things are wrought by
prayer than this world
dreams of’.
“Inthedoctor-patient
relationship,faith in the
doctor unquestionably
helpsin healing,particu-
larlyin a criticalillness.
Anydoctor practisingany
systemof medicinefora
significantlengthof time
will vouch for thisfact.
Howdoesfaithact?Faith
acts through the mind-
body complex. Though
thereis a greatdealof re-
searchgoingon in relation
to the mind-bodycomplex,
thereis verylittlewe know
andmuchto be learnt.”
After 1000 C.E.,espe-
ciallysincethe latterhalfof
the 18thcentury,Ayurveda
declined becauseits teach-
ers lacked the spiritof sci-
entific inquiry.Thebookis
studdedwithmovingpas-
sages,suchas this: “I can-
nothelpfeeling thatthe
averageIndian, the Indian
in ruralareas, theIndian
livingin slums of large cit-
ies, the poor, the marginal-
ised, or even the
middle-class Indian, de-
servesa better dealwithre-
gardto hishealth. I just
cannotimaginehowthe
deprivedIndian bearshis
lot withsuchindomitable
courage, fortitude and
philosophical equanimity.
Perhapsit is dueto his reli-
giousfaith,hisbeliefand
trustin God,his beliefin
Karmaor in the immortal-
ity of his soulthatenables
himto do so.”Thepassage
occursappropriatelyin the
chapter “Tabiyat: Medi-
cineandHealingin India”.
Noris Florence Nightin-
galeignored.Shealsowas
movedby faith.MUSIC& MIND
To thisreviewer, themost
arrestingchapters areon
musicanddeath.Musicis
far morecloselyrelatedto
tabiyat(health)andheal-
ing(thatis, restorationto
health). The chapter on
musicis entitled“Music,
theMindandMedicine”
and it begins with this
quote from William P.
Neville:“Thereis nothing
intheworldso muchlike
prayeras musicis.” Indiais
richin thepractice of reli-
gious devotion through
music.A BBC journalist
whoheardMuslimssaying
theirmorning prayers in
Kashmirthoughtthatthe
rendering was close to
Buddhistchants. Theau-thor’sviewsinvitenotonly
respect, they compelac-
ceptance. “Ofall the art
formsin ourworld,in my
opinion, music is the
greatest. I speakof great
music—musicwhichpen-
etrates intotheverydepth
of a human being, tran-
scendental music, music
whichenablesoneto com-
munewithGod.”
His essay proceeds
withsomethoughts on the
origin,evolutionandthe
mystery of music,followed
by theeffects of music on
the mind, its inherent
power andits relationto
medicine. It concludes
witha briefdescriptionon
its natureandsignificance.
He writeschiefly withref-
erence to Westernmusic.
“Though familiarwithall
formsof Western music,
my specialinterestis West-
ernclassicalmusic.”He is
alsofamiliar,but to a lesser
extent, withIndian clas-
sical music.Hisremarks
thatfollow applyin general
to all music.
Westernmusicarouses
his greatest admiration.
Buthe doesnot neglectde-
votionalmusiclikebhajans
in templesandqawwali.
Evidently,he hasnotbeenexposedto thesingingof
whatpasses forqawwaliin
theincreasinglydegener-
ate cityof Mumbai.Its pre-
decessor Bombay
mercilesslymocksat its ut-
ter lackof taste.Delhihosts
“Sufi Kathak” perform-
ancesto thedelightof its
nouveauriche. No wonder
OldDelhi,withits culture
andfabulouscuisine,des-
pisesNewDelhi.
Whatis theimpact of
music on the patientwhois
impatiently awaiting full
recovery?Musiccanassist
hima lot.“It is notjust
Western classical music
thatexertsthiseffect.In
canbe anyformof music,
fromanypartof the world,
so longas it is soothingand
hasa special appealfor the
listener. It is important to
askthepatientto concen-
tratedeeplyon themusic
thathe or she hears, to
listento everynote,to shut
outnoisesfromthemind
and to banish every
thought thatmayarisein
the mind’seye,as promptly
as possible. Themorein-
tensethe focuson the mu-
sic,thegreatertheeffect.
Forthosewhoappreciate
Indian music, I recom-
mend soothing ragasASITARRECITALbyPunditRaviShankar. (Right)A qawwalisessionat KhwajaMoinuddinChishtiDargahin Ajmer.
Theauthorwriteseloquentlyonthecloseconnectionbetweenmusicand healing.
JAYANTA SHAW/REUTERS SHAUKATAHMED/PTI