So have any of you actually chanted before? Because I can say without a doubt I never have…at least not correctly. Typically when a teacher has guided me through a chant/prayer at the end of a group practice, I mumble along aimlessly, with absolutely no clue of what I’m saying, or if I’m even saying it right. I’m often confused, nervous and incredibly shy about what the sounds coming out of my mouth actually sound like, and it really has no significant meaning to me, besides just wanting to know what the hell the teacher is saying. Did I care to even learn? Meh…not really. But I did know that it sounded really cool when a group of ten or more individuals were chanting the same words in unison….you could literally feel the energy vibrating out of everyone’s lungs, without even having to speak a word.
That all changed for me last weekend. I was introduced to our philosophy teacher Hali to commence our philosophy portion of the training, and I immediately fell in love with this woman. She was so inspiring, energetic and engaging, that she made me want to learn everything there is about meditation, chanting, Sanskrit, and the tradition of yoga…something I never had such a deep interest in learning about. I was for so long focused on the physical practice of yoga. Hali taught us our first real chant/prayer: The Prayer for Truth, and let me just say, that as a traditional skeptic in all things regarding chanting, praying, singing, whatever…..I absolutely loved this experience and am so grateful that she opened my mind to it.
Firstly, I’ve always had trouble with OM. I run out of breath so early on, and besides the vibration that I do evidently feel spewing out of my chest when chanting this elemental sound, I never felt a connection to it. But after fully understanding what OM is all about, and learning how to properly say it (it is actually made up of 3 distinct and separate sounds), I was able to control my breath to hold it for quite a while and feel a deeper connection to this simple syllable.
Secondly, Hali chanted the Prayer for Truth first for us, before doing a call and response exercise, and hearing her sing these words that I didn’t really understand, truly inspired me and made me really want to know what the hell she was saying! She sounded beautiful. She digested each syllable for us, then each word, then each sentence, then each line….then the entire prayer…and understanding fully what it meant allowed me to open my lungs, open my chest, and sing those words loud and proud!
Asato ma sat gamaya
Tamas ma jyotir gamaya
Mrityor ma amritam gamaya
Looking at those words, it may seem like gibberish to you. But it has a meaning and a translation, and it is powerful. It is a prayer asking to be led away from the darkness, away from untruth, away from death, and it is a prayer asking to be led towards truth, enlightenment, towards lightness! Ok yes, it probably seems like weird hippie mumbo jumbo, but I’m telling you, once you learn the pattern, the meaning, and the sound of each word, and once you chant it together in a room full of like minded individuals….just wow. Trust me, I was a huge skeptic when it came to this stuff! I thought it was funny, and silly….but after experiencing learning this chant with everyone in my training, and learning how to chant it correctly with everyone…I haven’t stopped since. I swear..i’ve been singing it on the way to the bus stop, singing it in the office, annoying my sisters with it! I cant stop. And I cant wait to learn more.
If any of you have the desire to learn how to chant, I strongly encourage you to step out of your box of shyness and chant it like you really mean it!!
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