Nada yoga
Encyclopedia
Nāda yoga is an ancient Indian metaphysical system. It is both a philosophical system , a medicine, and as the name suggests a form of yoga
. The system's theoretical and practical aspects are based on the premise that the entire cosmos and all that exists in the cosmos, including human beings, consists of sound vibrations, called nāda. This concept holds that it is the sound energy in motion rather than of matter and particles which form the building blocks of the cosmos.
Nāda yoga is also a way to approach with reverence and respond to sound. Sound and music is in this context, something more than just the sensory properties and sources of sensuous pleasure, sound and music is considered also to play the role as a potential medium to achieve a deeper unity with both the outer and the inner cosmos.
Nāda yoga's use of sound vibrations and resonances are also used to pursue palliative effects on various problematic psychological and spiritual conditions. It is also employed to raise the level of awareness of the postulated energy centers called chakra
.
Music has been used by most Indian saints, prophets as an important and powerful tool in the quest for the achievement of nirvana
; notable name to be mentioned here include Thyagaraja, Kabir
, Meerabai, Namdeo, Purandaradasa and Tukaram
.
, which is considered responsible for the reception of the internal music, but not in the way of a normal sensory organ.
The anahata concept refers to one's own personal sound vibrations, which is thought to be so closely associated with one's self and the self that a person can not share their anahata with another human being.
The individual can, according to Nāda yoga, "listen in on" their own anahata, their own "inner sound". Such a process of inner awareness and sensitivity leads to increased self-recollectedness and finally to awakening.
To concentrate on this inner sound as a support for meditation is very helpful to tame the mind, and when it has been clearly recognized, used for self-recollectedness in outer life as well.
Eventually, it can be experienced as penetrating all matter and indeed vibrates eternally throughout the Creation.
In the West, detailed indications and advices have been given by Edward Salim Michael
in his book : the Law of attention, Nada Yoga and the way of inner vigilance. Ajahn Sumedho
, from the Thai Forest Tradition
teaches also the practice of this inner sound.
Shurangama Sutra
The Śūraṅgama Sūtra, often spelled Shurangama Sutra or Surangama Sutra in English, is a Mahayana sutra and one of the main texts used in the Chán school in Chinese Buddhism. In the Surangama Sutra, Avalokitesvara says that he attained enlightenment through concentration on the subtle inner sound. The Buddha then praises Avalokitesvara and says that this is the supreme way to go.
(1813–1899) provides an important paradigm of salience for the esoteric Dzogchen
doctrine of "sound, light and rays" (Wylie: sgra 'od zer gsum) and the 'mantra' of the Mantrayana tradition in particular, Kongtrul, et al. (2005: p. 431) identifies the “primordial sound” (nāda) and its semantic field
:
This quotation comes from the famed Sheja Dzö
or 'The Treasury of Knowledge' a voluminous work, encyclopedic in breadth, by Jamgon Kongtrul.
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
. The system's theoretical and practical aspects are based on the premise that the entire cosmos and all that exists in the cosmos, including human beings, consists of sound vibrations, called nāda. This concept holds that it is the sound energy in motion rather than of matter and particles which form the building blocks of the cosmos.
Nāda yoga is also a way to approach with reverence and respond to sound. Sound and music is in this context, something more than just the sensory properties and sources of sensuous pleasure, sound and music is considered also to play the role as a potential medium to achieve a deeper unity with both the outer and the inner cosmos.
Nāda yoga's use of sound vibrations and resonances are also used to pursue palliative effects on various problematic psychological and spiritual conditions. It is also employed to raise the level of awareness of the postulated energy centers called chakra
Chakra
Chakra is a concept originating in Hindu texts, featured in tantric and yogic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Its name derives from the Sanskrit word for "wheel" or "turning" .Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices...
.
Music has been used by most Indian saints, prophets as an important and powerful tool in the quest for the achievement of nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
; notable name to be mentioned here include Thyagaraja, Kabir
Kabir
Kabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement...
, Meerabai, Namdeo, Purandaradasa and Tukaram
Tukaram
Sant Tukaram was a prominent Varkari Sant and spiritual poet during a Bhakti movement in India.Sant Tukaram was born and lived most of his life in Dehu, a town close to Pune in Mahārāshtra, India. He was born to a couple with the family name "More", the descendent of the Mourya Clan with first...
.
Description
The Nāda yoga system divides music into two categories: internal music, anahata, and external music, ahata. While the external music is conveyed to consciousness via sensory organs in the form of the ears, in which mechanical energy is converted to electrochemical energy and then transformed in the brain to sensations of sound, it is the anahata chakraAnahata
Anahata is the fourth primary chakra according to the Hindu Yogic and Tantric traditions.In Sanskrit the word anahata - means unhurt, un-struck and unbeaten...
, which is considered responsible for the reception of the internal music, but not in the way of a normal sensory organ.
The anahata concept refers to one's own personal sound vibrations, which is thought to be so closely associated with one's self and the self that a person can not share their anahata with another human being.
The individual can, according to Nāda yoga, "listen in on" their own anahata, their own "inner sound". Such a process of inner awareness and sensitivity leads to increased self-recollectedness and finally to awakening.
To concentrate on this inner sound as a support for meditation is very helpful to tame the mind, and when it has been clearly recognized, used for self-recollectedness in outer life as well.
Eventually, it can be experienced as penetrating all matter and indeed vibrates eternally throughout the Creation.
In the West, detailed indications and advices have been given by Edward Salim Michael
Edward Salim Michael
Edward Salim Michael was born in Manchester, England in 1921 and died near Nice, France in 2006. Composer of symphonic music, he is also the author of books on spirituality and meditation...
in his book : the Law of attention, Nada Yoga and the way of inner vigilance. Ajahn Sumedho
Ajahn Sumedho
Luang Por Ajahn Sumedho is the senior Western representative of the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism. He was abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery just north of London from its consecration in 1984 until his retirement in 2010...
, from the Thai Forest Tradition
Thai Forest Tradition
The Thai Forest Tradition is a tradition of Buddhist monasticism within Thai Theravada Buddhism. Practitioners inhabit remote wilderness and forest dwellings as spiritual practice training grounds. Maha Nikaya and Dhammayuttika Nikaya are the two major monastic orders in Thailand that have forest...
teaches also the practice of this inner sound.
Primary literature
Nada Bindu UpanishadNada Bindu Upanishad
Nada Bindu Upanishad is one of the 'minor' Upanishads and is considered part of the Rig Veda. The status of the Nada Bindu Upanishad as a 'minor' Upanishad is contestable but this is how it was first presented to English scholarship with its inclusion by K...
Shurangama Sutra
Shurangama Sutra
The ' is a Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra, and has been especially influential in the Chán school of Chinese Buddhism.- Etymology :According to Ron Epstein, roughly means "indestructible." The word is composed of Śūraṅ , with Gama...
The Śūraṅgama Sūtra, often spelled Shurangama Sutra or Surangama Sutra in English, is a Mahayana sutra and one of the main texts used in the Chán school in Chinese Buddhism. In the Surangama Sutra, Avalokitesvara says that he attained enlightenment through concentration on the subtle inner sound. The Buddha then praises Avalokitesvara and says that this is the supreme way to go.
Mantrayana
Jamgon KongtrulJamgon Kongtrul
Jamgön Kongtrül is a name of a prominent line of Tibetan Buddhist teachers , primarily identified with the first Jamgon Kongtrul, but also the name shared by members of a lineage held by tradition to be his subsequent reincarnations , to date....
(1813–1899) provides an important paradigm of salience for the esoteric Dzogchen
Dzogchen
According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
doctrine of "sound, light and rays" (Wylie: sgra 'od zer gsum) and the 'mantra' of the Mantrayana tradition in particular, Kongtrul, et al. (2005: p. 431) identifies the “primordial sound” (nāda) and its semantic field
Semantic field
A semantic field is a technical term in the discipline of linguistics to describe a set of words grouped by meaning in a certain way. The term is also used in other academic disciplines, such as anthropology and computational semiotics.-Definition and usage:...
:
The primordial indestructible great vital essence (gdod ma'i mi shigs pa'i thig le chen po), which is the root or ground of all of cyclic life [samsara] and perfect peace [nirvana], is known as primordial (gdod ma) because it has no beginning or end; as indestructible (mi shigs pa) because it is indivisible; as vital essence (thig le) because it pervades the various appearances; and as great (chen po) because there is nothing that it does not encompass.
There are countless synonyms for the primordial indestructible great vital essence, such as "great seal" (phyag rgya chen po, mahāmudrā), "great bliss" (bde ba chen po, mahāsukha), "primordial sound" (nāda), "all-pervading vajra of space" (mkha' khyab nam mkha'i rdo rje), "ordinary awareness" (tha mal shes pa), "pristine awareness channel" (ye shes kyi rtsa), "pristine awareness wind" (ye she kyi rlung), "invincible ham" (gzhom med kyi ham), "invincible vital essence" (gzhom med kyi thig le), "essence of enlightenment" (sugatagarbha), and "transcendent wisdom" (she rab phar phyin, prajnā-pāramitā) (CPR, f. 29a3-b2).
This quotation comes from the famed Sheja Dzö
Sheja Dzö
The Sheja Dzö or 'The Treasury of Knowledge' is a voluminous work by Jamgon Kongtrul . It is constituted by a root text in verse 'The Encompassment of All Knowledge' and an autocommentary in prose, 'The Infinite Ocean of Knowledge'...
or 'The Treasury of Knowledge' a voluminous work, encyclopedic in breadth, by Jamgon Kongtrul.