What
is Pran Sangeet?
How often
have you felt that silence, serenity and meditation has been drained
out of your life? How often do you feel abraded, dazed and ravaged by
the drudgery of the so called 'civilisation' of ours? How often do
you feel tired, drenched, tense, scared, and nothing to look up to?
How often do you see childhood snatched from your child by
schoolbags, entrance tests and report cards? How often do you feel
not as alive as
you would like to be?
The truth is, in the rush for that front row
seat, we have forgot to get the ticket, which is peace. We have given
up our right to silence before the unending blabber of FM radio. We
have submitted our faculty of concentration to the almighty deity of
distraction, television. Our children have been forced to sacrifice
their ability of analytical thought before the altar of 'education',
a system which rewards memory rather than intellect. We have allowed
ourselves to be shepherded, subjugated, and brainwashed by the
onslaught of sensations. Unforgiving as the digital age is, each of
our waking minute is bombarded by flurry of sensations, delivered by
the ever increasing reach of technology. Procrastination seems to
have become the national pastime. We have, effectively, turned
ourselves into experimental animals who go on pressing the 'pleasure'
button until there's no coming back.
Pran Sangeet
is an initiative to reverse the trend and bring back meaning into
life, sense into sensibilities, mind into matter, through Sangeet,
which embodies the perfection of all music. For Sangeet is
that culmination of all the arts, the pinnacle of human achievements,
indeed the living breath of God. The concept of Sangeet reaches
far beyond the familiar song and dance routines which are on display
on every screen across the corner. Instead, Sangeet is
the unity of the soul with the universal being, the harmony of
individual (Jeevatma)
with the cosmic singularity (Paramatma).
How would Pran Sangeet help me?
Curricular (general) education
A body of accumulated evidence points to the
fact that regular and devoted exercise of Pran Sangeet could, within
a span of six months to a year, improves academic performance
tangibly. A 15-25% increase in marks is noted, as well as upliftment
of grades. This is irrespective of whether the student is in
primary, secondary or even grad school. The only thing required is
ritualistic exercise of Pran Sangeet for half to one hour, daily, of
one's time.
It is the promise of Pran Sangeet, to all
those who practice its art, that they won't have to mug up anything
ever again. Cramming notes and mugging textbooks is the academic
equivalent of newsreading, and hardly qualifies as 'knowledge'. True
knowledge comes only from assimilation of information in one's
brain, and thus develops the faculty of analytical reasoning within
the student. This process is greatly accelerated by practice of Pran
Sangeet within a year.
Health
Strict
adherence to the principles of Pran Sangeet ensure a healthy
individual, both in body and mind. Today's society is plagued by
illnesses, even many apparently healthy people bear some or other
disease deep down. Yoga and pranayam, however beneficial they may be
for these individuals, are dull, boring by nature and difficult to
adhere to over long term. Even the practice of only vocal
music can prove harmful, when in excess. Only Sangeet,
in its succulent entirety, provides wholesome nutrition for the body
and mind. The playful nuances of Pran Sangeet subconsciously
rejuvenates the soul and mends the body.
The evil trio of hypertension, coronary heart
disease and diabetes have emerged as the brunt of the disease burden
of today's world. Although means of control are available,
cure for such things is still beyond the horizon. It is a well known
fact in scientific circles of the west that music, when properly
applied, acts as a kind of 'vaccine' against the development of such
ailments. With Pran Sangeet, you and your family can immunise
yourselves, and hope for a life less ordinary than others.
For many diseases of the body and mind that
need hospitalisation and even specialized care, music is
one of the alternative means of therapy. However, that knowledge is
still captive in medical circles. Pran Sangeet offers a glimpse into
therapeutics with music, which you can adopt in your own, or your
child's, life.
Teaching music
The two pre-eminent forms of music in vogue
today are film music and lyrical music (such as Rabindra Sangeet).
None of them are Sangeet in the truest sense, drama predominates in
the former, literature in the later. However, their execution is
often lacking poise and substance. The problem stems from the fact
that many vocalists of today, in search of shortcuts to success,
take up singing playback or lyrics, without any knowledge
of theater or literature, a situation akin to boarding a
train without a ticket. A few may get passed the checker, but the
fact remains that they were delinquent. Pran Sangeet has resources
for training film or lyrical music in the appropriate backdrop, so
that the not only the voice of the candidate is prepared, but is
overall persona is groomed to suit today's fast changing world of
entertainment. Many successful vocalists among today's youth have
their roots in Pran Sangeet.
For the classically inclined, Pran Sangeet
offers the best training in vocal music forms such as Dhrupad,
Thumri and Khayal.
Pran Sangeet has set up courses, in both
theory and practice, of acoustic instruments (i.e. those run by
willpower, not electrical power).
The Pran
Sangeet curriculum – turning the 'syllabus' on its head
Of the two
parts which make up the word 'Sangeet', the former is 'Samyak', or
totality, a completeness of
human life achievable only through a lifetime. There's no end to the
road. Research by Vyaas Sanskar shows that at least a period of
twelve years is the bare minimum to reach the requisite level of
competence in all spheres of Sangeet,
in performance as in lifestyle. Considering that our conventional
'education' produces a useful citizen in about twenty years, the
period of twelve years may seem unduly long. To keep pace with times,
the curriculum of Pran Sangeet has been divided in three levels of
four years each, namely Baikhari, Madhyma and
Pashyantee
respectively. It is the promise of Vyaas Sanskar that after end of
each level, noticeable change will be observed in the performance and
capability of the student, in academic, musical or any other circle
of life.
Unlike
any other syllabus produced by any other University, the Pran
Sangeet curriculum includes
theoretical courses on subjects such as Cultural Heritage of India,
Physiology, Psychology, Neurology, Yoga
as well as theory of Indian Classical Music for the so inclined. The
practical courses consists of mental and physical exercises such as
Raj Yoga and Hatha Yoga,
lifestyle modification, diet training, medical surveillance, and
hands on training of vocal/ instrumental music for the potential
performer.
Why
Pran Sangeet
Keeping with
the tradition of India's first Guru,
Vyaas, Pran Sangeet is a recreation of the spiritual heritage of
India, a modern day Gurukul, to produce individuals who will rise
above this mundane buzz, and make gold of whatever they touch.
Individuals, who will remind us again to believe in ourselves, to
believe that not all is lost, to believe that God has not abandoned
us yet.
Reclaim what
is rightfully yours, your life. Join the revolution called Pran
Sangeet.
A coral
Shells
Beach bird (?)
Another coral
Mangrove
Pelican/ crane (ornithologists to help?)
Some relic
Nice coconut milk ice creams
The Hotel President, Jamnagar
Sunrise from Spicejet
Jamnagar museum and Lakhota lake (the dots are actually flocks of birds)
