ANANDA - the joy of performing spiritual music
Some years ago my friend Suswara and I sat together cross-legged on the floor of the Bristolian Cafe, meditated for a minute or so and then began to play Sri Chinmoy's song "Bhagavan". It was the inaugural meditation to celebrate the opening of a new divine enterprise where a number of members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre would both meditate together and work together, preparing and serving vegetarian food. It was also the very first performance by the group that later became known as "Ananda" (a Sanskrit word or mantra meaning bliss or delight).
(Ananda in Concert)
The group has expanded somewhat over the years and recent concerts have featured up to seven singers and musicians. Mostly we perform at meetings of the Sri Chinmoy Centre, where music forms an integral part of the meditative practise we engage in together, but we also play at meditation classes and concerts of spiritual music. We see these public performances as spiritual events rather than entertainment, and accordingly they are always offered free of charge.
Sri Chinmoy has been composing songs since his youth, and since he left India and came to reside in the West his output has been truly prodigious. At the time of writing he has written more than 15,000 songs, but this figure will soon be out of date. Each of these devotional songs, most of which are written in Bengali, is the expression of a particular spiritual quality or experience, an embodiment in musical form of a pure spiritual consciousness. As a group, we take Sri Chinmoy's words and melody and make a simple arrangement using a variety of instruments such as the Indian harmonium, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesiser, flute and bouzouki. Elaborate orchestrations are not necessary for meditative music and in fact could be counter-productive. The original melody needs to remain at the forefront, while the accompanying chords and instrumental harmonies provide a subtle and hopefully unobtrusive backdrop. Sometimes we sing Sri Chinmoy's songs in unison, unaccompanied. Simplicity is the order of the day.
Singing and playing with Ananda has been a very rewarding experience for me. When we play, we meditate before and during the performance, aiming to bring the spiritual qualities in the music to the fore in ourselves. Singing has always been at the heart of Sri Chinmoy's path and all his students sing on a daily basis as part of their meditation. Whether one is capable singing in tune is not of great importance, as the meditative qualities of the song can still be felt even if the singer is far from perfect. Soulfulness is the key. For public performances, of course, we try our best to offer a polished performance as well as our hearts' sincerity. Anything less wouldn't be fair on the audience, some of whom who may be new to spiritual music.
Before I took up mediation and joined Sri Chinmoy's path in my mid-twenties, I had always been a lover of music. Can anyone say they don't love music of some form? Sri Chinmoy describes it as a universal language, a language of the heart. In my case I enjoyed a wide range of music, but none of it was overtly spiritual - some of it quite the opposite. I had learnt to play bass guitar in my teens then later the mandolin, neither with any great skill. After playing in a number of student rock bands and busking with folk musicians playing Irish jigs and reels, I came to a point where I realised I had never really been satisfied with the music I played. I was a music lover, but this love was somehow unfulfilled.
I first experienced truly spiritual music when I came to meditation classes held by the Sri Chinmoy Centre in Bristol. I was eager to learn to meditate, and very glad to discover that music was very much a part of life in the centre. This came as no surprise, as I had always believed that there was an innate divinity in music. This was a belief I had held even as an atheist some years before. For an atheist to believe that anything is divine sounds like a contradiction in terms, and of course it was, but I suppose that tells you something about how the human mind struggles to interpret the feelings that come from deeper within us.
Meditative music was not what I expected. I had plenty of preconceptions about the spiritual life, probably because I had read many books about spirituality and mysticism but until that time I had not spent any time in spiritual practise. A process of unlearning had to begin, where I put aside my ideas of what spirituality might be and embraced the reality itself. I had assumed that to aid meditation, music would have to be rhythmic and hypnotic, trance-inducing and monotonous. I discovered instead beautiful melodies and heartfelt, devotional songs. I realised that the divine vibration embodied in these songs was all important. Not the outer sound, but the inner melody; not the form without, but the consciousness within. At that time I considered myself a musician of sorts, as I could carry a simple tune on a stringed instrument, but I had never been a singer. Even alone with no-one within earshot I was too inhibited, too disturbed by the sound of my own voice to sing. Once Sri Chinmoy accepted me as his student, that had to change, or a whole world of experience would remain hidden from me. After all, to hear another person singing divine songs is only half the story - to sing oneself brings a different set of experiences. At first, even repeating the mantra OM out loud was a struggle, but I soon became used to it and began to enjoy chanting. From there it was a small step to singing simple melodies. Now, while I know I will never be a really good singer, I can carry tunes well enough to sing with a group. Singing together with other spiritual seekers is something truly unique. If you consider yourself a seeker, I would urge you to try it.
Many times when singing with a group I have been lucky enough to experience quite subtle and sublime sensations. There are moments when I become detached from my mind and the song simply seems to flow through me, unobstructed. At other times I have become aware of my voice blending with the voices of the other singers, as if all the individual streams of sound were meeting and becoming one somewhere just above our heads. Words do not do justice to such moments.
Singing and playing Sri Chinmoy's songs with Ananda has been a great privilege for me. If I have learnt anything from my time in this group, it is that spiritual music really has something to offer to everyone; both the singer and the listener, the virtuoso performer and enthusiastic amateur. We can sing from our hearts, play from our hearts or simply listen in our hearts. And the heart is where the Soul, the true inner existence, is most powerfully felt.
by: Roger Chamberlain
Related Pages
- Listen to Ananda at Radio Sri Chinmoy - Real Player Format
- Other performers of Sri Chinmoy's Music including links to Radio Sri Chinmoy
