A temple where sounds entwine to be one

Sitting in the balcony, a few days ago, I was witnessing the rustling sound of the leaves, the quiet swarming of thousands of flying insects near the lampposts, intermittent sounds of rain and the ringing of the chime. At moments like this, one becomes poignantly aware of the entire ‘universe’ of sounds, standing and knocking at the ‘temple of the ear’ that are usually completely missed by us. A little later, as I sat down to tune the Saraswati Veena, there was another Aha moment! I realised that our ears not only hear various sounds and silence, they also perceive numerical quantity and relative value. 

Hans Kayser is the German scientist who developed the theory and philosophy of World Harmonics. He points out that the ear is the only organ that fuses the element of sensing the tone with the element of thinking, of numeric value, into one unit. The ear by the sensation of hearing thus becomes uniquely capable of sensing the ‘correctness or incorrectness of an intellectual quantity’.    

And yet, oftentimes, the importance given to the ear is far less than that accorded to the eye. For instance, research shows that stories for children shown using e-content and visual media may be more colourful, attractive, packed with music and special effects. However, these same reasons hamper the creation of original inner images and ideas by children. Telling stories, singing songs and making children listen to a variety of sounds, builds creativity, with enduring, enriching experiences. 

Science has shown that our ears are open even before we are born. The child in the womb hears its mother’s heartbeat and even sounds from the world outside. During my pregnancies, I recall talking, singing and listening to an assortment of music, including the very soothing devotional music of MS Subbalakshmi. Even after birth, I realized that the little babies found these sounds and music soothing. Their little ears could be honed to soak in a range of natural and musical sounds, enhancing their listening and discerning quotient. 

Interestingly, Chinese tradition classifies the ear as yin, the more female element. In contrast, the eye is categorised as the yan, the more male element, appreciating that the yin and yan are both integral and work together. Thus, we could infer that while the ears and eyes are both needed to process any inputs, ‘the ear person’ may be a tad more receptive and sensitive compared to the ‘eye person’.

This aspect is also brought out in a sweet story narrated by Vinoba Bhave. Saint Ramdas was narrating the Ramayana to his disciples and described the white flowers that Hanuman saw at Ashok van. On hearing this, Hanuman, who is believed to be present incognito at every rendition of the Ramayana, clarified that these were red flowers. Ramdas insisted that they were white flowers, while Hanuman disagreed and insisted they were red. They, then, decided to take the fight to Lord Rama. Rama clarified and explained that the flowers were, indeed, white but the angry, red eyes of Hanuman perceived them as red! This charming story shows us the power of projecting our perceptions and prejudices on things we see and hear.

As a part of our daily hygiene and fashion preferences, we clean the earwax and eye-boogers; we also wear a variety of earrings, accessories and try out different eye make-up. Along with these we may also like to notice and clean up the remnants of prejudices and fears in our ears and eyes that distort what we hear and see. Can we consciously stop to listen to raindrops, birds, and our own breath? Can we reach out and hear the sounds and cadences that we miss, thanks to the busy lives, with the ‘Always on, nonstop Radio’ in our mind? That way, we can enhance the beauty within and without!    

One of my favourite poets, Rainer Maria Rilke describes creatures of stillness that are silent in order to hear and coined the phrase ‘Temple in the ear’. Taking a lead from this, can we also seek that sacred space within, from where we can listen and relish the universe of sounds and silences around us? Can we let them into the ‘Temple in the ear’, experiencing them just as they are?  

The author is a Harvard-educated civil servant & writer, and has worked in the education sector
jayanti.ravi.dna@gmail.com