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141 5 SIKHISM AND MUSIC PashauraSingh T he sacred music of the Sikhs is the heart of their devotional experience. It is commonly referred to as Gurmat SaÙg≠t or “music in the Guru’s view.” To understand the centrality of devotional singing (k≠rtan) in the Sikh tradition, it is necessary to place the inquiry in the historical context of the sixteenth century. The term k≠rtan is derived from a Sanskrit root, k≠rti, which in Sikhism means singing a devotional song in praise of AkÅl Purakh or “the Timeless One” (God). The form of the k≠rtan was derived from the old prabandha (classical song) style of singing described in the Indian classical music treatises, a style that was characterized by rigorous rules, which left little place for improvisation. It was a rich and flourishing musical genre from the Gupta age, starting in the fourth century, up to the fourteenth century. These early classical songs led to the dhrupad (fixed word) style of music in vernacular languages like Braj BhÅshÅ, which became popular in North India during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In this transition from the classical prabandha to the dhrupad style, the “devotional ” (bhakti) concept of music (as distinguished from the contemporary court music) emerged in which “it is ultimately for God and not for an earthly audience that the devotee plays and sings.”1 Most of the songs of medieval poet-saints were sung in the dhrupad style by trained professional singers, and this was one of the styles that became the model for shabad k≠rtan (hymn singing) in early Sikh tradition. Shabad k≠rtan has been an integral part of Sikh worship from the very beginning. The founder of the Sikh tradition, Guru NÅnak (1469–1539), kept with him as his lifelong companion a Muslim musician, MardÅnÅ, who used to play the rabÅb (plucked rebec) while he sang the praises of God. All of the old murals and paintings show the two of them sitting together in musical performance. Bhai GurdÅs (ca. 1558–1633) acknowledges MardÅnÅ as the professional rabÅbi (rebec player) who accompanied the Guru on his missionary tours (1:35).2 The janam-sÅkh≠s (birth narratives) record that once, while sitting in meditation, Guru NÅnak suddenly exclaimed: “MardÅnÅ! Touch the chords, the Word is descending.” “But Master,” replied MardÅnÅ, “the horse is grazing and my hands are occupied holding the reins, lest the animal run away.” “Let go of the horse,” commanded the Guru.3 Indeed, spontaneity was the keynote of Guru NÅnak’s experience of divine inspiration. The verbal expression of that experience was in the form of poetic compositions of surpassing beauty, referred to as the bÅn≠ (divine utterance) of the Guru. Devotional singing of the bÅn≠ in many rÅgas (musical modes based on specific scales), accompanied by particular rhythmic beats (tÅlas), was the medium through which Guru NÅnak laid down the foundation of a new religious community. In that sense, Guru NÅnak is unique as the only founder of a major world religion who was himself a performing musician. Basic teachings and primary sources The primary source of the Sikh teachings is the Ädi Granth (First Book), the sacred scripture of the Sikhs, which contains the writings of Guru NÅnak and his successors along with the writings of fifteen medieval poetsaints (bhagats) of Sant, Sufi, and Bhakti origin. The compilation of the Ädi Granth evidently owes much to the enormous energies of the fifth Guru, Arjan (1563–1606). He prepared an authoritative text in 1604, primarily in response to the process of consolidation of the Sikh tradition that was taking place during this period. He organized the works of the Gurus, the bhagats, and other Sikh bards into a coherent pattern reflecting both theological and musicological perspectives. The formal aspects of texts of the Ädi Granth, including their metrical, poetic, melodic, and linguistic structures , are fully at one with their theological content, and all these aspects provide an internal unity to the Sikh scripture.4 The Ädi Granth repeatedly proclaims that God is One (AkÅl Purakh) and that there is only one God in all religions. It conveys a consistent message that liberation can be achieved only through meditation on the divine name (nÅm) and the music of the divine word (shabad, Sanskrit ±abda). These two key terms, nÅm and shabad, must...

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