Word, Chant, and Song

Harold Coward

Description

In academic religious studies and musicology, little attention has been given to chanted word, hymns, and songs, yet these are often the key spiritual practices for lay devotees. To address this gap in knowledge, Harold Coward presents a thematic study of sacred sound as it functions in word, chant, and song for devotees in the Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, and Sikh traditions. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction of a particular tradition's word/scripture, followed by case studies showcasing the diversity of understanding and the range of chant and song in devotee practice, and concludes with a brief illustration of new trends in music and chant within the tradition. Written in a style that will appeal to both scholars and lay readers, technical terms are clearly explained and case studies explicitly include devotees' personal experiences of songs and chants in public and private religious ritual.
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. Hinduism: Mantra Chanting and Singing in Spiritual Transformation

2. Buddhism: Word, Chant, and Song in Spiritual Practice

3. Word, Chant, and Song on the Islamic Spiritual Path

4. Sikh Spiritual Practice: Word, Chant, and Song

Conclusion
References
Index

Sujets

• Film
• Asia
• Comparative religion
• Visual culture
• Película fotográfica

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 20 août 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438475776
• Langue: English

Extrait

Word, Chant, and Song
SUNY series in Religious Studies

Harold Coward, editor
Word, Chant, and Song
Spiritual Transformation in Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Sikhism
Harold Coward
Cover image from iStock / Kostins
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2019 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Coward, Harold G., author.
Title: Word, chant, and song : spiritual transformation in Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Sikhism / Harold Coward.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2019] | Series: SUNY series in religious studies | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018045642 | ISBN 9781438475752 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438475776 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Hindu music—History and criticism. | Buddhist music—History and criticism. | Islamic music—History and criticism. | Sikh music—History and criticism.
Classification: LCC ML3197 .C68 2019 | DDC 203/.7—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018045642
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To our mothers, Frances Maiklem and Hazel Coward, who loved music
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Hinduism: Mantra Chanting and Singing in Spiritual Transformation
2. Buddhism: Word, Chant, and Song in Spiritual Practice
3. Word, Chant, and Song on the Islamic Spiritual Path
4. Sikh Spiritual Practice: Word, Chant, and Song
Conclusion
References
Index
Acknowledgments
During the past several years my research and writing of this book has been made possible by the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria, where I am an associate research fellow. As my introduction to this volume makes clear, my own personal experience of religion has involved music as a key component, yet music is given little attention in our academic study of religion. For the last five years, I have been singing in the Victoria Mendelssohn Choir, which has sharpened my interest in music and led me to write this book.
My method developed during forty years of comparative religion scholarship, and used in previous volumes, is to engage my worldwide network of scholars of religion from various traditions in the following way. Before beginning research on a particular topic in each religion (e.g., chant and music in Buddhism or Islam), I contact two or three of my colleagues who are scholars and cultural participants of that religion to advise me of the key primary and secondary sources of their tradition that I should consult on the issue. After doing my research and drafting my chapter, I then send it to them for critical reading, revision, or addition of suggestions. I then revise on the basis of their suggestions. I then ask these same scholars for a critical reading of the revised chapter, which I also present to at least one or two conferences of specialized scholars in that tradition for critical discussion and suggestions for further revision. Once again, I revise before placing the chapter in my book manuscript. For example, the Islam chapter in this book was presented to a Canadian Society for the Study of Religions AGM Conference session for Islamic scholars in Canadian academia held in Calgary in 2016. It was well received by the many Islamic scholars present (most from Islamic cultures) with some suggestions for revision. Such suggestions were addressed before submitting the manuscript to the publisher.
I wish to acknowledge and thank scholars who helped me research and write the chapters in this book. They include the following: T. R. V. Murti, Kunjunni Raja, Anatanand Rambachan, Vasudha Narayanan, Guy Beck, Mitra Barva, Martin Adam, Sean Williams, Leslie Kawamura, Victor Hori, Graeme MacQueen, Robert Florida, Hanna Kassis, Regula Qureshi, Frederick Denny, Roland Miller, Earle Waugh, Mahmoud Ayoub, Bindu Mennon Mannil, Harjot Oberoi, and Pashaura Singh. This book would not have been possible without their generous help. Remaining errors are my own responsibility.
As always, Vicki Simmons, my manuscript assistant, carefully attended to the initial typing and various revisions required. Without her careful and efficient assistance, my continued scholarly work would not be possible. Thanks are also due to Angela Andersen who so thoughtfully prepared the index.
—Harold Coward
Centre for Studies in Religion and Society
University of Victoria
August 28, 2018
Introduction
For lay devotees of the various religions, the experience of word, chant, and song is often basic to their spiritual practice. Yet in academic religious studies and musicology we have given little attention to chanted word and hymns (Beck 2006, 4–6; Laack 2015, 223–225). In this book, I begin to address this gap in knowledge through a thematic study of music as it functions in word, chant, and song for devotees in the Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, and Sikh religious traditions (the Jewish and Christian traditions will need a separate volume to cover their long and complex interdevelopment of the topic). Since I do not presume previous knowledge, I begin each chapter with a brief introduction to the tradition’s understanding of word and follow with a study of the range of chant and song in the devotee’s practice within the religious tradition. Since one cannot be exhaustive in a single chapter, I employ case studies to indicate the diversity of understanding and practice within each religion, and I offer examples of current trends.
Growing up in a Protestant Christian family in Canada gave me a great appreciation for the scriptural word of Jesus, the chanted psalms of the Scottish Psalter, and spiritual power present in the singing of great Methodist hymns. Hearing the parables of Jesus at my mother’s knee, when I was too young to even go to school, formed the foundation of my religious life. These parables along with the psalms and other teachings became the core of the biblical word, which when chanted and sung remains the fundamental grounding of my life to this day. My singing of the word was inspired when, as a small boy, I would stand beside my father as we sang hymns such as “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah” in Sunday worship. The power and beauty of his strong baritone voice blending with the organ, choir, and congregation seemed to shake the foundations of the church building and carry me into a sense of spiritual unity with God and the universe that moved me deeply. In university, my scholarly curiosity naturally turned to wanting to understand how scriptural words in their chanting and singing could have such a powerful and transforming effect on one’s life. At first I studied within my own Christian tradition, but it was when my study led me beyond the Jewish and Christian sources to an examination of Hindu texts, their chanting as mantra , and singing as kirtan that I finally began to understand the life-transforming spiritual power of the word.
My teacher of Hinduism, Professor T. R. V. Murti of Banaras Hindu University in India, introduced me to a new way of studying and experiencing the word. In the traditional teacher-student relationship of India, study proceeds in a quite different fashion than the classroom approach of the modern university. Of course, I did attend Professor Murti’s classes at the university, but the “real study” of the scriptural text occurred when I would go to his home three afternoons a week for traditional guru-student-style study. We would study a text by reading it together line by line, not going on the next one until he was satisfied that I understood the first line. But “reading” is not really the right description of what was happening—it was more speaking and hearing. Professor Murti would chant the verse of Hindu scripture or commentary aloud in its original Sanskrit (he knew all these texts by heart, so used no books), then he would give me an English translation and finally an explanation of the meaning. I would ask questions if I did not understand, and sometimes he would question me to ensure I had understood. Only when he was satisfied that I had a full understanding would we move on to the next line of the text. After studying together in this fashion for about three hours, we would stop and he would make me tea. Over tea he would explain other aspects of the culture and tradition that provided the context for our textual study. The first book we read together was the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali ( Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras 1978), the foundation text for the Hindu Yoga spiritual tradition dating from between 200 BCE and 200 CE. It took us about two years to get through the Yoga Sutras , for often a line would refer to another scriptural tradition (e.g., Buddhist) necessitating time out for Professor Murti to teach me the Buddhist position, for example, so that I could understand what was being said. I also had to learn Sanskrit, so that I could experience the text in its original sound and meaning before an English translation was attempted. It was through this method of study that I came to a new understanding of how Christian scripture worked in my own life.
One of the Yoga Sutras that particularly intrigued me was 11:44, “By study of the scriptures comes com