religions

Article
Sacred Music and Hindu Religious Experience: From
Ancient Roots to the Modern Classical Tradition
Guy L. Beck
Asian Studies and Philosophy, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA; [email protected]




Received: 22 December 2018; Accepted: 24 January 2019; Published: 29 January 2019


Abstract: While music plays a significant role in many of the world’s religions, it is in the Hindu
religion that one finds one of the closest bonds between music and religious experience extending for
millennia. The recitation of the syllable OM and the chanting of Sanskrit Mantras and hymns from the
Vedas formed the core of ancient fire sacrifices. The Upanishads articulated OM as Śabda-Brahman,
the Sound-Absolute that became the object of meditation in Yoga. First described by Bharata in the
Nātya-Śāstra as a sacred art with reference to Rasa (emotional states), ancient music or Sangı̄ta was a
vehicle of liberation (Moks.a) founded in the worship of deities such as Brahmā, Vishnu, Śiva, and
Goddess Sarasvatı̄. Medieval Tantra and music texts introduced the concept of Nāda-Brahman as the
source of sacred music that was understood in terms of Rāgas, melodic formulas, and Tālas, rhythms,
forming the basis of Indian music today. Nearly all genres of Indian music, whether the classical
Dhrupad and Khayal, or the devotional Bhajan and Kı̄rtan, share a common theoretical and practical
understanding, and are bound together in a mystical spirituality based on the experience of sacred
sound. Drawing upon ancient and medieval texts and Bhakti traditions, this article describes how
music enables Hindu religious experience in fundamental ways. By citing several examples from the
modern Hindustani classical vocal tradition of Khayal, including text and audio/video weblinks, it is
revealed how the classical songs contain the wisdom of Hinduism and provide a deeper appreciation
of the many musical styles that currently permeate the Hindu and Yoga landscapes of the West.

Keywords: Indian music; sacred sound; Hinduism; Kı̄rtan; Bhajan; Nāda-Brahman; Dhrupad; Khayal;
Bhakti; Rasa; Sangı̄ta; Rāga; Tāla

Our tradition teaches us that sound is God—Nāda Brahma. That is, musical sound and the
musical experience are steps to the realization of the Self. We view music as a kind of spiritual
discipline that raises one’s inner being to divine peacefulness and bliss. The highest aim of
our music is to reveal the essence of the universe it reflects, and the Rāgas are among the
means by which this essence can be apprehended. Thus, through music, one can reach God.
—Ravi Shankar, Sitar maestro (Shankar 1968, p. 17)

The above statement is one of the first public expressions in the West of the spirituality of Indian
music by a renowned Indian musician. Beginning in the 1960s, many Westerners were exposed to
Hindu religion and culture in the form of Yoga and Indian classical music. Due to the relaxation of
American immigration rules in 1965, an infusion of Indian religious teachers and musicians paved the
way for the adoption of Hinduism by Americans, as well as the formal instruction in Indian music on
instruments such as the Sitar and Tabla. As a result, scholars and practitioners began the careful study
of ancient Sanskrit texts that revealed the close links between Hindu religious thought and Indian music.
From Vedic chant to the Upanishads, from Yoga philosophy to Tantric rituals, from theistic worship
to the Bhakti movements, from classical Dhrupad and Khayal songs in Rāgas (melodic patterns) and
Tālas (rhythms) to lighter forms of Bhajan and Kı̄rtan, many seemingly disparate sectors of Indian

Religions 2019, 10, 85; doi:10.3390/rel10020085 www.mdpi.com/journal/religions

Religions 2019, 10, 85 2 of 15

tradition are found to be bound together in a mystical spirituality grounded in the experience of sacred
sound. This essay first outlines the theoretical roots of sacred sound in India, and then explains the
connections between these and sacred music, aesthetics, the traditions of devotion, and finally to
the modern Hindustani classical tradition. The presentation demonstrates a continuity between the
ancient and modern traditions by means of several examples of classical vocal compositions known as
Khayal, including text and audio/video weblinks. The result is a deeper appreciation of the underlying
spiritual unity of Indian music as well as a more accurate understanding of the variety of classical and
devotional songs that permeate the Hindu and Yoga landscapes of the West.
To many Westerners, Ravi Shankar was their first exposure to Indian music. Yet two predecessors,
one in America and one in India, had already set the stage for the acceptance of the spirituality of
Indian music by aligning it with Yoga. Considered one of the first Yoga teachers to settle in America,
Paramahansa Yogānanda (1893–1952), in his bestselling work, Autobiography of a Yogi: The Classic Story
of One of India’s Greatest Spiritual Thinkers (Yogānanda [1946] 2016, p. 131), suggested an alliance
between the syllable OM (AUM) and the music or sound that can be heard through faculties taught in
Yoga: “The ancient Rishis discovered these laws of sound alliance between nature and man. Because
nature is an objectification of AUM, the Primal Sound or Vibratory Word, man can obtain control over
all natural manifestations through the use of certain mantras or chants. The deeper aim of the early
Rishi-musicians was to blend the singer with the Cosmic Song which can be heard through awakening
of man’s occult spinal centers.”
Swami Śivānanda (1887–1963), also a key transmitter of Yoga, did not travel to the West. However,
Śivānanda’s teachings were a noteworthy influence through disciples who brought his message
to America and the Western world, including Swami Vishnudevānanda, Swami Satchidānanda,
Swami Chidānanda, and Swami Nādabrahmānanda. In his seminal book, Music as Yoga (Śivānanda
1956, pp. 6–7), Sivananda explained the relation between Yoga and music by means of OM: “What
distinguished Indian music . . . It was always held to be but an extension and outward symbolization of
the Omnipresent Pran.ava Sound—OM—and utilized only for purposes of God attainment—a feature
it has retained to the present-day, as will be evident from the fact that, up to the end of the last century,
the subject of musical compositions has rarely been anything but God and his glories.” In terms of
Yoga terminology, he identifies the physical Yoga with music (ibid., p. 18): “Music is a synthesis of the
various Yogas or paths to God-realization. Music itself is Hatha Yoga Sadhana.” These provocative
statements beckon us to look further by exploring the ancient Sanskrit sources on Indian music and the
spirituality of Hindu religion. Since vocal music is the root of all music, this essay will focus primarily
on the vocal classical tradition.

1. Sacred Sound: OM and Nāda-Brahman

Traditionally, the Indian experience of music has been bound to the apprehension of the divine
in the context of religious activities, first through ancient fire sacrifices and then through Pūjā or
devotional worship of various gods and goddesses. From the singing of the ancient Vedic hymns to
the devotional chants and songs of modern-day devotees, Indian music is deeply grounded in the
theological principles of sacred sound as contained in Hindu scriptures. The Vedas and Upanishads
(ca. 2000–1000 BCE) contain information about the practice of chant and vocal utterance in relation to
fire sacrifices to the gods. These ancient Indo-Āryan texts are believed to embody the eternal primeval
sound that generated the universe, symbolized by the syllable OM, the power of which is manifest
through oral chant. Recent research on the origins and history of the syllable OM has revealed that
OM was closely associated with tonal chant and music from the beginning of its use.in ancient India.
According to Gerety (2015, p. 461), “The bottom line is that the first thousand years of OM constitute a
Sāmavedic movement within the broader religious culture of Vedism. Amidst concurrent contributions
by experts from the other Vedas, it was the singer-theologians of first the Jaiminı̄ya, and then the
Kauthuma, branches of Sāma-Veda who did the most to foster OM’s emergence. In my view, this is the
single most important finding of the present study: that the history of the sacred syllable resounds
Religions 2019, 10, 85 3 of 15

with music and song.” Additionally, Wilke and Moebus (2011) explores the linguistic aspects of sound
as communication in the context of Sanskritic culture. All this research helps us to understand the
function of OM and why the chanting of OM is almost always tonal, unless muttered in near-silence.
That is, OM is normally executed in a kind of monotone on the tonic note of a scale. This method is
still the foundation of Hindu worship and the basis for opening classical vocal music performances.
The Vedic fire sacrifice always included chant and meditation on sound, such that ritual chanting
was viewed as an effective means to interact with the cosmos and to obtain unseen spiritual merit
toward a heavenly afterlife. Verses from the Rig Veda were chanted in roughly three distinct musical
tones or accents, which were expanded to seven notes in the singing of hymns (Sāmans) from the
Sāma Veda (ca. 1000 BCE). Utilized during elaborate sacrifices involving the offering of Soma juice,
the Sāma Veda hymns comprise the earliest hymnal in world religion. They were believed to possess
supernatural powers capable of petitioning and supporting the deities that controlled the forces of
the universe, indicating to us that music was mysteriously linked to the divine at this early stage of
Hindu ritual practice. Thite (1997, p. 68) described the attractive and powerful nature of the Sāma
Veda hymns: "the poet-singers call, invoke, and invite the gods with the help of musical elements.
In so doing they seem to be aware of the magnetic power of music and therefore they seem to be
using that power in calling the gods." The connections between chant, music, and the gods in Vedic
culture formed the basis of both the earliest classical music known as Gandharva Sangı̄ta, and the later
devotional music or Bhakti Sangit which formed part of the Bhakti movements. And while music in
India formed part of both public worship and drama, it was viewed not only as entertainment, but as
a vehicle toward liberation (Moks.a) and immortality.
As discussed in Beck (1993), musical sound in Hindu tradition is linked to the divine Absolute
known as Brahman through the concepts of Śabda-Brahman and especially Nāda-Brahman (“Sacred
sound as God”), comprising Nāda-Śakti (sound energy) and Brahman (divine Absolute). Brahman,
first articulated in the Upanishads, is also conceived in two ways: Nirgun.a (without attributes), and
Sagun.a (with attributes). The followers of Nirgun.a-Brahman worship the Absolute beyond all material
qualities, which can be approached without the use or need of icons or deities. The followers of
Sagun.a-Brahman, on the other hand, prefer the use of images and statues as more effective means
of meditation on the divine. The developing notion of Nāda-Brahman (sacred sound) is described
in the Āgamas and Tantras as well as in Yoga commentaries and musicological texts such as the
Sangı̄ta-Ratnākara, encompassing both Nirgun.a and Sagun.a approaches to the Absolute. The term
Nāda-Brahman refers to sacred sound that may be either unmanifest (Anāhata, “unstruck,” existing in
the divine realm) or manifest (Āhata, “struck,” existing in the human realm, i.e., music). Although both
perspectives of Nirgun.a and Sagun.a are discoverable in the Upanishads, the underlying philosophy is
shared, namely, that the material world is temporary and illusory, and one should attempt to transgress
the cycle of rebirth known as Samsāra by decreasing material attachment to family, friends, and
possessions. This philosophy is also conveyed in the lyrics of classical songs known as Khayal.
Most Hindu practitioners follow the Sagun.a tradition. Whether as Vaishnavism (Vishnu or
Krishna worship), Śaivism (Śiva worship), or Śaktism (goddess worship), the concept of Nāda-Brahman
(‘sacred sound’) is employed to affirm that God or the Supreme Being contains the elemental of primal
sound and can be approached in its deity form through sound and music. Regarding the Sagun.a
aspect, Hopkins (1971, p. 20) has described how the names and epithets of deities were the sonic
counterparts to the visual dimensions: "Sanskrit words were not just arbitrary labels assigned to
phenomena; they were the sound forms of objects, actions, and attributes, related to the corresponding
reality in the same way as visual forms, and different only in being perceived by the ear and not by the
eye.” True meditation on an icon thus involves both sound and image, leading us to the important role
of music in Hindu religious experience. Moreover, the name of a deity was understood to contain all
the spiritual potencies of the deity. Hence the well-known axiom, “Mantra (name) and Devatā (deity)
are the same,” that is affirmed throughout the Hindu tradition, lending credence to Nām-Kı̄rtan, the
chanting of divine names.
Religions 2019, 10, 85 4 of 15

2. Sacred Music: Sangı̄ta

Indian music, known as Sangı̄ta, is considered divine in origin and very closely identified with
the Hindu gods and goddesses. The Goddess Sarasvatı̄, depicted with the Vina instrument in hand, is
believed to be the divine patroness of music. Brahmā, the creator of the universe, fashioned Indian
music out of the ingredients of the Sāma Veda and plays the hand cymbals. Vishnu the Preserver
sounds the conch shell and plays the flute in the form of the incarnation known as Krishna. Śiva as
Nat.arāja plays the Damaru drum during the dance of cosmic dissolution. Sangita has three divisions:
vocal, instrumental, and dance.
Described in Beck (2012, chp. 2), Gandharva Sangı̄ta was the ancient non-sacrificial counterpart
to the sacrificial Sāma Veda hymns and considered a replica of the music performed and enjoyed in
Lord Indra’s heavenly court. Brought down to earth by the sage Nārada, this essentially vocal music
included instruments such as the Vina, flutes, drums, and cymbals. The oldest surviving texts of
Gandharva Sangı̄ta, the Nāt.ya-Śāstra by Bharata Muni and the Dattilam by Dattila (ca. 400–200 BCE),
provide glimpses of this music as it was performed in sacred dramas, festivals, courtly ceremonies, and
temple rituals in honor of the emerging great gods and goddesses such as Śiva, Vishnu, Brahmā, and
Ganes.a. Gandharva Sangı̄ta was linked to the practice of Pūjā (worship of images) which gradually
replaced the fire sacrifice as the center of Hindu religious activity.
In Sangı̄ta, the musical note is wedded to a beat and a word. The inclusion of a lyric in the
definition of music also underscores the centrality of vocal music in the ancient world. In the third
verse of Dattilam (Nijenhuis 1970, p. 17), Sangı̄ta is, “A collection of notes (Svara), which is based
on words (Pada), which is well-measured by time-measurement (Tāla) and which is executed with
attentiveness.” This statement is basically the same as that found in Nāt.ya-Śāstra (28.8). While Vedic
chants and Sāma Veda hymns were punctuated by metrical divisions that generated distinct units of
unseen merit that accrued to the priest or sacrificer, similar metrical units were marked by the playing
of hand cymbals and drums in Gandharva music. The ancient theorists held that the musicians and
audience earned Moks.a through accumulation of unseen merit through the marking of ritual (musical)
time in the form of Tāla. The significance of rhythm or Tāla can thus be traced to the earliest texts on
music. Liberation within the theistic and devotional traditions was also dependent on the emotion
feelings of love that the practitioners held in terms of the developing personal relationship with their
deity, including the proper Rasa sentiments.

3. Aesthetics of Rasa
In the Sagun.a approach to the divine, the deity is physically visible to the devotee in the form
of an icon or statue. Believed to be more accessible to human devotion, the deities became the
objects of aesthetic sentiments as expressed through the musical arts. The Upanishads describe
Brahman (Absolute or God) as raso vai sah, full of the essence of aesthetic delight or Rasa (Taittirı̄ya
Upanishad 2.7.1). The association between Rasa and music began to appear in the earliest Sanskrit
musical treatises and texts on Pūjā and the dramatic arts. Bharata Muni, in Nātya-Śāstra, was
the first to outline the basic features of Indian music as well as the various aesthetic experiences
(Rasas) associated with drama and the worship of icons. Rasas are the artistic or aesthetic
expressions of emotional experiences that are believed to be universal traits of humanity, such as
love, compassion, and heroism. In the Nāt.ya-Śāstra (6.15, 39–45), Bharata Muni presents the original
eight Rasas: Śringāra—erotic, Hāsya—comic, Karun.ā—compassion, Raudra—terror, Vı̄ra—heroic,
Bhayānaka—fear, Bı̄bhatsa—disgust, and Adbhuta—wonder (Rangacharya 2003, pp. 54–56). The
Nāt.ya-Śāstra (19.38-40) ties the eight Rasas with the seven individual notes of the musical scale known
for the first time as Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni (cf. do re mi fa so la ti): erotic—Pa (fifth), comic—Ma
(fourth), compassion—Ga (third) and Ni (seventh), disgust and fear—Dha (sixth), heroic, terror, and
wonder—Sa (tonic) and Re (second) (Rangacharya 2003, pp. 142–43).
Covering six chapters (Nāt.ya-Śāstra 28–33), Bharata discussed vocal and instrumental music,
musical instruments, and theoretical issues of scale (Grāma), mode (Jāti), meter (Mātrā), and rhythm
Religions 2019, 10, 85 5 of 15

(Tāla). The ancient musical scales are known as Grāmas, of which there were three. Out of the notes of
the Grāmas, sixteen Jātis or modes were formed which included some basic defining characteristics,
such as notes of emphasis, phrase-like patterns, and so forth. The early notion of Jāti developed into the
Rāga by the eighth century CE, as known from the famous text, Brihaddeśı̄, by Matanga. This text also
connected the Rāga with sacred sound as Nāda-Brahman. The Rāga, as a special set of notes, was more
distinct as a melodic pattern than the Jāti, and had unique structural characteristics, emotional content
(Rasa), and methods of performance. All Rāgas comprise ascending and descending patterns of from
five to seven notes derived from the seven-note scale above, with the additional lowering or raising
of specific notes to enlarge the gamut. The Rāga quickly became the preferred form of expression for
the classical and devotional songs coming out of the medieval Bhakti movements. Nānyadeva, in
his twelfth-century Bharata-bhāshya, developed the relation between Rasas and Rāgas such that these
associations were expressed in poetic form known Dhyāna-Mantras, and in the paintings (Rāgamālā)
that further linked them with a season, time of day, and gender (male Rāga and female Rāginı̄).
As classical music was gradually separated from drama, four of the original eight Rasas—Śringāra,
Karun.ā, Vı̄ra, and Adbhuta—retained their association with music, with Śringāra Rasa holding its pride
of place through the centuries. Śringāra Rasa was described as having two types: union (sambhoga)
and separation (vipralambha). The first celebrates the joy and exhilaration of lovers meeting, the
second endures the pangs of separation, including anxiety, yearning, and some jealousy. The universal
human quality (sthāyi-bhāva) of Śringāra is romantic passion (ratı̄). Associated with white, pure,
bright, beautiful and elegant attire, and the fullness of youth, Śringāra Rasa was also expressly affiliated
with the god Vishnu, whose incarnation of Krishna became the nexus of divine love–play in later poetry
and music. A ninth Rasa, Śānta Rasa (peace) was added by the Kashmiri philosopher Abhinavagupta
in the tenth century CE. Śānta Rasa was the appropriate musical aesthetic in response to the formless
nature of the divine, or Nirgun.a-Brahman, as endorsed by the non-dualist school of Advaita Vedanta
propounded in Kashmiri Śaivism. Śringāra Rasa, however, was believed to transcend the formless or
impersonal conception and was more suitable for the Sagun.a approach to the divine.

4. Bhakti and Music: Kı̄rtan and Bhajan

The Bhakti devotional movements began in southern India in the sixth century CE. At that time,
separate Bhakti groups emerged as powerful forces favoring a devotion-centered Hinduism with
song-texts composed primarily in vernacular, in this case Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Many new
styles of regional devotional music were duly formalized to accompany liturgies in the temples of
medieval times. These styles followed a simple aesthetic reflecting the perspective of music as an
offering as well as a means toward communion with a chosen deity. In the evolving personal theism,
Brahman was conceived as the supreme personal deity, whether Vishnu, Śiva, or Śakti, and believed
to be the fountainhead of all Rasa (aesthetic pleasure or taste). The emotional experience of love and
devotion produced by musicians in the minds of the listeners was linked to the divine by virtue of it
being a part of the Bhakti tradition.
In support of the growing Bhakti movements, a tenth Rasa, Bhakti Rasa (devotional love), was
introduced by the Vaishnava theologian Rūpa Goswami in the sixteenth century. Bhakti Rasa was
widely adopted as the superior Rasa among religious groups and practitioners of the Sagun.a traditions
and was believed to encompass and transform all the other Rasas. In the Nārada-Bhakti-Sūtra (ca.
100 BCE–400 CE) and the Bhāgavata-Purān.a (ninth century CE), five types of devotional love are
described, namely, Śānta (meditational), Dāsya (servitude), Sākhya (friendship), Vātsalya (parental),
Kāntā (conjugal), with the highest being the latter as love between man and woman, which came
to symbolize the love between the human and the divine. The Bhāgavata-Purān.a outlined the path
of devotion or Bhakti Mārga as being superior to the path of knowledge (Jñāna Mārga) and action
(Karma Mārga). Moreover, the Bhagavad-Gı̄tā and the Bhāgavata-Purān.a stressed that Bhakti was the
culmination of all religious experiences and included the other paths in the truest sense. Under the
influence of these texts and medieval scholars of Rasa such as Bhoja of Rajasthan (eleventh century),
Religions 2019, 10, 85 6 of 15

Rūpa Goswami held that Śringāra, within the locus of Bhakti Rasa, was synonymous with the selfless
love of the Gopı̄s (handmaidens) for Krishna, an ecstatic affection known as Krishna-ratı̄ or Premā
(highest love). As part of temple worship, Śringāra came to refer to the early morning decoration of
the deities of Rādhā and Krishna as they are ‘dressed for conjugal love.’
The spread of the Bhakti traditions stimulated many new forms of architectural, literary, and
artistic expression. In terms of music, the Medieval Period (ca. fourth to seventeenth century CE) is
characterized by the rise of Bhakti Sangı̄t (“devotional music”), much of which followed the classical
form of Rāga (melodic pattern) and Tāla (rhythmic cycle) and contained lyrics expressive of love
and devotion toward a chosen deity. Unlike Vedic chant and Sāma Veda hymns, which are rendered
in Sanskrit, Bhakti Sangı̄t is primarily sung in vernacular dialects such as Hindi and Braj Bhās.ā in
the North, and Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada in the South. Various types of Bhakti Sangı̄t came to be
referred to as either Kı̄rtan or Bhajan.
Kı̄rtan appears similar in definition to the Western hymn (hymnus, “song of praise”) or psalm
(psalmos, “plucked song of praise”) as found in Biblical traditions, and in the Sufi Islamic songs of
praise. The term Bhajan suggests a more interactive nature, since it shares with the word Bhakti and
Bhagavān (‘Lord’) the common Sanskrit root bhaj, “to share, to partake of” (as in a rite). Bhagavān
means the Lord who possesses bhaga, good fortune, opulence. Kı̄rtan and Bhajan, as terms for religious
or devotional music apart from Vedic chant and the purely classical traditions, are directly linked to
the growing Bhakti movements, and are performed so that God, ‘Bhagavān,’ is praised, worshipped,
or appealed to in a mutual exchange of Bhakti. An interesting comparative study of Bhajan, Kirtan,
and psalm is found in Muck (2001).
Several important scriptures in Sanskrit have endorsed Kı̄rtan and Bhajan in Hindu practice.
These include the Bhagavad-Gı̄tā and the Bhāgavata-Purān.a. The Bhagavad-Gı̄tā 9.13–14 provides two
sequential verses that contain all three of the key terms—Kı̄rtan, Bhajan, Bhakti—with a shared
objective. The terms Kı̄rtan (kı̄rtayanto) and Bhajan (bhajanty) refer to any act of worship or loving
devotion, including music. The Bhāgavata-Purān.a (6th to 9th century CE) endorses both Kı̄rtan
and Gı̄tı̄ (song) as near-statutory practices within Pūjā. Kı̄rtan and Pūjā are inextricably linked
in Bhāgavata-Purān.a 11.19.20. In Bhāgavata-Purān.a 11.11.36, song, dance, and instrumental music are
mentioned as equal components of the divine service in the temple. Kı̄rtan is also understood to be
expressed musically in the form of song, represented here with the Sanskrit term gayan (“singing”) in
Bhāgavata-Purān.a 11.11.23. Singing in vernacular languages is an equally effective vehicle according
to Bhāgavata-Purān.a 11.27.45, leading to the widespread composition of vernacular songs in various
regions of India.
A session of Kı̄rtan or Bhajan normally begins with chanting OM, and then proceeds with
invocations in Sanskrit in honor of a guru, master or deity, followed by sequences of vernacular songs
that reflect the group’s distinct or eclectic religious outlook; these are sometimes punctuated by short
sermons or meditative recitations of Sanskrit verses from scripture. In closing, a special ceremony
called Ārati is conducted as part of the Pūjā (“worship service”) which includes offerings of food,
flowers, incense and lamps, and blowing of conches. The distribution of food, flowers, lamp wicks,
and holy water concludes the session.
As musical compositions, Kı̄rtan and Bhajan songs range from complex structures to simple
refrains or litanies containing divine names. Most have their own distinctive tune and rhythm that
are easily followed by the audience. The most common Tālas are up-tempo, such as Keherva which
has eight beats roughly corresponding to a Western cut time in 4/4. Another common rhythm is
Dadra, a six-beat Tāla corresponding to Western 3/4 or 6/8 time. An example of a Bhajan by the
poet Sūr Dās in Hindi is found in both textual and audio version in Beck (2006, p. 134). Set in the
popular rhythm of Keherva, it nonetheless reflects the ancient philosophical view of the Bhagavad-Gı̄tā,
whereby attachment to material things can be only relieved by surrender and devotion to God. In the
penultimate lyric, Sūr Dās says (in translation), “Due to over-attachment for wife, children and wealth
Religions 2019, 10, 85 7 of 15

I have lost all of my clear intelligence. Sur Das implores, “Lord, please relieve me of this great load, for
now my ship (this body) has set sail.”
The collective singing of the names of God has always been very popular everywhere in India
and is called Nām-Kı̄rtan, Nām-Sankı̄rtan or Nām-Bhajan. Sung to simple melodies and accompanied
by drums and cymbals, Nām-Kı̄rtan expresses fervent devotion and serves as a means of spiritual
release. Primarily a congregational practice, Nām-Kı̄rtan enables ordinary persons a sense of musical
elation. Examples of three chants are:

(1) Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rāma Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma
Hare Hare. This is the famous Hare Krishna chant known as the Mahāmantra, Great Mantra
for Deliverance as first propounded by Caitanya and other Bhakti saints that has continued in
India by pious Hindus and more recently by members of the Hare Krishna Movement (ISKCON).
It is a petition to Rādhā (“Harā”), the energy of Krishna, and to Krishna who is also full of
pleasure (“Rāma”).
(2) Sı̄tā Rām Sı̄tā Rām Sı̄tā Rām Jaya Sı̄tā Rām. This is a chant to Rāma and Sı̄tā: “All Glories to Lord
Rāma and his consort Sı̄tā.”
(3) OM namah Śivāya. This is a chant to Śiva: “I bow to Lord Śiva.”

The practice of Nām-Kı̄rtan is advocated in the lyrics of the classical songs of Khayal discussed
below under the name of “Hari Nām” or “Rām Nām.”
Bhajan, Kı̄rtan, and Nām-Kı̄rtan are mostly performed as an informal group enterprise of
call-and-response, with participants seated on the floor in proximity to a lead singer, standing in
temples, or walking in procession. Generally, a separate area in the temple facing or adjacent to a
deity or picture is designated for music. Reading from an anthology of verses, lead singers often
accompany themselves on a harmonium, a floor version of the upright, portable reed organ used by
nineteenth-century Christian missionaries. The metal reed used in the harmonium, however, is Asiatic
in origin. Linked to mouth organs used in the subcontinent, it is the basis for the western harmonica
and accordion. Group members generally repeat the lines in unison after the leader. However, the
leader may also sing solo or with occasional refrains sung by the group. Bhajan and Kı̄rtan musical
ensembles, like almost all types of Indian music, include musical instruments. Percussion instruments,
membranophones and idiophones, include pairs of hand cymbals called Kartal or Jhānjh, drums
such as the Tabla, Pakhāvaj, Dholak or Khol, and occasionally bells, clappers or tambourines. A
background drone may be provided by a Tanpura, if not by the harmonium or a Śruti Box, a small
pumped instrument used in Carnatic music.

5. Dhrupad and Temple Music

During the thirteenth century, the classical music traditions separated into northern Hindustani
and southern Carnatic. What developed as Hindustani music in northern regions stemmed from the
devotional temple music that was performed by musicians in Mathurā, Vrindāvan, Braj, Gwalior,
Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh. For many years in the North, the musical style
of Dhrupad was the principal classical vehicle for vernacular Bhakti lyrics, and was rendered in a
slow, four-section format using the pure form of a Rāga, along with the strict rhythms of mainly
Cautal (twelve beats) or Dhamār (fourteen beats). Dhrupad spread as a classical genre wherever it
was patronized by the ruling elite, both in temples and ruling Hindu and Mughal courts. Important
devotional styles that are related to Dhrupad are Havelı̄ Sangı̄t and Samāj Gāyan, both originating in
Vaishnava temples in the region of Braj. For specialized studies of Dhrupad, see Srivastava (1980) and
Sanyal and Widdess (2004).
As the development of Bhakti included service, adoration and decoration of icons in temples, a
central part of the Pūjā or worship service in temples was the rendering of songs addressed to various
deities. As already explained, Hindu religion in the form of Sagun.a worship lends great importance to
the image of the deity as an object of devotion and veneration. As such, many songs include lyrics that
Religions 2019, 10, 85 8 of 15

describe a god or deity as part of the meditation process of the singer and listener in visualizing the
divine. The lyrics of these compositions, whether in Sanskrit or vernacular, generate a vivid description
of the gods and goddesses in what may be termed a verbal icon. Meditation on this “verbal icon”
enables the aspirant to effectively focus his or her mind on the form and activities of the chosen deity.
As a primary Bhakti text, the Bhagavad-Gı̄tā (8.6) has explained that the image in one’s mind at the time
of death affects one’s future birth. Hence the musical experience of devotional love is not abstract but
reconciled with the establishment of an image in the mind of the practitioner for purposes of gaining
access to a soteriological outcome.
The three examples of traditional Dhrupad compositions below will demonstrate how the lyric
creates an image in the mind of the devotee for purposes of liberation (Moks.a) from the cycle of rebirth
(Samsāra). The evolving classical style known as Khayal also served the same purpose. Expressing
veneration for three Hindu deities, Sarasvatı̄, Śiva, and Krishna, each poem utilizes key words and
phrases which invoke the visual image of the form of the deity to facilitate meditation. The songs,
part of oral tradition and thus unpublished, are composed in the Braj Bhās.ā dialect of Hindi and
translated by the author. The first composition is directed toward Sarasvatı̄, the Goddess of Learning
and Music. The epithets and verbal descriptions of the Goddess serve to create an image in the mind
for meditation:
Śāradā ko dharata dhyāna, Brahmā Vishnu karata gāna,
vı̄n.a-dhāri mayurāsana, Sāma-veda hasta dharata
Sarasvatı̄, who is Śāradā, is praised with song and meditated upon by Brahmā and Vishnu, is seen
playing the Vina (vı̄n.a-dhāri), seated on a peacock throne (mayurāsana), and holding the Sāma Veda
(Sāma-veda hasta dharata).
Second, a standard composition in honor of Śiva is replete with iconographic detail associated
with the image of Śiva and his pastimes:
Śankara Śiva Mahādeva, nı̄la-kan.t.ha śūlapān.i,
gale nāga damaru kara, lepa anga vibhu tana
Śiva, who is Śankara and Mahādeva (the Great God), is blue-throated (nı̄la-kan.t.ha) from drinking the
ocean of poison, holds a trident in his hand (śūlapān.i), plays the hourglass drum (damaru kara), and
sports a cobra snake around his neck (gale nāga). His body is smeared with divine ashes (lepa anga
vibhu tana).
The third composition is sung during the early morning hours to wake the child Krishna:
Jāgiye Gopāla Lāla, ānanda-nidhi Nanda Bāla,
Yaśomati kahe bāra bāra, bhora bhayo pyāre.
O Darling Cowherd Son (Gopāla Lāla) Krishna, Child of Nanda (Nanda Bāla), storehouse of bliss
(ānanda-nidhi), morning has come and so please wake up. Your mother Yaśodā (Yaśomati) is calling
you again and again.
By the sixteenth century, Dhrupad was influential in the temple music styles of several Vaishnava
traditions of Krishna worship that were established in Braj, Krishna’s home. These primarily
include the Vallabha Sampradāya or Pus.t.i Mārg tradition, founded by saint Vallabha in the early
sixteenth century, and the Rādhāvallabha Sampradāya founded in the mid-sixteenth century by saint
Hita Harivamśa.
The Dhrupad songs of Pus.t.i Mārg, called Havelı̄ Sangı̄t, are drawn from the Braj Bhās.ā lyrics
of their poets that describe the childhood pastimes of Krishna, including the festivals of Holi in the
spring season and the Rāsa Dance in autumn. Originally established in Braj, where a group of eight
singer-saints (As.t.achāp) including the famous poet Sūr Dās performed their musical worship of
Krishna, Havelı̄ Sangı̄t is now widely practiced in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The Rāgas that were sung as
Religions 2019, 10, 85 9 of 15

early as the sixteenth century by the Vaishnava movements in Vrindāvan and are still sung in roughly
the same manner today, are known to modern musicians through the manuscripts of hymnals that
have come down to us over the centuries. These Rāgas reveal to us the range of devotional feelings
and aesthetic Rasas that were common during worship services to Krishna. Many Rāgas still in use are
mentioned in the hymnals of the Pus.t.i Mārg tradition, including Bhairav, Ramkali, Vilaval, Bibhas,
Lalit, Malkauns, Todi, Malar, Vasant Purvi, Kalyan, Bihag, and Kafi. Unlike classical Dhrupad, Havelı̄
Sangı̄t uses cymbals. As in Dhrupad, there are many compositions in Cautal of twelve beats and
Dhamār of fourteen beats.
In the mid-sixteenth century, the Vaishnava saint, Hita Harivamśa, founded the Rādhāvallabha
Sampradāya in Vrindāvan. This tradition established the devotional singing style known as Samāj
Gāyan, which was also modeled upon Dhrupad. Focusing exclusively on the intimate love-play of
Rādhā and Krishna, this sect gradually built up a unique repertoire of poetry that is saturated with
Śringāra Rasa, culminating in a massive three-volume hymnal, Śrı̄ Śrı̄ Rādhāvallabhajı̄ kā Vars.otsava. Set
to various Rāgas, most of its poems describe the union and separation of Krishna and his beloved Rādhā
and have been sung to musical accompaniment for nearly five-hundred years in the Rādhāvallabha
temples. Within the Rādhāvallabha Sampradāaya, there are several Rāgas that are still prevalent, such
as Sarang, Kanhara, Vilaval, Kalyan, Bhupali, Bibhas, Malhar, Kedar, and Todi. One hundred and eight
songs from the above hymnal are preserved in text and audio format in Beck (2011). Samāj Gāyan
is also practiced by members of the Nimbārka and the Haridāsı̄ sampradāyas, two other Vaishnava
traditions in the Braj area that pursue the musical interpretations of the relations between Rādhā and
Krishna. Additional information on the Vaishnava genres is found in Thielemann (1996, 1999, 2000).

6. Classical Music of Khayal

The Dhrupad music of Vaishnavism described above flourished largely in isolation from the
general public, catering exclusively to the devotees and pilgrims at holy shrines. Yet Dhrupad
also provided the foundation for the Hindustani classical vocal music genre known as Khayal that
flourished in the northern Hindu and Muslim courts. Many Muslim musicians became proficient in
Khayal and contributed greatly to its repertoire and success. By the nineteenth century, Khayal virtually
replaced Dhrupad as the predominant form of Hindustani vocal music, and by the twentieth century,
it had shifted from the court to the concert arena. While expanding in new creative directions, Khayal,
also sung in the vernacular Braj Bhās.ā dialect, nonetheless retained an affinity with the substance of the
Dhrupad songs. A Khayal song is known as a ‘bandish,’ a carefully constructed musical composition
with a balance of note, beat, and word that creates an image or idea in the mind that is greater than
the sum of the individual parts. The modern Khayal performance on the concert stage has become an
opportunity for musical virtuosity and showmanship with greater emphasis on creativity and free
expression. Audiences of today expect to be overwhelmed by a dazzling display of stylistic elements:
shimmering cascades of Tānas (note patterns comprising vowels), Mūrkı̄s (grace notes), Khut.kās
(rapid turns of phrases), speedy Sargams (Sa Re Ga Ma, etc.), rhythmic interchanges with the Tabla
including Tihais (triplets). While many in the public sphere consider these modern innovations, they
are found in the ancient texts. Khayal has been studied extensively by Wade (1984) and Raja (2009).
Despite the emphasis on vocal stylings in Khayal, and its large clientele of Muslim singers, the
content depicted in the Khayal song lyrics, such as Dhrupad, continue to refer to spiritual messages,
including philosophical ideas found in ancient texts, the description of deities, the praise of God
through emphasis on Nām-Kı̄rtan, or simply the human longing for the Almighty. Many Khayal songs
depict situations involving the god Krishna and his favorite goddess Rādhā, sometimes in the context
of the seasons such as spring and monsoon, while other songs reveal Indian spiritual wisdom such as
found in the Upanishads, including the illusory nature of material existence, the misery associated
with greed and gluttony, the prospect of repeated births in the cycle of Samsāra or rebirth, and the
need for assistance in crossing over to the other side, a place of permanent peace and tranquility.
Religions 2019, 10, 85 10 of 15

The solution to these problems is often presented in the songs themselves: chanting divine names,
meditation on the Lord, and engaging in devotional worship.
We now present a series of nine Khayal songs from the recording Wisdom of the Khayal Song (Beck
2016). Reflecting the Hindu religious experience, they establish continuity between the ancient and
medieval traditions of Indian philosophy and devotion and the classical music of today. They are
placed in one of four categories: (1) philosophical teachings, (2) praise of God, (3) descriptions of the
divine pastimes, and (4) prescriptions of chanting divine names. The compositions are rendered in the
rhythm of Tintal (sixteen beats). The lyrics and notations are published in the standard songbooks of
Khayal (noted at the end of this subsection). The weblinks are given for the audio of each song, with
three links to video performances.
The first two songs reflect the first category. In the first Khayal selection, the lyric expresses
the notion of the divine source of music, reminding musicians and listeners that musical experience
contributes toward spiritual attainments in this life and the next. This composition in Rāga Yaman
reinforces the principle that music is directly connected to the notion of Nāda-Brahman or sacred
sound. The lyrics contain the standard reference to Nāda as divided into Anāhata (unstruck sound)
and Āhata (struck sound) and as being the source or fountainhead of the Svaras or musical notes,
which are sung in this composition as part of the lyrics with reference to parts of the body and the
22 microtones.
One: Rāga Yaman (KPM 2.31–32). Audio online: https://www.saavn.com/song/ahata-anahata-
bheda-nade-ke---raag-yaman/GDcxRDkGcls Video online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
gLOjOl5AvAM
Āhata anāhata bheda nāda ke
Prathama bheda śrutiyana so hove
Anāhata munijana dhyāna dharata jaba
Nābhi kan.t.ha aura mūrdha sthāna son
Mandra madhya aura tāra hovata
Sapta surana ke nāma bakhāne
Sa re ga ma pa dha ni sa ni dha pa ma ga re sa
Translation with annotation:
The fountainhead of sound in Indian music, Nāda-Brahman, is divided into two realms: Āhata or
‘struck’ sound (manifest), and Anāhata, or ‘unstruck’ sound (unmanifest). The struck sound is then
divided into 22 Śrutis or microtones. The ancient sages meditated on the Anāhata dimensión of
Nāda-Brahman, being in touch with Divine Truth. The seven notes of music, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha
Ni, are described as spread over three octaves, lower (Mandra), middle (Madhya), and higher (Tāra),
which correspond to the three levels of the body; navel, throat, and head.
The next Khayal song in the first category is in Rāga Malkauns, and reflects the philosophy of the
Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gı̄tā. This conveys the view that life is suffering and under the control of
illusion or Māyā. One needs to recognize the futility of material possessions and family attachments,
and earnestly try to cross-over to the other side of existence as the only remedy for permanent relief
from countless rebirths in this material world.
Two: Rāga Malkauns (KPM 3.708–709). Audio online: https://www.saavn.com/song/suna-re-mana-
murakha-ajnani---raag-malkauns/FRsJYB9vdFU
Suna re mana mūrakha ajñānı̄
Bhāı̄ bandhu saba kut.ama kabı̄lā
Sanga calata kou nāhı̄
Moha jāla men bilama raho hai
Kauna kisı̄ ko mānı̄
Religions 2019, 10, 85 11 of 15

Eka dina panchı̄ nikasa jā bego

Ye nece kara jānı̄
Translation with annotation:
Listen! Oh foolish and ignorant Mind! Brothers, friends, family, relatives, wife—none of these will
accompany you at the time of death. You are mired in the false illusion of affection, when in fact no
one is there for you. One day a bird will come to you and say it is time to go–will you be ready? One
must concentrate on the Lord to avoid dire results at the time of death.
The next three Khayal compositions reflect the second category, whereby the lyric offers praise affirms
the truth of the unity of God, who nonetheless has many names. Some songs portray a non-sectarian
or ‘Generic God’ comprising an inclusive range of names or epithets, such as Prabhu (“Lord”), Sattār
(“Divine Truth”), Karatār (“Creator”), Dātā (“Divine Giver”), who is offered prayer and a petition for
liberation. The next three compositions express this notion fully. The first two are in Rāga Bhairav, an
early morning Rāga for solemn meditation, and the third one in Rāga Kafi is for the daytime hours
especially in the afternoon.
Three: Rāga Bhairav (RV 3.123–124). Audio online: https://www.saavn.com/song/prabhu-data-re---
raag-bhairav/BlECWiN8YHQ
Prabhu dātā re, bhaja re mana jı̄vana ghari pala china
Jo tu cāhe ana dhana lacchamı̄
Dūdha pūta bahu terā
Vāko nāma bhaja guru ko nāma
Translation:
The Supreme Lord is the Giver of everything! Therefore worship Him every moment of your life. One
who desires from you the blessings of this life and the next should heed this call and sincerely worship
the Lord and take the name of one’s Guru.
Four: Rāga Bhairav (KPM 2.181–182).
Prabhu dātā sabana ke, tū rata le mana ghari pala china
Jo tū cāhe dūdha pūta ana
Dhana lacchami imāna vāko nāma
Le vāke raba ko nāma le, prabhu dātā sabana ke
Translation:
Oh Lord! You are the Giver of everything.
Let my mind recall you at every moment.
Whatever one desires from you, material or spiritual, the highest blessing is the pleasure of chanting
your name in good faith.
Five: Rāga Kafi (KPM 1.46–47). Audio online: https://www.saavn.com/song/prabhu-teri-daya-hai-
apar---raag-kafi/OBkeVC0CQHU
Prabhu terı̄ dayā hai apār
Tu agama agocara avikala cara acara sakalaka
Tu ādhār patitana ko uddhār
Dı̄na anātha patı̄ta aru durabala
Mahad aparādhı̄ śaran.āgata hūn
Catura tihār mohe pāra utār
Translation:
Oh Lord, Your mercy knows no boundaries.
Religions 2019, 10, 85 12 of 15

Though you are inaccesible and unknowable in your fullness, you uplift the fallen and are the
foundation of everything moving and non-moving. Poor, helpless, fallen, and weak, I am a sinner, full
of offenses, yet I surrender to you. The poet Catur says “Please carry me across to the other side.”
In the third category, the lyric enhances meditation on a specific deity, whether Krishna, Śiva, or a
Goddess, by describing the characteristics of the deity. The song formulates a “verbal icon” in the
mind which assists the devotee to focus attention on a specific deity. Two examples are given. The first
example is a song in Rāga Bihag that describes Krishna playing his flute by the side of the Yamunā
River in his hometown of Vrindāvan. The second song in Rāga Yaman-Kalyan is a hymn to Śiva
requesting him to reveal himself to the sincere devotee.
Six: Rāga Bihag (AG 38–40). Audio online: https://www.saavn.com/song/bamsi-kaisi-baji-nanda-
lala---raag-bihag/BwpaAyEAYws
Bansı̄ kaisı̄ bajı̄ nanda lāla
Tumarı̄ jamunā jı̄ ke ghāt.a
Dhuna mana men more bamsı̄ suna sudha budha bisrānı̄
Jaga nistāran.a bhakta nivāran.a
Brija kı̄ bhūmi para sarasa janama lı̄no
Kālindı̄ men nātho tuma nāga so prān.ı̄
Translation:
Oh Lord Krishna (Nanda Lāla), the sound of your flute by the side of the Yamunā River has captured
my mind and made me lose all sense of comportment. You are the upholder of the universe and the
shelter of devotees, yet you took birth in Braj, and pleased the wives of the Nāgas while defeating the
demon Kaliya.
Seven: Rāga Yaman Kalyan (AG 1–2). Audio online: https://www.saavn.com/song/darasana-deho-
sankara-mahadeva---raag-yaman-kalyan/Rg4kdz9yQUE Video online: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=r76hXnGWxoA
Daraśana deho śankara mahādeva
Mahādeva tihāre daraśa binā mohe
Kala na parata gharı̄ pala chı̄na dı̄na
Āna parı̄ hūn śaran.a tihāre
Tuma bı̄na kauna bandhāve dhı̄ra
Bipatā parı̄ mope mahā kat.hina
Translation:
Oh Śankara, Mahādeva (Śiva), please give me your darśan.a (visión) without which there is no peace
even for a moment. I approach you Lord, and surrender to you. Without you there is no stability in
life, only danger and distress.
The next two songs in the fourth category prescribe the chanting of divine names as a remedy for the
ills and misfortunes of life. In these cases, the lyric presents an urgent call for the singer or listener to
take up the chanting of the divine name of God, most especially Rāma, as in ‘Rām Nām,’ or Vishnu or
Krishna as in ‘Hari Nām.’
Eight: Rāga Vrindabani Sarang (KPM 3.503–504). Audio online: https://www.saavn.com/song/rata-
kara-rasana-rama-ko---raag-vrindabani-sarang/BQ0yVzdfeGc Video online: https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=su_7Pdgdpos
Rat.ākara rasanā rāma ko nāma
Rat.ākara rasanā rāma ko nāma
Rāma rāma raghupati raghu-nāyaka
Religions 2019, 10, 85 13 of 15

Krishna krishna karun.ā kara śyāma

Gopı̄ pati gopāla gadādhara
Rādhā vara locana abhirāma
Translation:
Recite the name of Rāma with joy, Rāma who is Lord and leader of the Raghus, by whose mercy also
appears as Krishna or Śyāma. Krishna is Gopāla, Lord of the Gopı̄s yet holds a club as Vishnu. More
beautiful still is Rādhā whose eyes enchant.
Nine: Rāga Lalit (AG 112). Audio online: https://www.saavn.com/song/hari-ka-nama-sumarale---
raag-lalit/BBEeVzpRVnw
Hari ka nāma sumara le tere
Dukha dalādala jāya manuvā
Jo hı̄ terı̄ dhyāve so hı̄ phala pāve
Nāma sumrana sukha dāı̄ manuvā
Translation:
Always remember the name of Lord Hari (Krishna) who takes away all pains. Whatever you desire
from God, you will receive the fruits, but meditation on the Name brings the highest bliss.
Printed sources for the Khayal songs, with notations:
KPM. Bhatkhande, V. N. 1953–1964. Kramika-Pustaka-Mālikā. Vols. 1–6. Hathras, India.
RV. Patvardhan, V. N. 1962–1970. Rāga-Vijñāna. Vols. 1–7. Pune, India.
AG. Mehta, R. C. 1969. Āgrā Gharānā: Paramparā, Gāyakı̄ aur Cı̄jen. Baroda, India.

7. Conclusions
The comprehensive description and analysis of music in the major sectors of Hinduism is yet to
be conducted by scholars, due in part to the enormous task it entails. Nonetheless, there have been
targeted studies of religious and devotional music in ritual and temple settings over recent decades.
Modern scholarship has also noted that despite differences in theology or philosophy among Hindu
sects, a common factor in all these is the experience of vocal chant and music. Religious leaders widely
consider devotional songs to be essential for the propagation of their faiths in order to make them more
attractive, and though there may be differences in the content of the lyrics, there is no distinction in
principle in the style of singing or performance. There are thousands of compositions that reflect this
ideal among a diversity of sectarian traditions. The same Rāga or Tāla may be employed in songs that
express love and devotion to Vishnu, Krishna, Śiva, the Goddess, or any deity. The vernacular classical
songs of Khayal are an excellent focal point for the study of sacred music in Hindu religious experience
because they encompass the entire range of Hindu philosophical and emotional content, reaching back
to the ancient Sanskrit texts, as well as the diverse experiences of worship and reflection in the modern
world. The beauty and depth of Indian classical music is also evident in the number of non-Hindu
traditions that have absorbed it into their own worship experiences. There are Indian classical songs set
to Rāgas and Tālas in Sikhism, in Sufi Islam, in Buddhism and Jainism, and among Indian Christians.
As such, the universal experiences of love, surrender, and compassion are beautifully expressed and
experienced through the medium of Indian classical music.
A clever axiom that is offered by Indian musicians themselves is that musical notes, when
accompanied with the proper devotional sentiments of love, pertain to God or Īśvara, a generic name
for the Supreme Being—from svara (‘musical notes’) to Īśvara.
In closing, Saxena (1997, p. 440) reiterates the case for the connection between the divine Absolute
and sacred music in India: “If it is granted that the concept of the Absolute as sound is true and that
music is a possible way to the final Reality, it would follow that the musician must cultivate sound in
all its aspects and infinite variety.” And the question of the spirituality of Indian music remains in the
Religions 2019, 10, 85 14 of 15

affirmative (ibid., p. 437): “In the theory and contemporary practice of traditional Indian music itself
there is ample room to perceive one’s concern and involvement with the art such that it becomes a
definite help to spiritual growth.”

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest.

References
Beck, Guy L. 1993. Sonic Theology: Hinduism and Sacred Sound. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
Beck, Guy L., ed. 2006. Sacred Sound: Experiencing Music in World Religions. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University
Press (with CD).
Beck, Guy L., ed. 2011. Vaishnava Temple Music in Vrindaban: The Rādhāvallabha Songbook. Kirksville: Blazing
Sapphire Press, With 18 CD-compact discs.
Beck, Guy L. 2012. Sonic Liturgy: Ritual and Music in Hindu Tradition. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
Beck, Guy L. 2016. Wisdom of the Khayal Song. Kolkata: Bihaan Music, 2 CD-compact discs. Guy L. Beck, vocals
and harmonium; Avijit Kastha, Tabla; Debasish Halder, Sarangi.
Gerety, Finnian McKean Moore. 2015. This Whole World is OM: Song, Soteriology, and the Emergence of the
Sacred Syllable. Ph.D. thesis, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Hopkins, Thomas J. 1971. The Hindu Religious Tradition. Encino: Dickinson.
Muck, Terry. 2001. Psalm, Bhajan, and Kirtan: Songs of the Soul in Comparative Perspective. In Psalms and Practice:
Worship, Virtue, and Authority. Edited by Stephen Breck Reid. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, pp. 7–27.
Nijenhuis, E. Wiersma-te, trans. 1970, Dattilam: A Compendium of Ancient Indian Music. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Raja, Deepak. 2009. Khayal Vocalism: Continuity within Change. New Delhi: D. K. Printworld.
Rangacharya, Adya, trans. 2003, Nāt.ya-Śāstra: English Translation with Critical Notes. New Delhi:
Munshiram Manoharlal.
Sanyal, Ritwik, and Richard Widdess. 2004. Dhrupad: Tradition and Performance in Indian Music. SOAS Musicology
Series; London: Ashgate Publishing.
Saxena, Sushil Kumar. 1997. Spirituality and the Music of India. In Hindu Spirituality: Postclassical and Modern.
Edited by K. R. Sundararajan and Bithika Mukerji. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company,
pp. 437–49.
Shankar, Ravi. 1968. My Music, My Life. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Śivānanda, Swami. 1956. Music as Yoga. Garhwal: Divine Life Society.
Srivastava, Induram. 1980. Dhrupada: A Study of its Origin, Historical Development, Structure, and Present State. New
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Thielemann, Selina. 1996. Samaja, Haveli Samgita and Dhrupada: The Musical Manifestation of Bhakti. Journal of
Vaishnava Studies 4: 157–77.
Thielemann, Selina. 1999. The Music of South Asia. New Delhi: APH Publishing Group.
Thielemann, Selina. 2000. Singing the Praises Divine: Music in the Hindu Tradition. New Delhi: APH
Publishing Group.
Thite, G. U. 1997. Music in the Vedas: Its Magico-Religious Significance. Delhi: Sharada Publishing House.
Wade, Bonnie C. 1984. Khyāl [Khayal]: Creativity within North India’s Classical Music Tradition. Cambridge: University
of Cambridge Press.
Religions 2019, 10, 85 15 of 15

Wilke, Annette, and Oliver Moebus. 2011. Sound and Communication: An Aesthetic Cultural History of Sanskrit
Hinduism. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Yogānanda, Paramahansa. 2016. Autobiography of a Yogi: The Classic Story of One of India’s Greatest Spiritual Thinkers.
London: Arcturus Publishing Ltd. First published 1946.

© 2019 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).