Sing Bani in Raag is Hukam from Guru Granth Sahib jee

[Guest]

taken from another forum:

At the begining of 99% of the bani in Saheb Sri Guru Granth Saheb jee, a sikh is instructed to sing the following shabad in certain Raag. Unfortunately that rarely happens.

- Are we following Guru's Hukam by singing bani in other Raag/tune then what Guru Saheb has ordred?.

- Should this hukam be added on to the hukam by PUNJ PEAREY during the amrit shachar to sing bani in prescribed raag?

Following is an intersting article in regards to aforementioned.

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Source: http://www.sikhreview.org/may2002/music.htm

Gurbani Keertan today has been commercialized to such an extent that, barring a few, most singers are only concerned with making quick money. Their limitations to experiment within the prescribed vastness of Guru Granth Sahib is camouflaged in the excuse that the Sangat does not prefer to listen to Keertan in Raags as prescribed by the Gurus and thus it is easier to convey the message of Gurbani in catchy tunes. This shallow argument poses questions, like: "What does Guru Granth Sahib, our eternal Guru command us on the subject of Keertan? Why is it that the Gurus chose raags to classify Gurbani? What is the relation between Shabad and raag? Do we need the aid of experimental music to propagate the message of Guru Granth Sahib? Have our Keertanias experimented with the vastness of raags and taals as prescribed by Gurus? What impact will experimentation have on the future generation of Sikhs?

Hymns in Guru Granth Sahib are in poetical-metric forms; associated with them raags and ghars (beats/taals). Does this mean that Gurus have left no scope for experimentation with the music to accompany the Shabads? The indication of raag and ghar (beat) with every Shabad implies that Gurus had a definite motive behind fixing a framework. This framework was not set to limit the ability of the human mind to experiment with music but to act as an aid in spiritual development. A simple mathematical permutation and combination on notes of any raag will indicate that each raag offers thousands of tunes to experiment with.

Complementary:

Poetry (the form in which Gurbani is written) and music (raags) are two sides of the same coin. They are independent and yet complement each other. Music versifies and provides melody, uniformity and cadence to poetry. The factor that binds music and poetry is their metrical-form (ghar or beat). Music (Raag) is based on sound (swar - notes) and a combination of notes produce distinct musical effects. Poetry is determined by Word (Shabad), which communicates a message to the mind. Music (Raag) on the other hand conveys a feeling to the heart and is therefore universal. Spirituality, after all, is striking the right balance between mind and heart. Therefore, when the poetic Gurbani is complemented with raag (music) and bound by ghar (beat), the resulting effect on mind and heart can become a catalyst for spiritual transformation. The raag conveys a feeling and Shabad a message. Every raag is capable of touching the heart with feelings like joy, sorrow, detachment, etc. Upon studying the structure of Guru Granth Sahib it can be seen that Shabads relating to common themes are generally placed under each raag. When the broad themes of Shabads are overlaid with feelings conveyed by these raags, there emerges a reason behind grouping of Shabads under a broad classification of thirty-one raags.

Common Themes of Shabads placed under Raags of Guru Granth Sahib

1. Soohi - Being away from home. The soul being away from the House of Lord and the joy of meeting the true ?husband.?

2. Bilaaval - beautification of soul, happiness.

3. Gaund - Separation, union, surprise.

4. Sri - Maya and detachment

5. Maajh - yearning to merge with Lord, giving up of negative values.

6. Gauri - Principles, serious, thoughtfulness, composed

7. Aasa - Hope

8. Gujri - Prayer (Pooja)

9. Devgandhari - Merging with spouse, self - realization

10. Bihaagra - Yearning due to separation of soul and happiness due to meeting the Lord.

11. Sorath - Merits of God

12. Dhanasari - Mixed theme

13. Jaitsree - Stability

14. Todi - Maya, separation

15. Bairagi - motivation to sing praises of Lord

16. Tilang - many words from the vocabulary of Islamic origin are used, sadness, beautification.

17. Raamkali - to give up the life of a wandering Jogi.

18. Nat Narayan - Joy of meeting the Lord

19. Maali Gaura - Happiness

20. Maaru - Bravery, profound philosophy.

21. Tukhari - Separation and union with Lord

22. Kedara - Love

23. Bhairav - Man?s state of hell

24. Basant - Happiness

25. Sarang - Thirst to meet God

26. Malaar - State of separated and united soul

27. Jaijawanti - Vairaag (Detachment)

28. Kalyaan - Bhakti (Prayer) Ras

29. Vadhans - Vairaag (Detachment)

30. Prabhati - Bhakti (Prayer)

31. Kaanra - Bhakti (Prayer)

Feelings communicated by the music of Raags:

1. Soohi - joy and separation

2. Bilaaval - happiness

3. Gaund - strangeness, surprise, beauty

4. Sri - satisfaction and balance

5. Maajh - separation, beautification

6. Gauri - seriousness

7. Aasa - making effort

8. Gujri - satisfaction, softness of heart, sadness

9. Devgandhari - no specific feeling but the Raag has a softness

10. Bihaagra - beautification

11. Sorath - motivation

12. Dhanasari - inspiration, motivation

13. Jaitsree - softness, satisfaction, sadness

14, Todi - this being a flexible Raag it is apt for communicating many feelings

15. Bhairaavi - sadness, (Gurus have, however, used it for the message of Bhakti)

16. Tilang - this is a favourite Raag of Sufi Muslims. It denotes feeling of beautification and yearning.

17. Raamkali - calmness

18. Nat Narayan - happiness

19. Maali Gaura - happiness

20. Maaru - giving up of cowardice

21. Tukhari - beautification

22. Kedara - love and beautification

23. Bhairav - seriousness, brings stability of mind

24. Basant - happiness

25. Sarang - sadness

26. Malaar - separation

27. Jaijawanti ? Victory (Detachment indicates a victory of spiritual plane)

28. Kalyaan - Bhakti Ras

29. Vadhans - vairaag, loss (that is why Alahniya is sung in this Raag when someone passes away)

30. Prabhati - Bhakti and seriousness

31. Kaanra - Bhakti and seriousness

It?s clear that the Gurus used raags to increase the delivery power of shabad to our mind by invoking complementary feelings in our hearts through usage of the prescribed raags.

Another interesting aspect of raag and Gurbani classification is understood by studying daily time-cycles. A raag has a preferred timing associated with it. There are some morning raags, evening raags, afternoon raags, etc. The timings of raags also complement the changes in human moods and heart during a twenty-four hour time cycle.

Upon classification of thirty-one main raags used in Guru Granth Sahib based on the prescribed raag timings, we find that no raags fall under the time zone 12 AM - 3 AM. It is interesting that the Gurus chose not to use any raag with a time cycle of 12AM ? 3 AM, because one would normally sleep between 10PM - 4AM.

Timings of Raags:

6 AM - 9AM: Bhairaagi, Devgandhari

9 AM - 12 PM: Saarang, Suhi, Bilaaval, Gujri, Gond, Todi

12 PM - 3 PM: Vadhans, Maru, Dhanasari

3 PM - 6 PM: Maanjh, Gauri, Tilang, Tukhari

6 PM - 9 PM: Sri, Basant, Maali Gaura, Jaitsree, Kedara, Kalyaan

9 PM - 12 AM: Bihaagra, Nat Narayan, Sorath, Malaar, Kaanra, Jaijawanti

12 AM - 3 AM: No Raags from Guru Granth Sahib

3AM - 6AM: Aasa, Raamkali, Bhairav, Parbhati

Some raags also have seasons associated with them as seasons also denote feelings.

Seasonality of Raags:

1. Basant raag can be sung at any time in Basant season. Shabads with the theme of happiness are clustered under this raag in Guru Granth Sahib.

2. Malaar raag can be sung at any time in the rainy season. Shabads with the theme of separation are clustered under this raag in Guru Granth Sahib.

The Gurus have also indicated the beats associated with the poetry of every Shabad. In Guru Granth Sahib seventeen ghars (taal - beat) are mentioned. These seventeen ghars denote the following beats:

GHAR 1 - DADRA TAAL (There are 1 Taalis and the Beat has 6 Maatraas)

GHAR 2 - RUPAK TAAL (There are 2 Taalis and the Beat has 7 Maatraas)

GHAR 3 - TEEN TAAL (There 3 Taalis and the Beat has 16 Maatraas)

GHAR 4 - CHAAR TAAL (There are 4 Taalis and the Beat has 12 Maatraas)

GHAR 5 - PUNJ TAAL (There are 5 Taalis and the Beat has 15 Maatraas)

GHAR 6 - KHUT TAAL (There are 6 Taalis and the Beat has 18 Maatraas)

GHAR 7 - MUT TAAL (There are 7 Taalis and the Beat has 21 Maatraas)

GHAR 8 - ASHT MANGAL TAAL (There are 8 Taalis and the Beat has 22 Maatraas)

GHAR 9 - MOHINI TAAL (There are 9 Taalis and the Beat has 23 Maatraas)

GHAR 10 - BRAHAM TAAL (There are 10 Taalis and the Beat has 28 Maatraas)

GHAR 11 - RUDRA TAAL (There are 11 Taalis and the Beat has 32 Maatraas)

GHAR 12 - VISHNU TAAL (There are 12 Taalis and the Beat has 36 Maatraas)

GHAR 13 - MUCHKUND TAAL (There are 13 Taalis and the Beat has 34 Maatraas)

GHAR 14 - MAHASHANI TAAL (There are 14 Taalis and the Beat has 42 Maatraas)

GHAR 15 - MISHR BARAN TAAL (There are 15 Taalis and the Beat has 47 Maatraas)

GHAR 16 - KUL TAAL (There are 16 Taalis and the Beat has 42 Maatraas)

GHAR 17 - CHRCHARI TAAL (There are 17 Taalis and the Beat has 40 Maatraas)

Within the rules of Indian Classical Music, uncountable raags can be created. In fact, any form of music (non-Indian and non-classical) can be classified under some form of raag. Hence it is a misconception that raags are something highly classical and beyond the realm of the common man?s understanding. In fact, any form of music can be classified into a raag. But in Guru Granth Sahib, the Gurus have gone into depths of poetry, music and metrical forms to lay the framework that is best suited to convey the feeling and message of the Shabad simultaneously to the human mind and heart.

When each of the prescribed raags offers uncountable permutations and combinations of musical compositions, then why is it that modern Keertanias are not experimenting within the prescribed framework of the Gurus?

Are they camouflaging their limitations in the excuse that Sangat prefers only catchy tunes?

Gurbani says:

"Among all raags, that one is sublime, O Siblings of Destiny, by which God comes to abide in the mind." (Page 1423)

Clearly, only that raag is prescribed by which a feeling of spirituality is aroused.

The Gurus have not prescribed catchy musical tunes that may dominate the Shabad. The essence of Keertan lies in effective delivery of the inherent message of the Shabad, using raag and taal as a medium.

The medium must not dominate the essence.

This is where our modern day keertanias are making the mistake of experimenting beyond the prescribed framework of Guru Granth Sahib and singing shabads in catchy tunes. At the end it?s the tune that remains in the mind and not the message.

Music is twice blessed, yet one must guard against misuse of its inherent power. For while it can be effectively used for constructive Keertan by operating within the prescribed framework of Guru Granth Sahib, on the other hand it can also be used for arousing destructive feelings by use of catchy tunes. (as explained earlier, any form of music can be classified into a raag).

It is interesting to note that the main object that has caused the current day deterioration in quality of Keertan is the most widely used musical instrument called ?Harmonium?. But harmonium is not an Indian instrument. Over one hundred years ago, Europeans brought the harmonica to India. The air box of this European instrument was experimented by Indian musicians to develop a new instrument that was named harmonium. This instrument is not best suited for Indian classical music.

According to Indian classical music, the human ear can recognize twenty-two musical notes in an octave. The harmonium only offers twelve discrete keys in an octave. Only string instruments offer the ability to play all twenty-two notes in an octave, by pressing the string at midpoints. It is for this reason that earlier Indian Music was always played with the accompaniment of only string instruments. In fact if one sees the old pictures of Harmandir Sahib, one only finds string instruments being used by the Keertanias.

Instruments:

Although the harmonium offered a compromise to Indian classical music and should never have been used in the Indian system, it gained rapid acceptance because it was very easy to learn and use. Learning a string instrument requires close to four to five years professional training but the harmonium can be learnt in less than two months.

This was a great blessing to aspiring Sikhs who also wanted to be able to do Keertan. While there is no harm in using a harmonium ,and we must also accept its contribution in making it easier for the masses to learn Keertan, thereby helping them start their spiritual journey. However it also caused the biggest deterioration in the tradition of Keertan singing.

The professional Keertanias were now finding it hard to keep pace with the rapid generation of new breed of amateur Keertanias, who did not go through the years of rigorous training, using the string instruments. Materialistic desires lead them to shorten their classical training period by quickly moving to the harmonium. Over generations this trend lead to complete elimination of string instruments from the Gurudwaras. Lack of dedication that crept in because of the ability to learn Keertan in just two months also lead Keertanias to soon start doing Keertan in catchy filmy tunes.

Arguably, our modern day Keertanias should be given a one hundred percent score for having the ability to experiment with music. But unfortunately, this experimentation with catchy tunes is causing more harm than good to Keertan tradition as they have stopped experimenting within the prescribed framework of Guru Granth Sahib.

An instrument that was supposed to attract Sikhs to Gurbani has now become the very reason for the downfall in present day standards of Keertan. It would have been fine for the harmonium to be adopted, but not at the expense of compromising on string instruments. The harmonium should have acted as a stepping-stone for budding Sikh Keertanias to quickly acquire musical sense and move forward to experimenting within the prescribed framework of Guru Granth Sahib. Instead they have chosen the short cut.

The reason for citing the above example is to show the long term pitfalls associated with un-checked experimentation. Modern day experimentalist keertanias need to be cautious and introspect. The first question that needs to be answered is:

What is attracting the youth to this new style of Keertan?

In all probability, it is the music that is attracting them because Keertan is being done in a modern day, highly dramatized form.

Haunting:

I have heard a shabad "Mittar Pyarae Noon?" in which thunder, lightning and sounds of wild animals complement the shabad to project the scene of Machiwara jungle. The only reason one would get attracted to such style of Keertan is because of music. Like any MTV Top of the Charts, such music can?t last long in the minds of the youth, nor can the message get effectively delivered to their mind.

On the other hand, maybe the youth is getting attracted to this style of Keertan because effective English/local language translations are being provided. If that is the case, then the translations can also be provided while doing Keertan in the prescribed framework of Guru Granth Sahib. After all, there are thousands of tunes that can be created from each of the prescribed raags and these tunes need not be highly classical in order to cater to popular tastes of the youth. Even the Gurus did not allow the dominance of classical music over the Shabad.

Our Gurus support forwardness, but where should we draw the line?

Who knows, next there could be an experiment with Jaap Sahib being sung in the Rap style! Will Jaap Sahib in Rap style lead to feelings of spirituality?

The future of Keertan lies in the hands of present day Keertanias. They definitely need to look at ways of improvising and attracting the youth, but not at the cost of further deterioration of Keertan. Our Keertanias should first make the effort to acquire full knowledge of the musical framework of Guru Granth Sahib and then adapt from within it, to attract the youth - not on a short-term basis but on a long-term basis. I believe that if our Keertanias make an earnest efforts to implement the commands of Guru Granth Sahib in their singing style, then the ?pied pipers? of pop music will not need to walk the streets to attract the youth, they will automatically get attracted to the Gurudwara.

[gupy]

VJKK VJKF

A brilliant post, thanx for that.

What are anyones thoughts about how Raag Vidiya can be brought back to the mainstream.

ALso what about Naamdharis, how would you rate their kirtan along side traditional forms. What about Sufi influences?

By the way, at Warwick Uni, i'm organising an event to promote Indian Musical Culture.

I hope to make this the start of something new, and invite all to come.