Devotion, Creativity and Composition: Music in Ánanda Márga and Its Philosophical Base, Aesthetics and Practice

• Main Authors: Diðrik Sveinn Bogason, 狄耀光
• Other Authors: Tsai, Tsung-Te
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/87417279625825418678

碩士 === 國立臺南藝術大學 === 民族音樂學研究所 === 101 === Ánanda Márga was founded the year 1955 in India by Shrii P. R. Sarkar, aka Shrii Shrii Ánandamurtiji and has by now spread all over the world and established yoga and meditation centres and various service projects. Devotional music plays an important role in Ánanda Márga to prepare the mind for meditation. Shrii Sarkar introduced kiirtana into Ánanda Márga in 1970 and gave a new mantra, Bábá Nam Kevalam accompanied by the ancient lalita mármika dance. Kiirtana soon became very popular in Ánanda Márga both in India and other countries and the freedom to create new tunes and accompaniment gave scope for this essentially Indian tradition to transform according to the different cultures and music in other countries. During the years 1982-1990, Shrii Sarkar composed Prabháta Saîgiita, a collection of 5018 songs, mostly in Bengali language with various devotional themes and music styles. The songs and lyrics were all given by dictation according to the ancient Indian Gurudisciple tradition (Guru-shishya Parampara) and recorded for posterity. In this thesis I discuss the philosophical background and Tantric definitions of sound and its effect on the human mind; the composition process of Prabháta Saîgiita; music and philosophical analysis of representative songs of Prabháta Saîgiita and kiirtana; and finally relate my findings to ritual and diaspora studies. I went several times to India during last three years for my fieldwork and also use my experience of being a monk in Ánanda Márga last fifteen years in Scandinavia, Taiwan and Russia. Key Words: Indian devotional music, diaspora, ritual studies, Prabháta Saîgiita, kiirtan, P. R. Sarkar, Ánanda Márga.