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Sacred ragas is a spiritual
journey from the heart of Australia to the kingdom of bliss or “sat
chit ananda”,
a
Sanskrit word describing our true nature.
It is a journey that seeks to
use music as the medium for connecting us with Divinity. To tune
oneself to the harmony, beauty and joy of music is the real spiritual
attainment.
The vehicle we have chosen for our journey is Indian classical music –
(raga sangeet) which is one of the world’s most dynamic musical
systems and certainly one of the oldest the traditions, of which is
seemingly without beginning. Whilst Indian classical music is always
set in raga, all raga music is not necessarily classical .In our album
of sacred ragas we have chosen to experience the journey in a mood
that is more contemporary and more attuned to our personalities and
culture.
‘Raga” is derived from the Sanskrit root “ranja”, meaning to
colour the mind and also to please. Technically speaking a raga is a
sequence of notes or swaras. But there is a lot more to this,
as there are many characteristics required to establish the many fine
features of any particular raga.
As ragas were
never codified but were transmitted orally from teacher to student,
they tended to vary greatly across regions, traditions, styles and
schools. The ragas, as we have performed them in sacred ragas, whilst
established in tradition, have been inspired spontaneously in the
recording of this album. They are an aesthetic projection of our inner
spirit and a representation of our most profound sentiments and
sensibilities. It is said that the ragas have no vitality or life
force by itself and the musician themselves have to breathe life into
them.
God Almighty, it is said, inspired the great rishis who were a class
of saintly beings from legendary times that were considered super
human, living a pure life of meditation dedicated to wisdom and
knowledge. They originated and developed theories in all branches of
the arts and sciences and passed them on to their disciples. They
passed on the knowledge that sound is God- Nada Brahma - and
the musical experience is a journey to the realization of the self.
The highest blessings of music were given to a chosen few as in it
contained the knowledge of the workings of the universe. The laws of
music are found to mirror the exact miniature of the laws working
throughout the whole Universe.
In Indian classical music the mind and the body are seen as a whole
where music is the link that brings about balance. This knowledge
comes from the Vedas (books of sacred scriptures of Indian
spirituality composed in Sanskrit}. The Vedas are four in number.
They are
the rig veda, the sama veda, yajur veda and atharva veda.
The word Veda
means knowledge and in it are contained the eternal truths
revealed by God to man. The roots of Indian music come from the Vedic
chants - in particular the Sam Veda.
Different sounds and different sequences of notes produce
specific frequencies that influence different cells of our bodies in
varying proportions. Keynotes in the raga and their relationships to
each other can bring about a therapeutic effect and provide profound
healing.
Human beings possess certain
qualities. It is said that these qualities are housed in specific
charkas. Chakra is
a Sanskrit word for ‘wheel’ and the chakras are seen as spinning
wheels of energy (vortices) that emit specific frequencies.
These
energy centres were described thousands of years ago in the ancient
sacred texts. They can also be seen as milestones or archetypal
depictions of our evolution through seven major stages of development.
It is these qualities, relationships and frequencies that have defined
the album of sacred ragas.
Each raga or composition also
has a particular frequency and when the frequencies of the combination
of notes match the natural frequency of the chakra, it becomes
activated. (Frequency is the measurement of the number of oscillations
per second).
Modern living tends to unbalance these subtle energy centres.
A rebalance of these centres will put us back ‘in sync’.
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"Thanks so
much for the most beautiful collection of music. It is so
relaxing and helps me to 'switch off' at the end of the day"
-
Sarah M.
"I
absolutely love Sacred Ragas. I have listened to it so much that
I have almost worn it out."
- Gordon
Chambers, Sydney, Australia
"I cannot
tell you how much I have been moved by Sacred Ragas when I do yoga or
meditate. There is especially the track called Soul. It
always makes my body vibrate extra strong."
-
Marilyn, Chicago , USA |
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SACRED
RAGAS AND BABIES SLEEP
Many
parents have reported that their babies and young children are greatly
calmed when they play the album for them. They claim that it has
the effect of quieting the child and getting them into a settled,
sleep state. People say that they often leave it on continuous
rotation, as they love the gentle space that the album creates.
This is the healing effect of the Indian Ragas at work...
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Sacred Ragas - TRACK DESCRIPTION
Track 1
is a remix of the
Lord’s Prayer that was featured in our previous album Global Roots –
the Odyssey. The Lords prayer is sung in the original language of Christ
- Syrian Aramaic - and
is an original interpretation of this classic.
Listen : lords_prayer.mp3
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Track 2
is a
Vedic prayer
sung in
Sanskrit.
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Track 3
- Wonder
The journey through
the spiritual centres begins at Track 3 which is based on Raag Bilawal,
a morning raga that is influenced by the Australian landscape and features
the didgeridoo. It relates to the base chakra. It represents the beginning
of life and epitomizes the qualities of joy, wisdom, child like innocence,
stability and foundation.
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Track-4
-Beauty
Track 4 is based on
Raag yaman which has a
light playful soothing quality. It is complemented by the African harp or
kora. In the course of evolution man translated his need for shelter into an
appreciation of his sense of aesthetics, his creativity evolved into
abstract form where he could imagine, project and create an image. So the
fundamental quality here is locating the pool of beauty where our creativity
can be truly expressed.
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Track
5-
Dharma
Track 5 is a
composition based on Raag Malkosh.
It is a yearning for fulfilment, satisfaction, nourishment and
the appreciation of living a dharmic life (right living).
It relates to the solar plexus chakra where man feels his first need,
hunger, and represents the evolutionary point when man’s shelter became “ a
home” and the family became a source of satisfaction in itself rather than
only a channel for reproduction.
Listen:
DHARMA.mp3
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Track 6-
Soul
Track 6 has the
quality of stimulating the heart urging it to open and emit its pure
vibrational energy so we can experience the love and the joy of the spirit.
The composition is based on raag bhairav and is supplemented by
Indian percussion instruments.
Listen:
Soul
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Track 7-
Brotherhood
Track 7 is a
devotional song based on raag jajavanti. It corresponds to the
throat chakra and represents the evolutionary time in humanity when the need
for harmonious and collective living became important. It has the qualities
of experiencing the brotherhood of humanity and the unity of the spirit with
diplomacy.
brotherhood.mp3
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Track 8-
Mercy
Track 8
- raag bageshri was the basis of the composition here using
the kyrie chant. The raga corresponds to the sixth chakra and
represents the sixth stage of man’s evolution. It has been influenced by the
writings of C S Lewis, who tells an interesting story in his book, "The
Great Divorce." A busload of ghosts is making an excursion from hell up to
heaven with a view of remaining there permanently. They meet the citizens of
heaven and one very big ghost from hell is astonished to find there a man,
who on earth, had been tried and executed for murder.
"What I would like to know," he explodes, "is what are you doing here, you a
murderer, while I a pillar of society, a self-respecting decent citizen am
forced to walk the streets down there in smoke and fumes and must live in a
place like a pigsty." His friend from heaven tries to explain that he has
been forgiven, that both he and the man he had murdered have been reunited
before the judgment seat of Christ. But the big ghost from hell replies, "I
just can't buy that!" "My rights!" he keeps shouting, "I have got to have my
rights the same as you!" "Oh no!" his friend from heaven keeps reassuring
him, "It's not as bad as all that! You don't want your rights! Why, if I had
gotten my rights, I would never be here. You'll not get your rights; you'll
get something far better. You will get the mercy of God.”
This is why we pray,” Lord, have mercy. Christ have mercy ’ or” Kyrie
eleison”, Christe eleison”. This prayer, uttered with faith,
opens the way for us to enter the final destination with God's forgiveness
and for the coming of His kingdom in our hearts.
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Track 9
-
Bliss
"Track 9 is the
culmination of the journey and the basis of the composition is Raag
Darbari. The music relates to the seventh chakra. All barriers of race,
colour, beliefs and opinion fall away and are replaced by silence, joy and
bliss beyond our wildest imagination, it is an experience of heaven on
earth. It is a deep, meaningful and slow raag that features the sitar; the
last part of the raga is a prayer to the Divine.
This dimension was
described by Carl Jung as the “universal unconscious”. Mahatma Gandhi termed
it the “Divine radio”.
The end point of the
journey through the spiritual centres brings us into a meditative state of
“thoughtless awareness” where we are completely spontaneous, drawing
knowledge and awareness directly from the cosmic principles without the
intellect getting in the way. Our human consciousness has the potential to
tune into the infinite and enlightenment develops spontaneously. The great
sages have sung the praises of this dimension and it has been described in
the most poetic language as the union between the lover and the beloved. The
Buddha called it the Void; it has also been termed Nirvana, or Satori.
In the Vedas it is called moksha and Christ called it the kingdom
of heaven.
Listen |
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Track 10-
Gayatri mantra
The album finishes
with the Gayatri mantra, said to be one of the oldest and most powerful of
all Sanskrit mantras.
”As the sun dispels darkness the
gayatri mantra destroys ignorance energizing all earthly life and guides our
intellect in the right direction”.
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