Sahaja Yoga Malaysia

The Music of the Spirit, part of a series of concerts organised by Sahaja Yoga Malaysia, shows how music and yoga go hand in hand. LATHA NAYAR writes.

IT was a night of musical collaboration between three award-winning artistes.

Prashant Agnihotri, Satish Khanwalkar and Nandalal Bannerjee played devotional songs using "instruments unusual to our shores" such as the mohanveena and bhansuri.

The mohanveena is a guitar-like instrument while the bhansuri is akin to a flute.

Prashant played the bhansuri while Satish played the mohanveena with Nandalal on tabla.
The trio had the audience at the Indian High Commission auditorium in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur, tapping their feet and shaking their heads to the beat of the night, as well as deep in silent appreciation of the softer, slower melodies.

The musical night earlier this month entitled The Music of the Spirit was the third instalment of a series of concerts organised by Sahaja Yoga Malaysia.

Sahaja Yoga is a non-profit organisation that provides free meditation and stress management classes all over the country. Part of its teachings incorporates music and how it can be used in meditation.

Founded by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Sahaja Yoga shows how music, especially Indian classical music, and yoga go hand in hand.

"There are deeply rooted connections between Indian classical music, in this case, Hindustani or North Indian classical music, and the subtle energy system within all human beings," said emcee Malathi Menon who has been practising Sahaja Yoga for 16 years.

The connection, said Malathi, is based on the frequency of sound in musical notes and the natural frequency of energy centres or chakras, within us.

"Indian classical music is based on Raag (melodious composition based on certain musical rules) and Taal (rhythm cycles consisting of certain number of beats) which when combined cleanse and rejuvenate various aspects of our inner selves," says Malathi.

This probably explains why guests were in good spirits that night.

Even the First Secretary of the High Commission of India, V. Raman, who officiated the event, stayed through the concert, thoroughly enjoying the performance along with the other guests.

Prashant, who was presented a performance Gold Medal by sitar maestro Ravi Shankar in 1997, was touched by the audience's response.

"The way the audience responded to the music shows how sensitive they are towards Indian classical music," said Prashant.

He also added how happy they were to perform here. After their performances, the artistes obligingly demonstrated the intricacies of their instruments to the guests.

It was truly a night for the spirit.

For more information on Sahaja Yoga, call Richard Ng (016-3313-978).

This Article is taken from NST 29 Jan 2008.