Your Body is Already Singing
Your Body Is Already Singing by Sushil Kumar Sharma is a profound and carefully researched exploration of the Svara Adhyāya of the classical treatise Sangita Ratnakara. This book revisits one of the foundational chapters of Indian musicology and presents it in clear, accessible English for the modern reader, while preserving its philosophical depth and technical precision.
Rather than treating music as a skill that begins with instruments or training, this work begins at the source. It examines Nada, the primal principle of sound, and traces its journey from subtle vibration to audible tone. Through a structured and scholarly approach, the book explains the classical distinctions between subtle and struck sound, the emergence of Shruti as microtonal perception, and the crystallization of Svara as meaningful musical tone.
Drawing from the original Sanskrit framework, the author guides readers through Sharngadeva's vision of sound as both a physical and conscious phenomenon. The body is not described as a passive receiver of sound but as its living instrument. Breath, resonance, perception, and awareness are explored in relation to both ancient theory and modern scientific understanding. Without exaggeration or mysticism, the book demonstrates how the human organism continuously participates in sonic activity.
Written in a refined yet natural tone, this study bridges classical musicology, philosophy, and physiology. It speaks to musicians, scholars, and thoughtful readers who wish to understand music not merely as art, but as an expression of order, perception, and embodied intelligence.
Your Body Is Already Singing invites readers to reconsider sound as the foundation of communication, cognition, and musical structure. It presents the Svara Adhyāya not as a distant historical text, but as a living inquiry into how sound shapes experience. Through disciplined scholarship and spiritual sensitivity, the book reveals that before we learn music, before we perform it, we are already immersed in it.
Customer Reviews
ThriftBooks® and the ThriftBooks® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
