Music on the Spiritual Path
Sound or vibration is the most powerful force in the universe, and music is a divine art, to be used not for pleasure but as a path to God-realization. Vibrations resulting from devotional singing lead to the contact of the Cosmic Vibration or the Word.
The five states in chanting are:
1) conscious chanting aloud,
2) whisper chanting,
3) mental chanting,
4) subconscious chanting,
5) superconscious chanting.
Subconscious chanting becomes automatic, with internal consciousness only, when the mind automatically repeats a chant in the background of thought and activity.
“Music doesn’t merely reflect a state of consciousness: It also generates it.”
— Swami Kriyananda
Chanting
In Ananda we chant before and after our meditations and during practically all our gatherings. We also offer regular kirtan evenings dedicated wholly to chanting devotional songs. Most of the chants we play and sing, were written by Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda, in addition to the usual traditional chants. Chanting opens up our heart and awakens in us intense devotion for God. As Yogananda often said, “Chanting is half the battle.”
“Chanting is half the battle.”
— Paramhansa Yogananda
