Fundamental of Ancient Indian Music and Dance

Author(s): Sureshchandra Benarji
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 23

14
Introduction
sublime and religious environment, nursed in the holy shrines and also in the respectable royal courts, does not lose its own excellence under the impact of foreign music and in the association of vile claptrap and light music which sometimes attract people. It was due to the abuse of samgita that it was condemned as a vice in such scriptures as the Manu-samhitā; the sacredness of samgita has nowhere been denounced. The cultivation of music, in any of its aspects, did not originate as a means of diversion of a few rich people with a hedonistic outlook on life. We must bear in mind that real knowledge of music is to be acquired through sādhanā (devotion); it is a science io be mastered in a disciplined manner.
Another marked characteristic of Indian music is its close relation with universal nature. As stated above, the Vedic songs spontaneously emanated from the hearts of Vedic seers, charmed with the form and mighty magnitude of Nature. So samgita was born in the cradle of nature. The heptatonic system, on which songs are based, is also derived from the creatures of nature. We find, in the musical lore, special melodies suitable to particular periods of time like morning and evening and particular seasons like Summer, Spring etc, The people, who took music as a way of reaching the spiritual goal, used to believe that Megharā ga and Dipaka rāga could cause rainfall and conflagration respectively. It seems as though the music, that is constantly floating in the air on all sides of us. entered through the ears of the musiciandevotees and touched their inner soul.
Thanks to scientific development, the countries of the globe have come nearer to one another. One of the evil effects of this phenomenon is that, due to the impart of the culture and civilization of different lands, our minds are being distracted from our own heritage and we are fast allowing our long cherished values to sink into the morass of oblivion. The glitter and glamour of the foreign elements are apt to dazzle the eyes of young uncritical people. Most of us are unaware of the precious gems that lie hidden in the mine of Sanskrit