From Karuna Rasa to Aatma Rasa - Journey of Resilience, Hope and Light with Cancer
Cancer doesn't just enter the body. It enters the rhythm of life. It brings with it not just physical pain, but also fear, loneliness, and uncertainty. For many patients, cancer treatment feels like a long tunnel with no end.
In such moments, medicine heals the body, but what heals the soul and spirit? This is where music therapy for cancer patients quietly enters, not as a prescription, but as a companion.
Karuna Rasa: The Rasa of Grief and Compassion in Cancer
In Indian classical tradition, we begin with Karuna Rasa - the rasa of compassion and sorrow.
Cancer patients live in this rasa. There is grief for the life that changed, pain in the body, and tears that often have no words.
But Indian classical music, especially Hindustani classical music, teaches us that no rasa stays forever. Through ragas, we move.
How Ragas Help Cancer Patients - From Calm to Stability
- A slow aalaap in Raag Yaman brings calm.
- The grounding of Raag Bhairav in the morning gives stability.
- The structure of taal gives stability when life feels chaotic.
Cancer may stay in the body, but music lifts the spirit during cancer treatment. And slowly, Karuna turns into something higher.
Aatma Rasa: Inner Resilience and Hope for Cancer Survivors
Aatma Rasa is the rasa of the soul - inner light and hope. This is resilience in cancer.
This is when a cancer patient finds strength not in denying pain, but in sitting with it, breathing through it, and finding light inside it.
Resilience in cancer is not being 'strong all the time'. It is waking up on a hard day and still choosing to listen to one Bhajan. It is finding one moment of beauty in the middle of treatment.
What Research Says: Music Therapy and Cancer Treatment
Music therapy helps create that space - in hospitals, at home, and in the hearts of patients.
Research in music therapy for cancer shows this clearly. Listening to live or recorded music can:
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Lower anxiety in cancer patients during treatment
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Reduce the perception of pain during chemotherapy
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Improve sleep quality during cancer treatment
A music therapist, or even a family member playing a raaga, can gently lead a patient from stress to calm.
Musicians Bringing Music Therapy to Mental Health: Sitarist Rishab Rikhiram Sharma
Musicians like Sitarist Rishab Rikhiram Sharma are using raagas not just for performance, but for mental health. His work shows how music becomes medicine for the mind.
And also, music touches something deeper – the spiritual.
Indian raagas have always carried philosophy within them.
- A raaga at sunrise is not just sound, it’s a reminder of renewal.
- Raag Des at night isn’t just soothing, it feels like being cradled by something bigger than pain.
For many patients, this becomes a quiet kind of faith. Not religion, but connection - to breath, to rhythm, to life itself.
"Journey in Harmony" - An Album of Ragas for Healing and Emotional Wellbeing
My Harmonium Guru, Dr. Ravindra Katoti, has composed an album named "Journey in Harmony" — 10 compositions, each based on a Raaga, reflecting different emotions in life:
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1. Morning Mist - Raag Aheer Bhairav
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2. Journey - Raag Bhimpalas
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3. Blossom - Raag Yaman
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4. Swing - Raag Mishra Peelu
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5. Romance - Raag Bihaag
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6. Hope - Raag Keervani
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7. Rain Song - Raag Megh
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8. Zeal - Raag Dhaani
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9. Butterfly
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10. Soul Sings - Raag Bhairavi
One can feel and live all the stages of life and all emotions from day to night just by listening to this album. Journey in Harmony is available on YouTube and as a CD.
The Healing Power of the Tanpura for Cancer Patients
I strongly believe that just listening to the shruti of the tanpura can have a profound effect on cancer patients.
It regulates breath, centres the mind, and gives the soul a sense of being cradled.
Even without any raaga or lyrics, the tanpura’s vibration alone can bring calm during treatment, anxiety or sleepless nights.
Cancer Survivors and Music: When Healing Becomes a Purpose
For some, healing opens a new door. Several cancer survivors have turned to music as a path forward — as students, teachers, and therapists.
What began as comfort during treatment becomes purpose after it. The music therapy that healed them becomes what they offer to others.
For patients, caregivers and survivors alike, music becomes more than sound. It becomes company in the dark, courage in treatment, and peace at the end of the day.
When words fall silent and medicine pauses, music stays. In a single Shruti, in the rise and fall of breath – we find Karuna. This is Aatma. This is life, going on.
References:
1. ED Spilioti. The Effects of Music on Cancer Patients Submitted to Chemotherapy Treatment. 2017. https://internationaljournalofcaringsciences.org/docs/40_spilioti_original_10_3.pdf
2. DD Jethva. Harmonizing Hope : Impact of Music Therapy on Cancer Pain and Palliative Care. 2025. https://jpalliativecare.com/harmonising-hope-impact-of-music-therapy-oncancer-pain-and-palliativecare/&ved=2ahUKEwiamfPRrNyVAxX7d2wGHQ2lHg0QFnoECFIQAQ&usg=AOvVaw146iJmR-1Z_bmpsGlwdnBb
3. Watch and Listen : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx0jfh0iIaMRP8bJZx0dnxLQWAW5Wr0Xo&si=hpPN66uJnMQCLfk
