Thursday, May 1, 2014

29. Sound Therapy: Ancient Knowledge


The three vowels a, u and m involved in the okkara (the omnipresent nada of "Oam") represent in terms of the power of Sabda, the three perennial tendencies of Nature and consciousness - sat, raj and tam. The divine powers of the trinity Gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are symbolically represented as the powers of Sabda subliminally enfolded in these vowels - to signify the absolute completeness of this the self-existent syllable Oam (in Sanskrit) and its eternal musical sound "Omkara"……
The four Veda and other Nepalese scriptures of yore including - the Ayurveda - the ancient medical science and the Gandharva Veda - the ancient art of music and dancing, are supposed to be the most original and richest sources of knowledge on the perceivable powers of Sabda and nada.
The Caraka Sanhita and the Susruta Sanhita - of Ayurveda mention a great deal on mantra based therapies against delirium, high-fever, asthma, diabeties, jaundice, tuberculosis and some kinds of cardiac-diseases and mental deficiencies. The Sama Veda focused upon different methods of composing the rhythms for the Vedic mantras that play important role in sound therapy. The modes of pronunciation of mantra - syllables and the methods of chanting of the mantras in musical orders - for therapeutic applications - fall into the category of sabdika Bhaisaja.
There are four types of Bhaisajas described in the Bhaisaja Tantra, a Treatise on the ancient Nepalese Medicine and pharmacology. These are categorized as the pawanaukasa, jalaukasa, vanaukasa and sabdika. the mechanism by which tantric and mantra affect the gross (including the activities at the points of contacts at the tongue, palate and the throat during the pronunciations…..), and the subtle components (e.g. the endocrine glands) of the human body are also discussed in detail in these and related treatises. Each mantra is designed here in a highly specialized manner to generate specific energy and functional potential.
Scientific investigations show that the vibrations produced by large scaled collective japa or chanting of a mantra collide with the ionosphere and thus affect the geomagnetism and the Schumann's resonance too. the echo of the reflected vibrations affects the earth's atmosphere. It is interesting to note that the electromagnetic waves generated by the Schumann's resonance have the same frequency (around 7-13 cycle per sec) as that of the alpha waves recorded in the EEG of a person performing the japa of the Gayatri Mantra in a state of deep meditation. The suprasonic effects of mantras are said to effectuate - (1) the spiritual expertise of cursing or blessing respectively, to cause or cure the physical and psychological ailments/disabilities; and (2) the tantrika means og influencing one's body and mind by marana, mohana, uccattana, abhicara, katyaghata……, etc. These should be analyzed along the lines of the electromagnetic manifestations - which have a direct bearing upon the functioning of the brain of the japa Sadhana of the selected mantras.

Another stream of Sabda with enormous potential in sound therapy deals with its melodious form indwelling in music. The soothing effects of sonorous music in giving instant relief from mental tension and in curing some psychological disorders are well known. More importantly , the tala (rhythm) and swara (accent or basic note) of the musical patterns offer a wide spectrum of compositions which could be designed for curing or controlling specific hormonal disorders and associated physiological and mental aberration.

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