Striking the right chord
Remember Shaktimaan? The first gimpse of chakras(energy points) in the body :P It is known that each instrument is associated with a chakra and each chakra with emotions. Each chakra except for the crown one has few positive and few negative emotions associated with it.
Drums or Tabla for instance are associated with the Muladhara(Root) chakra. The emotions associated with this chakra are enthusiasm and inertia. On the sound of drums enthusiasm rises, you feel like dancing. Drums are played during parades and exercises to maintain the enthusiasm in everyone.
Coming up, the next chakra Svadhisthana is associated with lust and creativity. Trumpets are the musical instrument corresponding to this chakra. Try listening to trumpet and feel the sensation near the sacral chakra.
Next in line is the Manipura chakra associated with joy, generosity, greed and jealousy. Notice how generous people like Santa Claus or Joyful people like laughing buddha are generally depicted with a huge belly. Also in Hindi its often said “Tere pet mai kyu dukh raha hai”, jealousy is associated with stomach. Metallic instruments like Cymbals can help activate this chakra.
Next up is the Anahata chakra, my favorite one, associated with love, fear and hatred. Stringed instruments like Veena or Sitar activate this one. It is said that “Dil ke taar chute hai”. Another interesting thing to note is, you can only feel one emotion at a time on each of the chakras. Neither can live while the other survives sorts :P When in love, you cannot feel fear or hatred for anyone. You feel like you can conquer the world. Similarly when you hate someone, there is no fear or love and in fear, you just think about protecting yourself so there cannot be the sensation of love or hatred at the same time.
Another beautiful chakra is the Vishuddha chakra associated with gratitude and grief. When you are too happy or in love, your throat chokes up, same thing happens when you are in grief. Wind instruments like Flute or Piano can activate this chakra.
Further up comes the Ajna chakra. This is associated with awareness and anger. Bells, sounds of birds, sound of water activate this one. Remember how you woke up from the sound sleep once the school bell rang after each lecture :P Bells in the temple help the wandering mind come in the present too.
Last but not the least is the Sahasrara chakra, there is only one emotion associated with this one — Bliss! This can be activated when all the instruments come together :) Important thing to note is that this is the only chakra with just one emotion and the most important one.
When the energy is moving upwards it transforms from one positive emotion to another (enthusiasm makes you creative, creativity gives rise to joy, joy transforms to love, love to gratitude, gratitude to awareness and awareness to bliss) and in a similar manner as you feel low, energy transforms from one negative emotion to another.
Meditation helps in transforming the energies in the upward direction, thereby giving you a control over your emotions. Whenever sad or low, do give it a shot and see for yourself how the energy can move up with a few Pranayams and Meditation :) And the other subtle hint for transforming emotions is of course the instruments, turn on some music and go with the flow :D
“Music is the art of the prophets, the only art that can calm the agitations of the soul.” ~ Martin Luther
