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Written by Sri Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
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When you play the harmonium, the nagasvaram or the flute, the sound is
produced by the air discharged in various measures through different
outlets. Our throat has a similar system to produce sound. It is not
that
the throat alone is involved in this process. How do we speak and sing?
Speaking or singing is an exercise that has its source below the navel
in
the "muladhara" or "root-base' of the spinal column. From this point the
breath is brought up in various measures as we speak or sing. The human
instrument made by the Lord is far superior to the harmonium, the
nagasvaram or the flute. These latter can produce only mere sounds and
cannot articulate the syllables a, ka, ca, etc. Man alone possesses this
faculty. Animals can produce one or two types of sound but do not have
the ability to articulate.
We may gauge the importance of articulate speech form the fact that the
Lord has bestowed this faculty only on man. Such a wonderful gift of
Isvara must not be squandered or abused in idle gossip or useless talk.
We must use it to grasp the divine powers and endeavour to create the
well-being of mankind thereby. And we must also try to raise our own
Self with it. All these lofty purposes can be served with the Vedic
mantras
that the sages have gathered from space for our benefit.
If you recognise this fact you will realise why there should be a sastra
called Siksa specially for the purpose of guiding us in the enunciation
of
Vedic mantras. This science as developed by our forefathers arouses the
wonder of linguistic scientists even today. It teaches us how the
syllables
are to be produced accurately and describes in the minutest detail how
the passage of the breath coming from the pit of the stomach is to be
controlled. Further, it tells us on which parts of the body the breath
must
impinge and how it must be discharged from the mouth.
In a sense, air going into our body in different ways is a manifestation
of
the yogic science: it is because of the vibrations caused in our nadis
as a
result of the passage of our breath that our emotions and powers take
shape. There is a saying, "What is in the macrocosm is present in the
microcosm. " As mentioned before, the vibrations within us produce
vibrations outside also and these are the cause of worldly activities.
That
is why those who have mastered the mantras have the same powers as
those who have achieved yogic perfection controlling their breath. The
one is mantrayoga, the other is Rajayoga.
Siksa explains how each syllable of a mantra is to be produced by the
human voice, what its tone should be like. It lays down the duration or
matra for each syllable. In determining the matra the short and long
syllables (the "hrsva" and "dirgha") are taken into account. Siksa also
describes how words that are joined together (according to the rules of
"sandhi" ) are to be enunciated without breaking them. All such matters
as help in the correct chanting of the mantras are included in this
sastra.
Siksa explains in very fine detail how the sounds of the various
syllables
are to produced. A sound like "ka" is to be created from between the
neck and the throat; another like "na" is nasal. To produce the sound of
'ta" the tongue should come into contact with particular teeth
-this is mentioned in this sastra; so too how the tongue should touch
the
upper palate for a sound like "na". Phonemes like "ma" arise from
completely closing the lips together and those like "va" (labia-dental)
are
produced using both the lips and the teeth. It is all scientific and at
the
same time part of mantrayoga and sabdayoga. |
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