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Listen friend, this
body is his instrument.
He draws the strings tight,
and out of it comes
the music of the universe.
~ Kabir
Chanting empties the mind of thoughts. Ecstacy is both
the process and the product. Sing with complete abandon,
and meditation follows effortlessly. Indian melodies are
intoxicating, eliciting subtle shifts in perception. Unspooling
hypnotically, they build in rhythm and intensity. Sanskrit
mantras are simple to pronounce. The syllables, projected
above, are easy to follow. The world, luminous and pulsing,
is said to be formed of their vibrations.
Every part of the body is awakened through chanting. The
chanted sounds arouse the physical and spiritual energies
of the body and cause the prana, or vital force to flow
up the spine to the spiritual center at the crown of the
head. Chanting simply adds sound to the practices of pranayama
(breathing exercises) and sitting asanas(poses), and so
is a natural extension of a yoga practice. Chanting stills
the mind and connects it with the inner wisdom at the
ground of our own being. In chanting, we go beyond the
limitations of the mind into the ecstasy behind the mind.
In the light of this ecstasy, our intuition seems to be
intensified, and our problems are often easier to solve.
Part of the power of chanting lies in the effect of singing
itself. The simple use of the human voice has an amazing
capacity to bring us in touch with our heart. This is
the purpose of chanting: to transform the heart, by focusing
your heart on the sounds, the vibrations release tension
and create openess. When you lose yourself in the ecstasy
of chanting, you ultimately find yourself in something
greater. When the mind becomes one with this inner pulsation,
a yogi merges into the pure I-consciousness at the source
of creation, making available infinite knowledge and power.
The chants are very beautiful, simple and easy to remember.
Sung in a call and response fashion, the chant begins
slowly, and speeds up with each repetition until it becomes
very rhythmic, and people are often moved to express themselves
by clapping their hands or dancing. It is not necessary
to be a good singer to have a fulfilling experience of
chanting. It is only necessary to give yourself with to
the chant, and the mind transcends itself, ultimately
coming to rest in meditation.
Dave Stringer received initiation while living in the
ashram of Swami Muktananda in India, and developed as
a devotional singer under the guidance of Swami Chidvilasananda.
Mixing mantras with ecstatic flights of improvisation,
he accompanies himself on the harmonium, tamboura, swaramandala,
dulcimer and guitar. A frequent accompanist to Krishna
Das and Jai Uttal, he has led Kirtan in the presence of
Shivaya Subramunyaswami, Ma Jaya Satabhagavati, Baba Hari
Das, Yogi Bhajan and Ram Das, Along with his ensemble,
he regularly chants at yoga centers, ashrams, pujas and
a variety of other venues in Southern California, the
San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Fe.
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