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Page 217
Appendix I
The Raga and Vastu
''Architecture in general is frozen music." This analogy, made by German philosopher Frederick Von Schelling (17751854) is so accurate when we consider the classical Indian music called the raga and great Indian architecture, such as the temple described in Khajuraho (see Chapter 3, Vastu in Ancient Temple Design). The similarities between the two disciplines extend beyond an artistic relationship. As with vastu, the raga has a Vedic philosophical and spiritual foundation that moves the music well beyond the realm of art.
Other links between vastu and the raga are there to be seen and heard. The names of ragas evoke three-dimensional images that are then expressed through the music. The raga understands the power of color and evokes color through its notes and melodies. And just as a particular color brings a certain set of feelings to a vastu room or a vastu building, color expressed through a note or melody brings its intended set of feelings to the raga.
The Raga and Its Musical Elements
The raga adheres to a system that is very different from Western music. Indeed, it is difficult to describe a raga by using the terminology attached to our music. The application of the two wordsnotes and rhythm to the

 
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