importance of music and ragas in human life.

Music is a combination of two words sang + geet where sang means together and geet means to sing, i.e., to sing together. In the sense of singing, the form of singing and playing are two sides of the same coin, that is, the meaning of the word sangeet is singing and playing together. There are many opinions about the origin of music – some believe that it originated from animals and birds, some believe that it originated from the crying sound of a child and some believe that it originated from nature

If the act of singing is studied philosophically, then it is the basis of heart, rhythm and beat in the 'body' i.e. gaatra veena.

If seen from a philosophical point of view, the basic fundamental element of the composition of this sequence is rhythm, voice and emotion; with the combination of these three, singing, playing or dancing can take place. So, in my view, the combination of voice with emotion and emotion with rhythm, these are the three basic elements without which no subject of music is possible.

In human life, the basic quality of life which makes the difference between life and death is basically rhythm, tone and emotion. This is the element which is gradually expressed in music by the combination of these three elements. In human life, life moves in rhythm through breath, which is called the life force in the body. Similarly, the tone of music helps in the expression of emotions by moving in a special state of rhythm. The presence of life, the presence of the rhythm of the heart makes us realize that we are dead. Similarly, if we look at the feeling of emotions in human life, then the playful aspect of alaap is used for the expression of happiness, and the players of rhythm instruments also use rhythm for anger. The feeling of tears and mixed tones are used for the expression of sorrow in the form of Bhairavi and Pilu.  This is such an important fact that, through the influence of rhythm and tone on the expression of emotions in the literary aspect of human life, we use all these mediums of music for lively expression in drama and cinema, which include instrumental music, singing and dance music.

Music has a very deep impact on our mind and brain. Human is so attached to music or we can say that Human  is so influenced by music that no matter what the situation is, they  finds music in every situation.

Human life cannot be complete without music. Be it sorrow or happiness, we find music closest to us in every situation. Music is considered to be the simplest medium of expression. For example, Bhangra is a folk music and folk dance, which people traditionally perform during Baisakhi, during the harvest ceremony.

Music is so powerful that a scholar like Ravan composed Rudrastaka to please Lord Shiva and recited it aloud and thus got Lord Shiva under his control. Lord Vishnu used music as a medium to defeat demons many times. Whether it was to take the form of Mohini or Apsara. Whether it was Meera, Kabir, Tulsidas etc., saints, all chose music as their main medium for attaining God or for social welfare. All of them knew that they can be successful only in expressing their feelings through music, because music touches everyone's heart. There is hardly any person who is away from music, even if they  does not know much about music, but every person enjoys music according to his interest.

Music has a great importance in the sixteen rituals. In ancient times, Vedic mantras were recited and in the modern era, this was replaced by traditional folk songs. Sixteen rituals are an old Hindu ritual in which important components of a person's life are organized, and music also plays an important role in them. Here are some important components of the ritual and the effect of music in detail -

1. Birth Customs (Janam-Sanskar)

After the birth of a newborn, music is an important component in the rituals. The music sung is considered auspicious for the child's growth and future. In which Sohar, Janam and other upbeat songs are sung, wishing for the long life of the child.

Songs like - Jug Jug  Jiye Tu Lalanwa Bhavanwa Ke Bhag Jage Ho etc. are very popular.

2. Housewarming ceremony (Grahapravesh Sanskar)

When a person goes to a new house, he is welcomed there through music. This is a symbol of creating harmony in the society and strengthens the relations.

Songs Like:- pravesh kijiye grah pravesh kijiye etc.

3. Vidyarambha Sanskar

Music is important as a sanskar at the time of beginning of education. Its purpose is to make education auspicious and help in acquiring knowledge in a beautiful way.

Songs like : - Gurukul education, Shri Ram's Gurukul education etc.

4. Marriage Ceremony

Music is an important component of marriage ceremony as it expresses unique emotions. It marks the auspicious beginning of a relationship. There are many songs for marriage occasion in which songs of different rituals like Banna, Banni, Chadhaav, Gaari, Phera, Suhaag, vidai geet etc. are popular in folk songs.

Songs like: Bane Dulha Chhavi Dekho Bhagwan Ki Dulhan Bani Siya Janki etc. are popular.

 5. Funeral Rites

After death, music is of particular importance in funeral rites. Music is traditionally used for mourning and self-consolation.

The sixteen rites relate to important moments in a person's life and music serves as an important part of these rites, expressing emotions, and signifying social significance.

That is, the sound which entertains the mind of a human being is called a raga.

It is mentioned in the context of raga that Lord Shiva created five ragas namely Bhairav, Hindol, Megh, Deepak, Shree from his five faces (east, west, north, south, facing the sky) and one raga Goddess Parvati created Raga Kaushik.

There are many such ragas in classical music, which are capable of creating an atmosphere as per the nature of the raga or in other words, create an atmosphere. Any raga has so much power that it can shape the atmosphere according to its nature. For example, we have heard a lot about Raga Deepak composed by Miyan Tansen, how singing Deepak raga lit up the lamps in the court, how he used to create an atmosphere in the court by singing Raga Darbari,making it rain by singing Raga Megh Malhar, many such stories are heard. many such stories are heard. If you listen to ragas of playful nature like Bhupali, Yaman, Bhairav, Maruvihag, Rageshri, Bhairavi, Vrindavani Sarang, Bhimpalasi etc., you feel happy listening to such ragas, you feel

playfulness inside you, you feel a happy atmosphere around you. Because you are feeling that happiness inside you. this is the quality of these ragas. There are many film songs based on these ragas.

On the contrary, if you listen to any Karuna Raga or let's say any raga of serious nature, in which there is a feeling of Karuna Rasa, for example like; - Raga Bhoopeshree, Shivranjani, Marwa, Charukeshi etc., on listening to such ragas, the mind starts feeling sad and the feeling of Karuna Rasa is generate. By merely listening to these ragas, the feeling of separation starts becoming strong.There are many film songs based on these Ragas.

Similarly, in light music, which we call Sugam Sangeet, too, there are some songs that explain the essence of life. Some songs are so full of enthusiasm that the mind instantly becomes happy and filled with heroic spirit. Such songs increase your happiness further and you start swaying to the rhythm of the music. At the same time, some songs are so sad that they make the mind sad. The selection of lyrics, Raga and Notes of their songs is such that the mind becomes sad without any reason.

In this way, listening to music affects our mind and brain. And what kind of feeling is arising inside a person, can be understood through his choice of music.

That is why choose your songs, ragas in such a way that listening to them makes the mind happy, for example; some songs should be emotional, some songs should be full of passion, by listening to such songs you will feel a change created inside you through music. You will find that happy hormones are being released inside you. The mind changes instantly with songs of playful nature and your thinking starts becoming positive.

By using music as a therapy, you will find that it is working like medicine in your life. By choosing good music, you can be successful in relieving yourself from stress.

If you are going through any kind of stress, then you must try to listen to songs that are in a good mood so that the songs and music will help you to a great extent in relieving the stress. All these processes are psycho-emotional i.e. the kind of music you listen to, your mind will react in the same way. Music works on the mind in the same way as petrol on fire. Music has so much capability that it can turn your mind in any direction.

Therefore, you should listen to all kinds of music as a listener, but only that music should enter your life which makes you happy and gives you peace.

Life is a song of love, every heart has to sing it…..