Nada Brahma

Nada/sound or vibration is the cause of the creation. This sound has been mentioned in many scriptures of the world and has been called by many names, including Naam, Shabad, Kalma, Shrosta, word etc. This Nada manifests either as sound or light. Both are different frequencies of the vibration. Thus in the creation the two phenomena of sound and light play in different combinations to create myriad of forms, colors and sounds.

There are two aspects of this sound:

Anhat – The sound in its primary form and state. This does not need any outer interference as it vibrates of its own accord, always effulgent. It is this, which is denoted by the word Aum and is the life principal of all there is.

All outer efforts are ultimately designed to realise this aspect of our nature. Meditation, sitting quite with an empty still mind is the only method to hear and see the Anhad sound.

Ahat – The outer manifestation of the Anhat sound is Ahat. This is produced by the collision of two objects thus creating a vibration. All the worldly sounds perceived by the ear are in this category.

Ahat sound can also be seen as a celebration of the inner sound.

Sangeet/music is the art and science of ahat sound in the form of organised frequencies emanating from the one sound.

Sangeet is given a special place in the world as it can work as a thread to finally trail back to the Anhat. The outer music prepares the ground for the final realisation. Resonance of the natural frequencies in the form of the overtones or harmonics forms the basis of the music.

Indian classical music always keeps this goal in mind and tries to develop awareness of the natural tones. By vibrating with these fine tones the human body gets tuned thus becoming a vehicle able to realise the Anhat.

In the make up of music the first three harmonics multiply, divide, invert and combine to create the chosen twenty-two tones called Svaras. These svaras form the basis of Indian music.

Check the Svara Lattice software to see how these svaras are created.