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Indian Art and Architecture and its relation to Indian Music:

Every culture of the world develops from thethat succeeded one another erected many
beliefs, practices and customs, traditionsmonuments in varying styles. The most notable
and values of its people. Through theirstructures in this phase are found in the
lifestyle they develop systems of moral codescapital, Ahmadabad. The Mughal phase of the
and norms, which they enrich with theirIndo-Islamic style, from the 16th to the 18th
activities and customs, of, which the arts,century, developed to a high degree the use
music, architecture, literature etc. haveof such luxurious materials as marble. The
been a very majorly integral component. Toculminating example of the style is the Taj
understand a kind of people the mostMahal in Agra. This domed mausoleum of white
important thing to study is their literature,marble inlaid with gemstones was built
and art. In case of India, the cultures that(1632-1648) by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan
have developed are not one but many. Theas a tomb for his beloved wife. It stands on
subcontinent has been a rich base for thea platform set off by four slender minarets
cultivation of an even richer set ofand  is  reflected  in  a  shallow  pool.
cultures, which have been influenced by
different settlers of over thousands ofBuilding in India since the 18th century has
years. The multitude of languages spoken andeither carried on the indigenous historical
the mix of religions present have furtherforms or has been modelled after European
enriched the land and its people. This papermodels introduced by the British. Numerous
in particular focuses on the visual arts andexamples of Western styles of the 18th, 19th,
architecture in relation to their influenceand 20th centuries may be seen in public
on  Indian  music.buildings, factories, hotels, and houses. The
most outstanding example of modern
Indian art is highly symbolic. Thearchitecture in India is the city of
much-developed ritual-religious symbolismChandîgarh, the joint capital of Haryana
presupposes the existence of a spiritualand Punjab; the city was designed by the
reality that, being in constant touch withSwiss-born French architect Le Corbusier in
phenomenal reality, may make its presence andcollaboration with Indian architects. The
influence felt and can also be approachedbroad layout of the city was completed in the
through the symbols that belong to bothearly 1960s. Notable architectural features
spheres. The art and architecture produced oninclude the vaulted structure, topped by a
the Indian subcontinent dates back to the 3rdhuge, concrete dome, and the use of concrete
millennium BC. Therefore from that alone itgrille and bright pastel colours in the
can be determined as to how culturallyPalace of Justice; the arrangement of
influenced it must have been. To Westernconcrete cubes topped by a concrete dome that
eyes, Indian art can appear strikinglyis the Governor's Palace; and the use of
ornate, exaggeratedly sensuous, andprojections, recesses, stair towers, and
voluptuous. A strong sense of design is alsoother contrasting elements to break the
characteristic of Indian art and can bemonotony of the long façades of the
observed in its modern as well as in itssecretariat building, which are 244 m (800
traditional  forms.ft) long. Modern Indian architecture has
incorporated Western styles, adapting them to
Indian art is religious inasmuch as it islocal traditions and needs-as in the design
largely dedicated to the service of one ofof the railway station at Alwar, Rajasthan
several great religions. It may be didacticState.
or edificatory as is the relief sculpture of
the two centuries before and after Christ;The next most important aspect of Indian
or, by representing the divinity in symbolicculture is Indian Music. It is an element
form (whether architectural or figural), itsthat forms an integral part of their religion
purpose may be to induce contemplation andin addition to the culture. Dance in fact is
thereby put the worshipper in communicationan expression of that music and that too has
with the divine. Not all Indian art, however,religious importance in Hinduism. However one
is purely religious, and some of it is onlyother important issue to consider is that the
nominally so. There were periods whenart and the architecture of the land were
humanistic currents flowed strongly under thegreatly influenced by religious beliefs and
guise of edificatory or contemplativecustoms, as has been seen especially by the
imagery, the art inspired by and delightingBuddhist and Islamic religions. The same is
in  the  life  of  this  world.true for the music. That too was greatly
influenced by religion. In fact the first
Although Indian art is religious, there is noforms of music were religious hymns and
such thing as a sectarian Hindu or Buddhistballads called bhajans. They were songs sets
art, for style is a function of time andto musical instruments such as the sitar and
place and not of religion. Thus it is nottable and they were stories about religion
strictly correct to speak of Hindu orand  mythology.
Buddhist art, but, rather, of Indian art that
happens to render Hindu or Buddhist themes.Just as there is no such language as Indian,
For example, an image of Vishnu and an imagebut instead many hundreds of languages, with
of Buddha of the same period areover a dozen considered major, so there is no
stylistically the same, religion havingsingle entity as Indian music. The range of
little to do with the mode of artisticmusical styles and traditions in the
expression. Nor should this be surprising insubcontinent of South Asia, which comprises
view of the fact that the artists belonged tomodern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal,
nondenominational guilds, ready to lend theirand Sri Lanka, is in proportion to the
services to any patron, whether Hindu,vastness of the geographical area and the
Buddhist,  or  Jaina.density of population. This is most obviously
the case with folk and tribal music. Given
The religious nature of Indian art accountsthat India is predominantly rural, it could
to some extent for its essentially symbolicbe claimed that such categories of music are
and abstract nature. It scrupulously avoidsthose of the majority. On the other hand, the
illusionistic effects, evoked by imitation ofrapid development of communications and wider
the physical and ephemeral world of theaccess to the mass media have helped to
senses; instead, objects are made increate what is almost, despite the language
imitation of ideal, divine prototypes, whosedifferences, a pan-Indian popular music,
source is the inner world of the mind. Thisrecorded and disseminated electronically.
attitude may account for the relative absenceThis emanates from the Indian film industry,
of portraiture and for the fact that, eventhe largest in the world, of which the
when it is attempted, the emphasis is on theproducts tend to adhere to formulaic devices,
ideal person behind the human lineamentsincluding  many  songs  and  dances.
rather  than  on  the  physical  likeness.
What is usually understood by the term Indian
To be properly understood, the art of Indiamusic refers to the classical tradition,
must be placed in the ideological, aesthetic,based on the melodic system of raga and the
and religious framework of Indianrhythmic system of tala. This music is traced
civilization. This framework was formed asback thousands of years to the vedic chants
early as the 1st century BC and has shown aof the early Hindu settlers, though it has
remarkable continuity through the ages. Thereached its present form in the last four or
Hindu-Buddhist-Jain view of the world isfive hundred years. Its development over
largely concerned with the resolution of thealmost the last two thousand years has been
central paradox of all existence, which isdocumented in a series of theoretical
that change and perfection, time andtreatises, mostly written in Sanskrit, which
eternity, immanence and transcendence,enhance its status, whether they elucidate or
operate dichotomously and integrally as partsobscure its actual practices. The word
of a single process. In such a situationcommonly found in Sanskrit for music is
creation cannot be separated from thesangit, which denotes the primacy of vocal
creator, and time can be comprehended only asmusic, with instrumental music largely
eternity. This conceptual view, whenderived from it, and dance as a further
expressed in art, divides the universe ofintegral element. Although it is not expected
aesthetic experience into three distinct,that musicians will be dancers, it is still
although interrelated, elements-the senses,vital that dancers be musicians. Muslim
the emotions, and the spirit. These elementsinvasions and the establishment of the Delhi
dictate the norms for architecture as anSultanate in the 13th century and the Mughal
instrument of enclosing and transformingEmpire in the 16th century in the northern
space and for sculpture in its volume,part of the subcontinent greatly contributed
plasticity, modeling, composition, andto a bifurcation of classical music by the
aesthetic values. Instead of depicting the16th century into a northern tradition of
dichotomy between the flesh and the spirit,Hindustani music, and a southern tradition of
Indian art, through a deliberate sensuousnessCarnatic music, and a gradual shift in both
and voluptuousness, uses one with the otherfrom religious application to a courtly
through a complex symbolism that, forentertainment. Both retain their basis in
example, attempts to transform the fleshinessraga and tala and share many other general
of a feminine form into a perennial mysteryfeatures, though they are sufficiently
of sex and creativity, wherein the momentarydifferent in detail to necessitate separate
spouse stands revealed as the eternal mother.training. Since independence from British
rule in 1947 and the demise of the princely
The Indian artist deftly uses certaincourts, Indian music has moved to the concert
primeval motifs, such as the feminine figure,hall, the recording studio, and the world
the tree, water, the lion, and the elephant.stage.
In a given composition, although the result
is sometimes conceptually unsettling, theHindustani Music is the classical tradition
qualities of sensuous vitality, earthiness,of the northern part of the Indian
muscular energy, and rhythmic movement remainsubcontinent, including Pakistan, Bangladesh
unmistakable.and, to some extent, Afghanistan. It also
corresponds to the area of Indo-Aryan
The form of the Hindu temple; the contours oflanguages and the greatest concentrations of
the bodies of the Hindu gods and goddesses;Muslims within a predominantly Hindu region.
and the light, shade, composition, and volumeMany of its characteristics are traced back
in Indian painting are all used to glorifyto the court poet and musician, Amir Khusrou,
the mystery that resolves the conflictat the end of the 13th century. From his
between  life  and  death, time and eternity.accounts, and from treatises by other
authors, it is clear that the Indian music of
The arts of India expressed in architecture,that time was already highly sophisticated,
sculpture, painting, jewelers, pottery,and he is said to have introduced several
metalwork, and textiles, were spreadArabic and Persian elements. This process
throughout the Far East with the diffusion ofcontinued under subsequent rulers, especially
Buddhism and Hinduism and exercised a strongthe Mughal Emperor Akbar in the late 16th
influence on the arts of China, Japan,century, whose court boasted the legendary
Myanmar (formerly Burma), Thailand, Cambodia,singer, Tansen, and the later Mughals and
and Java. These two religions with theirregional rulers in the 18th and 19th
various offshoots were dominant in Indiacenturies.
until Islam became powerful from the 13th to
the 18th century. With Islam, which forbidsUnder their patronage music became a matter
the representation of the human figure inof prestige, and there was intense rivalry
religious contexts, geometrical patternsbetween courts and between the musicians
became the most common form of decoration inthemselves. Repertoires were often jealously
art and architecture created under India'sguarded, and much of the teaching was kept
Muslim  rulers,  especially  the  Mughals.strictly within the family. This helps to
explain the rise of gharanas, traditions
The earliest surviving Indian architectureassociated with different families, usually
consists of brick buildings. While earlyof Muslim court musicians and named after the
wooden structures have generally notcity in which they were employed. Although
survived, later stone buildings, built in agharanas are still talked about as a means of
similar style, are known. The oldest tracesindicating a musical pedigree, they have been
of architecture in India are the vestiges ofdying out since the demise of the courts and
buildings of burnt brick found atthe advent of recordings and rapid
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (now in Pakistan),communication, and also because of the
dating from about 2500-1750 BC. Thegreater mobility and independence of the
subsequent Vedic period, which precedes themusicians.
beginning of historical styles, is
represented by burial mounds at LauriyaWhen the great theorist, Bhatkhande,
Nandangarh, in Bihâr State, and rock-cutcollected music from court musicians in the
tombs  in  Malabar,  Kerala  State.early years of the 20th century, he found not
only a huge range of compositions but also of
The establishment of historical styles beganperforming styles. As part of his effort to
about 250 BC in the time of the Indian kingclassify Hindustani music and reconcile
Ashoka, who gave imperial patronage totheory with practice, he grouped the
Buddhism. Accordingly, the monuments of thisthousands of melodic types, ragas, under ten
time were built for Buddhist purposes. Ascales, or thats. Only a fraction of the
characteristic Buddhist construction was theragas in existence are in common use. The
tope, or stupa, a hemispherical orpriority in Hindustani music is the maximum
bell-shaped masonry monument, typicallydevelopment of the minimum material, so a
surrounded by a railing, and with fourmusician needs to know a few ragas in depth,
entrances marked by gateways, and designed asrather  than  a  large  number superficially.
a shrine or reliquary. Buddhism waned after
the 5th century as Hinduism and JainismHowever the most important relation of Indian
became dominant. The Jain and Hindu stylesmusic to art is through the raga. Raga is the
overlapped and produced the elaborate allovermelodic basis of Indian classical music. Each
patterns carved in bands that became theraga has infinite possibilities of variation,
distinguishing feature of Indianand a skilful performer can extend improvised
architecture. The Jains often built on aand composed material from a few minutes to
gigantic scale, a marked feature of theirwell over an hour. The origin of the word,
architecture being pointed domes constructedfrom a Sanskrit root meaning color, suggests
of  level  courses  of  corbelled  stones.that a raga is more than a musical idea. Its
correct rendition must instill a certain mood
The Hindu style is closely related to thein its listeners, creating aesthetic delight
Jain style. It is divided into three general(rasa), and ragas have been associated with
categories: northern, from AD 600 to thepaintings and poetic aphorisms in the
present; central, from 1000 to 1300; andthousand or so years of their existence.
southern, or Dravidian, from 1350 to 1750. InTherefore the visual arts through the
all three periods the style is marked bypaintings and their rendition into
great ornateness and the use of pyramidalarchitecture have influenced music through
roofs. Spire-like domes terminate in delicatethe development of the ragas. There are many
finials. Other features include theand they in turn form the basis for all kinds
elaborate, grand-scale gopuras, or gates, andof  musical  interpretations.
the choultries, or ceremonial halls. The next
style that remained dominant was that of theIn the North Indian tradition of Hindustani
Islamic era. Islamic architecture in Indiamusic, ragas are also assigned to particular
dates from the 13th century to the present.times of the day or night, and, in many
Brought to India by the first Muslimcases, also to seasons of the year. Each raga
conquerors, Islamic architecture soon lostmust be distinguishable from all others,
its original purity and borrowed suchwhether in the Hindustani or the southern
elements from Indian architecture astradition  of  Carnatic  music.
courtyards surrounded by colonnades,
balconies supported by brackets, and aboveThe development of the raga will normally
all, decoration. Islam, on the other hand,continue with one or more compositions, set
introduced to India the dome, the true arch,in particular talas, or time cycles. In vocal
geometric motifs, mosaics, and minarets.music, which is always pre-eminent in Indian
Despite fundamental conceptual differences,music, the main Hindustani song forms are the
Indian and Islamic architecture achieved akhyal and dhrupad, and there are several
harmonious fusion, especially in certainshorter forms, usually of a lighter nature,
regional  styles.such as thumri, and tarana.Khyal, as its name
suggests, has strong Muslim influences, while
Indo-Islamic style is usually divided intodhrupad, a term from Sanskrit, is older and
three phases: the Pashtun, the Provincial,regarded as essentially Hindu, although it
and the Mughal. Examples of the earlierdeveloped to its present form in the Mughal
Pashtun style in stone are at Ahmadabad incourts.
Gujarat State, and in brick at Gaur-Pandua in
West Bengal State. These structures areConclusively it can be said that the
closely allied to Hindu models, but aredevelopment of music descended for art, in
simpler and lack sculptures of human figures.the sense that the basis of Indian music the
The dome, the arch, and the minaret areragas, were musical expressions of the
constant features of the style. Theexisting art, and architectural depictions of
Provincial style reflected the continuedthe periods and styles that they were
rebellion of the provinces against thedeveloped in. In addition it can also be
imperial style of Delhi. The best example ofdetermined that Indian music is the soul of
this phase is in Gujarat, where for almostthe Indian culture whose body is the art of
two centuries until 1572, when Emperor Akbarthe subcontinent.
finally conquered the region, the dynasties



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