Mental Health Through Sikh Music
The past year has been a global emotional roller coaster, from fear of a deadly virus, lost jobs, missing school, being unable to spend time with friends and family, and witnessing political unrest, just to name a few things. It was an incredibly difficult year for me on a personal level too. It was Sikh music that gave me solace and allowed me to heal my emotional and mental pain.
Sikh music is a tool given to humanity by Guru Nanak. It is beyond entertainment or performance. This music is the voice of the soul. It’s the voice that communicates with the mind. “Man Jeetai Jagjeet” is the the 28th verse of Jap Ji in which Guru Nanak expresses, that if one can win over the mind, the entire world can be conquered. However, the question then arises, how can we win over our minds? What are the tools and techniques required? Some other schools of thought from Guru Nanak's time treated the mind as the enemy.
Guru Nanak’s philosophy, on the other hand, was about making the mind your friend. If we look into our lives, how do we make friends? Friendships are not forced, rather long-lasting friendships are created by getting to know the person. The more time you spend, the deeper and stronger the friendship becomes. How much time do we spend with our minds? And most importantly, how do we communicate with our minds and understand it?
If we take a step back and consider that to complete any task, we must have the necessary tools and know the appropriate techniques for using them. Even making and eating a PB and jelly sandwich requires tools and a technique. One must have the ingredients, plate, knife, hands, and the know-how to use these tools and ingredients. No matter the task, we always need to use the right tools and techniques.
The technique to communicate with the mind is Sikh music and the tools are your voice, sound, and Shabad. The ingredients are your emotions, feelings, and moods. The outcome is becoming ‘Kirtan.’ Sikh Music was built on the foundation of 60 Raags, all seen as moods encountered by every human in everyday life. The idea was to understand the 60 Raags and become more capable human beings through their application. The ancient techniques used a system of 22 emotions (shruti), which create seven feelings (sur), which are then used in various combinations to generate 60 moods (Raags). The Raags were practical tools to balance inner stress and anxiety, keeping the mind focused and strong to fight off mental and physical disease.
Mental health regulation is vital for everyone. People in all developmental stages experience different forms of stress. As a community, working toward developing our mental strength helps parents and our kids to be emotionally intelligent and agile. Diving deeper into how Guru Nanak Dev Ji encourages us to use sound is to build communication with our mind.
In order to build a connection between your emotions and voice, you must first focus on developing a connection to your senses, and, most importantly, with yourself. One exercise that can be done to help kids and adults begin a conversation with themselves is the following (to be done individually):
Before sleeping, either before or after Sohila, close your eyes.
Visualize a warm sunny day. You are standing in a beautiful open field with many trees and flowers around you. The wind is blowing, creating a calming breeze.
Turn your senses inward. Feel the warmth of the sun on your arms and face. Smell the freshly cut grass. You can almost taste the beautiful smells of flowers. You can hear the trees rustle in the wind. You can see vivid colors and clouds moving.
As you enjoy this beautiful scene through your senses, you see yourself in the distance sitting underneath a tree. Walk towards yourself.
As you come face to face with yourself, say what you feel.
Did you receive a response? If not, don't worry; keep on doing this every day until you do.
Finally, give yourself a hug
About the Author:
Preetinder Singh has been practicing Sikh music for seventeen years. He started his journey at Guru Angad Institute of Sikh Studies. He later went under the apprenticeship of Prof. Surinder Singh to further his knowledge of Sikh music and its link to mental health. Currently, he teaches students across America. Check out his work, and follow him on Soundcloud.