Healing through arts: decoding the Indian paradigm

2006·5.5 MB·English

by  Singh, Shanta Serbjeet

Healing Through Arts:
Decoding the Indian Paradigm
SHANTA SERBJEET SINGH
Seen your liver latelyorchecked your DNA? Did youknow that your stomach lining
changes everyfive days.yourskinchangeseveryfourweeks.yourliverchanges every
sixweeks? Orthatevery 12weeks therearemajorchanges inyour skeletalstructure,and
thateverysixweeksyourDNAchanges?
Inshort. saysNewAge Guru DeepakChopra."youcreatethebodyyouJivein...Youare
constantlyreincarnatinganew bodyinyourself. Justasyoucannotstepintothesame river
twice, asthewaterkeepsflowing. soalsoyoucannotpossessthe same body."
Whatamiraclethishumanbodyofoursis! We breatheout 10to thepowerof22atoms
and breathe in the same amount. As Dr. Chopra notes, these atoms are "the very same
millions ofatoms which have inhabited the bodiesof Gitam Buddha.of Jesus Christ, of
Osama BinLadenoraman inManhattan whichpassthroughourbodiesandputthehuman
body through a constant process ofchange."
It is this constant replacement of raw material by the human body, thus, continually
creatinganewphysicalbody.whichisattheheart ofthe Indianbeliefthai thesharira,the
body,isthelinkbetweentheearth andthecosmos, betweenhumanityanddivinity. Andto
help thisbody remain healthy,thetraditionalknowledgeofIndiahasidentified onemajor
path: the creative impulse. Expression through the arts. music and dance. painting and
sculpture.literatureandpoetry. isthepathway that leads(0 all wellness.
There are so many systems of treating disease but only one science of health. These
varioussystemscanbebroadlyclassifiedundertwoheads: thosewhichdependonexternal
preparations,likedrugsandchemicalformulations;andthosewhichtaketheinternalroute.
oftencalledNatureCure. Thefirst.theexternalsystem.usesdrugsand islooselyknownas
theallopathic,Westernsystemofmedicine. Itisbyfarmorepopular becauseitisaneasy
andquickwayofalleviatingthesymptomsofdisease.even though itislargelyasuppres
sant. Butintheothersystem.theonethatlooksatthebody'sinterior,commonlyknownas
NatureCure.thebeliefisnotonlythatpreventionisbetterthancure.Itgoesfurthertostress
thatpreventionistheonlycure.
Abody thatchanges itsentire physical structureand schemataas quickly and asthor
oughlyaswehaveobservedearliercannotpossiblybereducedtomechanicaldeductionsof
thesortthattheallopathicsystemofhealingpresupposes. Papapill.andareyousureitwill
havethesameeffectontheliver,the spleen, thelungs,theskintodayasitdid afew weeks
agowhenthedoctorprescribedit? Also.saysthetraditionalhealer,howdoyouknowwhat
sideeffectsitisgoingtocause,notjustatthetimeofconsumingitbutfortheweeksthereafter
whenitwillstayinthebody.itschemicalnaturemakingitindissoluble.imperishableandyet
challenged by the body's continuallychanging nature?
Inotherwords.truehealthneedstobecreatedfrom withinthebodyandwiththehelpof
Sangeet Natal. Vol.XL, No. I. 2006
HEALINGTHROUGHARTS:DECODING THE INDIAN PARADIGM II
awarenessofitsrealnature. Thisiswherethecreativeprocesscomesin,particularlytherole
ofthe arts.
Indian traditional view equates the arts of music and dance \..'ith those of a revealed
scripture- theyarecalledthefifth ~~da.afterthefourVedas.written,conservatively.some
3,(X)()yearsbeforeChrist.The Vedasdealwiththenatureofphenomena,oftheexistenceof
manandotheraspectsofthevastcosmos. Thereisalimitlesstreasuryofwrittenmaterialin
ourtextsandtreatises,whichdetailstheeffectofmusicanddanceontheminutestandmost
microcosmic layersofthe body.Coupled withitisasizeablecorpusofrecentadvances in
scientific research andtheconclusionisexactlywhattheancients hadsaidit was: thearts
heal,theyarecompletelytherapeuticinnatureandbehindtheapparentgoodbeahh.Jongev
ityand incrediblestaminaofmostdancers,musiciansandvisualartistesliesthefactthatthe
verynatureoftheworktheydo,i.e.sing,dance,paint,sculpt,inshortcreateaworkofart,is
anendlesssourceofpumpingmetaphoricaliron.vitaminsandnutrientsintothebodywhile
atthesame time riddingitofdisorders.imbalances anddisease.
Moreover,the Indian aestheticians and philosophers ofdance have always pointed to
these arts beingakinto Yogaandhence theirtraining andteaching,too,isinthe natureof
buildingblocksofYogicdiscipline,fromthephysicalexercises,calledA.~anastothebreath
ingtechniques,the Pranayama, whichactasacommonbaseforenablingthebodyand the
mind togrowtowardsitspotential.
Danceas therapy
Atthispoint.itmaybearguedthatallexerciseisconducivetogood health. Sowhatis so
specialabout.say,themovementsandcanons ofdanceseenas simplyexercise? Orabout
theartofcreatingmusic? Toanswerthisfully.weneedtolook011theattributesofan ideal
systemofexercise. These,saymanualslike RogerinhisDance- abasiceducationtech
nique .share three elements described as the three S's. namely suppleness, strength and
stamina. Further.theyshouldfulfil)thefolJowingrequirements:
I. Makeexerciseanenjoyableexperience.fulfilltheurgeforself-expressionand leadto
makingitahabitthatstayswithoneforone'slifetime.
2.Partakeoftheelementofplay,evenas itmakesthe body supple,tonesupthemuscles
and the nervous system.
3.Providesymmetryofmovementanddueexercisetoeachandeverypartofthebodyin
proper proportion. Thisshouldaddresseachandeverymuscle.tissueand cell anddosoin
aspeedymanner.tosuittoday'ssevere limitationsoftime.
4.It shouldstrengthentheheart.improveblood circulationand increasethe capacityof
Ihe lungs.
5. Further, it should involve the brain.challenge the nervous system and push both to
theirouterlimitssoastoquickenthereflexes andsharpenthedevelopmentofasoundbody
andanalertmind.
Indianclassicaldances,atleast.andtheyaretheonesIammostfamiliarwith,fulfillthese
criteria to the full. Children who are taught these forms develop extraordinary powers of
observation,expression and staminaand stay withdance through mostoftheir adult life.
12 SHANTASERBJEETSINGH
Moreover,recentresearchhasshownthatlearningaclassicaldancestylelikeBharatanatyam
can actually repair common eye defects like far-sightedness and near-sightedness.Most
youngsters whoareshortsighted.dueeithertogenetic predisposition orexcessive strain to
theeyes havenoreliefforthisconditionexceptto wearglasses. Indeed.theconditioncan
onlyworsen and lead tomore stronglypowered lensastime goeson. Butexperience has
shown thattheeyemovementsdone inthecourseofthe dancehave.in many cases, made
distinct improvement andmanyyoungstershave been able to discard glasses.
Again.thequestion maybeasked.can'tsimpleeyeexercisesachieve the sameresults?
\Vhy not? The only problem is that unlessachild'screative faculties are involved in the
exerciseandunlesshe/sheisgiventhepillinasugar-coatedway.chancesarethathewillnot
dothatexerciseinaroutineway. However,makeitapartofplayanditisadifferentthing
altogether.
The role of symmetry and balance indance isanother aspect, which sets itapart from
other exercises such as aerobics, Indian classical dance, for instance, is built along the
complexlinesofYogaandbothinitstrainingaswellasitsperformance,itusessymmetryand
balancetocreatepoise. Likethebee whichvibrates itswings thousandsoftimes aminute.
the birds which flyat great height and for unbelievably long spansof time, the monkeys
whichclimbtreesandswingfrombranchtobranch.itissymmetrywhichisattheheartofthe
motion. InBharatanatyamandindeedallIndianclassicaldancestyles,whatevermovement
isdoneontheleftisdoneontherightalso. Thereisequalinvolvementofthearmsand the
legs. Ineach limb,everyjointisinvolved. Thereisarhythm andregularityineachsetof
movements. Ina3minutepiecewith which theBhararanatyarnrecital normallyopensac
cordingtoKanakaSudhakartheAlurippn(literally.theunfoldingofpetals)thereisvigorous
exerciseofeachlimb.symmetricalonbothsides.completewithbending.jumping.stretching
andexercisingthetorso,thewaist.thefeel,theheelsandthetoes, besidestheface and the
neck.Therearea total of 238movementsofthe bodyin this onc quick piece.along with
movingtheeyebrows,theeyesand the facialmuscles insynchronicity with therestofthe
dance. Achild ofsixorsevencaneasilyperformthiswhileenjoyingthecrispbeatandthe
joyous movements,finishing witha senseofenjoymentand accomplishment. Bones and
muscles neverdegeneratewhenusedregularly and theirgrowthslowly gets accelerated.
Popular prejudices offer a black-and-white picture of the brain versus brawn.We are
oftentoldthatexercisedevelopsthebodywhilereading,writingand thinkingare meant to
developthebrain. Nothingcouldbemoreflawed. "Asoundbraininasoundbody" isnot
justasaying. Itencapsulatesthewisdomofourtraditionalsocieties. On theonehand,we
knownowthateverycerebralactivity,likereadingandwriting,solvingamathematicalprob
lemorparticipatinginanintellectualseminarlikethismaybeprimarilyconcernedwiththe
brain but it is also of clear relevance to the body and has a direct impact on it.Certain
emotions, feelingsandsensory reactionscreated by this activity have a bearing, however
subtle.onthebodyanditshealth.Similarly,everykindorexercisehasanimpactonthebrain
andthenervoussystem.Thereisthedirecteffectwhenweneed planandthinkaboutthe
(0
exercisetobeperformed.AIthesametimethereistheindirect effectdue to the release of
ndrenalin,certainenzymes.hormones and other chemicalsubstancesin the blood due to
theseexercises.
JlEAUNGTHROUGHARTS:DECOOINGTHEINDIAN PARADIGM 13
Classicaldance involves both thephysicaland theneurologicalhalvesofthe bodyand
dancestudentsdevelopsuchahighquotientofabilitytoremember.calculateandplanthat
theiracademicrecord,too,improvessignificantly. InIndiandancetraining,theskillsthatare
impartedarealmostuniversal- fromcontrolofthebodyinevery positionand movement,
exceptclimbing,to aheightenedsenseofthebodyinspaceandoverallalertness. Thereis
alsotherefinementofreflexarcs,whichcontrolequilibriumandmuscletone,suchasposture
andtherefinementof thefineneuro-muscularadjustmentsofawholehostofcooperating
nervefibresthatbelongtoboththeautonomousand thecentralnervoussystem. Now,the
autonomous nervous system connects withthe involuntary organs Jike the heart muscles,
blood vessels of the respiratory system and the muscles ofthe digestive tract Through
connections that dance creates between theautonomousand the central nervous systems,
the exercises of the skeletal muscles bring to bear a tremendous influence on them and
heightenthebalancebetweenthereciprocalnervefibresregulatingtheheartmuscles,blood
vesselsandtheintestinaltract. Thisindirecteffectisveryimportantinhelpingachildgrow
intoahealthyadult,freefromdisease.
Inhisbook, ThefunctionoftheHumanBody,GuyA.C.C.says:"Repetitionisthegreat
secretofsuccess.10allowthewholecoordinatedperformance10becomesmoothandsatis
factory." Heistalkingonlyofsportsandsuchlikeactivity. Dancescoresoverthembecause
it combines in itself a host of skills like speed. stamina, dexterity, endurance and grace,
normallyattainedbydifferent exercisessuchasbuildingstaminabystaminaexercisesand
speed byanothersetofexercises.This notonlysaveslime but.as memionedearlier.a.I5O
Comeswithahighdegreeofgenuineenjoyment.
Moreover.thesourceofthedrivetodanceisintheemotionalmechanism,anageoldand
invaluablemechanisminthenervousorganizationofman.
Inthecourseofonesimplephrase,say"Kitathakathudinginathom"ofBharatanatyarn,
theearlistens tothegait,theeye followsthehands,themindcorrelatesthehandsandfeet
10worktogetherwiththeeyesandthroughrepetitionandintensepracticeasynchronization
ofthebody,themindandthesoul,thearman,isachievedwhichistrulyphenomenal.Since
thesedancestylesarealldancedinclosecontactwith theground,thewell-knownbenefits
ofacupressure,achievedthroughavastvarietyofsteps.arealsopartofthehealingeffectof
dance.Together with the emotional and expressionalpart ofourclassicaldance tradition,
knownasNrityaandAbhinaya(thepuredanceisknownasNritta)thereisagreatenhance
mentofdance's powertobringabout neuralintegration.It isforthesereasonsthatIndian
dancers enjoy exceptional health, fitness and a disease-free body.Severalcases of poor
eyesight, low or high blood pressureand similar problemshavebeen knownto getcured
withinafewmonthsoftraining.
Again Sudhakar tells us that while dancing, a dancer does not open her mouth.This
enables thebody toreleasethe exhaled air,whichisricher incarbondioxide.through the
noseonly.Howeverdifficultthe steps,thedancerkeepsacool,calmandpleasantfaceand
triestodistribute thestraintoallpartsofthebody. Overaperiodoftime,shedevelopsthe
abilitytogetmoreenergyfromlessfoodandspendlessenergydoingthesamekindofwork
thatpeopleusuallydo.Sheisrelaxedallthetime.Hermovementsaretension-free,smooth.
withoutjerks.Thisisthequalitythatthedance imparts.Controlofunnecessarymovements
14 SHANTASERBJEET SINGH
leadstocontrolofexpenditureofenergy. whichisagaintheroutetogoodhealth. Aboveall.
the balance between vieorous dance alternated with moments immediately thereafter of
relaxation,asinawalk backorinthestartofanabhinayaoranexpressionalsegment,allows
muscles to relax and toenhance the oxidativecapacityofskeletalmuscles. The more the
muscle fibres metabolise alternative substrates like fatty acid ketones. replacing in part
carbohydrates (blood glucose and muscle glycogen) as the major source of energy for
maintaining prolonged contractile activity. the more the capacity ofthe dance to do a lot
morewithmuchless. That iswhyitissaidthatadancer'senduranceisfarsuperiorto that
ofeven the best athletes!
Music as therapy
Coming now totheheating powerofmusic, again. Jwill take thecase of Indianclassical
music.withwhichIammostfamiliar.asanexample. Butofcoursethesameprinciplesapply
toalltraditionalmusicsystems.
Inthebeginning,theHindusbelieve.merewasNada Brohmu,sound asGod.Almostall
the greatreligions ofthe worldtalk about the wordthat was there when the universe first
appeared. In Patanjali's loga Darshan. divinity is defined as a special Being and is ex
pressedby theoriginalword (Pranav).whatthisoriginal word was.nobodyissure,butin
majorYogacommentariesitiscalledOM. Recentscientificdiscoverieshavealsoconfirmed
thatverysoonaftertheBigBangandbeforeanythingelseappearedintheuniverse.primor
dialsoundwaveswere produced. ThishasbeenthebasisfortheIndianbeliefthatSound is
God,NadaBrahma. Hence the venerationfor musicandthose whocreate it.
The corpusofIndianclassicalmusic,itstheories,philosophies.methodologiesand texts
are both varied and vast. Its core is occupied by the beliefthat while atthe surface level
musicaffectsmoods,emotionsandstatesofmind,atadeeperlevelitisa vehicleofworship
and meditation. Justas soundhas been withusthroughthe evolutionary processandisan
integralpartofouractivities,music.too,being apartofsound,is anaturaloutcomeofthis
evolutionary process.
RecentPositronEmissionTomography(PET)studiesconductedbyscientistshaveshown
thatcenaintypesofmusicactivateneural pathwayssimilar(Qthoseassociatedwitheupho
riaand rev..-ard.Thesesame pathwaysare activated inresponse tootherpleasurableactivi
tieslikeeatingandsex,givingrisetoemotionalhappiness.
Inclassicalmusic.asindeepmeditation,the mindfocusesonasinglethoughtforalong
time.Whencontemplation,reflection and concentration,samadhi (togethercalled Sanyam
in Patanjali's works) are done on a single thought,it produces a sense of well being and
relaxationthaistimulatesor"tickles" the pituitary gland andreleasesthose chemicals into
the body which produce asenseofpleasure.
Though thisprocessisnotfullyunderstood asyet, itissimilartowhat we feelwhen we
hearsoul-stirringmusic.Itisknownastheprincipleofequivalence.Themajorportionofthe
100billionneuronsofthebrainactlikealaseronthesoundwavesofmusicandcreatemuch
the same effect as happens during meditation.Different types ofmusic, sung at different
timesofthetimecycleandindifferentseasons stimulatefeelingsofsadness,anger,joyand
peace.
HEALINGTHROUGH ARTS: DECODING THE INDIAN PARADIGM 15
Accordingto agreatcontemporary Indian singer,PanditJasraj.hehasmanaged tocon
trol blood pressure with music. He knows two doctors who have used music to control
diabetes, toasignificantextent. Music.he believes,hasthepowertocureinsomnia.head
aches.depression andother mental problemsofmankind.
Swamivasudevananda,amonkoftheGurudevSiddhaPeeth,Ganeshpuri,nearMurnbai,
explainsthepurifyingforceofchanting ofMantrasand ofmusicthus: "Likeeverythingin
thisuniverse,ourbody ismadeupofvibratingenergy. Eventhoughourbody appearstobe
dense,everycellofthehumanbodyhasitsownfrequency. Thereisasoundpresentineach
tinycell.howeverminute thecellmight be.Whereverthere's movement there'svibration.
there'ssound.The body'sinclinationistobeinharmonywithitself. Allthedifferentparts
ofthebody, all itscells, want tomove inunison. the wayashoaloffishoraflock ofbirds
does, always moving but never bumping into each other. When this natural rhythm and
harmony isdisruptedin the body. that's when diseaseand disorders arise.However,when
the vibrations of the chant sound within our bodies. the cells themselves respond; they
resonatewiththepure vibrationsofthemantras(ancient ritual phrases)sothatharmonycan
berestored....Chanting calms andclears the mind and actuallyrejuvenatesit.Everything
thatwelistento leavesitsresidueinthe mind.Chantingthepuresyllablesofthe namesof
God breaksthroughthismassofvaried thoughtsandimpressionsand opensustoa higher
awareness,aclearerperception ofourselvesand the world."
In normal life. we utilizeonly five to lenpercent ofourtotal mental potential.The rest
remains untapped due to our inattention to the vastuntapped sourceofconsciousness. In
thiscontext,music,likemeditation,canberedefinedasaprocessofbecomingincreasingly
familiar with ourdeepestlayersofconsciousness.from where thoughtprocessesoriginate
andwhereitmergesintheend.Likeanetherealbalm.musiceliminatespsychological.social
and culturalconditioning gathered consciously or unconsciouslyover theentire period of
theevolution ofhumankind.
In New Delhi recently. Dr. Richard P. Brown. a top scientist in the field of advanced
experiments inthe waysinwhich logictechniquesofbreathing,Pranavama.relieve stress,
enable people(0 connect betterand behealthier.saidthat thesetechniquesofrapid breath
ing activate a nerve. Vagus, (hat connects with the diaphragm and some of the organs,
including the heart and the brain. As a result ofthisstimulation,messages are sentalong
threedifferentpathwaystotellthebodytoshutoffareasofworry- inthefrontalcortexand
inthebrain stem-andthentothelimbicsystem,which controlspositiveemotions.awaken
ingit At thesame lime.says Dr.Brown,hormoneslike theCuddlehormone.experienced
duringsexualactivityandthebirthofababyarereleased.encouragingbonding. Amazingly,
hesays. these Yogic techniques even controleating disorders. "Peopleoften soothethem
selvesbyeating. Butafter thiscourse(ofspecialexercisesof}()ga)asthetensiondrainsoff.
people can actually begin to lose weight. The hormone that promotes connectednessalso
has a relationshipwitha peptide hormone. Controllingthe release ofthishormone can in
tum influence hunger andthe body'sabilitytotake onlythe requiredamount offood."
Is it any wonder that one ofour oldest texts,the Skanda Purana.contains a verse that
emphasizes the valueofdance and musicthus:
"Uttering the name ofGod once.by yourself,is equivalent to hearing His name being
16 SHANTASERBJEEfSl'1GH
chantedonecroretimes: Offeringhaven(sacrificialfire)toHisglory once isequivalentto
utterine His name one million times yourself;Singing and dancing to His glory once is
equivalenttoofferinghavanonemillion times;GeyamGeyaSamam vidhuhu:There isno
possible equivalenttotheactofGeyam(acomposite word whichincludesgayan.i.e.sing
ing.vadya,instrumentalmusicandnritya,dance)forthegloryofGod."
Meditation expands, empowers andheals through the arts
Meditationisat thecentreofany artistic activity.in theform of Dhyana that enables an
artiste to connect with hislher inner being on one end and with the outer universe on the
other, during hisfher creative process. To understand what meditation can do in terms of
performinganytaskbetter,particularlyacreativeactivitythat leadstohealingthroughthat
work.weneedtofirstunderstandthemindwhich isthemaininstrumentforboth meditation
and the subsequent activity.
Letuslook atthephysicalstructureofthe brain.that apparatuswhichcontainsin some
cavityofthecerebrum,thething wecallthe'mind'. Apieceofyourbrain,the sizeofagrain
ofsandcontains:one hundred thousand neurons,two million axions and one billion syn
apses, alltalkingtoeachother.
Consciousness appeared in humans as the result of interaction between evolutionary
andculturalpressure. Thisinteractiontakesplacenotonlywiththeexternalworldbutalso
withpeoplewithwhomwecommunicate.
It is essentially an interaction between the brain and culture. the one using a neural
languageand theOtheraspokenone.Thebyproductofthisinteraction parallelswhatwe in
Indiaunderstandbytheword"sanskarc".Itsnearestparallel in Western termsis theDNA
chaininhumans.What we knowforsureisthatit istheend productofacomplexlearning
process,happeningovermanymillennia.
AccordingtoProf.V.S.Ramachandran,named byNewsweekasoneofthe"hundredmost
prominentpeople towatchinthenextcentury","allartistes,poetsand creative peoplecan
thank a rare and irregular behaviour of the brain called synrhesia for accidentally cross
wiring unrelatedpartsoftheirbrainsin away notseen inmostpeople".Heconcludesthat
onein200 personsare "blessed" from thisaccidental crosswiring.Hedoes notthinkthey
"suffer" fromthisdisorder,which makesthe 'victims' linktotally unrelated thingsalmost
spontaneously.
In other words the artiste connects things in ways that are not 'nonnally' seen.The
productcreatedbythiscrosswirecircuitryis,naturally,atthe veryleastdifferentand atitis
bestmagicaland miraculous in itsoriginality and power to communicate. Ramachandran
sees universalprinciplesofperceptionbehindgreatworksofart.An is hyperbolic, always
exaggerating and amplifying the truth. he says,giving the example ofbaby gulls. which
identifytheirmotheronlybythered doton her beak andrush toher for food.Experiments
showedthattheywereequallyexcited when shownastickwiththreered linesonitstipand
to which they rushed for nourishment! Had the baby gulls been human they would have
hung(hestickwiththreeredlinesonthewallasapieceofart,agreatmetaphorwhichstrikes
achordwithinthem!
Thiscelebratedauthorof"Phantoms inthe Brain: Probing me Mysteries oftheHuman