Yoga of Sound

Not long after obtaining his Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University in 1971, Michael Grosso had an extraordinary experience in Greenwich Village, New York, that led him to realise he needed to balance his overly intellectual life with music. He met Swami Nada Brahmananda, a former court musician for the King of Mysore, famous throughout India for being a master of Taan music and sound yoga, as well as for his supernatural control of his body. Grosso began studying with Swami Nada and found his life profoundly changed. Sharing the lessons of Swami Nada Brahmananda, as well as painting a vivid portrait of New York City in the 1970s--and its vibrant and chaotic underground arts and music scene--Grosso explores Swami Nada’s Indian yoga of sacred sound in depth. He reveals how the tradition centres on the sound or vibration that created the universe, its personal cultivation, and its power to heal, enlighten, and offer insight about how to live in the Kali Yuga, the Age of Conflict. Grosso also examines the siddhis, or extraordinary powers, that can arise from this work, detailing the otherworldly abilities of his master. The lessons that Grosso shares centre on three life-enhancing themes: controlling the mind, which provides the very essence of a happy life; diet and practices conducive to healing and perfect health--Swami Nada himself never knew a day of sickness in all of his 97 years; and how music in all its forms can be used to transform consciousness and enrich our spiritual life. Revealing Swami Nada Brahmananda as the very embodiment of a Celestial Songman, Grosso shows how, by practicing the yoga of sound, we can embody Swami Nada’s greatest lesson of all: that we can all learn to make music from the discordant notes of our lives and sing our way out of the Kali Yuga.

Michael Grosso earned his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University. He has taught at City University of New York, Kennedy University in California, and City University of New Jersey. The author of several books, including most recently Smile of the Universe, he lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Preface 1 Laughing Master from a Dream 2 Learning by Heart 3 The Inner Saboteur 4 Orphic Economics 5 The High Cost of Perfection 6 Reluctant Sannyasi 7 Krishna’s Flute 8 A Gift from an Old Man 9 Landlord contra Swami 10 A Stroll around Herald Square 11 Krishna’s Garden 12 Silence at the Center of the Drum 13 Nada Visits a Disturbed Student 14 The Jungle as Music Critic 15 The Secret of Never Getting Tired 16 Last Group Lesson with the Ghandarva 17 Divine Detachment 18 Anestehan, the Way to Power 19 The Man Who Never Dreams 20 Nadakhumbaka on Paradise Island 21 Reflections on Transcendental Music Notes Recommended Reading