Jolly Limbachiya – Page 4 – Pandit Divyang Vakil

What is sādhanā ?

The word sādhanā comes from the word sādhya, which means “to achieve” or “to aim or focus”. Any intense practice that is done with 100% focus is called sādhanā.

Sādhanā is a long path. To do sādhanā, one requires great patience. sādhanā can be done in any subject, be it music, yoga, archery or any other practical art. The goal of sādhanā is to become one with the subject, to reach a point where there is no distinction between the subject practiced and the practitioner. For this, you have to focus all your energy on the subject in order to achieve mastery.

To become one with the subject, one must go to the bīj or “seed” of the subject, from where it emerges.

The bīj of the subject is the purest state of the subject, its root. For example, in music, the root of any instrument is pure sound or in the language of Vedānta – Ōṃ (Aum). From there, everything that is called “music” emerges. Like the beej of any other subject, the bīj of music – pure sound – can be called by many names: Truth, Ultimate Reality, Existence, etc. Thus, if one goes to the root of any subject through sādhanā, one experiences ultimate knowledge or Truth. So we can also say that the highest goal of sādhanā is to experience Truth. The subject is the medium, and gaining mastery over it is the practical outcome. The sādhanā or intense practice of a subject takes the sādhak or practitioner from the material level to higher spiritual levels, where he can ultimately go to the subject’s root and experience Truth.

Truth is not something that can be taught. It is something that must be experienced or self-realized. Unfortunately, in today’s society, the education practice is such that we are given ready-made information that we have to accept rather than discovering it through our own understanding. It is a system that creates more believers than seekers.

Truth needs no belief; Truth is being. It is eternal – śāśwata. Even if Truth itself comes to you and tells you to believe, you must not believe. Because that belief will make that Truth a lie. Truth itself is not a lie, but your belief of it without experience is wrong. Truth never creates beliefs. Truth is Truth. When you have any experience, your belief turns into knowledge and that is Truth.

What are the obstacles that come in the way of experiencing Truth? The biggest obstacle is your mind. Everything – your beliefs, ideas, concepts, thoughts and information – are all the clouds that conceal the Truth from you. Until you disconnect from these things, you cannot experience Truth, as it can only be experienced in the absence of the conscious mind. It is through sādhanā that one can reach a “mindless” condition.

As mentioned before, one can do sādhanā of many different subjects. But the ultimate goal is one and the same: the experience of Truth, which occurs in a mindless condition. The three most direct paths to reach a mindless condition are yoga, music, and Tantra. It is important to understand that there is not one single path or sādhanā that everyone can do. Each person is unique and so their path is unique, but there are similar experiences that sādhak share as they move towards a common goal.

Death (Lecture Excerpt)

Death is a mystery for human beings. Man always tries his best to understand death. All religions, scriptures, and philosophers have struggled to understand death. The failure to understand death is the reason we fear it.

The man who believes in rebirth has a fear of death and the man who does not believe in rebirth also has a fear of death.

We have always viewed death with fear. We need to change that attitude. Once you change your attitude towards death, it will no longer be a feared subject. We fear death because it is not an experience of this life. In fact, it is the beginning of a new life.

The way you end your present life is very much connected to the way you begin your new life. If you end this life in fear, your next life will begin with that fear. For death and life are the two banks of the same river.

If we don’t understand why we have a fear of death, that fear will not cease. The topic of death is a very serious topic. Society stands upon the fear of death. Man is always trying to ignore death.

There are four pillars of philosophy: wonder, doubt, criticism, and death. Greek philosophers consider wonder as the primary source of philosophy. Decartes considered doubt to be the primary source. Philosophers like Kant consider criticism as the primary source of philosophy. Death is also considered the primary source of a vast number of philosophies.

The Secret for Growth

It is always my wish and prayer that my students and all those that I know will grow with each passing year. As we begin 2010, I would like to share a small story that illuminates a secret for growth, whether in your spiritual life, professional life, or personal life.

Tānsen had been appointed as a musician in Akbar’s court. In his times, to become a court musician was a major accomplishment. You were given immense resources – a palace to live in, an elephant to move around on, etc. It was a musician’s dream. Upon receiving this news, he made the long journey to visit his Gurū Swāmī Haridās deep in the forest. After sharing the news, he bowed at the feet of his teacher and sought his blessings.

“I am very happy that you have accomplished so much. Always stay like this,” his Gurū said, “if you want to continue to grow.”

Tansen rose and asked him to explain.

“Observe the posture of one seeking to climb a mountain. He is always leaning forward, keeping his head bowed. Observe the posture of one going down a mountain. He stands tall with his chest out. If you want to reach great heights, you must keep your head bowed and keep your ego in check. When you stand tall, you will no longer be able to go higher.”

Tansen got the message.

Mantra (Lecture Excerpt)

Mantra is a sound formula. It is a vibratory composition. Commonly people understand stutis and ślokas as mantras, but real mantras do not carry any dictionary words.

A mantra is just a sound graph.

There are three types of mantras,: female, male and eunuch. Each type of mantra creates its own effect.

What will you realize by mantra? First, it will take you out of the torments you suffer from due to your thoughts and you will have a new vision. The new vision will be that the cosmos is not anything but Śiva and Śaktī; sat and cit; station and motion.

State of Today’s Indian Classical Music Concerts

A musician needs two types of people in the audience – those who really understand the depth of the music and those who may not understand its full depth, but offer financial support for the musician.

Commercial music concerts of Indian classical music have changed over the last two to three decades. On the good side, it is becoming more financially possible to be a classical musician; on the bad side, audiences with a deep understanding of music are decreasing.

There was a time when the first five rows of commercial concerts were reserved for people who deeply understood music. Rich people in suits and expensive Kurtās were actually seated behind these rows. Only then did the artist get into the mood to play real music because there were people who understood it.

I remember one concert that happened in Ahmedabad 20-30 years ago. It was a concert of a well-known musician who was travelling abroad. A short time into the concert, the audience had stopped the concert. Five people were on stage. They asked the musician not to play Palṭās. If he was to play, he had to play real music or there was no need for the concert. This was the strength of the audience. There was no room for gimmicks. The audience understood Indian classical music and did not accept anything less than true playing.

Today, things have changed. Today, in many commercial concerts, the financial supporters, who often do not have a very deep understanding of music, are the ones who occupy the front rows, while those who understand music, the students and connoisseurs, end up sitting in some corner. The demand for high-quality has decreased, and the artist consequently does not play that kind of music because it is not expected of him.

You can clearly see the changes in commercial concerts. Commercial concerts of a single artist used to begin at 8pm and end at least 3-4 hours later. Now, they finish in a span of 45 – 90 minutes. The ālāp alone used to last 1 – 2 hours. Now, we hear perhaps a 5 minute ālāp and 2-3 Rāgas in that time period. This is not necessarily because the artist is incapable of performing a long concert. In the younger generation, there might not be as many who can (as the concert demand has changed), but we still do have artists who can perform these “real” concerts. However, the general audience is not ready or trained to listen to and enjoy these concerts.

The training of an audience will not happen overnight. It requires regular exposure to high-quality musicians. Those who have an understanding should not be afraid to demand high-quality music, while those who are developing an understanding should not simply accept whatever the market is giving them to be the best.

The development of an audience takes time and commitment, but if it is not done, there will be a very small chance of hearing a real Indian classical music concert in the future.

(r̥ṇa) Ruṇa Muktī – A Beautiful Concept

(r̥ṇa) Ruṇa Muktī - A Beautiful Concept

In Indian culture, the concept of indebtedness or obligation plays an important role. All humans are obliged to God, children are obliged to their parents, and students are indebted to their teachers.

In the Gurū- śiśya paramparā*, it is a student’s right to learn and the teacher’s right to teach, but the student is always obliged to the teacher. In the true form of Gurū- śiśya paramparā, there is complete surrender on the part of the student, and this allows for the teacher to do their best work. A good analogy is that of a diamond. A student is like a raw diamond, completely in the hands of a diamond cutter (the teacher). If the diamond yields to the cutter completely, then the cutter can do his best job in bringing out the true beauty of the gem through his careful cutting and polishing. In the Gurū- śiśya paramparā, everything is left in the hands of the able Gurū. He is the creator. This creates an enormous obligation for the student – how is the student to repay the teacher? Each student does what they can. Some give money, others do seva, etc, but in Indian culture, this is not enough to relieve oneself of the obligation towards one’s teacher.

That is where the concept of r̥ṇa muktī comes in. r̥ṇa muktī literally means “liberation or release from obligation (or r̥ṇa )”. There are two ways of r̥ṇa muktī. The first, if your Gurū feels that you are capable, is to teach 1000 students what your Gurū has taught you. The second is to go one step further than your Gurū in that vidyā.

*When I speak of Gurū- śiśya paramparā and r̥ṇa muktī , I am referring to serious students who have spent many years of very close contact and training with their gurū.

Rhythm in Plants, Laya in Everything

I always tell my students that music has to be digested. Laya (variations of rhythm) has to become a part of you. The experience that one gets when music becomes a part of their being is incredibly beautiful.

Today, I was re-designing the layout of my garden. I have over 200 potted plants in my garden. As I worked with my gardener to sort out the plants, I was examining each of my plants and was mesmerised by the rhythm that each plant had.

Each plant was unique, each had its own laya. One had a straight branch that had three offshoots at the end; in it I saw ādi-laya. On another plant, there were seven leaves, a flower, and then seven leaves again; in it I could see a laya of 8 beats. The leaves represented the laya and the flower represented the sum. The cycle of 7 (leaves) came to the sum (flower) and continued on. Each branch of one of my palms was split into 13. The plant had a laya of 13. In this way, I saw the rhythm in each plant.

Everything has its own natural rhythm. The disruption of natural rhythm leads to things breaking down, but when something runs in its natural rhythm, it is in harmony with itself, with its surroundings, and with nature.

Music and rhythm are to be digested. When it is, one can see it in everything.

Finding a Tablā Teacher

Today, a young man and his father came to my music school. The son wanted to take tabla lessons at our institute because he had been referred to me by a music friend of mine. At Rhythm Riders, we take very few new local students as a measure of quality control. I told him this, yet the father persisted in saying that his son wanted to learn more seriously. His son had been learning from someone else for 4 years, but now, finding a tabla teacher who could take him forward was very important. I could see that the boy was talented and very interested in music, so I conceded and gave him a chance to play.

Once our general class had thinned out, I called the boy to me with a pair of Tablā. On one hand, what happened saddened me, yet on the other hand, invoked no response, as I had seen this so many times over the years.

The boy’s basic hand was incorrect, meaning that his hand placement and movement to play basic bols was incorrect. Four years of carelessness or incompetence on the part of his teacher, and now, the boy had potentially formed bad habits that were irreversible. If I were to have taken this boy as a student at our school, we would first ask him to forget everything he has been taught and start from the absolute basics. But even with that extreme measure, it wouldn’t guarantee the development of a perfectly set hand (like those of students who start their training with us), as it is near impossible to forget what has become ingrained in the hands over the course of 4 years.

This scene is not new to me. I have experienced it time and time again. The lack of effort and research that is put into finding a Tablā teacher both saddens me and angers me.

Indian classical music has the potential to spiritually uplift the musician and the listener. It is a vidyā (art/ knowledge) whose learning is said to carry forth from one birth to the next. It has the ability to heal and empower and do so much more, yet when someone seeks to learn this art, they often spend less time on finding a teacher than they do on buying a shirt.

For example, I have seen people start learning from a particular teacher simply because their neighbour also learns from them. They start without asking any questions and doing any research. When we choose what school to send our child to, we look at the quality of the education, the caliber of its graduates, etc, so why don’t people do the same for training in Indian classical music?

Quality should not be excused for the sake of convenience. I understand that in today’s day and age, time is viewed as an increasingly limited commodity, but does that extra 30 minute drive take precedence over you losing the opportunity to reach a certain level of mastery? (Recall the young boy I mentioned at the start, who now has a very low chance of learning from a genuine Tablā teacher because his hand is damaged).

The caliber and qualifications of a teacher are crucial considerations. One does not necessarily have to begin learning from a maestro. (In fact, most maestros do not take beginner students. They only take on new students once a certain level of competency is displayed). Maestro or no maestro, one has to look at the level of competency the teacher has in their own playing and/or knowledge. The caliber of a teacher can be gauged by the caliber of his students. If a teacher does not have any (or very few) students that play well or have a good grasp of the art, this is clearly a reflection of the teacher’s poor skills.

An often overlooked question – How long have they been learning?

In my years abroad, I have seen countless Tablā players come to me who learnt Tablā? in India (or elsewhere) for a few years (most likely, not seriously but as a hobby) and then migrated abroad. One of the first things they do upon migration is teach Tablā. Why? Because with a few hours of work in the evening, they can cover their basic expenses at the least. To me, this is an absolute crime. They are not necessarily even qualified performers, let alone qualified teachers. But they do it and get away with it because they can find the students – people who did not do their research and decided to learn from the person closest to them.

How long have they been teaching? If they don’t have many years of experience, do they have someone who is monitoring their teaching? Teaching Indian classical music is not an innate capability, but one that has to be developed.

Who did they learn from? If they have learned from 5 unrelated teachers in a period of 3 years, a question should arise in terms of the teacher’s grounding in the art as their own learning has been “all over the place”.

Is there a potential for growth? Once you have reached a certain level, can you access a more knowledgeable teacher – for example, the teacher of your teacher? This question is particularly important if you are considering learning Indian classical music seriously. The concept of lineage loyalty, while diluted, still exists to a certain degree.

It is important to note here also that a great performer is not necessarily an equally qualified teacher. Teaching and performing require different qualities to be successful. For example, the smartest student in the class may not be the best tutor. Well-renowned artists also pose a general disadvantage to the student with regards to time.

Time and level of attention or love are also important considerations. How much face to face time will your teacher give you? A frequent performer may not be able to sit with you every week, but when they do sit with you, do they give you their full attention with love and affection? The feelings of love and affection are very important in Gurū- śiśya paramparā, which is the way that Indian classical music is supposed to be taught. Also, if the teacher is not able to give you regular attention, does a senior student of his/her sit with you on a regular basis? Regular contact/supervision is important, as that is the only way to prevent bad habits from developing. I know of many people who took lessons for some time and then practiced on their own for a period of time. That unsupervised practice led to damage in their hands because no one was correcting them.

The level of supervision must also be considered. Even if you sit with a teacher regularly, are you being corrected or simply given more and more material and minimal corrections? By watching videos of maestros, even a beginner, without understanding the complicated patterns, can get a sense of basic practices. You can see how basic notes are played, where hand placement is, etc. For example, in terms of tabla, you can get an idea of how Tīntāl is played, as it is played with similar movements by all maestros, regardless of gharānā. You can make out the difference between tin and tun just by watching videos.

For Tablā students, you can find countless videos of maestros in order to get an understanding of basic bols and hand positioning. I call this “standard playing”. Some names include: Ustad Allarakha (Abbaji), Ustad Zakir Hussain, Pandit Swapan Chauduri, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Pandit Sharda Sahai and many more.

There are many other things one can consider, but I have covered the major points here. In short, learning Indian classical music or any vidyā is a lifelong journey that can open up many beautiful worlds. When embarking on this journey, your guide or teacher is of utmost importance, so do take the task of deciding upon a teacher seriously. Please do your research and find a good teacher. A good teacher can unlock the doors to these beautiful worlds. A bad teacher can potentially bar the chances of the doors to these worlds opening. If a good teacher is not available to fit your convenience, I would not suggest learning that instrument or art form at that time from a substandard teacher. At the same time, once you have found a teacher, it is your responsibility as a student to follow their instructions very carefully. Carelessness on the part of the student also leads to poor or slow results.

Self- Realization (Lecture Excerpt)

Man is alienated from himself. He has become that which he is not and that creates confusion. This confusion is the biggest hurdle to his spiritual growth.

Before he begins his struggle to realize God, he must first realize himself.

When man realizes his own self, he will automatically find a way to realize the paramtattva – Supreme Reality. That experience will drive him to realize paramānand – Divine Bliss. But you have to prepare yourself for Divine Bliss.

The problem is that man leads two lives – an external life and an internal life. Compared to what he does in his external life, he does three times more activity in his inner life. As such, his real life is his inner life. Every moment, you have to choose, make a decision. Generally, this decision is taken by your mind. Until you realize the difference between the mind and the self, there will be continual conflict between the two. This is why self-realization is so important.

A Mango Tree

There was a full-grown tree, a mango tree. It was standing alone, being nice to everyone. One day, a young child from a nearby colony came to play under the tree. The tree fell in love with the child at first sight. The tree was happy watching the child play in its full innocence. After some time, the child returned home. Once he was gone, the tree happily recounted the memory of the child and waited for him to return.

The next day, when the child returned to play, the tree bowed down its branches to reach the child so that the child could eat mangos. Love blossoms between a “big” person (be it of age, fame, wealth, or size) when the big person does not see a difference between others and themselves. (Moral: love teaches you to bow down and surrender, regardless of one’s size, stature, or importance.) The child too fell in love with the tree. Slowly, he began to climb the tree, hug the tree, and sleep in the branches of the tree. In this way, the tree and child happily spent time together.

But naturally, the child began to grow. It started going to school and had less time to spend with the tree. The tree was still happy, the child was growing and learning. The tree only wanted the child’s presence, no other expectations. He found contentment in the smaller periods of time they spent together.

As the child continued to grow, his studies increased. He began to spend even less time with the tree, but occasionally he still would come to see the tree. Again, the tree was happy. The child was growing. During mango season, he would keep the best mangoes to give to the child. (Moral: real love always delights in the beloved’s growth.)

The child continued to grow and became a young man. He fell in love with a woman and stopped coming to see the tree. The tree would wait patiently, thinking of the day when the boy would come and sit on its branches, but the boy did not come for a few months. Once, the tree saw the boy passing on a nearby road.

He called out to him. “I am always waiting for you. Why don’t you come to see me?” he said to the boy.

His answer shocked the tree, “Why should I come to see you? What will you give me?”

The tree replied, “I’m ready to give you everything.”

“Can you give me a million dollars?,” the boy responded.

“Money is a human invention, I cannot give you that. I can give you everything I have: my fruit, my flowers, cool shade, peace, my branches to sit on, a place to be at one with nature – everything I have. The day that trees have money, that day, we too will have to sit in the temples or search the world to find peace.”