Swara means note literally, but it holds a deeper significance than its western definition... It is not a mechanical pitch, but rather, an utterance that comes from deep within the human body...
The ancient western position on music was that it was made up of patterns of sound with regular melodic intervals which reflect the simple ratios by which the world is organised and make sense to our organs of perception. Western theory is thus built around perceptible, rational ideas which the human mind can see, recognise, and find proof for.
Musicologist Lewis Rowell has written that Indian music is rooted in a fundamentally different assumption - that there is a continuous, unseen, and constantly changing reality which is the backdrop for all human action and perception. It is what shapes our karma or destiny, and helps explain why seemingly inexplicable things happen to us.
The notes in Indian music are thus not categorical, separate, self-contained entities, but are connected through a subtle, elusive continuum of notes that can barely be identified by the human ear. They are, in the metaphysical sense, part of that reality which lies beyond perception. These in-between notes are called srutis, and they are the essence of Indian music.
In a very literal sense, these srutis are the half notes and quarter notes that fill the intervals between two notes. But that would be a grossly incomplete description. There is much more to the sruti, for it can entirely change the reality of the notes. For instance, how you reach a particular note is as important as the note itself. It may be arrived at from below, or above, after caressing that hidden note that hovers next to it, and it will evoke a completely different sensation than if the musician were to meet the note directly.
This explains why Indian music cannot be learned from textbooks. It has to be taught by a guru who can explain these nuances, coax the right note out of the student and help her achieve it. How would even the most articulate text manage to explain that you have to meet the swara gradually and lovingly and with a touch of foreplay?
The ancient scriptures were preserved in the oral tradition, where each phrase and utterance was memorised through a complex set of mnemonics and then recited with great emphasis on delivery, so that future generations got it just right. Yoga, also an ancient and secret discipline, was passed down from teacher to student, not through textbooks.
The Indian classical musical tradition relies on a similar oral tradition where the teacher is a key player and often viewed with the same reverence with which one would treat a priest or a monk.
But there is only so much that can be taught. It is finally up to the student to understand the secrets of swara. The singer may have perfect pitch but may or may not get to the next level. It is only when the student gets a feel for the notes that her music will truly shine forth...
Hindu musicians... believe that the first element to emerge, long before life populated the universe, was the sound Om, which embodies that universal spirit some call God. Perhaps this is why the sensation experienced, both for the artist and the connoisseur, when a musician enunciates the swara in its ultimate and precise form, is very similar to the feeling one has when one sits in a quiet temple, church, or mausoleum, and experiences that sudden epiphany.