Playlist for Joy & Happiness
A special musical series including Spotify playlists
Need a quick boost of confidence? Listen toReady to embrace your happiness and immerse yourself in joy? Listen to Raag Bilaval. Raag Dhanasri.
Bilaval embodies a mood of utter happiness, radiating smiles of joy, yet stays grounded, preventing one from getting carried away. This mode allows for experiencing a balanced joy, ensuring that one does not lose themselves. Often, in our moments of happiness, we tend to let go, forget, and sometimes lose our bearings, much like a helium-filled balloon released into the sky. The helium carries it upward until it depletes, leaving the balloon to fall back down, devoid of its buoyancy. Similarly, happiness and joy can uproot us, only to let us fall back down. This perpetual cycle of highs and lows does not bring stability, leaving us in a constant pursuit of joy and happiness. Raag Bilaval, however, serves as a remarkable tool to immerse oneself in joy and happiness, but with the balance that keeps us anchored, like a helium balloon tied securely. This tied balloon, and its helium last far longer.
The mood of Raag Bilaval enables one to embrace happiness in a controlled and balanced manner. It does not diminish happiness; instead, it allows one to harness the power of this otherwise uncontrollable emotion. It also aids in pulling one out of the depths of sadness and pain.
In 2016, during a music tour where I taught, performed, and learned, life was a whirlwind of work, fun, performances, and preparation. It was the last stretch of my tour in the UK, and I had been away from home for two months. An internal sadness weighed on me, not from homesickness, but a deeper melancholy. The cold, dreary, and gray weather did little to help. My mind, like a despondent child, recoiled from interaction, viewing everything negatively, craving solitude yet longing for love and understanding. I felt alienated, even amongst people, and misunderstood. My mind seemed like a stranger in my own body. My soul, the wiser part of me, tried its best to reach out and comfort the mind, but to no avail. It felt broken and sad, yearning for a simple hug and companionship. This yearning for external validation was an elusive reality. I remember locking myself in my room with my instrument, the Dilruba, and intuitively, my soul chose to play Raag Bilaval. As the music flowed, my mind began to smile; the world around me seemed brighter, and more colorful. The pain in my mind gradually dissipated. Raag Bilaval played a pivotal role in helping my mind feel loved, understood, and cared for by my soul. It communicated to my mind as one would to a sad child – with cheer, excitement, love, and understanding, coupled with fun and kind thoughts. The transformation from sadness to a composed and lasting joy was almost instantaneous. Raag Bilaval helped me recharge and rediscover my joy, altering my perception of the world and my circumstances.
Raag Bilaval can be applied in numerous ways. If you are overwhelmed with joy and happiness, to the point of being uncontainable, Raag Bilaval empathizes with that joy and happiness. It allows you to revel in it while offering a steadying anchor to ground you in a more sober approach, preventing you from drifting away. It is akin to gently cautioning a jubilant child, “Be careful dear, you might hurt yourself.” You are not diminishing their joy, just supplying a subtle anchor. Similarly, Raag Bilaval can also help uplift you from feelings of sadness and despair, particularly during challenging times like winter, with its short days and long nights. Our hard work often begins and ends in darkness, which can be disheartening. Raag Bilaval can help retune your perspective and emotions, enabling you to find joy within.”
Immerse yourself in Raag Bilaval by listening to this curated playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
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