Some Musings upon Anahata Nada.

by Frank Perry

Prologue to Frank Perry. Frank is the kind of person who breaks the mould, unique, unforgettable, larger than life. He struck me like that when I first met him about ten years ago and time hasn't diminished that impression. He seems at once the most spiritual of people and, at the same time, the most funny and humorous, an incredibly gifted musician and a walking encyclopaedia. I have enjoyed working with him on several musical projects through which his integrity and sense of purpose always shine. I recently invited him to come and laugh for his supper. Sarah Verney Caird and I were working on our CD, "Unfolding Journey" and felt a need for a strong male presence on one of the tracks, someone with a huge and infectious laugh and a musical ear. Frank generously entered into the spirit of our proposal with such rich peels of laughter that I defy anyone listening to be able to suppress, at the very least, a chuckle. They may even find themselves surrendering to wild and uncontrollable giggles! (Susan Nares)

Anahata Nada is the word in India for inner sound (meditated upon by those following the path of Nada Yoga) whilst Anahata is also the word for the Heart Chakra. It is also stated that one cannot hear the anahata nada (the Unstruck Sound of the Nada yogis) until one has reached the level of consciousness of the Heart Chakra.

(For more on Nada Yoga proper click HERE or read on and then click NEXT at bottom of page).

To the ancients the Heart Chakra was ruled by the astrological Sign of Leo which in turn is ruled by the Sun. Even as the Sun brings forth many forms of life upon our planet, so, too, the inner sun will bring forth many forms of cultural activities. Providing these maintain their relationship with this central fire, originating from this Heart Centre, then they can serve a meaningful purpose within the greater whole - a form of transpersonal interaction can take place between the performing artist and the greater whole. Heart and mind must work together, but as the heart evolves those forms most suitable for expressing or reflecting these higher realities, then this process takes place naturally, and an organic form is evolved originating from a spiritual source within that has directed the entire process.

The heart is essential to the ethical aspect of creativity. We may entertain all manner of ideologies and systems but our actions are dictated by the values of the heart. It is therefore important to purify the energy of our heart.

But such a path is something of a lonely one: sacrifices have to be made and total commitment to one's passion is also necessary to keep the process uncontaminated by lesser forms of music-making/money-making. Ancient peoples had sacred spaces and reserved certain sounds for their ceremonies, as they believed such things would lose their power and meaning if applied to everyday activities.

Few composers today are concerned with such issues, but one is Alan Hovhaness, whose music is unashamedly religious. It is clear from his creations and interviews that his consciousness has taken flights beyond the everyday experience. As one 'cannot put new wine in old bottles', Hovhaness developed new techniques for conveying his expanded consciousness experiences into music. In 1944 he devised a textural backdrop using pizzicato strings that he labelled 'spirit murmur'. By the 1960s this had evolved into what he called 'controlled chaos', where the chance-like sections now also moved into the foreground. This is a form of (quasi) aleatoric music (i.e. non-precise) which is featured in several sections of his piece Fra Angelico.

The 'controlled' aspect of the chaos lies in the melodic fragments being played over and over by each performer independent of the temporal reference to the others. There is something of a kinship with improvised music because the end result is similarly unpredictable. On my first hearing of Fra Angelico in 1972 I thought the whole orchestra was improvising - there was a shimmering poetic ocean of sound that I likened to 'standing on the threshold'. I lost all sense of time as also of a separate self as all sense of my surroundings disappeared and I merged into this transcendent sound-field. I had never previously imagined I would get such an experience from hearing composed orchestral music. Years later I discovered that Fra Angelico retained particular significance for Hovhaness himself. He says:

The mighty adorational hymn-like theme came to me with a sense of vision. Walls of the room seemed to vanish and the sublime Mt Rainier - or Mt Tahoma (original Indian name) - towered in majestic grandeur. I quickly wrote out the orchestral parts and tried out the hymn in orchestral rehearsal.

The music is a tribute and thanksgiving offering to Fra Angelico the 15th c European artist who painted in the Eastern spirit. As in old China, Korea, and Japan, artists painted celestial musicians descending from heaven to earth, so in Florence Fra Angelico painted his vision of angels playing celestial trumpets. His vision inspired my use of trumpets, horns, and trombones in adorational cantorial music. In my music these instruments become voices of celestial messengers.

It therefore came as no surprise to learn from the Director of the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York in the early 1980s that Hovhaness had been a member of the Roerich Society since the 1940s.

Roerich (1874-1947) was an artist devoted to beauty, which is reflected in over 7,000 paintings. Born in St. Petersburg, he was no ordinary artist; with his wife he founded the Agni Yoga movement, which they described as 'the cult of living ethics'. This was a series of teachings (16 books in print so far) purported to be telepathically received by Madame Helena Roerich from the Ray of the Mahatma Morya - one of the Masters of the 'Great White Lodge' spoken of by Madame Blavatsky, a fellow Russian who founded the Theosophical Society with Col. Olcott in New York in 1875.

Agni is the Hindu god of fire. The old story of Rose Red and Rose White reveals to us two systems within our beings - the nervous system (Rose White) and the blood system (Rose Red) - and so we can see that this Fire of the Heart easily relates to the fiery or passionate blood system. That fiery spirit which I heard in the music of Hovhaness was further kindled through contact with the Roerichs and their ethic of pax cultura - peace through culture. The word culture can be read as 'cult-ur' and therefore also carries the resonance of Ur the ancient god of light, thus offering a natural association of fire with a cult of light - spiritual Light - sometimes missing from contemporary culture.

The next chakra up from the heart is that of the throat chakra, named in India Vishudda, and this word translates as pure. Likewise, in astrology, the fire sign of Leo is followed by the earth sign of Virgo which carries a purifying influence. When we approach the circle of the signs of the Zodiac from a holistic perspective, we see that creativity arises in Leo, following which Virgo's critical analysis leads us to see the imperfections in our creativity - not pleasant, but essential for growth. After our self-absorption with the creativity that flows through us via the sign of Leo, we eventually fall from this paradise into an awareness of that which we lack in our creativity. Creativity feels to be flowing through us (Leo) and the critical faculty (Virgo) is left by the wayside.

This is somewhat as it should be - until we evolve beyond this Leonine level. As our limitations become more obvious we need to look outside ourselves for ways of expanding these limitations. The energy of Libra leads us to seek experts in those areas where we are lacking. Viewing the astrological signs holistically, as a process, can help to bring an element of objectivity into our creative expression.

Within the Platonic 'great year', a precession of around 26,000 years, humanity is moving from the Piscean Age to the Aquarian Age ruling for the next 2,000 years or so. Though a ruling sign governs the general populace, initiates always work with the opposite energy. For instance, under the Aries Age Moses brought the Ten Commandments (Libra and Laws), whilst during the last Piscean Age Jesus was born of a Virgin (Virgo).

In our present time Aquarius and Leo are opposite each other. Aquarius is thought to have a strong link with science, while the 'Airy triplicity' are linked with the three arts (Gemini, writing, Libra, art, Aquarius, music). One of its ruling planets, Uranus, also links with intuition; whilst Leo, the opposite sign to Aquarius, has more to do with the 'child in the heart', that is, the simplicity at the core of our being as a metaphor for the sun gong at the heart of our solar system. Thus it is that Leo characterises the path of initiates of this Aquarian Age. Many of the current spiritual teachers place emphasis upon Light whilst also encouraging the philosophy of pan-human spirituality. This is why I am striving to place importance upon the way of the heart, the way of Divine Love, and its relation to Sound. In India the one great sound is the OM and I consider this sound to be that of Divine Love creating a world of overtones - of which those at the farthest point from the Central Great Tone of Cosmic Love, may perhaps only be but dimly aware (of their Source).

The Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten was noted as the one who tried to get the Egyptians to worship the Sun - the One God - rather than their countless gods. He is often credited as being the first monist upon the face of the earth.

The sun may easily be seen as the fire upon the altar of the gods. Fire is at the heart of all religions. To the ancient Greeks there were the four Great Initiations, one of which was known as the Fire Initiation. Fire to these ancients was likened to the energy of love, most especially divine love.

Of course, when we think of love it is natural to place this energy in our hearts rather than in our heads or feet. Of the three great Vedic paths (margas) the 'path of love', is Bhakti: the lover merging with the beloved to become One - no distinction between self and not-self, no longer two nor any other number. The god of love in India was Krishna, the flute player - music created by virtue of the breath played down a tube with several holes. One tube, One breath producing several notes. There are several ways of hearing this one sound. The Chinese Hsiao (end-blown flute) has seven basic notes (from six holes) - linking with the Seven Rays - the Seven spirits before the throne mentioned in the Revelations of St. John.

Improvisation allows us the opportunity to create spontaneously in and for the moment, so that we lose self-awareness and become totally absorbed in the music - as the musician hears the unfolding music s/he immediately senses the part that their instrument must play within the developing narrative.

In terms of contemporary improvisation this idea extends Schoenberg's idea of Klangfarbenmelodie, where a notated theme passes through different instruments, to the world of spontaneous music where a group of improvisers externalise their collective awareness immediately as a unified sound-world. We co-create alongside our fellow musicians in a music that is dictated from beyond the conscious awareness of any one single player. such free-form improvisation, whilst not conforming to the laws and rules of organised music-making, may easily appear chaotic to the casual listener, while making perfect sense to those performing it. While the improvisation within Indian music is based on forms built up over generations, there are however certain ragas related to specific divinities and deeper classical Indian musicians consider that these beings are present when their raga is being played - the performer must play to the divinity. Thus the divinity immanent within the performer must engage with the divinity without. It is the spirit of Love deep within the heart that allows this magic to happen. It is spiritual fiery Love that creates the sacrificial fire, which provides the bridge of Beauty for the divine world to touch this world, and carries the potential to lift the spirits of all of those present into communion within a larger whole.

As a separate self, I can be considered to constitute a whole (person). I live in a home with my family and so partake of a larger whole. This family lives in a street thus becoming part of a larger whole. This street is in a country and so is part of a larger whole. This country is also part of the larger whole of the entire planet. The planet is part of the solar system. The solar system is part of this galaxy. This galaxy is part of a larger whole containing billions of other galaxies - a universe.

And that is just the material aspect of creation - one tenth of the known universe - even as we are said to use only 10% of our brain's potential. From the perspective of the total whole it is One and yet comprised of many lesser wholes (similar to a Russian doll) and so the One is not a simple reduction of the many but rather a multi-unity like a single voice comprised of its many overtones within it that, given the suitable conditions, will manifest as an isolated aspect of this 'total' voice. Eventually, we are destined to come to realise our at-one-ment with the entire creation.

Thus, attuned to the Supreme Universal Being, abiding in the Self, we are able to manifest 'that one great Word' that was in the beginning. There is no beginning and no end and so that 'Word' is now! That one sound (OM or AUM to the Hindus) with its countless overtones and harmonics embraces all life and manifests now through us - unless we desire to express ourselves (something originating from our separate ego-consciousness) or something else.

In communion with this total Oneness, we do not lose our individuality, yet neither are we keen to accentuate it to the point where it is a hindrance. There is this one Self and there is our self. I might add that, unlike some teachers, I do not advocate the destruction of ego, as it is a necessary part of our total whole - most especially if we intend to embark upon explorations into comsic consciousness.

Archetypally speaking, our life falls into three main periods 1-28, 28-56, 56-84. The last of these is given the characteristic of superconsciousness (or cosmic-consciousness or God-consciousness whichever you prefer). We grow beyond our individuality and enter the Transpersonal realm of living - presuming that we successfully made the initial transition at age 28 into Self-consciousness.

We may also approach the creative act in a manner similar to this transpersonal path by way of following the Fire of the Heart. Of course, it is true as Nagarjuna says: "nirvana and samsara are one." But it is a question of which plane of our total being we are placing our attention and emphasis upon at any one time or period of our lifetime. As a famous Zen Buddhist saying states: "The one is in the many and the many are in the one."

As I write, spring approaches. The return of the sun, the fiery light, to our northern hemisphere brings about this translation of energies. It is the sun that gives life and light to the world. Let us gather around this central fire, the fire in our hearts, and commune together. We will thus be creating the most beautiful music, whether we play an instrument or not. If we play an instrument, let us use it to create from this space of communal spiritual fiery divine love. We will then share in the most delightful of feasts - sacred communion within the Heart of creation. For this humility is a prerequisite - which may be developed via the path of silence and listening to that inner voice within our spiritual heart.

The ancient Greeks spoke of two streams: the Apollonian and the Dionysian. This wild, abandoned approach of which I am speaking, probably has more affinity with the Dionysian stream than the more ordered and rational world of Apollo. The path of Bhakti concerns itself with being absorbed into the fiery energies of divine love. The figure of Dionysus connects with that of Shiva. To yogis an aspect of Shiva is associated with consciousness and initiation is itself considered to be an expansion of consciousness.

The wine of the grape was introduced to humanity as a substitute for this spiritual fire coursing through our veins when humankind became more involved with the involutionary path down into earthly consciousness.

Rudolph Steiner (the Austrian philosopher/occultist and founder of Anthroposophy 1864-1925) speaks of the influence of Ahriman at this present time, and we see it everywhere with the increasing obsession with money and economics. The industrialisation of music in its manufactured products and 'retail-by-the-yard' mood music and yes, even certain types of healing music (made by scientifically proven prescription to have the desired effect upon the recipient - whether they like it or not) enter into this mechanisation of that flame in the heart. Now more than ever, the task of the spiritually-motivated musician is to build and maintain connection with the child-like-ness of their heart centre.

Yes, in astrology the sign of Leo rules children. As a child we give ourselves over to love, we become drunk with divine love, we leave ourselves behind before even making the first note. We surrender to the world of sound. We trust to the process - much as a simple child would do. It doesn't have to be complicated - it doesn't have to be simple. The resultant form will be conditioned by how much we have utilised this Leo/Virgo energy in our endeavour to bring intention and result closer together. Some say that intention is all, but I feel that motivation is another important aspect - yet both of these count for little where the necessary aptitude or sensitivity is missing.

I'd like to conclude with a favourite quote from Hovhaness:

My purpose is to create music not for snobs, but for all people, music which is beautiful and healing. To attempt what old Chinese painters called 'spirit resonance' in melody and sound.

In our creativity let us pause every once and a while and ponder the Way of the Heart and infuse our creativity with a selfless Love, born of self-transcendence.

Paintings included are all by Professor Nicholas Roerich, by kind permission of the Nicholas Roerich Museum New York (their website contains hundreds of these beautiful paintings - click HERE to visit) and these are, in order of appearance:

Milarepa, the One Who Hearkened - at sunrise comprehending the voices of the Devas. 1925

Lumen Coeli. 1931

Mother of the World. 1930s

Krishna. Magic Flute. 1938

Ecstasy. 1933

Nagarjuna, Conqueror of the Serpent, beholding upon the lake the vision of the Ruler of the Nagi. 1925

Song of the Waterfall. 1937

Fra Angelico is available on the Crystal Label - click HERE

A wonderful website dedicated to the works of Alan Hovhaness - where you can read articles, listen to him speaking and gain information concerning his several periods and his prodigious output - can be found by clicking HERE

Follow the link HERE. or click on NEXT at the bottom of the page.

© Copyright 2004 by Frank Perry. All rights reserved. Slightly revised for publication 2005 in Issue 4 Music & Psyche - The Journal of The Music & Psyche Network August 2005. (click HERE to visit their website)

© Frank Perry, 2004. All of these articles are copyright. They may individually be copied and shared with others in a spirit of knowledge-sharing and fair play, but they may not be sold, printed or reproduced in quantity or changed in form without the permission of the copyright holder. None of this material may be reproduced in workshops or lectures of any kind unless quotes are credited or properly attributed.

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