Bells in Hindu Rituals and the Traditional Hindu Practice of Sound Healing

There is great popularity now in the Western New Age movement for "sound healing" and the use of what are marketed as "Tibetan singing bowls" in particular. Miraculous healing powers are attributed to these bowls, but they are not Tibetan in origin and have no traditional ritual or healing use in the East. It is thought by many that when offering bowls were sent to the West, the Westerners who could see little use in making offerings decided to try to strike or ring the bowls to make sound instead. There are certain Buddhists sects which do strike similar bowls as a part of meditation and chanting practice, but the use of these bowls for healing is a modern, Western phenomenon, as are bowls made for singing, which were first imported to the West in the 1970's from India and Nepal. But many people wrongly believe that the use of singing bowls in healing is connected to an ancient healing tradition.