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Rasa by Tarun Jasani
Self-expression is arguably a rather basic and superficial goal in art, but in our Self-centred egocentric society, it is naturally the most popular goal of art. However, an artist merely wandering within the small courtyard of his own Self, can never see the beauty of that which lies beyond the walls of his own vanity. For example, an artist striving for fame, develops his or her art only to the point where his ideals are met. Then, his art outlives its usefulness, and the stale waters of contentment settle in. An artist striving for money, grows only to the limits of his desire for wealth. In all this, the passion for artistic perfection is driven by the desire to express one's personal ambitions and goals, and so art becomes a vehicle for Self-expression. However, art pursued with the purpose of allowing a Raga for example, to reveal its own intrinsic essence, without any interference of the Self, is a totally different matter. Freed of the tether of the Self, it can unfold without restriction, and a Raga is then allowed to bloom and show all its own colours, untainted by the dull hues of the Self. One might say that such art is synonymous with religion. Art then becomes a tool to kill the Ego, a vehicle to transcend the Self, and a most spiritual and sacred activity, and not the instrument of Self-aggrandizement. Then what is implied in capturing the Rasa of a Raga? Simply put, when the Self is, the other is not. When the Self is not, the other is. Can one observe the beauty of a sunset if one is clouded by one's greed, ambitions and goals. It is when the Ego is silent that the mind suddenly becomes receptive to the beauty things that lie outside of itself. The term generally used to describe this, is "insight" or "inspiration". There is a rather fascinating approach taken by painters in the Far East. It is said that a painter wanting to paint a portrait of a tree, stays with the tree for several months, observing its colours, shades and moods, until there is no gap between the tree as a separate entity, and the painter as the experiencer of the Rasa or essential character of the tree. Only then, is the painter ready to convey the essence of the subject onto his canvas. As eagerly as the artist watches the tree, he also watches the movements of his own mind, making sure that his own character and personality do not come in, as the subject of his art would then no longer be merely the tree, but also, how he feels about the tree. Finally, what do the ancient treatises have to say about Rasa? In a world enslaved by terms and definitions, even the various subtle shades of emotional experiences have been herded along like branded cattle, into the narrow walls of academic categories. So, there exist numerous works, discussing the subject of Rasa, and by far the most well known is the ancient treatise on the Indian performing arts, the Natya Sastra. Bharata, the author this treatise listed 8 Rasas, which, he said, sought expression through the arts, though arguably not all of them through music. He stated that the perfect artistic expression would take the listener through all the 8 emotions, and leave him or her with, what later became the 9 th Rasa, Shanti, or peace. Listing the Rasas in hierarchical order, in order of importance, he placed "Shringar", the Rasa of Eroticism, Love, Joy, and Romance, at the top. Shringar has been described as the original Rasa, representing birth and creation and has been given special importance in various other ancient texts as well, such as the Agni Purana . In music, Shringar Rasa found a perfect vehicle for expression, expressing the deepest longings of Mankind, his dreams, aspirations, loves and longings. The Rasa of Shringar is almost imbedded in the cells of the vocal chords themselves, and therefore there are several Ragas that express the subtle shades of this Rasa. Themes of poetry express not only the joy of being in love, but also, the longing for an absent lover. Shringar refers to both, human love as well as one's love for God, although, the term Bhakti or devotion is often used to describe the latter. Song lyrics often depict the love between Radha and Krishna, and this may be interpreted as human love or a human's love for God. Then how does Bharata's views fit in with what has already been said here. One question is, as far as music is concerned, is it really possible to label emotions? Emotions consist of subtle shade, and are never absolute. Can one ever describe a feeling in words, as the description is never the described. Even a thousand words of description can not reveal to a blind man, the quality of a colour, and what one person perceives to be love may differ from the feeling roaming in the heart of another. Also, the feeling of being in love can be joyful, sorrowful, compassionate, and so on, so the various categories of emotions may not even be distinct categories at all. That is, every emotion may contain within itself, the seed of every other emotion. Also, emotional experiences are abstract and immeasurable. If the emotion Shringar was a finite, absolute and measurable emotion, there could perhaps be only one Raga that expressed it. If there were more than one Raga expressing it, it would either imply that Shringar has shades, or that the Ragas were identical. Another issue concerning the list of Rasas is that the term Rasa has been described most often in terms of the human emotions. So, the colour red is said to be represent "anger", the human emotion, or a particular animal is described as fearful, again a human emotion, or a season is described as romantic, again a human measure. To label the Rasas of matters essentially non-human according to a human measure leaves no room for them to have a quality of Rasa outside or beyond the human senses. Who can say that a totally different quality does not exist in things, absolutely different from the usual sensory experiences that we know? It is our peculiar human habit to slot everything new into to the good old measures we know, rather than step out of the field of our narrow little measures, and perceive things directly. Can one come into contact with the essence of a matter directly, if what is perceived is filtered through the emotions and translated in terms of the known? If everything is filtered through the emotional mechanics of the Self, then whatever is perceived will be reduced to a level that the Self can relate to. It seems reasonable to suggest that if a Raga is described in terms of human emotions, then it is not perceived per se, on its own terms, which may involve far greater sentiments than our own emotions. Also, is it possible to recognize something one knows nothing about. To recognize implies relating it to an experience one already knows. If this is done then every new experience is translated according to the known, and any newness is pushed aside. If one recognizes something, then it is not new, and if it is new, then it can not be recognized. When a Raga is perceived outside of the sphere of the Self, then it can not be labelled according to the measures of the Self, otherwise we are back to Self- expression! As a summary, on an emotional level, nothing is more difficult, arduous and perhaps unnecessary to describe than that which is essentially felt. The very beauty of an emotional experience lies principally in its vagueness and intangibility. Emotions consist of subtle shades, and anything abstract and vague cannot be imprisoned within a definition. Ragas differ because of the shades of emotions that they are capable of bringing out. Moreover, the same Raga played or sung by different musicians may bring out different shades of emotions. Also, the same Raga may express various shades of emotions even when performed by the same musician, on different occasions. So, to herd all the various shades of emotions into 8 or 9 categories may be rather simplistic. At another level, the Rasa of every matter expresses itself all the time, and coming into contact with the Rasa of a matter is not a question of acquisition, but of giving up. It is easy to learn a technique, acquire knowledge, and see life through the screen of one's acquisitions, but rather more arduous to be rid of the Ego, and see life directly. Can there be art without the artist as the entity that moulds, shapes, and interprets? Can the artist assume the humble role of being a vehicle of expression, rather than the product him/herself? Our fundamental assumption is that we are greater than the art, and so Self-expression prevails. However, a Raga may have a much profounder message than the experiences and character of the Self. Finally, is it really necessary to dissect emotional experiences like a corpse, and to slot the findings into neat categories? perhaps it is our incessant refusal to accept the existence of things that are beyond the intellect - abstract, immeasurable and intangible. The great Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, after being asked to describe his experience of Truth, gave the reply "If it could be talked about, everyone would have told his brother". Tours / Concerts / Education / Summer Schools / Artists / News / Shop / Asian Music Centre / Membership / Links
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At the core of the Indian expressive arts, is the concept of "rasa", a term that refers to the "essence" of a matter, its mood, content, or feel. Although the term is primarily used in relation to the expressive arts, it is however, not tethered to this narrow field, and on the contrary, Rasa refers not merely to the soul of art, but indeed, to the soul of all things. By this, one not only means the innate quality of a colour or sound, but also the more abstract ambience and mood of a temple geographical region, person or even season. Every component of the world has a character of its own. It is normally taken for granted that we feel and perceive accurately, the essence of matters outside of ourselves, and this attitude manifests itself in our endless opinions, assertions and descriptions of everything in life. However, whether we touch the essence of things outside of the Self at all, is a central question in this article.