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Nadopasana for Salvation By
Dr. R. Krishnaswami |
Nadopasana is bhakthi, worship, and devotion through music. As the article on Thyagaraja’s musical plays pointed out, Sri Thyagaraja Swami used his compositions to energize our inner spiritual forces or nadopasana to attain moksha or salvation in this life. There are several references to nadopasana in Indian musicology, philosophy, and epics. For example, in The Sangita Rathnakara, the opening slokas explain how nada and Kundalini1 are interrelated and how this comprehension is necessary for salvation. Sri Thyagaraja Swami took the first three slokas and composed the following kritis, Nada Thanum Anisam, Sobhillu Saptha Swara, and Nadopasana, using the first, second, and third sloka respectively.
According to Hindu sastras, Naabhi, Hrith, Kanta, Rasana, and Naasa are the sources of sound which originate from the Mooladhara or the inner soul. The recognition of this Mooladharaja naada is itself moksha says Sri Thyagaraja in the Sankarabharanam kriti, Swara Raga Sudharasa. Thyagaraja Swami says "Mooladaraja" naada "Merungutaye mudamagu mokshamura"; the realization of the existence and experience of the sound generated at the base of the spine is itself blissful heaven. Again, in the same kriti, he reiterated this again, "kolahala saptaswaramula gruhamula guruthe mokshamura."
In this connection, it
is interesting to note that Sir John Sparrow, in his book titled, Serpent
Power, equates Kund alini with endogenous sound.
The identification of the correct srutis
as the home of the swaras is also important for experiencing moksha or liberation “Saptha Swarmula Grhuhamula guruthe mokshamura.” The worship of pure sound emanating from within
you and identifying yourself with it and being in consonance with it is liberation
or moksha.
Sri Thyagaraja
Swami not only stresses the importance of recognizing and developing the ability
to experience Mooladhara nada, but also more specifically
asks the votaries to practice sangitopasana as a
means and prelude to enjoying nadopasana. In his composition, Sribapriya
Sangeethopasana in Atana, he conjures up visions
of the mind traveling in the swaras -
“Sapthaswara Chaari” and melodic
ragas manifesting themselves in delightful forms - “Ranjimpa Jesedu ragambulu, manjulamagu navatarambulethi.” He stresses other and nearer terrestrial benefits
of sangita gana -
“Prema Bhakthi, Sujana Vathsalyamu, Srimath Ramaa vara Katakshamu,
Nema Nishta Yasodhanamu” as the rewards of acquiring Sangita Sastra gnana.
These discussions on
nadopasana thus point to how Sri Thyagaraja
was not only an excellent musicologist conforming to the traditional sastras but who, through simple songs with pristine purity,
taught us the nature and purpose of music.
Indeed , through sangita
he urged us to acquire the wisdom of perceiving Brahman, the intelligence
to analyze and experience Him; the diligence to seek Him; and the patience
to wait for enlightenment. He described
his Rama as an embodiment of Nada. No other composer has in such a simple and appealing
ways taught music as art, science, philosophy and ultimately, as a means to
salvation.
1 According to Yoga sastras, we humans are
a microcosmic image of the universe. This
universal energy that each human carries within oneself is the Kundalini. The Kundalini lies dormant until awakened. The object of certain
forms of yoga is to awaken this dormant force and to let it lead us to the
path of salvation. Liberation, therefore,
is unity with the universe from which we originated; the individual spirit becomes part of the universal spirit. It is the highest experience that a yogi to
a saint to an ordinary individual is striving to reach. One of the yogic approaches that awakens the Kundalini is the nada
or nadopasana or devotion through music.