To Come to Know Who Rides Upon Your Tongue: Sound sSādhanā—Cultivating sSelf Through sSwara: A Practice-based Spiritual Inquiry by Sheena Anne Anderson M.A., (Arts Education), Simon Fraser University, 2015 B.F.A., (Emily Carr University of Art and Design), 2012 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Arts Education Program Faculty of Education © Sheena Anne Anderson 2021 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2021 Copyright in this work is held by the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Declaration of Committee Name: Sheena Anne Anderson Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: To Come to Know Who Rides Upon Your Tongue: Sound sSādhanā—Cultivating sSelf Through sSwara: A Practice-based Spiritual Inquiry Committee: Chair: Cher Hill Assistant Professor, Education Lynn Fels Supervisor Professor, Education Michael Ling Committee Member Senior Lecturer, Education Charles Scott Committee Member Adjunct Professor, Education Heesoon Bai Examiner Professor, Education Ajit K. Pyati External Examiner Associate Professor Information & Media Studies University of Western Ontario ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract This dissertation is the account of a group exploration of Sound sSādhanā—an integrated voice and self-study practice designed specifically for research purpose—undertaken as an artist’s spiritual journey over a three-month duration. The purpose of the study was to explore Sound sSādhanā as practice- based spiritual inquiry from a sound yogi practitioner perspective. This research design emerged from two intertwining oral teaching traditions: Indian music foundational voice cultivation practices; and Nāda Yoga, the path of exploring consciousness through sound, vibration and resonance. Ontological themes of dual and nondual, identified self and transcendent Self, informed the journey, the language, the voice techniques, sound forms and mantric compositions of this inquiry. The voice was the medium of exploration, and voice cultivation was engaged as a yogic path of personal and artistic transformation. Through voice cultivation and re-sounding reflective writing practices, each participant was invited to be a sound Yogi, to study their voice and their practice as a yoga sādhanā, to refine their voice and their personal sādhanās, and to develop witness consciousness to their own person, art, and spiritual inquiry. The research involved a group of six participants as Yogis through a course of individual voice sessions, group gatherings (Satsang), and daily personal Sound sSādhanā practice. The transcripts from the Satsangs along with the written reflections and field notations from each participant’s daily practice, were gathered as a testament to a journey taken and as documentation in support of this research study. Thus, multiple voices re-sound in this dissertation document, which contains the Sound sSādhanā journeys of the six research participants, including the author as researcher, teacher, facilitator, mentor, and Sādhaka (spiritual seeker/ Yogi). This research revealed multiple benefits, including: enhanced creativity, a sense of expanded consciousness, increased self-awareness of body, breath, word and thought; vocal awareness and refinement; enhanced listening; and, increased clarity and organization of thought. This dissertation holds the unique experiences of an oral teaching tradition and reflects the Sound sSādhanā research journey as an invitation to the reader to witness a new form of scholarship within the Yogic paradigm unfolding in the area of art, education, and spirituality. This research contributes to research and education in the field of practice-based spiritual inquiry, sound and consciousness studies, inquiry-based voice yoga practice, and the contemplative arts. Keywords: Voice Yoga; Sadhana Arts; Practice-Based Spiritual Inquiry; Contemplative Art Practice iv The written words within this text are to be enlivened with breath, sound and practice v Dedication To Sarasvatī Sādhanā Saadhanaa sSādhanā sSādhanā Sound sSādhanā vi Acknowledgements I wish to express my appreciation and gratitude to all who encouraged, supported, and inspired me throughout my doctoral degree. Lis Welch Foundation for your generous award in support of my scholarship at SFU. Faculty of Education in Graduate Studies for your nomination and award in support of my scholarship completion at SFU. SFU Library and UBC Library for your excellence in service to scholarship, in particular, Catherine Louie from the SFU Thesis Department for attention and care in the preparation of my dissertation document. Dr. Lynn Fels for your unfaltering ever-expanding support during all the years I have studied at Simon Fraser University. Your advocacy of a work unfamiliar reflects your strength of vision in the realm of creative possibility. Thank you for encouraging my voice and scholarship. Dr. Michael Ling for your heartfelt support and encouragement. Dr. Charles Scott for encouraging my sādhanā of scholarship and for engaging in the spirit of Satsang in every meeting. Thank you for companioning me as fellow yogi and scholar throughout the years of my doctoral journey. Dr. Ajit Pyati for your presence, your curiosity, and close questioning. Dr. Heesoon Bai for your presence, appreciation, and curiosity. Kalpana Prasad my constant teacher, friend, guru and guide through swara to Īśvara. Thank you for your teaching and guidance through story and song. Pandit Rattan Mohan Sharma for your artistic Sādhanā in this world. Thank you for your spiritual and philosophical guidance in sound and Mantra. You are an exemplar of the way of the shimmering voice, a gift to those you teach, and a blessing to all who hear you. vii Pandit Uday Bhawalkar for a teaching that continues to reverberate. Pandit Ramakant Gundecha for your dedication to Sur and Swara Nāda. Pandit Umakant Gundecha for the profound depth of your morning Kharaj. Swami Bhatnagar for your call for emotional maturity in the work of sādhanā of sound. For demonstrating the power and value of voice sādhanā for physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual health and growth in one’s elder years. Sri Yogi Hari for initiation to the ways of Sādhanā. For the teachings on discernment, self-regulation, self-agency, and guru awareness. Dr. Patrick Parra Pennefather for including me in your Sādhanā. My blessings are yours. My wonderful singing students and Sound sSādhanā students engaged in sSelf- cultivation through sSwara. All the Master singers past and present who teach as their sSādhanā in the world. All the sSwara Yogīs and Nāda Gurus past and present Thank you viii Table of Contents Declaration of Committee .............................................................................................. ii Ethics Statement .............................................................................................................. iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Dedication ........................................................................................................................ vi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ ix A note on transliteration markings ............................................................................ xiii Language to Begin—A Way In ................................................................................... xiv Pilgrimage to Arrival .................................................................................................... xv The Map ............................................................................................................................. 1 Vibration ............................................................................................................................ 4 Invitation ............................................................................................................................ 5 Infinity Paradox of a Holistic Cosmos ........................................................................... 6 The Story of my Research .............................................................................................. 8 Group Sound sSādhanā Practices ................................................................................. 11 One-on-one Sound sSādhanā teachings ...................................................................... 13 The daily sound sādhanā ............................................................................................... 14 Re-sounding writing practices ...................................................................................... 15 Collection of data ............................................................................................................ 19 Embodying multiple roles ............................................................................................. 20 Sound sSādhanā Palette ................................................................................................. 21 OM—Bīja Mantra—The Wholeness Seed ......................................................... 21 Shadaj Sādhanā ....................................................................................................