Meaning of Rasaanveshanam

What is Rassanveshanam?

The scripture says, rasO vai saH. That means that God is Rasa. Even in the Gita, the Bhagavan says, rasOhaM apsu kauntEya, meaning that He exists as Rasa (even) in water. So all the essence of beauty, melody, mood and aesthetic enjoyment, which is Rasa, is God himself.

Rasa means the juice of life. Nectar.

To enjoy Rasa, we need a rasika. To someone who is immune to beauty and aesthetics, Rasa will be absent in anything. To enjoy the nectar in a flower, we have to become a butterfly or a bee.

In our context, we say that in order to enjoy Carnatic music, we need to apply ourselves, much like a butterfly goes in search of nectar. Anveshanam is that search. A search in which we are eager, sensitive, humble and grateful. In empathy with the artiste. With no preconceived notions.

Our mind will be engaged, but first our heart. So we receive the godly joy of music directly into our soul.

The role of the mind is to enjoy the classicism of it all, mainly the Lakshana, or structure. The elegance of construction, the beauty of geometry, the symmetry of rhythm, the sonority of shruti, the joy of anticipation, the delight of great accompaniment. The beauty of tone, the poetry of lyrics. The prayer of words, the immersive feeling  that the singer and the composer have conveyed to us.

We believe that music is greater than the musician, definitely greater than the rasika, and greater than everything else. It is greater than the sum total of all these elements. That is Rasa.

And we are in earnest search.

Come join us in Rasaanveshanam!!!!