group from responsibility of participating is called by this term by Bion.This may be between same sex or opposite sex members.The group starts to feel that this couple will rescue the entire department/group from all its problems as if they are a Messiah .Ofcourse this is only a phantasy of the group but this happens always as all of you might have experienced in your professional surroundings.
In teaching situations two teachers ,or two mature and wise students /postgraduates will always dominate the discussions frequently arguing with one another and supporting each other if some one else argue with one of them.This makes all others silent witnesses of what is going on and is not a good feature for a group discussion.All should get equal opportunity to express views in a democratic set up and all should participate in discussion .Only then the group will succeed to achieve what they really should achieve.
Fight-Flight:-
This is a group form of defencive projection.The group will find an external enemy or an internal scapegoat for all its shortcomings and victimize that person .The criticism and attack on that enemy enable an internal cohesion and feeling of identity within the group ,or if the scapegoat is within the group ,among the rest of the group members.The enemy carries all the blames for failures of the group .This I need not elaborate since any person who have worked in a institution/organization might have seen or have been part of this behaviour there .Or at least you might have witnessed this several times in group politics .
Menzeis –Lyth (1989) shows how in a teaching hospital ,anxieties within it being very primitive dealing with death and illness, are dealt with by a Beaureaucratic organization.In organizations and in politics when there is something creating anxiety ,the system is changed for something else but the anxieties are not removed.They are shifted from up to downward strata in hierarchical organizations.Whether in a matter of dependency,fight-flight or pairing in Beauraecracy to alleviate anxiety,individuals within the group inhibit their own creative thinking processes and collective work become difficult .The contrast between a well-defended ,highly anxious group and a group that can mobilize individuals in a collective creative process is immense .
I will give two examples here.
1 .A client comes to a patient and goes into deep coma in the hospital ,because of negligence of the duty nurse and doctor who refused to give intravenous glucose to him ,though he was having hypoglycemia on admission.The Doctor who had seen the patient earlier was on a discussion /seminar and the duty nurse insisted that without his permission she will not give glucose IV .The doctor was late after his seminar and teaching session to reach the department and by that time precious time was lost and the patient who came walking to the casualty was in deep coma.Then there had been an afterthought among the staff doctors/nurses that in case the patient die a legal problem might come up against those who are responsible and they sent a PG trainee and collected all the case sheets ,references that the patient’s wife had with her .And after that the doctor never turned up .The Principal and Superintendent came to know of such a patient in the wards and when they put up an enquiry ,the Professor and Head of Department of Medicine had to take up the responsibility of the patient .For five days the patient was in coma and all investigations and questions to the family were directed to make it look like a suicide. All sorts of allegations including drug addiction,alcoholism, possibility of HIV/AIDS and even a homicide by the wife was thought of as possibilities.But the patient came back to normal after 5 days and when he was told what had happened ,he being a doctor working in the same hospital,collected the copy of the casesheet that had gone to the Record Library and asked his wife to take enough photocopies and keep.He knew his colleagues and their psychology well.They were afraid of a legal procedure against negligence and not bothered about what happens to their poor colleague. Whether he lives or not was immaterial .But they should save their skin.
2. A client with cancer needs a prolonged treatment regime and the medicines are costly .The patient’s parents are poor .They are struggling to make both ends meet. The drug companies are competing for market and are giving commissions to doctors for getting more markets for their product .Only with the doctor’s prescription the stores give medicines and if he writes only costly ones the poro patients find it difficult to get them.The ups and downs in social status have made this problem permanent in India ,at least in Kerala ,where I have worked.When this is pointed out do you think the entire group of doctors,though they know this happening will agree to it? And even those doctors who are not part of this game will not come in open to criticize their colleagues who are doing this .This sort of defence mechanisms ,pairing between organizations(like doctors and drug stores and marketing people etc) exists and many are silent as pointed out in fight-flight situation.Only the dominant speak .
This social psychology of group and organizations are harmful to entire society .
Can we deal with it musically ? We can introduce humanitarianism into science and by that address such social issues is what my Music therapy project aims at.And I think my attempts are partly being successful .
The best Therapist is the one who understands that therapy begins where the theory ends.It is practice and constant experience that leads to theory for an expert therapist .And there is no magic formula or set of instructions /or prescriptions .Each individual being a unique person the therapist must be able to expect a new challenge in each patient .The psychotherapy is considered as a mutual search for both therapist and patient.The same is true for Music therapy practitioners too.It is a matter of enabling a person to think and feel .Not a process to know. If one feels that one knows self ,then no more effort from us to know Athman and it will make us stagnant. We are just like babies who find our way to our mother’s breast ,the moment we are born.Just like that music and language make us drawn to them .That is why it is called the breast milk of mother Saraswathy.The patient root around in search for selfhealing ,for a meaning and therapist help in the search just by being there as a moral support.Because music is inherent in each individual and role of therapist is just to make the patient feel for that search of self in him/her for healing .It is not a treatment or a cure but a healing by our own musical self .It brings about a change or transformation in the client as well as in the therapist .No body gets cured of any illness but they discover that they were not so ill,as they thought .Human psyche is full of paradoxes and in medical models of modern medicine this factor is never attended to in wholistic manner.By introducing music therapy research protocols in medical curriculum we can make it more wholistic and humanistic and addressing problems in a better way for benefit of the nation,of society,the discipline itself ,nothing to speak of the doctor/nurse/student community and the general public as clients.A total social transformation can happen if we seriously apply this model into our social life and science.The decision whether one needs music therapy or not has to come from the client or the family members and never from the therapist .
Some one was asking me if only University educated musicians and doctors can do music therapy what about musicians who have no academic degree and yet wants to contribute their share? They can definitely contribute in tehri own way .
1 Making their music the best –both with technical perfection of notes and Raaga and with careful protection of the softness of voice and having the bhavas of love,compassion and devotion in songs they are contributing their share to music therapy practice .Probably they do contribute a major share among masses making an awareness of the effects of music and contributing to the MLP of each individual in society .
2.Each Kutchery is a group therapy and so is a bhajan .By being able to do a performance like that ,in front of a huge crowd ,each artist is able to understand their own uniqueness,the uniqueness of their art ,their own individuality and the individuality of the audience as a group.If individual therapy is that of hospitals and university educated postgraduates in a collaborative teamwork and research ,the group therapy is more effective with popular singers with good knowledge of the art and a good voice and a feel for the pulse of the audience .The strength of music is best demonstrated by such individuals in public eye .
3.They can contribute much to the society and its development and inculcation of values into society by their personality and popularity .They are the right persons to be models for the society as group therapists .Live performance of such artists in hospitals,clinics etc can be organized to help the cause .
Each and every one ,musicians,music lovers and organizers of concerts,doctors,other medical ,paramedical staff and university people and educationists and public figures can contribute their share in the social reformation programmes using music because there is no one who does not love or like music of some sort .
stress
These are some tests for adults to evaluate whether they are having stress and how they can cope with it by selfhealing techniques and music therapy.
Stress tests
1 .Find out whether you are under stress.Check the list of symptoms and notice whether they affect you only occasionally ,often or always.
1 I get nervous ,anxious
2.I feel overexcited
3.I worry too much
4.I become confused and forgetful
5.I have difficulty in concentrating
6.I feel irritable most of the time
7.I get depressed
8.I feel bored and apathetic
9.My heart pounds
10.I breathe rapidly
11.I get stomach upsets easily
12 I feel lighthearted or faint
13.My feet and hands become cold
14.I perspire easily
15 I have to pass urine often
16.I get diarrhea and/or constipation
17.My blood pressure is high
18.My face feels flushed
19.I cant sit or stand for long
20.My muscles are tense and stiff
21.I stutter or stammer
22.I have a nervous twitch
23.My hands and fingers tremble
24.I clench my jaw and grind teeth
25 I get headache or eye aches
26.I have low backpain
27.I am becoming withdrawn
28.I am shorttempered
29.My appetite changed rapidly (eating too little or too much)
30.My sex drive is increased or decreased
31.I oversleep
32.I cant sleep
33.I have minor accidents and make more mistakes
34 I am using more drugs ,alcohol,medications
35 I always feel tired
Stress test 2 .By Psychologist Lyle H Miller and Alma Dell Smith (Boston Uty Medical center).Modified to suit our purpose.Score each item from
Almost always 1
Once a month 2
Once a week/day 3
Only very occasionally 4
Never 5
Rate yourself accordingly .
1.I eat at least one hot balanced meal
2.I get 7-8 hrs sleep
3.I give and receive attention regularly
4.I have at least one relative within 80 Kms of my house on whom I can rely
5.I exercise to the point of perspiration
6 I smoke less than ½ a pack of cigarettes
7.I take five alcoholic drinks
8 I have appropriate weight for my age
9.My income is adequate to meet my basic requirements
10.I get strength from my beliefs/religious/spiritual/or secular
11.I regularly attend social activities
12.I have network of friends and acquaintances
13.I have one or more personal friends in whom I can confide my personal matters
14 I am in good health(including eyesight,hearing etc)
15.I am able to speak openly about my feelings
16 I have conversations with my people at home,at office etc
17.I involve in entertainment or hobby
18.I am able to organize my time effectively
19.I drink less than 3 cups of coffee/tea/cola
20 I take a quiet time for myself
How to get the score: Add up the score.Subtract 20.
Over 30 indicate vulnerability to stress
Between 50 and 75 seriously vulnerable
Over 75 extremely vulnerable
Test 3 Holmes-Rahe stress scale (Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe ) based on survey of 5000 people
Event stress point
1.Death of spouse 100 %
2.Divorce 73
3.Marital separation 65
4.Jail term 63
5.Death of close family member 63
6.Personal injury/illness 53
7.Marriage 50
8.Fired from work 47
9.Marital reconciliation 45
10.Retirement 45
11.Change in health of family member 44
12.Pregnancy 40
13.Sex problems 40
14.Gain of new family member 39
15.Business readjust,ment 39
16.Change in financial state 38
17.Death of close friend 37
18.Change to different style of work 36
19.Change in number of argument with spouse 35
20.Mortgage more than USD 10000 31
21.Foreclosure of mortgage/loan 30
22.Changed responsibilities at work 29
23.Son/daughter leaving home 29
24.Trouble with in-laws 29
25.Outstanding personal achievement 28
26.Wife begin or stop work 26
27.Beginning or end of school 26
28.Change in living condition 25
29.Revision of personal habits 24
30.Trouble with boss 23
31.Change in work hours or conditions 20
32.Change in residence 20
33.Change in school 20
34.Change in recreation 19
35.Change in church/religion 19
36.Change in social activity 18
37.Mortgage/loan less than USD 10000 17
38.Change in sleeping habits 16
39.Change in number of family gettogether 15
40.Change in eating habits 15
41.Vacation 13
42.Festival/Christmas 12
43.Minor violation of law 11
That means life itself is the stress .But the way people react to the same event varies. It is not the event but your own ability to cope with it that matters. For example,I had the experience of my spouse’ death at my 48th year (which according to Holmes is 100% stress )but I coped with it well and it never left a stress symptom over my personality. It was because of my philosophical background,my musical preferences and also my lifestyle which includes a background of Medical profession as well that of a teacher .When duty demands a soul which had gone through philosophical discourses will not succumb to any stress even if that is a 100 % stress according to the Psychoanalysts. For this,I myself am an example.
Holmes showed that in a sample of 88 Doctors ,with 300 or more on the scale had 70 % chance of suffering ulcers,psychiatric disturbances ,broken bones or other health problems within 2 years of various crisis.Those who scored under 200 had only 37 % incidence of such problems.They could predict by adding up the life stresses of healthy football players ,which ones would be injured the next season.
By singing keerthans one is able to withdraw oneself from the body,external environment and stressful experiences.Kirthan relax mind and is called a Yogic Tranquilliser .It cause the fast moving beta waves of brain to change to slower relaxed alpha rhythms.Alpha denotes condition of mind when one is within internal space detached from external space.The relaxed state enable us to achieve steady ,onepointed tranquil state of mind .The calm waves makes a calm personality and is a sign of stress relief.When man’s thoughts are corrupted there is no control of mind and stress happen.The desires and passions tossing mind keeps it tense.The involvement in Keerthan and Yoga and disciplined mind leads to mature,calm peaceful personality .The role of music was known for this property of calming mind for Yogic concentration from early times.Now the modern techniques and research protocols of medicine is finding that this is happening through action of the brain waves,by the neurotransmitter rsubstances and also immunological enhancement to prevent all disorders.Hence the branch is a Neuropsychoimmunological research as far as Music Therapy is concerned.
Apart from the EEG,Hormonal and other measurable parameters ,what is the psychological mechanism that reduce stress through musical communication between therapist and client?
Effective human communication is one of the important factors that reduce stress.Learning to communicate to express our needs and emotions instead of suppressing them inside help to reduce stress and calm mind.Music is the best communication between two souls .And through that ,humans forget all sorrows and this universal language is used by therapist for stress relief .The art of conversation is an important aspect of human life essential for communicaton but it is not the language itself but the Bhaava and the Sthobha in it that really communicate the emotion and that is what music is all about.In fact from a person’s speech (and music) a person’s personality as well as what he/she wants to convey is better communicated than anything else.The voice,the tone,the pronounciation,the diction,the vocabulary,and sentence construction etc make a strong contribution to the personality.Because of this the improvement of voice and speech is important for improving communication,for healing as well as for personality development.Personality of a person is what people think about him/her and character is what he/she really is.Character is aquired through self-discipline and firmness of conviction.
Good communication means shared conversation which involves speaking/singing as well as listening.If no one listens there is no communication.The communication is an exchange of ideas through speaking/singing and listening .Therefore a good conversationalist /Music therapist has good communication skills of both types.For communication skills one should improve
1.Ability to get along with people
2.Ability to express clearly ,concisely and convincingly
3.speaking,listening ,verbal exchange of ideas
4.habit of listening to others.On an average efficiency of a person in listening to others is ten to 25 %.
5.Able to start conversations to the topics familiar and liked by by the the listener ,to the interest of the listener. That is why the therapist has to start with musical preference of listener
6.One has to appreciate people with whom you converse
7. imagination and select vivid picturesque words to colour the speech
8.Should be tolerant to views of others.If you totally disagree it is better to keep silence for the time being instead of being aggressive .Avoid strong arguments and using bad language against anyone
9.Conversation with different types of people can be enjoyed by a tolerant conversationalist only.A therapist is to meet different types of people and therefore this talent has to be developed for helping all types of people.
10.Voice and speech should reflect the sincerity of purpose .It should express the real person within us .
11.A good conversation does not happen by chance.Only when people have a mind and intellect developed beforehand by a lifetime effort ,they are able to converse and share freely and sincerely with others.
12.A good conversation is not a gossip about the defects of others but a very positive psychological help and that should give confidence and improve the quality of the listener .
13.A person who help others should be able to listen to their needs,experiences with a compassionate mind and provide positive feedback to improve their life and personality
14.Nine conventional topics which a common man will like to hear and can converse about are,films,music,newspapers,arts,magazines and books,newspapers,social activities,special cultural interests and hobbies.Starting with such subjects a person can slowly help the people.Of all tehse the best is music because it does not carry gossip or bad stories or any adverse things and is best for conveying love,compassion,devotion etc.
15.Learning to love people and all living things is essential for a compassionate therapists .Genuine interest in all living things and their wellbeing is the personality of the therapist .
16.A broad outlook ,a wide range of interests and a sharing of activities ,reading and listening are helpful for all tehse.
17.Selfconfidence is also a factor for a good therapist .
18.Flattery seldom works but a smile is a healing tool and sincere love is that which stands the test of time in the face of all adverse experiences.And for a Music therapist ,the best gift from a disciple will be involvement in the professional work shown by the people ,and not just flowery words or awards .And that is what is very rare to find.But such rare people I did find in my sojourn through this hard professional journey .
19.Do not forget that people come to you needing attention,sincerity,encouragement and even adults are really having a hidden child within which craves for sympathy and motherly love .
20.In dealing with worry ,have a sincere and compassionate ear to the sufferings of the person concerned.A loving word and a helping hand and an encouraging system of wholistic care may do wonders for reducing worry and stress.
Below a schematic chart of personality is given.The upper half is the Unstable and the lower half is the stable personality.The left half is the Introverted and the right side is the extroverted personality.A balanced personality has to be developed.
UNSTABLE
Moody
Anxious
Rigid
Sober
Pessimistic
Reserved
Unsociable
Quiet Touchy
Restless
Aggressive
Exitable
Changeable
Impulsive
Optimistic
Active
Passive
Careful
Thoughtful
Controlled
Eventempered
Calm
Reliable Sociable
Outgoing
Talkative
Responsive
Easy going
Lively
leadership
STABLE
To give confidence and induce positive thinking in others we have to inculcate them in ourselves first.
The Art of Positive thinking by Affirmations is to resolve to yourself that you are what you want to be.This helps you to achieve the Goal you seek .
What are the affirmations which help to lift your self esteem?
1.I love myself,my Athman.And since Athman is same in every living being I love all living beings as myself.I do not harm anyone by deeds,words,or thoughts.
2.I am able to focus/concentrate on anything I choose effortlessly .
3.I am able to recall my knowledge when a Practical situation so demands
4.I am an excellent speaker/communicator
5.I start each day with joy ,energy and a blessing for all living beings
6.I share my inner peace and happiness with others,through my words (spoken/written)deeds and thoughts and prayers
7.Everyday I become more and more wise,compassionate and openminded and effective in communicating my feelings and thoughts with a positive result
8.In my own inner world I feel satisfied and happy because I have lived a full life of love,and knowledge combined with actions for the good of all .
9 I do not waste my time in idle talk and use every moment of it for improving myself and through that the world in which I live in
10.I am an Athman and not this perishable body or mind ,and no disease or destruction happen to that Athman which is the real Me ,and whatever that I think,do and speak /communicate will be forever remaining in this world for the sake of welfare of all beings
11.Whoever comes in contact with me gets a share of my goodwill so that a change happens in their outlook and their life becomes more fruitful for the sake of the society.
12.I love my students,my patients,my friends and relatives and even those whom I have not seen and that love is my source of strength ..
The messages we give to ourselves in this way,affect our own personality,selfesteem and make our relations with others more fruitful and pleasant .If a negative message is passed on by someone,either ignore it, or if that message is being repeated avoid such people who pass on negative messages to belittle our selfesteem.Only a person who has a positive outlook will get perfect satisfaction and happiness and will be devoid of diseases and sorrows .
Stress tests
1 .Find out whether you are under stress.Check the list of symptoms and notice whether they affect you only occasionally ,often or always.
1 I get nervous ,anxious
2.I feel overexcited
3.I worry too much
4.I become confused and forgetful
5.I have difficulty in concentrating
6.I feel irritable most of the time
7.I get depressed
8.I feel bored and apathetic
9.My heart pounds
10.I breathe rapidly
11.I get stomach upsets easily
12 I feel lighthearted or faint
13.My feet and hands become cold
14.I perspire easily
15 I have to pass urine often
16.I get diarrhea and/or constipation
17.My blood pressure is high
18.My face feels flushed
19.I cant sit or stand for long
20.My muscles are tense and stiff
21.I stutter or stammer
22.I have a nervous twitch
23.My hands and fingers tremble
24.I clench my jaw and grind teeth
25 I get headache or eye aches
26.I have low backpain
27.I am becoming withdrawn
28.I am shorttempered
29.My appetite changed rapidly (eating too little or too much)
30.My sex drive is increased or decreased
31.I oversleep
32.I cant sleep
33.I have minor accidents and make more mistakes
34 I am using more drugs ,alcohol,medications
35 I always feel tired
Stress test 2 .By Psychologist Lyle H Miller and Alma Dell Smith (Boston Uty Medical center).Modified to suit our purpose.Score each item from
Almost always 1
Once a month 2
Once a week/day 3
Only very occasionally 4
Never 5
Rate yourself accordingly .
1.I eat at least one hot balanced meal
2.I get 7-8 hrs sleep
3.I give and receive attention regularly
4.I have at least one relative within 80 Kms of my house on whom I can rely
5.I exercise to the point of perspiration
6 I smoke less than ½ a pack of cigarettes
7.I take five alcoholic drinks
8 I have appropriate weight for my age
9.My income is adequate to meet my basic requirements
10.I get strength from my beliefs/religious/spiritual/or secular
11.I regularly attend social activities
12.I have network of friends and acquaintances
13.I have one or more personal friends in whom I can confide my personal matters
14 I am in good health(including eyesight,hearing etc)
15.I am able to speak openly about my feelings
16 I have conversations with my people at home,at office etc
17.I involve in entertainment or hobby
18.I am able to organize my time effectively
19.I drink less than 3 cups of coffee/tea/cola
20 I take a quiet time for myself
How to get the score: Add up the score.Subtract 20.
Over 30 indicate vulnerability to stress
Between 50 and 75 seriously vulnerable
Over 75 extremely vulnerable
Test 3 Holmes-Rahe stress scale (Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe ) based on survey of 5000 people
Event stress point
1.Death of spouse 100 %
2.Divorce 73
3.Marital separation 65
4.Jail term 63
5.Death of close family member 63
6.Personal injury/illness 53
7.Marriage 50
8.Fired from work 47
9.Marital reconciliation 45
10.Retirement 45
11.Change in health of family member 44
12.Pregnancy 40
13.Sex problems 40
14.Gain of new family member 39
15.Business readjust,ment 39
16.Change in financial state 38
17.Death of close friend 37
18.Change to different style of work 36
19.Change in number of argument with spouse 35
20.Mortgage more than USD 10000 31
21.Foreclosure of mortgage/loan 30
22.Changed responsibilities at work 29
23.Son/daughter leaving home 29
24.Trouble with in-laws 29
25.Outstanding personal achievement 28
26.Wife begin or stop work 26
27.Beginning or end of school 26
28.Change in living condition 25
29.Revision of personal habits 24
30.Trouble with boss 23
31.Change in work hours or conditions 20
32.Change in residence 20
33.Change in school 20
34.Change in recreation 19
35.Change in church/religion 19
36.Change in social activity 18
37.Mortgage/loan less than USD 10000 17
38.Change in sleeping habits 16
39.Change in number of family gettogether 15
40.Change in eating habits 15
41.Vacation 13
42.Festival/Christmas 12
43.Minor violation of law 11
That means life itself is the stress .But the way people react to the same event varies. It is not the event but your own ability to cope with it that matters. For example,I had the experience of my spouse’ death at my 48th year (which according to Holmes is 100% stress )but I coped with it well and it never left a stress symptom over my personality. It was because of my philosophical background,my musical preferences and also my lifestyle which includes a background of Medical profession as well that of a teacher .When duty demands a soul which had gone through philosophical discourses will not succumb to any stress even if that is a 100 % stress according to the Psychoanalysts. For this,I myself am an example.
Holmes showed that in a sample of 88 Doctors ,with 300 or more on the scale had 70 % chance of suffering ulcers,psychiatric disturbances ,broken bones or other health problems within 2 years of various crisis.Those who scored under 200 had only 37 % incidence of such problems.They could predict by adding up the life stresses of healthy football players ,which ones would be injured the next season.
By singing keerthans one is able to withdraw oneself from the body,external environment and stressful experiences.Kirthan relax mind and is called a Yogic Tranquilliser .It cause the fast moving beta waves of brain to change to slower relaxed alpha rhythms.Alpha denotes condition of mind when one is within internal space detached from external space.The relaxed state enable us to achieve steady ,onepointed tranquil state of mind .The calm waves makes a calm personality and is a sign of stress relief.When man’s thoughts are corrupted there is no control of mind and stress happen.The desires and passions tossing mind keeps it tense.The involvement in Keerthan and Yoga and disciplined mind leads to mature,calm peaceful personality .The role of music was known for this property of calming mind for Yogic concentration from early times.Now the modern techniques and research protocols of medicine is finding that this is happening through action of the brain waves,by the neurotransmitter rsubstances and also immunological enhancement to prevent all disorders.Hence the branch is a Neuropsychoimmunological research as far as Music Therapy is concerned.
Apart from the EEG,Hormonal and other measurable parameters ,what is the psychological mechanism that reduce stress through musical communication between therapist and client?
Effective human communication is one of the important factors that reduce stress.Learning to communicate to express our needs and emotions instead of suppressing them inside help to reduce stress and calm mind.Music is the best communication between two souls .And through that ,humans forget all sorrows and this universal language is used by therapist for stress relief .The art of conversation is an important aspect of human life essential for communicaton but it is not the language itself but the Bhaava and the Sthobha in it that really communicate the emotion and that is what music is all about.In fact from a person’s speech (and music) a person’s personality as well as what he/she wants to convey is better communicated than anything else.The voice,the tone,the pronounciation,the diction,the vocabulary,and sentence construction etc make a strong contribution to the personality.Because of this the improvement of voice and speech is important for improving communication,for healing as well as for personality development.Personality of a person is what people think about him/her and character is what he/she really is.Character is aquired through self-discipline and firmness of conviction.
Good communication means shared conversation which involves speaking/singing as well as listening.If no one listens there is no communication.The communication is an exchange of ideas through speaking/singing and listening .Therefore a good conversationalist /Music therapist has good communication skills of both types.For communication skills one should improve
1.Ability to get along with people
2.Ability to express clearly ,concisely and convincingly
3.speaking,listening ,verbal exchange of ideas
4.habit of listening to others.On an average efficiency of a person in listening to others is ten to 25 %.
5.Able to start conversations to the topics familiar and liked by by the the listener ,to the interest of the listener. That is why the therapist has to start with musical preference of listener
6.One has to appreciate people with whom you converse
7. imagination and select vivid picturesque words to colour the speech
8.Should be tolerant to views of others.If you totally disagree it is better to keep silence for the time being instead of being aggressive .Avoid strong arguments and using bad language against anyone
9.Conversation with different types of people can be enjoyed by a tolerant conversationalist only.A therapist is to meet different types of people and therefore this talent has to be developed for helping all types of people.
10.Voice and speech should reflect the sincerity of purpose .It should express the real person within us .
11.A good conversation does not happen by chance.Only when people have a mind and intellect developed beforehand by a lifetime effort ,they are able to converse and share freely and sincerely with others.
12.A good conversation is not a gossip about the defects of others but a very positive psychological help and that should give confidence and improve the quality of the listener .
13.A person who help others should be able to listen to their needs,experiences with a compassionate mind and provide positive feedback to improve their life and personality
14.Nine conventional topics which a common man will like to hear and can converse about are,films,music,newspapers,arts,magazines and books,newspapers,social activities,special cultural interests and hobbies.Starting with such subjects a person can slowly help the people.Of all tehse the best is music because it does not carry gossip or bad stories or any adverse things and is best for conveying love,compassion,devotion etc.
15.Learning to love people and all living things is essential for a compassionate therapists .Genuine interest in all living things and their wellbeing is the personality of the therapist .
16.A broad outlook ,a wide range of interests and a sharing of activities ,reading and listening are helpful for all tehse.
17.Selfconfidence is also a factor for a good therapist .
18.Flattery seldom works but a smile is a healing tool and sincere love is that which stands the test of time in the face of all adverse experiences.And for a Music therapist ,the best gift from a disciple will be involvement in the professional work shown by the people ,and not just flowery words or awards .And that is what is very rare to find.But such rare people I did find in my sojourn through this hard professional journey .
19.Do not forget that people come to you needing attention,sincerity,encouragement and even adults are really having a hidden child within which craves for sympathy and motherly love .
20.In dealing with worry ,have a sincere and compassionate ear to the sufferings of the person concerned.A loving word and a helping hand and an encouraging system of wholistic care may do wonders for reducing worry and stress.
Below a schematic chart of personality is given.The upper half is the Unstable and the lower half is the stable personality.The left half is the Introverted and the right side is the extroverted personality.A balanced personality has to be developed.
UNSTABLE
Moody
Anxious
Rigid
Sober
Pessimistic
Reserved
Unsociable
Quiet Touchy
Restless
Aggressive
Exitable
Changeable
Impulsive
Optimistic
Active
Passive
Careful
Thoughtful
Controlled
Eventempered
Calm
Reliable Sociable
Outgoing
Talkative
Responsive
Easy going
Lively
leadership
STABLE
To give confidence and induce positive thinking in others we have to inculcate them in ourselves first.
The Art of Positive thinking by Affirmations is to resolve to yourself that you are what you want to be.This helps you to achieve the Goal you seek .
What are the affirmations which help to lift your self esteem?
1.I love myself,my Athman.And since Athman is same in every living being I love all living beings as myself.I do not harm anyone by deeds,words,or thoughts.
2.I am able to focus/concentrate on anything I choose effortlessly .
3.I am able to recall my knowledge when a Practical situation so demands
4.I am an excellent speaker/communicator
5.I start each day with joy ,energy and a blessing for all living beings
6.I share my inner peace and happiness with others,through my words (spoken/written)deeds and thoughts and prayers
7.Everyday I become more and more wise,compassionate and openminded and effective in communicating my feelings and thoughts with a positive result
8.In my own inner world I feel satisfied and happy because I have lived a full life of love,and knowledge combined with actions for the good of all .
9 I do not waste my time in idle talk and use every moment of it for improving myself and through that the world in which I live in
10.I am an Athman and not this perishable body or mind ,and no disease or destruction happen to that Athman which is the real Me ,and whatever that I think,do and speak /communicate will be forever remaining in this world for the sake of welfare of all beings
11.Whoever comes in contact with me gets a share of my goodwill so that a change happens in their outlook and their life becomes more fruitful for the sake of the society.
12.I love my students,my patients,my friends and relatives and even those whom I have not seen and that love is my source of strength ..
The messages we give to ourselves in this way,affect our own personality,selfesteem and make our relations with others more fruitful and pleasant .If a negative message is passed on by someone,either ignore it, or if that message is being repeated avoid such people who pass on negative messages to belittle our selfesteem.Only a person who has a positive outlook will get perfect satisfaction and happiness and will be devoid of diseases and sorrows .
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Music as Ritual
Music and Ritual
In India music and dance and arts has a ritualistic background whether tribal or Vedic.When I speak on the cultural heritage of Indian music and arts ,someone was asking me “Are you promoting Hindu religion?”
When I was speaking about the classical music and its effects on the health of my clients ,then also someone asked me “Are you promoting Yesudas?”
I don’t know the meanings of both these questions.
For one thing there is no need for a person like me to be a promoter of either Hinduism or of Yesudas.Both are already famous and accepted by a very large section of society.The second aspect is that if any one who does research on Indology is a Hindu Fundamentalist ,then it is better to be that rather than doing no research at all on our past history of heritage and culture.The third aspect is that if I am promoting both Yesudas and Hinduism at the same time ,that is an impossibility ,as any fool can see from the first glance itself.
I saw a journal published by Spanda Foundation a Transnational Non-profit NGO for sustainable advancement of peace ,knowledge and understanding and they had published a Music and Ritual Project edited by Keith Howard in 2006 which I happened to read in 2010 .This book should be seen by those people who asked me whether I am promoting Hinduism and Jesudas .They have said in the introduction itself that in all cultures of the world art and ritual ,especially music and dance ,occurred together and developed together.Ritual is a human activity from early stage of human development and in that music and dance were for creating atmosphere or to provide aural and visual markers that lend efficacy to the procedures and atht is part of an ethnic people’s developmental history.In Indian people’s developmental history,then Indian music ,dance,arts and languages and other scriptural stories etc has a n important role and to ignore it saying these are just myths and religion,is not to know our own past and our own evolution as a people together.Which one developed first ,music or ritual?The newborn child develop ability to explore sound and dance before it speak and walk and pray .So first is music and art .This ethnomusicological approach is what I am using in my studies.
Nepal in the Himalayas is a prehistoric part of India where part of Videha king Janaka and his daughter Sita ,and the branch of Rama’s succcessors (Of Moolaka) as the Sakya Sudhodana and GouthamaSidhartha lived.The first article in this research work deals with the tribal old musical rituals and how the shaman heals with it .
The horoscope predictions,scriptural text readings and shamanic rites of sending dangerous spirits of ancestors away and applying music for pestilence and other disorders ,the need for correct intonation and chanting are used by tehse tribals just like the Sanskrit Thanthriks of ancient India.Gurung is the word for Guru used by them.The shaman is a ritual expert and an astrologer ,head or chieftain as well as a Gurung.To be a Shaman they start learning at 4 years of age and continues till 24 (20 years of study. Comparable to Indian traditions ).The hills of Pokharan at 5000 feet height has a place called Yajnakot where the shaman interviewd by the research team had been living for generations as Shaman Gurus.At the beginning of the ritual they too chant the entire history of their Guruparampara (which has a 100 )just like the Vedic practice.The shaman say that the Nepal Shaman has come from the four directions-South,east,west and North.This particular family has come from south (Cho or Ui Cho Hyula ) and call themselves as Namtithu Namtahya Pachyu Tamu/Tamumai are considered as outsiders as Gurungs.Prominent in Annapurna hills and Manasalu mountains of Central Nepal speaking Tamu-Kyui language,.Pachyu is a pucu /Poju(Poojari) or shaman pajyu and the term is present in all mythical Tamu histories.The other Pajyu is from Karkola from the east ,pron from west,Chalden from South says Pignede (1993).
Pachyu Chiba means the head Shaman chosen by a possession .The learning has to be completed before marriage (during Brahmacharya as in Indian tradition).Four of the relatives play percussion instruments for the shaman and assist in his curing spells.The shamans are also Vaidya preparing herbal medicines.
For the training of Pachyu phases of moon are important.Training starts from a time of partial eclipse.During full moon period spirits have less power so the student is taught to fight them during full moon.Healing is practiced as new moon rises,so that patient become better when moon becomes full.At daylight they collect herbs and at night they sing,dance play instruments and give herbal medicines .The dress (especially the cap and drum and cymbal of Pachyu resembles the Vealn/Vannan Veriyattu and the Khlypri that of Parya and Theyya Manthravada kolams (though the Nepali shaman is shown to wear shirts in photographs –may be a new addition to the attire-and the Vannan and Paraya does not wear it in their ritual times.).Fighting ancestaral spirits is done by Pachyu only and they do not eat pork or buffalo just like Indians .Khlyeperi’s job is to purify dead and send tehm to upperworld.Before they do it,the Pachyu has to send the dead spirit away by their ritual.The music and rhythms of these two groups differ.
The funeral rites rhythms of the Nepali ritual starts with rhythms of creation,not with destruction.Then invites ancestral spirits,goes to lower worlds,and call souls of dead,then bring soul back to meet the living.This is played with special drums which are rare (Padu and herga they call them) and submetric units change frequently as one pattern give way to next.The patterns are sad and amrk separation and loss and there is gradual acceleration as sequence progresses.The interlocking patterns of the two drums represent split pulls of human life or struggle between good and bad deeds.(says Killius about it).The two drums speak between them a secret language in rhythms.
I remember the small hut of a Paraya just opposite our Nalapat House ,across a small field.When at night a drum beats with a sad pathos note,my grandmother used to exclaim “Someone has dead.Appunni is calling the spirits “.Nowadays that rhythm is not heard anywhere in Kerala ,I think.That rhythm which reduce all the bad karma of the dead soul and make it pure and tehn send it to upper worlds or heaven is lost .For brass cymbals (called siljyo chhya) or Chyolle ,the shaman says they are fighting with spirits by speaking through cymbols and driving them away (bad ones).For a spirit (dead one) crying they use a Horn which Appunni also played in his ritual.Long hollowed and spiraled horns and conch shells are used for making two types of sounds –sad mourning ,and happy auspicious ones.Cymbols are similar to Tibetan rol-mo.The instruments are bigger for khyelpri and high resonant frequencies come and go.The effect of a constantly changing harmonics is created.
The Nepali shamanic ritualistic music and its notations are given recorded from Cambridge research center in the book.And the British and western researchers are interested in how the eastern prehistoric music was used in healing ,both by tribal and classical musicians of India.There is no religious interest in that type of research ,but just a search or quest into the ways of an ethnic group of people and their past histories and cultural heritage and its development.
In Balinese history dance and drama is to pass down cultural values through tales of Ramayana,Mahabharatha,and other such epic stories.Bali dance is ritualistic and part of the popular religion of the land and propagated by court of royal kings.The relationship between what westerners usually call religion and what Balinese call Agama is a twisted tale .(page 74 Damp dreams some problems with dance in Bali by Mark Hobart . Keith Howard Ed Music and ritual).That is a sentence which catches our attention. Agama is an Indian word for Vedic culture .And that is not what the religion means in English language .This lack of understanding of modern human beings and scholars and westernized educationists has caused the question put to me as I had pointed out in the first paragraph itself.We have to rethink and redefine our understanding about India and its culture and its terms and rituals which are for healthy living in a geographic region.
Even the Vedic utterances against the enemies has to be understood as rituals to ward of harmful spirits as enemies in the early evolutionary history of human beings,and not as the political history of a servant class as enemies to the masters.It is an absurd idea to feel like that ,and that idea came from the western masters who were facing struggles from the subdued colonial people as their servants and enemies and has nothing to do with Vedic rituals.The Thripura destroyed by God in the Veda is as much the final covering of mundane life as a triangle around the Bindu in the Mahathripurasundari Chakra of Srividya ,rather than the political destruction of any city /urban center.Unless one know the different rituals associated with the vedic and tribal and thanthric people of the land and understand each as offshoots of the same primitive popular cults of the land ,this fact will not be cognized.And when the wrath of Parasurama killed entire race of royalty,and when during end of Dwaparayuga destruction of all was predicted ,the people of the land had codified the important scriptures and protected tehm in popular as well as academic discipline (in Gurukula) for posterity and the message was given through Katha (which is a story drama,with dance and music ) to all alike as a means of survival of the knowledge among the remaining few (especially women and children who were the only survivors in both the situations mentioned).
In Balinese language Pulau Dewatha means The island of Divine ones.Pulau or Pulu(mayi ) and Pulava is then an islander for Balinese.Sumatra known a steh Gateway to Mecca of South East Asia the group music,dance and rhythmic percussions are famous.One type called Ratoh duek (sitting chattering) in Achean and Sman in Gayo is a secular folk game .The other is a Rateb duek (sitting devotional) partly religious.This was modified and used in Kerla Muslim traditions till the beginning of last century .I do remember groups of Rateb players(Mostly Muslim)coming to our courtyard to play this rhythmic dance in a circle with their percussion instruments.Th eorigin is Mughal Indian ,says the book (page 88).The rateb is a sufi style trance and the music and dance rhythms are played throughout night just as the Paraya and Nepali shaman do .This is done during circumcision,weddings and for honouring guests too.In China the Xian Gyuye with wind and percussion instrumenst is the oldest surviving music of the land ,the living fossil(Huohuashi) as known by Chinese scholars.It was a popular music by folk musicians,labourers,peasants and lower social classes.The silk route had contributed to this musical culture to China and flute is a important constituent of the instrumental music.Confuciou sis attributed to have the four basic principles of ruling established as music,law,rituals and administration.Slow simple music along with rituals was a must in law and administration of China from Confucius times.Music had a ceremonial cultural value in administration of state since it was essential for stress relief and efficiency of rulers and citizens of the nation.The same principel we see in the administrative laws of India where royalty had ritualistic music ,just like the common man ,and both had to be healthy in mind and body and intellect for a healthy nation.
The two tables below show how the Confucian administration was same as or similar to Indian system of music and astronomy,and Ayurvedic healing and use of it in the five elements and the state administration.
Table 1:-
12 pitches .Huang zhong,dalu,taicou,jiazhong,guxian,zhonglu,ruibin,linzhong,yize,nanlu,wuyi,yingzhong.
Each of these alternate as yang,yin,yang ,yin
The five degrees :1st pitch is gong.3rd is shang,5th is jue,8th zhi,10th yu
Order of state: Gong is emperor,shang minister,guxian people,zhi matter,yu affairs
Internal organs:spleen,lung ,liver,heart,kidney in that order (for the 5 degrees)
Human character:-trust,loyalty,humanity,courtesy,wisdom (for the five degree)
Element :Earth,metal,wood,fire,and water
Directions:Middle,west,east,south and North
Colour:-yellow,white,green,red,black
Table 2:-
Source of sound.. instrument moral implication
Metal Bells order,horizontal,power,military commander
Stone chimes discernment,death,result of defending frontiers
Silk Qin,Se sadness,honourable,will power,courageous officer
Bamboo flute spreading out,gathering crowd,resource gathering officer
Gourd mouth organ
Earth globular flute
Skin drums power,movement,a moving crowd,generals and officers
Wood zhu,Yu
Yhis ritual and meaning came to existence in 3rd century BC in China.
When I compare this with the extensive Thanthric scriptural material and Yoga literature of India and also the Ayurvedic and Musicological ancient texts , along with my childhood experiences of popular and folk music of my small village where all the tribal and folk arts existed harmoniously ,I find what a rich tradition we had and compared to the other parts of the world how much research can be done in Indian music and culture ,if the foolish so-called Intelligentia and academicians of universities thro waway their preformed notion that whatever is written in Sanskrit is religious and is whatever is ritualistic in India is Hinduism and it is equivalent to the term religion as used with the semitic meaning.Hinduism is a culture,a living tradition of ethnic geographical civilization of a people who lived in the subcontinent from Himalaya to Kanyakumari and the varied cultural peculiarities of each region and the codified and educational schemes organized by ancestors to protect each needs more care and research ,rather than dumping it in the dustbin of religion and politics and terms like Right wing an left wing.
I am totally unaware of the right or left wings since I always take the Royal Middle path to truth ,what is called the Rajamarga ,as in Tyagarajas’s Kharaharapriya composition “Chakkani Rajamargamu”.
I have only one request to researchers who are true truth seekers.Dont be fooled by preformed opinions.Observe everything,question,analyse and if found to be logically and experimentally as well as experience-wise true ,accept it as truth.That is science.To label something as myth,untruth,religion etc and refusing to study and analyse it makes that been lost to posterity forever.The ethnoarcheology,ethnomusicology and ethnic history of India is a living tradition still and study these well before coming to a conclusion.There might have been superstitions in it as in the shamanistic beliefs of ancient past ,but those were the first thought processes of a people before they became evolved and in every step of evolution,in their changing scriptures we find evidences of the evolving thought processes and studying that we will be able to compare our own knowledge systems with the knowledge systems of ancient and from that comparative wisdom we would be able to make a better,classless and free society equal in every respect –economically,educationally ,but diverse in their cultural ritualistic music and arts traditions and belief systems.
I had finished writing this short piece yesterday night,before I went to sleep.Today morning (on 7th June 2010) Times of India reports that a psychologist Matt Rosano ,Professor and Head of Department of Psychology in his book “Supernatural selection :How religion evolved” has stressed the role of religion in the struggles of prehistory for survival and reproductive advantage.He says that roots of religion stretch as far back as half a million years,when our ancestors developed the motor control to engage in social rituals-that is to sing and dance together.70000 years ago,a global ecological crisis drove humanity to edge of extinction,and forced survivors to create a new strategy for survival,and religious rituals were foremost among them.This book is said to be a response to the 2006 bestseller “The God Delusion”by Richard Dawkins,an atheist manifesto that pitted science against religion.
Rossano says Dawkins missed the science that revealed how religion made man more human.He pulls together evidence from a wide range of disciplines to show the valuable purpose served by systematic belief in the supernatural power.According to him,evidence confirms that at its core religion was not about doctrines,creeds,institutions or miracles,but about relationships.Religion is a fundamental way for humans to relate to each other and the world around them and in early prehistory that was a definite advantage.
I have not read both the books.But it seems to me what data and evidences I have been collecting throughout my life(from my own personal and professional life experiences,from other people’s experiences and sciences and scriptures of east and west and comparisons thereof) has something in common with Rossano’s work.May be we are two samaanahridaya(likeminded individuals)who have done the same methods of observations and research ,at two points in space ,simultaneously ,or as a synchronicity ,in psychological and astronomical terms.
In India music and dance and arts has a ritualistic background whether tribal or Vedic.When I speak on the cultural heritage of Indian music and arts ,someone was asking me “Are you promoting Hindu religion?”
When I was speaking about the classical music and its effects on the health of my clients ,then also someone asked me “Are you promoting Yesudas?”
I don’t know the meanings of both these questions.
For one thing there is no need for a person like me to be a promoter of either Hinduism or of Yesudas.Both are already famous and accepted by a very large section of society.The second aspect is that if any one who does research on Indology is a Hindu Fundamentalist ,then it is better to be that rather than doing no research at all on our past history of heritage and culture.The third aspect is that if I am promoting both Yesudas and Hinduism at the same time ,that is an impossibility ,as any fool can see from the first glance itself.
I saw a journal published by Spanda Foundation a Transnational Non-profit NGO for sustainable advancement of peace ,knowledge and understanding and they had published a Music and Ritual Project edited by Keith Howard in 2006 which I happened to read in 2010 .This book should be seen by those people who asked me whether I am promoting Hinduism and Jesudas .They have said in the introduction itself that in all cultures of the world art and ritual ,especially music and dance ,occurred together and developed together.Ritual is a human activity from early stage of human development and in that music and dance were for creating atmosphere or to provide aural and visual markers that lend efficacy to the procedures and atht is part of an ethnic people’s developmental history.In Indian people’s developmental history,then Indian music ,dance,arts and languages and other scriptural stories etc has a n important role and to ignore it saying these are just myths and religion,is not to know our own past and our own evolution as a people together.Which one developed first ,music or ritual?The newborn child develop ability to explore sound and dance before it speak and walk and pray .So first is music and art .This ethnomusicological approach is what I am using in my studies.
Nepal in the Himalayas is a prehistoric part of India where part of Videha king Janaka and his daughter Sita ,and the branch of Rama’s succcessors (Of Moolaka) as the Sakya Sudhodana and GouthamaSidhartha lived.The first article in this research work deals with the tribal old musical rituals and how the shaman heals with it .
The horoscope predictions,scriptural text readings and shamanic rites of sending dangerous spirits of ancestors away and applying music for pestilence and other disorders ,the need for correct intonation and chanting are used by tehse tribals just like the Sanskrit Thanthriks of ancient India.Gurung is the word for Guru used by them.The shaman is a ritual expert and an astrologer ,head or chieftain as well as a Gurung.To be a Shaman they start learning at 4 years of age and continues till 24 (20 years of study. Comparable to Indian traditions ).The hills of Pokharan at 5000 feet height has a place called Yajnakot where the shaman interviewd by the research team had been living for generations as Shaman Gurus.At the beginning of the ritual they too chant the entire history of their Guruparampara (which has a 100 )just like the Vedic practice.The shaman say that the Nepal Shaman has come from the four directions-South,east,west and North.This particular family has come from south (Cho or Ui Cho Hyula ) and call themselves as Namtithu Namtahya Pachyu Tamu/Tamumai are considered as outsiders as Gurungs.Prominent in Annapurna hills and Manasalu mountains of Central Nepal speaking Tamu-Kyui language,.Pachyu is a pucu /Poju(Poojari) or shaman pajyu and the term is present in all mythical Tamu histories.The other Pajyu is from Karkola from the east ,pron from west,Chalden from South says Pignede (1993).
Pachyu Chiba means the head Shaman chosen by a possession .The learning has to be completed before marriage (during Brahmacharya as in Indian tradition).Four of the relatives play percussion instruments for the shaman and assist in his curing spells.The shamans are also Vaidya preparing herbal medicines.
For the training of Pachyu phases of moon are important.Training starts from a time of partial eclipse.During full moon period spirits have less power so the student is taught to fight them during full moon.Healing is practiced as new moon rises,so that patient become better when moon becomes full.At daylight they collect herbs and at night they sing,dance play instruments and give herbal medicines .The dress (especially the cap and drum and cymbal of Pachyu resembles the Vealn/Vannan Veriyattu and the Khlypri that of Parya and Theyya Manthravada kolams (though the Nepali shaman is shown to wear shirts in photographs –may be a new addition to the attire-and the Vannan and Paraya does not wear it in their ritual times.).Fighting ancestaral spirits is done by Pachyu only and they do not eat pork or buffalo just like Indians .Khlyeperi’s job is to purify dead and send tehm to upperworld.Before they do it,the Pachyu has to send the dead spirit away by their ritual.The music and rhythms of these two groups differ.
The funeral rites rhythms of the Nepali ritual starts with rhythms of creation,not with destruction.Then invites ancestral spirits,goes to lower worlds,and call souls of dead,then bring soul back to meet the living.This is played with special drums which are rare (Padu and herga they call them) and submetric units change frequently as one pattern give way to next.The patterns are sad and amrk separation and loss and there is gradual acceleration as sequence progresses.The interlocking patterns of the two drums represent split pulls of human life or struggle between good and bad deeds.(says Killius about it).The two drums speak between them a secret language in rhythms.
I remember the small hut of a Paraya just opposite our Nalapat House ,across a small field.When at night a drum beats with a sad pathos note,my grandmother used to exclaim “Someone has dead.Appunni is calling the spirits “.Nowadays that rhythm is not heard anywhere in Kerala ,I think.That rhythm which reduce all the bad karma of the dead soul and make it pure and tehn send it to upper worlds or heaven is lost .For brass cymbals (called siljyo chhya) or Chyolle ,the shaman says they are fighting with spirits by speaking through cymbols and driving them away (bad ones).For a spirit (dead one) crying they use a Horn which Appunni also played in his ritual.Long hollowed and spiraled horns and conch shells are used for making two types of sounds –sad mourning ,and happy auspicious ones.Cymbols are similar to Tibetan rol-mo.The instruments are bigger for khyelpri and high resonant frequencies come and go.The effect of a constantly changing harmonics is created.
The Nepali shamanic ritualistic music and its notations are given recorded from Cambridge research center in the book.And the British and western researchers are interested in how the eastern prehistoric music was used in healing ,both by tribal and classical musicians of India.There is no religious interest in that type of research ,but just a search or quest into the ways of an ethnic group of people and their past histories and cultural heritage and its development.
In Balinese history dance and drama is to pass down cultural values through tales of Ramayana,Mahabharatha,and other such epic stories.Bali dance is ritualistic and part of the popular religion of the land and propagated by court of royal kings.The relationship between what westerners usually call religion and what Balinese call Agama is a twisted tale .(page 74 Damp dreams some problems with dance in Bali by Mark Hobart . Keith Howard Ed Music and ritual).That is a sentence which catches our attention. Agama is an Indian word for Vedic culture .And that is not what the religion means in English language .This lack of understanding of modern human beings and scholars and westernized educationists has caused the question put to me as I had pointed out in the first paragraph itself.We have to rethink and redefine our understanding about India and its culture and its terms and rituals which are for healthy living in a geographic region.
Even the Vedic utterances against the enemies has to be understood as rituals to ward of harmful spirits as enemies in the early evolutionary history of human beings,and not as the political history of a servant class as enemies to the masters.It is an absurd idea to feel like that ,and that idea came from the western masters who were facing struggles from the subdued colonial people as their servants and enemies and has nothing to do with Vedic rituals.The Thripura destroyed by God in the Veda is as much the final covering of mundane life as a triangle around the Bindu in the Mahathripurasundari Chakra of Srividya ,rather than the political destruction of any city /urban center.Unless one know the different rituals associated with the vedic and tribal and thanthric people of the land and understand each as offshoots of the same primitive popular cults of the land ,this fact will not be cognized.And when the wrath of Parasurama killed entire race of royalty,and when during end of Dwaparayuga destruction of all was predicted ,the people of the land had codified the important scriptures and protected tehm in popular as well as academic discipline (in Gurukula) for posterity and the message was given through Katha (which is a story drama,with dance and music ) to all alike as a means of survival of the knowledge among the remaining few (especially women and children who were the only survivors in both the situations mentioned).
In Balinese language Pulau Dewatha means The island of Divine ones.Pulau or Pulu(mayi ) and Pulava is then an islander for Balinese.Sumatra known a steh Gateway to Mecca of South East Asia the group music,dance and rhythmic percussions are famous.One type called Ratoh duek (sitting chattering) in Achean and Sman in Gayo is a secular folk game .The other is a Rateb duek (sitting devotional) partly religious.This was modified and used in Kerla Muslim traditions till the beginning of last century .I do remember groups of Rateb players(Mostly Muslim)coming to our courtyard to play this rhythmic dance in a circle with their percussion instruments.Th eorigin is Mughal Indian ,says the book (page 88).The rateb is a sufi style trance and the music and dance rhythms are played throughout night just as the Paraya and Nepali shaman do .This is done during circumcision,weddings and for honouring guests too.In China the Xian Gyuye with wind and percussion instrumenst is the oldest surviving music of the land ,the living fossil(Huohuashi) as known by Chinese scholars.It was a popular music by folk musicians,labourers,peasants and lower social classes.The silk route had contributed to this musical culture to China and flute is a important constituent of the instrumental music.Confuciou sis attributed to have the four basic principles of ruling established as music,law,rituals and administration.Slow simple music along with rituals was a must in law and administration of China from Confucius times.Music had a ceremonial cultural value in administration of state since it was essential for stress relief and efficiency of rulers and citizens of the nation.The same principel we see in the administrative laws of India where royalty had ritualistic music ,just like the common man ,and both had to be healthy in mind and body and intellect for a healthy nation.
The two tables below show how the Confucian administration was same as or similar to Indian system of music and astronomy,and Ayurvedic healing and use of it in the five elements and the state administration.
Table 1:-
12 pitches .Huang zhong,dalu,taicou,jiazhong,guxian,zhonglu,ruibin,linzhong,yize,nanlu,wuyi,yingzhong.
Each of these alternate as yang,yin,yang ,yin
The five degrees :1st pitch is gong.3rd is shang,5th is jue,8th zhi,10th yu
Order of state: Gong is emperor,shang minister,guxian people,zhi matter,yu affairs
Internal organs:spleen,lung ,liver,heart,kidney in that order (for the 5 degrees)
Human character:-trust,loyalty,humanity,courtesy,wisdom (for the five degree)
Element :Earth,metal,wood,fire,and water
Directions:Middle,west,east,south and North
Colour:-yellow,white,green,red,black
Table 2:-
Source of sound.. instrument moral implication
Metal Bells order,horizontal,power,military commander
Stone chimes discernment,death,result of defending frontiers
Silk Qin,Se sadness,honourable,will power,courageous officer
Bamboo flute spreading out,gathering crowd,resource gathering officer
Gourd mouth organ
Earth globular flute
Skin drums power,movement,a moving crowd,generals and officers
Wood zhu,Yu
Yhis ritual and meaning came to existence in 3rd century BC in China.
When I compare this with the extensive Thanthric scriptural material and Yoga literature of India and also the Ayurvedic and Musicological ancient texts , along with my childhood experiences of popular and folk music of my small village where all the tribal and folk arts existed harmoniously ,I find what a rich tradition we had and compared to the other parts of the world how much research can be done in Indian music and culture ,if the foolish so-called Intelligentia and academicians of universities thro waway their preformed notion that whatever is written in Sanskrit is religious and is whatever is ritualistic in India is Hinduism and it is equivalent to the term religion as used with the semitic meaning.Hinduism is a culture,a living tradition of ethnic geographical civilization of a people who lived in the subcontinent from Himalaya to Kanyakumari and the varied cultural peculiarities of each region and the codified and educational schemes organized by ancestors to protect each needs more care and research ,rather than dumping it in the dustbin of religion and politics and terms like Right wing an left wing.
I am totally unaware of the right or left wings since I always take the Royal Middle path to truth ,what is called the Rajamarga ,as in Tyagarajas’s Kharaharapriya composition “Chakkani Rajamargamu”.
I have only one request to researchers who are true truth seekers.Dont be fooled by preformed opinions.Observe everything,question,analyse and if found to be logically and experimentally as well as experience-wise true ,accept it as truth.That is science.To label something as myth,untruth,religion etc and refusing to study and analyse it makes that been lost to posterity forever.The ethnoarcheology,ethnomusicology and ethnic history of India is a living tradition still and study these well before coming to a conclusion.There might have been superstitions in it as in the shamanistic beliefs of ancient past ,but those were the first thought processes of a people before they became evolved and in every step of evolution,in their changing scriptures we find evidences of the evolving thought processes and studying that we will be able to compare our own knowledge systems with the knowledge systems of ancient and from that comparative wisdom we would be able to make a better,classless and free society equal in every respect –economically,educationally ,but diverse in their cultural ritualistic music and arts traditions and belief systems.
I had finished writing this short piece yesterday night,before I went to sleep.Today morning (on 7th June 2010) Times of India reports that a psychologist Matt Rosano ,Professor and Head of Department of Psychology in his book “Supernatural selection :How religion evolved” has stressed the role of religion in the struggles of prehistory for survival and reproductive advantage.He says that roots of religion stretch as far back as half a million years,when our ancestors developed the motor control to engage in social rituals-that is to sing and dance together.70000 years ago,a global ecological crisis drove humanity to edge of extinction,and forced survivors to create a new strategy for survival,and religious rituals were foremost among them.This book is said to be a response to the 2006 bestseller “The God Delusion”by Richard Dawkins,an atheist manifesto that pitted science against religion.
Rossano says Dawkins missed the science that revealed how religion made man more human.He pulls together evidence from a wide range of disciplines to show the valuable purpose served by systematic belief in the supernatural power.According to him,evidence confirms that at its core religion was not about doctrines,creeds,institutions or miracles,but about relationships.Religion is a fundamental way for humans to relate to each other and the world around them and in early prehistory that was a definite advantage.
I have not read both the books.But it seems to me what data and evidences I have been collecting throughout my life(from my own personal and professional life experiences,from other people’s experiences and sciences and scriptures of east and west and comparisons thereof) has something in common with Rossano’s work.May be we are two samaanahridaya(likeminded individuals)who have done the same methods of observations and research ,at two points in space ,simultaneously ,or as a synchronicity ,in psychological and astronomical terms.
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