Can Traditional Healing Systems Integrate With Music Therapy?

Sumathy Sundar interviews T. V. Sairam

Sumathy Sundar

Context

In recent trends of attributing any kind of illness to a Bio- Psycho- Social model, the psyche and physiology are interrelated in the context of psycho- social pressures resulting in patho-physiological outcomes. Within this context, an integrated treatment approach has been welcomed by health professionals in a variety of clinical settings. This has led to the introduction of Complementary Therapies which take care of the often unmet psychological and social needs of the patients. In a country like India, known for its rich cultural heritage and traditions, many traditional healing systems like Yoga and Ayurveda have been welcomed globally and have been given scientific endorsements for their therapeutic values. One such approach called nada yoga refers to the study of the powerful influence that nada exerts on one's mind or consciousness. Dr. T V Sairam has been extensively working on nada yoga for quite some time. This interview is an attempt to answer the question if traditional healing systems like nada yoga can integrate with Music Therapy. We hope that this will be of interest to many present-day music therapists. Note that all Sanskrist terms (in italics) used in the interview are described in more detail in the Glossary at the end of the interview.

Interview

Sundar: Dr Sairam, Music Therapy (MT) is being encouraged recently all over the world as a potential complementary therapy in clinical situations within the context of integrated health care. You have a doctoral degree in Alternative Medicine and have been working extensively on Herbal Medicine for about 40 years. You have also been very seriously engaged in researching Raga Chikitsa for quite some time and reviving an ancient healing tradition called Nada Yoga (NY). Nada in Indian connotation is sound vibration. As a music therapist, I would like to know what is nada yoga? Is it a form of Music Therapy?

Dr Sairam: You have got it right. Nada is intonation, which is believed to have therapeutic effects not only for the body and mind of the individuals, but also for the whole family or community. As a non-invasive therapeutic intervention, nada yoga should qualify to be a form of music therapy.

Sundar: I think that a music therapist has to work in total synergy with the health professionals in a clinical setting, be it practice or research. Music therapy is often a supportive therapy involving many kinds of interactions. A music therapist also often works in an interdisciplinary team in terms of assessments, diagnosis, evaluation etc. How do you think alternative therapists and traditional healers can work alongside music therapists?

Dr Sairam: Music therapy necessitates team-work. To start with, there is the team-work between client and therapist. Like two hands coming together to make a clap, the one-to-one rapport is essential for a successful intervention. When we combine music therapy with other forms of alternative therapies such as physiotherapy, aroma therapy, pranayama, srutidarshana etc. it is again essential that different therapists sit together and work out a procedure which complements each other. For this purpose, while music therapists are exposed to such systems, to increase their efficiency the alternative therapists should also be exposed to music therapy.

Sundar: Do you think alternative systems of medicine should be combined with music therapy for better results?

Dr Sairam: I feel that MT can easily combine with every system of medicine -not only alternative systems of medicine, but even the conventional system - for better results. The combination, I feel is a must.

Sundar: A survey done by Nada Center for Music Therapy, Chennai, India reveals that 75% of the respondents, who were psychologists and medical professionals, felt that music should be combined with alternative systems of medicine. What are your views?

Dr Sairam: I am in full agreement. My experience is that instead of using music therapy as a "solo" system, the combination makes it more effective and result-oriented.

Sundar: Do you think nada yoga and music therapy are complementary to each other?

Dr Sairam: Both the approaches are more or less similar. In the case of nada yoga, the practitioner relies upon himself [it goes without saying that although the male pronoun is used here such comments relate to men and women equally - Ed.] to achieve the healthy state of consciousness. In other words, the client himself is his therapist! In other words, nada yoga can be called "self- music therapy". Both are non-invasive and share a holistic platform.

Sundar: I understand nada yoga has a broader approach to sound applications? Is this so?

Dr Sairam: Yes. It is correct to say that NY looks at things more globally. This includes even change in one's life-style and a much broader outlook on the individual as well as society.

Sundar: Is the medium both sound and yoga? Or do you use music applications?

Dr Sairam: The etymological meaning of "nada" is "flow of consciousness" rather than "sound" as being crudely rendered into English. Nada, thus is not taken as a mere "material" sound object, but regarded as the emanation of one's own consciousness. In a deeper level of meditation, it is anahata, the "unstruck" sound which gets involved. At the beta level, it is ahata, the "struck" sound, which comes as an aid for the transformation of consciousness into healing levels.

Sundar: What are the benefits of practising nada yoga?

Dr Sairam: As a practitioner of NY, you develop an awareness of those subtle vibrations, energy patterns and movements within your system, about which you hardly knew before. As you progress you are led towards a sense of joy and harmony, flexibility and fulfillment, which are essential requisites not only for the health of an individual but also for the entire society! It is an ideal healthy state, as in this state you are totally attuned to nature and its universal laws, being in a position to appreciate and accept its logic - ungrudgingly!

Sundar: For want of codifications and preservations of systems nada yoga, though, known as an ancient healing practice, has nowadays become rather lost as a practice. How was it that you were able to revive this tradition?

Dr Sairam: Fortunately, many things about nada yoga are still surviving - very much like the Vedas and Upanishads! What we lack is a proper codification or documentation. Stray information about the concepts and practices are however available here - sometimes in written form and sometimes in oral traditions. It is therefore incorrect to say that I have revived this system. I just happen to write about it in journals and magazines and give my interpretation etc. based on the present-day scientific research being carried out on subjects such as neuro-musicology, psychoneuroimmunology etc.

Sundar: How long have you been working on this?

Dr Sairam: Ever since my childhood, when I was trained to sit with legs crossed by my dad!

Sundar: Do you have literature on this system of practice?

Dr Sairam: Though the system is here, I believe that a great deal of valuable literature exclusively on nada has existed in the past in Sanskrit as well as in the regional languages like Tamil. Due to vagaries of nature and time, this material must have been lost as we now only have some fragmentary materials from different schools of yoga- some written and some existing in oral traditions.

Sundar: Is nada yoga easy to practise?

Dr Sairam: nada yoga, like any system of yoga for that matter, calls for complete devotion and dedication. Without will, there can be no way for this!

Sundar: Do you think music therapists should be trained in nada yoga?

Dr Sairam: At least an introductory knowledge of NY can be of much use to music therapists, as they should be clear about the sound-consciousness nexus, which is the basic principle in healing.

Sundar: Who can be trained in nada yoga? What would be the basic qualifications to be trained in nada yoga?

Dr Sairam: I am confident that any illiterate can turn out to be a better nada yogi than most of our Ph.Ds! What is to be looked for is not the formal education, which incidentally develops our analytical ability at the cost of our intuitive faculty, but the willingness of a person to remain flexible with the flowing tone - bodily and mentally.

Sundar: How do you think, people like you, being experts in alternative system of medicine and researchers in nada yoga and raga chikitsa, which have been traditional forms of healing can help clinical music therapists?

Dr Sairam: I have already emphasized the need for exposure of alternative medicine and NY to music therapists, as they have to work often as the team members. As regards the raga system, Indians are sitting merrily on this gold-mine without realizing its real worth. The system has promising therapeutic potentials (for details, see my book Raga Therapy), and thereby immense scope for future research in music therapy.

Sundar: Can nada yoga be practiced in clinical situations? Is it based in context and culture?

Dr Sairam: NY calls for life-style changes and to be attuned with nature. It is not restricted to India. It is universal and meant for the whole human race. You don"t have to wait for becoming clinically sick in order to practise NY! It is prophylactic as much as therapeutic.

Sundar: In these days of evidence based practice being expected in the clinical scenario, what is the present and future place of nada yoga?

Dr Sairam: People's perception of health is changing these days as they increasingly adopt a "pick and mix" approach, which is affordable and satisfying. In my view, any revival of traditions should accompany an objective assessment of outcome with controlled experimental studies. I would request the alternative healers, music therapists and yoga practitioners to come forward and take up scientific studies, shoulder to shoulder with the scientific community so that the traditions gain strength to deal with the changing scenario.

Sundar: You have correlated the different states of consciousness to the different brain wave frequencies. What was the turning point or the flash of idea for your revelation?

Dr Sairam: When I compared the impact of the brain wave frequencies (beta, alpha, theta and delta) with that of the traditionally recognized four sound-consciousness patterns (vaikhari, madhyama, pashyanti and para), I noticed that they dwell in a region which is almost identical. It is just a chance discovery and nothing to gloat over!

Sundar: Your revelation about the correlation of consciousness and brain wave frequencies - can it be helpful in music therapy researches?

Dr Sairam: I think so. In the case of mentally retarded children with whom I am interacting to analyze the impact of ragas, our goals are to raise them from alpha to beta levels, as this would make them alert and independent. I am confident that the study of the sound-consciousness nexus will provide an answer not only in de-stressing the stressed, but also stressing the de-stressed among us!

Sundar: You have recently ventured into a research project on Proto raga therapy for children with special needs. Is it music therapy or nada yoga or are you combining nada yoga and music therapy?

Dr Sairam: Proto-ragas are the undeveloped ragas. A raga, to be fully developed needs at least five notes in an octave. In the case of proto-ragas, the number of notes in an octave can vary from one to four. Several prayer and Vedic recitations in India, for example, are performed in proto-ragas like archika, gathika and samika. Many mantras, which are known for their energetic content, are recited in proto-ragas. I feel that in the process of mental development, behavior and personality trait, proto-ragas can play a crucial role. With these proto-ragas we are studying the behavioural impact of special children. I have noticed that these children respond readily to the outburst of proto-ragas and rapid rhythms more quickly than to medium-paced ragas.

Sundar: Thank you very much Dr. Sairam. It is of great interest to all the music therapists to know something about nada yoga, an ancient healing system and how it could be integrated with present day music therapy.

Glossary

List of Sanskrit terms used in the interview as enlarged and elucidated by Dr. T. V. Sairam in his writings.

• Ahata Nada
  The "outer" sensory music heard at the level of beta consciousness level through the sense organs viz. ears, ear-drums etc. where mechanical energy is converted into electro-chemical energy to be perceived by the brain.
• Anahata Nada
  The "inner" music emanating from the subtle heart-chakra (anahata chakra), one of the seven psychic chakras (nervous plexuses) in the body, while in a deep, meditative state.
• Archika
  A proto-raga, consisting of repeated use of just a single swara (note) alone (eg., Sa Sa Sa etc. ). Singing in mono tone is a common feature in Indian folk and religious music.
• Gathika
  A proto-raga, employing only two swaras (notes), in various combinations (eg., Sa, Ri, Sa, Ri etc). Common in religious chanting
• Madhyama Nada
  One of the four states of consciousness, which is an intermediate state between pasyanti and vaikhari.
• Nada
  Lit. " To flow". A "mystical sound" as it refers to "sound-consciousness", rather than the acoustical sound. This term is also loosely used to accommodate intonation, pulsation, resonance, tone, vibration etc. Indian traditions and philosophy believe that the entire universe with all its manifestations, which include us too, is made of nada.
• Nada Yoga
  An integral part of the ancient yoga system, aimed at developing awareness of nada.
• Nada Yogi
  One who practices nada yoga.
• Para Nada
  Lit. "Supreme Nada". One of the four sound-consciousness states, para nada refers to the subtlest and highest of all our sound-consciousness, that pervades into every being, every thing and in every event in and around us.
• Pashyanti Nada
  One of the four states of "sound-consciousness", referred to also as the causal energy, often equated to a state of the creative movement.
• Pranayama
  An ancient breathing technique, which leads to control emotions, balancing the head and heart.
• Proto-raga
  A term coined recently by Sairam to distinguish those "undeveloped" or "under-developed" raga passages or phrases, which are used in training the mentally retarded children of Visakhapatnam (India). They are distinguishable from the regular ragas, as they are made of only one, two or three swaras.
• Raga
  The pivot on which the Indian Music revolves. An Indian Musical scale which utilizes varying ascending(aroha) and descending (avaroha) patterns, certain notes on the way up and certain others on the way down, but always in the set consequence. Ragas are made of notes, or swaras. A raga as a form or organization signifies a wide range of ideas and a vast spectrum of emotional nuances. The raga system envisages the use of a minimum of five swaras in a raga scale.
• Raga Chikitsa
  Application of raga for the over-all health of individuals as well as the social community.
• Samika
  A proto-raga, constructed with three swaras alone (eg., Sa Ri and Ni) in various combinations. Most of the Vedic chants are sung in this fashion.
• Swara
  "Note" in Indian music. The swara is distinguishable from a western note, as it is allowed to oscillate into the neighbouring note's frequencies to heighten the emotive content of a raga. The flexibility in swara rendering offers certain freedom in swara kalpana (imagination) giving full vent to feelings, to both the artist and the listener.
• Upanishads
  The philosophical portions of Vedas. Etymologically speaking, the word traces its origin from the prefixes "upa" (near) and "ni" (down), added to the root "shad" (to sit). It means sitting down or near a guru to receive spiritual instruction.
• Vaikhari Nada
  The grossest form of sound-consciousness which is sensory, vibro-tactile and vibro-acoustic.
• Veda
  The ancient scriptures of the Hindus, forming into four collections - rik (hymns to gods), sama (the priest's chants), yajur (the sacrificial strategy) and atharva (the charm ).
• Yoga
  Etymologically speaking, the term "Yoga" originates from "Yuj" meaning to join, to yoke, to concentrate one's attention on etc. Yoga refers to the union of our will to the will of God, enabling us to look evenly (and sagaciously) at life from all its myriads of aspects.

Selected References

Singh, Jaidev (1980). Nada in Indian Tradition. Journal of the Indian Musicological Society, 11, 37 - 42.

Sambamurthy, P. (1984). A Dictionary of South Indian Music and Musicians. Part I. Chennai : The Indian Music Publishing House.

Lyengar, B. K. S. (2003). Light on Pranayama. New Delhi: Harper Collins.

Sairam, T.V. (2004). What is Music? Chennai: Nada Centre for Music Therapy.

Sairam, T.V. (2004). Medicinal Music. Chennai: Nada Centre for Music Therapy.

Sairam, T.V. (2004). Raga Therapy. Chennai: Nada Centre for Music Therapy.

Sairam, T.V. (2005). Nada Yoga. Ayurveda and All, pp. 44.