Clarinet Performance of Rag Malkauns

This master of the clarinet shows that non-western instruments can be used successfully for Indian music. Here is another link for a piece of Indian played by Cello and Sitar musicians. They are playing Rag Jog for their composition:
http://freemeditation.ca/videoblog/east-meets-west-cello-and-sitar/

Connection between Swaras and Chakras Given on Omenad.net

This Dialogue is taken from Omenad.net in the Queries Section:

I have a question concerning tuning of instruments. I have read that different pitches affect the chakras differently, and that SA RE GA etc. are associated with the chakras. Are those pitches particularly frequencies, i.e. is a sitar or tambura always tuned to a specific frequency in order to have that effect? Esoteric traditions seem to point to B or C# as having profound effects on the physiology, but I cannot get a straight answer on this from any of the Indian musicians I have spoken with.

Hoping for some clarification.
Donald Sosin


Omenad writes:

There is a passing reference to Naadi-s in Sharanagdev's Sangeet Ratnakar. In shloka 1|3.. he refers to 22 naadi-s which in response to diferent force of air give rise to 22 shruti-s. Pandit Omkar Nath Thakur, singer par excellence writes in his Pranav Bharati that at a young age he had heard his father discuss awakaening of Kundalini through Nada but whether these related to 22 musical shruti-s it is difficult to state.

According to Naadbindoopanishad (shloka 36-46) Naad has the great power of uniting the mind with supreme cleansing it of all worldly objects. Hence the aspirant through practise should endeavour to hear this naad within. In the first stage of meditation one hears ocean waves, streams; in the second, Ghanta (large bell), Mardal; in the final state he hears the sound onf Kinkani, Flute, Veena. That the world does not exist, he'd feel when he attains such blending as of milk and water.

There is no medical corroboration of Chakra-Naadi-Kundalini etc. The practices based on these stress upon "looking within". Quite as rules of Newtonian Physics fail in domain of Quantum, the material truth differs from the spiritual truth. You are using material terms (pitch, B or C#) to measure the spiritual (chakra). The discipline of music limited by rules of Newtonian Sound Physics can supply no answers to spiritual queries. Please check out "Measure for Measure".

Indian Music: Musical Notes and Their Relationship to their Spiritual Effect on the Human Body

"The notes are viewed to have an organic unity. Thus
sa is said to be the ¹atman, ri the head, ga the arms, ma
the chest, pa the throat, dha the lips, and ni the feet.
These seven limbs evoke a presence, and give birth to
the devas."
http://www.ece.lsu.edu/kak/manila.pdf, "Early Indian Music", Subhash Kak, February 17, 2002

Quote From musicindiaonline.com's translation of Thyagaraja song Swara Raga Sudha:

"Devotion blended with the nectar of svara and raga alone is capable of leading one to salvation. How incongruous if a crane and frog (with their cacaphonous outpourings) sit on the lotus of supreme bliss? Understanding the divine nada emanating from the subtle primal source in the body gives one a forestate of the supreme bliss. To identify the subtle and mystic sources of the seven svaras of the musical scale in the body referred to as chakras is verily a yoga leading to salvation. If one bangs the mrdanga wildly without being aware of the intricacies of the rhythmic art, can the result give joy? Likewise, to offer worship to the Lord without mental purity points to a life base and repugnant (as a pig's) It is only after countless births that one is born wise enough to think of liberation and adopt himself to a life of devotion. Yet if any one, naturally devoted to the Lord is also equipped with the knowledge of raga, he attains salvation shortcircuiting the endless cycle of births and deaths. Tyagaraja has been blessed with Svararnava a musical treatise expounded by Lord Shiva to Parvati and is aquainted with the intricacies of music at the highest level. So, with faith in his words, understand these details."

As said above, Thygaraja was able to learn about the relationship between the swaras (musical notes) and the chakras, but in the details are not discussed in this composition. I would love if someone obtained the text of the Svararnava. I will be working to see if the musical treatise has anything written about it's contents.

There are many other sources showing that there is a connection between the notes and the human body. I do not know if any scientific evidence has been properly done on this topic.