In my previous discourse I said that humans came onto this earth about one million years ago. But human civilization is at the most fifteen thousand years old. If the first mańd́ala [chapter] of the ancient Rgveda is accepted as the starting-point of civilization, then the age of civilization will not exceed fifteen thousand years. But the civilization of those ancient days was not like the one we see in our times. The humans of those days merely followed a few rules and regulations in certain areas – no more than that.

Shiva was born about seven thousand years ago – about eight thousand years after the beginning of the composition of the Rgveda, that is, during the last part of the Rgvedic Age and the first part of the Yajurvedic Age. The civilization we see in the age of the Rgveda may be considered as pre-Shiva, and the civilization we find in the days of the Yajurveda as post-Shiva. From what we observe in the early and medieval periods of the Rgveda, we can conclude that a well-regulated social order was not yet evolved. Social life was not at all systematized.⁽¹⁾

Shiva observed that in the days of the Rgveda, chanda [metre] was known, but rágas and rágińiis [melodies of Oriental music] were not yet invented. Not just any composition with rhythm qualifies to be called music! Suppose people are making dissonant sounds in a particular rhythm – that certainly will not be considered music.

There were seven metres in the Vedic Age, from the days of the Rgveda. Those seven rhythms were gáyattrii, uśńiik, triśt́up, anuśt́up, jagati, brhatii and pauṋkti. The “Savitr Rk” [dedicated to Parama Puruśa, Supreme Consciousness] in the tenth súkta [composition] of the third mańd́ala of the Rgveda, is composed in Gáyattrii chanda. Sometimes people mistakenly call the Gáyattrii chanda, “Gáyattrii Mantra”.

[[So the people of those days were acquainted with chanda, but not with the surasaptaka [seven-note Oriental musical scale]. After close observation, Shiva concluded that the sounds produced by the mouths and tongues of various birds and animals maintain a harmonious adjustment with the undulations of the sound waves of the universe. The eighth step, the eighth note, of this harmony comes very close to the first note.

Based on the sounds of seven creatures, Shiva evolved the surasaptaka. This seven-note scale, which made the rhythm sweeter and more graceful, includes the sounds of śad́aja [peacock], rśabha [ox], gándhára [goat], madhyama [horse], paiṋcama [cuckoo], dhaevata [ass] and niśáda [elephant]. By taking the initials of the seven sounds – sá from śad́aja, re from rśabha, gá from gándhára, má from madhyama, pá from paiṋcama, dhá from dhaevata and ni from niśáda – Shiva made the surasaptaka sá-re-gá-má-pá-dhá-ni; and at the eighth step, the first sound is repeated, although on a different level [of pitch]. In those regions of the world where the influence of Shiva was less, there, in the eighth note of this surasaptaka, there is a little difference (through permutation and combination, endless varieties of sound can be produced), so the second sá is not exactly the same as the first, so in [Western] music, we find do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do: in other words, do is repeated, and it is counted as part of the scale. That is why instead of saying surasaptaka ["seven-note musical scale"] [Western] musicians call their scale an "octave".⁽²⁾]]

Thus by inventing the seven musical notes, Shiva made the world of rhythms sweeter and more delightful. This was no ordinary achievement.

The music of the present-day world is entirely based on these seven musical notes. It is a matter of great regret that people have forgotten this science of music, whose foundation was laid by the intense efforts of Shiva. Nowadays, instead of considering music as a valuable asset to spiritual practice, they take it as a hobby, a means of livelihood, or a mere pastime. The arduous effort which Shiva invested in this science is conspicuously absent today. Some people lament this, saying,

Ár ki Bhárate áche se yantra
Ár ki áche se mohana mantra
Ár ki áche se madhura kańt́ha
Ár ki áche se práń,
Sethá ámi kii gáhiba gán!

[I wonder where in India are those perfect musical instruments –
Where are those charming notes?
Where is that melodious voice?
Where is the soul of music?
Alas, what music shall I sing there?]

To that my reply is: If the followers of Shiva make even one percent of the progress Shiva made, then India and indeed the world and the universe will surely regain that melodious voice and those charming notes. There is no reason for disillusionment. If people only develop their vigour, discipline and simplicity, and make intense effort, then success will come automatically. The lost treasure of the past will be fully restored to human society.

Shiva did not give a systematic form to music only – even to this day people utilize the fruits of His research in the field of phonetics. Phonetics depends on the science of breath, on inhalation and exhalation. Also on the basis of the science of breath, Shiva invested the world of rhythm with mudrá.⁽³⁾ He established harmony between rhythm and dance, and added mudrá to them.

In the pre-Shiva society of the Rgvedic Age, there was chanda, but no mudrá. In order to acquire proficiency in the study of the Vedas, the student had to master the six vedáuṋgas, the six branches of Vedic knowledge: chanda [the science of metre], kalpa [explanation of rites], nirukta [lexicography], jyotiśa [astronomy/astrology], vyákarańa [grammar], and áyurveda or dhanurveda [the science of medicine]. This proves that the people of that time were well acquainted with chanda.

Then how did Shiva introduce mudrá in music? He observed that in the bodies of different creatures, the various glands were either over-active or under-active, either over-secreting or under-secreting. As a result, these creatures expressed themselves in various ways. Shiva intensively researched all these factors, and finally invented mudrá. Each and every mudrá affects certain human glands in a particular way and thus influences people’s minds accordingly. This was Shiva’s contribution to the world of dance. In those days, people wrongly considered the random movement of the limbs to be dance; later, to this random movement of the arms and legs, were added a few Vedic rhythms. But that certainly cannot be accepted as classical dance. Only after the addition of mudrás was it elevated to the status of classical dance.

Regarding the táńd́ava dance invented by Shiva, I will speak a bit later.

Then again, the mere beating of drums is not the art of vádya [percussion]. This should be harmonized not only with chanda and the musical scale, but also with the rhythms and mudrás of the dance. Shiva Himself added all this to the art of percussion; prior to Him, it was completely unknown.

Shiva did not merely invent nrtya, giita and vádya [dance, song and instrumental music]; He also spread the knowledge of music among the people. He selected Maharshi Bharata as an ideal candidate and said to him, “You must teach the science of music to anyone who wants to learn it, without any consideration of caste or community. You should consider only one thing: whether or not the person has the deep inner urge to learn.” Shiva gave a systematic form and definite structure to everything which was not well-formulated until then. He provided a system not only for music but for each and every expression of human life, so that everything might progress in a rhythmic way, so that nothing would be done haphazardly.

Footnotes

(1) [[Four-and-a-half paragraphs omitted here. –Trans.]]

(2) From the Latin word for [[“eighth”]]. –Trans.

(3) Mudrás are subtle, symbolic gestures characteristic of Oriental dance. –Trans.