Harnessing the divine musical power for human welfare

The abstruse musical powers can be harnessed for human welfare by evolving suitable techniques.

Music has ever been integral to social, cultural and religious ethos of mankind. In wintry nights early men gathered around fire, danced and sang in accompaniment to music as refreshing relief from drudgery of diurnal life. This energised him to take up next day’s tasks with verve and cheers. “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”, said German-Jewish author Berthold Auerbach. The immense, abstruse potential of music has been widely used to pacify the turbulent minds & souls. Till a few decades ago, mothers sang lullabies, enabling their nagging child to sleep. Most endearing to us is the sound of our favourite music.

A line in John Dryden’s poem, A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day, “What passion cannot music raise and quell?” appears to be the unwritten guiding principle of healers, motivators, preachers, marketing professionals. Understanding the charismatic impact of music, the businessman uses, rather abuses musical power to sell his products, leader to woo voters, religious guru to captivate devotees and magician to mesmerise the crowd, and wins hearts. No festivity or celebration – social, cultural or religious, also official function, is considered complete without musical inputs of some description. When bangs from a band or other instrument trigger the soldiers at war front, their dormant strength coming to fore, they exert their best and defeat the enemy. Without knowing Bhupen Hazarika’s wording, “Dil hoom hoom kare…”, one is overwhelmed with romantic ecstasy and reflexively driven to the exotic land. In contemporary society fraught with conflict, discords, fragmentation, suspicion and misunderstanding, love for music implies faith in an order that can assuage the omnipresent mental and emotional hurts.

The mystique surrounding music can be attributed to its divine origin. One theory about origin of universe says, it all began with music, “From harmony, from heavenly harmony, this universal frame begun”. So, in Indian culture a God or Goddess is often depicted holding a certain musical instrument: lord Shiva with Damaru, Saraswati with Veena, Krishna with Bansuri, etc. Not just that; words are believed to have evolved by symbolically codifying each differently emanated sound beat of Damaru played by lord Shiva. The mystic element in music is in sync with essentially divine nature of man. Ringing of bells, playing of musical instruments or chanting Mantras during Hindu rituals serves to invoke higher powers who bless the devotees. “The vibrations in the air are the breath of God speaking to man’s soul”, said Ludwig van Beethoven.

Our feet, or fingers frisk with beat or rhythm of sound from band or other instrument because ‘we listen to music with our muscles’ as Nietzsche said. The magical power of music has been personally attested by Napolean Hill in ‘You Can Work Your Own Miracles’ in the case of his son born without ears who, the doctors declared, shall never be able to hear all his life. The author took it as challenge, and restored his hearing capacity to thirty percent in few months, a dream come true at which same doctors wondered. He did it by reciting music to the sleeping child for months, thus inculcating in him the craving to listen to it. With time, his hearing capacity improved consistently.

By drifting one from depressing, frustrating and negative thoughts, music rejuvenates mind, body and spirits, lets us visualise feelings we never cherished in past. Spiritual rejuvenation apart, enormous health benefits of music in correcting emotional, psychic and physiological disorders are uncontroversial. By triggering endorphin formation, music creates ‘feel good’ effect, boosts immunity and minimises dependence on drugs, particularly pain killers. It makes one happier, enhances performance, wards off anxiety, improves concenration and strengthens learning and memory. Studies have demonstrated clear improvements of musical intervention in autism, schizophrenia, frozen parts in Parkinson’s and several mental diseases. Also, participation in community celebrations with music joins hearts, so direly needed today.

Music served as handy modality to bring succour to the home-bound conditions in lockdown period by alleviating the ennui of people and keeping them constructively engaged. “Music is moonlight in the gloomy night of life”, said Jean Paul. Wide exchange of popular movie songs of yore or favourite bhajans through social media helped people keep their poise and cheers. Apart from its soothing effect on soul and mind, music has several health benefits. The destabilising era times we are through, irrespective of Coronavirus, warrants espousing music in routine schedule. However, a word of caution here; certain forms of music nourish the baser, aggressive, violent instincts that need rather be curbed. A suggested area in music research is exploring new techniques for human welfare. Since “music has charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak” as English playwright William Congreve said, why suitable melodies & tunes cannot be evolved and applied to cure those living with morbidities of various description.

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Published in edit page of Orissa Post on 21 June 2021, the Monday (World Music day).

Online newspaper link: https://www.orissapost.com/harnessing-musical-power-for-human-welfare/

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