Importance of Sound

The concept of sound is one of the most important factors in the development of human history, and it also acts as the deciding factor in advancement of the society and its sustenance in the ever-changing flux of this world. Sound is God! -This is the declaration of ancient texts. According to Indian Mythology, it is believed that before THIS, there was only Soul. It manifested itself through the primordial sound-AUM. This sound is believed to be everywhere in the universe: among all the five elements of nature-earth, water, wind, fire, and ether! Ether is the lightest and it pervades everything. Sound is the characteristic of ether, and so, sound component pervades everything.

Story-telling and verbal-reading of scriptures have been old and long-standing practices, which are purely based on the importance of sound, and its impact on human life. In the Upnishadas, a particular Shanti Mantra or invocation starts with the line, whereby the person asks to listen to good sounds through the ears.

ऊँ भद्रं कर्णेभिः शृणुयाम देवाः ।

Sound and its impact are well known from the Vedic Culture, though almost all over the world, scholars and seers know its value.

The sound or the combination of sounds-the words-that we utter, make a tremendous effect on the listener. A story clarifies it more:

A teacher was teaching her students. She was inspiring them very enthusiastically exhorting them to do good deeds and be good in life. The school inspector, who was listening to this from outside, stepped in and asked the teacher in disbelief:

Teacher! You are inspiring them with good positive words and all that. What's the use of it? Will it have any impact on them and will they practice what you ask them to do?

The teacher did not answer him and asked the students: who will throw this fool out of the class!

The school inspector was visibly angry and thundered, "Do you know to whom are you talking? You will have to mete out your punishment for this!"

The lady replied very softly: Dear sir, I am sorry for all this! I did not mean what I said. But you see, how my negative words affected your calm and made you angry, and similarly, my positive words will also make them to act rightly! My words will certainly have their impact on the student's mind.

This story clearly depicts the value of sound, which is full of energy and power, able to inspire or enrage the people. Many saints and enlightened souls have emphasised the importance of sound from time to time, and they deemed the sound and the power of the speech as one of the most powerful that man is endowed with!

Sounds were formulated in words, and different languages got developed using the power of speech for communication, which has great importance in human life.

Let's now take a look on the specific aspects of importance of language in human life.

Importance of sound in language and language development

The first and most important factor of sound in human life is the language that we use to communicate with one another, and also to do all the things that keep this world moving. Down from history, the use of language and its development has played a major role in the development of human life. We will not go into the details of language development as such, but would concentrate ourselves on the role of sound in the language development.

Different languages have different sets of sounds to combine and make the words. However, correct sounds and the pronunciation of the words that are formulated, are necessary to ensure that the language does not die down or lose its original flavor. The grammar stops having any role or significance if we do not pay heed to the sound aspect of any language.

English, which is known today as the universal language, has so many variants in its dialects and accents that people from different countries speak different English. The English language has been made so liberal in its grammar and use that almost everybody seems to have his or her own grammar and set of rules. This, no doubt, helps in spreading the language among masses, but clearly mars its development and sustenance from the tides of time.

We move to India and take the example of Sanskrit. This language is the most ancient one; and according to famous magazine of France-Forbes-it happens to be the mother of all languages. This was stated by Forbes in 1976. However, if we make a look, we can clearly see that in India itself, nobody seems to worry about this language-keep apart the thing of developing it. No wonder that the ancient wisdon has been lost or ignored, and we are finding it difficult to cope with the advancement of the world. Reason? --Because, we did not developed our own language and accepted foreign languages. Almost nowhere in India, young people like to read or study Sanskrit. But how can India stand or move ahead without Sanskrit. The greatest foreign supporter of Sanskrit, and the first translator of Rigveda in English, Sir Freidrich Max Müller has stated that Sanskrit is the soul of India. Its culture, society, wisdom, and almost everything is based on the development of Sanskrit among the masses.

But, why this entire clamour about Sanskrit? Let us check:

1. It is the fittest language to be used in computers due to its perfect and smallest syntax. Scientists from NASA are thinking about implementing the use of Sanskrit in computers and Artificial intelligence.

2. It is believed to be the language of gods, and no wonder that the first book ever written-Rigveda-was written in Sanskrit.

3. Vedic chanting-an integral part of Sanskrit, has been declared an intangible heritage of humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This was declared in a meeting of jury members on November 7, 2003 at Paris.

This is in pure contrast to the fact and actual state of Sanskrit in India! But how is that Sanskrit being neglected for so many centuries is able to keep the whole humanity in its spell? How people are finding it that it is the best language according to the technical aspects and also looking from linguistics' point of view. The main reason for all this is that Sanskrit language is purely sound based! The sound characteristic of Sanskrit is so much strong that no alteration or modification to the sound is allowed, and thus, Sanskrit has been able to keep its value even now. Whoever knows Sanskrit, he follows the same grammar, and the pronunciation of the words never fails the listener.

Almost all the religious texts are verbally read or advised thus, which actually helps in purifying the atmosphere. Divine sounds make divine vibrations, which are pretty much important for human life and growth. The recitation of Vedic Mantras is one of the oldest rituals of India, and very aptly, now the world is recognizing its significance. Actually before any book was codified, the meaning of learning was purely sound based. The Vedas themselves are called "Shruti"-that which is heard! So, it is clear that sound is the most important factor for language! Due to lesser stress paid on the pronunciation of these scriptures, students find it difficult to read them and understand them, when they try to learn something of their own.

Let us resort to some classical examples as to know what could happen if sound aspect of the language is not taken care of:

There was a saint named as Gorakhnath! There is a district named after him in Uttar Pradesh-Gorakhpur. Now his actual name was Gorakshnath-meaning the protector of cows. What actually happened that the sound of "ksh" was changed to the sound of "kh", and it came to be known as "Gorakhnath"! But what is bad here? -So many names got changed and we never care for them? The problem is that now we use the name of "Gorakh" in the most-unwanted way-if a person is caught by the police doing some mysterious works and indulging in bad habits, he is termed as to be doing a "Gorakh-Dhandha". The name of the saint changed its significance and became synonyms with somewhat very deplorable.

The sound of the "ksh" consonant is so much unique that almost all other languages of foreign countries fail to get its essence, and so does some of our Indian languages also. Wherever it is used, either it is replaced by "ch", "kh", or "x" of English. The word Sanskrit itself means, refined. If we look closely at the sounds produced by the consonants and vowels of Sanskrit, we will find that the sets of consonants are particularly made to get the sounds, which can be produced by touching the tongue on a specific part of the roof of the mouth cavity; through closing or opening the lips; or by other means. There is no primary sound that has not been included in the alphabet of Sanskrit. It is clear that the language was developed taking care about all the sounds that can be produced by the mouth. And this is where our present system of teaching the languages fails in its effectiveness; for, we tend to ignore the sound and pronunciation of the words that we teach to the students.

Another example of sound is the "Halant" used in Sanskrit and Hindi. The names of Hindi and Sanskrit end with an additional "a" in English. We resort ourselves to the classical example of "Yoga". In Sanskrit this words means-union. It has a wider significance and wider horizons and is one of the most prized wealth of India. "Halant" used in Hindi or Sanskrit, takes out the root "a" from that consonant. But this "Halant" is never used in any name-and therefore, in English, an additional "a" is placed to make it clear that the name ends with its root sound "a". Very fine from this point of view! But what has happened is that it has been pronounced as "Yogâ", whereby people accent the last "a". There seems no fault in this, for, almost in all Indian languages, they have their own additions to the names. But what has happened actually-the sound of that changed name has caught the minds of our people and they also use this word as "Yogâ". The original word "Yoga" lost its significance. If people do "Yogâsna", which is actually a small part of "Yoga", they say that they are doing "Yogâ" to keep the body fit. The original language lost its significance due to the improper use of sounds that should have been taken care of!

In another example, we move to a European country: Germany! Their language is called Deutsch-known as German in English. Okay, so now we take a German name-Ludwig Van Beethoven! Now this name in German would be pronounced as "Ludwish Fan Beethofen", because when the "g" in Deutsch language comes at the end of the word, and with a preceding "i", it is pronounced as "ish", and "v" in Deutsch has a sound of "f". But due to same spellings used in English, the name of this greatest music composer of Europe is changed to what it seems written actually, in English.

All these examples clearly show that the text aspect of the language is lesser important, and for the development of the language, sound aspect should be stressed more and taken care of properly by the teachers who are teaching in the schools. We have stressed too much on the written words, and thereby, lost all the significance of the words and perhaps the meanings also, which the ancient and original languages have cherished and preserved so faithfully!

Importance of sound and music

Now we come to second most important factor of sound-music. Music is nothing but sound! In Physics, the classical definition of music was: the sound that is pleasing to the ears is music; the sound that is displeasing is noise. However, this definition did not stand the fundamentals of science and had to be changed on the basis of musicology, and had to be quantified. Then the scientists provided a quantified definition of music in terms of frequency of vibrations.

Anyway, we move back to India. According to our music system, there are two types of sounds that are believed to exist-struck and un-struck (Aahat and Anaahat). Struck sound is that which is produced in this world-the sound which is produced by people by some means. However, it is believed that there is another type of sound, which travels in space, and can be heard by Enlightened Souls only. Yogis and saints are believed to be the listeners of that sound. This clearly settles the importance of sound in the uplift of humanity to divinity.

Likewise, our music is based on some particular notes-seven of them, which are different forms of sound. Each of these notes is related to the Chakras or the rings that are believed to be in the human body, which are essential parts of meditation and Yoga. These things are essential parts of theology, comparative religion studies, philosophy, psychology, Yoga, and medicinal sciences. Saint Thayagaraja, the doyen of Carnatic Music, composed a song for these seven notes in Telugu, detailing their place and the importance.

However, the correct pronunciation matter has entered the field of music also-the second note, which should be pronounced as "ri", where "i" is not accented, is pronounced as "re". "ri" note has been taken from the word "rishava", and if we start pronouncing it as "re", we are again losing the meaning and significance of the word from which it was taken.

Healing through music is purely based on this system; whereby, music helps in the curing of anxieties and tensions. There is a whole lot of developed-form of science for these processes in foreign countries, but in India where our music is so rich and uplifting, we have paid no heed to this matter and continue to keep our music only for entertainment! This has actually led to the degradation of level of music and many forms of music and instruments are losing their significance and appeal to the society, which makes it very difficult for the people exercising those forms of music and instruments to make a living!

Emphasizing the importance of music and its effect on animals also, some scientists in Australia also proved that the milk output of dairy could be increased with the help of music, which should have some specific speed, frequency, and sound level-if this is changed, the effect could reverse! It is clear that sound and physiology of living beings, are closely related to each other. All this is related to the finer aspects of research in music and the sounds that are produced, and our people need to pay more heed about the sound aspect of our music.

We now move forward to be more specific about the music. It is said that the best singers have the ability to sing through their naval, throat, and the nose. The combination of the sounds produced by the control of breath in these various parts makes the sound melodious and harmonious. Sound produced through the naval is believed to be the best in singing, though other sounds are also important. The science of music and the human body is closely related, and we can't simply ignore the sound factor of music related to our body, and keep on producing the music, which has no value for our body and mind!

Let us now move to some musical instruments. The first Asian to win a Nobel Prize in science, Dr. C. V. Raman, was very fond of music instruments. In fact, he was more interested in vibrations than anything else, before he shifted his interest to colors and all that! Sounds are nothing but material waves and all the instruments are based on some particular types of waves and vibrations that they produce. Dr. C. V. Raman conducted comprehensive experiments on musical instruments. At the end of his experiments, he found that the drums of India produce the perfect musical sound according to scientific definition. He also found the reason for this phenomenon.

It does not, in any way, mean that music of other countries is inferior or anything like that! What all this means is that our system of music was very refined and was scientifically very correct, producing perfect musical sounds. And there is no reason why we can't see the importance of sound in the field of music!

Importance of sound and child psychology

We move ahead to another field where we can clearly see the impact of sound-child psychology and language development in children. Scientists and child psychologists have demonstrated that the vocal chords of a child get developed after the neo-natal age; and before that, the child can produce some guttural sounds only. After one year, the child starts uttering some particular consonants. Then, as the child grows, it picks up the words and starts uttering them. And as the child grows, the vocabulary and the ability to speak the longer words, and ultimately the sentences, keep on increasing.

But all this for the interest of child psychologist and what we have to do here? The important factor for a linguist is that the child picks up the sounds and not the language, as it may be written or called. A child born in Australia learns English; while born in Brazil, it learns Spanish or Portuguese. There is no knowledge of language and its grammar to the child, but it develops its language from the sounds that it picks from its surrounding areas. And this is where the sound factor comes into fore-a person who is illiterate would never come to know about the correct pronunciation of the words that he speaks. This is just because the fact that he or she was never told or taught the correct pronunciation. And this is also the main reason why we get so many different regional dialects of the same language.

This still in not a major problem, as we can see that there are not so many harms in developing different dialects! But is it true? Let us take a closer look:

1. When there are so many dialects, and children reared in these different backgrounds, come in contact with the books and study together at higher classes, they face difficulties in understanding one another's language. Sometimes this even leads to the formation of regional or lingually-different groups in the student community, which is potentially dangerous for any type of education.

2. The standardization of language becomes utterly difficult for publishing books and other material, which is pretty much important for the development of the language. People who want to learn a particular language can't decipher the dialect that they would have to speak, and the interest in that particular language dies down!

3. The social structure also gets distorted, for, people within a community develop differences on the basis of language and the dialect, which divides the strength of the nation and does not create a favourable atmosphere for the children to grow.

4. The interest of foreign people, and of the people from different states and places, to learn a particular language can receive a major setback due to the confusion caused by different and varied dialects, which is not good for the development and popularity of that language.

5. Lastly, the main aim of language-communication-becomes difficult, for, people find it hard to understand the same language in different dialects, and this creates the need of another language to be learned and used. We can see the same scene in our country, as in families people use English now, and not any regional language, which they actually find difficult to use in the society.

Sound factor for child psychology is not limited to humans only, but it helps the birds and the animals also. There is famous adage in Sanskrit:

काकः कृष्णः पिकः कृष्णः को भेद पिककाकयोः।
वसन्तकाले सम्प्राप्ते काकः काकः पिकः पिकः।।

The above couplet means that a crow and a cuckoo look similar because they are black in colour, and what would be the way to distinguish them from one another. But when the spring comes, it becomes known that the cuckoo is a cuckoo and a crow is a crow (By virtue of their voices, as during spring times, the cuckoo sings songs in her melodious voice, which is universally famous and pleasing to ear. However, the cawing of crows is seldon pleasing to ears!) It is clear that every bird or animal has a specific voice, which distinguishes it from the others having similar colours and characteristics.

We take an example of the Flamingos. These birds are one of the only three types of the birds that feed their young ones milk from their mouth. Flamingos live in vast and big groups, and eventually in thousands of numbers. When the adult male and female members of the group goes for their daily fetching of food in the far-off places, the young ones have schools where they do some exercises and other activities. This sounds strange, but this has been found and recorded by scientists and researchers. The strangest and most important factor of their behaviour comes forth in the evening, when the adult members return to them: there are eventually thousands of those children and almost all of them have the same color. There is no way that those adult members could recognise their young ones, but they seem to do it pretty simply! How? Every child produces a specific or particular type of sound, which helps the adult members to recognise it. It seems very difficult for us to understand, but they do it pretty simply and regularly. There seems no chance for any error or wrong recognition. And the only factor that helps this seemingly strange and difficult activity is sound! If they lose their sound, they lose their identity!

We can see that sound is one of the most important factor for children, their development, and all the things that they would do in their life.

Recommendations to strengthen the importance of sound in education

It seems that the whole system of language learning and teaching would need to be changed to implement the things that are intended; but we cannot reach the heart of a man without cutting the chest! We will have to make a cut somewhere, so some suggestions are listed below:

1. Teachers should be oriented to learn the correct pronunciation of the language that they have to teach to the students; for, unless they do not know how to pronounce it, they can't teach correctly.

2. Language learning should be aided with sounds and audio systems so as to ensure the correct use of dialects and accents.

3. Written work should be supplemented with the oral and verbal tests of the students to ensure that they are getting it the right way. The syllabus and examination of language learning should also include verbal and oral tests, so as to check the accuracy and the pronunciation of the language.

4. Music should be introduced as a regular course to make students understand the value of sound and the notes that are so much valuable for physical, mental, and spiritual development.

5. Sanskrit should be made compulsory and as the necessary language, so that the importance of linguistics and the science dealing with languages should be made available to children at starting.

Bibliography

Books

1. Some quotes from spiritual texts
2. Learn Sanskrit in 30 days (Balaji Publications, Chennai)
3. Psychology (Wayne Weiten)
4. Raman and His effect (University Press, Hyderabad)
5. Ajanta German in two months (Ajanta School of Foreign Languages, Amritsar)

Internet

Search done on www.google.com
www.singhalresume.blogspot.com
www.healingmusic.org
www.wikipedia.com
www.discoverthesound.com
http://www.srichinmoymusic.com
www.radiosai.org/Journals
http://www.gosai.com/science/sanskrit-nasa.html

© All the material quoted and used from other sources is intended for reference purposes only, and should not be used for any other purposes without the prior permission of the copyright holder of that material. The author has no responsibility for any issue of copyrights arising thereof.