Is there a connection between sound, vibrations and what we see around? Do sound and vibrations have the potential to create?
The word Cymatics derives from the Greek word ‘kyma’ meaning ‘wave’. It describes the periodic effects that sound and vibration have on matter. It shows how vibrations interact to create the world we experience ‘out there’ and it brings to light hidden principles which underlie all natural processes.
In 1787, the jurist, musician and physicist Ernst Chladni demonstrated that sound affects physical matter and has the quality of creating geometric patterns (as given below in Fig 1.0).
Later Swiss medical doctor and natural scientist, Hans Jenny, conducted experiments for 14 years animating inert powders, pastes, and liquids into life-like, flowing forms, which mirrored patterns found throughout nature, art and architecture.
Dr. Jenny discovered that if a plate was vibrated at a specific frequency and amplitude, the shapes and motion patterns, characteristic of that vibration appeared in the material on the plate. If frequency or amplitude was changed, the development and pattern changed as well. By increasing the frequency, the complexity of the patterns increased. On the other hand, by increasing the amplitude, the motion became more rapid and turbulent and could even create small eruptions, where the actual material was thrown up in the air. A similar phenomenon is observed in vedic mantras and yantras. The yantras of higher dimensions become more and more complicated and correspond to sounds of higher frequencies.
In his research with the tonoscope, Dr. Jenny noticed that when the vowels of the ancient languages of Hebrew and Sanskrit were pronounced, the sand took shape of the written symbols for these vowels, while modern languages, on the other hand, did not generate the same result. What was so special about these languages, did the ancients know of these sciences? Dr. Jenny’s research leads us to conclude that there is deep rooted science behind the ancient languages. This perhaps explains the healing and manifestation power of various Sanskrit mantras…
According to Dr. Jenny, the key to understanding how we can heal the body with the help of tones lies in our understanding of how different frequencies influence genes, cells and various structures in the body. He also suggested that through the study of the human ear and larynx we would be able to come to a deeper understanding of the ultimate cause of vibrations. The vedic Indians have maintained this for eons, that there is a sound behind every cell in the body and by altering the frequency of that sound one can bring about desired changes in the cell and the body.
Interestingly, just like a vibration can lead to a geometric pattern, the reverse is also possible. When a person looks at such a geometric pattern, it manifests into vibrations inside the mind of the observer which in turn have an effect on his being. This in fact is the science behind yantras. In yogic sadhnas, a practitioner fixes gaze on a specific geometric pattern, which is nothing but a coded form of energy (now we know how) and frequencies specific to that pattern are generated inside his/her body.
Scientists & doctors have extended it further and created a new medical field called Cymatherapy in which highly complex vibrations are converted into sound patterns, which in turn can be used to heal a person’s body and emotions.
“It is a well established fact in neuro-science that brain actually responds to visual patterns and depending on the shapes & patterns, it can have different effects on the mind. There have been research publications on how even a simple geometric shape like a triangle can activate neural circuitry and affect emotions.” – Neuro-scientist, V.S. Ramachandran
As modern science evolves and makes newer discoveries related to visual patterns, sounds and brain activity, it only reaffirms my faith that the ancient vedic sciences of mantras and yantras and the language of gods, as is Sanskrit is often referred to, find their basis in the science of energy, which was not alien to the rishis of the yore who had an indepth understanding of workings of creation and told us millions of years ago that everything in the physical world has manifested from a sound or dhwani.
