|
In India, music as well as painting and drama are considered to be Divine arts, since Hindu divinities have artistic attributes. The history of this music goes back to at least two millenia before Christ. There is profuse literary evidence telling us that in the first millennium B.C., songs were sung by India's inhabitants at religious ceremonies. The meeting point between history and legend are the Vedas, the world's most ancient Scriptures written in sanskrit poetry. Vedic hymns were chanted with melodies or samans, especially those of the Sama Veda. These were collectively known as samagana, which it is believed to be the root of all Indian classical music. Ancient sages discovered laws that harmonise man with nature through sound. Since Nature is but an objectivisation of OM, the Primary Sound or Vibrating Word, man can gain control over any manifestation in nature, by the use of sound. The music of India is subjective and spiritual. It is a sublime art that seeks the harmony of man, nature and universe. Because of its richness in texture and technique, this is the music that has most strongly impressed and influenced the Western musical world. Philip Glass, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Olivier Messiaën, Zubin Mehta, Yehudi Menuhin, André Prèvin, Peter Gabriel, George Harrison y John McLaughlin are but a few examples of this.
The learning system of any art in India is called guru-shishya-parampara. Parampara means "tradition", and also knowledge handed down from master (guru) to students (shishya). This system is what single-handedly keeps the tradition alive and going strong. It it also very different from the cold knowledge transfer of electronic media (videotapes, CDs, etc), and that is why this method is also known as guru-mukhya-vidya, knowledge (vidya) coming from the masters' lips (guru-mukhya) --meaning oral tradition. |
