in what ways is indian music spiritual

There are two aspects of Indian Classical Music. One is listening to the ragas and compositions and enjoying the nuances of music. The other aspect involves understanding the meaning of the compositions which can have tremendous influence on our attitude to life and our priorities. spirituality is an inseparable component of Indian Classical Music. The trinity of carnatic music (Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri) and other saints sang out of devotion to god. It came from the depth of their hearts. They did not compose those songs for making money.

Tyagaraja sings in one of the compositions that man cannot experience happiness by money but by going closer to god. In another composition he says that mere knowledge of music without devotion is useless. Through those compositions they exhorted people to conquer the six inner enemies of uncontrolled lust, anger, greed, attachment to worldly objects, egoism and jealousy.

They educated people about the four goals of human life-righteous conduct (Dharma), earning money (Artha), enjoying sensual pleasures (Kama) and ultimately realizing our real nature which is spiritual (Moksha). They tried to sow seeds of devotion to god in the hearts of people. Today most people have thrown Dharma into dust bin and have completely ignored spiritual development. They have reduced human life to Artha and Kama. That is why the world is in utter chaos today.

Dan Blanchard

The music of India is one of the oldest unbroken musical traditions in the world. The origin of Indian classical music goes back to the Vedic times, when the Rishis (Hindu saints), deep in meditation, would contemplate different sound vibrations and tonal patterns and the effects it has on consciousness. In later times, temple priests would chant Vedic shlokas (verses) to certain ragas (melodic modes) in the temples.

It was and still is usually and preferably taught orally from guru to disciple, so the student can learn all the details and nuances of the art form.  Like other spiritual traditions and paths, it is started at a young age and it requires a lot of dedication and practice to properly learn the art form.  A musician belongs to a particulargharana (house) or lineage, each having its own traditions and manner of rendition and style.

Indian classical music is a living thing. There is a loose structure for the musicians to follow and the rest is improvised in the moment. Thus the performance is a more of a creation that creates an experience of presence and meditation for the listener. Thus Indian classical music is more of a spiritual experience rather than just mere entertainment for the enjoyment of the senses.

by Ravi Shankar

Indian classical music is principally based on melody and rhythm, not on harmony, counterpoint, chords, modulation and the other basics of Western classical music.....

The system of Indian music known as Raga Sangeet can be traced back nearly two thousand years to its origin in the Vedic hymns of the Hindu temples, the fundamental source of all Indian music. Thus, as in Western music, the roots of Indian classical music are religious. To us, music can be a spiritual discipline on the path to self-realisation, for we follow the traditional teaching that sound is God - Nada Brahma: By this process individual consciousness can be elevated to a realm of awareness where the revelation of the true meaning of the universe - its eternal and unchanging essence - can be joyfully experienced. Our ragas are the vehicles by which this essence can be perceived.....

The ancient Vedic scriptures teach that there are two types of sound. One is a vibration of ether, the upper or purer air near the celestral realm. This sound is called Anahata Nad or unstruck sound. Sought after by great enlightened yogis, it can only be heard by them. The sound of the universe is the vibration thought by some to be like the music of the spheres that the Greek Pythagoras described in the 6th century B.C. The other sound Ahata Nad or struck sound, is the vibration of air in the lower atmosphere closer to the earth. It is any sound that we hear in nature or man-made sounds, musical and non-musical.....

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              Music and Spirituality:

Religion, spirituality, and music have long been intertwined with one another: from Christian church gatherings with impassioned sing-a-longs to sacred chants performed in Buddhist temples by monks, it's natural to express faith through song and rhythm. Perhaps even more than other religions, Hinduism is deeply rooted in musical traditions. Devotional songs and mantras are sung in households and temples alike, intertwined with daily rituals of cooking, cleaning, and working; and Indian classical music as a whole is inspired by spirituality.

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Zakir Hussain

Hussain was born to the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. He attended St. Michael's High School in Mahim, and graduated fromSt. Xavier's, Mumbai.

Hussain was a child prodigy. His father taught him Pakhawaj from the age of 3 years.He was touring by the age of eleven. He went to the United States in 1970, beginning his international career which includes more than 150 concert dates a year..

The first Planet Drum album, released in 1991 on the Rykodisc label, went on to earn the 1992 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album, the first Grammy ever awarded in this category. The Global Drum Project album and tour brought Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo together again in a reunion sparked by the 15th anniversary of the ground-breaking album Planet Drum. The album Global Drum Project won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album at the 51st Grammy Awards Ceremony held on 8 February 2009.)

He composed, performed and acted as Indian music advisor for the Malayalam film Vanaprastham, a 1999 Cannes Film Festival entry which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (AFI Fest) in 1999, and won awards at 2000 Istanbul International Film Festival (Turkey), 2000 Mumbai International Film Festival (India), and 2000 National Film Awards (India). He has composed soundtracks for several movies, most notably In Custody and The Mystic Masseur by Ismail Merchant, and has played tabla on the soundtracks of Francis Coppola's Apocalypse Now, Bernardo Bertolucci's Little Buddha, and other films.

He starred in several films specifically showcasing his musical performance both solo and with different bands, including the 1998 documentary "Zakir and His Friends",and the documentary "The Speaking Hand: Zakir Hussain and the Art of the Indian Drum" (2003 Sumantra Ghosal).Hussain co-starred as Inder Lal in the Merchant Ivory FilmHeat and Dust in 1983, for which he was an associate music director.)