Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji sees healing with music as a yogic practice.
Yoga teaches that the astral body has 72000 nervelets and 14 major nadis
or nerves. Each nadi vibrates at its own frequency. Music soothes the nadis
and helps them to vibrate at the proper rate. Music becomes a therapy, He
says, when the healer, musicians and listeners all deeply concentrate on
the sound. Sri Swamiji stresses on concentration or Ekagrata on the part
of the healer musician and the listener. Listening is a special technique
where sense control or Indriya Nigraha is required. "Physical health results
from a healthy mind," Sri Swamiji says. "Music of the right type helps in
achieving relaxation by soothing the nerves and through that, comes peace
and stillness of the mind."
Sri Swamiji claims that "ragas are the unspoiled sounds of eternal
nature, the soul of man and Paramatman. In the hands of the perfect technician,
they are great forces."
Sri
Swamiji uses a synthesizer because this instrument can reproduce singly or
in combination the sounds of more than 1,100 instruments. This allows Sri
Swamiji a greater range for healing through music. Not all ailments can be
cured by Sri Swamiji's music however,
especially those which have already reached a terminal state.
Music therapy requires more than just intense meditation on sound. This great
master understands the varying vibrational qualities of the different ragas
and knows which raga can help a particular disease. Certain ragas can only
be played at selected times to be healing.
The renowned Indian musician, Maharajapuram Santhanam says, "Each
one of the ragas have curative powers. Sri Swamiji has done a lot of research
on this and I have heard first person accounts of cures through His music
therapy. There is a divinity in His music and bhajans which makes it essentially
different from others."
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helps aspirants to learn to activate and control their senses and to control
their thought processes.
Kriya Yoga involves learning breath control (Pranayama) to effectively channel
the flow of prana (life force) which traverses the 72,000 nadis or astral
nerves in the human body. By doing so the aspirant learns to direct mental
power to open the three ganthis, important knots in the nervous system, which
obstruct the rhythmic flow of prana. By undoing these knots a kriya yogi
opens the path for Kundalini energy to flow. According to Markandeya Purana,
Kriya Yoga was revealed by Lord Dattatreya to great saints and yogis of ancient
India. Sri Swamiji has made it part of His mission to revive this ancient
knowledge and bring it to the West.
