My parents bought me this Tibetan singing bowl a few months back from a Buddhist monastery near Coorg (Karnataka, India) and i feel charmed to have possessed one. The monastery is the second largest in India with a hundreds of monks.
I got introduced to this ancient yet exotic thing back in Mumbai (i m currently in my hometown Ahmedabad since the past 5 months), when i saw it in a shop and really liked the tune and energy it emanated. It also wondered me as to the hows, whys, whats and wheres behind it. I have read a few articles about the bowl but i firmly believe that an ounce of practice is worth a tonne of theory.
Hence, i have been practising it daily for 5 minutes...... and the experience has been overwhelming. Playing the Tibetan bowl really energises the surroundings. It creates very good vibrations inside the area (room) thus enhancing the ambiance. The bowl when played in the background brings vibrancy in meditation, chanting, asana or pranayama. Whenever i play it around my baby he listens to it keenly. (at least that is what i feel :-) )
There are a few tips that i would like to share here :-
- playing requires a lot of practice as the sound would not be smooth & melodious otherwise. It's similar to an amateur playing a musical instrument.
- i feel that the gong when held like a pencil brings smoothness in the sound.
- you will also feel the vibrations in your palm while you are playing it, but the palm needs to be kept straight. Do not cup the fingers.
- just tapping the gong on the rim also creates an 'om' like sound of the bell which is divine.
How to select one? Well, i really don't know as they come in lots of varieties ranging from different sizes, different metals used in the making, different kinds of gongs, different inscriptions etc etc..... So the best way is to play it before buying and take the one which sounds best to your ears.
PS: here are two good articles which are worth a read...........
2) I was going to write an article about this long back but Shameem, who is a senior colleague and an excellent yoga practitioner, has penned this article wonderfully
1 comment:
this is so cool. wud like to see it when i come.
Post a Comment