Why Would Anyone Want To Chant?!
I know, I understand... chanting seems WEIRD! .. especially if you have never chanted before. Most religions do it in one way or another, and some religions almost specialize in it. In fact, MANY religions have chanting front and center of their lives! Buddhists Love chanting, as to Hare Krishna Devotees, and Monks are famous for it! In fact, chanting is so important that some religions say it is almost the only path to liberation. Why is Chanting so important to so many religions? Join us in this celebration and find out!
I'm going to cut to the chase here! If you can't or don't want to meditate but you want to get out of your head and into a calm and centered place, then chanting is your ticket! I have been chanting on and off for years, and since the last few weeks I have re-kindled my love for it. The simple truth is that I feel AMAZING the entire day when I chant. When I say amazing I mean, transformed. This is not explainable, but you can experience it very easily. If you are new at chanting then it may take some time to get into it, but once you do it will seem far less strange.. and after you start to feel the benefits you won't even care any more!
I also find that chanting is the perfect prelude to meditation, which I now do for about 15 minutes a day. If I don't chant before I meditate, then I don't feel NEARLY as good.. SO for me this clearly works. I also know this works for SO many people, and that is why I am launching the "Get Your Chant On Celebration" with the @ecoTrain. Why not celebrate being alive by trying something new, and maybe discovering something life changing at the same time. All you have to do it chant, what could be easier!?
You can chant pretty much anything you like, or even make up your own chants, but there is nothing like a sacred, empowered Sanskrit chant to really lift things up.
WILL YOU JOIN US for the Get Your Chant On Celebration?
To help you I have just sung two different Mantras with some Tibetan Meditation Bowls in the background. These Tibetan bowls are tuned to 528Hz and will help you to enter a deep state of relaxation. The first chant, OM, is very easy and just one, powerful, word. You can follow the chanting with me in the below sound player for as long as you wish. Try it out and see if you can do 15 minutes.. then see how you feel during the rest of the day. You need to do this for 7 days, and then you can post and share your experiences with us.
Please include the tag "chant" so we can all find it. I will be reading and responding to everyone who posts.. as will many of us on the @ecoTrain.
Beginners Chant: 'OM'
Om is a mantra, or vibration, that is traditionally chanted at the beginning and end of yoga sessions. Coming from Hinduism and Yoga, the mantra is considered to have high spiritual and creative power but despite this, it is a mantra that can be recited by anyone. It's both a sound and a symbol rich in meaning and depth and when pronounced correctly it is actually AUM.
Aum actually consists of four syllables: A, U, M, and the silent syllable.
The first syllable is A, pronounced as a prolonged "awe." The sound starts at the back of your throat and you stretch it out. You will start feeling your solar plexus and chest vibrating.
The second syllable is U, pronounced as a prolonged "oo" with the sound gradually rolling forward along your upper palate. You'll feel your throat vibrate.
The third syllable is M, pronounced as a prolonged "mmmm" with your front teeth gently touching. You will now start to feel the top of your vibrate.
The last syllable is the deep silence of the Infinite. As intelligence rises from the deep silence, you have to merge your chant from the M to the deep silence.
Symbolically the three letters embody the divine energy (Shakti) and it's 3 main characteristics: (1) creation, (2) preservation and (3) liberation.
Advanced Chant: Gayatri Mantra
One of my favorite chants is the Gayatri Mantra. The Gayatri Mantra was well explained by Sathya Sai Baba:
Gayatri is the Mother of all scriptures (Vedas). She is present, wherever Her name is chanted. She is very powerful. The One who nourishes the individual being is Gayatri. She bestows pure thoughts on anyone who worships Her. She is the embodiment of all Goddesses. Our very breath is Gayatri, our faith in existence is Gayatri. Gayatri has five faces, they are the five life principles. She has nine descriptions, they are "Om, Bhur, Bhuvah, Swah, Tat, Savitur, Vareñyaṃ, Bhargo, Devasya". Mother Gayatri nourishes and protects every being and she channelizes our senses in the proper direction. "Dhīmahi" means meditation. We pray to her to inspire us with good intelligence. "Dhīyo Yonah Prachodayāt" - We beseech her to bestow on us everything we need. Thus Gayatri is a complete prayer for protection, nourishment and finally, liberation.
It s a sacred chant that demonstrates the unity that underlies manifoldness in creation. It is through the recognition of this unity that we can understand the multiplicity. Clay is one and the same thing, though pots of different shapes and sizes can be made from it. Gold is one, though gold ornaments can be multifarious. The Spirit is one, though the embodied forms in which it resides may be many. Whatever the colour of the cow, the milk is always white.
Om Bhur Bhuvaḥ Swaḥ
Tat-savitur Vareñyaṃ
Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi
Dhiyo Yonaḥ Prachodayāt
General Meaning:
We meditate on that most adored Supreme Lord, the creator, whose effulgence (divine light) illumines all realms (physical, mental and spiritual). May this divine light illumine our intellect.
Literal Meaning:
Om: The primeval sound;
Bhur: the physical body/physical realm;
Bhuvah: the life force/the mental realm
Suvah: the soul/spiritual realm;
Tat: That (God);
Savitur: the Sun, Creator (source of all life);
Vareñyam: adore;
Bhargo: effulgence (divine light);
Devasya: supreme Lord;
Dhīmahi: meditate;
Dhiyo: the intellect;
Yo: May this light;
Nah: our;
Prachodayāt: illumine/inspire.
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