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Healing Through Arts: Decoding the Indian Paradigm SHANTA SERBJEET SINGH Seen your liver latelyorchecked your DNA? Did youknow that your stomach lining changes everyfive days.yourskinchangeseveryfourweeks.yourliverchanges every sixweeks? Orthatevery 12weeks therearemajorchanges inyour skeletalstructure,and thateverysixweeksyourDNAchanges? Inshort. saysNewAge Guru DeepakChopra."youcreatethebodyyouJivein...Youare constantlyreincarnatinganew bodyinyourself. Justasyoucannotstepintothesame river twice, asthewaterkeepsflowing. soalsoyoucannotpossessthe same body." Whatamiraclethishumanbodyofoursis! We breatheout 10to thepowerof22atoms and breathe in the same amount. As Dr. Chopra notes, these atoms are "the very same millions ofatoms which have inhabited the bodiesof Gitam Buddha.of Jesus Christ, of Osama BinLadenoraman inManhattan whichpassthroughourbodiesandputthehuman body through a constant process ofchange." It is this constant replacement of raw material by the human body, thus, continually creatinganewphysicalbody.whichisattheheart ofthe Indianbeliefthai thesharira,the body,isthelinkbetweentheearth andthecosmos, betweenhumanityanddivinity. Andto help thisbody remain healthy,thetraditionalknowledgeofIndiahasidentified onemajor path: the creative impulse. Expression through the arts. music and dance. painting and sculpture.literatureandpoetry. isthepathway that leads(0 all wellness. There are so many systems of treating disease but only one science of health. These varioussystemscanbebroadlyclassifiedundertwoheads: thosewhichdependonexternal preparations,likedrugsandchemicalformulations;andthosewhichtaketheinternalroute. oftencalledNatureCure. Thefirst.theexternalsystem.usesdrugsand islooselyknownas theallopathic,Westernsystemofmedicine. Itisbyfarmorepopular becauseitisaneasy andquickwayofalleviatingthesymptomsofdisease.even though itislargelyasuppres sant. Butintheothersystem.theonethatlooksatthebody'sinterior,commonlyknownas NatureCure.thebeliefisnotonlythatpreventionisbetterthancure.Itgoesfurthertostress thatpreventionistheonlycure. Abody thatchanges itsentire physical structureand schemataas quickly and asthor oughlyaswehaveobservedearliercannotpossiblybereducedtomechanicaldeductionsof thesortthattheallopathicsystemofhealingpresupposes. Papapill.andareyousureitwill havethesameeffectontheliver,the spleen, thelungs,theskintodayasitdid afew weeks agowhenthedoctorprescribedit? Also.saysthetraditionalhealer,howdoyouknowwhat sideeffectsitisgoingtocause,notjustatthetimeofconsumingitbutfortheweeksthereafter whenitwillstayinthebody.itschemicalnaturemakingitindissoluble.imperishableandyet challenged by the body's continuallychanging nature? Inotherwords.truehealthneedstobecreatedfrom withinthebodyandwiththehelpof Sangeet Natal. Vol.XL, No. I. 2006 HEALINGTHROUGHARTS:DECODING THE INDIAN PARADIGM II awarenessofitsrealnature. Thisiswherethecreativeprocesscomesin,particularlytherole ofthe arts. Indian traditional view equates the arts of music and dance \..'ith those of a revealed scripture- theyarecalledthefifth ~~da.afterthefourVedas.written,conservatively.some 3,(X)()yearsbeforeChrist.The Vedasdealwiththenatureofphenomena,oftheexistenceof manandotheraspectsofthevastcosmos. Thereisalimitlesstreasuryofwrittenmaterialin ourtextsandtreatises,whichdetailstheeffectofmusicanddanceontheminutestandmost microcosmic layersofthe body.Coupled withitisasizeablecorpusofrecentadvances in scientific research andtheconclusionisexactlywhattheancients hadsaidit was: thearts heal,theyarecompletelytherapeuticinnatureandbehindtheapparentgoodbeahh.Jongev ityand incrediblestaminaofmostdancers,musiciansandvisualartistesliesthefactthatthe verynatureoftheworktheydo,i.e.sing,dance,paint,sculpt,inshortcreateaworkofart,is anendlesssourceofpumpingmetaphoricaliron.vitaminsandnutrientsintothebodywhile atthesame time riddingitofdisorders.imbalances anddisease. Moreover,the Indian aestheticians and philosophers ofdance have always pointed to these arts beingakinto Yogaandhence theirtraining andteaching,too,isinthe natureof buildingblocksofYogicdiscipline,fromthephysicalexercises,calledA.~anastothebreath ingtechniques,the Pranayama, whichactasacommonbaseforenablingthebodyand the mind togrowtowardsitspotential. Danceas therapy Atthispoint.itmaybearguedthatallexerciseisconducivetogood health. Sowhatis so specialabout.say,themovementsandcanons ofdanceseenas simplyexercise? Orabout theartofcreatingmusic? Toanswerthisfully.weneedtolook011theattributesofan ideal systemofexercise. These,saymanualslike RogerinhisDance- abasiceducationtech nique .share three elements described as the three S's. namely suppleness, strength and stamina. Further.theyshouldfulfil)thefolJowingrequirements: I. Makeexerciseanenjoyableexperience.fulfilltheurgeforself-expressionand leadto makingitahabitthatstayswithoneforone'slifetime. 2.Partakeoftheelementofplay,evenas itmakesthe body supple,tonesupthemuscles and the nervous system. 3.Providesymmetryofmovementanddueexercisetoeachandeverypartofthebodyin proper proportion. Thisshouldaddresseachandeverymuscle.tissueand cell anddosoin aspeedymanner.tosuittoday'ssevere limitationsoftime. 4.It shouldstrengthentheheart.improveblood circulationand increasethe capacityof Ihe lungs. 5. Further, it should involve the brain.challenge the nervous system and push both to theirouterlimitssoastoquickenthereflexes andsharpenthedevelopmentofasoundbody andanalertmind. Indianclassicaldances,atleast.andtheyaretheonesIammostfamiliarwith,fulfillthese criteria to the full. Children who are taught these forms develop extraordinary powers of observation,expression and staminaand stay withdance through mostoftheir adult life. 12 SHANTASERBJEETSINGH Moreover,recentresearchhasshownthatlearningaclassicaldancestylelikeBharatanatyam can actually repair common eye defects like far-sightedness and near-sightedness.Most youngsters whoareshortsighted.dueeithertogenetic predisposition orexcessive strain to theeyes havenoreliefforthisconditionexceptto wearglasses. Indeed.theconditioncan onlyworsen and lead tomore stronglypowered lensastime goeson. Butexperience has shown thattheeyemovementsdone inthecourseofthe dancehave.in many cases, made distinct improvement andmanyyoungstershave been able to discard glasses. Again.thequestion maybeasked.can'tsimpleeyeexercisesachieve the sameresults? \Vhy not? The only problem is that unlessachild'screative faculties are involved in the exerciseandunlesshe/sheisgiventhepillinasugar-coatedway.chancesarethathewillnot dothatexerciseinaroutineway. However,makeitapartofplayanditisadifferentthing altogether. The role of symmetry and balance indance isanother aspect, which sets itapart from other exercises such as aerobics, Indian classical dance, for instance, is built along the complexlinesofYogaandbothinitstrainingaswellasitsperformance,itusessymmetryand balancetocreatepoise. Likethebee whichvibrates itswings thousandsoftimes aminute. the birds which flyat great height and for unbelievably long spansof time, the monkeys whichclimbtreesandswingfrombranchtobranch.itissymmetrywhichisattheheartofthe motion. InBharatanatyamandindeedallIndianclassicaldancestyles,whatevermovement isdoneontheleftisdoneontherightalso. Thereisequalinvolvementofthearmsand the legs. Ineach limb,everyjointisinvolved. Thereisarhythm andregularityineachsetof movements. Ina3minutepiecewith which theBhararanatyarnrecital normallyopensac cordingtoKanakaSudhakartheAlurippn(literally.theunfoldingofpetals)thereisvigorous exerciseofeachlimb.symmetricalonbothsides.completewithbending.jumping.stretching andexercisingthetorso,thewaist.thefeel,theheelsandthetoes, besidestheface and the neck.Therearea total of 238movementsofthe bodyin this onc quick piece.along with movingtheeyebrows,theeyesand the facialmuscles insynchronicity with therestofthe dance. Achild ofsixorsevencaneasilyperformthiswhileenjoyingthecrispbeatandthe joyous movements,finishing witha senseofenjoymentand accomplishment. Bones and muscles neverdegeneratewhenusedregularly and theirgrowthslowly gets accelerated. Popular prejudices offer a black-and-white picture of the brain versus brawn.We are oftentoldthatexercisedevelopsthebodywhilereading,writingand thinkingare meant to developthebrain. Nothingcouldbemoreflawed. "Asoundbraininasoundbody" isnot justasaying. Itencapsulatesthewisdomofourtraditionalsocieties. On theonehand,we knownowthateverycerebralactivity,likereadingandwriting,solvingamathematicalprob lemorparticipatinginanintellectualseminarlikethismaybeprimarilyconcernedwiththe brain but it is also of clear relevance to the body and has a direct impact on it.Certain emotions, feelingsandsensory reactionscreated by this activity have a bearing, however subtle.onthebodyanditshealth.Similarly,everykindorexercisehasanimpactonthebrain andthenervoussystem.Thereisthedirecteffectwhenweneed planandthinkaboutthe (0 exercisetobeperformed.AIthesametimethereistheindirect effectdue to the release of ndrenalin,certainenzymes.hormones and other chemicalsubstancesin the blood due to theseexercises. JlEAUNGTHROUGHARTS:DECOOINGTHEINDIAN PARADIGM 13 Classicaldance involves both thephysicaland theneurologicalhalvesofthe bodyand dancestudentsdevelopsuchahighquotientofabilitytoremember.calculateandplanthat theiracademicrecord,too,improvessignificantly. InIndiandancetraining,theskillsthatare impartedarealmostuniversal- fromcontrolofthebodyinevery positionand movement, exceptclimbing,to aheightenedsenseofthebodyinspaceandoverallalertness. Thereis alsotherefinementofreflexarcs,whichcontrolequilibriumandmuscletone,suchasposture andtherefinementof thefineneuro-muscularadjustmentsofawholehostofcooperating nervefibresthatbelongtoboththeautonomousand thecentralnervoussystem. Now,the autonomous nervous system connects withthe involuntary organs Jike the heart muscles, blood vessels of the respiratory system and the muscles ofthe digestive tract Through connections that dance creates between theautonomousand the central nervous systems, the exercises of the skeletal muscles bring to bear a tremendous influence on them and heightenthebalancebetweenthereciprocalnervefibresregulatingtheheartmuscles,blood vesselsandtheintestinaltract. Thisindirecteffectisveryimportantinhelpingachildgrow intoahealthyadult,freefromdisease. Inhisbook, ThefunctionoftheHumanBody,GuyA.C.C.says:"Repetitionisthegreat secretofsuccess.10allowthewholecoordinatedperformance10becomesmoothandsatis factory." Heistalkingonlyofsportsandsuchlikeactivity. Dancescoresoverthembecause it combines in itself a host of skills like speed. stamina, dexterity, endurance and grace, normallyattainedbydifferent exercisessuchasbuildingstaminabystaminaexercisesand speed byanothersetofexercises.This notonlysaveslime but.as memionedearlier.a.I5O Comeswithahighdegreeofgenuineenjoyment. Moreover.thesourceofthedrivetodanceisintheemotionalmechanism,anageoldand invaluablemechanisminthenervousorganizationofman. Inthecourseofonesimplephrase,say"Kitathakathudinginathom"ofBharatanatyarn, theearlistens tothegait,theeye followsthehands,themindcorrelatesthehandsandfeet 10worktogetherwiththeeyesandthroughrepetitionandintensepracticeasynchronization ofthebody,themindandthesoul,thearman,isachievedwhichistrulyphenomenal.Since thesedancestylesarealldancedinclosecontactwith theground,thewell-knownbenefits ofacupressure,achievedthroughavastvarietyofsteps.arealsopartofthehealingeffectof dance.Together with the emotional and expressionalpart ofourclassicaldance tradition, knownasNrityaandAbhinaya(thepuredanceisknownasNritta)thereisagreatenhance mentofdance's powertobringabout neuralintegration.It isforthesereasonsthatIndian dancers enjoy exceptional health, fitness and a disease-free body.Severalcases of poor eyesight, low or high blood pressureand similar problemshavebeen knownto getcured withinafewmonthsoftraining. Again Sudhakar tells us that while dancing, a dancer does not open her mouth.This enables thebody toreleasethe exhaled air,whichisricher incarbondioxide.through the noseonly.Howeverdifficultthe steps,thedancerkeepsacool,calmandpleasantfaceand triestodistribute thestraintoallpartsofthebody. Overaperiodoftime,shedevelopsthe abilitytogetmoreenergyfromlessfoodandspendlessenergydoingthesamekindofwork thatpeopleusuallydo.Sheisrelaxedallthetime.Hermovementsaretension-free,smooth. withoutjerks.Thisisthequalitythatthedance imparts.Controlofunnecessarymovements 14 SHANTASERBJEET SINGH leadstocontrolofexpenditureofenergy. whichisagaintheroutetogoodhealth. Aboveall. the balance between vieorous dance alternated with moments immediately thereafter of relaxation,asinawalk backorinthestartofanabhinayaoranexpressionalsegment,allows muscles to relax and toenhance the oxidativecapacityofskeletalmuscles. The more the muscle fibres metabolise alternative substrates like fatty acid ketones. replacing in part carbohydrates (blood glucose and muscle glycogen) as the major source of energy for maintaining prolonged contractile activity. the more the capacity ofthe dance to do a lot morewithmuchless. That iswhyitissaidthatadancer'senduranceisfarsuperiorto that ofeven the best athletes! Music as therapy Coming now totheheating powerofmusic, again. Jwill take thecase of Indianclassical music.withwhichIammostfamiliar.asanexample. Butofcoursethesameprinciplesapply toalltraditionalmusicsystems. Inthebeginning,theHindusbelieve.merewasNada Brohmu,sound asGod.Almostall the greatreligions ofthe worldtalk about the wordthat was there when the universe first appeared. In Patanjali's loga Darshan. divinity is defined as a special Being and is ex pressedby theoriginalword (Pranav).whatthisoriginal word was.nobodyissure,butin majorYogacommentariesitiscalledOM. Recentscientificdiscoverieshavealsoconfirmed thatverysoonaftertheBigBangandbeforeanythingelseappearedintheuniverse.primor dialsoundwaveswere produced. ThishasbeenthebasisfortheIndianbeliefthatSound is God,NadaBrahma. Hence the venerationfor musicandthose whocreate it. The corpusofIndianclassicalmusic,itstheories,philosophies.methodologiesand texts are both varied and vast. Its core is occupied by the beliefthat while atthe surface level musicaffectsmoods,emotionsandstatesofmind,atadeeperlevelitisa vehicleofworship and meditation. Justas soundhas been withusthroughthe evolutionary processandisan integralpartofouractivities,music.too,being apartofsound,is anaturaloutcomeofthis evolutionary process. RecentPositronEmissionTomography(PET)studiesconductedbyscientistshaveshown thatcenaintypesofmusicactivateneural pathwayssimilar(Qthoseassociatedwitheupho riaand rev..-ard.Thesesame pathwaysare activated inresponse tootherpleasurableactivi tieslikeeatingandsex,givingrisetoemotionalhappiness. Inclassicalmusic.asindeepmeditation,the mindfocusesonasinglethoughtforalong time.Whencontemplation,reflection and concentration,samadhi (togethercalled Sanyam in Patanjali's works) are done on a single thought,it produces a sense of well being and relaxationthaistimulatesor"tickles" the pituitary gland andreleasesthose chemicals into the body which produce asenseofpleasure. Though thisprocessisnotfullyunderstood asyet, itissimilartowhat we feelwhen we hearsoul-stirringmusic.Itisknownastheprincipleofequivalence.Themajorportionofthe 100billionneuronsofthebrainactlikealaseronthesoundwavesofmusicandcreatemuch the same effect as happens during meditation.Different types ofmusic, sung at different timesofthetimecycleandindifferentseasons stimulatefeelingsofsadness,anger,joyand peace. HEALINGTHROUGH ARTS: DECODING THE INDIAN PARADIGM 15 Accordingto agreatcontemporary Indian singer,PanditJasraj.hehasmanaged tocon trol blood pressure with music. He knows two doctors who have used music to control diabetes, toasignificantextent. Music.he believes,hasthepowertocureinsomnia.head aches.depression andother mental problemsofmankind. Swamivasudevananda,amonkoftheGurudevSiddhaPeeth,Ganeshpuri,nearMurnbai, explainsthepurifyingforceofchanting ofMantrasand ofmusicthus: "Likeeverythingin thisuniverse,ourbody ismadeupofvibratingenergy. Eventhoughourbody appearstobe dense,everycellofthehumanbodyhasitsownfrequency. Thereisasoundpresentineach tinycell.howeverminute thecellmight be.Whereverthere's movement there'svibration. there'ssound.The body'sinclinationistobeinharmonywithitself. Allthedifferentparts ofthebody, all itscells, want tomove inunison. the wayashoaloffishoraflock ofbirds does, always moving but never bumping into each other. When this natural rhythm and harmony isdisruptedin the body. that's when diseaseand disorders arise.However,when the vibrations of the chant sound within our bodies. the cells themselves respond; they resonatewiththepure vibrationsofthemantras(ancient ritual phrases)sothatharmonycan berestored....Chanting calms andclears the mind and actuallyrejuvenatesit.Everything thatwelistento leavesitsresidueinthe mind.Chantingthepuresyllablesofthe namesof God breaksthroughthismassofvaried thoughtsandimpressionsand opensustoa higher awareness,aclearerperception ofourselvesand the world." In normal life. we utilizeonly five to lenpercent ofourtotal mental potential.The rest remains untapped due to our inattention to the vastuntapped sourceofconsciousness. In thiscontext,music,likemeditation,canberedefinedasaprocessofbecomingincreasingly familiar with ourdeepestlayersofconsciousness.from where thoughtprocessesoriginate andwhereitmergesintheend.Likeanetherealbalm.musiceliminatespsychological.social and culturalconditioning gathered consciously or unconsciouslyover theentire period of theevolution ofhumankind. In New Delhi recently. Dr. Richard P. Brown. a top scientist in the field of advanced experiments inthe waysinwhich logictechniquesofbreathing,Pranavama.relieve stress, enable people(0 connect betterand behealthier.saidthat thesetechniquesofrapid breath ing activate a nerve. Vagus, (hat connects with the diaphragm and some of the organs, including the heart and the brain. As a result ofthisstimulation,messages are sentalong threedifferentpathwaystotellthebodytoshutoffareasofworry- inthefrontalcortexand inthebrain stem-andthentothelimbicsystem,which controlspositiveemotions.awaken ingit At thesame lime.says Dr.Brown,hormoneslike theCuddlehormone.experienced duringsexualactivityandthebirthofababyarereleased.encouragingbonding. Amazingly, hesays. these Yogic techniques even controleating disorders. "Peopleoften soothethem selvesbyeating. Butafter thiscourse(ofspecialexercisesof}()ga)asthetensiondrainsoff. people can actually begin to lose weight. The hormone that promotes connectednessalso has a relationshipwitha peptide hormone. Controllingthe release ofthishormone can in tum influence hunger andthe body'sabilitytotake onlythe requiredamount offood." Is it any wonder that one ofour oldest texts,the Skanda Purana.contains a verse that emphasizes the valueofdance and musicthus: "Uttering the name ofGod once.by yourself,is equivalent to hearing His name being 16 SHANTASERBJEEfSl'1GH chantedonecroretimes: Offeringhaven(sacrificialfire)toHisglory once isequivalentto utterine His name one million times yourself;Singing and dancing to His glory once is equivalenttoofferinghavanonemillion times;GeyamGeyaSamam vidhuhu:There isno possible equivalenttotheactofGeyam(acomposite word whichincludesgayan.i.e.sing ing.vadya,instrumentalmusicandnritya,dance)forthegloryofGod." Meditation expands, empowers andheals through the arts Meditationisat thecentreofany artistic activity.in theform of Dhyana that enables an artiste to connect with hislher inner being on one end and with the outer universe on the other, during hisfher creative process. To understand what meditation can do in terms of performinganytaskbetter,particularlyacreativeactivitythat leadstohealingthroughthat work.weneedtofirstunderstandthemindwhich isthemaininstrumentforboth meditation and the subsequent activity. Letuslook atthephysicalstructureofthe brain.that apparatuswhichcontainsin some cavityofthecerebrum,thething wecallthe'mind'. Apieceofyourbrain,the sizeofagrain ofsandcontains:one hundred thousand neurons,two million axions and one billion syn apses, alltalkingtoeachother. Consciousness appeared in humans as the result of interaction between evolutionary andculturalpressure. Thisinteractiontakesplacenotonlywiththeexternalworldbutalso withpeoplewithwhomwecommunicate. It is essentially an interaction between the brain and culture. the one using a neural languageand theOtheraspokenone.Thebyproductofthisinteraction parallelswhatwe in Indiaunderstandbytheword"sanskarc".Itsnearestparallel in Western termsis theDNA chaininhumans.What we knowforsureisthatit istheend productofacomplexlearning process,happeningovermanymillennia. AccordingtoProf.V.S.Ramachandran,named byNewsweekasoneofthe"hundredmost prominentpeople towatchinthenextcentury","allartistes,poetsand creative peoplecan thank a rare and irregular behaviour of the brain called synrhesia for accidentally cross wiring unrelatedpartsoftheirbrainsin away notseen inmostpeople".Heconcludesthat onein200 personsare "blessed" from thisaccidental crosswiring.Hedoes notthinkthey "suffer" fromthisdisorder,which makesthe 'victims' linktotally unrelated thingsalmost spontaneously. In other words the artiste connects things in ways that are not 'nonnally' seen.The productcreatedbythiscrosswirecircuitryis,naturally,atthe veryleastdifferentand atitis bestmagicaland miraculous in itsoriginality and power to communicate. Ramachandran sees universalprinciplesofperceptionbehindgreatworksofart.An is hyperbolic, always exaggerating and amplifying the truth. he says,giving the example ofbaby gulls. which identifytheirmotheronlybythered doton her beak andrush toher for food.Experiments showedthattheywereequallyexcited when shownastickwiththreered linesonitstipand to which they rushed for nourishment! Had the baby gulls been human they would have hung(hestickwiththreeredlinesonthewallasapieceofart,agreatmetaphorwhichstrikes achordwithinthem! Thiscelebratedauthorof"Phantoms inthe Brain: Probing me Mysteries oftheHuman