Indian Classical Music and Spirituality: The journey from 'sa' to 'Sa'

It is a well-known fact that Indian Classical music, especially Carnatic music, traces its origins back to the Vedās. This particular system of music has evolved over many centuries from the rhythmic chanting found in the Rigveda and Yajurveda as well as the elaborate musical exponentiation found in the Sāmaveda. The Carnatic music variant of the Indian Classical music came to a full maturity in its currently established form , i.e., the seven swarās, 12 swarastānas  and the various ragas, during the second millennium of CE. To understand better the connection that this school of music holds with the vedās, let's first look little deeper at the system in Sāma veda.

The Sāma Veda contains mostly the vedic mantras from Rigveda that are set to be sung in an elaborate musical pattern. The components of this musical pattern are classified into seven, each of them called as a Sāman. These seven components are sung in sequence to complete a rendering of the Sāma. These seven Sāman are:

1. Himkara - The sound 'Him', denoting the beginning of the chant. Think of this as the hint or suggestion of what is to follow. The Chandogya Upanisad equates this to the first sign of daybreak on the eastern sky
2. Prastāva - The preamble. The Upanishad equates this to the sun rise
3. Ᾱdi - The beginning. The Upanishad equates this to the early morning sun.
4. Udgita - The inspired singing. This forms the main part of the chant. The Upanishad equates this to the Sun during mid-morning through early afternoon
5. Pratihāra - Withdrawal or the start of waning of the music. The Upanishad equates this to the early evening as the Sun starts its descent on western sky.
6. Upadrava - Dissolution or the waning. The Upanishad equates this to sun set
7. Nidhana - Final rest. The Upanishad equates this to the late evening

(In addition to these seven, the Sāma singing also has 'Pranava' which is 'Om')

The cycle of chanting is repeated, in the same way as the cycle of days and nights unfold, beginning from silence and ending in the same silence.

As stated before, the seven swarās form the most fundamental  basis of Indian Classical music. Each of them, surprisingly, has a  close association with our own idea of self. Let's take a look at each of them in detail.

1. 'sa' - Shadjam, meaning 'that from which the six are born'. This represents the individual self from which the five sense organs and mind originate.
2. 'ri' = Rishabam, meaning the foremost, which is the physical body or 'sarira'.
3. 'ga' - Gāndhāram, meaning the land of Gandharva, who are the celestial artists who best enjoy sensual pleasures. This could also be considered as the field of Gandha or sense of smell etc,  meaning the subtle sense organs
4. 'ma' - Madhyamam, meaning the middle. What is in the middle, between the sense organs and the soul, is the mind.
5. 'pa' - Panchamam, the fifth one or the fivefold one. There are five prānas or vital forces called Prāna (propelling force powering actions, mainly inbreath and outbreath driven), Apāna (impelling force powering all excretionary function), Vyāna (distributory force supporting circulation within body), Udāna (expressive force supporting speech etc. as well as digestion of food),  and Samāna (equalizing or balancing force that also supports the departure of soul from body at time of death)
6. 'da' - Daivatham, the 'God related' which is the intelligent consciousness (chaitanyam)  in beings that is the sign of divinity in them
7. 'ni' - Nishādam, 'the death related' or  where everything comes to rest. This is the absolute state of joy, Ᾱnanda, of  the soul where all experiences come to rest.
8. 'Sa' = This is the higher 'Sa' , the universal being which is the true nature of the lower 'sa', the individual soul

In addition to this,  the delivery of a Carnatic music composition consists of the following aspects, each of which have a corresponding foundation in the Sāman explained above.

1. Thāla - The beat selected for singing. Equivalent to the Himkāra Sāman
2. Ᾱlāpana - The exposition of the Rāga . Equivalent to the Prastāva and Ᾱdi Sāman
3. Pallavi - The first segment of the composition. Equivalent to Udgita Sāman
4. Anu Pallavi - The second segment of the composition. Equivalent to the Pratihāra Sāman
5. Charanam - The third segment of the composition. Equivalent to the Upadrava Sāman
6. Layam - The melody. Equivalent to the Nidhana Sāman
7. Sruti - The pitch selected for the singing. Equivalent to Pranava as the entire rendering of the song is anchored on the Sruti

Every Mela Karta Raga, the musical scale that uses all the seven swaras, is composed of a journey upward ( arohana or ascendance) from the lower 'sa' to the higher 'Sa' through these seven swaras  at their various notes called swarastāna, and then a return journey (avarohana or descent) from the higher 'Sa' to the lower 'sa', again through the same seven swaras and their swarastāna. 

The act of meditation is also nothing but this journey from 'sa' to 'Sa', from the lower self to the higher self. In meditation, the seeker traverse through different stages of identity of self, starting with the physical body, the sense organs, the mind, the breath, the intelligence and finally arriving at the sense of joy. A each stage the seeker recognizes the self's association with that level of consciousness  and then leaves that association to get to the next level. This journey continues until the 'Sa' or higher self that is transcendent to even the sense of joy, called as Samādhi,  is reached. And, then the journey is reversed and finally when the seeker arrives back at the 'sa', the association with the stages in between will no longer feel the same and life becomes a good piece of music !