There is some power, which drives, guides and protects us and the whole universe, feels singer Tochi Raina.
I’m trying to understand spirituality in my own way. I try and connect with Nature through meditation. I feel there is some power, which drives, guides and protects us and the whole universe — something that changes the day into nights, through whose power a seed becomes a sapling and then a tree that sprouts fruit.
There is an invisible force that powers our lives — this is definitely the force that granted Mirabai invisibility when she entered the temple, that transformed Kabir’s mortal remains after his death into sweet smelling flowers. In our material world everything may be for sale and with a price tag attached — yet nature has granted us the most precious treasures of life free of cost — air, water, sunlight.
When I was a kid, probably in the seventh standard, on my way to and from school I used to watch corpses burn at the cemetery. One day I just went and sat inside the cemetery and watched the bodies burn close-up. It occurred to me that one day I too would be dead and burning like them and I was distraught. I asked myself ‘Who am I?’
‘Where have I come from?’ ‘Why am I here?’ ‘What is the purpose of my life?’ From that day I would sit for hours on end at the same spot thinking that I should do something that would enrich the world. Make it a happier place. And I found my mission and destiny in music…and it has changed my entire perspective of the world.
I’m a music lover. I live, breathe, walk and talk music with every pore of my being. I also do four-five hours of riyaaz every day. My gurus have taught me music through the medium of meditation. For it is only through meditation (concentration) that one can learn it. You have to experience music via the medium of hearing and the brain, so it is a form of meditation in itself. Helping others out is also important — I have helped asthma patients heal by singing for them. And I have helped several singers with damaged vocal cords get on track to recovery.
I owe a debt of gratitude in my life to two gurus — Sant Akali Kaur Singh who was a saint and my musical mentor Late Pandit Vinod Kumar Mudgal. I have also been influenced greatly by Osho’s writings. I have also done a Vipassana course to learn the art of controlling one’s mind. I feel we need to understand Nature and we need to experience the Almighty in our lives.
If there is one thing that I have blind faith in, then it is the Goddess of MusicMa Sharada. Whenever I have asked her for something that I badly needed, she has granted it to me. It is only through her blessings that I have reached as far as I have. I bring all my problems and issues of life before her and she unfailingly helps me out. I also believe in myself… if I didn’t have faith in myself I wouldn’t have come to Mumbai. My guru educated me and gave me the faith that if I asked for something with a pure heart I would always get it. It is with this faith that I came to Mumbai and that I am here now.
—As told to Ashish Virmani
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