Chanting aids in uplifting and expanding our consciousness, allowing us to be receptive to the flow of Divine love, joy, peace, wisdom and blessings. Thus, our life becomes a song itself and we become the instrument through which God plays His melody, says the writer.

There is a spiritual technique, which I have seen people of many different religions practice. Just as practices like compassion for others, service, dedication, pilgrimage and scriptural study, are common among different religions, so is the technique of chanting.

I was born into a family which is Sikh from the maternal side and Hindu from the paternal side. But still, I feel deep love for Christ also and he drew me closer to him by helping me get a job in a convent school. Since early on, I was deeply interested in spirituality, and I got initiated into the sacred Kriya Yoga practice at the age of 15.

Paramhansa Yogananda, my Guru on the path of Kriya Yoga, said, “Chanting is half the battle.” This battle which Yoganandaji is referring to here is that between good and evil, not external, but within us. Thoughts, speech, deeds, intentions, habits: all these can be good or evil. Chanting aids in uplifting and expanding our consciousness. By an uplifted consciousness I mean, that we feel joyful and gratefulin all circumstances of life; expanding our consciousness means that we feel closer to the Divine in all creation, and feel our oneness with everything. 

A kirtan in a Gurudwara is mesmerising. My mother took both her restless children to listen to kirtans and be influenced by the holy atmosphere. 

Gunnika Chawla

Bhajan singing in temples helps devotees develop devotion, which is an essential ingredient to an ever more deeply satisfying devout life. I regularly participate in chanting sessions at the Ananda Sangha Noida centre, and my heart doesn’t want the holy music to ever stop.

At the convent school, I teach my tiny nursery students to close their eyes, join their hands and bow their heads when the choir sings the hymns during the morning assembly. During this lockdown, I miss their naughtiness of fidgeting and opening just one eye to check if I am watching them or not. But still I know that their hearts, so pure and innocent, can connect to the devotional feeling of the hymns. 

Similarly, my friends of other faiths, also practise some form of chanting or singing to express their love for the Divine.

Singing to God is so important. The reason for this is beautifully expressed in a chant composed by Yoganandaji:

O life is sweet,

And death a dream.

O life is sweet,

And death a dream,

When Thy song flows through me, my Lord.

When Thy song flows through me.

Then health is sweet,

Sickness a dream.

Then health is sweet,

Sickness a dream,

When Thy song flows through me, my Lord.

When Thy song flows through me.

Then joy is sweet,

Sorrow a dream.

Then joy is sweet,

Sorrow a dream,

When Thy song flows through me, my Lord.

When Thy song flows through me.

Then praise is sweet,

And blame a dream.

Then praise is sweet,

And blame a dream,

When Thy song flows through me, my Lord.

When Thy song flows through me.

Chanting allows one’s consciousness to be receptive to the flow of Divine love, joy, peace, wisdom and blessings. Thus, our life becomes a song itself and we, the chanters, become the instrument through which God plays His melody, so that we may help Him to spread sweetness and happiness on earth.

There are several scientific evidences which establish the effectiveness of sounds in influencing the surroundings. Dr. Masaru Emoto, a Japanese scientist, did several experiments on how vibrations of thought and sound affect water molecules. In one experiment, he found that soothing classical music, like Mozart’s symphony No. 40, could generate wonderful crystalline patterns in water, whereas heavy metal music created ugly crystalline formations. 

Certainly, as humans who are majorly made of water, we too must be influenced by the music we listen to. And so, the holy words of devotional chants generate divine qualities of positivity, calmness and blissfulness when a devotee practices chanting. 

Several reports are known about people who came back from near death experiences. Some have described that they went through a tunnel at the end of which there was light and others reported meeting with spiritual beings in beautiful surroundings. On the other hand, there have been people who said they found themselves in a disturbing dark region, where in the background they heard sounds akin to rock-and-roll music. A woman who experienced the latter, decided to dedicate herself to persuading people about listening to music which is soothing and uplifts one’s consciousness.

Affirmations have a great effect on our minds, and chants are affirmations sung melodiously: affirming our resolve to be ever faithful and loving to God. Be it a chant from any religion or language, there is great spiritual power and joy in chanting which helps us to be stronger in our faith in God. Paramhansa Yogananda said that he spiritualised the chants he had composed. By this, he meant that he sang those Cosmic Chants until he found union with the Divine through the medium of each of those chants. Therefore, he made a pathway to God through those chants, so that when a devotee sings them with sincere desire for God, he or she would find it easy to feel closer to the Divine.

Sufi saints sang with great devotion the praises of God. Also, Mirabai is considered to be one of the great saints who practiced Bhakti yoga, which means union with God through devotion.

May you find great joy and receive Divine blessings through chanting.

Gunnika Chawla, 20, has been a Kriya Yogi for the past five years. She is a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda and a lover of God. She teaches nursery class students, and is pursuing a BA in psychology through correspondence.

(Chanting pic courtesy: https://anandadelhincr.org/)